JP6510768B2 - Exposure device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is a so-called roll-to-roll method in which a long work (flexible substrate) is conveyed to the exposure unit from the supply side, the pattern is exposed to the long work by the exposure unit, and the long work is conveyed to the winding side. Exposure apparatus.

  Generally, since the electric circuit base material of the electronic circuit board (printed circuit board) used for various small electric devices such as mobile phones and mobile devices is thin, thin, short and thin, the thin high-precision long work is used .

The material of such a long work tends to be thinned to a thickness of about 0.1 mm to 0.06 mm. Furthermore, in recent years, a very long long workpiece having a thickness of 0.05 mm or less, a width of 550 mm, and a length of 100 m, which is thin and wide, is used. Long work pieces are usually handled by being rolled up.

  An apparatus for forming an electronic circuit on such a long work includes a supply reel, a take-up reel, and an exposure unit positioned between the supply reel and the take-up reel, and between the supply reel and the take-up reel A so-called roll-to-roll method is known in which a pattern is exposed on the surface of a long work by an exposure unit while conveying the long work placed on top of the work in the longitudinal direction.

There is also known a roll-to-roll maskless exposure apparatus in which an exposure unit is provided with a light modulation element array such as a DMD (Digital Micro-mirror Device). By sequentially switching the drive data of the light modulation element array in synchronization with the transport of the long work by maskless exposure, it is possible to expose and form a long pattern exceeding 1 m, for example.

In the case of a maskless exposure apparatus, it is generally necessary to perform exposure while maintaining the plane of the work using an exposure stage due to the depth of focus of the exposure optical system. In the roll-to-roll type maskless exposure apparatus of Patent Document 1, the light modulation element is held in a state where the long work is sucked and fixed to the exposure stage and the distance between the exposure unit and the long work surface is kept constant. The pattern light is projected onto the photosensitive agent layer fixed to the surface of the long work while relatively moving the long work and the long work.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2006-102991

  In a roll-to-roll maskless exposure apparatus such as Patent Document 1, a single exposure distance with respect to the transport direction of a long workpiece is limited by the stroke of the exposure stage. In order to form a pattern having a length exceeding the limit, it is necessary to individually move the long work and the exposure stage to the respective exposure start positions after completing one exposure process.

  However, in the roll-to-roll type maskless exposure apparatus of Patent Document 1, since the movement of the long work is performed on the exposure stage, when the exposure stage is to be returned to the start position of exposure at high speed, the unwinding unit and the winding are performed. The dancer roller provided in the take-up unit can not follow the return speed of the substrate and slippage occurs, resulting in abrasion of the long work.

  However, if the acceleration of the exposure stage is lowered so that the dancer roller can follow the return speed of the long work, the tact time is greatly affected, which adversely affects the productivity.

  In addition, since the return amount of the long work and the return amount of the exposure stage are different (the exposure stage moves back by about the length of the transport direction of the exposure stage, many return), the exposure stage cancels the suction and fixation of the long work, Although there is a process in which only the exposure stage moves, the weight of the dancer roller and the weight of the long work do not balance, and the long work moves in the transport direction. For this reason, there is a problem that the first end position of the formed pattern does not coincide with the next start position.

  The exposure apparatus according to the present invention comprises a transport means for transporting a long and flexible object to be exposed from a supply reel to a take-up reel, and a plurality of spatial light modulation means provided above the object to be exposed downstream of the supply reel. , An exposure stage for holding a part of the object to be exposed, and a moving means for reciprocating the exposure stage along the transport direction of the object to be exposed of the transport means.

The exposure apparatus of the present invention is provided on the upstream side of the downstream side and the exposure means of the supply reel, a supply-side brake roller for braking the object to be exposed, provided on the upstream side of the downstream side and the take-up reel of the exposure means provided, and a take-up side brake roller for braking the object to be exposed, the supply side brake roller comprises a roller driving means.

