JP2015099709A - Light irradiation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a light irradiation device capable of properly cooling a light source and a polarizer unit.SOLUTION: A light irradiation device 1 accommodates a reflecting mirror 5 and a light source 4 in a housing 3 of a light irradiator 2, and includes light transmission members 6, 7 and a polarizer unit 10 in a light emission opening part 3A of the housing 3, and it is configured in such a manner that a heat source cooling path 30 of the reflecting mirror 5 and the light source 4, and a space cooling path 40 between the light transmission members 6, 7 and the polarizer unit 10 are made to be independent, and the light source 4 and the polarizer unit 10 are cooled individually.

Description

  The present invention relates to a light irradiation apparatus including a light source and a polarizer unit.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a light irradiation device that includes a light source in a housing of a light irradiator, and polarizes and irradiates light from the light source by a polarizer unit provided in a light output opening of the housing (for example, Patent Documents). 1). This light irradiation apparatus includes a cooling path for a light source and a polarizer unit in a housing.

Japanese Patent No. 5056991

In the light irradiation device, the light source has a short life at low temperatures, so it needs to be cooled so that the temperature is relatively high. On the other hand, the polarizer unit has a relatively low temperature from the viewpoint of heat resistance. Need to be cooled.
However, in the conventional configuration described above, the cooling air that has cooled the polarizer unit is configured to cool the light source. Therefore, if the polarizer unit is sufficiently cooled, there is a problem that the light source is excessively cooled. is there.
This invention is made | formed in view of the situation mentioned above, and aims at providing the light irradiation apparatus which can cool a light source and a polarizer unit appropriately.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a light irradiation apparatus of the present invention includes a reflecting mirror and a light source housed in a housing of a light irradiator, and includes a light transmitting member and a polarizer unit in a light emission opening of the housing. The heat source cooling path for the reflecting mirror and the light source and the space cooling path between the light transmitting member and the polarizer unit are made independent.

  In the above configuration, a space between the light transmitting member and the polarizer unit may be set to a positive pressure.

  In the above-described configuration, the polarizer unit may be formed by arranging a plurality of polarizers side by side.

  In the above-described configuration, cooling air cooled by a cooler may flow through the heat source cooling path and the space cooling path.

  According to the present invention, since the heat source cooling path of the reflecting mirror and the light source and the space cooling path between the light transmission member and the polarizer unit are made independent, the light source and the polarizer unit can be individually cooled. Can be cooled properly.

It is a front view showing typically the photo-alignment device concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view which shows a photo-alignment apparatus. It is a figure which expands and shows the light irradiator of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of a polarizer unit, (A) is a top view, (B) is a sectional side view. It is a front view which shows the optical orientation apparatus which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is a top view which shows typically the structure of the photo-alignment irradiation system provided with the photo-alignment apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and shows the standby state of the 1st and 2nd work stage. It is a top view which shows typically the structure of a photo-alignment irradiation system, and shows the state which installs a photo-alignment target object in a 1st work stage. It is a top view which shows typically the structure of a photo-alignment irradiation system, and shows the state which a robot receives the next photo-alignment target object during the movement of a 1st work stage. It is a top view which shows typically the structure of a photo-alignment irradiation system, and shows the state which installs the next photo-alignment target object in a 2nd work stage during the movement of a 1st work stage. It is a top view which shows typically the structure of a photo-alignment irradiation system, and shows the state which moves a robot during the movement of the 1st and 2nd work stage. It is a top view which shows the structure of a photo-alignment irradiation system typically, and shows the state which installs the next photo-alignment target object in a 1st work stage during the movement of a 2nd work stage.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing the optical alignment apparatus according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a view showing the optical alignment apparatus. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the light irradiator of FIG. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating the configuration of the polarizer unit, in which FIG. 4A is a plan view and FIG. 4B is a side sectional view.
As shown in FIG. 1, the photo-alignment apparatus 1 is a light irradiation apparatus that performs photo-alignment by irradiating a photo-alignment film of a plate-shaped or band-shaped photo-alignment object (work) W with polarized light.

