JP3321733B2 - Exposure equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus for exposing an identification code on a substrate, and more preferably to a history management and a quality control for each process of a substrate such as a glass substrate used in a liquid crystal manufacturing process or the like. The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus that exposes a plurality of identification codes to be exposed, and an exposure apparatus that not only exposes codes but also has a function of exposing unnecessary resist around the substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal panel, when a predetermined resin is applied to a glass substrate, a circuit pattern is formed by a pattern exposure device, and a substrate identification code, a panel identification code and the like are formed by an identification exposure device. Unnecessary resist portions in the peripheral portion of the substrate are respectively exposed by the exposure device, and after the exposure, are developed by the developing device.

Then, one or a plurality of liquid crystal panels are manufactured from one glass substrate which has been subjected to a predetermined process.

The glass substrate 50 is marked with a substrate identification code 50a for identifying the substrate as shown in FIG. 2, and is used for history management and quality control for improving the yield of each process and the entire production line. It's being used.

Further, a panel identification code 51a to which an array number of each liquid crystal panel 51 is added is marked so that the liquid crystal panel 51 can be identified even after being divided into a plurality of liquid crystal panels 51 from one glass substrate 50. The cutting position identification code 50b for determining the cutting position is marked and used for cutting into a plurality of liquid crystal panels 51.

The board identification code 50a, the cutting position identification code 50b, the panel identification code 51a, etc.
Marking is often made around the zero.

The marking of the board identification code 50a, the cutting position identification code 50b, and the panel identification code 51a is 1
It is an example of the use of a part, and it goes without saying that the name, quantity, and the like change.

The exposure of the identification codes such as the substrate identification code 50a, the cutting position identification code 50b, and the panel identification code 51a is performed by moving the stage holding the glass substrate by NC control with the exposure unit fixed. An exposure apparatus that exposes an identification code to a predetermined position on a glass substrate is used.

[0009]

However, as the size of the glass substrate increases and the number of liquid crystal panels that can be formed from one glass substrate increases, the number of panel identification codes 51b increases, and all the panel identification codes are changed. Exposure takes time.

Therefore, the present inventors have developed an apparatus for exposing a plurality of identification codes with a plurality of movable exposure units. In such an exposure apparatus, a plurality of exposure heads are mounted in order to complete processing within a certain time even if the number of identification codes to be exposed increases.

In this case, the exposure unit comprises a light source unit for exposing a photosensitive agent, a reticle unit for displaying an identification code, and a projection optical system unit for projecting the displayed identification code on a glass substrate. It is installed.

In the exposure unit having such a structure, it is necessary to provide the same number of light source units as the number of mechanisms for displaying and projecting the identification code. As the number of identification codes to be exposed at the same time increases, the number of light source units increases.

When the light emitted from the light source unit is transmitted to the projection optical system using a light guide mechanism, the number of light guides also increases.

When the number of light source units and light guides increases, it is necessary to reduce the time and labor required for replacement and variations in individual performance, which makes the handling troublesome.

Accordingly, the present invention is to provide an exposure apparatus which is easy to handle even if a plurality of exposure heads are employed.

[0016]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of exposure units for exposing an identification code on a substrate coated with a photosensitive material are movably disposed, respectively, and the exposure unit is provided with a plurality of exposure units. The light source of the unit can be shared.

Next, a second aspect of the present invention is the first aspect.
In the invention described in (1), a light shielding mechanism is provided between the light source and the substrate coated with the photosensitive material.

Further, the invention according to claim 3 provides the invention according to claim 1.
Or a light source of the plurality of exposure units, and a light source of the plurality of exposure units, wherein a light source of the plurality of exposure units is provided near the plurality of exposure units. Are configured to be shareable.

