JP5467975B2 - Exposure apparatus, exposure method, and manufacturing method of display panel substrate - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus that exposes a light beam to a substrate coated with a photoresist, scans the substrate with the light beam, and draws a pattern on the substrate in the manufacture of a display panel substrate such as a liquid crystal display device. The present invention relates to a method and a method for manufacturing a display panel substrate using the same.

  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 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 was a proximity method to transfer.

  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 the substrate. Since the substrate is scanned by the light beam and the pattern is directly drawn on the substrate, an expensive mask is not required. Further, by changing the drawing data and the scanning program, various types of display panel substrates can be supported. Examples of such an exposure apparatus include those described in Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3.

JP 2010-44318 A JP 2010-60990 A JP 2010-102084 A

  When a pattern is drawn on a substrate with a light beam, a spatial light modulator such as a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) is used to modulate the light beam. The DMD is configured by arranging a plurality of minute mirrors that reflect a light beam in two directions, and modulates the light beam applied to the substrate by changing the angle of each mirror. The DMD drive circuit outputs a drive signal for driving each mirror to the DMD based on the drawing data. The scanning of the substrate by the light beam is performed by relatively moving a chuck that supports the substrate and a light beam irradiation apparatus having an irradiation optical system that irradiates the substrate with the light beam modulated by the DMD.

  The drawing data is generated based on the coordinate data created from the CAD data of the pattern to be drawn and stored in the memory, and the light reflected by each mirror of the DMD by the relative movement between the chuck and the light beam irradiation device. As the region irradiated onto the substrate moves, it is read from the memory and supplied to the drive circuit of the DMD.

  The pattern drawn on the substrate becomes a figure deformed by extending in the scanning direction from the figure of the CAD data by the relative movement of the chuck and the light beam irradiation device as the substrate is scanned by the light beam. Therefore, conventionally, correction for compressing CAD data in the scanning direction has been performed. However, a pattern that includes edges that are not parallel or perpendicular to the scanning direction moves to the scanning direction when drawing, resulting in a figure with a different shape. To avoid this, it is complicated when correcting CAD data. Processing was necessary. Further, although the scanning direction of the substrate by the light beam is shifted due to the positional deviation or distortion of the substrate to be exposed, the correction of CAD data cannot include these errors, so that the exposure accuracy is lowered. In addition, the relative movement speed between the chuck and the light beam irradiation device is set according to the illuminance of the light beam and the performance of the photoresist in order to secure the necessary amount of exposure light, and the minute errors are also determined. The settings are changed accordingly. The conventional method of correcting CAD data in advance has a problem that it cannot cope with a change in the relative movement speed between the chuck and the light beam irradiation apparatus.

  An object of the present invention is to improve the drawing accuracy by effectively suppressing the extension of the pattern drawn on the substrate in the scanning direction without performing complicated processing for correcting the CAD data of the pattern. Another object of the present invention is to highly accurately correct the extension of the pattern in the scanning direction in response to a change in the relative movement speed between the chuck and the light beam irradiation device. Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to manufacture a high-quality display panel substrate.

  An exposure apparatus of the present invention includes a chuck that supports a substrate coated with a photoresist, a spatial light modulator that modulates a light beam, a drive circuit that drives the spatial light modulator based on drawing data, and a spatial A light beam irradiation apparatus having an irradiation optical system for irradiating a light beam modulated by the light modulator; and a moving means for relatively moving the chuck and the light beam irradiation apparatus. The moving means irradiates the chuck and the light beam. An exposure apparatus that moves relative to the apparatus, scans the substrate with a light beam from a light beam irradiation apparatus, and draws a pattern on the substrate, and is shorter than the length of the pattern to be drawn in the scanning direction in the scanning direction The image forming apparatus includes drawing control means for supplying drawing data of the scanning range to a drive circuit of the light beam irradiation apparatus.

