JP2013011724A - Exposure device, exposure method thereof, and exposure unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an exposure device, an exposure method, and an exposure unit capable of highly accurately performing an alignment when exposing a base plate of a size to be mounted on a product.SOLUTION: Proximity exposure devices 3-5 include: mask stages 10 holding masks M2-M4 having patterns P2-P4; base plate stages 11 holding base plates W1-E3; optical systems applying exposure light to the base plates W1-W3 through the patterns P2-P4 of the masks M2-M4; and laser for detecting a part of the base plates W1-W3 and the masks M2-M4. The alignments of the masks M2-M4 and the base plates W1-W3 are detected by the laser. The alignment is so executed as to position a corner part c of a black matrix pattern WP1 exposed and transferred to the base plate W1 by a first-layer proximity exposure device 2, and alignment marks A1-A3 of the masks M2-M4 that are located outside the black matrix patterns WP1 of the base plates W1-W3, at mutually offset positions.

Description

  The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus, an exposure method thereof, and an exposure unit.

  Usually, when a mask pattern is exposed and transferred onto a substrate such as a liquid crystal panel or a semiconductor, for example, a substrate W on which an alignment mark Wa as shown in FIG. 5A is drawn, and FIG. As shown in FIG. 5C, alignment is performed so that the centers of the alignment marks Wa and Ma coincide with each other.

  In addition, as a conventional substrate and mask alignment method, a wafer (substrate) side mark and a mask side mark are provided with accuracy verniers, respectively, and the wafer side mark and the mask side mark are superimposed. Each vernier has been confirmed (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  Furthermore, as another alignment method, a first alignment key provided on the mask used in the first photolithography process and a second alignment key provided on the mask used in the second photolithography process are provided. By superimposing, both patterns are matched (for example, refer patent document 2).

JP 60-53024 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 62-24259

  By the way, in recent years, many liquid crystal display substrates that form a small touch panel such as a smartphone have been used. In the touch panel, since the number of times the user touches the substrate increases, the substrate is subjected to heat treatment so as to withstand repeated fatigue. As such a substrate, for example, aluminosilicate glass (chemically tempered glass) is used.

  However, when such a glass substrate is exposed after heat treatment to obtain multiple surfaces, the cut portion may not be subjected to repeated fatigue because heat treatment is not performed. For this reason, in the case of a small substrate mounted on a product such as a smartphone, it is preferable to perform exposure after performing heat treatment with the size of the substrate. However, since a black matrix is formed on the substrate outside the region where the mask pattern is transferred, it is very difficult to align the alignment mark formed at this position with the alignment mark on the mask. It was difficult.

  For this reason, when performing exposure transfer on a small glass substrate used for a smartphone or the like, the methods described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 for superimposing the alignment marks on the substrate and the mask cannot be applied.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is to provide a small substrate that is difficult to form an alignment mark on a substrate when a substrate of a size to be mounted on a product is exposed and transferred. An object of the present invention is to provide an exposure apparatus that can perform alignment with high accuracy, an exposure method thereof, and an exposure unit.