When the exposure stage holds the object to be exposed, the supply-side braking roller and the winding-side braking roller release the braking of the object to be exposed, and the object to be exposed moves freely as the exposure stage moves. Do not disturb.

Further, in the exposure apparatus according to the present invention, the exposure means exposes the pattern on the object to be exposed while the exposure stage moves with the object to be exposed held from the conveyance start position to the conveyance end position. The exposure stage moves from the conveyance end position to the conveyance start position without holding the object to be exposed. At the same time, the supply side braking roller moves the object to be exposed to the supply side.

  The exposure stage includes a clamp mechanism that presses the end surface in the width direction of the object (the end surface along the transport direction) to the exposure stage. By sandwiching both end faces in the width direction of the object to be exposed between the clamp mechanism and the exposure stage, the surface to be exposed of the object to be exposed is held flat.

  Further, the exposure apparatus of the present invention comprises an imaging means and a display means capable of displaying an image captured by the imaging means, the imaging means being used for imaging the positioning mark provided on the object to be exposed in the positioning step. It is also used for observing the pattern in the step of confirming the exposed pattern.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to shorten the tact time without putting wrinkles on a long work, and to realize a roll-to-roll type exposure apparatus in which the connection accuracy of the formed pattern is good.

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which shows the work clamp part of an exposure stage. FIG. 7 is a first process diagram illustrating an operation of the exposure apparatus. FIG. 7 is a second process diagram illustrating an operation of the exposure apparatus. FIG. 13 is a third process diagram illustrating an operation of the exposure apparatus. FIG. 16 is a fourth process diagram illustrating an operation of the exposure apparatus. FIG. 18 is a fifth process diagram illustrating an operation of the exposure apparatus. FIG. 16 is a sixth process diagram illustrating an operation of the exposure apparatus. FIG. 18 is a seventh process diagram illustrating an operation of the exposure apparatus. FIG. 18 is an eighth process diagram illustrating an operation of the exposure apparatus. FIG. 18 is a ninth process diagram illustrating an operation of the exposure apparatus. FIG. 18 is a tenth process diagram illustrating an operation of the exposure apparatus.

First Embodiment
An exposure apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The exposure apparatus 1 is a so-called roll-to-roll type exposure apparatus, and supplies the long work W sequentially from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the long work W, and the long work W The exposure unit 30 exposes a pattern on the surface of the substrate to form an electronic circuit, and the winding unit 20 collects the exposed long work W.

<Configuration of Long Workpiece W>
The long work W is, for example, a photosensitive long film (a flexible film made of synthetic resin having a photosensitive member coated on the surface) which is a base material of an electronic circuit board (printed circuit board) used for mobile phones and mobile devices. It is rolled. The long work W on which a photosensitive material such as a photoresist is applied is formed in a sheet shape of a copper-clad laminate or the like, and has a length of several tens to several hundreds of meters. Hereinafter, of the front and back surfaces of the long work W, the surface facing upward in the drawing is referred to as "surface", and the surface facing downward in the drawing is referred to as "back surface".

  Hereinafter, the direction along the transport direction M is “X”, the width direction of the long work W perpendicular to the transport direction M is “Y”, and the direction (vertical direction) perpendicular to both X and Y is “Z” Represented by Further, when expressing the positional relationship of elements in the exposure apparatus 1, the side closer to the supply reel is referred to as the upstream side, and the side closer to the take-up reel is referred to as the downstream side.

<Configuration of Supply Unit 10 and Winding Unit 20>
The supply unit 10 sequentially supplies the supply reel 11, the guide roller 12, the supply-side dancer roller 13, the guide roller 14, the supply-side braking roller 15, and the end surface position from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the long work W A sensor 16 is provided to configure a work supply system for supplying the long work W to the exposure unit 30. The take-up unit 20 sequentially takes up the take-up side braking roller 25, the guide roller 24, the take-up side dancer roller 23, the guide roller 22, and the take-up reel from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the long work W. 21 and constitutes a work winding system for winding the long work W exposed by the exposure unit 30.

