JPH104057A - Exposure method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable exposure substrates to be enhanced in throughput and automatically exposed to light by a method wherein a mark which represents processing data is inscribed on the surface of the exposure substrate, the processing data are read out from the mark inscribed on the substrate, and the takeout height position and transfer speed of the substrate are set based on dimension data out of the processing data as to the substrate. SOLUTION: An exposure system 31 reads out optically processing data mark inscribed on a substrate 30 inside a substrate carrier 6 placed on a substrate carrier table 5 with a processing data reading section 32. The exposure system 31 sets a substrate takeout height position and a substrate transfer speed such that a substrate matching arithmetic processor 33 is optimal for a substrate 30 on the basis of the processing data as to the substrate 30 read out by the reading section 32 and the material data as to the substrate 30 stored in a data memory 34. Then, the exposure system 31 moves a carrier arm 8 to a substrate takeout position optimal for the substrate 30, takes out the substrate 30 from the substrate carrier 6, transfers it to a loading arm 10 through a delivery section 9, and carries and places it in a stage pad 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exposure method and an exposure apparatus, and is suitably applied to, for example, a case where a liquid crystal display substrate is produced.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, with the spread of personal computers, telephones and other portable devices, the necessity of reducing the weight of liquid crystal display substrates has been increasing. Also, in the liquid crystal display substrate in a manufacturing stage, a thin substrate having a large area is increasing more and more. For example, in the past, the thickness of liquid crystal display substrates was mostly 1.1 mm, but now it is 0.7 mm.
The demand for thin liquid crystal display substrates having a thickness of [mm] tends to increase more and more.

Further, with the development of technology for various properties such as heat resistance, thermal shock resistance, chemical resistance, and mechanical properties of the liquid crystal display substrate, materials and types used for the liquid crystal display substrate are increasing. is there. It is easily predicted that the diversification of the liquid crystal display substrate, including the size (width, length, thickness), material, and type of the liquid crystal display substrate will further increase in the future. Due to such diversification of liquid crystal display substrates, various correspondences are required for an exposure apparatus for a liquid crystal display substrate (hereinafter, referred to as an exposure apparatus). Next, the overall configuration of this exposure apparatus is shown in FIG.
Shown in

As shown in FIG. 7, an exposure apparatus 1 includes a CPU 2
Controls the exposure optical unit 3 and the substrate supply unit 4 to expose a predetermined pattern on the substrate. That is,
The exposure apparatus 1 controls a liquid crystal display substrate exposure substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as a substrate) 7 housed in a substrate carrier 6 placed on a substrate carrier table 5 of a substrate supply unit 4 by a carrier arm 8. After the substrate 7 is pulled out from the substrate carrier 6 and the substrate 7 is pre-aligned on the carrier arm 8, the substrate 7 is transferred to the loading arm 10 via the transfer section 9, and is conveyed to the stage table 11 by the loading arm 10. The substrate 7 is placed on the substrate 12.

Next, the exposure apparatus 1 positions the substrate 7 placed on the stage 12 at a predetermined position by sucking the substrate 7, and performs exposure by the exposure optical unit 3. Subsequently, the exposure apparatus 1 transports the substrate 7 on which the predetermined exposure has been completed from the stage 12 to the transfer unit 9 by the unloading arm 13. Then, the exposure apparatus 1 subjects the substrate 7 transferred to the transfer section 9 to a predetermined static elimination process by the static elimination processing section 14, and then returns the substrate 7 to the inside of the substrate carrier 6 by the carrier arm 8 to complete the processing.

In such an exposure apparatus 1, as the size (width, length, thickness), material, and type of the liquid crystal display substrate become more diversified, the rigidity (bending amount) of the substrate increases. Various responses to changes, changes in intensity, and changes in processes (such as application of a photosensitive film) received by the substrate are imminent, and these responses will be divided into three and will be described below.

First, the response of the exposure apparatus 1 to changes in the rigidity of the substrate will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, the substrate 7 accommodated in the substrate carrier 6 placed on the substrate carrier table 5 of the substrate supply unit 4 has both ends supported by left and right partition shelves T and U of the substrate carrier 6. Respectively, and is bent by the amount of bending h by the weight of the substrate 7 along the direction (longitudinal direction of the substrate) connecting the two fulcrums of the partition shelves T and U.

