JP2014164036A - Exposure mask production method, exposure method using exposure mask, reference mask used in production of exposure mask and exposure mask - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of producing an exposure mask which enables easy acquisition of an exposure mask allowing exposure of a to-be-exposed object with high position accuracy.SOLUTION: A reference to-be-exposed object is irradiated with exposure light by using a reference mask which can direct the exposure light to the same block as that for an exposure mask and has a plurality of openings arranged regularly, and exposure points formed practically on the reference to-be-exposed object in correspondence with the openings of the reference masks are recorded as measurement points. Design exposure points which are formed on a to-be-exposed surface (target surface) by the exposure light passing through the openings of the reference mask are calculated as design points. An exposure pattern on the target surface is corrected on the basis of the deviation between the design points and the measurement points to create a corrected exposure pattern. Then, an exposure mask which is so designed as to carry out irradiation of the target surface with the exposure light in the corrected exposure pattern is produced.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an exposure mask that exposes an object to be exposed with high positional accuracy. The present invention also relates to the exposure mask and an exposure method using the exposure mask. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a reference mask used for manufacturing the exposure mask.

  An exposure method is used as a method for patterning a light-sensitive material laminated on a substrate with a predetermined pattern. An example of an exposure apparatus used in the exposure method is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. FIG. 11 is a view showing an exposure apparatus 1 of the type disclosed in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the exposure apparatus 1 includes an exposure apparatus main body 10 and an irradiation optical system 20 that irradiates exposure light toward the exposure apparatus main body 10. Among these, the exposure apparatus body 10 includes a base 11 and an exposure stage 12 installed on the base 11. Here, the exposure stage 12 is provided with a substrate 18 on which an exposure object (exposed object) 17 such as a photosensitive material is stacked. The object to be exposed 17 is placed on the exposure stage 12 so that the surface thereof coincides with the surface to be exposed E of the exposure apparatus 1. The exposure surface E of the exposure apparatus 1 is a surface adapted to the focus of exposure light emitted from an exposure mask 30 installed on a mask stage 15 described later.

  In such an exposure apparatus main body 10, a mask stage 15 on which an exposure mask 30 is installed is provided above the exposure stage 12. The exposure mask 30 modulates the exposure light irradiated from the irradiation optical system 2 0 toward the object 17 on the substrate 18 placed on the exposure stage 12 into a predetermined exposure pattern.

  By the way, in the exposure method, the exposure pattern actually formed on the exposed surface E may deviate from an ideal exposure pattern (hereinafter also referred to as a design exposure pattern) to be formed on the exposed surface E. . The cause of such a shift is that the parallelism of the light irradiated from the irradiation optical system 20 to the exposure apparatus main body 10 is not sufficient, the flatness of the exposure stage 12 is not sufficient, the deflection of the exposure mask 30 Various things can be considered such as the occurrence of distortion. In order to solve such a shift, for example, Patent Document 2 proposes a method of predicting a distortion generated in the exposure mask 30 and correcting a mask pattern formed on the exposure mask 30 based on the predicted distortion. Yes.

JP 2005-122065 A JP-A-5-335217

  13A to 13D are diagrams showing examples of the design exposure pattern 3 to be formed on the exposed surface E and the exposure pattern 4 actually formed. FIG. 13A shows an example in which the designed exposure pattern 3 and the actually formed exposure pattern 4 match. FIG. 13B is a diagram illustrating an example in which the position of the exposure pattern 4 that is actually formed is shifted from the position of the design exposure pattern 3. FIG. 13C is a diagram showing an example in which the size of the exposure pattern 4 that is actually formed is different from the size of the design exposure pattern 3. FIG. 13D is a diagram showing an example in which the shape of the exposure pattern 4 that is actually formed is distorted as compared to the shape of the design exposure pattern 3.

  The deviation as shown in FIGS. 13B and 13C can be solved by adjusting the exposure process. For example, the positional shift as shown in FIG. 13B can be solved by adjusting the position of the exposure stage 12 and the position of the mask stage 15 in the horizontal direction. 13C, the position of the exposure stage 12 and the position of the mask stage 15 are adjusted in the vertical direction, whereby the mask pattern on the mask surface M of the exposure mask 30 is adjusted. This can be solved by changing the magnification when projecting onto E.

  On the other hand, when the shape of the exposure pattern 4 is distorted as compared with the shape of the designed exposure pattern 3 as shown in FIG. 13D, it is difficult to solve the problem by adjusting the exposure process. That is, it is difficult to solve the distortion shown in FIG. 13D by simply adjusting the position of the exposure stage 12 and the position of the mask stage 15. Such distortion occurs when, for example, the parallelism of the light irradiated from the irradiation optical system 20 is not sufficient as shown in FIG. In FIG. 12, the exposure light irradiated perpendicularly to the exposure object 17 among the exposure light irradiated to the exposure object 17 through the opening 32 of the exposure mask 30 is indicated by a symbol L. The exposure light irradiated to the exposure object 17 with a constant declination angle θ is indicated by a symbol L ′.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a defect that occurs in a product manufactured by the exposure method when distortion as shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 14, a multi-sided color filter 70 in which a plurality of color filters 60 are multi-sided is manufactured using an exposure method. The color filter 60 includes a black matrix (BM) layer 61 and a colored layer 63 that are patterned by irradiating exposure light on a substrate 65. That is, the BM layer 61 and the colored layer 63 are objects to be exposed in the exposure process.

  In FIG. 14, a part of a cross-sectional view of the color filter 60 positioned at the four corners of the multifaceted color filter 70 among the plurality of color filters 60 is enlarged. An alternate long and two short dashes line with reference numeral 62 indicates a center line between adjacent BM layers 61, and an alternate long and short dash line with reference numeral 64 indicates a colored layer 63 provided between adjacent BM layers 61. The center line is shown.

  When the exposure process for the BM layer 61 and the colored layer 63 is ideally performed, the center line 62 and the center line 64 coincide with each other. On the other hand, when the actually formed exposure pattern is deviated from the design exposure pattern, the center line 64 is deviated from the center line 62 as shown in FIG. Further, when the shape of the exposure pattern that is actually formed is distorted as compared with the shape of the design exposure pattern, the direction in which the center line 64 is displaced from the center line 62 depends on the position as shown in FIG. Will be different.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a case where the degree of distortion of the shape of the design exposure pattern 4 with respect to the shape of the exposure pattern 3 that is actually formed becomes more prominent. In FIG. 15, the design exposure pattern 3, that is, the shape of the designed color filter is indicated by a dotted line, and the exposure pattern 4, that is, the shape of the actually obtained color filter is indicated by a solid line. As shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, when the deviation of the exposure pattern actually formed with respect to the design exposure pattern is generated as distortion, the uniformity of the product obtained by the exposure process is greatly deteriorated. For this reason, a method for solving such distortion is required.

