JP5294678B2 - Exposure apparatus, exposure method, and manufacturing method of display panel substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve exposure efficiency by suppressing the generation of ozone when a substrate is scanned with a laser beam of ultraviolet light. <P>SOLUTION: The substrate coated with photoresist is held by a chuck 10, and a laser beam irradiation apparatus 20 which emits the laser beam of ultraviolet light from a head section 21 is disposed over the substrate 1 held by the chuck 10. A firsts chamber (30) is provided over the substrate held by the chuck 10 to enclose the space between the head section 21 of the laser beam irradiation apparatus 20 and the substrate 1, and a second chamber (40) is provided around the first chamber (30). The first chamber (30) is filled with gas containing no oxygen, and the second chamber (40) is evacuated. The substrate 1 held by the chuck 10 is scanned with the laser beam by irradiating the substrate 1 from the head section 21 of the laser beam irradiation apparatus 20 with the laser beam of ultraviolet light while the chuck 10 and laser beam irradiation apparatus 20 are relatively moved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  In manufacturing a display panel substrate such as a liquid crystal display device, the present invention irradiates a substrate coated with a photoresist with a light beam, scans the substrate with the light beam, and draws a pattern on a photoresist film on the substrate. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus, an exposure method, and a display panel substrate manufacturing method using the same, and more particularly, an exposure apparatus that scans a substrate with an ultraviolet laser beam, an exposure method, and a display panel substrate manufacturing using the exposure apparatus. Regarding the method.

  Manufacturing of TFT (Thin Film Transistor) substrates, color filter substrates, plasma display panel substrates, organic EL (Electroluminescence) display panel substrates, and the like of liquid crystal display devices used as display panels is performed using photolithography using an exposure apparatus. This is performed by forming a pattern on the substrate by a technique. Conventionally, as an exposure apparatus, a projection method in which a pattern of a photomask (hereinafter referred to as “mask”) is projected onto a substrate using a lens or a mirror, and a minute gap (proximity gap) between the mask and the substrate. ) To transfer the mask pattern to the substrate.

In recent years, an exposure apparatus has been developed that irradiates a substrate coated with a photoresist with a light beam, scans the substrate with the light beam, and draws a pattern on a photoresist film on the substrate. Since the substrate is scanned by the light beam and the pattern is directly drawn on the photoresist film on the substrate, an expensive mask is not required. Also, by changing the scanning program, various types of display panel substrates can be handled. Examples of such an exposure apparatus include those described in Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3.
JP 2003-332221 A JP 2005-353927 A JP 2007-219011 A

  Conventionally, light-emitting diodes have been used as light beam light sources, and in recent years, the use of laser devices that generate laser light in the ultraviolet region having a wavelength of 365 nm has been studied. The scanning of the substrate by the light beam is performed by moving one or both of the chuck for holding the substrate and the light beam irradiation apparatus, and the moving speed is determined according to the speed at which the photoresist is cured. In order to shorten the tact time by increasing the moving speed at the time of scanning, it is necessary to improve the exposure efficiency and cure the photoresist quickly.

  Commonly used ultraviolet light curable photoresists are cured by causing a polymerization reaction when irradiated with ultraviolet light, but ozone is generated from oxygen around the substrate when irradiated with ultraviolet light, and the photoresist is polymerized. It is known to blunt the reaction. Conventionally, since a high-power light-emitting diode was used, the slowdown of the polymerization reaction due to the generation of ozone was not so much of a problem. However, when using a laser device that generates laser light with a wavelength in the ultraviolet region, the output of this type of laser device is not so high at present, so the slowdown of the polymerization reaction due to the generation of ozone improves the exposure efficiency. It is a big hindrance.

  In order to suppress the generation of ozone, it is necessary to reduce oxygen around the substrate as much as possible. In a projection type exposure apparatus that exposes a semiconductor wafer, since the apparatus is not so large, it is conceivable to seal the entire apparatus and remove internal oxygen. However, in an exposure apparatus that exposes a large substrate used for a display panel substrate, the apparatus is large and it is difficult to seal the entire apparatus.

  An object of the present invention is to suppress exposure of ozone and improve exposure efficiency when scanning a substrate with an ultraviolet laser beam. Another object of the present invention is to shorten the tact time and improve the throughput when manufacturing a display panel substrate.

  An exposure apparatus according to the present invention includes a chuck that holds a substrate coated with a photoresist, a laser beam irradiation device that is disposed above the substrate held by the chuck and that emits a laser beam of ultraviolet light from a head portion, and a chuck And a laser beam irradiation apparatus are moved relative to each other, a moving means for scanning the substrate with the laser beam, a control means for controlling the moving means, and a laser beam irradiation apparatus above the substrate held by the chuck. A first chamber that surrounds the space between the head portion and the substrate and is filled with a gas that does not contain oxygen, and a second chamber that is provided around the first chamber and that is evacuated. It is equipped with.

