JP6376601B2 - Pellicle support means, pellicle support apparatus and pellicle mounting method using the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a pellicle support means used as dust prevention when manufacturing a semiconductor device, an IC package, a printed circuit board, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like, a pellicle support device using the same, and a pellicle mounting method. is there.

  In the manufacture of semiconductors such as LSI and VLSI, or liquid crystal displays, an exposure machine is used that creates a pattern on a semiconductor wafer or liquid crystal glass by irradiating a photomask with light having a short wavelength such as ultraviolet rays. Yes. If dust adheres to the photomask used at this time, the dust blocks or reflects ultraviolet light, so that there is a problem that the transferred pattern is deformed, short-circuited, and the quality is deteriorated.

  For this reason, these operations are usually performed in a clean room. However, since it is still difficult to keep the photomask clean, exposure is performed after a pellicle is attached to the photomask surface to prevent dust. In this case, the foreign matter does not adhere directly to the surface of the photomask but adheres to the pellicle. Therefore, if the focus is set on the pattern of the photomask during lithography, the foreign matter on the pellicle becomes irrelevant to the transfer.

  In addition, as a special application, there is a pellicle that is mounted on an optical component in an exposure machine other than a photomask. The exposure machine is equipped with many optical components that reflect and transmit ultraviolet light, such as mirrors, lenses, and windows, and these optical components transmit ultraviolet light from a light source to a photomask or work (semiconductor wafer or liquid crystal substrate). Guided. If these optical components are contaminated with foreign matter or dirt, the quality of the exposed product may be affected, so it is necessary to keep these optical components as clean as possible. is there.

  Furthermore, since these optical components are mounted with precise positional adjustment, it is extremely difficult to remove and clean them individually at the manufacturing site. For this reason, once the contamination occurs, a great amount of time is required for cleaning and readjustment, resulting in a large reduction in operating rate. Therefore, in order to prevent this, in some exposure apparatuses, not only a photomask but also a pellicle is attached not only to these optical components but also exchanged when contamination occurs.

  Such a pellicle generally has a transparent pellicle film made of nitrocellulose, cellulose acetate, or fluororesin that transmits light well, and is bonded to one surface of a pellicle frame made of aluminum, stainless steel, engineering plastic, or the like. Configured. On the other side of the pellicle frame is an adhesive layer made of polybuden resin, polyvinyl acetate resin, acrylic resin, silicone resin, etc. for mounting on a photomask, and a release layer (separator) for the purpose of protecting the adhesive layer Is provided.

  Pellicles include a pellicle to be mounted on a photomask and a pellicle to be mounted on other optical components, but there is no significant structural difference between these pellicles. However, since the pellicle mounted on the optical component is inevitably used for a long period of time as compared with the photomask that is frequently replaced, higher light resistance tends to be required. In addition, the photomask pellicle is generally attached with an adhesive, but the optical component pellicle may be provided with a non-adhesive gasket layer and attached by a mechanical fixing means such as a screw.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a pellicle in which an elastic layer having a gasket function is provided on the end face of the pellicle frame on the photomask side, and this is pressurized with fastening means such as a screw to maintain high sealing performance. Is described. According to this pellicle, the mask adhesive layer is unnecessary, and the strain applied to the photomask can be suppressed to an extremely low level. In such a pellicle, the distance from the surface to be protected (such as the pattern surface of the photomask) to the pellicle film surface (hereinafter referred to as “standoff”) increases as the defocusing performance of foreign matter increases. Therefore, the larger one is preferred.

JP2014-211591

  However, in recent years, a pellicle with a low stand-off in which the rigidity in the height direction of the pellicle frame is reduced has been used in order to reduce the distortion of the photomask when the pellicle is attached. In addition, due to the space of the apparatus, a stand-off pellicle that is lower than the conventional one is often required. Particularly, a pellicle for mounting an optical component has a stand-off of 1 mm or less.

  In the case of such a pellicle with a low stand-off, since the rigidity in the height direction of the pellicle frame is extremely low, there is a problem that the frame is greatly bent and twisted during handling and is difficult to handle. In particular, it is difficult to handle the pellicle when it is taken out from the pellicle storage container, and this problem is also great when the pellicle is attached, and the pellicle frame cannot maintain the design shape during handling. There was a problem that wrinkles and convulsions occurred in the film, and that the film was sometimes attached as it was.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to easily handle a pellicle even if the pellicle has a small stand-off and a low pellicle frame rigidity. It is intended to provide a pellicle support means that can be safely taken out from the camera and mounted on a photomask or the like, a pellicle support device using the same, and a pellicle mounting method using the same .