The amount of deflection h is given by the following equation, where g is the gravitational acceleration.

(Equation 1) , The thickness t of the substrate 7, the longitudinal dimension L,
It changes depending on the material (Young's modulus E, density ρ, and Poisson's ratio σ). That is, since the diversification of the thickness of the substrate 7 causes a change in the amount of deflection h, the exposure apparatus 1 determines the relative height position of the carrier arm 8 and the substrate 7 in the vertical direction according to the amount of deflection h. It is desirable to adjust it. As described above, the exposure apparatus 1 is required to deal with a change in the rigidity of the substrate 7.

Next, how the exposure apparatus 1 responds to a change in the intensity of the substrate 7 will be described. Since reducing the thickness of the substrate 7 lowers the strength of the substrate 7, consideration must be given to damage to the thin substrate more than ever. For example, in FIG. 9 showing the substrate pre-alignment mechanism of the substrate supply unit 4, when the alignment arms 21, 22 press the substrate 7 in the direction of the positioning pins 23, 24, the collision between the alignment arms 21, 22 and the substrate 7 occurs. In order to prevent the substrate 7 from being damaged by the above, it is necessary to lower the operating speed (hitting speed) of the alignment arms 21 and 22 for a thin substrate. As described above, the exposure apparatus 1 also needs to cope with a change in the intensity of the substrate 7.

Finally, a description will be given of how the exposure apparatus 1 responds to a change in the process received by the substrate 7. Generally, in the exposure step, the substrate 7 is charged when it is separated from the stage 12 or the like, or by friction with air, etc., but the degree of the charging varies variously depending on the process of receiving the substrate 7. Therefore, in the exposure apparatus 1, it is necessary to perform the static elimination process satisfying a predetermined criterion in accordance with the process received by the substrate 7, and it is desired that the static elimination process be performed in a short time. As described above, the exposure apparatus 1 also needs to cope with a change in the process received by the substrate 7.

Next, a conventional exposure processing procedure for exposing the substrate 7 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.
In the exposure apparatus 1, the process proceeds from the start step of the processing procedure RT1 to the step SP1. In step SP1, in the exposure apparatus 1, the operator moves the carrier arm 8 and the alignment arms 21 and 2 in accordance with the rigidity and strength of the substrate 7.
After setting the operation speed of 2, the exposure apparatus 1 is started.
Thereafter, each unit of the exposure apparatus 1 operates in response to a command from the CPU 2.

In step SP2, the CPU 2 pulls out the substrate 7 in the substrate carrier 6 by the carrier arm 8. In step SP3, the CPU 2 uses the alignment arms 21 and 22 to position the substrate 7 on the positioning pins 2.
3 and 24 are pressed at a predetermined speed to set the substrate 7
Is pre-aligned. In step SP4, C
The PU 2 receives the substrate 7 on the carrier arm 8 by the loading arm 10 and transfers the substrate 7 to the stage table 11.
Transport to In step SP5, the CPU 2 places the substrate 7 on the stage 12 by the loading arm 10 and positions it.

In step SP6, the CPU 2 exposes a predetermined pattern on the substrate 7 by the exposure optical unit 3.
In step SP7, the CPU 2 takes out the substrate 7 exposed by the unloading arm 13 from the stage 12. In step SP8, the CPU 2 transfers the substrate 7 exposed by the unloading arm 13 to the transfer section 9. In step SP9, C
The PU 2 performs a predetermined static elimination process on the static electricity charged on the substrate 7 by the static elimination processing unit 14, that is, a static elimination process according to a uniform standard regardless of the type of the substrate 7.

In step SP10, the CPU 2 causes the substrate 7 subjected to the charge removal processing to be received by the carrier arm 8 and stored in the plate carrier 6. Step SP
At 11, the CPU 2 determines whether there is another substrate 7 to be exposed next. Here, if there is still another substrate 7 to be subjected to the exposure processing, the CPU 2 obtains a positive result and repeats the processing from step SP2 again. When there is no other substrate 7 to be exposed, the CPU 2 obtains a negative result and proceeds to step SP12 to end all the processes.

