JPH065486A - Gap sensor of proximity aligner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a gap sensor of a proximity aligner wherein particles are hot generated, measurement process time is shortened, and a gap is accurately measured. CONSTITUTION:In the state that a substrate 5 and a mask 6 are retained so as to be adjacent, light is casted from a light source 1 situated below the substrate 5. Reflected lights from the upper surface of the substrate 5 and the lower surface of the mask 6 are received by a photodetecor 2. A gap detection control part 3 detects the light receiving position of each reflected light received by the photodetector 2, calculates the gap from the width of the light receiving positions, and transfers the calculation result to an equipment control part 4. On the basis of the calculation result, the equipment control part 4 drives each actuator 7 in the Z-direction, and performs fine adjustment of the gap.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transparent substrate having a surface of a glass substrate such as a liquid crystal display plate coated with a transparent or semitransparent photosensitizer and a mask located above the transparent substrate. The present invention relates to a proximity exposure apparatus which exposes a mask pattern to a photosensitive material by exposing the mask in close proximity to the substrate, and particularly relates to a gap sensor for measuring a gap between the transparent substrate and the mask.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The structure of a conventional proximity exposure apparatus is shown in FIG. 9 and will be described below. In the figure, 110 is an exposure optical system, and the exposure optical system 110 includes, for example, an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 111 for ultraviolet irradiation, a concave mirror 112 for converging the irradiation light from the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 111, and a concave mirror 112. A fly-eye lens 113 arranged near the focal point, a condenser lens 114 arranged between the fly-eye lens 113 and the mask 101, and a pair of optical path inverting mirrors 115,
And the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 1
The light L irradiated from 11 has an optical path as shown in the figure and is irradiated perpendicularly to the surface of the mask 101. The mask 101 is held by the mask holding unit 102 at a position where the light L from the exposure optical system 110 is vertically irradiated as described above. Reference numeral 103 denotes a substrate having a surface coated with a photosensitizer, and the substrate 103 is held by a substrate moving holding unit 104 and moved in the Z direction in parallel and close to the mask 101 held by the mask holding unit 102. And held in place.

The proximity exposure apparatus includes a substrate 103 and a mask 10.
1 is held in parallel and close to each other, the parallel irradiation light from the exposure optical system 110 is vertically exposed on the surface of the substrate 103 from above through the mask 101 through the mask 101.
The pattern drawn on the mask 101 is printed on the photosensitizer applied to the surface of No. 3.

In the above structure, the gap between the substrate 103 and the mask 101 (hereinafter referred to as the gap) is uniform at all points on the plane, for example, about 50 μm to 1 μm.
Within the range of 00 μm, the Z-direction movement amount of the substrate movement holding unit 104 is controlled. Here, the substrate 103 and the mask 10
If the gap with 1 is not uniform, the printing resolution at each point on the substrate becomes uneven.

Therefore, it is necessary to measure this gap before exposure and to control the gap so as to keep the gap at each point uniform. As a gap sensor for measuring this gap, conventionally, there are the following two: There are different types.

First, the first gap sensor will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the first gap sensor. In the figure, reference numeral 121 denotes a main body of the gap sensor, and the gap sensor main body 121 includes a plurality of pairs of light emitting portions 122 and light receiving portions 1 on the top and bottom surfaces, respectively.
23 (in the figure, 6 sets in total including 3 sets on the upper surface and 3 sets on the bottom surface) are embedded at equal intervals. The light emitting unit 122 is, for example, an LD
(Laser diode), LED (light emitting diode) or the like, and a slit 122a (see FIG. 12) for narrowing the light from the light emitting element.
23 has a function as a line sensor, for example, C
It is composed of a CD (charge coupled device) and the like, and a convex lens 123a (see FIG. 12) for narrowing the light receiving width. The light emitting section 122 and the light receiving section 123 constitute a sensor mechanism 124 that measures a gap at one point, and each sensor mechanism 12
4 simultaneously measures the gaps of the gap sensor 121 at a plurality of points in the X direction.

