JP2018105747A - Glass substrate inspection method and manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a dimensional change of a glass substrate having flexibility that is caused by a load of stress to be inspected.SOLUTION: When inspecting a dimensional change of a glass substrate 1 having flexibility, the present invention is constituted to execute a mark formation step P1 for forming a plurality of marks 2 on the glass substrate 1, a stress loading process P3 for loading a stress on the glass substrate 1 after the mark formation process P1, and a dimensional change calculation process PP (first measurement process P2 and second measurement process P4) for calculating a dimensional change from a change in the mutual distance of the marks 2 to each other before and after the stress loading process P3. The present invention is also constituted to manufacture the glass substrate 1 including the inspection method.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a glass substrate inspection method for inspecting a dimensional change of a glass substrate, and a glass substrate manufacturing method including the inspection method.

  The manufacturing process of a TFT substrate which is a component of a liquid crystal display includes a process of patterning a film such as a transparent conductive film on a glass substrate using photolithography. Since this process involves heating, the glass substrate undergoes a dimensional change due to heat shrinkage. Here, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for inspecting a dimensional change of the glass substrate accompanying heating, although it relates to heat treatment, not heating during film formation on the glass substrate.

  In the technique disclosed in this document, a rectangular metal film pattern is formed on a glass substrate when the glass substrate is subjected to a heat treatment such as annealing. And the dimensional change which arises in a glass substrate is test | inspected by calculating the change of the width | variety between the opposite sides of the metal film pattern before and behind heat processing.

JP 2010-276526 A

  Inspecting the dimensional change as described above is important for forming a film on the glass substrate as designed. However, in recent years, with the progress of thinning of glass substrates to the extent that flexibility can be imparted, it has become difficult to perform film formation as designed only by examining dimensional changes accompanying heating. .

  This is presumably because the glass substrate is deformed and changes in dimensions due to the stress applied to the glass substrate in the process up to the completion of the TFT substrate. Specifically, due to the occurrence of deformation such as bending or warping in the glass substrate, as shown in FIG. 3, the apparent dimensional change in the glass substrate G before and after the deformation (the dimension S before deformation) It is assumed that the film formation as designed is hindered by the occurrence of a difference from the dimension S ′ after deformation. This is assumed because there are many cases where film formation cannot be performed as designed even when film formation is performed on a glass substrate under a heating condition in which the influence of heat shrinkage can be substantially ignored.

  Therefore, in order to perform film formation as designed on a flexible glass substrate, it is required to inspect the dimensional change of the glass substrate accompanying a stress load. However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is for inspecting a dimensional change caused by heating, and is not in a mode of applying stress to the glass substrate. Was inevitably impossible.

  This invention made | formed in view of said situation makes it a technical subject to enable the test | inspection of the dimensional change of the glass substrate accompanying the stress load about the flexible glass substrate.

  The present invention devised to solve the above-mentioned problems is a glass substrate inspection method for inspecting a dimensional change of a flexible glass substrate, and a mark forming step of forming a plurality of marks on the glass substrate; And a stress loading process for applying stress to the glass substrate after the mark forming process, and a dimension change indexing process for determining a dimensional change from a change in the distance between marks before and after the stress loading process. .

  According to this method, stress can be applied to the glass substrate as the stress loading process is performed. Then, by executing the dimension change indexing step, the dimension change of the glass substrate can be determined from the change in the distance between the marks before and after the stress loading step. Therefore, according to this method, it becomes possible to inspect the dimensional change of the glass substrate accompanying the stress load.

  In the above method, it is preferable to apply a stress of 10 MPa to 150 MPa in the stress loading step.

  For example, the magnitude of stress applied to the glass substrate in the TFT substrate manufacturing process is often in the range of 10 MPa to 150 MPa. For this reason, if the stress of the magnitude | size within the said range is loaded on a glass substrate, the dimensional change which arises in a glass substrate during manufacture of a TFT substrate can be test | inspected suitably.

  In the above method, in the stress loading step, the glass substrate is lifted and lowered with the glass substrate supported from below by a plurality of rods, the glass substrate is adsorbed by an adsorbing means, and the glass substrate is formed. It is preferable to perform at least one of the following.

  These treatments and treatments are frequently used for the glass substrate in the TFT substrate manufacturing process. Therefore, if at least one of these is performed on the glass substrate, it is possible to more suitably inspect the dimensional change that occurs in the glass substrate during the manufacture of the TFT substrate.