The object of the present invention is configured as follows.
(1) A mask stage for holding a mask having a pattern, a substrate stage for holding a substrate as a material to be exposed, an illumination optical system for irradiating the substrate with exposure light through the mask pattern, and the substrate A laser that detects a part of the mask, and an exposure apparatus comprising:
The alignment between the mask and the substrate is detected by the laser, and includes a corner portion of a pattern exposed and transferred to the substrate by another exposure apparatus, and an alignment mark of the mask positioned outside the pattern of the substrate. An exposure apparatus that is executed so as to be offset from each other by a predetermined distance.
(2) A mask stage for holding a mask having a pattern, a substrate stage for holding a substrate as an exposed material, an illumination optical system for irradiating the substrate with exposure light through the mask pattern, and the substrate A plurality of exposure apparatuses each including a laser for detecting a part of the mask, and using the plurality of exposure apparatuses, a plurality of layers are formed on the substrate by sequentially exposing the pattern of each mask onto the substrate. An exposure unit for forming a pattern of
In the second and subsequent exposure apparatuses, the alignment between the mask and the substrate is detected by the laser, and the corner portion of the pattern exposed and transferred to the substrate before exposure in the exposure apparatus, and the substrate The exposure unit is executed so that the alignment marks of the mask located outside the pattern are offset from each other by a predetermined distance.
(3) Among the exposure apparatuses for the third and subsequent layers, used for the alignment mark of the mask used in the exposure apparatus for any one of the layers, and for the exposure apparatus for the layers preceding the any one of the layers. The alignment mark of the mask is drawn on each of the masks so as to be offset from the corner portion of the pattern of the substrate by the predetermined distance, and is used in the exposure apparatus for any one of the layers. The alignment mark of the mask is formed larger than the alignment mark so as to cover the alignment mark when superimposed on the alignment mark of the mask used in the exposure apparatus for the previous layer. The exposure unit according to (2).
(4) A mask stage that holds a mask having a pattern and an alignment mark, a substrate stage that holds a substrate as an exposure material, and an illumination optical system that irradiates the substrate with exposure light through the mask pattern; An exposure method of an exposure apparatus comprising: the substrate and a laser that detects a part of the mask,
A step of detecting a corner portion of a pattern exposed and transferred to the substrate by another exposure apparatus and an alignment mark of the mask by the laser;
Aligning the mask and the substrate so that a corner portion of the detected pattern of the substrate and an alignment mark of the mask located outside the pattern of the substrate are offset by a predetermined distance;
Exposing the aligned substrate;
An exposure method comprising:

  According to the exposure apparatus, the exposure method, and the exposure unit of the present invention, the alignment between the mask and the substrate is detected by a laser, the corner portion of the pattern exposed and transferred to the substrate by another exposure apparatus, and the mask Since the alignment mark and the alignment mark are offset from each other by a predetermined distance, even when the substrate of the size mounted on the product is exposed and transferred, even if it is difficult to form the alignment mark on the substrate. Alignment can be performed with high accuracy. Further, since the mask alignment marks are located outside the substrate pattern, the mask alignment marks do not affect the quality of the substrate.

It is a schematic block diagram for demonstrating the exposure unit which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a figure which shows the state of the pattern of the workpiece | work in each exposure process, (b) is a figure which shows the mask used in each exposure process. (A) is an enlarged view showing a region detected by the laser when exposing the second layer, and (b) is an enlarged view showing a region detected by the laser when exposing the third and subsequent layers. . (A) And (b) is an enlarged view which shows the area | region which the laser detected the modification of the corner part of the pattern of a board | substrate, and the alignment mark of a mask. (A)-(c) is a figure for demonstrating the method of the conventional alignment.

Hereinafter, an exposure unit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 includes a first proximity exposure apparatus 2 that exposes a first layer on a substrate W0, a second proximity exposure apparatus 3 that exposes a second layer on the substrate W1, and a substrate. It has the 3rd exposure apparatus 4 which exposes a 3rd layer to W2, and the 4th proximity exposure apparatus 5 which exposes a 4th layer to the board | substrate W3. Note that an apparatus used for pre-processing and post-processing processes such as a coater, pre-alignment, and development, and a transport apparatus that transports the substrate are not shown.

  Each of the proximity exposure apparatuses 2 to 5 includes a mask stage 10 that holds masks M1 to M4 respectively having patterns P1 to P4, a substrate stage 11 that holds substrates W0 to W3 as exposure materials, and masks M1 to M1. An illumination optical system (not shown) for irradiating the substrates W0 to W3 with exposure light via the patterns P1 to P4 of M4, and a laser as means for detecting a part of the substrates W0 to W3 and the masks M1 to M4 from above. (Not shown). As the mask stage 10, the substrate stage 11, the illumination optical system, and the laser, known ones can be applied. Moreover, in FIG. 1, the dashed-dotted lines 12a and 12b arrange | positioned at the diagonal of the board | substrates W0-W3 have shown that it each detects with a laser. Moreover, although the board | substrate as a to-be-exposed material shown to Fig.2 (a) is set as the board | substrates W0-W4 according to the process in which a pattern is exposure-transferred, since it is the same glass substrate, it is also only called the board | substrate W. .