  The exposure method of the present invention also supports a substrate coated with a photoresist with a chuck, a spatial light modulator that modulates a light beam, and a drive that drives the spatial light modulator based on drawing data. A circuit, and a light beam irradiation apparatus having an irradiation optical system that irradiates a light beam modulated by a spatial light modulator, relatively moves, scans the substrate with the light beam from the light beam irradiation apparatus, In the exposure method for drawing a pattern on a substrate, drawing data in a scanning range shorter than the length in the scanning direction in the scanning area of the pattern to be drawn is supplied to the drive circuit of the light beam irradiation apparatus.

  Since drawing data in a scanning range shorter than the length in the scanning direction in the scanning area of the pattern to be drawn is supplied to the drive circuit of the light beam irradiation device, the drawing data is applied to the substrate without performing complicated processing for correcting the CAD data of the pattern. The elongation in the scanning direction of the pattern to be drawn is effectively suppressed, and the drawing accuracy is improved.

  Further, in the exposure apparatus of the present invention, the drawing control means stores a coordinate data of a pattern to be drawn on the substrate, a position at which irradiation of the light beam to the substrate is started from the coordinate data stored in the memory, An arithmetic circuit that determines the position to end the irradiation of the light beam, a correction circuit that corrects the position to end the irradiation of the light beam determined by the arithmetic circuit and shortens the scanning range, and an arithmetic circuit The image forming apparatus includes a drawing data generation circuit that generates drawing data between a position where the irradiation of the light beam starts and a position where the irradiation of the light beam corrected by the correction circuit ends.

  In the exposure method of the present invention, coordinate data of a pattern to be drawn on the substrate is stored in the memory, and from the coordinate data stored in the memory, the position where the irradiation of the light beam is started on the substrate and the irradiation of the light beam are finished. The position where the irradiation of the determined light beam ends is corrected, the position where the irradiation of the determined light beam ends is corrected, the scanning range is shortened, and the position where the irradiation of the determined light beam starts and the position where the irradiation of the corrected light beam ends The drawing data between and are generated.

  Coordinate data of a pattern to be drawn on the substrate is stored in the memory, and a position where the irradiation of the light beam is started and a position where the irradiation of the light beam is finished are determined from the coordinate data stored in the memory. Then, the position where the determined irradiation of the light beam ends is corrected, the scanning range is shortened, and the drawing between the position where the determined irradiation of the light beam starts and the position where the irradiation of the corrected light beam ends is performed. Since data is generated, drawing data in a scanning range shorter than the length in the scanning direction in the scanning area of the pattern to be drawn is easily created.

  Furthermore, in the exposure apparatus of the present invention, the correction circuit corrects the correction amount when correcting the position at which the irradiation of the light beam is terminated in accordance with a change in the relative moving speed between the chuck and the light beam irradiation apparatus by the moving unit. Is to change. In the exposure method of the present invention, the correction amount for correcting the position where the irradiation of the light beam is terminated is changed in accordance with the change in the relative moving speed between the chuck and the light beam irradiation apparatus. Corresponding to the change in the relative moving speed between the chuck and the light beam irradiation device, the extension of the pattern in the scanning direction is corrected with high accuracy.

  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. By using the above exposure apparatus or exposure method, the pattern drawn on the substrate is effectively prevented from extending in the scanning direction and the drawing accuracy is improved, so that a high-quality display panel substrate is manufactured. .

  According to the exposure apparatus and the exposure method of the present invention, the drawing data of the scanning range shorter than the length in the scanning direction in the scanning area of the pattern to be drawn is supplied to the drive circuit of the light beam irradiation device, thereby the CAD data of the pattern. Without performing a complicated process of correcting the above, it is possible to effectively suppress the extension of the pattern drawn on the substrate in the scanning direction and improve the drawing accuracy.

  Further, according to the exposure apparatus and the exposure method of the present invention, coordinate data of a pattern to be drawn on the substrate is stored in the memory, and from the coordinate data stored in the memory, the position where the irradiation of the light beam to the substrate is started, and the light The position where the beam irradiation ends is determined, the position where the determined light beam irradiation ends is corrected, the scanning range is shortened, and the position where the determined light beam irradiation starts and the corrected light beam By generating drawing data between the irradiation end position and drawing data, drawing data in a scanning range shorter than the length in the scanning direction in the scanning region of the pattern to be drawn can be easily created.