The pellicle support means of the present invention is a pellicle support means for supporting a pellicle having a standoff / external dimension diagonal length value of 0.0001 to 0.003, and is a rectangle that substantially matches the outer shape of the pellicle frame. Alternatively, it is made of a frame-shaped support body having a circular shape and a slightly adhesive material that is provided on the frame-shaped support body and fastens the support body and the pellicle frame. a pellicle film of a pellicle frame comprising fastening means that is in a range of 0.01 to 0.5 N when peeled off at a speed of s, and a gripping part provided for use in handling on a frame-like support It is characterized in that it is detachably provided on the adhesive layer side.

Further, in the pellicle support means of the present invention, it is preferable that the slightly sticky substance is arranged in a plurality of locations on the support.

Furthermore, the pellicle support means of the present invention is preferably a gel-like substance whose fine adhesive substance is selected from silicone or urethane.

The mounting method of the present invention is characterized in that after the pellicle supported by the pellicle support means of the present invention is attached to the photomask on the mounting surface, the pellicle support means provided on the pellicle frame is removed. .
In the pellicle mounting method of the present invention, the pellicle support means is preferably used until the step of taking out the pellicle from the pellicle storage container and attaching it to the photomask .

According to the present invention, even a pellicle with a small standoff and low pellicle frame rigidity can be easily handled, and can be mounted on a photomask or the like without defects such as deformation of the pellicle frame and wrinkles of the pellicle film. A pellicle support means that can be used, a pellicle support device using the pellicle support means, and a pellicle mounting method can be provided.

It is a top view which shows the pellicle support apparatus of this invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. It is the C section enlarged view of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state which isolate | separated the rectangular pellicle of this invention, and the pellicle support means applied to this pellicle. It is a perspective view of a pellicle support means applied to a circular pellicle. It is a perspective view of a pellicle storage container. It is DD sectional drawing of FIG. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram showing the procedure for mounting the pellicle of the pellicle support means of the present invention to a photomask. It is the schematic which shows "outside dimension diagonal length".

  Hereinafter, although one embodiment of the present invention is described in detail based on a drawing, the present invention is not limited to this.

In the pellicle support device of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, the pellicle support means 20 is disposed on the pellicle film adhesive layer 12 side of the pellicle 10, and both are fastened via the fastening means 17. FIG. 5 shows a state where the rectangular pellicle 10 and the pellicle support means 20 are separated.

In the pellicle 10 to which the present invention is applied , the ratio of the standoff (height including the mask adhesive layer) and the outer dimension diagonal length (standoff / outer dimension diagonal length) is 0.0001 to 0.003, On one surface forming the frame shape, a pellicle film adhesive layer 12 is provided, and a pellicle film 14 is stretched. Moreover, the mask adhesive layer 13 is provided in the opposite surface, and the separator 15 which protects the mask adhesive layer 13 as needed is attached to the surface.
Here, the outer dimension diagonal length is the length between points where the long side outline and the short side outline of the rectangular pellicle are extended and intersected, as shown in FIG. In a general rectangular pellicle frame, some R chamfering is made outside the corner, but the diagonal length is neglected.

This is because a pellicle having a standoff / external dimension diagonal length value of less than 0.0001 is difficult to maintain the shape of the pellicle 10 and is difficult to adopt. Moreover, since the practical rigidity is ensured as it is if it exceeds 0.003, there are few problems during handling and there are few merits of applying the present invention.
Therefore, the “pellicle with low rigidity” to which the present invention is applied depends on the material, but when the material is a general aluminum alloy, the standoff / outer diagonal length is 0.003. A pellicle with a size smaller than that is preferable.