  As a method for solving the distortion of the exposure pattern, it is considered that the adjustment of the mask pattern of the exposure mask is repeated while repeating the step of producing the exposure mask and the step of exposing the exposure object using the produced exposure mask. It is done. However, in this case, since the adjustment is repeated a plurality of times, the number of man-hours necessary for manufacturing an optimum exposure mask is increased. Further, since the exposure mask used for adjustment is discarded, the cost required to manufacture one optimum exposure mask increases.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an exposure mask manufacturing method capable of easily obtaining an exposure mask capable of exposing an object to be exposed with high positional accuracy. And Another object of the present invention is to provide an exposure method using an exposure mask, a reference mask used for manufacturing the exposure mask, and an exposure mask.

  The present invention is a method of manufacturing an exposure mask for exposing an object to be exposed with a predetermined exposure pattern, having a plurality of regularly arranged openings, and exposing light to the same section as the exposure mask. A step of placing a reference mask configured to irradiate on a mask stage of an exposure apparatus; and the reference exposure object of the exposure apparatus so that a surface of the reference exposure object coincides with an exposure surface of the exposure apparatus. Corresponding to the opening of the reference mask in the reference exposure step, the step of installing on the exposure stage, the reference exposure step of irradiating the reference exposure object with exposure light through each opening of the reference mask A measurement point recording step of recording an exposure point actually formed on the reference exposure object as a measurement point, and a design exposure that exposure light passing through the opening of the reference mask forms on the exposure surface Points as design points Calculating a design point calculating step, a corrected exposure pattern generating step of generating a corrected exposure pattern by correcting the exposure pattern on the exposed surface based on a deviation between the design point and the measurement point; And an exposure mask manufacturing step of manufacturing an exposure mask designed to irradiate the exposure surface with exposure light with a corrected exposure pattern.

  In the exposure mask manufacturing method according to the present invention, the corrected exposure pattern generation step includes a step of calculating a deviation vector representing a deviation between the design point and the measurement point, and between the design point and the measurement point. And a step of calculating a correction vector based on the deviation vector, and a step of generating a corrected exposure pattern by correcting the exposure pattern on the exposed surface based on the correction vector. It may be.

  In the exposure mask manufacturing method according to the present invention, the correction vector may be calculated by inverting the deviation vector.

  In the exposure mask manufacturing method according to the present invention, when a section on an exposed surface irradiated with exposure light through the exposure mask and the reference mask is defined as a unit section, there are k unit sections on the exposed surface. May be included. In this case, the reference exposure step and the measurement point recording step are performed by moving the reference mask relative to the surface to be exposed on a surface parallel to the surface to be exposed. It may be implemented for each of the unit sections. In the design point calculating step, each of the k unit sections of the surface to be exposed is moved virtually relative to the surface to be exposed on a surface parallel to the surface to be exposed. May be implemented. The corrected exposure pattern generation step includes a step of calculating a deviation vector representing a deviation between the design point and the measurement point for each of the k unit sections of the exposed surface, and k of the exposed surface. Calculating a correction vector for correcting a deviation between the design point and the measurement point for each of the unit sections based on the deviation vector; and k unit sections of the exposed surface And generating a corrected exposure pattern by correcting the exposure pattern on the exposed surface based on the correction vector calculated for each of the above.

  In the exposure mask manufacturing method according to the present invention, the corrected exposure pattern corrects the exposure pattern on the exposed surface based on an average of the correction vectors calculated for each of the k unit sections of the exposed surface. May be generated.

  In the exposure mask manufacturing method according to the present invention, the exposure mask manufacturing step includes a step of converting the corrected exposure pattern on the exposed surface into a corrected mask pattern on the mask surface, and an exposure provided with the corrected mask pattern. And a step of manufacturing a mask.

  The present invention is an exposure method using an exposure mask that exposes an object to be exposed with a predetermined exposure pattern, having a plurality of regularly arranged openings, and exposing light in the same section as the exposure mask. A step of placing a reference mask configured to irradiate the mask on a mask stage of an exposure apparatus, and the exposure apparatus of the reference exposure object so that the surface of the reference exposure object coincides with the exposure surface of the exposure apparatus Corresponding to the opening of the reference mask in the reference exposure step, and a reference exposure step of irradiating the reference exposure object with exposure light through each opening of the reference mask. A measurement point recording step for recording an exposure point actually formed on the reference exposure object as a measurement point, and a design in which exposure light passing through the opening of the reference mask is formed on the exposure surface. Change the exposure point to the design point. A design point calculating step, and a corrected exposure pattern generating step for generating a corrected exposure pattern by correcting the exposure pattern on the exposed surface based on a deviation between the design point and the measurement point; An exposure mask manufacturing step of manufacturing an exposure mask designed to irradiate the exposure surface with exposure light with the corrected exposure pattern, a step of placing the exposure mask on the mask stage, and a surface of the object to be exposed is the exposure The step of placing an object to be exposed on the exposure stage so as to match the surface to be exposed of the apparatus, and exposing the object to be exposed placed on the exposure stage via the exposure mask placed on the mask stage And an exposure step of irradiating light.

  The present invention is a reference mask used to correct the position and shape of a mask pattern formed on an exposure mask, and has a plurality of regularly arranged openings.

  In the reference mask according to the present invention, the opening may have a cross shape.

  In the reference mask according to the present invention, the plurality of openings may be arranged in a lattice pattern.

  The present invention is an exposure mask that exposes an object to be exposed with a predetermined exposure pattern, and includes a plurality of openings provided to modulate the light to generate the exposure pattern, and each opening includes each opening. This is an exposure mask configured such that the degree of distortion of the shape of the portion changes continuously according to the position of the opening.

