JP5306020B2 - Proximity exposure apparatus, substrate moving method of proximity exposure apparatus, and display panel substrate manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a proximity exposure apparatus that exposes a substrate using a proximity method in manufacturing a display panel substrate such as a liquid crystal display device, a substrate moving method of the proximity exposure apparatus, and a display panel using the same. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate manufacturing method, and in particular, a proximity exposure apparatus that performs stepwise movement of a substrate in XY directions and divides and exposes one surface of a substrate into a plurality of shots, a substrate moving method of a proximity exposure apparatus, and the like. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a display panel substrate.

  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. As an exposure apparatus, a projection method in which a mask pattern is projected onto a substrate using a lens or a mirror, and a minute gap (proximity gap) is provided between the mask and the substrate to transfer the mask pattern to the substrate. There is a proximity method. The proximity method is inferior in pattern resolution performance to the projection method, but the configuration of the irradiation optical system is simple, the processing capability is high, and it is suitable for mass production.

  In recent years, in the manufacture of various substrates for display panels, a relatively large substrate is prepared in order to cope with an increase in size and a variety of sizes, and one or a plurality of substrates can be selected from one substrate depending on the size of the display panel. Manufactures display panel substrates. In this case, in the proximity method, if one surface of the substrate is to be exposed at once, a mask having the same size as the substrate is required, and the cost of the expensive mask is further increased. In view of this, the mainstream method is to use a mask that is relatively smaller than the substrate, move the substrate stepwise in the XY directions, and divide and expose one surface of the substrate into a plurality of shots.

  In the proximity method, exposure is performed by bringing a mask and a substrate close to a proximity gap of about several hundred μm. The gap between the mask and the substrate is adjusted by moving and tilting a mask holder that holds the mask or a chuck that supports the substrate in the Z direction. When stepping the substrate in the XY direction and exposing one side of the substrate in multiple shots, the step movement of the substrate widens the gap between the mask and the substrate to prevent contact between the mask and the substrate. Done. After step movement of the substrate, a shot is performed after gap alignment between the mask and the substrate and alignment of the substrate are performed. Each shot is performed by opening and closing a shutter that blocks exposure light. As a proximity exposure apparatus that divides and exposes one surface of a substrate into a plurality of shots, there are those described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

JP 2003-241396 A JP 2008-233621 A

  When exposing one side of a substrate in multiple shots using the proximity method, step movement of the substrate, gap alignment between the mask and the substrate, alignment of the substrate and shot are repeated, and all of these times are added to the tact time. Is done. Before the step movement of the substrate, it is necessary to further increase the gap between the mask and the substrate.

  In order to shorten the tact time, after one operation is completed, the next operation must be started as soon as possible. Conventionally, the timing of shifting to the next operation after the end of one shot is the time when the shutter closing operation ends or the time when the illuminance of exposure light becomes a threshold value during the shutter closing operation. . This is because if the substrate is stepped while being exposed to exposure light that exceeds the threshold value, pattern printing will be blurred and the exposure quality will deteriorate. However, before the step movement of the substrate, an operation to widen the gap between the mask and the substrate is necessary, and the time required for this operation is a factor that delays the start of the step movement of the substrate.

  An object of the present invention is to start the step movement of the substrate at an early stage without reducing the exposure quality and to shorten the tact time. It is another object of the present invention to manufacture a high-quality substrate with high throughput by accurately performing pattern printing at short intervals.

  The proximity exposure apparatus of the present invention includes a chuck that supports a substrate, a mask holder that holds a mask, and a stage that moves the chuck, and moves the chuck by the stage to perform step movement of the substrate in the XY directions. In a proximity exposure system that divides and exposes one side of a substrate into multiple shots, a shutter that blocks exposure light, a shutter drive that opens and closes the shutter, an illuminance sensor that measures the illuminance of the exposure light, and a stage drive Stage driving circuit, Z-tilt mechanism for moving and tilting the mask holder and chuck relatively in the Z direction, Z-tilt mechanism driving circuit for driving the Z-tilt mechanism, shutter driving device, stage driving circuit And a control device for controlling the Z-tilt mechanism driving circuit, and the control device drives the shutter. The Z-tilt mechanism is driven by the Z-tilt mechanism drive circuit and the gap between the mask and the substrate is widened after a predetermined time has elapsed since the command to close the shutter to the device and before the shutter has been closed. After the operation to widen the gap between the mask and the substrate is completed and the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor falls below the threshold value, the stage is driven by the stage drive circuit, and the XY direction of the substrate Step movement is performed.