On the other hand, the standoff of the pellicle 10 is determined based on the requirements on the exposure apparatus to be used. For example, in the case of a semiconductor pellicle having a short side length of about 150 mm, the standoff is 0.5 mm or less. In addition, problems during handling are likely to occur. In addition, a large pellicle used for a liquid crystal having a long side of 900 to 1700 mm cannot be said to have sufficient rigidity for handling even when the standoff is 7 mm, and if it falls below 6 mm, it is difficult to handle. . In a pellicle for liquid crystal having a slightly smaller long side of about 400 to 800 mm, if the standoff is 2.5 mm or less, problems are likely to occur during handling.
Therefore, the “pellicle with a small stand-off” to which the present invention is applied is preferably a pellicle with a specific numerical value of the stand-off of about 0.2 to 6 mm, although it depends on the side length of the pellicle 10.

  The shape of the pellicle frame 11 is a rectangle in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4, but may be other shapes such as an octagon or a circle having a hypotenuse at a corner, and is not particularly limited. In the case of the circular pellicle 10, the diagonal length of the outer dimension may be considered to correspond to the outer dimension diameter.

  As the material of the pellicle frame 11, fiber reinforced plastics such as GFRP and CFRP can be used in addition to light alloys such as aluminum alloys and magnesium alloys, iron-based alloys such as stainless steel and carbon steel. In particular, it is preferable to use a metal having high rigidity and good corrosion resistance, such as stainless steel, and is preferably manufactured by a processing method such as laser cutting or cutting. In the case of fiber reinforced plastic, it is preferable in terms of securing rigidity in the film tension direction. However, in the case of a pellicle with a small standoff as in the present invention, since the rigidity is anisotropic, twisting is particularly likely to occur. Somewhat difficult.

  In any material of the pellicle frame 11, it is preferable that the surface thereof is made of a light-resistant material for rust prevention and dust generation and appropriately subjected to surface treatment such as painting, plating, anodizing treatment, and the like. Further, it is particularly preferable that the color is black in order to prevent reflection of exposure light during use and to make it easy to visually recognize adhered foreign matter.

  The pellicle film adhesive layer 12 is formed by smoothly applying the pellicle film adhesive layer 12 onto the pellicle frame 11 by a coating means such as an air pressure dispenser using a known adhesive such as silicone resin, fluorine resin, or acrylic resin.

  The pellicle film 14 is formed on a smooth substrate using a spin coating method, a die coating method, or the like by selecting a film material made of a fluorine resin, a cellulose resin, or the like according to the light source wavelength of an exposure machine to be used. Can be obtained after drying from the substrate. An antireflection layer may be provided as necessary. In the case of a pellicle used for optical parts in an exposure machine, it is particularly preferable to use a fluororesin having excellent light resistance in order to extend the replacement frequency.

  The thickness of the pellicle film 14 may be set by comprehensively considering the transmittance and the film strength, but a thickness in the range of 0.2 to 10 μm is preferably used. The pellicle film 14 is preferably bonded to the pellicle film adhesive layer 12 on the pellicle frame 11 by applying an appropriate tension so that the pellicle film 14 is not wrinkled or slacked and excessively bent. .

  The mask adhesive layer 13 may be made of a known material such as a rubber adhesive, a silicone adhesive, an acrylic adhesive, or a hot melt adhesive. Moreover, you may perform the process which planarizes the surface as needed. Furthermore, a separator 15 that protects the mask adhesive layer 13 can be attached to the surface as needed. This separator 15 is provided on one surface of a film made of PET having a thickness of about 0.05 to 0.3 mm. A release agent may be applied and cut in accordance with the outer shape of the mask adhesive layer 13.

  In the case of the pellicle 10 for a photomask, generally, the pellicle 10 is attached to the photomask 91 by such a mask adhesive layer 13. In recent years, instead of the mask adhesive layer 13, an elastic body having no adhesiveness is used. Since a method of providing a gasket layer and attaching by a mechanical means such as a clip or a bolt has been proposed, these can also be applied.

  In the case of the pellicle 10 for optical components in the exposure machine, various types of fixing means such as a clamp mechanism, a screw, a buckle, a clip, an electrostatic force, and a magnetic force can be provided on the apparatus side. Therefore, the mask adhesive layer 13 having an adhesive force is not necessarily used. When the gasket layer is provided on the apparatus side, it is possible to select that the surface of the pellicle frame 11 is not provided with anything similar to the mask adhesive layer or the gasket layer. The present invention can be applied even in such a case.

