JP5908723B2 - Defect correction apparatus and defect correction method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a defect correction apparatus and a defect correction method, and more specifically, a defect correction apparatus and a defect correction method for correcting a defect on a substrate by removing foreign matter on the substrate using a needle-like member. It is about.

  In the manufacturing process of a flat panel display, when resist residues, metal pieces, dust, or the like are mixed in the substrate, the electrodes are short-circuited or disconnected to deteriorate the yield. For this reason, it is desirable to prevent such foreign matters from causing defects. However, since it is difficult to completely prevent contamination, it is necessary to repair defects. As a repairing method, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-211227 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-152078 have proposed a substrate correction apparatus that removes foreign matters by protruding with a needle.

  In addition, in a substrate correction method for removing foreign matters by piercing with a needle, an apparatus and method for controlling needle drive in a direction perpendicular to the substrate is proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-131527 in order to prevent damage to the substrate by the needle. ing.

  Although not removing foreign matter, Japanese Patent No. 2983879 proposes a substrate correcting apparatus that corrects by applying conductive ink with a needle to a disconnection defect portion of a fine pattern generated on the substrate.

  On the other hand, although it is not a defect correction device, a shape measuring device that detects contact with a fine three-dimensional object to be measured by disposing a strain gauge in the horizontal portion of a shape measuring stylus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-1990. This is proposed in Japanese Patent No. 51946.

JP 2010-211227 A JP 2010-152078 A JP 2002-131527 A Japanese Patent No. 2983879 JP-A-11-51946

  However, the conventional substrate correction apparatus does not detect that the needle used for removing the foreign matter has contacted the substrate or the foreign matter on the substrate. Therefore, it is assumed that the needle is excessively pushed into the substrate or the foreign matter on the substrate, and the substrate or the needle is damaged.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. A main object of the present invention is to provide a defect correction apparatus and a defect correction method capable of suppressing damage to a substrate and a needle during defect correction.

A defect correction apparatus according to the present invention is a defect correction apparatus capable of correcting a defect on a substrate, and detects a working needle capable of removing the defect on the substrate, and contact between the working needle provided on the working needle and the substrate. A possible contact detector, a working needle, and drive means capable of driving the contact detector relative to the substrate. The working needle is thinner than other parts of the working needle, and includes a contact detector support portion on which the contact detector is installed.

  For example, a strain sensor can be used as the contact detector. The defect correction apparatus may include a movable holding unit that holds the working needle and the contact detector so as to be movable in a direction approaching and separating from the substrate. The defect correcting apparatus includes a guide unit that guides the movable holding unit so that the movable holding unit can move in a direction toward and away from the substrate, and a movable holding unit that is provided in the guide unit and can be stopped. A stop part may be further provided.

  The drive unit may include a first drive unit capable of driving the movable holding unit along the guide unit and a second drive unit capable of driving the first drive unit. A plate-like portion may be provided on the working needle. In this case, the contact detector may be installed on the plate-like portion. You may provide a flat part in a working needle. In this case, a contact detector may be installed on the flat part.

The defect correction method according to the present invention is a defect correction method for correcting a defect on a substrate, and detects a step of bringing a working needle closer to the surface of the substrate and contact between the working needle and the surface of the substrate or a defect on the substrate. And a step of removing defects using a working needle. The contact is detected by a contact detector provided on the working needle. The working needle is thinner than other parts of the working needle, and includes a contact detector support portion on which the contact detector is installed.

  The contact can be detected by a contact detector provided on the working needle. In this case, the step of detecting contact includes a calculation step of calculating at least one of the surface of the substrate, the pressing amount of the working needle against the defect on the substrate, and the contact pressure from the output value of the contact detector. Alternatively, it may include a step of judging contact when the output value of the contact detector exceeds a predetermined threshold, and the output value of the contact detector before and after the step of bringing the working needle closer to the substrate. And a step of determining contact when the amount of change in the output value of the contact detector exceeds a predetermined threshold value may be included. Moreover, after the said calculation process, the process of receiving the result and adjusting a pushing amount or a contact pressure may be included.

  According to the defect correcting apparatus and the defect correcting method of the present invention, it is possible to suppress damage to the substrate and the needle due to the contact of the working needle at the time of defect correction.