The optical alignment apparatus 1 includes a stage transport base 81, an irradiator installation base 82, a work stage (stage) 83 on which the optical alignment target W (FIG. 2) is placed, and light irradiation that irradiates polarized light directly below. 2 is provided.
The irradiator installation base 82 is a portal body that is horizontally placed in the width direction of the stage transfer base 81 (a direction perpendicular to the linear motion direction X of the linear motion mechanism described later) at an upper position away from the stage transport base 81 by a predetermined distance. Yes, both the pillars are fixed to the stage conveyance base 81. The irradiator installation stand 82 incorporates the light irradiator 2, and the light irradiator 2 irradiates polarized light directly below. In order to separate the vibration caused by the movement of the work stage 83 from the vibration caused by the cooling of the light irradiator 2, the irradiator installation base 82 is not fixed to the stage transport base 81 but the stage transport base 81 A separate configuration may also be used. The stage transport frame 81 and the irradiator installation frame 82 may have a vibration isolation structure.
The stage transport frame 81 is provided with a linear motion mechanism 84 (FIG. 6) that moves the work stage 83 along the linear motion direction X so as to pass on the surface of the stage transport frame 81 directly below the light irradiator 2. Has been. In the photo-alignment of the photo-alignment target object W, the photo-alignment target object W placed on the work stage 83 is transferred along the linear motion direction X by the linear motion mechanism 84 and directly below the light irradiator 2. The light alignment film is aligned by being exposed to polarized light during the passage. In the present embodiment, the photo-alignment target object W is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view, and is transported so that the short direction of the photo-alignment target object W coincides with the linear movement direction X.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the light irradiator 2 includes a lamp 4 and a reflecting mirror 5 as a light source in a housing 3 having a light emission opening 3A on the lower surface, and a polarizer in the light emission opening 3A. A unit 10 is provided.
The housing 3 is supported by the irradiator installation base 82 at an upper position away from the photo-alignment object W by a predetermined distance. The lamp 4 is a discharge lamp, and a straight tube type (rod-shaped) ultraviolet lamp extending at least as long as the length of the photo-alignment target W in the longitudinal direction is used. The reflecting mirror 5 is a cylindrical concave reflecting mirror having an elliptical cross section and extending along the longitudinal direction of the lamp 4. The reflecting mirror 5 collects the light from the lamp 4 and irradiates it toward the polarizer unit 10 from the light exit opening 3 </ b> A. .

The light emission opening 3 </ b> A is a rectangular opening formed immediately below the lamp 4 in a plan view, and is provided such that the longitudinal direction coincides with the longitudinal direction of the lamp 4.
The light exit opening 3A is provided with a plate-like transparent body 6 formed of a light transmission member having no filter characteristics (wavelength selection characteristics) such as a quartz plate, for example. 3A is blocked.
Further, a wavelength selection filter 7 for selecting the wavelength of light to be transmitted is provided inside the light emission opening 3A, and the light irradiator 2 emits light of a desired wavelength by the wavelength selection filter 7. ing.
The transparent body 6 and the wavelength selection filter 7 constitute a light transmission member of this embodiment. Although the wavelength selection filter 7 is provided in the present embodiment, the wavelength selection filter 7 may be omitted if the lamp 4 itself can emit light having a desired wavelength.

The polarizer unit 10 is disposed between the transparent body 6 and the photo-alignment target object W, and polarizes light irradiated on the photo-alignment target object W. The polarized light is irradiated onto the photo-alignment film of the photo-alignment target W, so that the photo-alignment film is aligned.
As shown in FIG. 4, the polarizer unit 10 includes a plurality of unit polarizer units 12 and a frame 14 that aligns the unit polarizer units 12 side by side and in a line. The frame 14 is a plate-like frame body in which the unit polarizer units 12 are connected and arranged. The unit polarizer unit 12 includes a wire grid polarizer (polarizer) 16 formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape.
In this embodiment, each unit polarizer unit 12 supports the wire grid polarizer 16 so that the wire direction A is parallel to the linear motion direction X, and the direction orthogonal to the wire direction A and the wire grid polarizer. The 16 arrangement directions B coincide with each other.