The gap sensor having the above-mentioned structure is used to measure the gap by the method shown in FIG. The substrate 103 and the mask 101 are held with a gap (60 mm in one example, which is different depending on the size of the gap sensor) into which the gap sensor 121 can be inserted. In this state, the gap sensor 121 supported by a support mechanism (not shown) is attached to the substrate 103 and the mask 10.
1 and each sensor mechanism 1 embedded in the upper surface
The distance between the lower surface of the mask and the upper surface of the gap sensor 121 is measured by 24, the distance between the upper surface of the substrate and the bottom surface of the gap sensor 121 is measured by each sensor mechanism 124 embedded in the bottom surface, and the measured data is not shown. Transfer to the control unit.
Multiple measurement points in the X direction in one measurement (3 in the figure
Measurement is completed. Next, the gap sensor 121
Is moved to the next measurement point in the Y direction, and measurement is similarly performed at a plurality of points in the X direction. Thus, for example, if the measurement in the Y direction is performed at three points, the measurement at nine points can be performed. When the measurement is completed, the gap sensor 121 is retracted from between the substrate 103 and the mask 101.

Next, a method of detecting the gap by the above-mentioned first gap sensor will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 1
2 is an enlarged configuration diagram of one of the sensor mechanisms 124 embedded in the upper surface of the gap sensor 121. Light emitting unit 12
A part of the light SL irradiated from 2 is reflected by the lower surface and the upper surface of the mask 101, becomes reflected light SL ₁ and SL ₂ , respectively, and is received by each point sp ₁ and sp ₂ of the light receiving unit 123.
At this time, charges corresponding to the amount of received light are stored in the light receiving unit 123 by sp ₁ and sp _2, and the charges are measured as shown in FIG. Next, as shown in FIG. 13B, the deviation mg between a predetermined origin o and sp ₁ is calculated as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the number of pixels fp between them is calculated based on the deviation direction. If the distance between the upper surface of the gap sensor 121 and the lower surface of the mask 101 does not deviate from the originally determined distance, mg will be “0”. Also,
If there is a deviation, for example, the pixel f corresponding to the origin o
If the pixel fps for which sp ₁ is measured is deviated in the + direction with respect to po, there are 5 pixels fp between fpo and fps, and the interval of 1 pixel is 1 μm, mg is calculated as +6 μm.

Also in the sensor mechanism 124 'embedded in the bottom surface of the gap sensor 121, the deviation mg' between the bottom surface of the gap sensor 121 and the specified distance between the top surface of the substrate 103 and the same is measured at the same time as described above.

The gap at one point between the substrate 103 and the mask 101 is a pair of upper and lower sensor mechanisms 124, 124 '.
It can be calculated based on the deviations mg and mg ′ obtained in. For example, if mg is measured as +5 μm and mg ′ is measured as −3 μm, the gap is widened by +2 μm. If mg is −5 μm and mg ′ is +5 μm, there is no gap deviation as a whole.

Based on the gap deviation at each measurement point detected as described above, the mask 103 is placed on the substrate 103 so that the whole is uniform and horizontal with a prescribed gap.
The substrate moving / holding unit 104 is moved while being controlled so as to approach 1.

Next, the second gap sensor will be described below with reference to FIGS. The second gap sensor 131 has the same configuration as the above-described gap sensor 121, except that a plurality of sets of sensor mechanisms 124 are embedded and provided only on the bottom surface.

A second gap sensor measuring method is as follows:
With the substrate 103 and the mask 101 held close to each other, the gap sensor 131 is moved in the Y direction on the upper surface of the mask 101, and each sensor mechanism 124 embedded in the bottom surface of the gap sensor 131 causes the upper surface of the substrate 103 and the mask 101 to move. This is done by measuring the distance between the lower surfaces.

