JP3051623B2 - Automatic correction method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic repairing method for repairing defects in an active matrix substrate assembled as a display device or an active matrix substrate before assembly using an automatic repairing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The active matrix substrate described above
As an example, the one shown in FIG. 4 is known. This active matrix substrate has a pixel electrode 53 on an insulating substrate.
Are arranged in a matrix and are arranged so that the scanning electrode lines 51 and the signal electrode lines 52 intersect with each other passing through the periphery of the pixel electrodes 53, and are connected to each of the pixel electrodes 53. Reference numeral 56 is connected to the scanning electrode lines 51 and the signal electrode lines 52.

[0003] When a defect is present in the active matrix substrate having such a configuration, an automatic repair method using an automatic repair apparatus has been conventionally employed for repairing the defect. In the automatic repair method, a repair work is defined for each defect mode, and the repair work is performed as follows.

[0004] First, a normal shape pattern at a correction position for each defect mode is registered as an image in an image processing device provided in the automatic correction device.

[0005] Next, the image processing apparatus performs pattern matching by comparing the registered shape pattern with the pattern of each part in the picture element having a defect, and obtains a part having the same shape pattern as the registered shape pattern. Find out. Prior to this, the defective portions of the active matrix substrate are not configured to be able to display the active matrix substrate for each picture element, or if the liquid crystal display device is assembled, pseudo display driving is performed to perform picture display. Is detected as a unit.

[0006] Next, at a predetermined position of the searched portion,
Irradiation with light energy such as laser light or the like is performed to perform correction according to each defect mode. As an example of the correction according to each defect mode, when a thin film transistor (TFT) has a defect, as shown in FIG. 4, light energy is applied to three places 56 a, 56 b, and 56 c of the TFT 56. Done.

[0007]

However, in the case of using the conventional automatic correction method, the above-described image processing apparatus requires:
Even if the registered shape pattern is slightly different from the shape pattern of the correction portion, the correction is performed, so that there is a problem that another defect mode may occur depending on the content of the correction work. The details will be described below.

For example, even if there is a pattern defect 66 causing a point defect in the repaired portion due to foreign matter mixing or etching residue on the substrate in the TFT manufacturing process as shown in FIG. The image processing apparatus automatically corrects three positions of the TFT as in the case of FIG. 4 unless a pattern matching error occurs.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the three positions of the TFT are irradiated with light energy, but the TFT 55 cannot be separated from the scanning electrode line 51, and the TFT 55 is also separated from the signal electrode line 52.
A signal is input to 55. Therefore, there is a problem that the scanning electrode lines 51 and the signal electrode lines 52 leak in the TFT 55 to cause line defects.

Although the above description has been made on the case where another defect mode occurs even after the repair work is performed, the same defect mode may remain without being corrected even after the repair work is performed. In such a case, the correction work itself is wasted, and the problem that the work efficiency is deteriorated is caused.

Further, in the case of the conventional automatic correction method, even if a deviation of the irradiation position of light energy such as a laser beam or an abnormality of the energy intensity occurs, the correction is not performed. Mistakes occur one after another,
This has led to lower yields. The present invention has been made to solve such a problem of the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic correction method capable of improving work efficiency. It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic correction method capable of preventing a subsequent occurrence of correction errors and improving the yield.

[0011]

According to the automatic correction method of the present invention, a pixel electrode is arranged in a matrix on an insulating substrate, and an electrode line is routed around the pixel electrode.
A defective portion in the active matrix substrate in which the thin film transistor connected to each of the picture element electrodes is connected to the electrode line is detected as an image by an image processing device provided in the automatic repair device, and then the defective portion is detected. An automatic repair method for performing repair by a light energy irradiation device provided in the automatic repair device based on a repair operation determined for each defect mode of the active matrix substrate, wherein the image processing device includes Corresponding normal thin film tiger
In addition to registering the shape pattern of the transistor, the normal
Setting a threshold value of a pattern matching degree indicating a ratio similar to the shape pattern of the thin film transistor , and detecting the shape pattern of the thin film transistor at the defective portion as an image by the image processing apparatus, and Defective part
Since the method includes a step of determining whether or not to perform the correction based on the pattern matching degree of the shape pattern of the thin film transistor and the set threshold value, the above object is achieved.