It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the defect correction apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a side view which shows the foreign material removal apparatus in the defect correction apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and its vicinity. It is a side view for demonstrating the foreign material removal method using the defect correction apparatus shown in FIG. It is a side view for demonstrating the foreign material removal method using the defect correction apparatus shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of the needle | hook which can be used in the defect correction apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the VI-VI line in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the other modification of the working needle which can be used in the defect correction apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the VIII-VIII line in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the other modification of the working needle which can be used in the defect correction apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the XX line in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the further another modification of the working needle which can be used in the defect correction apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the XII-XII line | wire in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the further another modification of the working needle which can be used in the defect correction apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the XIV-XIV line | wire in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the further another modification of the working needle which can be used in the defect correction apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the XVI-XVI line | wire in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the further another modification of the working needle which can be used in the defect correction apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the XVIII-XVIII line in FIG. It is an output characteristic figure of a distortion sensor in a foreign substance removal process using a defect correction device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

(Embodiment 1)
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below. First, the configuration of the defect correction apparatus 20 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The defect correction apparatus 20 according to the first embodiment is an apparatus that corrects a fine pattern defect on a substrate by removing foreign matter on the substrate using a working needle.

  The defect correcting device 20 includes a surface plate 21, a chuck 22, an XY stage 23, a Z stage 24, an observation optical system 10, a laser unit 25, and the foreign matter removing device 1. In addition, with reference to FIG. 2, the board | substrate 12 has the structure where the film | membrane 14 was formed, for example on the glass 13 surface. The first embodiment of the present invention will be described by taking the substrate 12 in which the foreign matter 15 is mixed in the film 14 as an example.

  The chuck 22 is provided at the center of the surface plate 21 and holds the substrate 12 including the foreign material 15 to be removed. The XY stage 23 is mounted on the surface plate 21 and includes an X stage 23a and a Y stage 23b. The Y stage 23b is provided in a gate shape so as to straddle the chuck 22, and is movable in the Y-axis direction in FIG. The X stage 23a is mounted on the Y stage 23b and is movable in the X-axis direction in FIG. The Z stage 24 is mounted on the X stage 23a, and holds the foreign matter removing apparatus 1, the observation optical system 10, and the laser unit 25 so as to be movable in the Z-axis direction in FIG. The observation optical system 10 is disposed at a position where the substrate 12 can be observed from above. On the substrate side of the observation optical system 10, an objective lens switching device 26 for switching the objective lens 11 is provided. The foreign matter removing apparatus 1 may be mounted on the objective lens switching device 26 or may be directly installed on the Z stage 24. The laser unit 25 is used for removing a defect of a pattern already formed on the surface of the substrate 12 or removing a resist residue.

  With reference to FIG. 2, the structure of the foreign material removal apparatus 1 is demonstrated. The foreign matter removing apparatus 1 includes a working needle 2 for removing the foreign matter 15, a needle holding portion 8 as a member for holding the working needle 2, a Z table 5, a cylinder 6, a slider 4, a stop portion 9, an XYZ stage 7, And a strain sensor 3 as a member for detecting contact of the needle 2.

  The working needle 2 is fixed to the needle holder 8. The needle holder 8 is fixed to the Z table 5. The Z table 5 is held movably along the slider 4 and is driven by a cylinder 6. The cylinder 6 has a drive shaft 6a in the Z-axis direction in FIG. 1, and drives the Z table 5 along the slider 4 via a support plate 51 at the lower end of the drive shaft 6a. The slider 4 is fixed to the XYZ stage 7 and includes a stop unit 9. The XYZ stage 7 is movable in the Z-axis direction in FIG. 1, and is further movable in the X-axis and Y-axis directions in FIG. The stop portion 9 is provided at the lower end of the slider 4 in order to determine the lower end position of the Z table 5.

  2 and 3, the Z table 5 is in contact with the support plate 51 of the drive shaft 6a of the cylinder 6 or the stop portion 9 of the slider 4 through the pin 52 by its own weight, The distance from the substrate 12 can be changed.

  For this reason, even if the XYZ stage 7 or the cylinder 6 continues to move toward the substrate 12 after the contact between the working needle 2 and the substrate 12, the Z table 5 moves along the slider 4 in the direction away from the substrate. Therefore, the maximum load applied to the substrate 12 is a member fixed to the slider 4 so as to be movable, specifically, the working needle 2, the strain sensor 3, the needle holding portion 8, the Z table 5, and the pin 52. And the total weight. For example, it is about several tens of grams. Thereby, the damage of the board | substrate 12 by the contact of the working needle 2 or the working needle 2 can be suppressed.