  The supply reel 11 holds the long work W wound in a roll shape, and supplies the long work W toward the downstream side (rotates) by rotating around its own rotation axis. It is a thing. The take-up reel 21 rolls around the long work W supplied from the upstream side and holds the long work W by rotating around its own rotation shaft. The supply reel 11 and the take-up reel 21 are provided with rotational driving means (not shown) for intermittently rotating the supply reel 11 and the take-up reel 21. The outer diameter of the supply reel 11 and the take-up reel 21 changes as the supply amount and the take-up amount of the long work W change with the conveyance of the long work W.

  The guide rollers 12, 14, 22, 24, the supply side braking roller 15 and the take-up side braking roller 25 span the long work W between the supply reel 11 and the take-up reel 21, and have their own rotation shaft By rotating around the center, the long work W from the supply reel 11 is transported toward the take-up reel 21.

The supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 are arranged such that their rotational axes are substantially aligned in the horizontal direction. The supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 are configured by a nip roller composed of two rollers disposed to face each other across the long work W. The two rollers are respectively movable in the vertical direction (Z direction) by a mechanism (not shown) so as to hold or release the long work W.

The supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 can apply braking to the long work W by holding the long work W between the nip rollers and applying a brake so that the nip rollers do not rotate. On the other hand, in the state where the long work W is opened, the nip rollers are separated from the front and back of the long work W so as not to inhibit the movement of the long work W.

Further, the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 are respectively provided with rotational driving means (not shown) for rotationally driving the rollers. In a state in which the long work W is nipped, the rotation driving means rotates the supply side braking roller 15 and the winding side braking roller 25 intermittently and with substantially the same rotational driving amount, thereby taking up the supply reel 11 and the winding. The long workpiece W placed between the reels 21 can be transported (framed) by a predetermined length. For example, a stepping motor is used as the rotation driving means, and the feed amount of the long work W, the acceleration, and the like are accurately controlled.

  The supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 may be an adsorption roller provided with an adsorption unit for adsorbing the back surface of the long work W, instead of the nip roller for holding the long work W. The long work W can be conveyed by the rotational drive means being rotationally driven in a state where the supply side braking roller 15 and the take-up side braking roller 25 adsorb the back surface of the long work W.

Further, although the case has been exemplified where both the supply braking roller 15 and the take-up braking roller 25 have rotational driving means, the drawing side (supply side) is used when the braking roller transports the long work W in only one direction. The braking roller may be provided only with the braking roller, and the other braking roller may be provided with only the brake. In that case, when the braking roller on the pull-in side is rotationally driven, the other braking roller may release the brake while holding the long work W, and the nip roller may be rotated together with the movement of the long work W.

The guide rollers 12, 14, 22, 24 are auxiliary rollers for guiding the long work W supplied (drawn) from the supply reel 11 to the downstream side. Among the guide rollers, at least the guide rollers 14 and 24 are arranged such that their rotational axes are substantially aligned in the horizontal direction. The feed guide rollers 12, 14, 22, 24 are flanges (not shown) for preventing the long work W from being displaced in the width direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIGS. 1 and 3 and the left and right direction in FIG. 2). May be included.

The supply-side dancer roller 13 and the winding-side dancer roller 23 move up and down according to the conveyance of the long work W and apply tension to the long work W to prevent the long work W from being slackened or wrinkled. At the same time, it has a function as a buffer for moving the long work W at the exposure unit 30 for scan exposure at the exposure unit described later.

The supply unit 10 includes an end surface position sensor 16 for detecting an end surface position of the long work W. According to the output of the end face position sensor 16, the supply unit 10 performs end face position control for correcting the meandering of the long work W by a mechanism (not shown). The end surface position control is performed, for example, by providing a frame (not shown) integrally supporting the supply reel 11 to the supply side braking roller 15 and moving the frame in the width direction (Y direction) of the long work W. End position control is a known technique and can be realized using a generally known controller.

<Configuration of Exposure Unit 30>
The exposure unit 30 is disposed between the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25. The exposure unit 30 includes an exposure stage 31, an alignment camera 41, and an exposure unit 51.