  Now, the pellicle 10 composed of the members as described above is fastened via a fastening means 17 and a pellicle support means 20 having a flat plate shape or a frame shape arranged on the pellicle film adhesive layer 12 side, and is handled integrally. That is good. The pellicle 10 is operated and transported integrally with the pellicle support means 20 until the pellicle 10 is attached. After the pellicle 10 is attached to the protected surface, the fastening of the fastening means 17 is released and the pellicle support means 20 is removed. .

  As shown in FIG. 5, the pellicle support means 20 includes a frame-shaped support body 16, fastening means 17 for fastening the pellicle 10, and a grip portion 18 used for handling. The support body 16 has a frame shape in this embodiment. However, the support body 16 only needs to be considered so as not to come into contact with the pellicle film 14, and may have a flat plate shape or a frame shape with reinforcement in between. You can also. The outer shape of the pellicle support means is preferably designed so as to substantially match the outer shape of the pellicle 10. For example, FIG. 6 shows a pellicle support means 60 applied to the circular pellicle 10, and the circular support The body 61 is provided with fastening means 62 and a gripping portion 63.

As the material of the support 16, a light and highly rigid metal such as an aluminum alloy is preferably used, and a hollow structure using a pipe material or the like is also preferable. However, when a pipe material is used, a process for closing the opening is necessary to prevent dust generation.
Here, the flatness of the support 16 on the side where the pellicle is fastened depends on its size, but in order to prevent the fastening pellicle from swelling or the like and causing problems in mounting, at least 0.5 mm, Preferably it is 0.2 mm or less.

  The grip 18 is used for handling a pellicle, and is preferably made of metal or engineering plastic having an appropriate strength, and can be handled directly by a hand or with a jig or the like. it can.

  The fastening means 17 for fastening the pellicle 10 and the pellicle support means 20 is made of a slightly adhesive material, and can be divided and arranged on the pellicle support means 20 at a plurality of locations as shown in FIGS. good. The arrangement and the number may be determined at a position where the pellicle 10 can be stably fixed without deformation of the frame or wrinkle of the film. In the case of the rectangular pellicle 10, at least four corners are determined. Must be included.

  Moreover, it is preferable that each adhesive force of the fastening means 17 arrange | positioned in several places is the range of 0.01-0.5N when it peels at the speed | rate of 0.5 mm / s in the orthogonal | vertical direction. This is because if it is less than 0.01 N, the fixing force is too small to stably hold, and if it exceeds 0.5 N, the adhesive force is too strong and it becomes difficult to remove the pellicle support means 20 from the pellicle 10.

  Such a slightly sticky substance of the fastening means 17 is preferably a gel-like substance selected from silicone or urethane, which is cut out from a plate-shaped one or cast-molded into a mold having a desired shape. It ’s fine. The gel material to be used may be selected in consideration of the adhesive strength of the surface, but it is also necessary to consider hardness. The optimum hardness is related to the thickness to be used, but as a guide for the material itself to be selected, it is preferable that the hardness is 50 or less with an Asker C hardness meter. If it exceeds 50, it becomes difficult to incline the pellicle support means 20 after the pellicle 10 is attached, so that it is difficult to peel the fastening means 17. However, even if it is too soft, the shape is not stable and it is difficult to work.

  The fastening means 17 is attached to one surface of the support 16 and may be composed only of a slightly sticky substance. However, depending on the selected hardness and size, the fastening means 17 may be too soft to keep the shape constant. Therefore, the configuration of the fastening means 17 is particularly preferably a configuration in which a spacer such as resin or metal is used and only the upper part thereof is a slightly adhesive material. In this case, the thickness of the slightly sticky substance is preferably 1 to 5 mm at the tip.

  Moreover, although the fastening means 17 is cylindrical and has a circular cross section in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 6, it can also have other cross sectional shapes such as an ellipse or a rectangle. The contact shape of the fastening means 17 with the pellicle 10 may be a flat surface, but a curved shape having a slight convexity is preferable because the support means 20 can be easily detached. The size and shape of the fastening means 17 and the contact area with the pellicle may be determined in consideration of the adhesive force for fastening the pellicle 10, but from the viewpoint of preventing contact with the pellicle film 14, the contact width is determined from the pellicle film. It is preferable to be 70% or less of the adhesive layer width.