  Furthermore, according to the exposure apparatus and the exposure method of the present invention, the correction amount for correcting the position where the irradiation of the light beam ends is changed according to the change in the relative movement speed between the chuck and the light beam irradiation apparatus. By doing so, it is possible to correct the elongation of the pattern in the scanning direction with high accuracy in accordance with the change in the relative movement speed between the chuck and the light beam irradiation device.

  According to the method for manufacturing a display panel substrate of the present invention, it is possible to effectively suppress the extension of the pattern drawn on the substrate in the scanning direction and improve the drawing accuracy. A substrate can be manufactured.

1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration 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. 1 is a front view of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of a light beam irradiation apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the mirror part of DMD. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of a laser length measurement system. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the drawing control part by one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of a coordinate arithmetic circuit. It is a figure which shows an example of the pattern drawn when not using this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of a scanning movement error correction circuit. It is a figure which shows an example of the pattern drawn by the exposure method of this invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the drawing control part by other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the scanning of the board | substrate by a light beam. It is a figure explaining the scanning of the board | substrate by a light beam. It is a figure explaining the scanning of the board | substrate by a light beam. It is a figure explaining the scanning of the board | substrate by a light beam. 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.

  FIG. 1 is a view showing the schematic arrangement of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a side view of the exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a front view of the exposure apparatus according to the 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 light beam irradiation device 20, linear scales 31, 33, encoders 32, 34, A laser length measurement system, a laser length measurement system control device 40, a stage drive circuit 60, and a main control device 70 are included. 2 and 3, the laser light source 41 of the laser measurement system, the laser measurement system control device 40, the stage drive circuit 60, and the main control device 70 are omitted. In addition to these, the 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.

  1 and 2, the chuck 10 is in a delivery position for delivering the substrate 1. At the delivery position, the substrate 1 is carried into the chuck 10 by a substrate carrying robot (not shown), and the substrate 1 is carried out of the chuck 10 by a substrate carrying robot (not shown). The chuck 10 supports 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 plurality of light beam irradiation devices 20 are mounted on the gate 11. Although the present embodiment shows an example of an exposure apparatus using eight light beam irradiation apparatuses 20, the number of light beam irradiation apparatuses is not limited to this, and the present invention is one or two or more. The present invention is applied to an exposure apparatus using a light beam irradiation apparatus.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the light beam irradiation apparatus. The light beam irradiation device 20 includes an optical fiber 22, a lens 23, a mirror 24, a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) 25, a projection lens 26, and a DMD driving circuit 27. The optical fiber 22 introduces an ultraviolet light beam generated from the laser light source unit 21 into the light beam irradiation device 20. The light beam emitted from the optical fiber 22 is irradiated to the DMD 25 through the lens 23 and the mirror 24. The DMD 25 is a spatial light modulator configured by arranging a plurality of minute mirrors that reflect a light beam in two orthogonal directions, and modulates the light beam by changing the angle of each mirror. The light beam modulated by the DMD 25 is irradiated from the head unit 20 a including the projection lens 26. The DMD drive circuit 27 changes the angle of each mirror of the DMD 25 based on the drawing data supplied from the main controller 70.

  2 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. The X stage 5, Y stage 7, and θ stage 8 are provided with drive mechanisms (not shown) such as ball screws and motors, linear motors, etc., and each drive mechanism is driven by a stage drive circuit 60 of FIG. The

  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. When the X stage 5 moves in the X direction at the exposure position, the light beam irradiated from the head unit 20a of each light beam irradiation apparatus 20 scans the substrate 1 in the X direction. In addition, as the Y stage 7 moves in the Y direction, the scanning region of the substrate 1 by the light beam emitted from the head unit 20a of each light beam irradiation device 20 is moved in the Y direction. In FIG. 1, the main controller 70 controls the stage drive circuit 60 to rotate the θ stage 8 in the θ direction, move the X stage 5 in the X direction, and move the Y stage 7 in the Y direction. .