Another automatic correction method according to the present invention is directed to an insulating substrate.
The picture element electrodes are arranged in a matrix on the
An electrode line is routed around the periphery of the electrode, and each of the pixel electrodes is
The thin film transistors connected individually are connected to the electrode lines
The active matrix substrate
Detected as an image by the image processing device provided in the motion correction device
After that, the active matrix is
Based on the repair work determined for each defect mode of the substrate,
With the light energy irradiation device provided in the automatic correction device
An automatic correction method for performing correction, wherein the image processing apparatus includes:
Register a normal shape pattern corresponding to the defect mode
Along with the normal shape pattern of the defect location to be detected.
Pattern matching showing ratios similar to shape patterns
Setting a threshold value of the degree, and the image processing apparatus
The shape pattern of the defective portion is detected as an image and detected.
Pattern matching degree of the shape pattern
Based on the certain threshold value, it is determined whether or not to perform the correction.
And registering , in the image processing apparatus, the corrected shape pattern in which the correction work has been normally performed on the defective portion, and the normal shape pattern of the corrected shape pattern detected. A threshold value of a second pattern matching degree indicating a ratio similar to the above is set, the corrected shape pattern is detected as an image by the image processing apparatus, and the pattern matching degree of the detected corrected shape pattern is detected. including the, on the basis of the said threshold value are set, and a step of detecting an abnormality of the optical energy applicator
Therefore, the above object is achieved.

[0013]

According to the present invention, a normal shape pattern corresponding to a defect mode is registered in the image processing apparatus, and a pattern matching degree indicating a ratio similar to the normal shape pattern of the shape pattern of the detected defective portion is registered. Threshold is set.

The pattern matching degree is 1.0 when the registered shape pattern and the shape pattern of the corrected portion are exactly the same, and when there is a pattern collapse as shown in FIG. Lower accordingly. FIG.
6A, the pattern matching degree between the TFT patterns 71 and 72 is 0.9, and in FIG. 6B, the pattern matching degree between the TFT patterns 73 and 74 is 0.6, and FIG. ), The degree of pattern matching between the TFT patterns 75 and 76 is 0.5.

If a certain value is set as the threshold value in such a pattern matching degree, the image processing apparatus determines that the correction work is not performed if the value is less than the threshold value, and narrows down to those having a correction effect. Corrections can be made.

Further, in the present invention, the corrected shape pattern in which the repair work has been normally performed on the defective portion is registered in the image processing apparatus, and the corrected shape pattern detected is further registered. A second pattern matching degree threshold value indicating a ratio similar to a normal shape pattern is set.

The second degree of pattern matching is determined in accordance with the degree of correction error such as deviation of the irradiation position of light energy or abnormal energy intensity, and substantially the light energy such as laser light shown in FIG. The determination is made based on the trace 87. FIG. 7A shows a case where the energy intensity is abnormal,
The pattern matching degree between the patterns 81 and 82 is 0.6
It is. FIG. 7B shows a case where the irradiation position of the light energy is shifted, and the degree of pattern matching between the patterns 83 and 84 is 0.6. FIG. 7C shows a case where the irradiation position shift of the light energy and the abnormal energy intensity occur simultaneously, and the pattern matching degree between the patterns 85 and 86 is 0.5. This second pattern matching degree is:
The value becomes lower as the degree of correction error such as deviation of the irradiation position of light energy or abnormal energy intensity becomes more severe.

In the second pattern matching degree, when a certain value is set as the threshold value, the image processing apparatus can detect the abnormality of the light energy irradiating apparatus when the value is less than the threshold value.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows a system configuration diagram of an automatic correction apparatus used in this embodiment. In this automatic correction device, an image processing device 11 and a system control personal computer 12 are connected to an automatic correction device main body 10. The automatic repair apparatus main body 10 has a function of irradiating light energy such as laser light, and has an XY stage on which a liquid crystal display device or an active matrix substrate is mounted and which moves a repair position.

The image processing apparatus 11 has a pattern matching function for automatically recognizing a correction position in a defective picture element electrode. For example, a YV200 manufactured by Yaskawa Electric Corporation is used.

The system control personal computer 12 controls the movement of the liquid crystal display device and the active matrix substrate and irradiates light energy to the automatic correction device main body 10, and controls the image processing device 11 to determine the correction position. It has a function to control recognition. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an active matrix substrate having a normal shape pattern. In this active matrix substrate, pixel electrodes 23 are formed in a matrix on an insulating substrate.
, A plurality of scanning electrode lines 21 and a plurality of signal electrode lines 22 are wired so as to cross each other, and a TFT 24 connected to each pixel electrode 23 is connected to the scanning electrode line 21 and the signal electrode line 22. ing.

FIG. 3 shows a part of such a normal active matrix substrate in which a pattern collapse has occurred due to, for example, an etching defect during pattern formation. This figure 3
In the above, reference numeral 35 denotes a TFT having a pattern collapse.