The method of gap detection by the second gap sensor will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 shows the sensor mechanism 12 embedded in the bottom surface of the gap sensor 131.
It is the block diagram which expanded one of 4 of FIG. A part of the light SL emitted from the light emitting section 122 is part of the upper surface and the lower surface of the mask 101,
The reflected light S is reflected by the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate 103, respectively.
L ₁₁ , SL ₁₂ , SL ₁₃ , and SL _{14 are obtained} , and light is received at each point sp ₁₁ , sp ₁₂ , sp ₁₃ , and sp ₁₄ of the light receiving unit 123. The output of the light receiving unit 123 at this time is shown in FIG. Next, as shown in FIG. 16B, the distance gp between sp ₁₂ and sp ₁₃ is calculated based on the number of pixels fp between them, as in the case of the first gap sensor described above. Based on this interval gp, an actual substrate 1 is created using a simple trigonometric function.
03 between the upper surface of 03 and the bottom surface of the mask 101, that is,
Calculate the gap.

Based on the gaps at the respective measurement points detected as described above, the position of the substrate 103 is controlled by the substrate moving / holding unit 104 so that the whole is uniform and is horizontal with a prescribed gap. .

[0016]

However, the conventional example having such a structure has the following problems. That is, when the gap is measured by using the first gap sensor, the gap sensor is inserted between the substrate and the mask, and the gap is measured by traveling between the two, so dust (hereinafter, referred to as particle ) Is likely to occur.

Further, since the gap sensor is retracted after the measurement of the gap is completed and then the substrate is brought close to the mask, there is a problem that the time required to complete the setting of the gap (hereinafter referred to as tact time) becomes long. There is.

Further, since the substrate is brought close to the mask on the basis of the gap deviation measured when the distance between the substrate and the mask is widened, the gap between the substrate and the mask in the closely arranged state is accurate. Is not guaranteed.

Further, when the gap is measured using the second gap sensor, the light is transmitted from the upper surface of the mask to measure the gap. Therefore, the position on the mask where the light is transmitted is the light. Must be transparent or translucent in order to be transparent. However, the mask pattern may be drawn with chrome (Cr), and in such a case, if there is a chrome pattern at the light transmission position, the gap cannot be measured. Further, in order to avoid this problem, a window is provided so that the light transmitting position becomes transparent, but this window has a problem that a pattern cannot be drawn on a part of the mask.

Further, since the exposure is performed from the upper surface of the mask, the gap sensor which measures the gap on the upper surface of the mask must be evacuated from the mask when the measurement of the gap is completed. In addition, there is a problem that the tact time becomes long.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and does not generate particles due to the insertion of the gap sensor between the substrate and the mask, thereby shortening the measurement processing time and further measuring the mask. It is an object of the present invention to provide a gap sensor capable of accurately measuring a gap between a transparent substrate and a mask without giving restrictions such as providing a window for transmitting light.

[0022]

The present invention has the following constitution in order to achieve such an object. That is, in the invention described in claim 1, the mask holding means for holding the mask on which a required pattern is drawn, and the photosensitive agent is applied to the surface of the mask held by the mask holding means from below. The transparent substrate moving and holding means for holding the thin plate-like transparent substrate in parallel and relatively close to each other, and through the mask held by the mask holding means from above the transparent substrate. In a proximity exposure apparatus, comprising: an exposure optical unit that exposes the photosensitive agent applied to the translucent substrate held by the substrate moving holding unit, and prints the pattern of the mask on the photosensitive agent.
The light emitting means for irradiating light from below the transparent substrate, and the reflected light reflected by the upper surface of the transparent substrate and the lower surface of the mask among the light emitted from the light emitting means, Based on the light receiving means for receiving light below the transparent substrate and the light receiving data of each reflected light received by the light receiving means,
Gap calculating means for detecting a light receiving position of each reflected light and calculating a gap between the transparent substrate and the mask from the detected light receiving position.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the gap sensor of the proximity exposure apparatus, gain switching for adjusting at least one of the amount of light emitted from the light emitting means and the light receiving sensitivity of the light receiving means. It is equipped with means.