  In the above method, in the mark forming step, a mark is formed by sticking a plate having a metal film forming a coordinate reading figure formed on a glass substrate, and in the dimension change indexing step, a stress loading step It is preferable to calculate the distance between each other by reading the coordinates of each of the plurality of marks before and after.

  As the size of the glass substrate increases, it is necessary to introduce an expensive device for forming a high-accuracy mark (a mark that can be read with high accuracy) directly on the glass substrate. As a result, the cost required for the inspection increases. However, in this method, in the mark formation step, the mark is formed by sticking a plate piece on which a metal film forming a coordinate reading figure is formed to a glass substrate. As a result, it becomes possible to form a highly accurate mark indirectly on the glass substrate via the plate piece without introducing an expensive apparatus, and it is possible to perform inspection at a low cost.

  In said method, it is preferable that a plate piece is a glass plate piece which has the same composition as a glass substrate.

  If it does in this way, since a plate piece is a glass plate piece which has the same composition as a glass substrate, it will become easy to affix a plate piece to a glass substrate. In addition, even when both the plate and the glass substrate expand or contract with temperature change during the stress loading process, the stress is unreasonably caused by the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion of both. The situation of being loaded cannot occur.

  In the above method, the glass substrate is preferably a deposited substrate.

  A formed glass substrate tends to have a large dimensional change (deformation) when stress is applied in comparison with a simple glass substrate (non-deposited glass substrate). Therefore, if the inspection method according to the present invention is used for a glass substrate that has been formed, the inspection method can be used more effectively.

  In the above method, it is preferable that the shape of the glass substrate is rectangular and the size of the glass substrate is 500 mm square or more.

  A glass substrate having such a size is likely to undergo dimensional change (deformation) when stress is applied. Therefore, if the inspection method according to the present invention is used for a glass substrate of the size, the inspection method can be used more effectively.

  In the above method, in the mark forming step, it is preferable to form a mark at each of the four corner portions of the glass substrate.

  In this way, it is possible to inspect the dimensional change along each side of the glass substrate and the dimensional change along the diagonal direction, and to inspect the dimensional change along the main direction in the glass substrate. .

  Moreover, the manufacturing method of the glass substrate containing the inspection method of said glass substrate is test | inspected to the extract | collected glass substrate by the process of extract | collecting arbitrary glass substrates from the manufactured glass substrate, and said inspection method of glass substrate. And a step of performing. For this reason, the magnitude | size of the dimensional change of the glass substrate which arises with the load of stress can be estimated with high precision. Therefore, it becomes possible to confirm the quality of the glass substrate manufactured.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to test | inspect the dimensional change of the glass substrate accompanying the stress load about the flexible glass substrate.

It is a three-dimensional view which shows the manufacturing method of the glass substrate which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the mark formation process included in the manufacturing method of the glass substrate which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a side view for demonstrating the subject which invention intends to solve.

  Hereinafter, a glass substrate inspection method according to an embodiment of the present invention and a glass substrate manufacturing method including the inspection method will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In the method for manufacturing a glass substrate according to the present embodiment, for example, a forming original plate (glass original plate) is formed by a downdraw method, and an arbitrary glass substrate is formed from a plurality of glass substrates cut out (manufactured) from the forming original plate. Collect. Moreover, the dimensional change of the extract | collected glass substrate is test | inspected with the inspection method of the glass substrate mentioned later.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a glass substrate 1 to be inspected is a substrate having a rectangular shape and a size of 500 mm square or more. Moreover, this glass substrate 1 has flexibility. From the viewpoint of flexibility, the thickness of the glass substrate 1 is preferably 500 μm or less, more preferably 300 μm or less, still more preferably 200 μm or less, and most preferably 100 μm or less. On the other hand, the thickness of the glass substrate 1 is preferably 50 μm or more. Further, a film 1a is already formed on the glass substrate 1. The film 1a is, for example, an oxide film such as an ITO film, a metal film, or the like. The metal film is, for example, a film of Mo, Al, Ti, Cu or the like. Or it is the alloy film of those metals. The film 1a is formed by a vapor deposition method such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or a sputtering method. The film 1a may be a single layer or a multilayer. Further, the glass substrate 1 may be one in which the film 1a is not formed.

  The above-described inspection method includes a mark forming step P1 for forming a plurality (9 in this embodiment) of marks 2 on the glass substrate 1 and a distance L between the marks 2 formed on the glass substrate 1 is measured. 1 measurement process P2, stress loading process P3 of applying stress to the glass substrate 1 after measurement, and second measurement process P4 of measuring the mutual distance L ′ between the marks 2 on the glass substrate 1 after applying the stress. Including.