The wire grid polarizer 16 is a kind of linear polarizer and has a grid formed on the surface of a substrate. As described above, since the lamp 4 is rod-shaped, light of various angles is incident on the wire grid polarizer 16. However, the wire grid polarizer 16 linearly polarizes light that is incident obliquely. Through.
The wire grid polarizer 16 is supported by the unit polarizer unit 12 so that the direction of the polarization axis C1 can be finely adjusted by rotating in the plane with the normal direction as the rotation axis. That is, the plurality of wire grid polarizers 16 are arranged with a gap therebetween so that the direction of the polarization axis C1 can be finely adjusted. With respect to all the unit polarizer units 12, the polarization axis C <b> 1 of the wire grid polarizer 16 is finely adjusted so as to align with a predetermined irradiation reference direction, so that the polarization axis C <b> 1 extends over the entire length of the polarizer unit 10 in the long axis direction. Is obtained with high accuracy, and high-quality optical alignment is possible. The wire grid polarizer 16 with the polarization axis C1 adjusted is fixedly arranged on the frame 14 by fixing the upper and lower ends of the unit polarizer unit 12 to the frame 14 with screws (fixing means) 19.

Moreover, the optical alignment apparatus 1 is provided with the cooling unit 20 which cools the lamp | ramp 4, the reflective mirror 5, the wavelength selection filter 7, and the polarizer unit 10, as shown in FIG.2 and FIG.3. The cooling unit 20 includes a heat source cooling path 30 for cooling the lamp 4 and the reflecting mirror 5 and a polarizer cooling path 40 for cooling the polarizer unit 10 independently.
In each of the heat source cooling path 30 and the polarizer cooling path 40, the blowers 21 and 21 that blow cooling air, the coolers 22 and 22 that cool the cooling air, and foreign matters such as dust contained in the cooling wind are removed. Filters 23 and 23 are provided. The blower 21 is disposed on the upstream side of the cooler 22. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the cooling air cooled by the cooler 22 from being reheated by the heat source of the blower 21. In the present embodiment, a blower is used for the blower 21, a water-cooled radiator is used for the cooler 22, and a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter is used for the filter 23. However, the blower 21, the cooler 22 and the filter 23 are used. It is not limited to the configuration of

  In the heat source cooling path 30, the blower 21, the cooler 22, and the filter 23 are accommodated in a cooling unit case 20 </ b> A provided outside the housing 3. In the present embodiment, the cooling unit case 20A is disposed above the housing 3 so as to be separated from the housing 3, but the arrangement position of the cooling unit case 20A is not limited to this. A chamber 24 is provided in the cooling unit case 20 </ b> A, and an air outlet 21 </ b> A of the blower 21 and an inlet 24 </ b> A of the chamber 24 are connected by a duct 25. The diameter of the chamber 24 increases from the inlet 24 </ b> A toward the downstream side, and the cooler 22 is disposed on the upstream side in the chamber 24, and the filter 23 is disposed on the downstream side. The outlet 24B of the chamber 24 and the casing 3 are connected by a duct 26, and the suction port 21B of the blower 21 and the casing 3 are connected by a duct 27.

A partition wall 31 that surrounds the sides of the lamp 4 and the reflecting mirror 5 is provided in the housing 3 with a gap δ1 from the housing 3. The partition wall 31 has an opening 31 </ b> A that exposes the lamp 4 and the reflecting mirror 5 downward in the lower part, and a ventilation hole 31 </ b> B in the upper part.
The duct 26 is connected to the housing 3 at a position corresponding to the gap δ 1 outside the partition wall 31, and the duct 27 is connected to the housing 3 at a position corresponding to the space R inside the partition wall 31.
The blower 21, the duct 25, the chamber 24 (cooler 22, filter 23), the duct 26, the gap δ 1 outside the partition wall 31, the space R inside the partition wall 31, and the duct 27 constitute a heat source cooling path 30.