The exposure unit 51 includes a plurality of exposure heads (not shown), and is regularly disposed at a position vertically away from the long work W by a predetermined distance. A light source and an illumination optical system (not shown) are disposed for each exposure head, and light emitted from the light source is guided to the corresponding exposure head via the corresponding illumination optical system. Each exposure head includes a DMD (Digital Micro-mirror Device) in which a plurality of micro mirrors are two-dimensionally arrayed, and an imaging optical system for imaging an image of the DMD on a long workpiece.

The micromirrors of the DMD are selectively positioned in either the first posture for guiding light onto the long work W or the second posture for guiding light out of the long work W, and each micromirror is controlled independently. Ru.

An exposure area defined by dividing the long work W along the transport direction M is allocated to each exposure head, and a scan band is defined for each exposure head. The exposure area which is an irradiation area of the light from each exposure head is formed according to the width of the scanning band, and the light is irradiated to the long work W by the exposure area.

  The exposure stage 31 holds the back of the long work W while holding it flat. The exposure stage 31 can be raised and lowered between the upper end position at which the exposure stage 31 contacts the back surface of the long work W and the lower end position at which the exposure stage 31 separates from the back surface of the long work W It has become. Further, the exposure stage 31 includes a stage moving unit 32 for scanning or step-and-repeat.

As shown in FIG. 2, the exposure stage 31 includes a workpiece clamping mechanism 35 that clamps an end face along the transport direction (X direction) of the long workpiece W. The work clamp mechanism 35 is composed of a clamp 35 a and a clamp 35 b that clamp the end face of the long work W in the transport direction (X direction) between the work clamp mechanism 35 and the stage. The clamps 35a and 35b are attached to a Y-direction moving mechanism (not shown), and can adjust the holding position according to the width of the long work W.

Since the long work W is in the form of a thin film, warpage occurs in the width direction (Y direction). The work clamp mechanism 35 clamps the long work W against the exposure stage so as to press the long work W, thereby correcting and holding the exposed area of the long work W flat.

The alignment camera 41 is installed on the upstream side of the exposure unit 51, and acquires the position information of the long work W by imaging the alignment mark provided on the long work W. The imaging of the alignment mark is performed while moving the long work W in the X direction.

<Exposure conveyance operation by exposure apparatus 1>
The exposure conveyance operation by the exposure apparatus 1 will be described in detail with reference to process drawings of FIGS. 3 a to 3 j. In addition, the arrow of the elongate workpiece | work W vicinity in the figure represents the movement of the elongate workpiece W. FIG. Further, a point A on the long work W indicates a head position at the first exposure, and a point B indicates an end position at the first exposure and a head position at the second exposure. It is shown.

Step S1: A long work W in the form of a roll, which is a new material before processing, is set on the supply reel 11, and the leading end of the long work W is drawn out to guide the guide roller 12, the supply side dancer roller 13, the guide roller 13, and supply It is bridged to the side braking roller 15, the winding side braking roller 25, the guide roller 24, the winding side dancer roller 23, and the guide roller 22, and is fixed to the winding reel 21. In the initial set state, the long work W is not buffered in the supply-side dancer roller 13 and the take-up-side dancer roller 23. (Figure 3a)

  Step S2: The automatic operation mode of the exposure apparatus is started. The exposure stage 31 waiting at the alignment start position ascends to the upper end position, holds the back surface of the long workpiece W for one frame while holding it flat. Further, the work clamp mechanism 35 of the exposure stage 31 clamps the long work W with the stage. (Figure 3b)

Step S3: The rotation drive means (not shown) of the supply reel 11 is rotated by a predetermined amount of rotational drive, whereby the supply reel 11 draws the long workpiece W by one stroke (approximately 2 frames) of the exposure stage. The drawn long work W enters the supply side dancer roller 13 via the supply guide roller 12. Here, since the long work W is adsorbed by the exposure stage 31 at the downstream side, the long work W is buffered by the dancer roller 13 while maintaining an appropriate tension. (Figure 3c)