[0015]

By the way, in the exposure apparatus 1 having such a configuration, various measures are required for a change in the rigidity of the substrate 7, a change in the strength of the substrate 7, and a change in the process received by the substrate 7. Here, each of the conventional substrate 7, the exposure method, and the exposure apparatus 1 will be described. First, the conventional substrate 7 will be described. The conventional substrate 7 does not include any means for indicating various kinds of processing information such as the substrate size, the substrate transfer speed, and the process of receiving the substrate 7. Therefore, the processing information of the substrate required in the substrate exposure process has been obtained by the operator from the production management information. The diversified substrates have been dealt with by the method described below.

First, the exposure apparatus 1 needs to deal with a change in the rigidity of the substrate 7 and a change in the strength of the substrate 7 as described above with respect to a change in the thickness of the substrate 7. The conventional exposure apparatus 1 responds to the change as described below. First, the conventional exposure apparatus 1 adjusts the relative height position of the carrier arm 8 and the substrate 7 in the vertical direction as described above with respect to the change in the rigidity of the substrate 7.
That is, it is desired to adjust the relative height position of the carrier arm 8 and the substrate carrier 6 in the vertical direction. However, the conventional substrate supply unit 4 is provided with a means for automatically adjusting the height position. No adjustment of the height position has been made.

Further, when the substrate 7 is thin, the contact and collision between the substrate 7 and the carrier arm 8 caused by the vibration of the carrier arm 8 when the carrier arm 8 enters the substrate carrier 6 is prevented. For this purpose, an operator manually sets the operation speed of the carrier arm 8 to a low speed. Furthermore, the conventional exposure apparatus 1 is designed to prevent the substrate 7 from being damaged by the collision between the alignment arms 21 and 22 and the substrate 7 as described above. Requires that the operating speed (hitting speed) of the alignment arms 21 and 22 be lower than in the past. In this case, an operator manually sets the hitting speed to a lower speed.

Next, in response to the change in the process received by the substrate 7, the conventional exposure apparatus 1 needs to perform a charge elimination process that satisfies a predetermined standard according to the process as described above. It is desired that a static elimination process be performed at a time. However, the conventional exposure apparatus 1 performs a predetermined static elimination process regardless of the process of the substrate 7.

As described above, in the exposure apparatus 1 having such a configuration, when exposure is performed in a state where different types of substrates are mixed, the vertical direction of the carrier arm 8 and the substrate carrier 6 with respect to a substrate having a small rigidity. The operator manually adjusts the height position, sets the speed at which the carrier arm 8 enters the plate carrier 6 to reduce the speed, and sets the tapping speed of the alignment arms 21 and 22 when pre-aligning the substrate. This has been a factor that hinders the improvement of the throughput of the substrate to be exposed and the progress of automation.

In addition, the exposure apparatus 1 performs a predetermined static elimination process irrespective of the process that the substrate 7 has received in response to a change in the process that the substrate 7 has undergone, so that the effect of the static elimination process is not effective. In many cases, the efficiency is relatively high for many substrates, and this is a factor that hinders the improvement of the throughput of the substrate to be exposed.

Further, in the exposure apparatus 1, since the substrate 7 is always positioned by suction at a constant suction pressure, the substrate 7
When the thickness is small, the portion corresponding to the suction port is deformed by the suction pressure, and the printing accuracy of the pattern is deteriorated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to propose an exposure method and an exposure apparatus which can improve the throughput of an exposure substrate to be exposed and advance automation.

[0023]

According to the present invention, an exposure substrate (30) stored in a substrate storage section (6) is taken out and transported to a stage (12). When the pattern is exposed after the exposure substrate (30) is sucked onto the exposure substrate (30), a mark (M) indicating processing information of the exposure substrate (30) is written on the exposure substrate (30). The processing information is read, and the exposure substrate take-out height position and the exposure substrate transport speed are set based on the dimension data of the exposure substrate (30) included in the read processing information.

Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically set an optimum exposure substrate take-out height position and an exposure substrate transport speed for each exposure substrate (30) for processing.

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of a substrate 30 applied to the present invention. The substrate 30 is provided with a bar code at a predetermined position on a side surface of the substrate 30 with a processing information mark M representing processing information on the substrate 30, such as the material, dimensions, and processing of the substrate 31. FIG. 2 shows a configuration of an exposure apparatus 31 for exposing a pattern for a liquid crystal display substrate to the substrate 30.

In FIG. 2, in which parts corresponding to those in FIG. 6 are assigned the same reference numerals, reference numeral 31 denotes the overall configuration of an exposure apparatus according to the present invention. In the exposure device 31, the CPU 2 controls the exposure optical unit 3 and the substrate supply unit 4 to expose a predetermined pattern to the substrate 30. That is, the exposure device 31 is configured to mount the substrate carrier 6 placed on the substrate carrier table 5.
A processing information reading section 32 optically reads a processing information mark M formed on a substrate 30 housed therein. Then, the exposure device 31 sets the substrate-corresponding arithmetic processing unit 33 as a setting unit based on the read processing information of the substrate and the material data of the substrate stored in the data storage unit 34.
Various optimum supply conditions and static elimination processing patterns for 0 are automatically set.

Here, the positional relationship between the substrate 30 stored in the substrate carrier 6 as the substrate storage unit and the processing information reading unit 32 as information reading means will be described with reference to FIG. The substrate carrier 6 includes a processing information reading unit 32
A hole H having a predetermined diameter is formed at a position opposed to. Thereby, the left and right partition shelves T provided in the substrate carrier 6 are provided.
The processing information reading unit 32 can read the substrate information mark M of the substrate 30 simply supported with the fulcrum and U as the fulcrum through the hole H.

Next, the exposure apparatus 31 completes the setting of various optimum supply conditions and static elimination processing patterns for the substrate 30 based on the processing information read from the substrate information mark M. When the substrate 30 in the substrate carrier 6 is pulled out, the carrier arm 8 is moved to an optimum substrate take-out height position corresponding to the amount of deflection h, and then the substrate 30 is pulled out, and the substrate 30 is pre-aligned on the carrier arm 8. Thereafter, the substrate is transferred to a loading arm 10 via the transfer section 9, transferred to the stage table 11 by the loading arm 10, and the substrate 30 is placed on the stage 12.

In this case, as shown in FIG.
A plurality of rectangular grooves 12A are formed on the surface on which the substrate 30 is mounted, and are connected to a vacuum pump 36 via an air hole 12B provided in the center of the groove 12A and a pressure regulating valve 35. Further, the motor 3 is provided on the surface of the stage 12.
Four push-up pins 38 to 41 connected to 7 are provided so as to be pushed up from below.

The pressure regulating valve 35 and the motor 37
Are controlled by the CPU 2 and the processing information reading unit 32
The opening / closing amount of the pressure regulating valve 35 is adjusted based on the processing information read in step (1) to control the suction pressure at which the substrate 30 is sucked onto the stage 12. Accordingly, when the exposure apparatus 31 uses the thin substrate 30, the suction pressure can be reduced to suppress the deformation of the substrate 30, and thus the pattern printing accuracy can be improved. Further, after exposing the pattern to the substrate 30, the exposure device 31 moves the substrate 30 to the unloading arm 13 by pushing up four push-up pins 38 to 41 from below.

As described above, the exposure device 31 positions the substrate 30 placed on the stage 12 at a predetermined position by the stage 12 at a predetermined suction pressure, and exposes a predetermined pattern by the exposure optical unit 3. I do. Subsequently, the exposure device 31
Transports the substrate 30 after the predetermined exposure from the stage 12 to the transfer unit 9 by the unloading arm 13. The exposure device 31 removes the substrate 30 transferred to the transfer unit 9 by the charge removing unit 14 according to the process of the processing received by the substrate 30 and the optimal charge removing process standard according to the substrate material. Accordingly, the processing is returned to the inside of the substrate carrier 6 to end the processing.