  Further, when the pellicle frame 11 is made of a magnetic material such as carbon steel or ferritic stainless steel, the fastening means 17 may be configured with a magnet. The pellicle frame 11 can be provided with an equivalent function by embedding a magnetic material or bonding or coating the surface of the pellicle frame 11 in addition to manufacturing the whole with a magnetic material. It may be selected within the range that does not hinder the support and fixation of the. However, in the case of magnetic force, it is difficult to fix slowly at the time of fastening no matter how it is adjusted, and conversely, a large force is required at the moment of removal, and smooth operation is difficult, so electromagnetic force is used instead of permanent magnets. In addition, it is necessary to add a means for damping the magnetic force by mechanical operation.

  Since the pellicle 10 having a small standoff as in the present invention has extremely low rigidity and lacks stability, there is a considerable difficulty in frequently attaching and detaching the pellicle support means 20 as necessary. Therefore, at the stage of manufacturing the pellicle 10, it is preferable that the pellicle 10 and the pellicle support means 20 are fastened and operated and transported together until immediately before the pellicle 10 is used at the customer site. Therefore, from this point of view, the pellicle 10 and the pellicle support means 20 are preferably stored in the pellicle storage container 70 in a state of being fastened via the fastening means 17 and stored and transported.

  7 and 8 show a pellicle storage container 70 for storing the pellicle 10 according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is an overall perspective view, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. The pellicle storage container 70 includes a pellicle storage container main body 71 and a lid 72. The pellicle 10 fastened to the pellicle support means 20 is placed on the pellicle storage container main body 71, and is fitted and sealed at the periphery. ing. This peripheral portion is sealed with an adhesive tape (not shown) or the like, or is fixed using a clip or a buckle (not shown), and the lid 72 is not removed from the pellicle storage container body 71. Is preferred.

  The material of the pellicle storage container main body 71 and the lid 72 is preferably manufactured by a processing method such as injection molding or vacuum molding using a resin such as PMMA, PAN, ABS, PC, PVC having a thickness of 2 to 8 mm. . In a particularly large pellicle whose pellicle side length exceeds 1500 mm, a metal such as an aluminum alloy, a magnesium alloy, or stainless steel may be used for the pellicle storage container body 71 in order to ensure rigidity. As another means for improving the rigidity, a plate-like or bar-like reinforcing means can be attached to the outer surface.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the pellicle storage container 70 is black from the viewpoint of improving the visibility of attached foreign matter, and the lid 72 is preferably transparent for the purpose of checking the inside. It is also preferable to ensure conductivity and flame retardance by selecting a material or coating the surface.

  The gripping part 18 of the pellicle support means 20 is preferably mounted on a fixing part 73 installed on the pellicle storage container main body 71. Further, it is preferable that the fixing portion 73 is provided with a groove or a recess for fitting with the gripping portion 18 to restrict the pellicle support means 20 from moving in the horizontal direction, and the upper end of the gripping portion 18 is the lid 72. It is better to be regulated inside. The height at which the pellicle 10 and the pellicle support means 20 are supported is preferably set such that the lower surface is in contact with the surface of the pellicle storage container main body 71 so that an excessive load is not applied to the pellicle 10.

  In addition, the fixing portion 73 is configured using an engineering resin such as PA, POM, PE, or PEEK, or an elastomer such as urethane, silicone, fluorine, or olefin to prevent dust generation due to rubbing. It is preferable that antistatic properties are imparted. And this fixing | fixed part 73 should just be manufactured by well-known methods, such as cutting, injection molding, and casting, and is fixed to the pellicle storage container main body 71 with a volt | bolt etc. (not shown).

  With such a configuration, the pellicle 10 is indirectly fixed in the pellicle storage container 70 via the pellicle support means 20, and does not move during transportation of the pellicle storage container 70. Adherence of foreign matter is prevented.

  Next, FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, and 9D are schematic cross-sectional views showing a method (procedure) for mounting the pellicle 10 of the present invention on the photomask 91 on the mounting surface.