  The proximity exposure apparatuses 2 to 5 sequentially expose the patterns P1 to P4 of the masks M1 to M4 on the substrates W0 to W3, thereby forming a plurality of patterns WP1 to WP4 on the substrate W4. The mask stage 10 and the substrate stage 11 are each provided with a combination of a ball screw mechanism and a motor and a known stage moving mechanism using a linear motor, and are detected by a laser when exposing the substrates W0 to W3. Alignment is performed by moving the substrates W0 to W3 and the masks M1 to M4 relative to each other based on the region thus formed. Then, after the alignment is completed, the exposure operation is performed by irradiating the exposure light from the illumination optical system in a state where the substrates W0 to W3 and the masks M1 to M4 are arranged to be opposed to a predetermined gap.

Hereinafter, a process of exposing and transferring a pattern of a plurality of layers to the substrate W using the first to fourth proximity exposure apparatuses 2 to 5 will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, in the first exposure apparatus 2, the mask M1 on which the black matrix pattern P1 is formed is placed on the mask stage 10 and the raw glass W0 is placed on the substrate stage 11, respectively. And while catching the corner part of the end surface of the raw glass W0 and the corner part of the end surface of the mask M1 which are located on the diagonal of the raw glass W0 and the mask M1 which are overlaid on each other in the same region, The alignment between the mask M1 and the raw glass W0 is performed in such a manner. Note that an alignment mark may be provided at the position of the mask M1 corresponding to the corner portion of the end surface of the raw glass W0, and alignment may be performed using the corner portion of the end surface of the raw glass W0 and the alignment mark of the mask M1. In this way, the black matrix pattern P1 of the mask M1 is exposed and transferred to the raw glass W0, and the first black matrix pattern WP1 is formed on the glass substrate W1 shown in FIG.

  Next, in the second exposure apparatus 3, the mask M2 on which the pattern P2 is formed is placed on the mask stage 10 and the glass substrate W1 is placed on the substrate stage 11, respectively. Then, as shown in FIG. 3A, the corner portion c of the black matrix pattern WP1 formed on the substrate W1 located on the diagonal line of the substrate W1 and the mask M2 that are overlapped with each other, and the outside of the black matrix pattern WP1 While the alignment mark A1 of the mask M2 located in the same area is captured by the laser in the same region, the centers of the corner part c and the alignment mark A1 are separated from each other by a predetermined distance, that is, a distance a in the X direction and a distance b in the Y direction. The alignment between the mask M2 and the substrate W1 is performed so that the position is offset. Therefore, when the exposure transfer is performed, the alignment mark A1 of the mask M2 is not formed inside the pattern region WP1, and the laser can easily detect the corner portion c and the alignment mark A1.

  After the alignment is completed, the pattern P2 of the mask M2 is exposed and transferred onto the substrate W2, and the second layer pattern WP2 is exposed and transferred onto the substrate W2 shown in FIG. Further, the alignment mark A1 of the mask M2 is exposed and transferred to the outer region of the substrate W2 where the black matrix pattern WP1 is exposed and transferred, and the mark WA1 is formed on the substrate W2. Although this mark WA1 is confirmed by a laser, it does not affect the product.