[0019]

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of an exposure apparatus according to the present invention. The exposure apparatus includes a stage 1 for holding a glass substrate 50 in a horizontal state, and a base so as to be positioned above the stage 1. (Not shown), and an exposure mechanism 2 for exposing all or any of the identification codes as shown in FIG. 2, that is, the substrate identification code 50a, the cutting position identification code 50b, and the panel identification code 51a, and the peripheral portion of the substrate. And a peripheral exposure mechanism 3 for exposing unnecessary resist portions. The stage 1 may be configured to hold the glass substrate in a flat surface, may be configured to have a reduced-pressure suction hole connected to a reduced-pressure source, may be configured to have a supporting pin protruding, or use a glass substrate. The glass substrate 50 is held in a horizontal state or a vertical state by using a structure having a mechanism for gripping the side of the glass substrate 50.

The stage 1 is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction (Y direction) in the horizontal direction and the left-right direction (X direction) or in the vertical direction (Z direction) in the vertical direction and the left-right direction (X direction). It can be configured to be vertically movable.

When the position of the glass substrate 50 supplied to the stage 1 is shifted, the amount of the position shift is measured and the stage 1 is rotated or moved in the front-back direction (Y direction) and the left-right direction (X direction). To adjust the displacement. Further, for example, an L-shaped alignment guide may be provided on the stage 1, and the glass substrate 50 may be pressed against the alignment guide to perform the alignment.

The exposure mechanism 2 is fixedly mounted on a base (not shown) via a connecting member 7 and is movably mounted in the left and right direction (X direction) along the fixed guide rail 4. A plurality of sliders 8 and each of the sliders 8 are vertically moved (Z
) And the light source 30.

A slider 8 movably mounted on the fixed guide rail 4, an exposure unit 9, and a focus adjustment mechanism 10
Can be appropriately set according to the number of panel identification codes 51a, and each mechanism can be moved to a predetermined position.

The fixed guide rail 4 is provided with a propulsion field magnet (N pole and S pole along the longitudinal direction) extending in a certain direction.
A slider formed of a stator having magnets whose poles are alternately magnetized at equal pitch) and a magnetic information magnetizing member (encoder chart) is used, and a slider 8 is provided with a movable element having an armature coil and a magnetic information magnetizing member. The magnetic head is formed by a magnetic head capable of forming, erasing, and reading magnetic information (encoder information such as position detection and speed control) provided on the mover so as to face the magnetic part.

The slider 8 is replaced with a screw motor (a focus adjusting mechanism 1) having a screw shaft and a nut screwed on the screw shaft, instead of the linear motor mechanism described above.
It is needless to say that the moving mechanism is not limited to these moving mechanisms.

The exposure unit 9 has a condenser lens for efficiently condensing the UV light 31 radiated from the light source means 30 at the end, a filter for attenuating light of an unnecessary wavelength, and a light for transmitting a predetermined light. A configuration in which a polarizing plate on the incident light side to be made, a reticle for displaying an arbitrary character or figure, a polarizing plate on the outgoing light side for transmitting a predetermined light beam, a beam splitter such as a half mirror, a prism, and a projection lens are housed. It has become.

The exposure unit 9 is provided with a CCD camera for capturing an image from the beam splitter, and the light reflected from the glass substrate 50 or the surface of the stage 1 enters from the projection lens, and the angle is changed by the beam splitter. The image is captured by a CCD camera, and the image is displayed on a television (not shown). The image data is sent from the CCD camera to a control device (not shown), and focus adjustment, reticle position adjustment, and the like are performed in comparison with preset data.

The operator can adjust the focus, adjust the position of the reticle, and the like by manual operation while viewing the image displayed on the television.

When there is no need to check the focus, check the exposure position, adjust the focus, adjust the position of the reticle, etc., the CCD camera can be omitted.

The focus adjusting mechanism 10 has a movable member for mounting a case of the exposure unit 9 which moves vertically along a guide formed on the slider 8, and a pulse motor for driving connected to an end portion thereof. And a nut that is rotatably attached to the slider 8 in a state perpendicular to the slider 8 and a nut that is screwed to the screw shaft and attached to the exposure unit attaching member.

Instead of the screw shaft and the nut, a ball screw shaft and a nut screwed to the ball screw shaft can be used.

