JP7175150B2 - Exposure device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus that transports a long substrate (workpiece) such as a flexible printed circuit board by a roll to roll carrier (hereinafter referred to as RtoR transport system).

In an exposure apparatus equipped with an RtoR transport system, a supply reel (unwinding roll) is arranged upstream of the exposure stage and a take-up reel (winding roll) is arranged downstream of the exposure stage to supply a long board such as a printed wiring board. After being wound around the reel and the take-up reel, exposure is performed while conveying from the upstream side to the downstream side.

Specifically, while the exposure stage that sucks and supports the back surface of the long substrate is moved along the long substrate transport direction, the exposure head installed above the long substrate moves to the position of the projection area (exposure target area). A corresponding pattern light is projected. When the exposure stage moves to the exposure completion position, the exposure stage descends and returns to the initial exposure position. By repeating the same exposure operation, a pattern is formed on the entire long substrate (see Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example).

In addition, it is possible to expose both sides of a long substrate in an exposure apparatus equipped with an RtoR transport system. There, two sets of exposure heads and exposure stages are prepared and installed at different locations. Then, the long substrate is turned upside down between the sets, and one set exposes the front surface of the substrate and the other set exposes the back surface of the substrate (see Patent Document 3).

JP 2015-222370 A JP 2009-276522 A JP 2017-215535 A

In a configuration in which two sets of an exposure head and an exposure stage are arranged for exposing both sides of a substrate, the substrate transport length becomes long, and the entire apparatus becomes correspondingly large. It is extremely difficult to secure a large space for the exposure equipment installed in the printed wiring board manufacturing line, as the space for the entire manufacturing line is physically limited, and it also reduces the production efficiency of the entire line. Let

Therefore, it is required to provide an RtoR transport system exposure apparatus capable of exposing both sides of a long substrate while reducing the installation space.

The exposure apparatus of the present invention includes an exposure stage that holds a long substrate, a supply reel that delivers the long substrate, and a take-up reel that winds the long substrate. For example, the exposure stage can be reciprocated along the transport direction of the long substrate, and may be configured to move relative to the exposure unit.

In the present invention, the exposure device is arranged on the opposite side of the exposure stage from the supply reel, and the long substrate reversing mechanism reverses the conveying direction of the long substrate and reverses the front and back of the long substrate. It has The take-up reel is arranged on the same side as the supply reel with respect to the exposure stage, and takes up the long substrate that has been turned upside down.

When a long substrate is exposed, a portion where the front surface of the long substrate is the exposure target surface and a portion where the back surface is the exposure target surface are arranged side by side on the exposure stage. Therefore, while the exposure unit on the exposure stage moves relative to the exposure stage, it exposes both the front side of the long substrate and the back side of the long substrate. Can be configured.

The long substrate reversing mechanism can be composed of a plurality of rollers, for example, including a transport length adjusting roller capable of adjusting the substrate transport length from the long substrate supply reel to the take-up reel. can be

The long substrate reversing mechanism is located on the opposite side of the supply reel with respect to the exposure stage, and includes a first transport direction changing roller that changes the transport direction of the long substrate to a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and an exposure stage. and a second transport direction changing roller located opposite to the take-up reel for changing the transport direction of the long substrate from a direction orthogonal to the transport direction to the transport direction. .

In that case, the conveying length adjusting roller winds the long substrate between the substrate conveying path from the first conveying direction changing roller to the second conveying direction changing roller, and rotates the long substrate along the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction. The position should be movable. Further, the first conveying direction changing roller can be composed of two rollers arranged vertically, one roller facing the second conveying direction changing roller, and the other roller acting as a conveying length adjusting roller. can be made to face each other.

For example, the supply reel and the take-up reel can be reciprocated along the transport direction together with the exposure stage. Also, the substrate folding mechanism may be reciprocated along the transport direction together with the exposure stage.

An exposure apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention is an exposure apparatus having an RtoR transport system, wherein the substrate folding mechanism causes the transport direction of the long substrate fed from the supply reel to be directed to the exposure stage opposite the exposure stage. While the exposure stage is moved in relation to the exposure section, the exposure section changes both the front side and the back side to be exposed. expose.

According to the present invention, double-sided exposure of a long substrate can be performed by an exposure apparatus of an R-to-R transport system with a reduced installation space.

1 is a top plan view of an exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment; FIG. It is the top view which looked at the exposure apparatus from the side surface side. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an exposure apparatus; FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a substrate folding mechanism; FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an exposure apparatus according to this embodiment as seen from above. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the exposure apparatus viewed from the side. FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an exposure apparatus.