  In the exposure method of the present invention, a substrate coated with a photoresist is held by a chuck, and a laser beam irradiation device for irradiating an ultraviolet laser beam from the head portion is disposed above the substrate held by the chuck. The first chamber is provided above the substrate held by the chuck so as to surround the space between the head portion of the laser beam irradiation apparatus and the substrate, and the second chamber is provided around the first chamber. Filling the interior of one chamber with a gas that does not contain oxygen, evacuating the interior of the second chamber, and irradiating the laser beam of ultraviolet light with the laser beam while moving the chuck and the laser beam irradiation device relative to each other The substrate is held by a chuck from the head portion of the apparatus, and the substrate is scanned with a laser beam.

  Since the first chamber is provided above the substrate held by the chuck so as to surround the space between the head portion of the laser beam irradiation apparatus and the substrate, the interior of the first chamber is filled with a gas not containing oxygen. The region irradiated with the ultraviolet laser beam is covered with the gas filled in the first chamber, and oxygen is reduced. In addition, since the second chamber is provided around the first chamber and the inside of the second chamber is evacuated, the inflow of outside air is blocked and the amount of oxygen is low in the region irradiated with the laser beam of ultraviolet light. State is maintained. Therefore, when the substrate is scanned with the ultraviolet laser beam, the generation of ozone is suppressed and the exposure efficiency is improved.

  Furthermore, in the exposure apparatus of the present invention, the first chamber is filled with nitrogen gas. In the exposure method of the present invention, the interior of the first chamber is filled with nitrogen gas. When nitrogen gas is used as the gas filled in the first chamber, the nitrogen gas is easy to handle, and thus the facilities are simplified.

  Further, the exposure apparatus of the present invention comprises a detecting means for detecting the height of the surface of the substrate held by the chuck, and the control means stops the operation of the moving means when the detection result of the detecting means is a predetermined value or more. To do. The exposure method of the present invention detects the height of the surface of the substrate held by the chuck, and stops the relative movement between the chuck and the laser beam irradiation device when the detection result is a predetermined value or more. is there. The height of the surface of the substrate held by the chuck is detected, and when the detection result exceeds a predetermined value, the relative movement between the chuck and the laser beam irradiation device stops, so the height of the surface of the substrate varies. However, the substrate does not contact the first chamber and the second chamber.

  The method for producing a display panel substrate according to the present invention involves exposing the substrate using any one of the above exposure apparatuses or exposure methods. Since the exposure efficiency is improved by using the above exposure apparatus or exposure method, the relative movement speed of the chuck and the laser beam irradiation apparatus can be increased when the substrate is scanned with the laser beam. Accordingly, the tact time is shortened and the throughput is improved.

  According to the exposure apparatus and the exposure method of the present invention, the first chamber is provided above the substrate held by the chuck so as to surround the space between the head portion of the laser beam irradiation apparatus and the substrate. A second chamber is provided around the first chamber, the interior of the first chamber is filled with a gas that does not contain oxygen, and the interior of the second chamber is evacuated, so that the region irradiated with the laser beam of ultraviolet light is irradiated. Since oxygen can be reduced, generation of ozone can be suppressed and exposure efficiency can be improved when the substrate is scanned with an ultraviolet laser beam.

  Furthermore, according to the exposure apparatus and the exposure method of the present invention, by filling the inside of the first chamber with nitrogen gas, the gas can be easily handled and the equipment can be simplified.

  Furthermore, according to the exposure apparatus and the exposure method of the present invention, the height of the surface of the substrate held by the chuck is detected, and when the detection result is a predetermined value or more, the relative movement between the chuck and the laser beam irradiation apparatus is detected. By stopping the step, it is possible to prevent the substrate from coming into contact with the first chamber and the second chamber even when the height of the surface of the substrate varies.

  According to the display panel substrate manufacturing method of the present invention, since the exposure efficiency can be improved, the relative movement speed between the chuck and the laser beam irradiation device is increased when the substrate is scanned with the laser beam. be able to. Therefore, the tact time can be shortened and the throughput can be improved.