  Here, in this embodiment, with the execution of the first measurement process P2 and the second measurement process P4, the dimension is determined from the change (L′−L) in the distance between the marks 2 before and after the stress load process P3. I have figured out the change. That is, in this embodiment, the dimension change indexing process PP is configured by both the first measurement process P2 and the second measurement process P4.

  In the mark formation process P1, marks 2 are formed at a total of nine locations including four corner portions of the glass substrate 1, midpoints of the four sides of the glass substrate 1, and a central portion of the glass substrate 1. These nine marks 2 are formed on the same surface side of the front and back surfaces of the glass substrate 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the mark 2 is formed by attaching a glass plate piece 2 a on which a cross-shaped metal film 2 aa is formed to the glass substrate 1.

  The metal film 2aa can be formed on the glass plate piece 2a by sputtering, for example. The cross shape of the metal film 2aa is a figure for reading the coordinates (planar coordinates) of the mark 2 to measure the mutual distances L and L ′ in the first measurement process P2 and the second measurement process P4 to be executed later. It is. In the present embodiment, the coordinates of the center of the cross shape are read as the coordinates of the mark 2.

  The glass plate piece 2a is a rectangular plate piece made of glass having the same composition as the glass substrate 1, and is attached to the glass substrate 1 via an adhesive (not shown). As the adhesive, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin adhesive or the like can be used. The glass plate piece 2a is glass formed by an overflow downdraw method, and the front and back surfaces are formed smoothly.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the first measurement process P2, first, a camera 3 as an imaging means mounted on a two-dimensional coordinate measuring machine (not shown) is placed under a state where the glass substrate 1 is horizontally laid flat. Use to read the coordinates of each mark 2. The camera 3 can move horizontally along the X direction and the Y direction orthogonal to the X direction shown in FIG. That is, the coordinates of each mark 2 to be read are XY coordinates. Further, the coordinates of each mark 2 to be read are absolute coordinates. Thereafter, the distance L between the marks 2 is measured from the read coordinates of the marks 2. In the present embodiment, since nine marks 2 are formed, a total of 36 distances L between the marks 2 can be measured, but FIG. 1 shows one of these. .

  In the stress loading process P3, in a manufacturing process of a product having the glass substrate 1 as a component (in this embodiment, a TFT substrate is taken as an example), the glass substrate 1 is reproduced in a manner in which treatments and processes performed on the glass substrate 1 are reproduced. 1 is stressed.

  Each of the three modes shown in FIG. 1 (the illustration of the mark 2 is omitted in each drawing showing the stress loading step P3 in FIG. 1) is a TFT substrate which is a product having the glass substrate 1 as a component. In the manufacturing process, treatments and treatments performed on the glass substrate 1 are reproduced. In these three aspects, all apply stress to the glass substrate 1 by applying an external force. In the present embodiment, at least one of these three aspects is performed on the glass substrate 1. In addition, the magnitude | size of the stress loaded on the glass substrate 1 in each of three aspects is adjusted so that it may become in the range of 10 MPa-150 MPa using a well-known analysis method.

  A 1st aspect is an aspect which raises / lowers the glass substrate 1 in the state which supported the glass substrate 1 from the downward direction with the pin 4 as a some rod-shaped body. The plurality of pins 4 can be moved in and out with respect to the support surface 5 a formed on the surface plate 5 for supporting the glass substrate 1. The glass substrate 1 placed on the surface plate 5 is lifted from the support surface 5 a by the plurality of pins 4, and then lowered onto the support surface 5 a and placed on the surface plate 5. Along with this operation, stress is applied to the glass substrate 1. At this time, the glass substrate 1 may be bent so as to wave.

  The second mode is a mode in which the glass substrate 1 is sucked by the suction means of the surface plate 6. A large number of suction holes (not shown) are formed in the support surface 6a formed on the surface plate 6 for supporting the glass substrate 1, and each suction hole can suck the glass substrate 1 by negative pressure. It is possible. The glass substrate 1 is adsorbed onto the support surface 6a of the surface plate 6 by the large number of suction holes. Along with this adsorption, stress is applied to the glass substrate 1. At this time, the glass substrate 1 may be bent so as to wave.