  In addition, the substrate exposure method of the proximity exposure apparatus of the present invention includes a chuck that supports the substrate, a mask holder that holds the mask, and a stage that moves the chuck. Is a substrate moving method of a proximity exposure apparatus that performs exposure by dividing a surface of a substrate into a plurality of shots, a shutter that blocks exposure light, a shutter drive that opens and closes the shutter, and exposure light An illuminance sensor that measures the illuminance of the sensor and a Z-tilt mechanism that moves and tilts the mask holder and chuck relatively in the Z direction, and a predetermined time has elapsed since the shutter drive device was instructed to close the shutter. After that, before the shutter finishes closing, the Z-tilt mechanism starts to widen the gap between the mask and the substrate. , The operation to widen the gap between the mask and the substrate is completed, the illuminance of the exposure light as measured by the illuminance sensor After falls below the threshold value, and performs step movement in the XY direction of the substrate.

  After a predetermined time has elapsed since the shutter driving device was instructed to close the shutter, the Z-tilt mechanism starts to widen the gap between the mask and the substrate before the shutter is closed. Even if the shutter drive device is instructed to close the shutter, the exposure light is irradiated to the substrate until the shutter is closed. However, even if the mask or substrate is moved in the vertical direction, the substrate is moved in the horizontal direction. Unlike when moving to, pattern burn-in blurring hardly occurs. When the operation to widen the gap between the mask and the substrate is completed, and the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor falls below the threshold value, the substrate is moved stepwise in the XY direction, so that the exposure quality is lowered. Without this, the step movement of the substrate is started early, and the tact time is shortened.

  Furthermore, in the proximity exposure apparatus of the present invention, when the control device finishes the operation of widening the gap between the mask and the substrate according to the change in the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor, the illuminance of the exposure light is increased. The predetermined time is set so as to be below the threshold value. In addition, according to the method of moving the substrate of the proximity exposure apparatus of the present invention, when the operation of widening the gap between the mask and the substrate is completed according to the change in the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor, the illuminance of the exposure light is increased. The predetermined time is determined so as to be equal to or less than the threshold value. Similarly, when the step movement of the substrate in the XY direction is started when the illuminance of the exposure light reaches the threshold value, the illuminance of the exposure light is increased after the operation to widen the gap between the mask and the substrate is completed. The predetermined time can be set longer than when there is time before the threshold value is reached. Therefore, after the operation of closing the shutter proceeds and the illuminance of the exposure light is reduced, the operation of widening the gap between the mask and the substrate is started, and the risk of pattern printing blurring is further reduced.

  The method for producing a display panel substrate according to the present invention exposes a substrate using any one of the above-described proximity exposure apparatuses, or removes the substrate using any one of the above-described proximity exposure apparatuses. It moves to expose the substrate. Since the step movement of the substrate is started at an early stage without deteriorating the exposure quality, pattern printing is accurately performed at short intervals, and a high-quality substrate is manufactured with high throughput.

  According to the proximity exposure apparatus and the substrate moving method of the proximity exposure apparatus of the present invention, the Z-tilt is performed after a predetermined time elapses after the shutter driving apparatus is instructed to close the shutter and before the shutter finishes closing. When the operation to widen the gap between the mask and the substrate is started by the mechanism, and the operation to widen the gap between the mask and the substrate is completed, and the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor becomes below the threshold value, the XY of the substrate By performing the step movement in the direction, the step movement of the substrate can be started at an early stage and the tact time can be shortened without deteriorating the exposure quality.

  Furthermore, according to the proximity exposure apparatus and the substrate moving method of the proximity exposure apparatus of the present invention, when the operation of widening the gap between the mask and the substrate is completed according to the change in the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor. Thus, by determining the predetermined time so that the illuminance of the exposure light is less than or equal to the threshold value, the risk of pattern burn-in blurring can be further reduced.