[0024]

The operation of the present invention is as follows. That is,
According to the first aspect of the invention, the light emitting means irradiates the measuring light from below the transparent substrate. The light receiving means receives the reflected light reflected by the upper surface of the transparent substrate and the lower surface of the mask under the transparent substrate, and transfers the received light data to the gap calculating means. The gap calculating means detects the light receiving position of each reflected light based on the light receiving data transferred from the light receiving means, and calculates the gap between the transparent substrate and the mask from the distance between them.

According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the operation of the invention described in claim 1, the gain switching means adjusts the amount of light emitted from the light emitting means, The light receiving sensitivity of the light receiving means is adjusted (for example, the light receiving time is adjusted), or both are adjusted. Thereby, for example, even when the irradiation light is reflected by the chrome having high reflection efficiency and the light amount exceeding the range that can be received by the light receiving unit is received, each light receiving position can be detected.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. A configuration of an embodiment according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 and will be described below. In this gap sensor, the light emitting unit 1 for emitting measurement light and the light emitted from the light emitting unit 1 are
The light receiving portion 2 for receiving the reflected light reflected by the upper surface of the substrate 5 and the lower surface of the mask 6, and the light receiving position of each reflected light is detected based on the light receiving data of the light receiving portion 2 It is configured by the gap detection control unit 3 that performs processing such as calculating the gap by obtaining the position interval. In addition, the device control unit 4, as described later,
This is for controlling the actuator 7 based on the detection signal from the gap detection control unit 3 to adjust the gap between the substrate 5 and the mask 6.

The light emitting section 1 is composed of a light emitting element 11 such as an LED, a slit 12, an optical lens 13 and the like. The light emitting element 11 is connected to the gap detection control unit 3 to receive a light emitting instruction and the like.

The light receiving section 2 is a line sensor 21 such as a CCD.
Also, it is composed of the optical lens 22 and the like. The line sensor 21 is connected to the gap detection control unit 3 to transfer the received data. The light emitting unit 1 described above
And a light receiving section 2 constitute a sensor for measurement.

The actuator 7 supports the deformation base 51 from below by abutting the support portion 71 provided on the upper portion thereof on the deformation base 51 made of aluminum or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the actuator 7 has a total of 9 near the four corners and the center of the deformation base 51 and the center of each side.
The deformation base 51 is supported at the points. The actuators 7 are independently driven in the Z direction by the device control unit 4 to change the Z direction position of each point of the deformation base 51.

The light emitting section 1 is located at a position where the light emitted from the light emitting section 1 can reach the lower surface of the mask 6 without being blocked by the supporting section 71 of the actuator 7.
The light emitted from is reflected by the upper surface of the substrate 5 and the lower surface of the mask 6, respectively, and the reflected light is received by the supporting portion 71 of the actuator 7 without being blocked by the actuator 7. Are opposed to each other and are inclined and fixed with the upper part facing the deformation base. As shown in FIG. 2, the sensors including the light emitting unit 1 and the light receiving unit 2 are fixed at five positions near the four corners and the center of the deformation base 51.

The substrate 5 is a translucent substrate in which a transparent or semitransparent photosensitizer is applied to the surface of a glass substrate such as a liquid crystal display plate. The substrate 5 is suction-held by vacuum suction or the like at a predetermined position on the deformation base 51 supported by the actuator 7 as described above. In addition,
Since the deformation base 51 does not transmit light, the above-described light emitting unit 1
As shown in FIG. 2, the long holes 52 for passing the light from the light source and the reflected light reflected on each surface are provided in the light emitting unit 1 and the light receiving unit 2.
And are drilled where they are fixed.

The mask 6 on which a pattern to be printed on the photosensitive material applied to the substrate 5 is drawn is held by a mask supporting frame (not shown).

The substrate 5 sucked and held by the deformation base 51 and the mask 6 held by the mask support frame have a predetermined gap between them, for example, 50 μm to 10 μm.
It is arranged to be 0 μm.