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a DMD mirror unit. The DMD 25 of the light beam irradiation device 20 is disposed at a predetermined angle θ with respect to the scanning direction (X direction) of the substrate 1 by the light beam from the light beam irradiation device 20. When the DMD 25 is arranged to be inclined with respect to the scanning direction, any one of the plurality of mirrors 25a arranged in two orthogonal directions covers a portion corresponding to the gap between the adjacent mirrors 25a. It can be done without gaps.

  In the present embodiment, the substrate 10 is scanned by the light beam from the light beam irradiation device 20 by moving the chuck 10 in the X direction by the X stage 5, but the light beam irradiation device 20 is moved. By doing so, the substrate 1 may be scanned by the light beam from the light beam irradiation device 20. In the present embodiment, the scanning region of the substrate 1 by the light beam from the light beam irradiation device 20 is changed by moving the chuck 10 in the Y direction by the Y stage 7, but the light beam irradiation device 20. , The scanning region of the substrate 1 by the light beam from the light beam irradiation device 20 may be changed.

  1 and 2, the base 3 is provided with a linear scale 31 extending in the X direction. The linear scale 31 is provided with a scale for detecting the amount of movement of the X stage 5 in the X direction. The X stage 5 is provided with a linear scale 33 extending in the Y direction. The linear scale 33 is provided with a scale for detecting the amount of movement of the Y stage 7 in the Y direction.

  1 and 3, an encoder 32 is attached to one side surface of the X stage 5 so as to face the linear scale 31. The encoder 32 detects the scale of the linear scale 31 and outputs a pulse signal to the main controller 70. 1 and 2, an encoder 34 is attached to one side surface of the Y stage 7 so as to face the linear scale 33. The encoder 34 detects the scale of the linear scale 33 and outputs a pulse signal to the main controller 70. Main controller 70 counts the pulse signal of encoder 32, detects the amount of movement of X stage 5 in the X direction, counts the pulse signal of encoder 34, and moves the amount of Y stage 7 in the Y direction. Is detected.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the laser length measurement system. In FIG. 6, the gate 11 and the light beam irradiation device 20 shown in FIG. 1 are omitted. The laser length measurement system is a known laser interference type length measurement system, and includes a laser light source 41, laser interferometers 42 and 44, and bar mirrors 43 and 45. The bar mirror 43 is attached to one side surface of the chuck 10 that extends in the Y direction. The bar mirror 45 is attached to one side surface of the chuck 10 extending in the X direction.

  The laser interferometer 42 irradiates the laser beam from the laser light source 41 onto the bar mirror 43, receives the laser beam reflected by the bar mirror 43, and the laser beam reflected from the laser beam source 41 and the laser beam reflected by the bar mirror 43. Measure interference. This measurement is performed at two locations in the Y direction. The laser length measurement system control device 40 detects the position and rotation of the chuck 10 in the X direction from the measurement result of the laser interferometer 42 under the control of the main control device 70.

  On the other hand, the laser interferometer 44 irradiates the laser beam from the laser light source 41 to the bar mirror 45, receives the laser beam reflected by the bar mirror 45, and the laser beam reflected from the laser source 41 and the bar mirror 45. Measure interference with light. The laser length measurement system control device 40 detects the position of the chuck 10 in the Y direction from the measurement result of the laser interferometer 44 under the control of the main control device 70.

  In FIG. 4, the main controller 70 has a drawing controller that supplies drawing data to the DMD drive circuit 27 of the light beam irradiation device 20. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a drawing control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The drawing control unit 71 includes a memory 72, a bandwidth setting unit 73, a center point coordinate determination unit 74, a coordinate determination unit 75, a drawing figure coordinate memory 82, a drawing data generation unit 84, and a scanning movement error correction circuit 87a. Has been.