  Next, in the third exposure apparatus 4, the mask M3 on which the pattern P3 is formed is placed on the mask stage 10, and the glass substrate W2 is placed on the substrate stage 11, respectively. Then, as shown in FIG. 3B, the corner portion c of the black matrix pattern WP1 formed on the substrate W2 located on the diagonal line of the substrate W2 and the mask M3 that are overlapped with each other, and the outside of the black matrix pattern WP1. While the alignment mark A2 of the mask M3 located in the same area is captured by the laser in the same region, the centers of the corner portion c and the alignment mark A2 are mutually separated by a predetermined distance, that is, a distance a in the X direction and a distance b in the Y direction. The alignment between the mask M3 and the substrate W2 is performed so that the position is offset.

  In addition, the alignment mark A2 of the mask M3 and the alignment mark A1 of the mask M2 are respectively drawn on the masks M2 and M3 so as to be offset by the same predetermined distance from the corner portion c of the black matrix pattern WP1 of the substrate W2. The alignment mark A2 of the mask M3 is formed larger than the alignment mark A1 so as to cover the alignment mark A1 when superimposed on the alignment mark A1 of the mask M2. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the alignment mark A2 of the mask M2 is confirmed, the mark WA1 formed on the substrate W2 can be covered with the alignment mark A1. Accordingly, the alignment mark A2 of the mask M3 is not formed inside the pattern region WP1 during exposure transfer, and the laser can easily detect the corner portion c and the alignment mark A2.

  After the alignment is completed, the pattern P3 of the mask M3 is exposed and transferred onto the substrate W3, and the third layer pattern WP3 is exposed and transferred onto the substrate W3 shown in FIG. In addition, the alignment mark A2 of the mask M3 is exposed and transferred to an outer region where the black matrix pattern WP1 of the substrate W3 is exposed and transferred, and a mark WA2 is formed on the substrate W3. Although this mark WA2 is also confirmed by the laser, it does not affect the product.

  Further, in the fourth exposure apparatus 5, the mask M4 on which the pattern P4 is formed is placed on the mask stage 10, and the glass substrate W3 is placed on the substrate stage 11, respectively. Then, the corner portion c of the black matrix pattern WP1 formed on the substrate W3, which is located on the diagonal line of the substrate W3 and the mask M4 that are overlapped with each other, and the alignment mark A3 of the mask M4 that is located outside the black matrix pattern WP1 The center of the corner portion c and the alignment mark A3 is offset from each other by a predetermined distance, that is, a distance a in the X direction and a distance b in the Y direction. The alignment between M4 and the substrate W3 is performed.

  In addition, the alignment mark A3 of the mask M4 and the alignment mark A2 of the mask M3 are respectively drawn on the masks M3 and M4 so as to be offset from the corner portion c of the black matrix pattern WP1 of the substrate W3 by the same predetermined distance. The alignment mark A3 of the mask M4 is formed larger than the alignment mark A2 so as to cover the alignment mark A2 when superimposed on the alignment mark A2 of the mask M3. That is, each of the alignment marks A1 to A3 of the masks M2 to M4 is set to be as large as the masks M2 to M4 used for exposure transfer in a later process. Therefore, when the alignment mark A3 of the mask M4 is confirmed, the mark WA2 formed on the substrate W3 can be covered with the alignment mark A2. Therefore, when the exposure is transferred, the alignment mark A3 of the mask M4 is not formed inside the pattern region WP1, and the laser can easily detect the corner portion c and the alignment mark A3.

  After the alignment is completed, the pattern P4 of the mask M4 is exposed and transferred onto the substrate W4, and the fourth layer pattern WP4 is exposed and transferred onto the substrate W4 shown in FIG. In addition, the alignment mark A3 of the mask M4 is exposed and transferred to the outer region of the substrate W4 where the black matrix pattern WP1 is exposed and transferred, and a mark WA3 is formed on the substrate W4. Although this mark WA3 is also confirmed by the laser, it does not affect the product.