  According to the present invention, by using a reference mask having a plurality of regularly arranged openings, it is possible to generate a corrected mask pattern by correcting the initial mask pattern. For this reason, it is possible to manufacture an appropriate exposure mask without generating a useless exposure mask and with fewer man-hours.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a reference mask in an embodiment of the present invention. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing examples of openings of the reference mask of FIG. FIG. 3A is a diagram for explaining a step of calculating a deviation vector, and FIG. 3B is a diagram for explaining a step of calculating a correction vector. 4A to 4C are views for explaining a process of generating a corrected exposure pattern based on a correction vector. FIGS. 5A to 5C are views for explaining a process of producing an exposure mask based on the corrected exposure pattern. FIGS. 6A to 6C are views for explaining a process of manufacturing a multifaceted color filter using the exposure mask in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a modification of the reference mask. FIG. 8A is a diagram for explaining a step of calculating a deviation vector using the reference mask shown in FIG. 7, and FIG. 8B is a diagram for explaining a step of calculating a correction vector. FIGS. 9A to 9C are diagrams showing an example in which an exposure process using one exposure mask is performed a plurality of times on one surface to be exposed. FIG. 10A shows a step of calculating the deviation vector in the first section on the exposed surface, and FIG. 10B shows a step of calculating the deviation vector in the second section on the exposed surface. Figure. FIG. 11 shows an example of an exposure apparatus. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the parallelism of light emitted from the irradiation optical system. FIGS. 13A to 13D are diagrams showing examples of a design exposure pattern to be formed on the surface to be exposed and an exposure pattern actually formed. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a color filter manufactured when the exposure positional accuracy is low. FIG. 15 is a plan view showing an example of a multifaceted color filter produced when the exposure positional accuracy is low.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, an exposure apparatus 1 used in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

(Exposure equipment)
As described above, the exposure apparatus 1 includes the exposure apparatus body 10 and the irradiation optical system 20 that irradiates exposure light toward the exposure apparatus body 10. Among these, the exposure apparatus body 10 includes a base 11 and an exposure stage 12 installed on the base 11. The exposure stage 12 includes a chuck stage 13 that holds a substrate 18 on which an object to be exposed 17 is stacked by a vacuum chuck method, and a drive stage 14 that can move the chuck stage 13 in a vertical direction and a horizontal plane. ing. As the substrate 18 placed on the exposure stage 12 (chuck stage 13), a glass substrate or a resin base material can be used.

  On the other hand, the irradiation optical system 20 includes an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp (light source) 21 and optical elements (parabolic mirror 22 and cold mirror) for guiding the light emitted from the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 21 toward the exposure object 17 on the substrate 18. 23, an integrator lens 24 and a spherical mirror 25). The irradiation optical system 20 is configured to irradiate exposure light (parallel light) toward an object to be exposed 17 on a substrate 18 installed on the exposure stage 12 of the exposure apparatus main body 10. Although not shown, a mechanism for partially changing the curvature of the parabolic mirror 22 and the spherical mirror 25 is provided so as to adjust the position and shape of the exposure pattern of the exposure light irradiated to the object 17 through the exposure mask 30. It may be done.

  In such an irradiation optical system 20, a shutter 26 may be provided between the cold mirror 23 and the integrator lens 24. Thereby, the light emitted from the ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp 21 can be appropriately shielded and opened. Further, a filter 27 that cuts light of a specific wavelength may be detachably provided between the integrator lens 24 and the shutter 26.

  A control device 29 is connected to the exposure stage 12 and the irradiation optical system 20 (such as the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 21 and the shutter 26) of the exposure apparatus body 10, and the substrate on which the object to be exposed 17 is laminated on the exposure stage 12. The exposure object 17 on the substrate 18 is exposed by controlling the exposure stage 12 and the irradiation optical system 20 of the exposure apparatus body 10 in conjunction with the operation of a robot arm (not shown) that supplies and discharges 18. Be able to. As the object to be exposed 17, as described above, a BM layer or a colored layer laminated on a color filter substrate can be considered.

  In the example shown in FIG. 11, the exposure mask 30 is installed on the mask stage 15 of the exposure apparatus body 10, but the present invention is not limited to this. The mask stage 15 may be provided with a reference mask, which will be described later, configured to irradiate exposure light onto the same section on the exposed surface E as the exposure mask 30. The reference mask is placed on the mask stage 15 so that the surface facing the object to be exposed 17 is located on the same surface as the corresponding surface when the exposure mask 30 is placed on the mask stage 15. In the following description, the surface facing the object to be exposed 17 when the exposure mask 30 and the reference mask are placed on the mask stage 15 is also referred to as a mask surface M.

  When the reference mask is placed on the mask stage 15, the object to be exposed 17 is a BM layer or a colored layer laminated on the color filter substrate, as in the case where the exposure mask 30 is placed on the mask stage 15. Layers can be used. In addition, a photosensitive material prepared for an exposure method using a reference mask may be used as the object to be exposed 17. In the following description, the object to be exposed 17 placed on the exposure stage 12 when the reference mask is placed on the mask stage 15 may be referred to as a reference object to be exposed.

(Reference mask)
Next, the reference mask 40 used when manufacturing the exposure mask 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. The reference mask 40 is used for generating a correction mask pattern formed on the exposure mask 30. The correction mask pattern is obtained by applying a reverse distortion to the initial mask pattern in consideration of distortion of the exposure pattern due to manufacturing errors and assembly errors of each component of the exposure apparatus 1. It is a mask pattern.

[Reference mask]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the reference mask 40. As described above, the reference mask 40 is configured to be able to irradiate exposure light to the same section on the exposed surface E as the exposure mask 30. Here, “irradiate the exposure light to the section on the same exposed surface E” means that the range of the exposure light irradiated to the exposed surface E through the reference mask 40 is exposed through the exposure mask 30. This means that it corresponds to the range of exposure light irradiated onto the surface E. As long as a correction mask pattern to be described later can be obtained, it is not necessary that the range of exposure light irradiated to the object to be exposed 17 be completely the same in the case of the exposure mask 30 and the case of the reference mask 40. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, the reference mask 40 has a plurality of openings 41 that are regularly arranged. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a first opening 41a, a second opening 41b, a third opening 41c, and a fourth opening 41d are provided near the four corners of the reference mask 40, respectively.

  The shape of the opening 41 is not particularly limited as long as the coordinates of the exposure point formed on the reference exposure object can be calculated by the exposure light applied to the reference exposure object via the opening 41. . For example, as shown to Fig.2 (a), the opening part 41 may consist of the cross shape comprised by combining two linear opening parts. In this case, the center point C of the opening 41, which is defined as the intersection of the two linear openings, corresponds to the coordinates of the exposure point formed on the reference exposure object. Moreover, as shown in FIG.2 (b), the opening part 41 may consist of circular shape.

  Next, the operation and effect of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described. Here, first, a method for manufacturing the exposure mask 30 using the above-described reference mask 40 will be described. Next, a method for exposing the object to be exposed 17 using the obtained exposure mask 30 will be described.