In the heat source cooling path 30, the cooling air (air) blown out from the blower 21 flows into the chamber 24 through the duct 25, is cooled by the cooler 22, and foreign matter is removed by the filter 23. By this filter 23, the cooling air is dehumidified so that the dew point is about −50 ° C. to −90 ° C. or less, and foreign matter is removed to form low dew point high cleanliness air (clean dry air). The cooling air that has become clean dry air is supplied into the housing 3 through the duct 26.
In the casing 3, the cooling air passes through the gap δ 1 between the partition wall 31 and the casing 3, flows through the gap δ 2 between the partition wall 31 and the transparent body 6, and enters the reflecting mirror 5 and the reflecting mirror 5. The lamp 4 and the reflecting mirror 5 are cooled by flowing into the space R inside the partition wall 31. The cooling air whose temperature has been increased by cooling the lamp 4 and the reflecting mirror 5 flows from the through-hole 5A formed in the upper part of the reflecting mirror 5 and from the outside of the reflecting mirror 5 to the space R in the partition wall 31. The air is sucked into the blower 21 through the duct 27 and cooled again. In this way, the cooling air circulates through the heat source cooling path 30.

Also in the polarizer cooling path 40, the air blower 21, the cooler 22 and the filter 23 disposed in the chamber 24 are disposed in the cooling unit case 20 </ b> A, and the air outlet 21 </ b> A of the air blower 21 and the inlet 24 </ b> A of the chamber 24 are ducted. 25.
The outlet 24B of the chamber 24 and the housing 3 are connected by a duct 28, and the suction port 21B of the blower 21 and the housing 3 are connected by a duct 29.

  The duct 28 includes a light exit opening 3A of the housing 3, more specifically, an extending portion 28A extending over the length of the polarizer unit 10 in the longitudinal direction, and a diameter reducing from the extending portion 28A. Part 28B. The reduced diameter portion 28B is connected to the outlet 24B of the chamber 24, and the extending portion 28A is connected to the housing 3. Similarly, the duct 29 has a light emitting opening 3A of the housing 3, more specifically, an extended portion 29A extending over the length of the polarizer unit 10 in the longitudinal direction, and a diameter reduced from the extended portion 29A. And a reduced diameter portion 29B. The reduced diameter portion 29 </ b> B is connected to the suction port 21 </ b> B of the blower 21, and the extending portion 29 </ b> A is connected to the housing 3. The extending portion 28A and the extending portion 29A are supported by the housing 3 via plate-like support members 28C and 29C.

The polarizer unit 10 is provided outside the housing 3 at a position facing the light emission opening 3 </ b> A with the transparent body 6 and the space S therebetween, and the frame 14 is fixed to the polarizer unit fixing base 8. Ducts 28 and 29 are connected between the housing 3 and the polarizer unit fixing base 8. The duct 28 is connected to one end side in the linear motion direction X, and the duct 29 is connected to the other end side in the linear motion direction X.
The air blower 21, duct 25, chamber 24 (cooler 22, filter 23), duct 28, the space S between the transparent body 6 and the polarizer unit 10, and the duct 29 constitute a polarizer cooling path 40. That is, the polarizer cooling path 40 constitutes a space cooling path for cooling the space S between the transparent body 6 and the polarizer unit 10.

  In the polarizer cooling path 40, the cooling air blown from the blower 21 flows into the chamber 24 through the duct 25, is cooled by the cooler 22, and foreign matter is removed by the filter 23, and then passes through the duct 28. Then, it flows into the space S between the transparent body 6 and the polarizer unit 10 to cool the polarizer unit 10. At this time, the cooling air flowing into the space S flows so as to be orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lamp 4. The cooling air whose temperature has been increased by cooling the polarizer unit 10 is sucked into the blower 21 through the duct 29 and cooled again. Thus, the cooling air circulates through the polarizer cooling path 40.

Further, since the polarizer cooling path 40 is completely independent of the heat source cooling path 30, the temperature of the cooling air flowing through the heat source cooling path 30 and the polarizer cooling path 40 is controlled, so that the lamp 4 and the polarizer are controlled. Units 10 can be individually cooled.
At this time, the fans 21 and 21 are individually controlled, and the speed of the cooling air in the heat source cooling path 30 is set to be relatively slow, and the speed of the cooling air in the polarizer cooling path 40 is set to be relatively fast to compare the light sources 4. The polarizer unit 10 can be cooled at a relatively low temperature. Thereby, the lamp | ramp 4 and the polarizer unit 10 can be cooled appropriately.
Moreover, the duct 28 for supplying cooling air to the space S between the transparent body 6 and the polarizer unit 10 and the duct 29 for discharging cooling air from the space S extend over the length of the polarizer unit 10 in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, the entire polarizer unit 10 can be cooled substantially uniformly.