  The drawing figure coordinate memory 82 stores coordinate data created from CAD data of a pattern to be drawn. The drawing data generation unit 84 generates drawing data from the coordinate data stored in the drawing graphic coordinate memory 82 as will be described later. The memory 72 stores the drawing data generated by the drawing data generation unit 84 using the XY coordinates as an address.

  The bandwidth setting unit 73 sets the Y-direction bandwidth of the light beam emitted from the head unit 20 a of the light beam irradiation device 20 by determining the range of the Y coordinate of the drawing data read from the memory 72.

  The laser length measurement system control device 40 detects the position of the chuck 10 in the X and Y directions before the exposure of the substrate 1 at the exposure position is started. The center point coordinate determination unit 74 determines the XY coordinates of the center point of the chuck 10 before starting the exposure of the substrate 1 from the position in the XY direction of the chuck 10 detected by the laser length measurement system control device 40. In FIG. 1, when scanning the substrate 1 with the light beam from the light beam irradiation device 20, the main control device 70 controls the stage drive circuit 60 to move the chuck 10 in the X direction by the X stage 5. When moving the scanning area of the substrate 1, the main controller 70 controls the stage drive circuit 60 to move the chuck 10 in the Y direction by the Y stage 7. In FIG. 7, the center point coordinate determination unit 74 counts the pulse signals from the encoders 32 and 34, detects the amount of movement of the X stage 5 in the X direction and the amount of movement of the Y stage 7 in the Y direction, The XY coordinates of the center point of the chuck 10 are determined.

  The coordinate determination unit 75 determines the XY coordinates of the drawing data supplied to the DMD drive circuit 27 of each light beam irradiation device 20 based on the XY coordinates of the center point of the chuck 10 determined by the center point coordinate determination unit 74. The memory 72 inputs the XY coordinates determined by the coordinate determination unit 75 as an address, and outputs the drawing data stored at the input XY coordinate address to the DMD drive circuit 27 of each light beam irradiation apparatus 20.

  Hereinafter, an exposure method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In FIG. 7, the drawing data generation unit 84 includes a coordinate calculation circuit 85 and a drawing data generation circuit 86. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the coordinate calculation circuit. FIG. 8 shows an example in which a light beam modulated by each mirror of the DMD 25 of the light beam irradiation device 20 scans the substrate 1 in the X direction to draw a triangular pattern. FIG. 8 shows a triangular pattern. The outline is indicated by a solid line. If the coordinates of the vertices of the triangular pattern are (X1, Y1), (X2, Y2), (X3, Y3), these coordinate data are stored in the drawing figure coordinate memory 82.

The coordinate calculation circuit 85 determines, from the coordinate data stored in the drawing figure coordinate memory 82, a position at which irradiation of the light beam to the substrate 1 is started and a position at which irradiation of the light beam is ended. When the Y coordinate of the scanning area is YA, the X coordinate XA of the position A where the irradiation of the light beam is started and the X coordinate XB of the position B where the irradiation of the light beam is finished are respectively calculated by the following calculation formulas.
XA = X1 + (YA-Y1). (X2-X1) / (Y2-Y1)
XB = X1 + (YA-Y1). (X3-X1) / (Y3-Y1)

  In FIG. 7, when the present invention is not used, the drawing data generation circuit 86 fills a pattern between the position where the irradiation of the light beam starts determined by the coordinate calculation circuit 85 and the position where the irradiation of the light beam ends. To draw drawing data between the two positions. The generated drawing data is stored in the memory 72, read from the memory 72 as the X stage 5 moves in the X direction, and supplied to the DMD driving circuit 27 of each light beam irradiation apparatus 20.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a pattern drawn when the present invention is not used. Without using the present invention, drawing data between the light beam irradiation start position determined by the coordinate calculation circuit 85 and the light beam irradiation end position is sent to the DMD drive circuit 27 of each light beam irradiation apparatus 20. When supplied, the pattern drawn on the substrate 1 is in the scanning direction (X direction) than the pattern shown in FIG. 8 by the movement of the X stage 5 in the scanning direction (X direction) as shown in FIG. ) And deformed.