(Exposure mask manufacturing method)
First, the reference mask 40 is set on the mask stage 15 of the exposure apparatus 1. Further, the reference exposure object is set on the exposure stage 12 of the exposure apparatus 1 so that the surface of the reference exposure object coincides with the exposure surface E of the exposure apparatus 1. In the following description, the exposed surface E may mean the surface of the reference object.

[Standard exposure process]
Thereafter, a reference exposure step of irradiating the reference exposure object with exposure light through each opening 41 of the reference mask 40 is performed. As a result, the portion of the reference object to which the exposure light is irradiated is exposed. Thereafter, development processing is performed on the reference exposure object. In addition, when a photocurable photosensitive material is used as the reference exposure object, a portion not irradiated with the exposure light is removed by the development process, and a portion irradiated with the exposure light remains. On the other hand, when a light-solubilizing type photosensitive material is used as the reference exposure object, the portion irradiated with the exposure light is removed by the development process, and the portion not irradiated with the exposure light remains.

[Measurement point process]
Next, the exposure points actually formed on the reference exposure object corresponding to the openings 41 of the reference mask 40 in the reference exposure step described above are recorded as measurement points. For example, when a photocurable photosensitive material is used as the reference exposure object, the coordinates of the remaining part of the reference exposure object are recorded as measurement points. When a photodissolvable photosensitive material is used as the reference exposure object, the coordinates of the removed portion of the reference exposure object are recorded as measurement points. When the opening 41 is formed in a cross shape or a circular shape as described above, it is possible to easily recognize the center point of the remaining portion of the reference exposure object or the removed portion. This facilitates recording of measurement points.

[Design point process]
In addition, a design exposure point formed on the exposed surface E by the exposure light passing through each opening 41 of the reference mask 40 is calculated as a design point. For example, when the exposure process using the reference mask 40 is equal magnification exposure, the coordinates of each opening 41 of the reference mask 40 on the mask surface M coincide with the coordinates of the design exposure point on the exposed surface E. To do. Although not shown, when the reduction projection optical system is used in the exposure processing using the reference mask 40, the coordinates of the design exposure point on the exposure surface E are calculated in consideration of the magnification of the reduction projection optical system. can do.

[Correction exposure pattern generation process]
Thereafter, a corrected exposure pattern generation step is performed in which the exposure pattern is corrected on the exposed surface E to generate a corrected exposure pattern based on the deviation between the design point and the measurement point. Here, the “exposure pattern” is an ideal irradiation pattern of exposure light to be generated on the exposed surface E in the exposure method using the exposure mask 30. For example, when an exposure process is performed to pattern a colored layer of a color filter, the “exposure pattern” corresponds to the designed colored layer pattern.

  In the corrected exposure pattern generation step, first, a step of calculating a deviation vector representing a deviation between the design point and the measurement point is performed. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing the design point and the measurement point on the exposed surface E. FIG. In FIG. 3A, reference numerals E1_A, E1_B, E1_C, and E1_D denote the first opening 41a, the second opening 41b, the third opening 41c, and the fourth opening 41d of the reference mask 40 shown in FIG. The measurement points recorded on the basis of the exposure points formed on the reference exposure object by the passing exposure light are shown. Reference numerals E0_A, E0_B, E0_C, and E0_D denote exposure light on the exposed surface E through the first opening 41a, the second opening 41b, the third opening 41c, and the fourth opening 41d of the reference mask 40, respectively. The design points calculated based on the design exposure points formed in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3A, in this step, deviation vectors V1_A, V1_B, V1_C, and V1_D are calculated as vectors from design points E0_A, E0_B, E0_C, and E0_D to measurement points E1_A, E1_B, E1_C, and E1_D. To do. In FIG. 3A, a quadrangle S0 formed by connecting each design point is indicated by a dotted line, and a quadrangle S1 formed by connecting each measurement point is indicated by a one-dot chain line. As is apparent from FIG. 3A, the quadrangle S1 is greatly distorted with respect to the quadrangle S0.

  Next, a step of calculating a correction vector for correcting a deviation between the design point and the measurement point based on the deviation vector is performed. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3B, the correction vectors V2_A, V2_B, V2_C, and V2_D are calculated by inverting the deviation vectors V1_A, V1_B, V1_C, and V1_D. In FIG. 3B, correction points at positions advanced from the design points E0_A, E0_B, E0_C, and E0_D by correction vectors V2_A, V2_B, V2_C, and V2_D are denoted by reference numerals E2_A, E2_B, E2_C, and E2_D. Yes. A quadrangle S2 formed by connecting the correction points is indicated by a two-dot chain line. As is apparent from FIG. 3B, the quadrangle S2 is distorted in the opposite direction to the quadrangle S1.

Thereafter, a step of correcting the exposure pattern on the exposed surface E based on the correction vector to generate a corrected exposure pattern described later is performed. For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, first, an exposure pattern 3 is virtually generated on the surface E to be exposed. The exposure pattern 3 is an ideal irradiation pattern of exposure light to be generated on the exposed surface E in the exposure process using the exposure mask 30 as described above. In the example shown in FIG. 4A, the exposure pattern 3 includes a plurality of unit patterns 3a each corresponding to the pattern of the colored layer of one color filter. Since the exposure pattern 3 is a design pattern virtually generated on the exposed surface E, the exposure pattern 3 may be referred to as a design exposure pattern 3 in the following description.
Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the design exposure pattern 3 is virtually corrected on the exposed surface E based on the correction vector. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4B, the design exposure pattern 3 is displaced on the exposed surface E by the amount of the correction vector. For example, the portion of the design exposure pattern 3 located at the design point E0_A is displaced by the first correction vector V2_A that is the corresponding correction vector. Further, the portion of the design exposure pattern 3 located at the design point E0_D is displaced by the amount of the fourth correction vector V2_D that is the corresponding correction vector. It should be noted that in the design exposure pattern 3, for portions located away from the design points E0_A, E0_B, E0_C, and E0_D, correction vectors weighted according to the distances from the design points E0_A, E0_B, E0_C, and E0_D. It is displaced by the correction vector calculated based on V2_A, V2_B, V2_C and V2_D. For example, a portion of the design exposure pattern 3 located between the design point E0_A and the design point E0_B is displaced by the amount of the correction vector calculated by equally weighting the first correction vector V2_A and the second correction vector V2_B. Is done.
Thus, the corrected exposure pattern 5 can be generated by displacing the design exposure pattern 3 based on the correction vector, that is, by distorting the design exposure pattern 3. As shown in FIG. 5B, the corrected exposure pattern 5 has a plurality of unit correction patterns 5a obtained by displacing the unit pattern 3a of the design exposure pattern 3 based on the correction vector.