  First, after opening the lid 72 of the pellicle storage container 70, the gripper 18 is gripped and the pellicle 10 fastened via the pellicle support means 20 and the fastening means 17 is taken out (not shown), and the inspection is performed. After a predetermined process, the separator 15 of the pellicle 10 is peeled off and prepared. In FIG. 9A, the prepared pellicle 10 and the pellicle support means 20 are conveyed, and the position of the photomask 91 is adjusted to a predetermined mounting position.

  Next, in FIG. 9B, the mask adhesive layer 13 is brought into contact with the pellicle 10 and the photomask 91 as they are. Although this operation can be performed manually using a simple jig, it is preferable to use a transport means (not shown) for gripping and moving the pellicle support means 20. At this stage, the mask pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 13 is in a light contact state, and although it is adhered, a complete adhesive force is not obtained.

  Further, in FIG. 9C, an operation of removing (peeling) the pellicle support means 20 from the pellicle 10 is performed. In accordance with the operation of pulling the pellicle support means 20 diagonally away from the pellicle 10, the peeling of the pellicle 10 progresses sequentially from the surface of the plurality of slightly adhesive fastening means 17 arranged on the support 16 and peels off at all points. When the process is finished, the pellicle support means 20 can be removed from the pellicle 10.

  Finally, in FIG. 9D, the pellicle support means 20 is quickly removed, and a predetermined load is applied to the pellicle 10 from which the pellicle support means 20 has been removed by a separately provided pressurizing means (not shown). Thus, the pellicle 10 can be completely attached to the photomask 91 via the mask adhesive layer 13.

  This operation can be similarly performed in the case of a pellicle employing a fixing means different from the mask adhesive layer, such as a clip, or even if the target to which the pellicle is attached is not a photomask but an optical component of an exposure machine. There is no change in that the predetermined pellicle fixing means is operated to fix the pellicle, and the pellicle support means 20 is pulled apart and removed. Further, in the embodiment of FIG. 9, the photomask 91 is inclinedly arranged from the viewpoint of workability and foreign matter adhesion reduction, and each operation is carried out in this inclined state, but it is carried out in another arrangement state such as horizontal and vertical. May be.

  Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below. In this embodiment, since the pellicle 10 and the pellicle support means 20 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 were first manufactured, the manufacturing procedure will be described, but all operations were performed in a class 10 clean room.

  The pellicle frame 11 was obtained by processing SUS304 stainless steel by laser cutting and mechanical cutting, and had an outer dimension of 756 × 913 mm, an inner dimension of 740 × 901 mm, a corner inner side R2 mm, a corner outer side R6 mm, and a height of 1.8 mm. Each long side of the pellicle frame 11 was provided with eight vent holes (not shown) each having a diameter of 0.4 mm. Then, the ridge portion was chamfered (not shown) of about C 0.2 mm, and the entire surface was sandblasted to about Ra 0.5 and then black nickel plated.

Next, this pellicle frame 11 is thoroughly washed with a surfactant and pure water and dried, and then a silicone adhesive (trade name; KR3700, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) is formed as a mask adhesive layer 13 on one surface forming the frame shape. Was applied with an air pressure dispenser mounted on a 3-axis orthogonal robot. The thickness of the mask adhesive layer at this time was 1.2 mm, and it was completely cured by heating to 130 ° C. in an oven. Further, on the surface of the mask adhesive layer 13, a separator 15 produced by applying a release agent to one side of a 125 μm-thick PET film and cutting it into a shape substantially coincident with the outer shape of the pellicle frame 11 was attached.
Since the pellicle frame 11 was extremely low in rigidity in the vertical direction and could not be handled, these operations were performed with the pellicle frame 11 placed on an aluminum flat plate (not shown). .

  After the mask adhesive layer 13 is formed, the pellicle frame 11 is turned upside down, and a silicone adhesive (trade name; KR3700, Shin-Etsu) is formed as a pellicle film adhesive layer 12 on the opposite side of the mask adhesive layer 13 in the same manner as described above. Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) was applied to a thickness of 50 μm, and was completely cured by heating to 130 ° C. in an oven. In addition, a filter made of a PTFE porous film was bonded with an acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet (not shown) so as to cover the long-side air holes.