In FIG. 7, the scanning movement error correction circuit 87a cures the set moving speed during scanning of the X stage 5, the tilt of the light beam irradiation device 20 with respect to the scanning direction of the DMD 25, and the photoresist applied to the surface of the substrate 1. A correction value is set for correcting the position at which the irradiation of the light beam is completed, which is determined from the amount of exposure light necessary for the exposure. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the scanning movement error correction circuit. The scanning movement error correction circuit 87a uses the set correction value to correct the light beam irradiation end position determined by the coordinate calculation circuit 85, thereby shortening the light beam scanning range. In the example of FIG. 8, the X coordinate XB of the position B where the irradiation of the light beam ends is corrected by the following calculation formula.
XB = X1 + (YA-Y1). (X3-X1) / (Y3-Y1)-(correction value)

  In FIG. 7, the drawing data generation circuit 86 is between the position where the irradiation of the light beam determined by the coordinate calculation circuit 85 starts and the position where the irradiation of the light beam corrected by the scanning movement error correction circuit 87a ends. Generate drawing data. The generated drawing data is stored in the memory 72, read from the memory 72 as the X stage 5 moves in the X direction, and supplied to the DMD driving circuit 27 of each light beam irradiation apparatus 20.

  Coordinate data of a pattern to be drawn on the substrate 1 is stored in the drawing graphic coordinate memory 82. From the coordinate data stored in the drawing graphic coordinate memory 82, the position where the irradiation of the light beam is started on the substrate 1 and the light beam irradiation are performed. Decide the position to end, correct the position to end the irradiation of the determined light beam, shorten the scanning range, end the irradiation of the determined light beam and the corrected light beam irradiation Since the drawing data between the positions is generated, the drawing data in the scanning range shorter than the length in the scanning direction in the scanning area of the pattern to be drawn is easily created.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a pattern drawn by the exposure method of the present invention. According to the present invention, when drawing data in a scanning range shorter than the length in the scanning direction in the scanning region of the pattern to be drawn is supplied to the DMD driving circuit 27 of each light beam irradiation device 20, the pattern drawn on the substrate 1 is As shown in FIG. 11, the X stage 5 moves in the scanning direction (X direction) more than the supplied drawing data by the amount of movement in the scanning direction (X direction), and becomes a figure very close to the figure intended for drawing. . Since drawing data in a scanning range shorter than the length in the scanning direction in the scanning region of the pattern to be drawn is supplied to the DMD driving circuit 27 of the light beam irradiation device 20, without performing complicated processing for correcting the CAD data of the pattern. The elongation of the pattern drawn on the substrate 1 in the scanning direction is effectively suppressed, and the drawing accuracy is improved.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a drawing control unit according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the drawing control unit 71 includes a scanning movement error correction circuit 87b instead of the scanning movement error correction circuit 87a of FIG. Other components are the same as those in the embodiment shown in FIG.

  In the scanning movement error correction circuit 87b, the inclination of the light beam irradiation device 20 with respect to the scanning direction of the DMD 25 and the amount of exposure light necessary to cure the photoresist applied to the surface of the substrate 1 are set. . The scanning movement error correction circuit 87b counts the pulse signal from the encoder 32, detects the amount of movement of the X stage 5 in the X direction, and the position of the chuck 10 in the X direction detected by the laser length measuring system control device 40. The movement speed of the X stage 5 is detected from the detected movement amount of the X stage 5 in the X direction. Then, the scanning movement error correction circuit 87b corrects the position at which the irradiation of the light beam is terminated from the detected moving speed of the X stage 5, the set inclination of the DMD 25 with respect to the scanning direction, and the necessary amount of exposure light. A correction value is determined, and the determined correction amount is changed according to the detected change in the moving speed of the X stage 5. The scanning movement error correction circuit 87b uses the changed correction value to correct the position where the light beam irradiation ends determined by the coordinate calculation circuit 85, thereby shortening the scanning range of the light beam.