Next, the configuration of the gap detection control unit 3 described above, the configuration of the device control unit 4 and their relationship are shown in the block diagram shown in FIG. 3, and will be described below. The CUP 31 provided in the gap detection control unit 3 gives timing control information to the controller 32, rewrites the duty memory 36 to switch the light emission amount of each light emitting unit 1, and also based on the measured light reception data. It has a function of calculating the gap value and transferring the calculated gap value to the communication memory 42 via the communication line 43. The controller 32 includes data memories 33a and 33a.
b switching control, data conversion instruction of the A / D converter 34, channel switching control of the multiplexer 35, light reception control of each light receiving unit 2, and the like. Multiplexer 3
Reference numeral 5 sequentially extracts the light reception data from each light receiving unit 2. The received light reception data is converted into digital data by the A / D converter 34, and then the data memory 33a or 33
stored in b. While the device is operating, each light emitting unit 1 is normally in a light emitting state, and each light receiving unit 2 repeats the measurement at regular intervals.

On the other hand, the device control CPU 41 provided in the device control unit 4 sets the substrate 5 based on the calculation result of the gap which is sequentially transferred to the communication memory 42 at regular intervals. The actuator 7 is driven to adjust the position of the deformation base 51 in the Z direction so that the gap between the mask 6 and the substrate 5 becomes uniform.

Next, the procedure of the gap calculation by the gap detection control unit 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. While measuring the measurement timing, the instruction to end the measurement due to the stop of the exposure apparatus or the like is checked, and when the measurement timing comes, the measurement of all the light receiving units 2 is started (step S
1, S2).

Each light receiving section 2 measures received light data according to an instruction from the controller 32 (step S3). As described above, pulse light having a duty ratio according to the information in the duty memory 36 is normally emitted from each light emitting unit 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the irradiation light SL passes through the substrate 5 from the bottom surface of the substrate 5 and is applied to the mask 6. At this time, the irradiation light SL is reflected by the lower surface and the upper surface of the substrate 5 and the lower surface and the upper surface of the mask 6, respectively, and reflected light SL ₁ ,
SL ₂ , SL ₃ , and SL ₄ , of which reflected light SL ₂ and SL ₃ reflected by the upper surface of the substrate 5 and the lower surface of the mask 6 are received at the positions of sp ₂ and sp ₃ of the light receiving unit 2. It

Upon completion of light reception by each light receiving section 2, the controller 32 controls the multiplexer 35 to sequentially take out the light reception data measured by each light receiving section 2 and send the received light data to the A / D converter 34. The received light data converted into digital data is stored in the data memory 33a or the data memory 33b (step S4). When the light reception data is stored in one of the data memories, the CPU 31 detects the light reception position of the reflected light from the upper surface of the substrate 5 and the lower surface of the mask 6 based on the light reception data stored in the data memory, Calculate the gap value (step S
5). At this time, if any one of the light receiving positions cannot be detected, one of the detected light receiving positions is stored, and the flag is turned on to perform the gain switching described later (step S7). The measurement data is taken in and the gap value is calculated for all the light receiving units 2 in parallel (step S6).

The data memories 33a and 33b are CPs.
The gap value calculation process performed by U31 and the storage of measured light reception data are alternately performed and used. That is, while the CPU 31 is calculating the gap value based on the received light data stored in the data memory 33a, the received light data output from the next light receiving unit 2 is digital data in the A / D converter 34. And is stored in the data memory 33b. Then, when the received light data measured by the next light receiving unit is converted into digital data by the A / D converter 34 and stored in the data memory, the CPU 31 is based on the received light data stored in the data memory 33b. Since the gap value is calculated, the received light data is stored in the data memory 33a.

A method of detecting the light receiving position of each reflected light based on the light receiving data will be described below with reference to FIG.
The received light data is reflected light S as shown in FIG.
It has a distribution centered on the light receiving positions sp ₂ and sp ₃ of L ₂ and SL ₃ . Based on the received light data, the light receiving positions sp ₂ and s of the respective reflected lights on the upper surface of the substrate 5 and the lower surface of the mask 6
Detect p ₃ . That is, it is determined from the positional relationship of the output waveforms that the left crest is the received light data of the reflected light SL ₃ and the right crest is the received light data of the reflected light SL ₂ , and sp ₃ and sp ₂ are detected from each crest. To detect. This detection method is, for example, as shown in (b) of the figure, detecting the peak value pk of the mountain, setting the half of the pk value as the detection level pl, and then
The position corresponding to the midpoint between the intersection points pl ₁ and pl ₂ between pl and the rising edges on both sides of the mountain is detected as the light receiving position p.