[Exposure mask manufacturing process]
Thereafter, an exposure mask 30 designed to irradiate the exposure surface E with exposure light with the corrected exposure pattern 5 is produced. That is, an exposure mask 30 having an opening 32 that is distorted in advance corresponding to the corrected exposure pattern 5 is produced.

Here, first, as shown in FIG. 4C, a process of converting the corrected exposure pattern 5 on the exposed surface E into a corrected mask pattern 7 on the mask surface M is performed. For example, when the exposure process using the exposure mask 30 is equal-magnification exposure, the coordinate data of each unit correction pattern 5a of the corrected exposure pattern 5 on the exposed surface E is each unit of the corrected mask pattern 7 on the mask surface M. It matches the coordinate data of the correction pattern 7a. Further, when the reduction projection optical system is used in the exposure processing using the exposure mask 30, the coordinate data of each unit correction pattern 5a of the correction exposure pattern 5 on the exposure surface E is taken into consideration in consideration of the magnification of the reduction projection optical system. Is converted into coordinate data of each unit correction pattern 7a of the correction mask pattern 7 on the mask surface M. In FIG. 4C, the mask pattern and each unit pattern on the mask surface M corresponding to the design exposure pattern 3 and each unit pattern 3a on the exposed surface E are indicated by reference numerals 6 and 6a. Further, correction vectors V2_A ′, V2_B ′, V2_C ′ and V2_D ′ are obtained by converting correction vectors V2_A, V2_B, V2_C and V2_D on the exposed surface E into vectors on the mask surface M. ing.
Next, the process of producing the exposure mask 30 provided with the correction mask pattern 7 is performed. That is, the exposure mask 30 is actually produced based on the generated correction mask pattern 7. FIG. 5A is a plan view showing an exposure mask 30 provided with a plurality of unit patterns 31 corresponding to each unit correction pattern 7 a of the correction mask pattern 7. As shown in FIG. 5A, each unit pattern 31 of the exposure mask 30 is distorted from the original rectangular shape.

  FIG. 5B is an enlarged plan view showing one of the plurality of unit patterns 31 shown in FIG. 5A, for example, the unit pattern 31 located near the lower left corner of the exposure mask 30. As shown in FIG. 5B, the unit pattern 31 includes a plurality of openings 32 distorted from the original rectangular shape. As described above, portions of the design exposure pattern 3 that are located away from the design points E0_A, E0_B, E0_C, and E0_D are weighted according to the distances from the design points E0_A, E0_B, E0_C, and E0_D. It is displaced by the amount of the correction vector calculated based on the correction vectors V2_A, V2_B, V2_C and V2_D. For this reason, the degree of distortion in each opening 32 also varies depending on the distance from each design point E0_A, E0_B, E0_C, and E0_D. That is, each opening 32 is configured such that the degree of distortion of the shape of each opening 32 changes continuously according to the position of the opening 32. In this way, by continuously changing the degree of distortion of each opening 32, the pattern of exposure light applied to the object to be exposed 17 through the exposure mask 30 can be precisely adjusted.

  The specific structure of the exposure mask 30 is not particularly limited as long as the opening 32 transmits light and the portion other than the opening 32 blocks light. For example, as shown in FIG. 5C, the exposure mask 30 includes a base material 35 made of quartz or the like, and a light shielding layer 36 made of a metal having a light shielding property such as chrome and laminated on the base material 35. It is out. The light shielding layer 36 is partially removed as shown in FIG. 5C, and the portion from which the light shielding layer 36 is removed is an opening 32 through which exposure light is transmitted. As a method of manufacturing the exposure mask 30 by partially removing the light shielding layer 36, for example, a photolithography method or the like is used.

(Exposure method)
Next, a method for exposing the object to be exposed 17 using the obtained exposure mask 30 will be described. Here, a method of manufacturing the color filter 60 using an exposure method using the exposure mask 30 will be described. First, the color filter 60 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 6A is a plan view showing a multi-sided color filter 70 in which a plurality of color filters 60 are allocated on a base material 65. FIG. 6B and FIG. 6C are a plan view and a cross-sectional view showing one of the plurality of color filters 60 shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C, the color filter 60 includes a BM layer 61 and a colored layer 63 provided between the BM layers 61. The colored layer 63 may include a plurality of color layers. For example, the colored layer 63 may include a red colored layer 63a, a green colored layer 63b, and a blue colored layer 63c arranged in order.

  Hereinafter, the process of manufacturing the color filter 60 using the exposure method using the exposure mask 30 will be described.

[BM layer manufacturing process]
First, the exposure mask 30 for the BM layer 61 provided with the correction mask pattern 7 corresponding to the BM layer 61 is produced. First, the above-described correction vector is generated using the reference mask 40 having a plurality of openings 41 arranged corresponding to the region where the BM layer 61 is to be formed. Next, based on the calculated correction vector, the above-described corrected exposure pattern 5 and corrected mask pattern 7 corresponding to the BM layer 61 are calculated. As a result, the exposure mask 30 for the BM layer 61 having a plurality of openings 32 distorted in consideration of manufacturing errors and assembly errors of each component of the exposure apparatus 1 can be obtained.

  Next, the exposure object 17 is placed on the exposure stage 12 so that the surface of the exposure object 17 coincides with the exposure surface E of the exposure apparatus 1. In this case, the object to be exposed 17 is a material for the BM layer 61 such as a resin laminated on the substrate 65 and dispersed with a black pigment. Thereafter, an exposure step of irradiating the exposure object 17 installed on the exposure stage 12 with exposure light through the exposure mask 30 for the BM layer 61 installed on the mask stage 15 is performed. Next, the exposed object 17 is developed. Thereby, the BM layer 61 in which the deviation due to the exposure apparatus 1 is corrected can be formed on the base material 65.