It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the exposure unit 9 is directly mounted on the slider 8 without providing the focus adjustment mechanism 10, or a configuration in which the exposure unit 9 is mounted on the slider 8 by an articulated mechanism.

A configuration in which the slider 8 can be moved vertically without the focus adjustment mechanism 10 is provided.
Needless to say, the stage 1 can be configured to be movable in the vertical direction (Z direction), and the stage 1 can be configured to be movable in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, a group of light shielding plates 41-1, 41-2, 41-3 and 41-4 are provided between the exposure units 9, and the UV light emitted from the light source means 30 is provided. The light 31 is shielded so as not to leak onto the substrate. Further, as a mechanism for shielding the UV light 31, a light shielding film 42- as shown in FIG.
1, 42-2, 42-3, and 42-4, and a light-shielding film winding mechanism 43-1, 43-2, 43-3, and 43-4 for winding them.
Needless to say, there are other cases.

The peripheral exposure mechanism 3 includes a light source means 30 for exposing unnecessary resist on the periphery of the glass substrate 50,
In order to irradiate the UV light 31 radiated from the light source means 30 efficiently and uniformly to the glass substrate 50, the reflection plate 33, the diffusion plate 34, and the specific peripheral exposure portion 52, the peripheral exposure portion 52 is provided. A light-shielding mask 35b having a notch of substantially the same shape as that of the light-shielding mask 35b, and a light-shielding mask holder 3 for maintaining a constant distance between the light-shielding mask 35b and the glass substrate 50
The light-shielding masks 35a, 35c, and 35d each have a cutout shape for exposing a specific area different from the light-shielding masks 7 and 35b, and the light-shielding mask holder 36 that holds the light-shielding masks 35a, 35c, and 35d.

The light-shielding mask holder 36 is moved in the vertical direction (z direction) by a light-shielding mask holder moving mechanism 39 attached to a base (not shown), and the light-shielding mask 35 is replaced if necessary.

The light shielding mask holder moving mechanism 39 is a motor 3
9e, a gear 39 for transmitting the rotation of the motor 39e
f, a belt 39g for transmitting a linear motion in accordance with the movement of the gear 39f, and a moving mechanism 39a attached to the belt 39g. Other means may be used.

The light source means 30 incorporates a lamp 30a and a shutter 32 for intermittently blocking UV light 31 emitted from the lamp 30a. Lamp 30
“a” may be a case where light is continuously irradiated or a case where light is emitted once or a plurality of times only for a very short time like a strobe light.

Light source means 3 of exposure mechanism 2 and peripheral exposure mechanism 3
Although the illumination moving mechanism 38 is provided at 0 to be able to move in the front-back direction (y direction), it may be provided separately.

The emission time of the ultraviolet light of the light source means 30 described above,
The light emission interval, the moving speed and the moving amount of the slider 8, the amount of rotation of the step motor of the focus adjusting means 10 and the like are controlled by a control device such as a computer having functions such as an input function, a storage function, a comparison operation function, and an operation command function (FIG. (Not shown).

Glass substrate 50 for stage 1 described above
The supply of the glass substrate 50 and the removal of the exposed glass substrate 50 are performed by a glass substrate transfer robot, a shuttle transfer mechanism, a roller conveyor, or the like, or manually by an operator.

Next, a method for exposing a substrate using the exposure apparatus of the present invention will be described. First, when the glass substrate 50 is supplied and positioned on the stage 1 of the above-described exposure apparatus, the slider 8 of the exposure mechanism 2 moves to a predetermined position in the x direction based on an output signal from a control device (not shown). At the same time, the sliders 8 move to predetermined positions in the y direction, respectively, and each of the exposure units 9
Is moved to the exposure position, the pulse motor of the focus adjusting means 10 is operated based on the output signal from the control device (not shown), and the exposure unit 9 is moved to the predetermined irradiation height position. Then, based on an output signal from a control device (not shown), the light source means 30 operates to emit ultraviolet rays so that predetermined characters and images are formed. When the ultraviolet light is irradiated onto the glass substrate 50 and the reflected light is captured by the CCD camera, the focus state and the exposure position of the panel identification code 51a are confirmed. If there is an exposure unit 9 out of focus, When the corresponding pulse motor of the focus adjustment means 10 rotates forward or backward, the exposure unit 9 is rotated.
Is raised and lowered for focusing, and if there is an exposure unit 9 in which the exposure position is out of alignment, the corresponding slider 8
Moves to correct the exposure position. When each exposure unit 9 is set by these operations, the light source 30
Operates to expose the panel identification code 51a, the cutting position identification code 51b, the substrate identification code 50a, and the like.