By the way, outgas may be generated from the alignment film during the processing (irradiation) of the optical alignment target W. Moreover, in the environment where the optical orientation apparatus 1 is arrange | positioned, foreign materials, such as paper dust, also exist, for example. When foreign matter such as outgas enters or adheres to the wire grid polarizer 16, the polarization characteristics of the wire grid polarizer 16 change and adversely affect the wire grid polarizer 16.
Therefore, in this embodiment, the photo-alignment apparatus 1 includes a positive pressure mechanism 50 that makes the space S between the transparent body 6 and the polarizer unit 10 positive pressure. More specifically, the duct 29 that connects the suction port 21 </ b> B of the blower 21 and the housing 3 is provided with a flow rate adjusting means 51 that includes, for example, a damper. By reducing the flow rate of the cooling air flowing through the duct 29 located downstream of the space S using the flow rate adjusting means 51, the space S between the transparent body 6 and the polarizer unit 10 can be set to a positive pressure.

When the space S becomes positive pressure, the cooling air is blown out from the gap between the polarizer units 10, so that foreign matter can be prevented from entering the polarizer cooling path 40 through the gap between the polarizer units 10. . Thereby, it can prevent reliably that a foreign material adheres or penetrate | invades into the polarizer unit 10. FIG.
Examples of the gap between the polarizer units 10 include a gap between the frame 14 of the polarizer unit 10 and the polarizer unit fixing base 8 and a gap between the plurality of wire grid polarizers 16. Therefore, foreign matter can be reliably prevented from entering the polarizer cooling path 40 without providing a means for hermetically closing these gaps, so that the number of parts of the optical alignment device 100 can be reduced and the manufacturing process can be simplified.

The duct 29 is formed with an introduction port 52 for introducing air from the outside. Since air is introduced from the outside through the introduction port 52 by the amount blown from the gap of the polarizer unit 10, it is possible to prevent the inside of the polarizer cooling path 40 from becoming too negative, and the fan 21 can be made efficient. I can drive well. In the present embodiment, the introduction port 52 is provided downstream of the flow rate adjusting means 51, but the introduction port 52 can be provided at any position as long as it is upstream of the cooler 22 and the filter 23.
The flow rate adjusting means 51 and the introduction port 52 constitute the positive pressure mechanism 50 of the present embodiment.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the optical alignment apparatus 1 houses the reflecting mirror 5 and the lamp 4 in the housing 3 of the light irradiator 2, and the transparent body in the light emitting opening 3 </ b> A of the housing 3. 6. A light transmission member such as the wavelength selection filter 7 and the polarizer unit 10 are provided, and the heat source cooling path 30 of the reflecting mirror 5 and the lamp 4 and the polarizer cooling path 40 between the light transmission member and the polarizer unit 10 are independent. The configuration is to With this configuration, the lamp 4 and the polarizer unit 10 can be individually cooled by individually controlling the temperature of the cooling air flowing through the heat source cooling path 30 and the polarizer cooling path 40. It can cool properly.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, since the space S between the transparent body 6 and the polarizer unit 10 is set to a positive pressure, the cooling air can be blown out from the gap between the polarizer units 10, so that the foreign matter Can be prevented from entering the photo-alignment apparatus 100.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the polarizer unit 10 is configured by arranging a plurality of wire grid polarizers 16 side by side. Also in this configuration, by setting the space S between the transparent body 6 and the polarizer unit 10 to a positive pressure, the cooling air can be blown out from the gaps between the plurality of wire grid polarizers 16, so that the foreign matter Intrusion into the optical alignment apparatus 100 can be prevented.

  In the present embodiment, the positive pressure mechanism 50 is provided in the duct 29 that connects the suction port 21B of the blower 21 and the housing 3 in the polarizer cooling path 40. However, like the light irradiation device 100 illustrated in FIG. In addition, the air inlet 21 </ b> B of the blower 21 and the housing 3 may be simply connected by the duct 29.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the first embodiment described above, the photo-alignment apparatus 1 has one work stage 83. However, in the second embodiment, the photo-alignment apparatus 200 is configured in a twin stage type having two work stages 83. Yes. 6 to 11, the same parts as those of the photo-alignment apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically showing a configuration of a photo-alignment irradiation system including the photo-alignment apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment, and shows a standby state of the work stage 83.
The light alignment irradiation system includes a light alignment apparatus 200, a robot apparatus 90, and an angle adjustment apparatus 85.

