JPH0968404A - Microscope apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly position alignment marks provided on a plurality of transparent plates on one straight line by moving a microscope optical system focusing on one surface of the transparent plates by a control means to adjust the focus on another surface thereof. SOLUTION: In an optical system 8 of an auto-focus microscope 1, a laser luminous flux is emitted onto an optical axis and the reflected luminous flux on a surface to be observed is made incident to be detected by a photodetector. A microprocessor of an auto-focus controller 2 executes an auto-focus command to move the microscope 1 downward until it reaches a focusing state in which an alignment mark on the top surface part of a glass 4 is positioned on the optical axis. Next, the microscope is further moved downward to a position of reaching a focusing state on the underside part of the glass 4. The operation is ended when the frequency of the execution reaches a prescribed value. For example, when the prescribed frequency is five, a focusing state is developed on the top (or underside) part of a glass 5 at the third (or fourth) action and then, on the top part, namely, on the observation surface 7 of a glass 6 at the fifth action. This completes the positioning of the alignment mark quickly on a straight line.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of a microscope apparatus for adjusting the position of an object to be observed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a so-called flat display device (flat display device) having a flat display surface has been proposed. In the manufacturing process of this flat display device, it is necessary to stack a plurality of transparent plates and align the transparent plates in the thickness direction and the main surface direction.

The alignment of the transparent plates in the direction of the main surface is performed by aligning alignment marks (position reference marks) provided on the transparent plates in a straight line. In this way, to overlay a plurality of alignment marks on a straight line, use a microscope
This is done by positioning each align mark on the optical axis of the microscope optical system of this microscope apparatus.

The microscope optical system is supported so as to be movable only in the optical axis direction. The microscope optical system is moved in the optical axis direction to bring the alignment mark into focus with respect to the alignment mark, and the alignment mark is positioned at the center of the field of view of the microscope device. Are positioned on the optical axis of the microscope optical system. Next, by operating the microscope optical system in one direction of the optical axis to bring it into focus with respect to the other align marks, and by positioning the other alignment marks in the center of the visual field of the microscope apparatus. , The other alignment mark is located on the optical axis of the microscope optical system.

In this way, by sequentially bringing the microscope optical system into focus with respect to each of the alignment marks and positioning the alignment mark at the center of the field of view of the microscope apparatus, each alignment mark is It is located on the optical axis of the microscope optical system.

[0006]

By the way, in the manufacturing process of the flat display device as described above, the microscope optical system of the microscope device is manually operated to move so as to bring the alignment marks into focus. To be done.

Therefore, the work of superposing each alignment mark on a straight line is a complicated work, and it is difficult to quickly produce a large amount of products. Therefore, the present invention is proposed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and the work of positioning the alignment marks provided on each of the plurality of transparent plates superposed on each other on a straight line is quick, and, It is intended to solve the problem of providing a microscope device that can be easily performed.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, a microscope apparatus according to the present invention comprises a microscope optical system and a focus adjusting mechanism for moving and operating the microscope optical system in the optical axis direction of the microscope optical system. And a focus detecting means for detecting a focus state in the microscope optical system, and a control means for controlling the focus adjusting mechanism based on a detection result of the focus detecting means.

Then, the control means moves the microscope optical system in one direction when the microscope optical system is in focus with respect to one surface of one or a plurality of transparent plates which are superposed. , The microscope optical system is focused on the other surface located on one side of the one surface.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the position of a plurality of transparent plates is adjusted in the manufacturing process of a so-called flat-panel display device (a liquid crystal display device (LCD), a plasma addressed liquid crystal display device (PALC), etc.) of the microscope device according to the present invention. It is an example configured as a device for performing.

As shown in FIG. 1, this microscope apparatus includes an autofocus microscope 1 equipped with a microscope optical system, a focus detection means for detecting a focus state in the autofocus microscope 1, and the autofocus microscope 1 And an autofocus controller 2 which is a focus adjusting mechanism for moving and operating the autofocus microscope 1 in the optical axis direction.

Further, this microscope apparatus is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, the autofocus microscope 1 is supported by a support arm 7. The movement of the support arm 7 is controlled by a sequencer. The autofocus controller 2 and the support arm 7 are
It is arranged on the base 9 of this microscope apparatus.

The autofocus microscope 1 is a so-called laser type autofocus microscope, which is provided with a microscope optical system 8 and is arranged along the optical axis of the microscope optical system 8.
It is configured to emit a laser beam. The microscope optical system 8 is used for direct vision with the naked eye, or CC
An image of an object to be observed in front of the optical axis can be observed through an image pickup means such as D (solid-state image pickup device).