However, for example, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the light emitted from the light emitting portion 1 is reflected by the pattern 61 of the mask 6 drawn with chrome and is received by the light receiving portion 2, etc. As shown in FIG. 3B, the amount of light received in the vicinity of sp ₃ exceeds the allowable range of the light receiving section 2. This is because the reflectance on the glass surface is approximately 5 to 10%, while the reflectance of chrome is as high as 90%, so the reflected light S
The light amount of L ₃ is larger than that of SL ₂ . As a result, the output signal waveform of the pixel region that receives the reflected light SL ₃ is saturated, and the peak of the waveform cannot be discriminated.
p ₃ cannot be detected. Therefore, the first measurement sp
_If only ₂ is detected and stored, and the gain is switched and re-measured as described later, sp ₃ can be detected as shown in FIG.

A method of calculating the gap based on the respective light receiving positions detected as described above will be described below with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 8 (a), from the number of pixels fp located between sp ₂ and sp _3, to calculate a distance value w of the sp ₂ and sp _3. For example, the pixel fp between sp ₂ and sp ₃
If there are 10 pixels and 1 pixel fp is arranged at a pitch of 1 μm, the interval value w becomes 11 μm. Based on the interval value w calculated in this way, the gap gp is calculated by the following equation from the relationship shown in FIG. gp = w ′ × sin (θ) Note that w ′ is a value obtained from the distance between the light-receiving optical lens 22 and the CCD 21, the characteristics of the optical lens 22, and the calculated interval value w, and θ is the irradiation light SL. Angle of incidence.

As shown in FIG. 4, if the light receiving position cannot be detected in step S5, that is, if the gain switching flag is turned on in step S7,
After proceeding from step S7 to step S8 to perform the gain switching process, the process returns to step S3 to perform remeasurement.

The gain switching process in step S8 can be performed by the following method, for example. (1) By pulse-driving the light-emitting element 11 installed in the light-emitting unit 1 and switching the duty ratio thereof or adjusting the drive current of the light-emitting element 11, the irradiation position is set to a light-receiving range in which the line sensor 21 can receive light. To match.

(2) By adjusting the light receiving time of the line sensor 21 installed in the light receiving section 2 or by switching the amplification factor of the amplifier, the light receiving amount is adjusted to the light receiving range which can be received by the line sensor 21.

(3) By combining the above (1) and (2), the light receiving amount of the line sensor 21 is adjusted to the light receiving range.

When the gain is switched by adjusting the light emission amount of the light emitting unit 1, C of the gap detection control unit 3 is used.
The PU 31 changes the content of the duty memory 36 so that the duty ratio of the drive pulse of the light emitting unit 1 becomes small. The light emitting unit 1 is pulse-driven according to the new duty ratio set in the duty memory 36. After the gain is switched, the measurement is performed again, and the light receiving position is detected and the gap value is calculated based on the measurement result as described above.

When the gap value at each measurement position is calculated, the gap value is stored in the communication memory 42 via the communication line (step S9). Then, if the gain is being switched, the gain is returned to the initial state (steps S10 and S11). Then, the process returns to step S1 again, and the measurement is performed at the next measurement timing.

Next, based on the calculated gap value,
The procedure for adjusting the deformation base 51 performed by the device control unit 4 is shown in FIG.
It will be described below according to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, until the substrate 5 is set, the termination of the exposure apparatus is checked, and when the substrate 5 is set, the gap of the substrate 5 is adjusted as follows (steps S21 and 22). .

When the board 5 is set, the gap value is sequentially transferred from the CPU 31 for gap detection to the communication memory 42 at regular time intervals as described above. Each gap value is sequentially read from the communication memory 42 (step S23).