  According to the method for manufacturing a display panel substrate of the present invention, the step movement of the substrate can be started at an early stage without deteriorating the exposure quality. A high-quality substrate can be manufactured.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the proximity exposure apparatus by one embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of a mask holder. It is a figure which shows the state which moved the chuck | zipper to the load / unload position. 4A is a front view of the Z-tilt mechanism, and FIG. 4B is a side view of the Z-tilt mechanism. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of a gap sensor. It is a figure which shows an example of the area | region of a shot. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of an exposure process. It is a flowchart which shows the board | substrate movement method of the proximity exposure apparatus by one embodiment of this invention. It is a time chart of the board | substrate movement method of the proximity exposure apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a time chart of the board | substrate movement method of the proximity exposure apparatus by other embodiment of this invention. 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. It is a time chart of the conventional board | substrate movement method.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a proximity exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The proximity 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 support base 9, a chuck 10, a mask holder 20, a holder frame 21, a top frame 22, and air. Cushion 23, Z-tilt mechanism 30, gap sensor 40, main controller 50, X stage drive circuit 61, Y stage drive circuit 62, θ stage drive circuit 63, Z-tilt mechanism drive circuit 64, and exposure light irradiation device 70 It is comprised including. In addition to these, the proximity exposure apparatus includes a substrate transfer robot that loads the substrate 1 into the chuck 10 and unloads the substrate 1 from the chuck 10, a temperature control unit that performs temperature management in the apparatus, and the like.

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

  In FIG. 1, the chuck 10 is at an exposure position where the substrate 1 is exposed. A top frame 22 is installed above the exposure position. A holder frame 21 is attached to the top frame 22 via an air cushion 23. A mask holder 20 that holds the mask 2 is attached to the holder frame 21. FIG. 2 is a top view of the mask holder. In FIG. 2, the mask holder 20 is provided with an opening 20a through which exposure light passes, and the mask 2 is mounted below the opening 20a. A suction groove is provided around the opening 20a on the lower surface of the mask holder 20, and the mask holder 20 holds the peripheral portion of the mask 2 by vacuum suction using the suction groove. In FIG. 1, an exposure light irradiation device 70 to be described later is disposed above the mask 2 held by the mask holder 20. At the time of exposure, exposure light from the exposure light irradiation device 70 passes through the mask 2 and is irradiated onto the substrate 1, whereby the pattern of the mask 2 is transferred to the surface of the substrate 1 and a pattern is formed on the substrate 1. .

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the chuck is moved to the load / unload position. At the load / unload position, the substrate 1 is carried into the chuck 10 and the substrate 1 is carried out of the chuck 10 by a substrate transfer robot (not shown). The loading of the substrate 1 onto the chuck 10 and the unloading of the substrate 1 from the chuck 10 are performed using a plurality of push-up pins provided on the chuck 10. The push-up pin is housed inside the chuck 10 and is lifted from the inside of the chuck 10 to receive the substrate 1 from the substrate transfer robot and unload the substrate 1 from the chuck 10 when loading the substrate 1 onto the chuck 10. In doing so, the substrate 1 is delivered to the substrate transfer robot.

  1 and 3, the chuck 10 is mounted on the θ stage 8 via the chuck support 9, 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 along the X guide 4 in the X direction (the horizontal direction in FIGS. 1 and 3). The Y stage 7 is mounted on a Y guide 6 provided on the X stage 5 and moves in the Y direction (the depth direction in FIGS. 1 and 3) along the Y guide 6. The θ stage 8 is mounted on the Y stage 7 and rotates in the θ direction. The chuck support 9 is mounted on the θ stage 8 and supports the chuck 10 at a plurality of locations.

  The chuck 10 is moved between the load / unload position and the exposure position by the movement of the X stage 5 in the X direction and the movement of the Y stage 7 in the Y direction. At the load / unload position, the substrate 1 mounted on the chuck 10 is pre-aligned by moving the X stage 5 in the X direction, moving the Y stage 7 in the Y direction, and rotating the θ stage 8 in the θ direction. Is done. At the exposure position, the X stage 5 is moved in the X direction and the Y stage 7 is moved in the Y direction, whereby the substrate 1 mounted on the chuck 10 is stepped in the XY direction. Then, the substrate 1 is aligned by the movement of the X stage 5 in the X direction, the movement of the Y stage 7 in the Y direction, and the rotation of the θ stage 8 in the θ direction. Further, the mask holder 20 is moved and tilted in the Z direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1) by the Z-tilt mechanism 30 provided on the side surface of the mask holder 20, thereby aligning the gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1. Is called.