The laser beam is incident, for example, from outside the optical axis of the microscope optical system 8 toward the optical axis, and is deflected in the direction along the optical axis by a half mirror arranged on the optical axis. It is made and is ejected. This laser beam is irradiated onto the object to be observed and is reflected by the object to be observed.

The laser light flux reflected by the object to be observed is incident on the microscope optical system 8 again, and is taken out of the optical axis by a beam splitter arranged on the optical axis of the microscope optical system 8. It is detected by the photodetector. The autofocus controller 2 operates to move the autofocus microscope 1 in the optical axis direction of the microscope optical system 8 of the autofocus microscope 1, and the intensity of the laser beam detected by the photodetector has a maximum value. To do so. The time when the intensity of the laser beam detected by the photodetector reaches a maximum value is when the autofocus microscope 1 is in focus on the object to be observed.

The autofocus controller 2 is
It has a built-in microprocessor that serves as control means. That is, the microprocessor is based on the detection result of the focus state of the autofocus microscope 1 by the autofocus controller 2 (that is, the intensity of the laser light flux detected by the photodetector is maximized). The autofocus controller 2 is controlled to move the autofocus microscope 1.

A computer 3 for transmitting a command by an RS232C signal is connected to the autofocus controller 2. In the microprocessor, the autofocus microscope 1 focuses on one of the surfaces of the first to third glasses 4, 5, 6 which are one or a plurality of transparent plates that are superposed. When in this state, the autofocus microscope 1 is moved in one direction to bring the autofocus microscope 1 into focus on the other surface located on one side of the one surface. The microprocessor repeats such an operation a predetermined number of times, so that the glasses 4, 5,
It is possible to bring the autofocus microscope 1 into a focused state with respect to a desired observation surface 7 of the surfaces 6 of FIG.

The second glass 5 is a master for printing a color filter on the third glass 6 constituting the flat display device. The first glass 4 is provided to protect the second glass 5. In manufacturing this flat-panel display device, black stripes, ITO (transparent electrodes), color filters, and the like are sequentially formed in a laminated shape on the supporting glass on the front side. Further, to the supporting glass on the front side, a supporting glass on the rear side having an anode and a cathode formed on the front side is attached via a liquid crystal layer. Thus, the flat display device is configured by stacking a plurality of glasses in a laminated shape.

In the manufacture of the flat-panel display device, the mutual alignment in the direction along the main surface portion of each glass is performed by aligning the alignment marks on each glass on a straight line. That is, by positioning the alignment marks of the respective glasses on the optical axis of the autofocus microscope 1, the alignment marks of the respective glasses are positioned on a straight line, and the alignment marks of the respective glasses in the directions along the main surface portion are aligned with each other. Alignment is completed.

The alignment mark is formed on the lower surface of the second glass 5 and the upper surface of the third glass 6. The first glass 4 closest to the autofocus microscope 1 among the glasses 4, 5, 6 is
It constitutes a part of this microscope apparatus, and as shown in FIG. 10 to FIG. 12, it is arranged on a mounting table portion 8 provided on the base table 9. The positions of the second and third glasses 5 and 6 are adjusted with each other in a state of being mounted on the mounting table 8.

Further, the autofocus microscope 1 has
The support arm 7 can be moved in two horizontal directions in a state of being located above the mounting table portion 8 and can be moved over the entire mounting table portion 8. In this microscope apparatus, in the initial state, the microprocessor causes the autofocus microscope 1 to move to the upper surface of the first glass 4 (that is, the autofocus microscope 1 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3).
The distance L from the surface facing the surface) to the first surface of the microscope optical system 8 is set to be the initial position (a) where the working distance (working distance) D of the microscope optical system 8 becomes larger.

Then, as shown in the flow chart of FIG. 9, when the operation of the microscope apparatus is started in step st1, the microprocessor moves the autofocus microscope 1 downward in step st2. As shown in FIG. 4, the first glass 4 is moved to a position (b) in which the upper surface of the first glass 4 is in focus. That is, the autofocus command is executed. The microprocessor counts the number of times the focus command is executed. Execution of the focus command in step st2 is the first execution.

Then, in step st3, the microprocessor causes the autofocus microscope 1 to operate.
Is moved downward by 100 μm. Next, in step st4, the microprocessor moves the autofocus microscope 1 to the lower side to bring the lower surface of the first glass 4 into focus as shown in FIG. Move to position (c) (execute autofocus command). The microprocessor counts the number of executions of the focus command by integrating them.