After or before the exposure operation by the exposure unit 9, the stage 1 is moved to a predetermined position and the glass substrate 50 is moved.
Is moved to a position where the unnecessary resist portion 52 in the periphery of the light source is exposed, the shutter 32 in the light source means 30 is actuated based on an output signal from a control device (not shown), and the cutout of the light-shielding mask 35b is substantially the same. The glass substrate 50 is irradiated with the UV light 31 in the shape shown in FIG.

When one side of the glass substrate 50 is exposed, the stage 1 moves in the xyθ direction and moves to the next exposure position. At that time, the light shielding mask 35 is switched as needed. When the movement of the stage 1 and the switching operation of the light shielding mask 35 are completed, the next peripheral exposure operation is performed. By repeating this operation, the remaining unnecessary peripheral resist portion 52 is exposed.

In the peripheral exposure, all four sides are exposed in some cases. However, when only one of the sides is exposed, no side is exposed, or when the inside of the substrate is exposed in addition to the peripheral exposure. is there.

The order of the peripheral exposure operation and the identification exposure operation is determined by the exposure pattern and the like, and can be changed as appropriate.

In the above embodiment, the description has been given of the exposure of a glass substrate for liquid crystal. However, the exposure apparatus of the present invention can be applied to any substrate which requires exposure of an identification code. Needless to say, the exposure wavelength and the like are not particularly limited.

Further, in the structure of the apparatus, the glass substrate is horizontally (xy).
Direction) instead of vertical (xz or yz direction), in which case each unit is placed in an appropriate location.

The position adjusting mechanism of each unit has been described as an example, and it goes without saying that the means of the present invention is not limited to these.

[0051]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the light source of the plurality of exposure units for exposing the identification code on the substrate coated with the photosensitive material can be shared, the glass substrate Since it is not necessary to increase the number of light sources even if the number of units for exposing the identification code to an arbitrary position is increased, adjustment work such as lamp replacement work can be easily performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the light-shielding mechanism is provided between the substrate on which the photosensitive material is applied and the light source, only the recognition code is exposed only at any necessary place. The other parts can be kept unexposed.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the light source means for exposing the recognition code and the light source means of the peripheral exposure mechanism for exposing the unnecessary resist portion on the periphery of the substrate can be shared. Therefore, adjustment work such as replacement work can be easily performed by reducing the number of light sources.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of an exposure apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an identification code and a peripheral exposure unit in a liquid crystal panel.

FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 1 showing an embodiment of the exposure apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a light shielding mechanism in the exposure apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the light shielding mechanism in the exposure apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Stage 2 Exposure mechanism 3 Peripheral exposure mechanism 9 Exposure unit 30 Light source means 41 Shield plate group

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2001-305743 (JP, A) JP-A-2001-166493 (JP, A) JP-A-6-186750 (JP, A) JP, A) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03F ^7/ 20-7/24 G03F 9/00-9/02 H01L 21/027

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of exposure units for exposing an identification code on a substrate coated with a photosensitive material are movably arranged, and a light source of the exposure unit can be shared. Exposure apparatus. 2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a light shielding mechanism is provided between the light source and the substrate coated with the photosensitive material. 3. A light source for the plurality of exposure units and a light source for the periphery light exposure mechanism can be shared, in the vicinity of the plurality of exposure units, a peripheral light exposure mechanism for exposing unnecessary resist portions around the substrate is provided. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exposure apparatus has a simple configuration.