  As described above, according to the proximity exposure apparatuses 3 to 5 and the exposure method of the present embodiment, the mask stage 10 that holds the masks M2 to M4 having the patterns P2 to P4 and the substrates W1 to W3 as exposure materials are held. A substrate stage 11, an illumination optical system for irradiating the substrates W1 to W3 with exposure light via the patterns P2 to P4 of the masks M2 to M4, and a laser for detecting a part of the substrates W1 to W3 and the masks M2 to M4. The alignment between the masks M2 to M4 and the substrates W1 to W3 is detected by a laser, and the corner portion c of the black matrix pattern WP1 exposed and transferred to the substrate W1 by the first-layer proximity exposure apparatus 2 and the substrate W1 The alignment marks A1 to A3 of the masks M2 to M4 located outside the black matrix pattern WP1 of .about.W3 are mutually separated by a predetermined distance. It is executed as an offset position. Therefore, the alignment marks A1 to A3 of the masks M2 to M4 are not formed inside the pattern region WP1 during exposure transfer, and the alignment marks A1 to A3 of the masks M2 to M4 affect the quality of the substrate W. There is no effect. Further, the laser can easily detect the corner portion c and the alignment marks A1 to A3. In particular, when a chemically tempered glass substrate W of a size to be mounted on a product, such as a touch panel, is transferred by exposure, alignment can be accurately performed even if the substrate is difficult to form an alignment mark on the substrate W.

  Further, according to the exposure unit 1 of the present embodiment, the mask stage 10 that holds the masks M1 to M4 having the patterns P1 to P4, the substrate stage 11 that holds the substrates W0 to W3 as exposure materials, and the mask M1. A plurality of proximity exposures each comprising: an illumination optical system that irradiates the substrate W0 to W3 with exposure light via the patterns P1 to P4 of M4; and a laser that detects a part of the substrates W0 to W3 and the masks M1 to M4. A plurality of proximity exposure apparatuses 2 to 5 are provided, and patterns P1 to P4 of the respective masks M1 to M4 are sequentially exposed on the substrates W0 to W3 by using a plurality of proximity exposure apparatuses 2 to 5, whereby a plurality of patterns are formed on the substrates W0 to W3. P1 to P4 are formed. In the proximity exposure apparatuses 3 to 5 after the second layer, the alignment of the masks M2 to M4 and the substrates W1 to W3 is detected by the laser, and the substrates W1 to W3 are detected before the exposure by the proximity exposure apparatuses 3 to 5. The corner part c of the pattern WP1 exposed and transferred to the alignment mark A1 to A3 of the masks M2 to M4 located outside the pattern WP1 of the substrates W1 to W3 are offset from each other by a predetermined distance. Executed. Therefore, the alignment marks A1 to A3 of the masks M2 to M4 are not formed inside the pattern region WP1 during exposure transfer, and the alignment marks A1 to A3 of the masks M2 to M4 affect the quality of the substrate W. There is no effect. Further, the laser can easily detect the corner portion c and the alignment marks A1 to A3. In particular, when a chemically tempered glass substrate W of a size to be mounted on a product, such as a touch panel, is transferred by exposure, alignment can be accurately performed even if the substrate is difficult to form an alignment mark on the substrate W.

  Further, among the proximity exposure apparatuses 4 and 5 for the third and subsequent layers, the alignment marks A2 and A3 of the masks M3 and M4 used in the proximity exposure apparatuses 4 and 5 for any one layer, The masks M3 are arranged so that the alignment marks A1 and A2 of the masks M2 and M3 used in the proximity exposure apparatuses 3 and 4 of the layer are offset by a predetermined distance from the corner portion c of the pattern WP1 of the substrates W2 and W3. , M4 and the alignment marks A2 and A3 of the masks M3 and M4 used in the proximity exposure apparatuses 4 and 5 of any layer are used in the proximity exposure apparatuses 3 and 4 of the previous layer. Formed larger than alignment marks A1 and A2 so as to cover alignment marks A1 and A2 when superimposed on alignment marks A1 and A2 of masks M2 and M3 It is. Therefore, when the alignment marks A2 and A3 of the masks M3 and M4 are confirmed, the marks WA1 and WA2 formed on the substrates W2 and W3 can be covered with the alignment marks A1 and A2. Further, the alignment marks A2 and A3 of the masks M3 and M4 are not formed inside the pattern region WP1 during exposure transfer, and the laser easily forms the corner portion c and the alignment marks A2 and A3. Can be detected.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and modifications, improvements, and the like can be made as appropriate.