  As the material of the pellicle film 14, a fluorine-based resin (trade name; CYTOP, manufactured by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.) was used. First, a film is formed on a film-forming substrate made of synthetic quartz having a thickness of 850 × 1200 × 10 mm by a die coating method, and after drying the solvent, a temporary frame having the same dimensions as the outer shape of the substrate is adhered and peeled off from the film-forming substrate. A release film having a thickness of 4.5 μm was obtained. Thereafter, this release film was adhered to the pellicle film adhesive layer 12 on the pellicle frame 11 to form a pellicle film 14, and the excess film outside the pellicle frame 11 was cut and removed with a cutter to complete the pellicle 10.

  Since the thickness of the mask adhesive layer 13 of the pellicle 10 completed through the above manufacturing procedure is 1.2 mm, the height of the pellicle frame 11 combined with the height of 1.8 mm, that is, the standoff is 3. 0 mm. Since the outer dimension diagonal length of the pellicle frame 11 is 1185.37 mm, the ratio of the standoff to the outer dimension diagonal length (standoff / outer dimension diagonal length) is 0.0025.

  Next, the manufacturing procedure of the pellicle support means 20 will be described. First, the support 16 constituting the pellicle support means 20 is a frame having an outer dimension of 780 x 940 mm formed by welding a 20x20 mm square pipe made of A6063 aluminum alloy. One of the surfaces was finished to a flatness of 0.2 mm by machine cutting. Eighteen fastening means 17 were attached to the surface, and gripping portions 18 made of an antistatic POM were attached near the four corners with bolts (not shown).

  The fastening means 17 is manufactured by casting using a silicone gel (trade name: KE1051, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) in which two liquids are mixed as a material, and is made of cylindrical SUS304. Was cast and cured on a substrate (not shown). The diameter of the contact surface of the fastening means 17 with the pellicle 10 at this time was about 4 mm. Next, the fastening means 17 was mounted on the support 16 with a bolt (not shown) through a female screw provided on a base portion made of SUS304.

  Then, the position of the pellicle support means 20 manufactured in the above procedure is adjusted with respect to the pellicle 10 placed on the flat plate, and the pellicle support means 20 is pressed against the pellicle film adhesive layer 12 of the pellicle 10 and the adhered pellicle film 14. The pellicle support means 20 was adhered to the pellicle 10 by the adhesive force. The adhesive strength of the fastening means 17 at this time was 0.15 N / location in the value confirmed when peeled off at a speed of 0.5 mm / s in advance.

  Finally, the pellicle support means 20 integrated with the pellicle 10 was transported in various postures and examined for appearance, foreign matter, and film transmittance. As a result, deformation of the pellicle frame 11 and wrinkles of the pellicle film 14 were observed. It was confirmed that there was no defect, and no part dropped off from the fastening means 17 and that the pellicle 10 could be handled stably.

  Next, a pellicle storage container 70 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 was prepared to store the pellicle 10 of the present invention. This is manufactured by vacuum forming using an antistatic ABS resin plate having a thickness of 5 mm. On the pellicle storage container main body 71, a fixing portion 73 made of an antistatic PE to which the gripping portion 18 of the pellicle support means 20 is fitted is attached by a bolt (not shown). It was thoroughly washed with an agent and pure water and completely dried.

  In this pellicle storage container 70, the pellicle 10 and the pellicle support means 20 were stored. After the gripping portion 18 of the pellicle support means 20 was accommodated in the groove of the fixed portion 73, the portion that was in contact during handling was cleaned with a PVA wiper infiltrated with pure water. Then, the periphery of the cover 72 is covered with a PVC adhesive tape, and finally, the inner surface of the cover 72 is pressed against the upper surface of the gripping portion 18 accommodated, whereby the pellicle support means 20 and It was confirmed that the pellicle 10 was fixed.

  In order to evaluate this packing form, the pellicle storage container 70 storing the pellicle 10 and the pellicle storage container support means 20 is packed with a cushioning material and a cardboard box, transported by a truck of about 1000 km, and again in the clean room. The inside of the pellicle storage container 70 is checked for the inside, and the pellicle 10 remains firmly fastened to the pellicle support means 20 and no defects such as deformation of the pellicle frame 11 and wrinkles of the pellicle film 14 are observed. It was. Further, no dust generation due to rubbing between the fixing portion 73 and the support means 18 was observed.