  In FIG. 1, the X stage drive circuit 61 drives the X stage 5 under the control of the main controller 50. The Y stage drive circuit 62 drives the Y stage 7 under the control of the main controller 50. The θ stage drive circuit 63 drives the θ stage 8 under the control of the main controller 50. The Z-tilt mechanism drive circuit 64 drives each Z-tilt mechanism 30 under the control of the main controller 50. When the movement of each Z-tilt mechanism 30 is completed, an end signal indicating that the movement has ended is Output to the main controller 50.

  4A is a front view of the Z-tilt mechanism, and FIG. 4B is a side view of the Z-tilt mechanism. The Z-tilt mechanism 30 includes a casing 31, a linear motion guide 32, a movable block 33, a motor 34, a shaft coupling 35, a ball screw 36a, a nut 36b, and a ball 37. As shown in FIG. 4B, the casing 31 is attached to the side surface of the top frame 22. As shown in FIG. 4A, a linear motion guide 32 is provided inside the casing 31, and a movable block 33 is mounted on the linear motion guide 32. A motor 34 is installed above the casing 31, and a ball screw 36 a is connected to the rotating shaft of the motor 34 via a shaft coupling 35. A nut 36 b that is moved by a ball screw 36 a is attached to the movable block 33, and the movable block 33 moves up and down along the linear guide 32 by the rotation of the motor 34.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, a tilt arm 24 is provided on the lower surface of the holder frame 21. A ball 37 is attached to the lower surface of the movable block 33, and the ball 37 is pressed against the tilt arm 24 by the movable block 33. In FIG. 2, the Z-tilt mechanism 30 is installed at three locations near the side surface of the holder frame 21. The three Z-tilt mechanisms 30 move the movable block 33 up and down to change the height of the ball 37 that pushes the tilt arm 24, thereby increasing the height of the holder frame 21 supported by the air cushion 23. The mask holder 20 is moved and tilted in the Z direction by changing the height at three locations.

  In the present embodiment, the gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 is adjusted by moving and tilting the mask holder 20 in the Z direction by the Z-tilt mechanism 30. The gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 may be adjusted by providing a tilt mechanism and moving and tilting the chuck 10 in the Z direction.

  In FIG. 2, four gap sensors 40 are provided above the mask 2 held by the mask holder 20. When the gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 is aligned, each gap sensor 40 is moved above the four corners of the opening 20a of the mask holder 20 by a moving mechanism (not shown), and the gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 is changed to the mask. Measure at the four corners. After the gap alignment between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 is completed, each gap sensor 40 is moved outside the opening 20a of the mask holder 20 by a moving mechanism (not shown).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the gap sensor. The gap sensor 40 includes a laser light source 41, a collimation lens group 42, a projection lens 43, mirrors 44 and 45, an imaging lens 46, and a CCD line sensor 47. Laser light generated from the laser light source 41 passes through the collimation lens group 42 and the projection lens 43 and is irradiated obliquely from the mirror 44 to the mask 2. A part of the laser light applied to the mask 2 is reflected by the upper surface of the mask 2 and a part of the laser light is transmitted to the inside of the mask 2. A part of the laser light transmitted to the inside of the mask 2 is reflected by the lower surface of the mask 2, and a part of the laser light is irradiated to the surface of the substrate 1 from the lower surface of the mask 2. A part of the laser light applied to the surface of the substrate 1 is reflected by the surface of the substrate 1 and a part of the laser light is transmitted to the inside of the substrate 1. The laser light reflected by the lower surface of the mask 2 and the laser light reflected by the surface of the substrate 1 are emitted from the upper surface of the mask, then reflected by the mirror 45, pass through the imaging lens 46, and pass through the CCD line sensor 47. An image is formed on the light receiving surface. The CCD line sensor 47 outputs a detection signal corresponding to the intensity of light received by the light receiving surface. The gap G between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 is determined from the position of the detection signal of the laser beam reflected from the lower surface of the mask 2 of the CCD line sensor 47 and the position of the detection signal of the laser beam reflected from the surface of the substrate 1. Measured.