Next, an automatic repairing method by the automatic repairing apparatus will be described with reference to a defect mode shown in FIG. 3 as an example.

First, a normal TFT shape pattern having no defect mode shown in FIG. 3 is registered as an image in the image processing apparatus 11 in advance. In addition, the image processing device 11
The threshold value of the degree of pattern matching at which the degree of deformation of the shape pattern of the FT is small and a correction effect is obtained is set via the system control personal computer 12. As described with reference to FIG. 6 in the column of operation, this threshold value is used to determine whether the correction effect is obtained after the correction work is actually performed or not. Discrimination is performed in consideration of the matching degree, and a pattern matching degree at which a correction effect is obtained after performing the correction work is adopted.

Next, a defective portion where the TFT shape pattern is broken on the active matrix substrate is detected in units of picture elements. In this detection, for an active matrix substrate before being assembled as a liquid crystal display device, an inspection device including a counter substrate having a counter electrode and a liquid crystal layer is disposed on the active matrix substrate so as to face each other, and each pixel is It is implemented with a configuration that can be displayed. Also,
When the liquid crystal display device is assembled, pseudo display driving is performed.

Next, based on the detection result, the position of the defective picture element is input to the main body 10 of the automatic correction device and the image processing device 11 through the personal computer 12 for system control.

Next, the automatic correction device main body 10 moves the active matrix substrate by the XY stage,
The correction location is located in the field of view of the image processing device 11. Further, the image processing device 11 stores the registered shape pattern,
Pattern matching is performed by comparing the pattern of each part in the picture element having a defect, and a part having the same shape pattern as the registered shape pattern is searched for.

Next, the image processing apparatus 11 detects the pattern matching degree of the found portion, that is, the shape pattern of the TFT, and compares the detected pattern matching degree with the above-mentioned threshold value. When the detected pattern matching degree is lower than the threshold value, it is determined that the correction work is not performed. When the detected pattern matching degree is equal to or larger than the threshold value, it is determined that the correction work is performed, and the correction work command is issued. A signal is given to the automatic correction device main body 10.

Next, the automatic correction device main body 10 receives the above-mentioned correction operation command signal, and uses the light energy irradiation function to apply light energy such as laser light to a predetermined position in the searched portion, that is, the TFT of the TFT. Irradiate to three places to make corrections.

Therefore, according to the method of the present invention,
By performing the magnitude comparison between the detection pattern matching degree and the threshold in this way, it is determined whether or not to perform the correction work,
For those that are insufficiently repaired even after the repair work is performed, unnecessary repairs are not performed and no other defects are generated, so that the work efficiency of the repair work can be improved and the yield is improved. Can be. Further, for example, when the threshold value of the pattern matching degree of the image processing apparatus 11 is set to 0.7 and the above-described determination is performed on the shape patterns having different degrees of pattern collapse, another defect mode is changed by the correction work. It has been found that it is possible to prevent a correction operation that would otherwise occur or that would not provide a correction effect.

As the threshold value set in the image processing apparatus 11, different values are used depending on the defect mode to be corrected, the image processing apparatus and the correction apparatus to be used, the shape of the active matrix substrate, and the like.

(Embodiment 2) In this embodiment, a corrected shape pattern is detected for a portion corrected as in Embodiment 1, and whether or not there is an abnormality in the light energy irradiation function of the automatic correction device is determined. Is to determine whether

Before performing the correction work of the first embodiment,
The image processing apparatus 11 further registers a corrected shape pattern in which the correction work is normally performed on the defective portion, and detects a ratio of the detected corrected shape pattern similar to the normal shape pattern. Is set in advance. As the normally-corrected shape pattern to be registered, 8 shown in FIG.
1, 83 and 85 correspond. Further, as the threshold value of the second pattern matching degree to be set, as shown in FIG. 7, the light energy irradiation position after the correction work is actually performed, the light energy irradiation width related to the energy intensity, and the like. With respect to the light energy irradiation position and irradiation width, both the normal light energy irradiation position and irradiation width are identified by considering the pattern matching degree of both, and the normal light energy irradiation position and irradiation width are obtained. Adopt a degree of pattern matching.

Next, the image processing device 11 detects the corrected shape pattern as an image, and determines the pattern matching degree of the detected corrected shape pattern and the set second degree.
It is detected whether or not there is an abnormality in the light energy irradiation function based on the threshold value of the pattern matching degree.
At this time, if the detected pattern matching degree is lower than the threshold value, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the light energy irradiation function, and the subsequent correction is stopped and the light energy irradiation function is inspected / repaired. On the other hand, if the detected pattern matching degree is equal to or larger than the threshold value, it is determined that the light energy irradiation function is normal, and the correction work is continued thereafter.