Step S4: The exposure stage 31 is driven in the X direction, and passes below the alignment camera 41 while holding the long workpiece W by suction. At that time, as the exposure stage 31 moves, the long work W buffered in the supply side dancer roller 13 is pulled out, and at the same time the U shape of the long work W deepens in the winding side dancer roller 23. The long work W is buffered. (Figure 3c → Figure 3d)

When an inner layer pattern is present on the long work W (after the second layer of the buildup substrate and the like), the long work W is provided with an alignment mark for aligning the pattern to be exposed and the inner layer pattern. The alignment mark formed on the long work W is imaged by the alignment camera 41 in accordance with the movement of the exposure stage 31. In the case where there is no inner layer pattern on the long work W (the first layer of the build-up substrate, etc.), alignment marks may not be provided. In that case, the exposure apparatus 1 is aligned (exposure position correction with exposure data) No imaging of alignment marks is performed.

  Step S5: Alignment between the long work and the pattern to be exposed is performed based on the position information of the long work W obtained by imaging the alignment mark. Specifically, the position information of the long work W is transmitted to the exposure control unit (not shown) of the exposure unit 51, and the exposure unit 51 corrects the coordinates of the exposure data for exposing the long work W to a pattern. Processing is performed. While the correction process of the exposure data is being performed, the exposure stage 31 pauses at the exposure start position while holding the long work W. (Figure 3d)

Step S6: The exposure stage 31 starts to move in the downstream direction, and in the exposure unit 30, the exposure unit 75 applies the electron to the photosensitive material layer on the surface of the long work W held by suction by the exposure stage 31 by known multiple exposure technology. The circuit pattern is scanned and exposed (FIG. 3 d → FIG. 3 e). When the exposure of the long work W for one frame from the point A to the point B is completed, the movement of the exposure stage 31 in the downstream direction is completed, and the movement is stopped at the exposure end position. (Figure 3e)

  Step S7: The supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 hold the long work W and fix the long work W (FIG. 3f). Thereafter, the suction of the long work W by the exposure stage 31 is released, the work clamp mechanism 35 releases the fixation of the long work W, and the elevation driving means 34 lowers the exposure stage 31 to the lower end position (FIG. 3g). . Since the long work W is held by the rollers 15 and 25, when the stage 31 is separated from the long work W, the long work W is braked without moving in the X direction or Y direction, and the predetermined position is maintained. Can.

Step S8: The supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 are long by the rotation driving means (not shown) of the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 rotating by a predetermined rotational drive amount. The scale work W is rewound by a predetermined amount, so that one frame after the exposure completion of the long work W comes to the alignment start position (that is, the point B comes to the position of the point A in step S2) ), Move the long work W. At that time, the movement of the long work W is performed while correcting the meandering of the long work W using the output of the end face position sensor 16 (Fig. 3g → Fig. 3h).

When the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 move the long work W in the return direction, the long work W becomes deeper in U-shape at the supply-side dancer roller 13 and at the same time the winding-side dancer The U-shape becomes shallower at the roller 23. At that time, if the acceleration for driving the long work W is steep, the dancer roller slips on the long work, there is a risk that the long work W may be wrinkled and become a defective product, so the supply side braking roller 15 and the take-up side braking roller 25 are rotationally driven to perform appropriate acceleration and deceleration.

Simultaneously with the rewinding of the long work W by the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25, the exposure stage 31 moves from the exposure end position to the alignment start position. (FIG. 3g → FIG. 3h) It should be noted that the amount of return of one frame of the long work W after completion of exposure and the amount of return of the stage 31 are different, and the latter is larger. While the movement of the long work W is performed with moderate acceleration and deceleration, the movement of the exposure stage 31 having a large amount of return is performed at high acceleration and high speed. For this reason, both ends return movement almost simultaneously.