  The strain sensor 3 is provided in the work needle 2 and detects strain generated in the work needle 2 when the work needle 2 comes into contact with the substrate 12. Accordingly, contact can be detected before the total load of the members fixed to the substrate 4 so as to be movable is applied to the substrate 12, and the load on the substrate can be reduced. Further, by confirming the correlation between the output value of the strain sensor 3 and the pushing amount or the contact pressure of the working needle 2, the pushing amount or the contact pressure of the working needle 2 is estimated from the output value of the strain sensor 3, It can also be adjusted.

  Next, the structure of the working needle 2 used in the foreign matter removing apparatus 1 will be described. The working needle 2 is not particularly limited as long as it includes the strain sensor 3 and can remove the foreign matter 15 on the substrate 12. A specific example will be described with reference to FIGS. The foreign matter removing apparatus 1 may have a structure including a plurality of working needles 2, and an appropriate working needle 2 can be selected depending on the state of the foreign matter 15 and the substrate 12.

  5 and 6 are a perspective view and a sectional view of a structure in which the working needle 2 is provided with a thin plate 16. The working needle 2 includes a thin plate 16 parallel to the axial direction, and the thin plate 16 includes the strain sensor 3. As a result, even when the work needle 2 is thin and it is difficult to directly fix the strain sensor 3 to the work needle 2, the work needle 2 can be fixed via the thin plate 16. In addition, since the strain can be detected with high sensitivity by providing the strain sensor 3 in parallel with the axial direction, the contact pressure to the substrate 12 can be reduced, and damage to the substrate 12 or the working needle 2 can be suppressed.

  7 and 8, the working needle 2 is provided with a flat portion 2 a, a thin plate 16 is formed on the flat portion 2 a, and the strain sensor 3 is fixed on the thin plate 16. Thereby, when the working needle 2 comes into contact with the substrate 12, the working needle 2 is easily distorted even if the drag received from the substrate is small, and the detection sensitivity of the strain sensor 3 can be increased. In FIG. 7, the thin plate 16 and the strain sensor 3 are indicated by chain lines, but this is for easy understanding of the structure of the flat portion 2 a under the thin plate 16.

  9 and 10 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of a structure in which the working needle 2 is divided into a first needle portion 2A and a second needle portion 2B and these are connected by a thin plate 16. FIG.

  11 and 12 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of a structure in which the thin plate 16 is fixed to the needle holding portion 8 and the second needle portion 2B is fixed to the thin plate 16.

  13 and 14 are a perspective view and a sectional view of a structure in which the needle holding portion 8 is provided with a plate-like portion 8a and the second needle portion 2B is fixed to the plate-like portion 8a.

  FIGS. 15 and 16 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of a structure in which a plate-like portion 8 a is provided in the needle holding portion 8 and the tip 8 b of the plate-like portion 8 a is used as the working needle 2. 9 to 16 all have the strain sensor 3 formed on a thin plate-like portion, specifically, the thin plate 16 or the plate-like portion 8a, so that the strain detection sensitivity can be increased. The contact pressure can be reduced, and damage to the substrate 12 or the working needle 2 can be suppressed.

  17 and 18 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of a structure in which the working needle 2 is provided with a flat portion 2b and the strain sensor 3 is directly drawn on the flat portion 2b. An insulating film 53 is formed on the flat portion 2b, and the pattern 54 of the strain sensor 3 is drawn on the insulating film 53 by, for example, inkjet. Thereby, compared with the case where the thin plate 16 is fixed, the structure of the working needle 2 can be simplified.

  Next, the operation of the defect correction apparatus 20 according to the first embodiment will be described. With reference to FIG. 1, first, the substrate 12 including the foreign matter to be removed is carried into the defect correcting device 20 and fixed on the chuck 22 by, for example, vacuum suction.

  The XY stage 23 is operated based on the information on the occurrence position of the foreign matter, and the observation optical system 10 is moved to a position where the target foreign matter can be observed. The Z stage 24 is operated to focus the observation optical system 10 on the substrate 12. At this time, referring to FIG. 2, observation optical system 10 and foreign matter removing apparatus 1 are located in the vicinity of foreign matter 15.