  Since the correction amount for correcting the position where the irradiation of the light beam ends is changed according to the change in the relative movement speed between the chuck 10 and the light beam irradiation device 20, the chuck 10 and the light beam irradiation device 20 In accordance with the change in the relative movement speed, the extension of the pattern in the scanning direction is corrected with high accuracy.

  13 to 16 are diagrams for explaining scanning of the substrate by the light beam. FIGS. 13 to 16 show an example in which the entire substrate 1 is scanned by scanning the substrate 1 in the X direction four times with eight light beams from the eight light beam irradiation devices 20. In FIGS. 13 to 16, the head portion 20 a of each light beam irradiation apparatus 20 is indicated by a broken line. The light beam emitted from the head unit 20a of each light beam irradiation device 20 has a bandwidth W in the Y direction, and the substrate 1 is scanned in the direction indicated by the arrow by the movement of the X stage 5 in the X direction.

  FIG. 13 shows the first scan, and a pattern is drawn in the scan area shown in gray in FIG. 13 by the first scan in the X direction. When the first scanning is completed, the substrate 1 is moved in the Y direction by the same distance as the bandwidth W by the movement of the Y stage 7 in the Y direction. FIG. 14 shows the second scan, and the pattern is drawn in the scan area shown in gray in FIG. 14 by the second scan in the X direction. When the second scan is completed, the substrate 1 is moved in the Y direction by the same distance as the bandwidth W by the movement of the Y stage 7 in the Y direction. FIG. 15 shows the third scan, and the pattern is drawn in the scan area shown in gray in FIG. 15 by the third scan in the X direction. When the third scan is completed, the substrate 1 is moved in the Y direction by the same distance as the bandwidth W by the movement of the Y stage 7 in the Y direction. FIG. 16 shows the fourth scan. With the fourth scan in the X direction, a pattern is drawn in the scan area shown in gray in FIG. 16, and the scan of the entire substrate 1 is completed.

  By scanning the substrate 1 in parallel with a plurality of light beams from the plurality of light beam irradiation apparatuses 20, the time required for scanning the entire substrate 1 can be shortened, and the tact time can be shortened.

  Although FIGS. 13 to 16 show an example in which the substrate 1 is scanned four times in the X direction and the entire substrate 1 is scanned, the number of scans is not limited to this, and the substrate 1 is scanned in the X direction. May be performed 3 times or less or 5 times or more to scan the entire substrate 1.

  According to the embodiment described above, the drawing data of the scanning range shorter than the length in the scanning direction in the scanning area of the pattern to be drawn is supplied to the DMD driving circuit 27 of the light beam irradiation device 20, thereby the CAD of the pattern. Without performing a complicated process of correcting data, it is possible to effectively suppress the growth of the pattern drawn on the substrate 1 in the scanning direction and improve the drawing accuracy.

  Further, coordinate data of a pattern to be drawn on the substrate 1 is stored in the drawing graphic coordinate memory 82, and from the coordinate data stored in the drawing graphic coordinate memory 82, the position where the irradiation of the light beam to the substrate 1 is started, and the light beam Decide the position to end irradiation, correct the position to end irradiation of the determined light beam, shorten the scanning range, and start the irradiation of the determined light beam and the corrected light beam irradiation By generating the drawing data between the end position and the drawing position, the drawing data in the scanning range shorter than the length in the scanning direction in the scanning area of the pattern to be drawn can be easily created.

  Furthermore, according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the correction amount for correcting the position where the irradiation of the light beam is terminated according to the change in the relative movement speed between the chuck 10 and the light beam irradiation device 20. By changing the above, it is possible to correct the elongation of the pattern in the scanning direction with high accuracy in accordance with the change in the relative movement speed between the chuck 10 and the light beam irradiation device 20.