[Red colored layer preparation process]
Next, the exposure mask 30 for the red colored layer 63a provided with the correction mask pattern 7 corresponding to the red colored layer 63a is produced. Here, as in the case of the exposure mask 30 for the BM layer 61, the above-described reference mask 40 having a plurality of openings 41 arranged corresponding to the region where the red colored layer 63a is to be formed is used. A correction vector is generated. When the region where the red colored layer 63a is to be formed and the region where the BM layer 61 is to be formed are substantially the same, the reference mask 40 used when the exposure mask 30 for the BM layer 61 is manufactured. The same reference mask 40 may be used. Thereafter, based on the calculated correction vector, the above-described corrected exposure pattern 5 and corrected mask pattern 7 corresponding to the red colored layer 63a are calculated. As a result, the exposure mask 30 for the red colored layer 63a having a plurality of openings 32 distorted in consideration of manufacturing errors and assembly errors of each component of the exposure apparatus 1 can be obtained. Thereafter, in the same manner as in the case of the BM layer 61, an object to be exposed 17 made of a material for the red colored layer 63a such as a resin, which is laminated on the base material 65 and in which a red pigment is dispersed, is used for the red colored layer 63a. The exposure mask 30 is used for exposure and development. As a result, the red colored layer 63 a in which the deviation due to the exposure apparatus 1 is corrected can be formed between the BM layers 61.

[Green colored layer preparation step and blue colored layer preparation step]
Thereafter, in the same manner as in the case of the red colored layer 63a, the green colored layer 63b and the blue colored layer 63c are formed between the BM layers 61. Thereby, the color filter 60 including the BM layer 61, the red colored layer 63a, the green colored layer 63b, and the blue colored layer 63c in which the deviation due to the exposure apparatus 1 is corrected can be manufactured.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the correction mask pattern 7 can be generated by correcting the initial mask pattern 6 by using the reference mask 40 having the plurality of openings 41 regularly arranged. it can. For this reason, the appropriate exposure mask 30 can be manufactured with few man-hours, without producing the exposure mask which becomes useless. This can reduce the cost required for manufacturing the color filter 60 and the like using the exposure method.

  Note that various modifications can be made to the above-described embodiment. Hereinafter, an example of modification will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description and the drawings used in the following description, the same reference numerals as those used for the corresponding parts in the above embodiment are used for the parts that can be configured in the same manner as in the above embodiment. A duplicate description is omitted.

(Modification of reference mask opening)
In the present embodiment described above, an example in which the openings 41 are provided in the vicinity of the four corners of the reference mask 40 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number and arrangement pitch of the openings 41 of the reference mask 40 can be appropriately set according to the positional accuracy required for the exposure process. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the reference mask 40 may have a large number of openings 41 that are two-dimensionally arranged in a lattice pattern. In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, m + 1 (m is a natural number) openings 41 of the openings 41_00 to 41_m0 are arranged in the horizontal direction. In the vertical direction, n + 1 (n is a natural number) openings 41 of the openings 41_00 to 41_0n are arranged. The interval between the adjacent openings 41 is appropriately set according to the positional accuracy required for the exposure process, and is, for example, 50 mm.

  A method of manufacturing the exposure mask 30 using the reference mask 40 shown in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. Detailed description of the same steps as those in the above-described embodiment will be omitted.

  First, the reference mask 40 shown in FIG. 7 is set on the mask stage 15 of the exposure apparatus 1, and thereafter, a reference exposure process is performed in which exposure light is irradiated to the reference exposure object through each opening 41 of the reference mask 40. . Next, the exposure points actually formed on the reference exposure object corresponding to the openings 41 of the reference mask 40 in the reference exposure step described above are recorded as measurement points. In addition, a design exposure point formed on the exposed surface E by the exposure light passing through each opening 41 of the reference mask 40 is calculated as a design point.

[Correction exposure pattern generation process]
Thereafter, a corrected exposure pattern generation step is performed in which the exposure pattern is corrected on the exposed surface E to generate a corrected exposure pattern based on the deviation between the design point and the measurement point.

  First, a step of calculating a deviation vector representing a deviation between the design point and the measurement point is performed. FIG. 8A is a diagram showing the design points and the measurement points on the exposed surface E. FIG. In FIG. 8A, reference numerals E1_00 to E1_m0 and reference numerals E1_00 to E1_0n are formed on the reference exposure object by exposure light passing through the openings 41_00 to 41_m0 and the openings 41_00 to 41_0n of the reference mask 40 shown in FIG. The measurement points recorded based on the exposed exposure points are shown. Reference numerals E0_00 to E0_m0 and reference numerals E0_00 to E0_0n are based on design exposure points formed on the exposed surface E by exposure light passing through the openings 41_00 to 41_m0 and the openings 41_00 to 41_0n of the reference mask 40, respectively. The calculated design point is shown. In this step, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), deviation vectors V1_00 to V1_m0 and deviations as vectors from design points E0_00 to E0_m0 and design points E0_00 to E0_0n to measurement points E1_00 to E1_m0 and measurement points E1_00 to E1_0n. Vectors V1_00 to V1_0n are calculated. As shown in FIG. 8A, the contour S1 formed by connecting the measurement points represents a more complicated shape than the quadrangle S1 in the case of the above-described embodiment shown in FIG. can do.

  Next, a step of calculating a correction vector for correcting a deviation between the design point and the measurement point based on the deviation vector is performed. Also in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8B, the correction vectors V2_00 to V2_m0 and the correction vectors V2_00 to V2_0n are calculated by inverting the deviation vectors V1_00 to V1_m0 and the deviation vectors V1_00 to V1_0n. In FIG. 8B, correction points at positions advanced from the design points E0_00 to E0_m0 and the design points E0_00 to E0_0n by the correction vectors V2_00 to V2_m0 and the correction vectors V2_00 to V2_0n are denoted by symbols E2_00 to E2_m0 and E2_00. It is indicated by E2_0n. As is clear from FIG. 8B, the contour S2 formed by connecting the correction points represents a more complicated shape than the quadrangle S2 in the case of the above-described embodiment shown in FIG. 3B. can do.

  Thereafter, a process of generating the corrected exposure pattern 5 by correcting the design exposure pattern 3 on the exposed surface E based on the correction vector is performed. At this time, for a portion at a position that does not coincide with the design point in the design exposure pattern 3, first, a plurality of, for example, four design points that are close to the portion of the many design points are selected, and then, The portion is displaced by the amount of the correction vector calculated by weighting the correction vectors at the four design points according to the distance between the portion and each design point. Thereby, the corrected exposure pattern 5 can be calculated with high accuracy over the entire surface E to be exposed.

  Thereafter, an exposure mask 30 designed to irradiate the exposure surface E with exposure light with the corrected exposure pattern 5 is produced.

  According to this modification, since a large number of openings 41 are provided in the reference mask 40, correction vectors can be calculated for a large number of design points. For this reason, the distortion of the exposure pattern caused by the manufacturing error or assembly error of each component of the exposure apparatus 1 can be calculated more precisely over the entire exposed surface E. Therefore, the exposure mask 30 having the corrected mask pattern 7 corrected more precisely over the entire area of the mask surface M can be produced. Thus, the object to be exposed 17 can be exposed with high positional accuracy over the entire surface E to be exposed.