The sequence of the exposure process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the exposure device 31,
Step SP from the start step of the processing procedure RT2
Move on to 21. In step SP21, first, the exposure device 31 is activated. After that, the exposure apparatus 1
Each part operates in response to the instruction of.

In step SP22, the CPU 2 instructs the processing information reading section 32 to read the processing information of the substrate 30, and the processing information reading section 32 uses the processing information read in accordance with the instruction as a processing information signal. It is sent to the corresponding arithmetic processing unit 33.

In step SP23, the board processing unit 33 refers to the material data such as the Young's modulus E, the density ρ, and the Poisson's ratio σ of the board material stored in the data storage unit 34, and refers to the material data and the board information. Based on the dimension data (thickness t, longitudinal dimension L) of the substrate 30 included in the signal, the amount of deflection h of the substrate 30 in the substrate carrier 6
The vertical relative position of the substrate arm between the carrier arm 8 and the substrate 30 in accordance with the amount of deflection h, ie, the vertical position of the substrate carrier 6 with respect to the carrier arm 8, Carrier arm 8,
Loading arm 10 and unloading arm 1
3 is a substrate transfer speed when the substrate 30 is transferred,
Arms 21 and 22 for pre-alignment
The substrate tapping speed and the suction pressure at the time of positioning on the stage 12 are calculated based on a predetermined standard, and the charge removing unit 14 removes static electricity from the substrate 30 according to the process received by the substrate 30. A pattern is selected, and a correction signal of these calculations and the selected data is sent to the CPU 2.
Output to

At step SP24, the CPU 2
The correction signal of various data input from the substrate processing unit 33 is converted into a control signal for controlling each part of the exposure apparatus 31, and the relative position of the substrate carrier 6 in the vertical direction of the substrate carrier 6, the substrate transport speed, and the substrate The hitting speed, suction pressure, and static elimination pattern are newly set. The steps so far are steps for setting new conditions based on the processing information according to the present invention.

Next, in step SP25, the CPU
Reference numeral 2 denotes that the substrate 30 is pulled out after the carrier arm 8 is moved to an optimum substrate take-out height position corresponding to the amount of deflection h when the substrate 30 in the substrate carrier 6 is pulled out by the carrier arm 8. In step SP26, C
PU2 is mounted on the substrate 3 by the alignment arms 21 and 22.
0 is pressed against the positioning pins 23 and 24 at the set optimum speed, thereby pre-aligning the substrate 30 without damaging it.

In step SP 27, the CPU 2 receives the substrate 30 on the carrier arm 8 by the loading arm 10 and transports the substrate 30 to the stage 11. In step SP28, the CPU 2 places the substrate 30 on the stage 12 by the loading arm 10 and positions the substrate 30 at a predetermined position with an optimum suction pressure according to the thickness of the substrate.

In step SP29, the CPU 2 exposes a predetermined pattern on the substrate 30 by the exposure optical unit 3. In step SP30, the CPU 2 takes out the substrate 30 exposed by the unloading arm 13 from the stage 12. In step SP31, the CP
U2 transfers the substrate 30 to the transfer unit 9 by the unloading arm 13.

In step SP32, the CPU 2 sets the predetermined static electricity removal processing pattern newly set for the substrate 30 by the static electricity removal processing section 14, that is, the optimum static electricity removal set according to the process received by the substrate 30 and the substrate material. The static elimination process is performed according to the processing standard. In step SP33, the CPU 2 causes the carrier arm 8 to receive the substrate 30 subjected to the charge removal processing, and stores the substrate 30 in the substrate carrier 6.

In step SP34, the CPU 2 determines whether there is another substrate 30 to be exposed next. Here, if there is still another substrate 30 to be subjected to the exposure processing, the CPU 2 obtains a positive result and returns to step SP2.
The second and subsequent processes are repeated. When there is no other substrate 30 to be exposed, the CPU 2 obtains a negative result and moves to step SP35 to end all the processes.