Step S9: After the movement of the long work W by the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 and the movement of the exposure stage 31 are completed, the exposure stage 31 ascends to the upper end position, and one frame exposed earlier And hold the flat back of the long work W for one frame positioned next to the second work (FIG. 3i). Further, the work clamp mechanism 35 of the exposure stage 31 clamps the long work W with the stage. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3i, it can be seen that the point B has come to the position of the point A in step S2.

Step S10: The supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 release the holding of the long work W. The rotation drive means (not shown) of the supply reel 11 and the take-up reel 21 rotates by a predetermined amount of rotational drive, so that the supply reel 11 feeds the long work W to the dancer roller 13 by one frame and rolls it. The take-up reel 21 winds a long work W for one frame from the dancer roller 23. (Figure 3i → Figure 3j)

After that, steps S4 to S10 are sequentially and repeatedly performed until the end of production. When the exposure of the final frame of the long work W is completed, the long work W wound up in a roll shape on the take-up reel 21 is collected.

As described above, the exposure apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment maintains the state where the long work W is braked by the holding by the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 or the holding by the exposure stage 31. Perform exposure for the number of frames. As a result, it becomes possible to connect the front and back pieces with high accuracy and to perform exposure, and in particular, in a long work W having no alignment mark, a suitable effect is exhibited.

In addition, since the exposure stage 31 and the long work W are separated and moved separately during the return movement of the exposure stage 31 and the long work W after one frame exposure, the high acceleration of the exposure stage 31 having a long movement distance is achieved. It is possible to move at a high speed, and on the other hand, it is possible to move the long work W having a short moving distance while suppressing the acceleration so that the abrasion by the dancer roller does not occur. Thereby, the productivity of the exposure apparatus 1 is improved.

Second Embodiment
The second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment in the configuration of the exposure apparatus 1. In the present embodiment, after step S6 of the operation by the exposure apparatus 1 ends, the process branches to the following step.

Step S11: The exposure stage 31 moves to a position below the alignment camera 41 while holding the long workpiece W by suction. At this time, the movement of the exposure stage 31 may be automatically moved to a predetermined position or may be manually moved by the operator to an arbitrary position.

Step S12: The operator of the exposure apparatus 1 observes the latent image formed on the photosensitive material of the long work W by the exposure of step S6 using the alignment camera 41 and the monitor 42 connected to the alignment camera 41. . As a result of observation, when the necessity of correction of the exposure position, the exposure amount and the like is recognized, the operator of the exposure apparatus 1 corrects those parameters according to the observation result.

  Step S13: The supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 hold the long work W and fix the long work W. Thereafter, the suction of the long work W by the exposure stage 31 is released, the work clamp mechanism 35 releases the fixation of the long work W, and the elevation driving means 34 lowers the exposure stage 31 to the lower end position.

Step S14: Based on the current position of the long work W determined from the movement amount of the exposure stage in step 11, the feed side braking roller 15 and the take-up side braking roller 25 follow the exposure completion of the long work W The long work W is moved to the downstream side such that one frame of the frame is at the alignment start position (ie, the point B is at the position of the point A in step S2).

Simultaneously with the movement of the long work W by the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25, the exposure stage 31 is driven in the upstream direction to move to the alignment start position. As described above, when the long work W is moved by the supply side braking roller 15 and the take-up side braking roller 25, it becomes easy to move the long work W and the exposure stage 31 in different directions.

Step S15: After the movement of the long work W by the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 and the movement of the exposure stage 31 by the stage moving unit 32 are finished, the exposure stage 31 ascends to the upper end position. While suctioning the back surface of the long work W for one frame positioned next to one frame exposed previously, it is held flat. Further, the work clamp mechanism 35 of the exposure stage 31 clamps the end face of the long work W in the transport direction (X direction) with the stage.

Step S16: The supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 release the holding of the long work W. The rotation drive means (not shown) of the supply reel 11 and the take-up reel 21 rotates by a predetermined amount of rotational drive, so that the supply reel 11 feeds the long work W to the dancer roller 13 by one frame and rolls it. The take-up reel 21 winds a long work W for one frame from the dancer roller 23.