(Example in which exposure of a plurality of unit sections is carried out using one exposure mask)
In the above-described embodiment, when the section on the exposed surface E irradiated with the exposure light through the exposure mask 30 and the reference mask 40 is a unit section, the exposed surface E has one unit section. An example is included. That is, the example in which the exposure light passing through one exposure mask 30 and the reference mask 40 is irradiated over almost the entire surface E to be exposed has been shown. In this case, almost the entire surface E to be exposed can be exposed in one exposure step. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the exposed surface E may include k unit units (k is an integer of 2 or more). In this case, in order to expose the exposed surface E using the exposure mask 30 and the reference mask 40, the exposure mask 30 and the reference mask 40 are relative to the exposed surface E on a plane parallel to the exposed surface E. Therefore, it is necessary to perform the exposure process k times. Hereinafter, an example in which the technical idea in the above-described embodiment is applied to the exposure method in which the exposure is performed a plurality of times as described above will be described.

  FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C show an example of an exposure process that is performed when the exposed surface E includes two unit sections (the first section R1 and the second section R2). FIG. That is, it is a diagram showing the case of k = 2. In this case, first, as shown in FIG. 9A, the exposure mask 30 is arranged on the first section R1 of the exposed surface E, and the exposure process is performed at this position. Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, the exposure mask 30 is moved relative to the exposed surface E on a surface parallel to the exposed surface E. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9C, the exposure mask 30 is disposed on the second section R2 adjacent to the first section R1, and an exposure process is performed at this position. In this way, the exposure light can be irradiated to the entire exposed surface E using one exposure mask 30. For example, when the object to be exposed 17 is a BM layer for the color filter 60, the BM layer can be formed using the single exposure mask 30 over the entire area of the base material 65. Note that the method of moving the exposure mask 30 relative to the exposed surface E is not particularly limited. For example, the exposure mask 30 can be moved relative to the exposure surface E by driving the exposure stage 12 on which the substrate 18 supporting the exposure object 17 is placed in the horizontal direction.

  Next, a method for producing the exposure mask 30 in this modification will be described with reference to FIGS. Detailed description of the same steps as those in the above-described embodiment will be omitted.

  First, the reference mask 40 is set on the mask stage 15 of the exposure apparatus 1, and then the first reference exposure that irradiates the first section R <b> 1 of the reference exposure object through each opening 41 of the reference mask 40. Perform the process. Next, exposure points actually formed in the first section R1 of the reference exposure object corresponding to each opening 41 of the reference mask 40 in the first reference exposure step described above are measured points E1_A_1, E1_B_1, E1_C_1, and It is recorded as E1_D_1 (see FIG. 10A). Further, the design exposure points formed in the first section R1 of the exposed surface E by the exposure light passing through each opening 41 of the reference mask 40 are calculated as design points E0_A_1, E0_B_1, E0_C_1, and E0_D_1. Then, deviation vectors V1_A_1, V1_B_1, V1_C_1, and V1_D_1 are calculated as vectors from the design points E0_A_1, E0_B_1, E0_C_1, and E0_D_1 to the measurement points E1_A_1, E1_B_1, E1_C_1, and E1_D_1. Although not shown, the correction vectors V2_A_1, V2_B_1, V2_C_1, and V2_D_1 are calculated by inverting the deviation vectors V1_A_1, V1_B_1, V1_C_1, and V1_D_1.

  Next, the reference mask 40 is disposed on the second section R <b> 2 of the exposed surface E by moving the reference mask 40 relative to the exposed surface E on a surface parallel to the exposed surface E. Then, the 2nd reference exposure process of irradiating exposure light to the 2nd division R2 of a standard exposure object through each opening 41 of standard mask 40 is carried out. Next, exposure points actually formed in the second section R2 of the reference exposure object corresponding to each opening 41 of the reference mask 40 in the second reference exposure step described above are measured points E1_A_2, E1_B_2, E1_C_2, and Recorded as E1_D_2 (see FIG. 10B). Further, design exposure points formed by the exposure light passing through each opening 41 of the reference mask 40 in the second section R2 of the exposed surface E are calculated as design points E0_A_2, E0_B_2, E0_C_2, and E0_D_2. Then, deviation vectors V1_A_2, V1_B_2, V1_C_2 and V1_D_2 are calculated as vectors from the design points E0_A_2, E0_B_2, E0_C_2 and E0_D_2 to the measurement points E1_A_2, E1_B_2, E1_C_2 and E1_D_2. Although not shown, the correction vectors V2_A_2, V2_B_2, V2_C_2, and V2_D_2 are calculated by inverting the deviation vectors V1_A_2, V1_B_2, V1_C_2, and V1_D_2.

  Next, by averaging the correction vectors V2_A_1, V2_B_1, V2_C_1, and V2_D_1 in the first partition R1 and the correction vectors V2_A_2, V2_B_2, V2_C_2, and V2_D_2 in the second partition R2, the average correction vectors V2_A_AVE_E_V_V_V_V_V_V_V_D_ Is calculated. For example, the average correction vector V2_A_AVE is calculated as (correction vector V2_A_1 + correction vector V2_A_2) / 2.

  Thereafter, a process of generating the corrected exposure pattern 5 by correcting the design exposure pattern 3 on the exposed surface E based on the average correction vector is performed. Next, an exposure mask 30 designed to irradiate the exposure surface E with exposure light with the corrected exposure pattern 5 is produced. Here, as described above, the average correction vector is a vector calculated based on both the correction vector in the first region R1 and the correction vector in the second region R2. For this reason, the exposure pattern obtained by the produced exposure mask 30 has both the distortion of the exposure pattern in the first region R1 of the exposed surface E and the distortion of the exposure pattern in the second region R2 of the exposed surface E. It has been eliminated moderately. That is, the exposure positional accuracy can be improved on the average over the entire surface E to be exposed.