  In FIG. 1, an exposure light irradiation device 70 is provided above the mask holder 20. The exposure light irradiation device 70 includes a lamp 71, a condenser mirror 72, a first plane mirror 73, a lens 74, a shutter 75, a collimation lens 76, a second plane mirror 77, a power supply 78, an illuminance sensor 79, and a shutter drive device 80. It is configured. As the lamp 71, a lamp in which a high-pressure gas is enclosed in a bulb, such as a mercury lamp, a halogen lamp, or a xenon lamp, is used. The lamp 71 is turned on when a voltage is applied from the power source 78 to generate exposure light. In this embodiment, one lamp 71 is used as a light source that generates exposure light. However, the number of lamps is not limited to this, and two or more lamps may be used. Further, a semiconductor light emitting element such as a light emitting diode or a laser diode may be used instead of the lamp.

  A condensing mirror 72 that condenses the light generated from the lamp 71 is provided around the lamp 71. The light generated from the lamp 71 is condensed by the condenser mirror 72 and irradiated to the first plane mirror 73. The light reflected by the first plane mirror 73 is incident on a lens 74 such as a fly-eye lens or a lot lens, and is transmitted through the lens 74 to make the illuminance distribution uniform. Under the control of the main controller 50, the shutter driving device 80 opens the shutter 75 when the substrate 1 is exposed, and closes the shutter 75 when the substrate 1 is not exposed. When the shutter 75 is open, the light transmitted through the lens 74 is transmitted through the collimation lens 76 to become a parallel light beam, reflected by the second plane mirror 77, and applied to the mask 2. The pattern of the mask 2 is transferred to the substrate 1 by the exposure light applied to the mask 2, and the substrate 1 is exposed. When the shutter 75 is closed, the light transmitted through the lens 74 is blocked by the shutter 75 and the substrate 1 is not exposed.

  The main control device 50 outputs a shutter drive signal for instructing opening / closing of the shutter 75 to the shutter drive device 80. The shutter driving device 80 starts an operation of opening the shutter 75 or closing the shutter 75 based on the shutter driving signal, and outputs an end signal indicating that each operation has ended to the main control device 50 when each operation ends. .

  An illuminance sensor 79 is disposed in the vicinity of the back side of the second plane mirror 77. The second plane mirror 77 is provided with a small opening that allows a part of the exposure light to pass therethrough. The illuminance sensor 79 receives the light that has passed through the opening of the second plane mirror 77 and measures the illuminance of the exposure light. The measurement result of the illuminance sensor 79 is input to the main controller 50.

  Hereinafter, a substrate moving method of a proximity exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The proximity exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment performs exposure by dividing the surface of the substrate 1 into a plurality of shots by step-moving the substrate 1 in the XY directions at the exposure position. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a shot area. FIG. 6 shows an example in which one surface of the substrate 1 is exposed in six shots. The region 1a of the substrate 1 is exposed by the first shot, the region 1b of the substrate 1 is exposed by the second shot, the region 1c of the substrate 1 is exposed by the third shot, and the region 1c of the substrate 1 is exposed by the fourth shot. The region 1d is exposed, the region 1e of the substrate 1 is exposed by the fifth shot, and the region 1f of the substrate 1 is exposed by the sixth shot.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the exposure process. First, the substrate 1 is loaded onto the chuck 10 at the load / unload position (step 301). The main controller 50 drives the X stage 5 by the X stage drive circuit 61, drives the Y stage 7 by the Y stage drive circuit 62, drives the θ stage 8 by the θ stage drive circuit 63, and loads / unloads. At the position, the chuck 10 is moved in the XY direction and rotated in the θ direction to perform pre-alignment of the substrate 1 (step 302). Next, main controller 50 drives X stage 5 by X stage drive circuit 61, drives Y stage 7 by Y stage drive circuit 62, moves chuck 10 to the exposure position, and moves substrate 1 to the exposure position. To the position where the first shot is performed (step 303).

  Subsequently, the main controller 50 drives each Z-tilt mechanism 30 by the Z-tilt mechanism driving circuit 64 based on the measurement results of the four gap sensors 40 to perform gap alignment between the mask 2 and the substrate 1. (Step 304). Next, the main controller 50 drives the X stage 5 by the X stage drive circuit 61, drives the Y stage 7 by the Y stage drive circuit 62, drives the θ stage 8 by the θ stage drive circuit 63, and performs exposure. At the position, the chuck 10 is moved in the XY direction and rotated in the θ direction to align the substrate 1 (step 305).