The optical alignment apparatus 200 includes a stage conveyance base 81, an irradiator installation base 82, two work stages 83, and a light irradiator 2.
The stage transport frame 81 includes a linear motion mechanism 84 that moves the work stage 83 along the linear motion direction X so as to pass directly below the light irradiator 2 on the surface of the stage transport frame 81, and to each work stage 83. A rotation drive mechanism (not shown) that is provided correspondingly and that rotationally drives the work stage 83 is provided. In this rotational drive mechanism, the photo-alignment object W is such that the pair of sides of the photo-alignment object W coincides (parallel) with the long axis L of the lamp 4, and the other pair of sides of the photo-alignment object W The work stage 83 is rotated to finely adjust the angle of the photo-alignment object W so as to be in a positive posture orthogonal to the long axis L of the lamp 4. Further, when the polarization axis angle of the polarized light necessary for irradiation of the photo-alignment target W is a predetermined angle with respect to the long axis L of the lamp 4, the rotation drive mechanism rotates the work stage 83 by a predetermined angle.

  The robot apparatus 90 reciprocates along the linear movement direction X with a surface plate 91 provided in parallel to the stage conveyance base 81 of the optical orientation device 200, a robot 92 supported by the surface plate 91, and the robot 92. And a reciprocating drive mechanism 93. The robot 92 includes an arm 92A that can reciprocate (rotate and extend) along the linear movement direction X, and a holding unit 92B that is fixed to the arm 92A and holds the optical alignment target W. The arm 92A is supported by the surface plate 91 so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane. The arm 92A of the present embodiment is a multi-joint arm that has a plurality of pivotable joints and is configured to be telescopic, but the configuration of the arm 92A is not limited to this. The robot 92 moves the arm 92A, receives the optical alignment target W from the outside, places the optical alignment target W on the adjustment stage of the angle adjustment device 85, and also moves the arm 92A from the angle adjustment device 85 onto the work stage 83. A photo-alignment object W is placed on the surface.

  Although not shown, the angle adjustment device 85 includes an adjustment stage on which the photo-alignment target object W is placed and the angle of the photo-alignment target object W is adjusted. In the angle adjusting device 85, the pair of sides of the photo-alignment target W is aligned (parallel) with the long axis L of the lamp 4, and the other pair of sides of the photo-alignment target W is aligned with the long axis L of the lamp 4. The angle of the photo-alignment target object W is adjusted so that the posture is orthogonal to the normal posture.

Next, the operation of the light alignment irradiation system will be described.
Here, for convenience of explanation, one work stage 83 is referred to as a first work stage 83 and the other work stage 83 is referred to as a second work stage 83.
In the initial state, as shown in FIG. 6, the first and second work stages 83 are located on one end P1 side and the other end P2 side in the linear motion direction X, respectively, and the robot 92 is located on one end P1 side. 4 is lit.

  First, the robot 92 receives the photo-alignment target object W from the outside of the photo-alignment apparatus 200, makes the photo-alignment target object W a normal posture by the angle adjusting device 85, and then, as shown in FIG. Is placed on the first work stage 83. The rotational drive mechanism of the first work stage 83 drives the first work stage 83 to finely adjust the angle of the photo-alignment object W, and if necessary, a predetermined predetermined with respect to the long axis L of the lamp 4 The photo-alignment object W is rotated by an angle. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the linear motion mechanism 84 moves the first work stage 83 so that the optical alignment target W is irradiated with polarized light.