  The third mode is a mode in which the film 1 b is formed on the glass substrate 1. As with the film 1a, the film 1b can be, for example, an oxide film or a metal film, and can be formed by an evaporation method, a sputtering method, or the like. In the present embodiment, since the film 1a is already formed on the glass substrate 1 before the film 1b is formed, the film 1b is formed so as to overlap the already formed film 1a. Along with this film formation, a stress is applied to the glass substrate 1. At this time, the glass substrate 1 may be warped.

  In the second measurement process P4, the distance L 'between the marks 2 is measured in the same manner as in the first measurement process P2. When this second measurement step P4 is completed, the difference (L′−L) between the mutual distance L measured in the first measurement step P2 and the mutual distance L ′ measured in the second measurement step P4 is a glass substrate. 1 is determined as a dimensional change. Thus, the glass substrate inspection method according to this embodiment is completed.

  Hereinafter, main actions and effects of the glass substrate inspection method and the glass substrate manufacturing method including the inspection method will be described.

  According to said inspection method, it is possible to load a stress to the glass substrate 1 with execution of the stress loading process P3. And by execution of the 1st measurement process P2 and the 2nd measurement process P4 (dimension change indexing process PP), the dimensional change of glass substrate 1 from the change of mutual distance L of marks 2 before and after stress loading process P3 is carried out. Can be determined. Therefore, it becomes possible to inspect the dimensional change of the glass substrate 1 accompanying the stress load. Moreover, according to said manufacturing method, the glass substrate 1 which can estimate the magnitude | size of the dimensional change which arises with the stress load with high precision can be manufactured.

  Here, the inspection method and the manufacturing method of the glass substrate according to the present invention are not limited to the aspects described in the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the distance between the marks before and after the stress loading process is measured, but the distance between the marks before the stress loading process is It may be calculated after execution. That is, before executing the stress loading process, only the coordinates of each mark are read, and the distance between the marks is not measured. And after execution of a stress load process, based on the coordinate of each mark read before execution, you may make it calculate the mutual distance of the marks before execution of a stress load process.

  Further, the shape of the mark is not limited to a cross shape, and may be other shapes as long as the coordinates of the mark can be read. For example, a circular shape or a polygonal shape (triangular shape or quadrangular shape, for example) may be used. In the case of a circular shape or a polygonal shape, the contour of the mark may be formed in these shapes, and the region in the contour may be filled.

  Furthermore, the formation of the mark is not limited to the form in which the glass plate piece on which the metal film is formed is attached to the glass substrate, and for example, a form in which printing is performed by a printer may be employed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Glass substrate 1a Film | membrane 1b Film | membrane 2 Mark 2a Glass plate piece 2aa Metal film 4 Pin 6 Surface plate L Distance between L L 'Distance between P1 Mark formation process P2 1st measurement process P3 Stress loading process P4 2nd measurement process PP Dimensions Change indexing process

Claims (9)

A glass substrate inspection method for inspecting a dimensional change of a flexible glass substrate,
Mark forming step for forming a plurality of marks on the glass substrate, a stress loading step for applying stress to the glass substrate after the mark forming step, and a change in the distance between the marks before and after the stress loading step And a dimensional change indexing step of determining the dimensional change from the above.   The method for inspecting a glass substrate according to claim 1, wherein in the stress loading step, the stress having a magnitude of 10 MPa to 150 MPa is applied.   In the stress loading step, the glass substrate is lifted and lowered while being supported from below by a plurality of rod-shaped bodies, the glass substrate is sucked by a suction means, and the glass substrate is formed. The method for inspecting a glass substrate according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the following is performed. In the mark forming step, the mark is formed by attaching a plate piece on which a metal film forming a figure for coordinate reading is formed to the glass substrate,
The inter-distance is calculated by reading coordinates in each of the plurality of marks before and after the stress loading step in the dimension change indexing step. Inspection method for glass substrates.   The said board piece is a glass plate piece which has the same composition as the said glass substrate, The inspection method of the glass substrate of Claim 4 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The said glass substrate is a board | substrate formed into a film, The inspection method of the glass substrate in any one of Claims 1-5 characterized by the above-mentioned. The shape of the glass substrate is rectangular,
The glass substrate inspection method according to claim 1, wherein the glass substrate has a size of 500 mm square or more.   The said mark formation process WHEREIN: The said mark is formed in each of the four corner parts in the said glass substrate, The inspection method of the glass substrate of Claim 7 characterized by the above-mentioned.   A step of collecting an arbitrary glass substrate from the manufactured glass substrate, and a step of inspecting the collected glass substrate by the method for inspecting a glass substrate according to claim 1. Manufacturing method.

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