The exposure apparatus 10 is an exposure apparatus having an RtoR transport system that performs an exposure operation while transporting a long substrate W wound in a roll, and includes a substrate supply/winding device 20 and an exposure unit 40 . The long substrate W is a sheet-like substrate obtained by forming a copper thin film layer on a long film and applying (or attaching) a photosensitive material such as a photoresist onto the long film, and is wound into a roll. ing.

The exposure stage (table) 15 sucks the long substrate W and holds it flat, and can be raised and lowered between a suction position and a position spaced downward from the suction position by a lifting mechanism (not shown). The exposure stage 15 is supported by the support table 20S of the substrate supply/winding device 20 .

The exposure unit 40 is arranged at a predetermined distance above the long substrate W, and is fixed to the base (pedestal) 10B of the exposure apparatus 10 via a frame (not shown). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the exposure unit 40 is composed of six exposure heads 40A to 40F, and projects light emitted from a light source 41 such as a semiconductor laser onto the long substrate W as pattern light.

The exposure heads 40A to 40F each include an illumination optical system 42, a DMD (Digital Micro-mirror Device) 43 having a plurality of micromirrors arranged in a matrix, and an imaging optical system 44 (see FIG. 2). The exposure heads 40A to 40F are arranged in a zigzag arrangement along the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the exposure stage 15, and each exposure area is defined. The light source 41 is driven by the light source controller 110 .

The DMD 43 of each exposure head positions the posture of the micromirror based on the drawing data (raster data) corresponding to the exposure area position sent from the exposure control unit 120, thereby forming the pattern light corresponding to the exposure area position. It is projected onto the long substrate W. A controller 100 (see FIG. 3) controls the entire exposure operation of the exposure apparatus 10 . It is also possible to construct an exposure section using a mask instead.

The substrate supply/winding device 20 supports the exposure stage 15 with the support base 20S as described above, and includes the supply reel 22, the take-up reel 32, and the support roller . A drive mechanism (not shown) for axially rotating the supply reel 22 and the take-up reel 32 is provided on the side portion 20B along the longitudinal direction of the support base 20S. The supply reel 22 and the take-up reel 32 are arranged on the same side with respect to the exposure stage 15 .

The driving mechanism is composed of, for example, a stepping motor, and synchronously rotates the supply reel 22 and the take-up reel 32 to intermittently transport the long substrate W by a predetermined length. The support roller 34 is configured as a free roller that supports the long substrate W and axially rotates when the long substrate W is conveyed. The support roller 34 has a configuration in which two free rollers are arranged in series, and the free rollers that support forward and backward movements of the long substrate, which will be described later, can rotate independently of each other.

The supply reel 22, which is cantilever-supported by the side portion 20B of the substrate supply/winding device 20, holds and fixes the unexposed portion of the long substrate W in a rolled state. A long substrate W can be delivered. Similarly, the take-up reel 32, which is cantilever supported, holds and fixes the exposed portion of the long substrate W in a rolled state, and can take up the long substrate W by axially rotating. can. The winding process of the long substrate W and the like are controlled by the transport controller 130 (see FIG. 3).

On the opposite side of the supply reel 22 with respect to the exposure stage 15, the substrate folding mechanism 50 reverses (folds) the transport direction of the long substrate W, and also reverses the front and back. As a result, the long substrate W is delivered from the supply reel 22 with the front surface as the surface to be exposed, that is, the surface facing the exposure unit 40, and is wound up by the take-up reel 32 with the back surface as the surface to be exposed. On the exposure stage 15, a portion of the long substrate W whose front surface is to be exposed and a portion of which the back surface is to be exposed are arranged side by side, and the exposure section 40 exposes both of them at the same time.

The stage/transport system moving mechanism 60 includes a pair of guide rails 62A and 62B installed on the base 10B of the exposure apparatus 10, and an actuator (not shown) configured by a ball screw. A control unit 70 (see FIG. 3) controls driving of the actuator.

The substrate supply/winding device 20 and the exposure stage 15 are movable along the X direction (and the −X direction) with respect to the base portion 10B of the exposure device 10 . Here, the direction along the transport direction M, which is the longitudinal direction of the long substrate W, and the direction in which the exposure stage 15 moves during exposure, that is, the direction opposite to the scanning direction SM is defined as the X direction. A direction perpendicular to it is the Y direction, and a direction perpendicular to the X and Y directions is the Z direction. The transport direction M represents the moving direction of the long substrate W in the section between the supply reel 20, the take-up reel 30, and the exposure stage 15, and represents both X and -X.