The drive amount of each actuator 7 provided on the bottom surface of the deformation base 51 is calculated based on the extracted gap value and a predetermined reference gap value, and each actuator 7 is calculated based on the calculated result. It is driven in the Z direction to uniformly adjust the gap between the mask 6 and the substrate 5 (step S24). Note that the drive amount of the actuator 7 (actuator 7 provided at the center of each side of the deformation base 51 shown in FIG. 2) installed at a location where the gap measurement sensor is not provided is the gap of another measurement point. Interpolation calculation using the value. When the gap adjustment is completed, the process returns to step S1 and thereafter, the adjustment process is performed every time the substrate 5 is set.

[0052]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the gap sensor of the proximity exposure apparatus of the invention described in claim 1, the sensor including the light emitting means and the light receiving means is installed on the bottom surface side of the substrate. As a result, the gap between the substrate and the mask is measured, so no particles are generated. Further, since the measurement can be performed after bringing the transparent substrate and the mask close to the specified gap, the accuracy of the gap is guaranteed. Further, since the exposure is performed from the upper surface side of the mask, the sensor is installed on the bottom surface side of the light-transmitting substrate, so that it is not necessary to retract the sensor, and the efficiency of the exposure processing is improved accordingly. be able to. Also,
There is no need to add a constraint such as providing a window for light transmission on the mask.

According to the gap sensor of the second aspect, since the light receiving sensitivity of the light receiving means can be adjusted to an appropriate level by the gain switching means, regardless of the reflectance of the reflecting surface, each reflected light is received. The position can be detected accurately.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration and an arrangement of a gap sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an arrangement of gap sensors.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a gap detection control unit and a device control, and their relationship.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of measurement and gap calculation of a gap detection control unit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of deformation-based adjustment performed by the device control unit based on a gap value.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining detection of a light receiving position.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining detection of a light receiving position of light reflected by chrome.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining calculation of a gap value.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a proximity exposure apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a gap sensor of a first conventional example.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a measuring method of the gap sensor of the first conventional example.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining an optical path of light of the gap sensor of the first conventional example.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining measurement results of the gap sensor of the first conventional example and calculation of a gap value.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a measuring method of a gap sensor of a second conventional example.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining an optical path of light of a gap sensor of a second conventional example.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining measurement results of a gap sensor of the second conventional example and calculation of a gap value.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Light emitting part 2 ... Light receiving part 3 ... Gap detection control part 4 ... Device control part 5 ... Substrate 6 ... Mask 7 ... Actuator 11 ... Light emitting element 12 ... Slit 21 ... Line sensor 22 ... Receiving optical lens 51 ... Deformation base

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Atsushi Tamada 322 Hazashishi Furukawa-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto Dainichi Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd. at Rakusai Factory (72) Inventor Niichi Takemoto 322 Hazushi-Furukawa-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto Dainichi This screen manufacturing company Rakusai factory

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A mask holding means for holding a mask on which a desired pattern is drawn, and a thin plate-shaped light-transmitting light applied to the surface of the mask held by the mask holding means from below. Substrate holding means for holding the transparent substrate in parallel and relatively close to each other, and holding by the transparent substrate moving holding means from above through the mask held by the mask holding means In the proximity exposure apparatus including: an exposure optical unit that exposes the photosensitive agent applied to the translucent substrate and prints the pattern of the mask on the photosensitive agent, light is irradiated from below the translucent substrate. Of the light emitted from the light emitting means, the reflected light reflected by the upper surface of the transparent substrate and the lower surface of the mask is received below the transparent substrate. And a light receiving position of each reflected light based on the light receiving data of each reflected light received by the light receiving unit, and a gap between the transparent substrate and the mask is detected from the detected light receiving position. A gap sensor for a proximity exposure apparatus, comprising: a gap calculating unit for calculating. 2. The gap sensor of the proximity exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the proximity sensor includes a gain switching unit that adjusts at least one of an amount of light emitted from the light emitting unit and a light receiving sensitivity of the light receiving unit. Gap sensor for exposure equipment.