After that, step S4 and subsequent steps are sequentially and repeatedly executed as in the first embodiment. The branching of the operation to step S11 may be performed not only after the exposure of the first frame of the long work W but also at any timing.

As described above, the exposure apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes the step of observing the exposure result (step S12) when performing the continuous operation. By observing the first exposure result of the long work W and adjusting the exposure parameters, it is possible to prevent the formation defects of the patterns of many frames of the long work W, so the productivity of the exposure apparatus 1 is improved. The observation process of the exposure result may be performed not only at the time of the first exposure of the long work W but also at an arbitrary timing (for example, each time a predetermined time has elapsed).

Further, even when the process of observing the exposure result is performed during continuous operation, the long work W is braked by holding by the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 or holding by the exposure stage 31. Ru. As a result, it becomes possible to connect the front and back pieces with high accuracy and to perform exposure, and in particular, in a long work W having no alignment mark, a suitable effect is exhibited.

Although it has been described that the observation of the exposure result and the setting of the exposure parameter are performed manually by the operator by the monitor 42 connected to the alignment camera 41, the exposure device is connected by connecting the alignment camera 41 to an image processing device (not shown). One may be implemented automatically.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Exposure apparatus 2 Frame 10 Loading part 11 Supply reel 12, 14 Guide roller 13 Supply side dancer roller 15 Supply side braking roller 16 End position sensor 21 Take-up reel 22, 24 Guide roller 23 Winding side dancer roller 25 Take-up side braking Roller 30 Exposure unit 31 Exposure stage 32 Stage moving unit 33 Guide rail 34 Lifting and lowering means 35 Work clamp mechanism 40 Alignment unit 41 Alignment camera 42 Monitor 50 Exposure processing unit 51 Exposure unit W Long workpiece (photosensitive substrate)
A First exposure start position on the long workpiece W (Point A)
B Second exposure start position on the long workpiece W (point B)

Claims (3)

Transport means for transporting the long, plastic object to be exposed from the supply reel to the take-up reel;
Exposure means provided between the supply reel and the take-up reel;
An exposure stage for holding a part of the object to be exposed;
A moving unit configured to reciprocate the exposure stage along the transport direction of the object of the transport unit;
An exposure apparatus which exposes a pattern on the object to be exposed by relative movement between the exposure unit and the exposure stage,
The transport means is
A supply-side braking roller provided downstream of the supply reel and upstream of the exposure unit for braking the object to be exposed;
A take-up side braking roller provided on the downstream side of the exposure means and on the upstream side of the take-up reel for braking the object to be exposed;
The supply side braking roller is provided with a roller driving means for rotationally driving the supply side braking roller,
The exposure is performed while the exposure stage moves from the conveyance start position to the conveyance end position while holding the object to be exposed without braking the object to be exposed by the supply-side braking roller and the winding-side braking roller. Means for exposing a pattern on the object to be exposed;
After the exposure of the exposure unit is completed, the supply-side braking roller and the winding-side braking roller brake the object to be exposed,
When the exposure stage moves from the transfer end position to the transfer start position without holding the object to be exposed, the roller drive means rotationally drives the supply side braking roller to supply the object to be exposed An exposure apparatus characterized in that it is moved to The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exposure stage includes a clamp mechanism that presses an end face along the transport direction of the object to be exposed to the exposure stage. Exposure position correction means comprising an imaging means provided above the object to be exposed between the supply side braking roller and the exposure means;
A display unit capable of displaying an image captured by the imaging unit;
An imaging step of imaging the positioning mark provided on the object to be exposed by the imaging means;
An exposure position correction step in which the exposure unit corrects exposure data based on an image captured by the imaging unit;
An exposure step of exposing a pattern on the object to be exposed according to the exposure data corrected by the exposure unit;
3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a confirmation step of confirming a pattern exposed on the object to be exposed using the imaging unit after completion of the exposure step.