JP6484851B2 - Polarized light irradiation device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a polarized light irradiation apparatus.

  As a processing technique for forming an alignment film on a substrate such as a liquid crystal panel, a photo-alignment process is known in which a photosensitive resin film is formed on the substrate and the film is irradiated with polarized light. In this photo-alignment treatment, it is necessary to uniformly irradiate the film on the substrate with polarized light. However, in order to cope with an increase in the area of the substrate, the entire width direction of the substrate can be irradiated with polarized light. A polarized light irradiation apparatus is used that uses a light source unit that is long in one direction and scans and exposes the entire substrate while moving the substrate in a direction that intersects the longitudinal direction of the light source unit. This polarized light irradiation apparatus includes a stage on which a substrate is placed and moved in a uniaxial direction, and a stage moving mechanism that moves the stage (see Patent Document 1 below).

Japanese Patent No. 5105567

  In such a polarized light irradiation apparatus, when processing is performed on one stage, it is necessary to alternately carry in and out the substrate on both sides of the stage movement direction of the light source unit, and there is a problem that handling of the substrate becomes complicated. In addition, since the time for carrying in / out the substrate to / from the stage is added to the irradiation time of the polarized light, there is a problem that efficient processing cannot be performed.

  On the other hand, if the substrate can be continuously supplied from one side to the polarized light irradiation region of the light source unit, efficient processing becomes possible. However, in the polarized light irradiation device for forming an alignment film or the like, The substrate needs to pass through the polarized light irradiation area while maintaining the relationship between the direction (the direction of the pattern formed on the substrate) and the polarization axis of the polarized light to be radiated. There is a need for a means for transferring a substrate that satisfies the above.

  This invention makes it an example of a subject to cope with such a problem. That is, in a polarized light irradiation apparatus that irradiates a substrate with polarized light and performs photo-alignment processing, etc., by continuously supplying the substrate from one direction to the polarized light irradiation region, the substrate is carried in, the polarized light irradiation, the substrate It is an object of the present invention to improve the processing efficiency by carrying out the one-way unloading and to ensure high processing accuracy by maintaining the direction of the substrate with high accuracy.

In order to achieve such an object, a polarized light irradiation apparatus according to the present invention has the following configuration.
A light source unit that emits polarized light to a set irradiation region; and a stage that moves the substrate along a uniaxial direction so as to pass through the irradiation region, and the stage is on one side in one axial direction of the irradiation region. A plurality of substrate holders that hold the substrate direction constant and release the substrate held on the other side in one axial direction of the irradiation region, and the substrate held by the substrate holder can slide freely at a constant height. and a substrate supporting means for supporting the substrate holder, the substrate is moved relative to the support means, before one of the substrate holder releases the holding of the one substrate, the other substrate holding portion other A polarized light irradiation apparatus characterized by holding the substrate.

  In the polarized light irradiation apparatus for performing photo-alignment processing or the like, the present invention having such a feature supplies the substrate continuously from one direction to the polarized light irradiation region, thereby bringing in the substrate, irradiating the polarized light, Unloading can be performed in one way to improve processing efficiency. At that time, the direction of the substrate can be maintained with high accuracy to ensure high processing accuracy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is explanatory drawing ((a) is explanatory drawing of planar view, (b) is explanatory drawing of side view) which showed the polarized light irradiation apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (operation explanatory drawing, (a)-(g) shows an operation | movement process) which showed the polarized light irradiation apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing (operation explanatory drawing, (a)-(g) shows an operation | movement process) which showed the polarized light irradiation apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of a board | substrate holding part. It is explanatory drawing ((a) explanatory drawing of planar view, (b) is explanatory drawing of side view) of the light source unit used for embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, the polarized light irradiation apparatus 1 includes a light source unit 2 and a stage 3. The light source unit 2 irradiates the set irradiation region 2S with polarized light, and includes a light source and a polarizer as will be described later.

  The stage 3 moves the substrate W that irradiates polarized light along a uniaxial direction (X-axis direction) so as to pass through the irradiation region 2S. Hereinafter, in the figure, the moving direction of the substrate is the X-axis direction, the direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction on the horizontal plane is the Y-axis direction, and the vertical direction orthogonal to the XY axis is the Z-axis direction. The substrate W is a substrate of a liquid crystal panel on which an alignment film is formed, and a photosensitive alignment material (polymer material) is formed on the substrate W.

  The stage 3 keeps the direction of the substrate W constant on one side in the uniaxial direction (X-axis direction) of the irradiation region 2S, and releases the holding of the substrate W on the other side in the uniaxial direction (X-axis direction) of the irradiation region 2S. A plurality of substrate holding units 30 are provided. The substrate holding unit 30 is moved along the uniaxial direction (X-axis direction) by the holding unit moving means 31 having an appropriate form, and while maintaining the state of holding the substrate W, one side of the irradiation region 2S in the X-axis direction. Move from one side to the other. One example of the holding unit moving means 31 shown in FIG. 1 is to attach the substrate holding unit 30 to an endless moving body and continuously reciprocate the substrate holding unit 30.