  After completing the gap alignment between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 and performing a shot (step 306), the main controller 50 determines whether or not all shots have been completed (step 307). If all shots have not been completed, main controller 50 drives each Z-tilt mechanism 30 by Z-tilt mechanism drive circuit 64 to widen the gap between mask 2 and substrate 1, and then drives X stage. The X stage 5 is driven by the circuit 61, the Y stage 7 is driven by the Y stage drive circuit 62, the substrate 1 is stepped in the XY direction (step 308), and the substrate 1 is moved to the position for the next shot. Move. Then, the process returns to step 304, and steps 304 to 308 are repeated until all shots are completed.

  When all shots are completed, the main controller 50 drives each Z-tilt mechanism 30 by the Z-tilt mechanism driving circuit 64 to widen the gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1, and then the X stage driving circuit 61. Then, the X stage 5 is driven, and the Y stage 7 is driven by the Y stage driving circuit 62 to move the chuck 10 to the load / unload position (step 309). Then, at the load / unload position, the substrate 1 is unloaded from the chuck 10 (step 310).

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a substrate moving method of the proximity exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In step 306 of FIG. 7, when the exposure time of each shot has elapsed, the main controller 50 instructs the shutter driver 80 to close the shutter 75 by a shutter drive signal, and thereby the operation of closing the shutter 75 is started. (Step 401). In step 308 of FIG. 7, the main controller 50 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the shutter 75 was instructed to close (step 402). If the predetermined time has not elapsed, main controller 50 determines whether or not the illuminance of the exposure light measured by illuminance sensor 79 is equal to or less than a threshold value (step 403). If the illuminance of the exposure light is not less than or equal to the threshold value, main controller 50 determines whether or not the operation of closing shutter 75 has been completed based on the presence / absence of an end signal from shutter drive device 80 (step 404). Steps 402 to 404 are repeated until a predetermined time elapses, or the illuminance of the exposure light falls below the threshold value or the operation of closing the shutter 75 is completed.

  When the predetermined time has elapsed, or the illuminance of the exposure light falls below the threshold value, or the operation of closing the shutter 75 is completed, the main controller 50 causes each Z-tilt mechanism 30 to be operated by the Z-tilt mechanism drive circuit 64. To start movement of each Z-tilt mechanism 30 for widening the gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 (step 405). Then, main controller 50 determines whether or not movement of each Z-tilt mechanism 30 has been completed based on the presence / absence of an end signal from Z-tilt mechanism drive circuit 64 (step 406). Repeats this.

  When the movement of each Z-tilt mechanism 30 is completed, main controller 50 determines whether the illuminance of the exposure light measured by illuminance sensor 79 is equal to or less than a threshold value (step 407). If the illuminance of the exposure light is not less than or equal to the threshold value, main controller 50 determines whether or not the operation of closing shutter 75 has ended based on the presence / absence of an end signal from shutter driving device 80 (step 408). Steps 407 to 408 are repeated until the exposure light illuminance falls below the threshold value or the operation of closing the shutter 75 is completed.

  When the illuminance of the exposure light falls below the threshold value or the operation of closing the shutter 75 is completed, the main controller 50 drives the X stage 5 by the X stage drive circuit 61 and the Y stage by the Y stage drive circuit 62. 7 is driven to move the X stage 5 and the Y stage 7 for stepwise movement of the substrate 1 in the XY directions (step 409).

  FIG. 9 is a time chart of the substrate moving method of the proximity exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 9A shows the shutter drive signal of the main controller 50, FIG. 9B shows the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor 79, FIG. 9C shows the operation of the Z-tilt mechanism 30, and FIG. ) Shows operations of the X stage 5 and the Y stage 7. As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the timing for instructing opening / closing of the shutter 75 by the shutter driving signal, and the timing at which the illuminance of the exposure light changes as the shutter 75 actually moves on the optical path of the exposure light. Has a gap. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9C, after a predetermined time T1 has elapsed after the shutter drive signal is instructed to close the shutter 75, before the shutter 75 finishes closing, The movement of the Z-tilt mechanism 30 for widening the gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 is started. Then, after the movement of the Z-tilt mechanism 30 is finished, as shown in FIGS. 9B and 9D, when the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor 79 becomes a threshold value, the substrate The movement of the X stage 5 and the Y stage 7 for performing step movement in the XY direction of 1 is started.