  Next, referring to FIG. 3, the drive shaft 6a of the cylinder 6 is lowered to bring the Z table 5 into contact with the stop portion 9 by its own weight. At this time, the XYZ stage 7 is sufficiently separated from the substrate 12 so that the working needle 2 does not contact the substrate 12. Thereafter, the XYZ stage 7 is operated to bring the foreign matter removing apparatus 1 closer to the substrate 12.

  Next, referring to FIG. 4, when the working needle 2 comes into contact with the substrate 12, the output change of the strain sensor 3 provided on the working needle 2 is detected. The contact may be determined based on the output change of the strain sensor 3. Specifically, referring to FIG. 19, the contact between the working needle 2 and the substrate 12 may be determined when A in FIG. 19 is detected. Further, if the strain sensor output value V in FIG. 19 is set in advance as the contact determination value and the contact is determined based on V, the contact determination can be performed more stably. Furthermore, the substrate 12 of the working needle 2 is determined from the output measurement value of the strain sensor 3 by confirming in advance the correlation between the output value of the strain sensor 3 and the pushing amount or contact pressure of the working needle 2 with respect to the substrate 12. Can be estimated. You may determine contact using this pushing amount and contact pressure. Moreover, it is also possible to adjust to a desired contact state, and this can stabilize the quality of a defect correction process.

  Further, the above is a method of performing contact determination and contact state adjustment using the output absolute value of the strain sensor 3, but a desired contact state may be determined from the output change amount of the strain sensor 3. Specifically, the initial output value (zero point) of the strain sensor 3 in a state where the working needle 2 and the substrate 12 are not in contact is measured, and the initial output value and the approaching action between the working needle 2 and the substrate 12 are measured. The difference from the output measurement value of the subsequent strain sensor 3 is used for the determination. At that time, the contact determination may be performed with a change point from the initial output value (zero point), but the contact determination may be performed based on a preset contact determination difference value V. By performing contact determination using the output change amount, an output offset due to temperature drift or the like can be eliminated from the output value of the strain sensor 3.

  Referring to FIG. 19, if the XYZ stage 7 is continuously lowered even after the contact between the working needle 2 and the substrate 12, the output value of the strain sensor 3 is saturated when a certain amount of lowering is reached. This is due to the structure of the foreign matter removing apparatus 1 as described above with reference to FIG. During the approaching operation of the work needle 2 and the substrate 12 by the XYZ stage 7, the Z table 5 is a member held by the Z table 5, specifically, the work needle 2, the strain sensor 3, the needle holding portion 8, The total weight of the Z table 5 and the pin 52 is in contact with the stop portion 9. Even after the contact between the working needle 2 and the substrate 12, the XYZ stage 7 continues to descend, and when the entire load of the Z table 5 is applied to the substrate 12 by the working needle 2, the load on the Z table 5 is applied to the stop portion 9. Disappear. At this time, even if the XYZ stage 7 is further lowered, the Z table can move relative to the XYZ stage 7 along the slider 4 and the load applied to the contact portion between the working needle 2 and the substrate 12 does not change. . That is, the substrate 12 has a member that is movably held by the slider 4, specifically, the total weight of the working needle 2, the strain sensor 3, the needle holding unit 8, the Z table 5, and the pin 52. No load is applied. For example, this is on the order of tens of grams. As a comparative example, an output characteristic diagram of the strain sensor 3 in a structure in which the support plate 51 and the pin 52 are fixedly connected is shown by a dotted line in FIG. In proportion to the descending amount of the XYZ stage 7, the output of the strain sensor 3 increases without being saturated, causing damage to the substrate 12 or the working needle 2. Therefore, in the defect correction apparatus 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the substrate 12 or the work needle 2 is damaged by the mechanism that moves the Z table 5 along the slider 4 in addition to the contact detection mechanism by the strain sensor 3. Can be suppressed.

  Next, referring to FIG. 4, the foreign matter 15 is removed by operating the working needle 2. The operation of the work needle 2 is continued using the XYZ stage 7 and the Z table 5 until the foreign matter 15 is removed. The foreign matter peeled from the substrate 12 may be collected by, for example, a foreign matter collecting device (not shown in the drawing).