In step st5, the microprocessor determines whether or not the number of executions of the autofocus command has reached a preset number of times. If the number of executions of the autofocus command has not reached the specified number, the process returns to step st3. If the number of executions has reached the specified number, the process proceeds to step st6 and ends the operation.

In the initial state of the microscope apparatus, the distance L from the upper surface of the first glass 4 to the first surface of the microscope optical system 8 is made larger than the working distance D of the microscope optical system 8. The reason is that the number of executions of the focus command until the autofocus microscope 1 comes into focus on the target surface is surely counted from the first time.

Further, the reason why the autofocus microscope 1 is lowered by 100 μm after the execution of the focus command is that the one of the surfaces of the glasses 4, 5 and 6 remains in focus. This is because, even if the focus command is executed again, the execution of the focus command may be terminated without moving the autofocus microscope 1, that is, it may be determined that the in-focus state is reached. .

In this microscope apparatus, when the number of executions of the focus command is set to 5 times, the third
In the execution of the focus command for the second time, the microprocessor moves the autofocus microscope 1 to the lower side to bring the upper surface of the second glass 5 into focus as shown in FIG. Move to position (d).

Further, the microprocessor operates the autofocus microscope 1 to the lower side by executing the fourth focus command, and as shown in FIG. 7, the lower surface portion of the second glass 5 is moved. On the other hand, it is moved to the position (e) where the focus is achieved.

At this time, since an alignment mark is provided on the lower surface of the second glass 5, the alignment mark is positioned at the center of the field of view of the autofocus microscope 1, so that the second glass 5 is removed. Alignment is completed. Then, the microprocessor moves the autofocus microscope 1 downward by executing the fifth focus command, and
As shown in FIG. 5, the position (f) at which the upper surface of the third glass 6 is in focus with respect to the target observation surface 7.
Move up to

At this time, since the alignment mark is provided on the upper surface of the third glass 6, the alignment mark is positioned at the center of the field of view of the autofocus microscope 1 so that the third glass 6 is positioned. Alignment is completed. In this embodiment,
The thickness of each of the glasses 4, 5 and 6 is assumed to be about 1 mm. In addition, in this embodiment, the interval between the glasses 4, 5, and 6 needs to be 100 μm or more. That is, the movement distance of the autofocus microscope 1 after executing the focus command needs to be smaller than the distance between the glasses 4, 5, and 6.

Further, in the microscope apparatus according to the present invention, by providing a movement amount measuring device for measuring the movement amount of the autofocus microscope 1, the glass 4,
It is also possible to measure the thickness of 5, 6 and the distance between the glasses 4, 5, 6.

[0032]

As described above, in the microscope apparatus according to the present invention, the control means is such that the microscope optical system is in focus with respect to one surface of one transparent plate or a plurality of transparent plates which are superposed on each other. At this time, the microscope optical system is moved in one direction to bring the microscope optical system into a focused state with respect to the other surface located on one side of the one surface.

Therefore, the microscope apparatus according to the present invention is
It is possible to reliably, quickly, and easily perform the work of aligning the alignment marks provided on each of the plurality of transparent plates that are overlapped with each other in a straight line. Further, in the microscope apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to measure the thickness of each of the plurality of transparent plates that are overlapped with each other and the distance between the transparent plates.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a microscope apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the operating principle of the microscope apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an initial state of the microscope apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a first focused state of the microscope apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a second focused state of the microscope apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a third focused state of the microscope apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a fourth focused state of the microscope apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a fifth focused state of the microscope apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the microscope device.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing the appearance of the microscope apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the appearance of the microscope apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing the appearance of the microscope apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Auto Focus Microscope 2 Auto Focus Controller 3 Computer 4, 5, 6 Glass 8 Microscope Optical System

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A microscope optical system, a focus adjusting mechanism for moving and operating the microscope optical system in the optical axis direction of the microscope optical system, focus detecting means for detecting a focus state in the microscope optical system, and the focus. And a control means for controlling the focus adjustment mechanism based on the detection result of the detection means, wherein the control means is such that the microscope optical system is attached to one surface of one or a plurality of transparent plates that are superposed. A microscope apparatus configured to move the microscope optical system in one direction when in a focused state to bring the microscope optical system into a focused state with respect to another surface located on one side of the one surface.