  FIG. 1 is a view showing the schematic arrangement of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The exposure apparatus includes a base 3, an X guide 4, an X stage 5, a Y guide 6, a Y stage 7, a θ stage 8, a chuck 10, a gate 11, a laser beam irradiation device 20, an oxygen removal chamber 30, an outside air blocking chamber 40, and a displacement. A total 50, a control device 60, an X stage drive circuit 71, a Y stage drive circuit 72, and a θ stage drive circuit 73 are configured. In addition to the above, the exposure apparatus includes an irradiation optical system that irradiates exposure light, a supply unit that supplies the substrate 1 to the chuck 10, a recovery unit that recovers the substrate 1 from the chuck 10, and a temperature that controls the temperature in the apparatus. A control unit is provided.

  Note that the XY directions in the embodiments described below are examples, and the X direction and the Y direction may be interchanged.

  2 and 3, the chuck 10 is in a delivery position for delivering the substrate 1. At the delivery position, the substrate 1 is supplied to the chuck 10 by a supply unit (not shown), and the substrate 1 is recovered from the chuck 10 by a recovery unit (not shown). The chuck 10 holds the back surface of the substrate 1 by vacuum suction. A photoresist is applied to the surface of the substrate 1.

  A gate 11 is provided across the base 3 above the exposure position where the substrate 1 is exposed. A laser beam irradiation device 20 is mounted on the gate 11. The laser beam irradiation device 20 irradiates a laser beam of ultraviolet light from the head unit. In FIG. 1, the head portion of the laser beam irradiation apparatus 20 extends downward from the gate 11, and an oxygen removal chamber 30 and an outside air blocking chamber 40 described later are provided around the head portion. In this embodiment, two laser beam irradiation devices 20 are provided, but three or more laser beam irradiation devices 20 may be provided.

  1 and 3, the chuck 10 is mounted on the θ stage 8, and a Y stage 7 and an X stage 5 are provided below the θ stage 8. The X stage 5 is mounted on an X guide 4 provided on the base 3 and moves in the X direction along the X guide 4. The Y stage 7 is mounted on a Y guide 6 provided on the X stage 5 and moves in the Y direction along the Y guide 6. The θ stage 8 is mounted on the Y stage 7 and rotates in the θ direction.

  By rotation of the θ stage 8 in the θ direction, the substrate 1 mounted on the chuck 10 is rotated so that two orthogonal sides are directed in the X direction and the Y direction. As the X stage 5 moves in the X direction, the chuck 10 is moved between the delivery position and the exposure position. At the exposure position, the laser beam irradiated from the head portion of the laser beam irradiation apparatus 20 scans the substrate 1 by the movement of the X stage 5 in the X direction and the movement of the Y stage 7 in the Y direction. A pattern is drawn on the photoresist film. The control device 60 controls the θ stage drive circuit 73 to rotate the θ stage 8 and controls the X stage drive circuit 71 and the Y stage drive circuit 72 to move the X stage 5 in the X direction and The stage 7 is moved in the Y direction.

  In the present embodiment, by moving the chuck 10, the chuck 10 and the laser beam irradiation device 20 are relatively moved, and the substrate 1 is scanned with the laser beam. However, by moving the laser beam irradiation device 20 instead of the chuck 10, the chuck 10 and the laser beam irradiation device 20 may be moved relatively to scan the substrate 1 with the laser beam.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the oxygen removal chamber and the outside air blocking chamber. In FIG. 4, cross sections of the walls constituting the oxygen removal chamber 30 and the outside air blocking chamber 40 are shown with diagonal lines. An oxygen removal chamber 30 is provided above the substrate 1 held by the chuck 10 so as to surround a space between the head portion 21 of the laser beam irradiation apparatus 20 and the substrate 1. An outside air blocking chamber 40 is provided around the oxygen removal chamber 30. The distance d between the substrate 1 and the oxygen removal chamber 30 and the outside air blocking chamber 40 is very narrow, and is, for example, 1 mm or less in the present embodiment.

  The oxygen removal chamber 30 is connected to a nitrogen gas supply source 31 via a flow rate control valve 34 and a pressure reducing valve 32. The nitrogen gas supply source 31 supplies nitrogen gas to the oxygen removal chamber 30, and the oxygen removal chamber 30 is filled with nitrogen gas. The pressure reducing valve 32 adjusts the pressure of the nitrogen gas supplied from the nitrogen gas supply source 31 to the oxygen removal chamber 30, and the pressure gauge 33 measures the adjusted pressure. The flow rate control valve 34 adjusts the flow rate of nitrogen gas supplied from the nitrogen gas supply source 31 to the oxygen removal chamber 30. By adjusting the pressure and flow rate of the nitrogen gas supplied from the nitrogen gas supply source 31 to the oxygen removal chamber 30, the concentration of oxygen inside the oxygen removal chamber 30 is suppressed to a predetermined value or less. An oxygen concentration meter 35 is provided inside the oxygen removal chamber 30, and the oxygen concentration meter 35 measures the concentration of oxygen inside the oxygen removal chamber 30. The measurement result of the oxygen concentration meter 35 is sent to the control device 60 of FIG.