  Next, according to the procedure shown to Fig.9 (a)-(d), the sticking state (mounting state) of the pellicle 10 of this invention was evaluated. First, as shown in FIG. 9A, a clean photomask 91 made of quartz glass having a size of 800 × 950 × 10 mm in thickness was prepared and placed on a stand (not shown) at an angle of 10 ° from the vertical. Then, the pellicle 10 to which the pellicle support means 20 is fastened is brought close to the photomask 91 and is also brought close to the pellicle 10 while adjusting the position so as to be a predetermined attachment position, as shown in FIG. 9B. The mask adhesive layer 13 was brought into contact with the photomask 91. The separator 15 protecting the mask adhesive layer 13 was peeled off in advance.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9C, the pellicle support means 20 was moved slowly and obliquely to peel the fastening means 17 from the pellicle 10 in order, and the pellicle support means 20 was removed. FIG. 9D shows the state of the pellicle 10 after the pellicle support means 20 is removed.

  Finally, the pellicle 10 temporarily bonded to the photomask 91 is pressurized with a pressure of 120 kgf by a pressurizing means (not shown), and the pellicle 10 is completely bonded to the photomask 91. When pellicle frame 11 was observed well, it was confirmed that the pellicle frame 11 was attached without deformation, and the pellicle film 14 was not attached to the pellicle film 14 and was normally attached.

Comparative example

  In the comparative example, the same pellicle as in the example with a small stand-off and a low pellicle frame rigidity was manufactured in the same process. Therefore, the pellicle in the comparative example has a pellicle support means on the pellicle frame as compared with the pellicle 10 in the example. The only difference is that no is provided.

  In the comparative example, the pellicle frame also has a low vertical rigidity and cannot be handled. Therefore, the pellicle frame was manufactured with the pellicle frame placed on an aluminum plate. And about this produced pellicle, when the film surface was irradiated with the condensing lamp | ramp in that state and the external appearance and the foreign material were test | inspected, the special abnormality was not seen.

  Next, in order to store this pellicle in the same pellicle storage container 70 as in the embodiment, the pellicle could be lifted up by two workers. However, the pellicle frame was twisted immediately and wrinkles entered the pellicle membrane. It was. For this reason, an attempt was made to evaluate the attachment directly to the photomask, but the pellicle frame was twisted at the stage of handling this pellicle, and the pellicle film wrinkled. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Pellicle 11 Pellicle frame 12 Pellicle film adhesion layer 13 Mask adhesive layer 14 Pellicle film 15 Separator 16 Support body 17 Fastening means 18 Grasping part 20 Pellicle support means 60 Pellicle support means (circular)
61 Support (circular)
62 Fastening means 70 Pellicle storage container 71 Pellicle storage container main body 72 Lid 73 Fixing part 91 Photomask

Claims (6)

A pellicle support means for supporting a pellicle having a standoff / external dimension diagonal length value of 0.0001 to 0.003, and a frame-like support having a rectangular shape or a circular shape substantially matching the outer shape of the pellicle frame It is made of a slightly sticky substance that is provided on the body and the frame-like support and fastens the support and the pellicle frame, and the adhesive strength is peeled off at a speed of 0.5 mm / s in the vertical direction. A fastening means that is in the range of 0.01 to 0.5 N, and a gripping part provided for use in handling on the frame-shaped support, on the pellicle film adhesive layer side of the pellicle frame A pellicle support means, wherein the pellicle support means is detachable.   2. The pellicle support means according to claim 1, wherein the slightly sticky substance is arranged in a plurality of locations on the support. 3.   The pellicle support means according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the slightly sticky substance is a gel-like substance selected from silicone or urethane. The value of the stand-off / external dimensions diagonal length is from 0.0001 to 0.003, and the pellicle pellicle film is adhered through an adhesive layer on one surface of the pellicle frame, 1 to the claim for supporting the pellicle And a pellicle support means according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pellicle support means is detachably provided on the pellicle film adhesive layer side of the pellicle frame via the slightly sticky substance. Support device. Said pellicle supported on a pellicle support means according to any one of claims 1 to 3 after its attachment to the mounting surface, the pellicle, characterized in that removing the pellicle support means provided on the pellicle frame Wearing method. 6. The pellicle mounting method according to claim 5 , wherein the pellicle support means is used until a step of taking out the pellicle from a pellicle storage container and attaching the pellicle to a photomask.

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