  The stage 3 includes substrate support means 4 as necessary. The substrate support means 4 supports the height of the substrate W at a constant level while the polarized light is irradiated, and can be constituted by a guide body, a roller conveyor, an air levitation device, etc., on which the substrate W can slide. it can. Further, the stage 3 is provided with a rotation adjusting means for adjusting the direction of the substrate W at least on one side (X-axis direction) of the irradiation region 2S (not shown). The rotation adjusting means performs rotation adjustment for adjusting the direction of the substrate W to the set direction with respect to the polarization axis direction of the polarized light to be irradiated, and the substrate holding unit 30 includes the rotation adjusting means. You can also

  The polarized light irradiation apparatus 1 has a substrate carry-in position P1 on one side in the uniaxial direction (X-axis direction) of the irradiation region 2S in the stage 3, and a substrate carry-out position P2 on the other side in the uniaxial direction (X-axis direction) in the irradiation region 2S. Provided. When the substrate W is loaded into the substrate loading position P1, the substrate holding unit 30 adjusts the direction of the substrate W to the set direction so that the direction of the substrate W is always constant during movement at the substrate loading position P1. The substrate W is held. The substrate W moves while maintaining the state held by the substrate holding unit 30, and the substrate W is irradiated with polarized light by passing through the irradiation region 2S. When the substrate W is moved to the other side of the irradiation region 2S in one axis direction (X-axis direction) and reaches the substrate carry-out position P2, the substrate holding unit 30 releases the holding of the substrate W.

  A plurality of substrate holding units 30 are provided, and another substrate holding unit 30 holds another substrate W (W2) before one substrate holding unit 30 releases the holding of one substrate W (W1). . Thereby, the substrate W is continuously supplied to the irradiation region 2S from one direction, and the substrate W can be carried in, the substrate W can be irradiated with the polarized light, and the substrate W can be carried out in one way.

  FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the polarized light irradiation apparatus 1 and its operation example. The same parts as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. In this embodiment, the polarized light irradiation device 1 includes holding bodies 30A and 30B as the substrate holding unit 30 and scanning axes 31A and 31B as the holding unit moving unit 31. The scanning shafts 31A and 31B are drive shafts that reciprocate the holding bodies 30A and 30B independently along one axis direction. Here, an example is shown in which two scanning axes 31A and 31B are provided and the holding bodies 30A and 30B move independently on the respective axes. However, the number of scanning axes is three or more, and on each axis. The holding body may move independently. A fixed shaft 32 extends at the center of the stage 3.

  In this embodiment, the holding bodies 30A and 30B have a function of rotating and adjusting the direction of the substrate W and a function of holding the direction of the substrate W constant. In FIG. 2A, when the substrate W1 is loaded into the substrate loading position P1, the holding body 30A holds the substrate W1 and rotates and adjusts the direction of the substrate W1 in the set direction. Thereafter, the holding body 30A moves from one side to the other side in the X-axis direction of the irradiation region by the scanning axis 31A so that the substrate W1 passes through the irradiation region of the light source unit 2 (see FIG. 2B). .

  Then, before the substrate W1 held by one holding body 30A finishes passing through the irradiation region of the light source unit 2, the other holding body 30B holds the other substrate W2 (see FIG. 2C). The holding body 30B holds the substrate W2 and rotates and adjusts the direction of the substrate W2 in the set direction, and then scans the substrate W2 so as to pass through the irradiation region of the light source unit 2, similarly to the holding body 30A. The axis 31B moves from one side to the other side in the X-axis direction of the irradiation region (see FIG. 2D).

  When the holder 30A holding the substrate W1 that has been irradiated with the polarized light reaches the substrate carry-out position P2, the holder 30A returns the direction of the substrate W1 to a direction in which it can be easily carried out, and releases the holding of the substrate W1. The substrate W1 is unloaded from the substrate unloading position P2 by a substrate unloading means (not shown) provided separately. During the carry-out process, the holding body 30B moves the held substrate W2, and irradiation processing of polarized light is performed on the substrate W2 (see FIG. 2E).

  When the holding body 30 </ b> A releases the holding of the substrate W <b> 1, the holding body 30 </ b> A is returned to the opposite side of the irradiation region (substrate loading position side) by reverse driving of the scanning shaft 31 </ b> A. In the meantime, the polarized light irradiation process is continuously performed on the substrate W2 held by the holder 30B. At this time, the returned holder 30A is retracted to a position where it does not interfere with the moving substrate W2 (FIG. 2 (f)). When a new substrate W3 is loaded into the substrate loading position P1, the holding body 30A that has returned to the substrate loading position P1 holds the substrate W3, and then the above-described operation is repeated (see FIG. 2G).

  FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the polarized light irradiation apparatus 1 and its operation example. The same parts as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. Although the above-described holding bodies 30A and 30B are not shown, the scanning shafts 31A and 31B are provided with holding bodies 30A and 30B.