  The outside air blocking chamber 40 is connected to a vacuum facility 41 via a pressure reducing valve 42. The vacuum facility 41 sucks the gas inside the outside air blocking chamber 40 and evacuates the inside of the outside air blocking chamber 40. The pressure reducing valve 42 adjusts the pressure of the gas sucked from the outside air blocking chamber 40 to the vacuum equipment 41, and the pressure gauge 43 measures the adjusted pressure.

  An oxygen removal chamber 30 is provided above the substrate 1 held by the chuck 10 so as to surround a space between the head portion 21 of the laser beam irradiation apparatus 20 and the substrate 1, and the oxygen removal chamber 30 is filled with nitrogen gas. Therefore, the region irradiated with the ultraviolet laser beam is covered with nitrogen gas, and oxygen is reduced. In addition, since the outside air blocking chamber 40 is provided around the oxygen removal chamber 30 and the inside of the outside air blocking chamber 40 is evacuated, inflow of outside air is blocked in the region irradiated with the laser beam of ultraviolet light, and there is little oxygen. State is maintained. Therefore, when the substrate 1 is scanned with the ultraviolet laser beam, the generation of ozone is suppressed and the exposure efficiency is improved.

  In the present embodiment, nitrogen gas is used as the gas filled in the oxygen removal chamber 30. Since the nitrogen gas is easy to handle, the facilities are simplified. However, the gas filled in the oxygen removal chamber 30 in the present invention is not limited to nitrogen gas, but may be any gas that does not contain oxygen.

  In FIG. 4, a displacement meter 50 is installed near the outside air blocking chamber 40 above the substrate 1 held by the chuck 10. The displacement meter 50 irradiates the substrate 1 with inspection light, receives the reflected light reflected by the substrate 1, and detects the height of the surface of the substrate 1. The detection result of the displacement meter 50 is sent to the control device 60 of FIG. In FIG. 1, the control device 60 controls the X stage drive circuit 71 and the Y stage drive circuit 72 to stop the movement of the X stage 5 and the Y stage 7 when the detection result of the displacement meter 50 is a predetermined value or more. . Thereby, the relative movement between the chuck 10 and the laser beam irradiation device 20 is stopped, and the scanning of the substrate 1 by the laser beam is interrupted.

  The height of the surface of the substrate 1 held by the chuck 10 is detected, and when the detection result is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the relative movement between the chuck 10 and the laser beam irradiation device 20 is stopped. Even if the height varies, the substrate 1 does not contact the oxygen removal chamber 30 and the outside air blocking chamber 40.

  According to the embodiment described above, the oxygen removal chamber 30 is provided above the substrate 1 held by the chuck 10 so as to surround the space between the head portion 21 of the laser beam irradiation apparatus 20 and the substrate 1. By providing an outside air blocking chamber 40 around the removal chamber 30, filling the inside of the oxygen removing chamber 30 with a gas not containing oxygen, and evacuating the inside of the outside air blocking chamber 40, an ultraviolet laser beam is irradiated. Therefore, when the substrate is scanned with an ultraviolet laser beam, generation of ozone can be suppressed and exposure efficiency can be improved.

  Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, filling the inside of the oxygen removal chamber 30 with nitrogen gas facilitates the handling of the gas and simplifies the equipment.

  Further, according to the embodiment described above, the height of the surface of the substrate 1 held by the chuck 10 is detected, and when the detection result is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the chuck 10 and the laser beam irradiation device 20 are relatively relative to each other. By stopping this movement, the substrate 1 can be prevented from coming into contact with the oxygen removal chamber 30 and the outside air blocking chamber 40 even if the height of the surface of the substrate 1 fluctuates.

  Since the exposure efficiency can be improved by performing exposure of the substrate using the exposure apparatus or exposure method of the present invention, the relative relationship between the chuck and the laser beam irradiation apparatus when scanning the substrate with a laser beam. The moving speed can be increased. Therefore, the tact time can be shortened and the throughput can be improved.