  Even if the shutter driving device 80 is instructed to close the shutter 75, the exposure light is irradiated to the substrate 1 until the shutter 75 is completely closed. During this time, the mask 2 or the substrate 1 is moved in the vertical direction. However, unlike the case where the substrate 1 is moved in the horizontal direction, pattern burn-in blurring hardly occurs. Then, when the operation of widening the gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 is finished, and the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor 79 falls below the threshold value, the substrate 1 is moved stepwise in the XY direction. The step movement of the substrate 1 is started early without deteriorating the exposure quality, and the tact time is shortened.

  FIG. 10 is a time chart of the substrate moving method of the proximity exposure apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. 10A shows the shutter drive signal of the main controller 50, FIG. 10B shows the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor 79, FIG. 10C shows the operation of the Z-tilt mechanism 30, and FIG. ) Shows operations of the X stage 5 and the Y stage 7. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10C, after a predetermined time T2 has elapsed since the shutter drive signal was instructed to close the shutter 75, before the shutter 75 finishes closing, The movement of the Z-tilt mechanism 30 for widening the gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 is started. When the movement of the Z-tilt mechanism 30 for widening the gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 is completed according to the change in the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor 79, the main controller 50 The predetermined time T2 is set so that the illuminance falls below the threshold value. Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 10C and 10D, when the movement of the Z-tilt mechanism 30 for widening the gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 is completed, the substrate 1 is moved stepwise in the XY directions. The movement of the X stage 5 and the Y stage 7 for performing is started.

  Similarly, even when the step movement of the substrate 1 in the X and Y directions is started when the illuminance of the exposure light reaches the threshold value, the exposure light is applied after the operation for widening the gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 is completed. The predetermined time T2 can be made longer than in the case of FIG. 9 where there is time until the illuminance reaches the threshold value. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 10B, after the operation of closing the shutter 75 proceeds and the illuminance of the exposure light is reduced, the operation of widening the gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 is started, and the pattern burn-in blurring occurs. The risk of occurrence is further reduced.

  FIG. 13 is a time chart of the conventional substrate moving method. 13A shows the shutter drive signal, FIG. 13B shows the illuminance of the exposure light, FIG. 13C shows the operation of the Z-tilt mechanism, and FIG. 13D shows the operations of the X stage and the Y stage. Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 13B and 13C, when the illuminance of the exposure light reaches a threshold value, the movement of the Z-tilt mechanism for widening the gap between the mask and the substrate is started. The Then, as shown in FIGS. 13C and 13D, when the movement of the Z-tilt mechanism is finished, the movement of the X stage and the Y stage for performing the step movement of the substrate in the XY directions is started. The

  13 is compared with FIGS. 9 and 10, in the conventional example shown in FIG. 13, the Z-tilt mechanism for widening the gap between the mask and the substrate after the illuminance of the exposure light falls below the threshold value. Then, the substrate is moved stepwise in the X and Y directions. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor 79 is below a threshold value. Immediately after that, the step in the XY direction of the substrate 1 is performed.

  According to the embodiment described above, the mask 2 and the substrate are moved by the Z-tilt mechanism 30 after a predetermined time has elapsed after the shutter driving device 80 is instructed to close the shutter 75 and before the shutter 75 finishes closing. When the operation of widening the gap between the mask 1 and the substrate 1 is completed and the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor 79 is below the threshold value, the XY of the substrate 1 is By performing the step movement in the direction, the step movement of the substrate 1 can be started at an early stage without reducing the exposure quality, and the tact time can be shortened.

  Furthermore, according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, when the operation of widening the gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 is completed according to the change in the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor 79, By determining the predetermined time T2 so that the illuminance falls below the threshold value, the risk of pattern burn-in blurring can be further reduced.

  In the present invention, the test exposure of the substrate is performed at a predetermined value for a predetermined time from when the shutter is instructed to close until the operation of widening the gap between the mask and the substrate is started by the Z-tilt mechanism. Evaluate the product of the substrate exposed in step 1, and select the optimum value.

  Exposure of the substrate is lowered by performing exposure of the substrate using the proximity exposure apparatus of the present invention, or moving the substrate using the substrate moving method of the proximity exposure apparatus of the present invention to perform exposure of the substrate. Therefore, the step movement of the substrate can be started at an early stage, so that the pattern can be printed with high accuracy at a short interval, and a high-quality substrate can be manufactured with high throughput.