As described above, when it is determined whether or not the light energy irradiating function is abnormal based on the corrected shape pattern, the light energy irradiating function is inspected and repaired when the abnormality is detected. Since the repair work is temporarily stopped, it is possible to prevent a continuous repair error.

As the threshold value registered in the image processing apparatus 11 described above, an optimum value which can immediately cope with a situation where the correction work is adversely affected by a shift in the irradiation position of light energy or an abnormal energy intensity is adopted. . It has been found that, when 0.8 is adopted as the value, when an abnormality that adversely affects the correction operation occurs, a pattern matching error occurs immediately, and the correction can be interrupted.

As the threshold value of the second pattern matching degree, an optimum value suitable for the defect mode to be corrected, the image processing apparatus and the correction apparatus to be used, the shape of the active matrix substrate, and the like is adopted. Is good.

[0039]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, even if a repair operation is performed by recognizing and judging the degree of pattern deformation of a defective portion, there is no repair effect, or another defect mode. Since a repair operation is not performed on a defective portion that may cause a defect, a wasteful repair operation can be omitted, and the repair efficiency can be improved. In addition, for a defective portion where another defect mode may be generated, an effective repair operation may be performed in a subsequent process, so that the repair effect of the active matrix substrate and the liquid crystal display device may be reduced. Improvement can be achieved.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to detect the deviation of the irradiation position of the light energy and the presence or absence of the abnormality of the energy intensity.
When an abnormality occurs, the correction is stopped, so that it is possible to prevent subsequent correction errors and improve the correction efficiency.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an automatic correction device used in a first embodiment and a second embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an active matrix substrate having a normal pattern.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an active matrix substrate in which pattern collapse has occurred.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a shape after an active matrix substrate having a normal pattern is automatically corrected.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a shape after automatic correction is performed on an active matrix substrate in which pattern distortion has occurred.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a pattern matching degree used in the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for describing a second pattern matching degree used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Automatic correction apparatus main body 11 Image processing apparatus 12 System control personal computer 21 Scanning electrode line 22 Signal electrode line 23 Pixel electrode 24 TFT 35 TFT in which pattern distortion has occurred 81, 83, 85 Corrected shape applied normally pattern

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pixel electrode is arranged in a matrix on an insulating substrate, an electrode line is routed around the pixel electrode, and a thin film transistor connected to each of the pixel electrodes is A defective portion in the active matrix substrate connected to the line was detected as an image by an image processing device provided in the automatic repair device, and thereafter, the defective portion was determined for each defect mode of the active matrix substrate. An automatic repair method for performing repair by a light energy irradiation device provided in the automatic repair device based on a repair operation, wherein the image processing device has a normal thin film corresponding to the defect mode.
Registers the shape pattern of the transistor, and setting a threshold value of the pattern matching degree indicating a ratio similar to the shape pattern of the normal TFT shape pattern of the thin film transistor of the defective portion to be detected, the image processing apparatus By detecting the shape pattern of the thin film transistor at the defective portion as an image, the detected defective portion
And determining whether to perform the correction based on the pattern matching degree of the shape pattern of the thin film transistor and the set threshold value. 2. Pixel electrodes are arranged in a matrix on an insulating substrate.
And the electrode wire passes through the periphery of the picture element electrode.
Thin-film transistors wired and connected to each of the pixel electrodes
An active matrix substrate in which the
Image processing provided in the automatic repair equipment
Detected as an image by the
And determined for each defect mode of the active matrix substrate.
Based on the repair work performed, the light
This is an automatic correction method that performs correction using an energy irradiation device.
Therefore , the image processing apparatus has a normal shape corresponding to the defect mode.
Register the pattern and detect the defect shape
Indicates a ratio of the pattern that is similar to the normal shape pattern
Setting a threshold value of the pattern matching degree, and forming an image of the shape pattern of the defective portion by the image processing apparatus.
As a pattern match of the detected shape pattern
And ring degree, and based on the and the threshold value are set, the
A step of determining whether or not to make a correction ; and further, in the image processing apparatus, further registering a corrected shape pattern in which the correction work has been normally performed on the defective portion, and detecting the corrected shape to be detected. A threshold value of a second pattern matching degree indicating a ratio similar to the normal shape pattern of the pattern is set, and the corrected shape pattern is detected as an image by the image processing apparatus, and the detected corrected pattern matching of the shape pattern of, based on the said threshold value are set, automatic correction method comprising the step of detecting an abnormality of the optical energy applicator.