  By performing exposure of the substrate using the exposure apparatus or exposure method of the present invention, it is possible to effectively suppress the elongation of the pattern drawn on the substrate in the scanning direction and improve the drawing accuracy. A quality display panel substrate can be manufactured.

  For example, FIG. 17 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 stripping step (step 106), the photoresist film that has finished the role of the mask in the etching step (step 105) is stripped with a stripping 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. 18 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, 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. 17, in the exposure process (step 103), in the color filter substrate manufacturing process shown in FIG. 18, 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.

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 Light beam irradiation device 20a Head part 21 Laser light source unit 22 Optical fiber 23 Lens 24 Mirror 25 DMD (Digital Micromirror Device)
26 Projection Lens 27 DMD Drive Circuit 31, 33 Linear Scale 32, 34 Encoder 40 Laser Measuring System Controller 41 Laser Light Source 42, 44 Laser Interferometer 43, 45 Bar Mirror 60 Stage Drive Circuit 70 Main Controller 71 Drawing Controller 72 Memory 73 Bandwidth setting unit 74 Center point coordinate determining unit 75 Coordinate determining unit 82 Drawing figure coordinate memory 84 Drawing data generating unit 85 Coordinate operation circuit 86 Drawing data generating circuit 87a, 87b Scanning movement error correction circuit

Claims (8)

A chuck for supporting a substrate coated with a photoresist;
Light beam irradiation having a spatial light modulator for modulating a light beam, a driving circuit for driving the spatial light modulator based on drawing data, and an irradiation optical system for irradiating the light beam modulated by the spatial light modulator Equipment,
A moving means for relatively moving the chuck and the light beam irradiation device;
An exposure apparatus that relatively moves the chuck and the light beam irradiation device by the moving means, scans the substrate with the light beam from the light beam irradiation device, and draws a pattern on the substrate,
An exposure apparatus comprising drawing control means for supplying drawing data in a scanning range shorter than a length in a scanning direction in a scanning region of a pattern to be drawn to a drive circuit of the light beam irradiation apparatus. The drawing control means includes
A memory for storing coordinate data of a pattern to be drawn on the substrate;
An arithmetic circuit for determining a position where the irradiation of the light beam is started on the substrate and a position where the irradiation of the light beam is finished from the coordinate data stored in the memory;
A correction circuit for correcting the position where the irradiation of the light beam determined by the arithmetic circuit is terminated and shortening the scanning range;
A drawing data generation circuit that generates drawing data between a position where the irradiation of the light beam determined by the arithmetic circuit starts and a position where the irradiation of the light beam corrected by the correction circuit ends; The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that:   The correction circuit changes a correction amount when correcting the position where the irradiation of the light beam is terminated, according to a change in a relative moving speed between the chuck and the light beam irradiation device by the moving unit. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that: Support the substrate coated with photoresist with a chuck,
A chuck, a spatial light modulator that modulates the light beam, a drive circuit that drives the spatial light modulator based on drawing data, and an irradiation optical system that irradiates the light beam modulated by the spatial light modulator Move relative to the light beam irradiation device,
An exposure method for drawing a pattern on a substrate by scanning the substrate with a light beam from a light beam irradiation device,
An exposure method, wherein drawing data in a scanning range shorter than a length in a scanning direction in a scanning region of a pattern to be drawn is supplied to a drive circuit of a light beam irradiation apparatus. Store the coordinate data of the pattern to be drawn on the board in the memory,
From the coordinate data stored in the memory, determine the position to start the irradiation of the light beam to the substrate and the position to end the irradiation of the light beam,
Correct the position to end the irradiation of the determined light beam, shorten the scanning range,
5. The exposure method according to claim 4, wherein drawing data is generated between a position where the determined irradiation of the light beam starts and a position where the corrected irradiation of the light beam ends.   6. The exposure method according to claim 5, wherein a correction amount for correcting a position where the irradiation of the light beam is finished is changed in accordance with a change in a relative moving speed between the chuck and the light beam irradiation apparatus. .   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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