A sensor 80 for detecting the exposure position of the long substrate W is provided on the support roller 34 side of the exposure stage 15 . The sensor 80 detects both a portion W1 whose front side of the long substrate W is an exposure target surface (hereinafter referred to as a front side exposure target portion) and a portion W2 whose back side is an exposure target surface (hereinafter referred to as a back side exposure target portion). Detect the exposure position. The transport control unit 130 controls the substrate supply/winding unit 20 and the substrate folding mechanism 50 to match the exposure positions of the front side exposure target portion W1 and the back side exposure target portion W2 of the long substrate W. FIG.

The configuration of the substrate folding mechanism 50 will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the substrate folding mechanism 50. As shown in FIG.

The substrate folding mechanism 50 is composed of four rollers 152 , 154 , 156 and 158 . Rollers (hereinafter referred to as first transport direction changing rollers) 152 and 154 are rollers that change the transport direction of the long substrate W by 90 degrees, and are positioned to face the supply reel 20 with the exposure stage 15 interposed therebetween. It is installed at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to M (scanning direction SM) (see FIG. 1). The long substrate W is wound around the first conveying direction changing rollers 152 and 154 so that the back side exposure target portion W2 faces upward (to the exposure section side).

A roller (hereinafter referred to as a conveying length adjusting roller) 156 is positioned at the same height as the first conveying direction changing roller 154 and is arranged at a position inclined by 90 degrees with respect to the conveying direction M. A long substrate W whose direction is changed in a direction perpendicular to each other is wound. As a result, the front exposure target portion W1 of the long substrate W faces upward again.

A roller 158 (hereinafter referred to as a second transport direction changing roller) is a roller arranged at a position inclined by 45 degrees with respect to the transport direction M, and is positioned to face the take-up reel 20 with the exposure stage 15 interposed therebetween. . The elongated substrate W is wound around the second transport direction changing roller 158 and delivered along the transport direction M to the exposure stage 15 . Also, the backside exposure target portion W2 of the long substrate W faces upward.

The conveying length adjusting roller 156 can move its position in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction M in the side portion 20B of the substrate supply/winding device 20. adjust the length of When the sensor 80 provided on the exposure stage 15 detects the exposure positions of the front side exposure target portion W1 and the back side exposure target portion W2 of the long substrate W, the transport control unit 130 determines the transport length based on the detected exposure positions. Adjust the position of the height adjustment roller 158 .

The exposure operation will be described below. Before the exposure starts, the exposure stage 15 sucks and holds the front side exposure target portion W1 and the back side exposure target portion W2 of the long substrate W, and the supply reel 22 and the take-up reel 32 are not driven. It is stationary. With the start of exposure, the exposure stage 15 moves along the X direction at a predetermined speed.

The substrate supply/winding device 20 moves integrally with the exposure stage 15 . Therefore, the long substrate W remains stationary with respect to the exposure stage 15 while the exposure stage 15 is moving. As the exposure stage 15 moves relative to the exposure section 40 in the X direction, pattern light corresponding to the exposure area position of each exposure head is projected from the exposure section 40 .

When the exposure stage 15 and the substrate supply/winding device 20 reach the exposure completion position, the exposure stage 15 releases the suction support of the long substrate W and descends. Then, the supply reel 22 and the take-up reel 32 rotate synchronously, and the long substrate W is taken up by the take-up reel 32 by a predetermined length. At this time, the positions of the front side exposure target portion W1 and the back side exposure target portion W2 of the long substrate W are detected, and the exposure positions are adjusted by the conveying length adjusting rollers 156 .

When the winding onto the winding reel 32 ends and the exposure position is adjusted, the exposure stage 15 and the substrate supply/winding device 20 move and return to the exposure start position. During this time, the supply reel 22 and the take-up reel 32 are stationary because they are not driven. By repeating the exposure operation described above, patterns are formed on the entire both surfaces of the long substrate W. As shown in FIG.

As described above, according to this embodiment, in the RtoR transport system exposure apparatus 10, the supply reel 22 and the take-up reel 32 are arranged on one side of the exposure stage 15, and the substrate folding mechanism 50 is arranged on the opposite side. Then, the substrate folding mechanism 50 folds the long substrate W sent out from the supply reel 20 in the opposite direction, and also reverses the front and back. While the exposure stage 15 and the substrate supply/winding unit 20 including the supply reel 22 and the take-up reel 32 are integrally moving relative to each other, the exposure unit 40 exposes the front side exposure target portion W1 and the back side of the long substrate W. Both exposure target portions W2 are exposed at the same time.

By arranging the supply reel 22 and the take-up reel 32 on one side of the exposure stage 15, the exposure apparatus 10 can be made compact and the footprint can be reduced. In addition, since the exposure unit 40 simultaneously exposes both the front surface of the long substrate and the back surface of the long substrate arranged in two rows, the exposure can be performed without lowering the production efficiency.