  For example, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the manufacturing process of the TFT substrate of the liquid crystal display device. In the thin film formation step (step 101), a thin film such as a conductor film or an insulator film, which becomes a transparent electrode for driving liquid crystal, is formed on the substrate by sputtering, plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD), or the like. In the resist coating process (step 102), a photoresist is applied by a roll coating method or the like to form a photoresist film on the thin film formed in the thin film forming process (step 101). In the exposure step (step 103), a pattern is formed on the photoresist film using an exposure apparatus. In the development step (step 104), a developer is supplied onto the photoresist film by a shower development method or the like to remove unnecessary portions of the photoresist film. In the etching process (step 105), a portion of the thin film formed in the thin film formation process (step 101) that is not masked by the photoresist film is removed by wet etching. In the peeling step (step 106), the photoresist film that has finished the role of the mask in the etching step (step 105) is peeled off with a peeling solution. Before or after each of these steps, a substrate cleaning / drying step is performed as necessary. These steps are repeated several times to form a TFT array on the substrate.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the manufacturing process of the color filter substrate of the liquid crystal display device. In the black matrix forming step (step 201), a black matrix is formed on the substrate by processing such as resist coating, exposure, development, etching, and peeling. In the colored pattern forming step (step 202), a colored pattern is formed on the substrate by a dyeing method, a pigment dispersion method, a printing method, an electrodeposition method, or the like. This process is repeated for the R, G, and B coloring patterns. In the protective film forming step (step 203), a protective film is formed on the colored pattern, and in the transparent electrode film forming step (step 204), a transparent electrode film is formed on the protective film. Before, during or after each of these steps, a substrate cleaning / drying step is performed as necessary.

  In the TFT substrate manufacturing process shown in FIG. 5, in the exposure process (step 103), in the color filter substrate manufacturing process shown in FIG. 6, in the black matrix forming process (step 201) and the colored pattern forming process (step 202). In this exposure process, the exposure apparatus or the exposure method of the present invention can be applied.

1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a top view of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of an oxygen removal chamber and an external air interruption | blocking chamber. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the manufacturing process of the TFT substrate of a liquid crystal display device. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the manufacturing process of the color filter board | substrate of a liquid crystal display device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate 3 Base 4 X guide 5 X stage 6 Y guide 7 Y stage 8 θ stage 10 Chuck 11 Gate 20 Laser beam irradiation device 21 Head part 30 Oxygen removal chamber 31 Nitrogen gas supply source 32, 42 Pressure reducing valve 33, 43 Pressure gauge 34 Flow control valve 35 Oxygen concentration meter 40 Outside air blocking chamber 41 Vacuum equipment 50 Displacement meter 60 Control device 71 X stage drive circuit 72 Y stage drive circuit 73 θ stage drive circuit

Claims (8)

A chuck for holding a substrate coated with photoresist;
A laser beam irradiation device disposed above the substrate held by the chuck and irradiating a laser beam of ultraviolet light from a head portion;
A moving means for relatively moving the chuck and the laser beam irradiation device to scan the substrate with a laser beam;
Control means for controlling the moving means;
Above the substrate held by the chuck, is provided surrounding the space between the head portion of the laser beam irradiation apparatus and the substrate, and comprises a space having open portions at an interval of 1 mm or less from the substrate on the substrate side, A first chamber filled with a gas not containing oxygen;
An exposure apparatus comprising: a second chamber which is provided around the first chamber and which is formed of a space having an open portion at an interval of 1 mm or less from the substrate on the substrate side, the inside of which is evacuated.   The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first chamber is filled with nitrogen gas. Detecting means for detecting the height of the surface of the substrate held by the chuck;
The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stops the operation of the moving unit when a detection result of the detection unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Hold the substrate coated with photoresist with a chuck,
A laser beam irradiation device for irradiating a laser beam of ultraviolet light from the head portion is disposed above the substrate held by the chuck,
Above the substrate held by the chuck, a first chamber comprising a space between the head portion of the laser beam irradiation device and the substrate and having an open portion on the substrate side at an interval of 1 mm or less from the substrate. Provided,
Around the first room, a second room comprising a space having open portions at intervals of 1 mm or less from the substrate on the substrate side is provided.
The inside of the first chamber is filled with a gas not containing oxygen,
Vacuum inside the second room,
While moving the chuck and the laser beam irradiation device relative to each other, the substrate of the laser beam irradiation device is irradiated with an ultraviolet laser beam from the head of the laser beam irradiation device to scan the substrate with the laser beam. A featured exposure method.   The exposure method according to claim 4, wherein the first chamber is filled with nitrogen gas. Detects the height of the surface of the substrate held by the chuck,
6. The exposure method according to claim 4, wherein the relative movement between the chuck and the laser beam irradiation apparatus is stopped when the detection result is a predetermined value or more.   A method for manufacturing a display panel substrate, wherein the substrate is exposed using the exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   A method for manufacturing a display panel substrate, wherein the substrate is exposed using the exposure method according to any one of claims 4 to 6.

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