  For example, FIG. 11 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 photosensitive resin material (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), the mask pattern is transferred to the photoresist film using a proximity exposure apparatus, a projection exposure apparatus, or the like. 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. 12 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. 11, in the exposure process (step 103), in the color filter substrate manufacturing process shown in FIG. 12, in the black matrix forming process (step 201) and the colored pattern forming process (step 202). In this exposure process, the proximity exposure apparatus or the substrate moving method of the proximity exposure apparatus of the present invention can be applied.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Board | substrate 2 Mask 3 Base 4 X guide 5 X stage 6 Y guide 7 Y stage 8 θ stage 9 Chuck support stand 10 Chuck 20 Mask holder 21 Holder frame 22 Top frame 23 Air cushion 24 Tilt arm 30 Z-tilt mechanism 31 Casing 32 Linear guide 33 Movable block 34 Motor 35 Shaft coupling 36a Ball screw 36b Nut 37 Ball 40 Gap sensor 41 Laser light source 42 Collimation lens group 43 Projection lens 44, 45 Mirror 46 Imaging lens 47 CCD line sensor 50 Main controller 61 X Stage drive circuit 62 Y stage drive circuit 63 θ stage drive circuit 64 Z-tilt mechanism drive circuit 70 Exposure light irradiation device 71 Lamp 72 Condensing mirror 73 First plane mirror 74 Lens 75 Yatta 76 collimation lens 77 second plane mirror 78 Power 79 illumination sensor 80 shutter driving device

Claims (6)

A chuck for supporting the substrate, a mask holder for holding the mask, and a stage for moving the chuck are provided. The chuck is moved by the stage to perform step movement of the substrate in the XY directions, and a plurality of surfaces of the substrate are arranged. In proximity exposure equipment that divides and exposes shots,
A shutter that blocks exposure light;
A shutter driving device for opening and closing the shutter;
An illuminance sensor that measures the illuminance of the exposure light;
A stage drive circuit for driving the stage;
A Z-tilt mechanism that relatively moves and tilts the mask holder and the chuck in the Z direction;
A Z-tilt mechanism drive circuit for driving the Z-tilt mechanism;
A control device for controlling the shutter drive device, the stage drive circuit, and the Z-tilt mechanism drive circuit;
The controller is
The Z-tilt mechanism driving circuit drives the Z-tilt mechanism after a predetermined time has elapsed since the shutter driving device was instructed to close the shutter and before the shutter finished closing. Started to widen the gap with the substrate,
When the operation of widening the gap between the mask and the substrate is completed, and the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor falls below a threshold value, the stage is driven by the stage drive circuit to move in the XY direction of the substrate. Proximity exposure apparatus characterized by performing step movement. The controller is
A predetermined time is set so that the illuminance of the exposure light falls below the threshold value when the operation of widening the gap between the mask and the substrate is completed according to the change in the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor. The proximity exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: A chuck for supporting the substrate, a mask holder for holding the mask, and a stage for moving the chuck are provided. The chuck is moved by the stage to perform step movement of the substrate in the XY directions so that one surface of the substrate is made into a plurality of shots. A method for moving a substrate of a proximity exposure apparatus that performs exposure separately.
A shutter that blocks exposure light, a shutter drive that opens and closes the shutter, an illuminance sensor that measures the illuminance of the exposure light, and a Z-tilt mechanism that relatively moves and tilts the mask holder and chuck in the Z direction. Provided,
After a predetermined time has elapsed after instructing the shutter drive device to close the shutter, before the shutter finishes closing, an operation to widen the gap between the mask and the substrate is started by the Z-tilt mechanism.
Proximity exposure characterized in that when the operation of widening the gap between the mask and the substrate ends and the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor falls below a threshold value, the substrate is moved stepwise in the XY directions. A method for moving a substrate of an apparatus.   In accordance with the change in the illuminance of the exposure light measured by the illuminance sensor, the predetermined time is determined so that the illuminance of the exposure light falls below the threshold value when the operation to widen the gap between the mask and the substrate is completed. The method of moving a substrate of a proximity exposure apparatus according to claim 3.   A method for manufacturing a display panel substrate, comprising: exposing a substrate using the proximity exposure apparatus according to claim 1.   A method for manufacturing a display panel substrate, wherein the substrate is moved by using the substrate moving method of the proximity exposure apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, and the substrate is exposed.

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