  In this embodiment, the polarized light irradiation device 1 includes rotation adjusting bodies 32A and 32B separately from the holding bodies 30A and 30B. The rotation adjusting bodies 32A and 32B are provided at the substrate carry-in position P1 and the substrate carry-out position P2, respectively, and are attached to a fixed shaft 32 extending along the X-axis direction at the center of the stage 3. In this embodiment, the rotation adjustment bodies 32A and 32B fixed to the substrate carry-in position P1 and the substrate carry-out position P2 rotate and adjust the direction of the loaded substrate W or the unloaded substrate W. The rotation adjusting body 32A holds the substrate W that has entered the substrate carry-in position P1, performs rotation adjustment, and then opens after the substrate W is held by the holding body 30A or 30B. The rotation adjusting body 32B holds the substrate W that has entered the substrate carry-out position P2, and performs rotation adjustment after the holding body 30A or 30B is opened. According to the rotation adjusting bodies 32A and 32B, rotation adjustment with the center of the substrate W held can be performed. Operations other than the rotation adjustment of the substrate W can be described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2G and the operations of FIGS. 3A to 3G.

  FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of the substrate holding portion (holding bodies 30A and 30B) in FIGS. 2 and 3 (the same parts as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted). The holding bodies 30A and 30B that move along the X-axis direction by the scanning axes 31A and 31B are provided with elevating means that move up and down in the Z-axis direction. The illustrated holding body 30A shows a state in which the substrate W is lifted up, and the illustrated holding body 30B shows a state in which the holding of the substrate W is released and lowered to a position where it does not interfere with the substrate W. Yes. When the substrate W is held and moved toward the substrate carry-out position, the holding body 30A is in the state shown in the figure, and when the substrate W is released and then returned to the substrate carry-in position, the holder shown in the figure is obtained. It will be in the state of 30B.

  FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of the light source unit 2 in the polarized light irradiation apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Although the light source unit 2 extends along the Y-axis direction, a long light source can be used along the Y-axis direction, and a short light source having a length in the X-axis direction as shown in the drawing. 20, a plurality of units including the light source 20 can be arranged in the Y-axis direction. In this case, a polarizer 21 (if necessary, a filter 22) is provided in each unit, and appropriate adjustment is performed so that the polarization axis of the polarizer 21 is in the same direction. As the polarizer 21, for example, a wire grid polarizer provided with a fine grid made of linear electric conductors on a transparent substrate can be used. For example, chromium, aluminum, titanium oxide, or the like can be used as the electrical conductor here.

  As described above, the polarized light irradiation apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention supplies the substrate W continuously from one direction to the irradiation region of the polarized light, thereby bringing in the substrate W, irradiating the polarized light, The substrate can be carried out in one way, and the processing efficiency can be improved. At that time, since the substrate W is held by the substrate holding unit 30, the direction of the substrate W can be maintained with high accuracy and high processing accuracy can be ensured.

  As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and the design can be changed without departing from the scope of the present invention. Is included in the present invention. In addition, the above-described embodiments can be combined by utilizing each other's technology as long as there is no particular contradiction or problem in the purpose and configuration.

1: polarized light irradiation device, 2: light source unit, 2S: irradiation area,
3: Stage, 30: Substrate holder, 30A, 30B: Holder
31: Holding part moving means, 31A, 31B: Scanning axis,
32: fixed shaft, 32A, 32B: rotation adjusting body,
4: Substrate support means,
P1: substrate loading position, P2: substrate loading position,
W, W1, W2, W3: Substrate

Claims (6)

A light source unit that irradiates a set irradiation region with polarized light, and a stage that moves the substrate along a uniaxial direction so as to pass through the irradiation region;
The stage has a plurality of substrate holding units that hold the substrate direction constant on one side in one axial direction of the irradiation region and release the substrate on the other side in one axial direction of the irradiation region, and the substrate holding unit holds the stage. A substrate support means for slidably supporting the substrate to be slidable at a constant height ,
The substrate holding unit moves with respect to the substrate support means , and another substrate holding unit holds another substrate before one substrate holding unit releases the holding of one substrate. A polarized light irradiation device.   The substrate holding unit holds a substrate at a substrate carry-in position provided on one side in the uniaxial direction of the irradiation region and releases the substrate at a substrate carry-out position provided on the other side in the uniaxial direction of the irradiation region. The polarized light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1.   The substrate holding section includes a plurality of holding bodies that independently move on a plurality of axes along a uniaxial direction, and before the substrate held by one holding body finishes passing through the irradiation region, The polarized light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding body holds another substrate.   The holding body, after releasing the holding of the substrate on one side in the one axial direction of the irradiation region, retreats to a position not interfering with the moving substrate and returns to one side in the one axial direction of the irradiation region. 3. The polarized light irradiation apparatus according to 3.   The polarized light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate holding unit includes a rotation adjusting unit that rotates and adjusts the direction of the substrate to be held.   The polarized light irradiation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a rotation adjusting unit that rotates and adjusts the direction of the substrate is provided on one side in one axial direction of the irradiation region.

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