  In the present embodiment, the corner portion c of the black matrix pattern WP1 is formed with two sides intersecting at right angles. However, the corner portion of the present invention is not limited to this, for example, as shown in FIG. It may be a curved one or a notch as shown in FIG. In these cases, the orthogonal position c ′ calculated from the two sides may be used as the corner portion.

  The exposure apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the proximity exposure apparatus of the present embodiment, and can be applied to any exposure apparatus such as a contact type exposure apparatus and a projection exposure apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Exposure unit 2 1st proximity exposure apparatus (exposure apparatus)
3 Second proximity exposure apparatus (exposure apparatus)
4 Third proximity exposure apparatus (exposure apparatus)
5 Fourth proximity exposure apparatus (exposure apparatus)
10 mask stage 11 substrate stage M1 to M4 mask P1 to P4 pattern W0 to W4 substrate

Claims (4)

A mask stage for holding a mask having a pattern; a substrate stage for holding a substrate as an exposed material; an illumination optical system for irradiating the substrate with exposure light through the pattern of the mask; and the substrate and the mask. An exposure apparatus comprising: a laser for detecting a part of the exposure apparatus;
The alignment between the mask and the substrate is detected by the laser, and includes a corner portion of a pattern exposed and transferred to the substrate by another exposure apparatus, and an alignment mark of the mask positioned outside the pattern of the substrate. An exposure apparatus that is executed so as to be offset from each other by a predetermined distance. A mask stage for holding a mask having a pattern; a substrate stage for holding a substrate as an exposed material; an illumination optical system for irradiating the substrate with exposure light through the pattern of the mask; and the substrate and the mask. A plurality of exposure apparatuses each including a laser for detecting a part thereof, and using the plurality of exposure apparatuses, the pattern of each mask is sequentially exposed on the substrate, whereby a plurality of patterns are formed on the substrate. An exposure unit to be formed,
In the second and subsequent exposure apparatuses, the alignment between the mask and the substrate is detected by the laser, and the corner portion of the pattern exposed and transferred to the substrate before exposure in the exposure apparatus, and the substrate The exposure unit is executed so that the alignment marks of the mask located outside the pattern are offset from each other by a predetermined distance. The alignment mark of the mask used in the exposure apparatus of any one layer among the exposure apparatuses after the third layer, and the mask used in the exposure apparatus of the layer preceding the any layer The alignment mark is drawn on each mask so as to be at a position offset by the predetermined distance from the corner portion of the pattern of the substrate, and
The alignment mark of the mask used in the exposure apparatus of any one of the layers is overlapped with the alignment mark of the mask used in the exposure apparatus of the previous layer so as to cover the alignment mark. The exposure unit according to claim 2, wherein the exposure unit is formed larger than the alignment mark. A mask stage for holding a mask having a pattern and an alignment mark; a substrate stage for holding a substrate as an exposed material; an illumination optical system for irradiating the substrate with exposure light via the pattern of the mask; and the substrate. Detecting a part of the mask, an exposure method of an exposure apparatus comprising:
Detecting a corner portion of a pattern exposed and transferred to the substrate by another exposure apparatus and an alignment mark of the mask according to the above,
Aligning the mask and the substrate so that a corner portion of the detected pattern of the substrate and an alignment mark of the mask located outside the pattern of the substrate are offset by a predetermined distance;
Exposing the aligned substrate;
An exposure method comprising:

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