In the above configuration, in the exposure apparatus 31, the processing information reading section 32 reads the processing information mark M of the substrate 30 housed in the substrate carrier 6, and the substrate corresponding arithmetic processing section 33 stores it in the data storage section 34. With reference to the material data such as Young's modulus E, density ρ, Poisson's ratio σ of the substrate material, and based on the material data and the dimension data (thickness t, longitudinal dimension L) of the substrate 30 included in the processing information. hand,
The amount h of deflection of the substrate 30 in the substrate carrier 6, the amount of vertical position removal of the substrate arm 6 relative to the substrate carrier 6 in accordance with the amount h of deflection, the correction amount of the carrier arm 8, the loading arm 10, and the unloading. The substrate transfer speed when the arm 13 transfers the substrate 30, the substrate hitting speed of the alignment arms 21 and 22 for pre-aligning the substrate 30, and the suction pressure when positioning the substrate 30 on the stage 12 are calculated based on predetermined criteria. At the same time, the charge removal processing unit 14 selects a charge removal processing pattern for removing static electricity from the substrate 30 in accordance with the process received by the substrate 30, and outputs a correction signal of the calculation and the selected data to the CPU 2.

The CPU 2 converts a correction signal of various data input from the substrate processing section 33 into a control signal for controlling each section of the exposure apparatus 31 and a relative position of the substrate carrier 6 in the vertical direction relative to the substrate carrier 6. In addition, the substrate transfer speed, the substrate tapping speed, and the suction pressure are newly set, a new charge removal processing pattern is set, and the charge removal processing is performed by supplying the substrate 30 based on the new set reference.

In this manner, the exposure apparatus 31 corrects the vertical position of the substrate arm 6 with respect to the substrate carrier 6 in accordance with the amount of deflection h of the substrate 30 accommodated in the substrate carrier 6. be able to. Thus, the exposure device 31 divides the space between the next substrate to be drawn out of the substrates stored in the substrate carrier 6 and the substrate stored in the lower stage of the substrate into two equal parts. Can be approached to the position where Thus, even when the substrate 30 is greatly bent, the exposure apparatus 31 can safely enter the substrate carrier 6 without reducing the approach speed of the carrier arm 8.

When the exposure apparatus 31 pre-aligns the substrate 30 with the alignment arms 21 and 22, the substrate hitting speed can be automatically set to an optimum speed according to the strength of the substrate 30. Automation of substrate exposure can be advanced. Further, the exposure apparatus 31 automatically sets a charge removal processing pattern according to the process received by the substrate 30 and performs the charge removal processing, thereby shortening the charge removal processing time for various types of substrates.
Further, in the exposure apparatus 31, the processing information mark M
By positioning the substrate 30 with the newly set suction pressure based on the dimensional data read from, even if the substrate 7 is thin, the portion corresponding to the suction port is not deformed by the suction pressure, and the pattern can be accurately formed. Can be burned.

Subsequently, in the exposure device 31, the substrate transport speed at which the loading arm 10 and the unloading arm 13 transport the substrate 30 also depends on the rigidity of the substrate 30, that is, the substrate 30 receives during the substrate transport. Loading arm 1 for transporting air resistance and substrate 30
Due to the deflection of the substrate 30 due to vibrations and the like accompanying the operation of the zero and unloading arms 13, the substrate 30 does not come into contact with or collide with a member close to the substrate 30 being conveyed.
In addition, it is possible to automatically set the highest possible transport speed without causing the substrate 30 to float.

According to the above configuration, the exposure apparatus 31 reads the processing information mark M on the substrate 30 by the substrate processing information reading section 32, and automatically sets the optimal substrate supply conditions automatically set based on the read processing information. And a charge removal pattern. Therefore, even in a state where different types of substrates are mixed, the exposure apparatus 31 sets different substrate supply conditions and different static elimination processing patterns for each substrate in the processing information mark M.
, And processing can be performed with the optimal substrate supply conditions and static elimination pattern applied to the substrate.Thus, the processing time is reduced by the amount automated as compared to the conventional setting of various conditions manually by the operator. Therefore, the throughput can be improved.

Further, the exposure apparatus 1 can set an optimal charge removal processing pattern according to the substrate 30 by reading the processing information mark M on the substrate 30 by the substrate processing information reading section 32, thus enabling automation. Thus, the optimum static elimination process can be efficiently performed on each substrate to improve the throughput.