  As described above, in the present modification, the reference exposure step and the measurement point recording step are performed by moving the reference mask 40 relative to the surface E to be exposed on a surface parallel to the surface E to be exposed. This is performed for each of the two unit sections R1 and R2 of the exposure surface E. In the design point calculation step, two unit sections R1 on the exposed surface E are virtually moved relative to the exposed surface E on a surface parallel to the exposed surface E. , R2 for each. Further, the corrected exposure pattern generation step includes a step of calculating a deviation vector representing a deviation between the design point and the measurement point for each of the two unit sections R1 and R2 of the exposed surface E, and the exposed surface E. For each of the two unit sections R1 and R2, a step of calculating a correction vector for correcting a deviation between the design point and the measurement point based on the deviation vector, and two unit sections of the exposed surface E And generating a corrected exposure pattern by correcting the exposure pattern on the exposed surface E based on the correction vector calculated for each of R1 and R2. For this reason, even if it is a case where the exposure process of several unit divisions of the to-be-exposed surface E is implemented using one exposure mask 30, the to-be-exposed object 17 can be exposed with a high positional accuracy.

(Other variations)
Further, in the above-described embodiment and each modification, the example in which the color filter 60 is manufactured using the exposure method has been shown. However, what is manufactured by the exposure method is not particularly limited. For example, a TFT substrate, a touch panel sensor, or the like can be manufactured with high positional accuracy by using the exposure method according to this embodiment and each modification described above.

  In addition, although some modified examples with respect to the above-described embodiment have been described, naturally, a plurality of modified examples can be applied in combination as appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Exposure apparatus 3 Design exposure pattern 4 Exposure pattern 5 Correction exposure pattern 6 Mask pattern 7 Correction mask pattern 10 Exposure apparatus main body 12 Exposure stage 15 Mask stage 17 Object to be exposed 20 Irradiation optical system 30 Exposure mask 32 Opening 40 Reference mask 41 Opening Part 60 Color filter 70 Multi-sided color filter E Surface to be exposed E0 Design point E1 Measurement point E2 Correction point M Mask surface V1 Deviation vector V2 Correction vector

Claims (11)

A method of manufacturing an exposure mask for exposing an object to be exposed with a predetermined exposure pattern,
Installing a reference mask having a plurality of regularly arranged openings and configured to irradiate exposure light on the same section as the exposure mask on a mask stage of an exposure apparatus;
Placing the reference exposure object on the exposure stage of the exposure apparatus such that the surface of the reference exposure object matches the exposure surface of the exposure apparatus;
A reference exposure step of irradiating the reference exposure object with exposure light through each opening of the reference mask;
A measurement point recording step of recording, as a measurement point, an exposure point actually formed on the reference exposure object corresponding to the opening of the reference mask in the reference exposure step;
A design point calculation step of calculating, as a design point, a design exposure point formed by exposure light passing through the opening of the reference mask on the exposed surface;
A corrected exposure pattern generating step of generating a corrected exposure pattern by correcting the exposure pattern on the exposed surface based on a deviation between the design point and the measurement point;
An exposure mask manufacturing step of manufacturing an exposure mask designed to irradiate the exposure surface with exposure light with the corrected exposure pattern. The corrected exposure pattern generation step includes
Calculating a deviation vector representing a deviation between the design point and the measurement point;
Calculating a correction vector for correcting a deviation between the design point and the measurement point based on the deviation vector;
The exposure mask manufacturing method according to claim 1, further comprising: correcting the exposure pattern on a surface to be exposed based on the correction vector to generate a corrected exposure pattern.   The exposure mask manufacturing method according to claim 2, wherein the correction vector is calculated by inverting the deviation vector. When the section on the exposed surface irradiated with the exposure light through the exposure mask and the reference mask is a unit section, the exposed surface includes k unit sections,
In the reference exposure step and the measurement point recording step, the reference mask is moved relative to the surface to be exposed on a surface parallel to the surface to be exposed, so that the k unit sections on the surface to be exposed are moved. Implemented for each,
In the design point calculation step, the reference mask is virtually moved relative to the exposed surface on a plane parallel to the exposed surface, thereby regarding each of the k unit sections of the exposed surface. Implemented,
The corrected exposure pattern generation step includes
Calculating a deviation vector representing a deviation between the design point and the measurement point for each of the k unit sections of the exposed surface;
Calculating a correction vector for correcting a deviation between the design point and the measurement point for each of the k unit sections of the exposed surface based on the deviation vector;
2. A step of generating a corrected exposure pattern by correcting the exposure pattern on the exposed surface based on the correction vector calculated for each of the k unit sections of the exposed surface. The exposure mask manufacturing method as described in any one of Claims 1-3.   The corrected exposure pattern is generated by correcting the exposure pattern on the exposed surface based on an average of the correction vectors calculated for each of the k unit sections of the exposed surface. The exposure mask manufacturing method as described in any one of Claims 1-3. The exposure mask manufacturing step includes
Converting the corrected exposure pattern on the exposed surface into a corrected mask pattern on the mask surface;
A method for producing an exposure mask according to claim 1, further comprising: producing an exposure mask provided with the correction mask pattern. An exposure method using an exposure mask that exposes an object to be exposed with a predetermined exposure pattern,
Installing a reference mask having a plurality of regularly arranged openings and configured to irradiate exposure light on the same section as the exposure mask on a mask stage of an exposure apparatus;
Placing the reference exposure object on the exposure stage of the exposure apparatus such that the surface of the reference exposure object matches the exposure surface of the exposure apparatus;
A reference exposure step of irradiating the reference exposure object with exposure light through each opening of the reference mask;
A measurement point recording step of recording, as a measurement point, an exposure point actually formed on the reference exposure object corresponding to the opening of the reference mask in the reference exposure step;
A design point calculation step of calculating, as a design point, a design exposure point formed by exposure light passing through the opening of the reference mask on the exposed surface;
A corrected exposure pattern generating step of generating a corrected exposure pattern by correcting the exposure pattern on the exposed surface based on a deviation between the design point and the measurement point;
An exposure mask manufacturing step of manufacturing an exposure mask designed to irradiate the exposure surface with exposure light with the corrected exposure pattern;
Installing the exposure mask on the mask stage;
Placing the object to be exposed on the exposure stage so that the surface of the object to be exposed matches the surface to be exposed of the exposure apparatus;
And an exposure step of irradiating the exposure object set on the exposure stage with exposure light through the exposure mask set on the mask stage. A reference mask used to correct the position and shape of a mask pattern formed on an exposure mask,
A reference mask having a plurality of regularly arranged openings.   The reference mask according to claim 8, wherein the opening has a cross shape.   The reference mask according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the plurality of openings are arranged in a lattice pattern. An exposure mask for exposing an object to be exposed with a predetermined exposure pattern,
Comprising a plurality of openings provided to modulate the light to generate the exposure pattern;
Each opening is an exposure mask configured such that the degree of distortion of the shape of each opening changes continuously according to the position of the opening.

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