While irradiating the photo-alignment target W on the first work stage 83, the robot 92 moves the arm 92A and receives the next photo-alignment target W from the outside of the photo-alignment device 200. The photo-alignment object W is placed in the normal posture and the photo-alignment object W is received again. 9, the robot 92 moves to the other end P2 side by the reciprocating drive mechanism 93, moves the arm 92A, and places the optical alignment target W on the second work stage 83. The rotational drive mechanism of the second work stage 83 finely adjusts the angle of the optical alignment target W and, if necessary, rotates the optical alignment target W by a predetermined angle with respect to the long axis L of the lamp 4. . Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the linear motion mechanism 84 moves the second work stage 83 following the return movement of the first work stage 83, so that the optical alignment target on the second work stage 83. W is irradiated with polarized light.
While irradiating the optical alignment target W with the first and second work stages 83, the robot 92 is moved to the one end P1 side by the reciprocating drive mechanism 93.

While irradiating the photo-alignment target object W in the second work stage 83, the robot 92 receives the photo-alignment target object W from the first work stage 83 and places it in an external storage location as shown in FIG. . Then, the robot 92 receives the optical alignment target W from the outside, puts the optical alignment target W in the normal posture by the angle adjustment device 85, and then places the optical alignment target W on the first work stage 83.
As described above, the two work stages 83 are provided, and the other work stage 83 is moved so as to follow the movement of the one work stage 83, thereby processing the photo-alignment object W (photo-alignment irradiation). Work time can be shortened.

However, the above-described embodiment is an aspect of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the embodiment can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the light source is described as the lamp 4 that emits ultraviolet rays, but the light source is not limited to this.
Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the transparent body 6 and the wavelength selection filter 7 were provided as a light transmissive member, a light transmissive member is not limited to these.

Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the polarizer unit 10 was comprised with the several wire grid polarizer 16, the wire grid polarizer 16 may be one.
In the above-described embodiment, the wire grid polarizer 16 is used as the polarizer. However, the polarizer may be a polarizer using a vapor deposition film, for example.

In the above-described embodiment, the blower 21, the cooler 22, and the filter 23 are arranged in this order from the upstream, but the arrangement order can be arbitrarily changed.
In the above-described embodiment, the blowers 21 and 21 are individually controlled to individually control the temperature of the cooling air flowing through the heat source cooling path 30 and the polarizer cooling path 40. However, the cooling by the coolers 22 and 22 is performed. The temperature may be set to a different temperature.

In the above-described embodiment, the heat source cooling path 30 and the polarizer cooling path 40 are completely independent, but a part of the heat source cooling path 30 and the polarizer cooling path 40, for example, the blower 21, the cooler 22, At least one of the filters 23 may be shared.
In the above-described embodiment, the cooling air of the heat source cooling path 30 and the polarizer cooling path 40 is circulated, but the cooling air is not necessarily circulated.

1,100 Optical alignment device (light irradiation device)
2 Light irradiator 3 Case 3A Light exit opening 4 Lamp (light source)
5 Reflector 6 Transparent body (light transmission member)
7 Wavelength selection filter (light transmission member)
10 Polarizer Unit 30 Heat Source Cooling Path 40 Polarizer Cooling Path (Space Cooling Path)
S space

In order to achieve the above-described object, the optical alignment apparatus of the present invention stores a reflecting mirror and a light source in a housing of a light irradiator, and closes the light emitting opening in the light emitting opening of the housing. A light transmission member is provided, and outside the light transmission member, a polarizer unit is provided at a position facing the light transmission member with a space from the light transmission member, and inside the light emission opening of the housing A cooling source for supplying cooling air to the heat source cooling path for the reflector and the light source, and a polarizer cooling path for the polarizer unit for supplying cooling air to the space between the light transmission member and the polarizer unit are independent of each other. The space between the light transmission member and the polarizer unit constitutes the polarizer cooling path .

In the above-described configuration, cooling air cooled by a cooler may flow through the heat source cooling path and the polarizer cooling path.

Claims (4)

  A reflecting mirror and a light source are housed in a housing of the light irradiator, a light transmission member and a polarizer unit are provided in a light output opening of the housing, a heat source cooling path of the reflecting mirror and the light source, a light transmitting member and a polarizer. A light irradiation device characterized in that a space cooling path between units is made independent.   The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a space between the light transmission member and the polarizer unit is set to a positive pressure.   The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the polarizer unit is formed by arranging a plurality of polarizers side by side.   The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein cooling air cooled by a cooler is allowed to flow through the heat source cooling path and the space cooling path.

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