In the above embodiment, the substrate 30
Although the processing information mark M described by a bar code is optically read by the processing information reading unit 32 on the side surface of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to this. Or you may make it read electrically. Further, the case where the processing information mark M is described on the side surface of the substrate 30 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the processing information mark M may be described on the exposure surface of the substrate.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, a processing information magnetic mark N (FIG. 6A) magnetically written at a predetermined position on the exposed surface of the substrate 42 is used. When magnetically read by the reading unit 43, the processing information magnetic reading unit 43 enters the substrate carrier 6 to read the processing information magnetic mark N (FIG. 6B), and after reading, exits from the substrate carrier 6. Is controlled. In this case, the same effect as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the case of producing a liquid crystal display substrate has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is not limited to the case of producing a plasma display panel. You may make it apply.

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention, when an exposure substrate stored in a substrate storage section is taken out, transported to a stage, and a pattern is exposed after adsorbing the exposure substrate on the stage, the exposure substrate A mark representing the processing information of the exposed substrate is written on the exposed substrate, the processing information is read from the mark, and the exposed substrate take-out height position and the exposed substrate transport speed are determined based on the dimension data of the exposed substrate included in the read processing information. By setting, the optimum exposure substrate take-out height position and exposure substrate transport speed can be automatically set and processed for each exposure substrate, thus improving the throughput and automation of the exposure substrate to be exposed. You can make progress.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a substrate on which processing information is written according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an exposure apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing a positional relationship between a substrate in a substrate carrier and a processing information reading unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a stage according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an exposure processing procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a positional relationship between a substrate in a substrate carrier and a substrate processing information reading unit according to another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional exposure apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view showing a substrate in a conventional substrate carrier.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a configuration of a conventional substrate pre-alignment unit on a substrate carrier.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a conventional exposure processing procedure.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 31 exposure apparatus, 2 CPU, 3 exposure optical unit, 4 substrate supply unit, 5 substrate carrier table,
6 ... board carrier, 7, 30, 42 ... board, 8 ...
Carrier arm, 9 Transfer section, 10 Loading arm, 11 Stage stage, 12 Stage
13: unloading arm, 14: static eliminator, 21, 22 ... alignment arm, 23, 24 ...
... Positioning pins, 32, 43 ... Processing information reading section, 3
3 .... board processing unit, 34 ... data storage unit, 3
8-41 ... push-up pin.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Agency reference number FI Technical indication H01L 21/30 515G

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An exposure method for taking out an exposure substrate stored in a substrate storage part, transporting the exposure substrate to a stage, and exposing a pattern after adsorbing the exposure substrate on the stage, wherein the exposure substrate includes A mark representing processing information is written thereon, an information reading step of reading the processing information from the mark, and an exposure substrate take-out height position and an exposure substrate transport speed based on the dimensional data of the exposure substrate included in the read processing information. An exposure method, comprising: 2. The exposure method according to claim 1, wherein in the setting step, the suction pressure of the exposure substrate is set based on dimensional data of the exposure substrate. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the setting step is performed based on dimensional data of the exposure substrate and material data included in the processing information.
2. The exposure method according to claim 1, wherein a charge removal processing pattern is set according to a process of the exposure substrate. 4. An exposure apparatus for taking out an exposure substrate stored in a substrate storage section, transporting the substrate to a stage, and exposing a pattern after adsorbing the exposure substrate on the stage, wherein the exposure substrate includes A mark indicating processing information is written thereon; information reading means for reading the processing information from the mark; and an exposure substrate take-out height based on the dimension data of the exposure substrate included in the processing information read by the information reading means. An exposure apparatus comprising: a setting unit configured to set a position and a transfer speed of an exposure substrate. 5. An exposure apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said setting means sets an attraction pressure of said exposure substrate based on dimensional data of said exposure substrate. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit is configured to determine a size of the exposed substrate based on material data included in the processing information.
The exposure apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a charge elimination pattern is set according to a process of the exposure substrate.