  Next, the substrate 12 is observed by the observation optical system 10 and it is confirmed that no foreign matter 15 remains on the substrate 12.

  Finally, the XYZ stage 7 is operated to retract the working needle 2 in a direction away from the substrate 12. After the removal of all the foreign matters to be removed included in the substrate 12 is completed, the substrate 12 is discharged from the defect correcting device 20, and the defect correcting process is completed.

  Note that the foreign matter removing step in the embodiment of the present invention may include a pre-processing step or a post-processing step. Specifically, the adhesion between the substrate 12 and the foreign material 15 may be weakened by local heat treatment as a pretreatment step. As a post-processing step, laser light may be irradiated from the laser unit 25 to shape the thin film or pattern of the foreign substance removal unit.

  Further, the defect correction apparatus according to the present embodiment has a structure in which the foreign substance removal apparatus 1 is moved relative to the substrate 12 by controlling the X stage 23a, the Y stage 23b, and the Z stage 24, but the substrate 12 is held. The chuck 22 may be formed not on the surface plate 21 but on a structure movable with respect to the foreign matter removing apparatus.

  The embodiment disclosed this time is to be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  The defect correction apparatus and the defect correction method of the present invention are particularly advantageously applied to a defect correction apparatus and a defect correction method that are required to suppress damage to a substrate due to contact with a working needle.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Foreign material removal apparatus, 2 Working needle, 2a, 2b Flat part, 2A 1st needle part, 2B 2nd needle part, 3 Strain sensor, 4 Slider, 5 Z table, 6 Cylinder, 7 XYZ stage, 8 Needle holding Part, 8a plate-like part, 8b tip, 9 stop part, 10 observation optical system, 11 objective lens, 12 substrate, 13 glass, 14 film, 15 foreign matter, 16 thin plate, 20 defect correction device, 21 surface plate, 22 chuck, 23 XY stage, 23a X stage, 24b Y stage, 25 laser unit, 26 objective lens switching device, 53 insulating film, 54 patterns.

Claims (12)

A defect correction apparatus capable of correcting defects on a substrate,
A working needle capable of removing the defect on the substrate;
A contact detector provided on the working needle and capable of detecting contact between the working needle and the substrate;
Drive means capable of driving the working needle and the contact detector relative to the substrate ;
The working needle is a defect correcting device including a contact detector support portion in which the thickness of the working needle is smaller than that of the other portion of the working needle and the contact detector is installed .   The defect correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact detector is a strain sensor.   The defect correction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a movable holding unit that holds the working needle and the contact detector so as to be movable in a direction toward and away from the substrate.   A guide portion that guides the movable holding portion so that the movable holding portion can move in a direction toward and away from the substrate, and a stop portion that is provided in the guide portion and can stop the movable holding portion. The defect correction apparatus according to claim 3, comprising:   The defect correction according to claim 4, wherein the driving unit includes a first driving unit capable of driving the movable holding unit along the guide unit, and a second driving unit capable of driving the first driving unit. apparatus. The defect correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the working needle has a plate-like portion, and the plate-like portion is the contact detector support portion . The defect correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the working needle has a flat portion, and the flat portion is the contact detector support portion . A defect correction method for correcting defects on a substrate,
Bringing a working needle closer to the surface of the substrate;
Detecting contact between the working needle and the surface of the substrate or the defect on the substrate;
A step of removing the defect using the working needle ,
The contact is detected by a contact detector provided on the working needle,
The defect correction method , wherein the working needle is thinner than other parts of the working needle and includes a contact detector support portion on which the contact detector is installed . Detecting the pre-Symbol contact, the surface of the substrate from the output value of the contact detector, push-in amount of the working needle for defects on the substrate, including a calculation step of calculating at least one of the contact pressure, wherein Item 9. The defect correcting method according to Item 8. Detecting the pre-Symbol contact,
The defect correction method according to claim 8, further comprising: determining the contact when an output value of the contact detector exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Detecting the pre-Symbol contact,
Measuring the output value of the resistance detector before and after the step of bringing the working needle closer to the substrate, and determining the contact when a change amount of the output value of the resistance detector exceeds a predetermined threshold value; The defect correction method according to claim 8, further comprising:   The defect correction method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of adjusting the pushing amount or the contact pressure in response to the result after the calculating step.

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