In the present embodiment, the substrate folding mechanism 50 can be realized with a simple configuration by configuring the substrate folding mechanism 50 with four rollers. Further, since it is not necessary to provide a roller or the like between the substrate folding mechanism 50 and the exposure stage 5 , the distance between the substrate folding mechanism 50 and the exposure stage 15 is the same as that of the supply reel 20 and the take-up reel 30 and the exposure stage 15 . less than the distance interval of As a result, the exposure apparatus 10 can be made compact in the transport direction M. Furthermore, by moving the substrate supply/winding unit 20 together with the exposure stage 15 in the transport direction M, it is possible to prevent the long substrate W from meandering during the exposure operation.

By providing the conveying length adjusting roller 156, it is possible to appropriately correct the deviation of the exposure positions of the front side exposure target portion W1 and the back side exposure target portion W2. In particular, since the conveying length adjusting roller 156 is displaced along the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction M, the exposure apparatus 10 can be kept compact.

The substrate folding mechanism 50 may be installed on the base 10</b>B of the exposure apparatus 10 instead of moving the substrate folding mechanism 50 integrally with the substrate supply/winding unit 20 . In that case, a dancer roller or the like is provided between the exposure stage 15 and the substrate folding mechanism 50 . Alternatively, the substrate supply/winding unit 20 may also be fixed to the base 10B, and only the exposure stage 15 may be moved. In this case, a dancer roller or the like is provided between the supply reel 22 and the take-up reel 32 and the exposure stage 15 .

In this embodiment, the exposure stage 15 moves along the transport direction M during exposure, but the exposure section 40 may be moved along the transport direction M instead. Alternatively, the exposure section 40 may be moved along a direction orthogonal to the transport direction M to perform the exposure operation.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 exposure device 20 substrate supply/winding device 22 supply reel 32 take-up reel 40 exposure section 50 substrate folding mechanism W long substrate

Claims (9)

an exposure stage that holds a long substrate;
a supply reel for feeding the long substrate;
The long substrate is arranged on the side opposite to the supply reel with respect to the exposure stage, and the long substrate is reversed in the transport direction and the front and back, and the front surface is used as the exposure target surface and the back surface is used as the exposure target surface. A long substrate reversing mechanism that arranges in parallel ,
An exposure apparatus comprising: a take-up reel arranged on the same side as the supply reel with respect to the exposure stage and for taking up the long substrate. an exposure stage that holds a long substrate;
a supply reel for feeding the long substrate;
The long substrate is arranged on the side opposite to the supply reel with respect to the exposure stage, and the long substrate is reversed in the transport direction and the front and back, and the front surface is used as the exposure target surface and the back surface is used as the exposure target surface. A long substrate reversing mechanism that arranges in parallel ,
a take-up reel arranged on the same side as the supply reel with respect to the exposure stage and taking up the long substrate;
An exposure apparatus, wherein the long substrate reversing mechanism includes a transport length adjusting roller capable of adjusting a substrate transport length of the long substrate from the supply reel to the take-up reel. The long substrate reversing mechanism is
a first transport direction changing roller located on the opposite side of the supply reel with respect to the exposure stage and changing the transport direction of the long substrate to a direction orthogonal to the transport direction;
a second transport direction changing roller located on the opposite side of the take-up reel with respect to the exposure stage and changing the transport direction of the long substrate from a direction orthogonal to the transport direction to the transport direction. 3. An exposure apparatus according to claim 2. The conveying length adjusting roller winds the long substrate between the substrate conveying path from the first conveying direction changing roller to the second conveying direction changing roller, and along the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction 4. An exposure apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said position is movable. The first conveying direction changing roller is composed of two rollers arranged vertically,
5. An exposure apparatus according to claim 4, wherein one roller faces said second conveying direction changing roller and the other roller faces said conveying length adjusting roller. the exposure stage is capable of reciprocating along the substrate transport direction;
6. An exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said supply reel and said take-up reel are capable of reciprocating along the transport direction together with said exposure stage. 7. An exposure apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said long substrate reversing mechanism is capable of reciprocating along said transport direction together with said exposure stage. Further comprising an exposure unit arranged on the exposure stage,
8. The exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said exposure unit simultaneously exposes a portion having a front surface to be exposed and a portion having a back surface to be exposed, which are arranged in parallel. . In an exposure apparatus equipped with an RtoR transport system,
By a long substrate reversing mechanism, the transport direction of the long substrate fed from the supply reel is reversed toward the exposure stage on the opposite side of the exposure stage, and the front and back are reversed and arranged in parallel,
While the exposure stage is relatively moved with respect to the exposure unit, the exposure unit simultaneously exposes both a portion whose front surface is the surface to be exposed and a portion whose back surface is the surface to be exposed, which are arranged in parallel. exposure method.

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