JPWO2006035733A1 - Board holder of board inspection apparatus and board inspection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The substrate inspection apparatus of the present invention includes a substrate holder 6 that holds a substrate W. The substrate holder 6 has a plurality of supporting arm portions 10 extending in parallel from the base portion 7 attached to the articulated robot 8 at equal intervals, and has a comb-like shape as a whole. An adsorption portion 12 for adsorbing and holding the substrate W is arranged on the upper surface 10 a of each support arm portion 10. Further, a crosspiece 15 is attached to each of the base end portion 11a side and the tip end portion 11b side of the support arm portion 10, and a support crosspiece 17 is attached to the outer side surface of the outer support arm portion 10. The side edges of the substrate W can be held by the crosspieces 15 and 17.

Description

The present invention relates to a macro inspection device for visually inspecting a transparent substrate for manufacturing a flat panel display (FPD), and a substrate holder used for the macro inspection device.
The present application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-279989 filed on September 27, 2004, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

As a transparent substrate manufactured in each manufacturing process, for example, there is an inspection process of visually inspecting (macro inspection) the appearance of a master glass substrate (hereinafter, simply referred to as a glass substrate). 2. Description of the Related Art A macro inspection apparatus is used that inspects defects on a glass substrate by irradiating macro illumination light from above while holding the held holder up to a predetermined angle.
In this type of macro inspection apparatus, a substrate holder is provided with a rectangular frame-shaped holder main body having an opening slightly smaller than a rectangular glass substrate. It is configured. Here, when the substrate is large, if only the peripheral portion of the substrate is held, the central portion of the substrate is easily deformed. Is known to suppress the deformation and bending of the substrate by providing a support pin that abuts on the back surface of the glass substrate or a suction portion and supporting the glass substrate at a number of points (for example, Patent Document 1). , Patent Document 2). Note that the substrate supporting portion only needs to have a supporting strength enough to prevent the glass substrate from warping and the like, and is therefore much thinner and lighter than the holder body.

However, in this type of substrate holder, the weight of the substrate is mainly supported by the holder main body, and the holder main body needs to be made thick to increase the strength because the holder main body is pivoted and swung at a predetermined angle. Therefore, as the size of the substrate increases, the substrate holder becomes very heavy. In recent years, a glass substrate having a size exceeding 2000 mm has appeared, and when the glass substrate becomes large in this way, the substrate holder that supports the peripheral portion has to be made large and heavy. As described above, in order to rotate the large and heavy substrate holder at a predetermined angle for macro inspection, a large-scale drive mechanism is required, which causes a problem that the entire inspection apparatus becomes large.
In addition, as the glass substrate becomes larger, the length of the substrate supporting portion becomes longer in proportion to the substrate size, and the supporting portion itself easily vibrates in the vertical direction due to the rotation or swinging movement of the substrate holder. A new problem arises in that the self-weight of the wire easily causes bending. If the rigidity of the substrate supporting portion is increased to prevent this, the weight of the substrate holder is further increased, which is not preferable.
JP 9-189641 A JP, 2003-232742, A

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to reduce the size and weight of a substrate holder, and to prevent the macro inspection device from increasing in size. is there.

  A first aspect of the present invention is a substrate holder that is attached to a tip portion of a drive unit and moves the substrate while holding the substrate, the base unit being connected to the drive unit and the base unit. A plurality of support portions extending in parallel in a comb shape, and a suction portion that suction-holds the substrate on the support portion, wherein the plurality of support portions have strength for holding the substrate. It is a substrate holder of a characteristic substrate inspection apparatus.

  A second aspect of the present invention is a substrate holder of the substrate inspection apparatus, wherein the height of the support portion is changed according to a distance from a base end portion that is a portion attached to the base portion. It is characterized by

  A third aspect of the present invention is a substrate holder of the substrate inspection device, wherein the base end portion of the support portion is attached to the base portion, and the support portion is located far from the base portion. A holder frame for adsorbing and holding the peripheral portion of the substrate is provided at each of the front end portion, which is a portion to be formed, so as to be orthogonal to the support portion.

  A fourth aspect of the present invention is the substrate holder of the substrate inspection apparatus, wherein the outer peripheral surface of the supporting portion provided on the outermost side of the plurality of supporting portions supports the peripheral portion of the substrate. The feature is that the beam is extended.

  A fifth aspect of the present invention includes the substrate holder, an articulated robot that is the drive unit that swingably supports the substrate holder, and a light source that emits predetermined visible light. It is a substrate inspection apparatus configured to irradiate visible light from the light source to perform a visual inspection of the substrate.

  According to the present invention, since the supporting portion for supporting the substrate is provided in a comb shape, it is possible to reduce the size and weight as compared with the case where the peripheral portion of the substrate is supported by the rectangular holder body. Further, by doing so, it is possible to reduce the load on the articulated robot that swings and rotates the substrate holder, and to downsize the substrate inspection apparatus.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate inspection apparatus including a substrate holder according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the substrate holder and the transfer robot. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view of the substrate holder. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the substrate holder and the transfer robot. FIG. 6 is a side view of the substrate holder.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 substrate inspection device 3 light source 8 multi-joint arm robot for inspection 6,30 substrate holder 7 base portion 10 support portion 10a upper surface 10b inclined surface 10c side surface 10d inclined surface 11a base end portion 11b inclined surface 12 adsorption portion 13 rod 14 adsorption pad 15 Holder frame 16 Adsorption pad 17 Beam 18 Support pin 20 Transfer robot 21 Arm 22 Robot hand 23 Finger 24 Adsorption part 30 Substrate holder 31 Adsorption part 32 Beam W Substrate

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and for example, the constituent elements of these embodiments may be combined appropriately.

The best mode for carrying out the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a side view of the board inspection apparatus.
The macro inspection device 1 is arranged in a clean room and has a device body 2 surrounded by side walls whose upper and lower surfaces are open. A filter is attached to the upper surface of the apparatus body 2 to enhance the cleanliness of the apparatus body. A light source 3 for macro illumination, such as a metal halide lamp or a sodium lamp, and a reflection mirror 4 are provided on the optical axis of the illumination light emitted from the light source 3 above the apparatus body 2. .. Below the reflection mirror 4, a Fresnel lens 5 that converges the illumination light from the light source 3 and guides it to the substrate W is arranged. The Fresnel lens 5 is used to convert the divergent light from the light source 3 into convergent light. A transmissive liquid crystal scattering plate having a scattering function for changing the divergent light from the light source into a uniform surface light source is arranged in proximity to the Fresnel lens. The macro illumination optical system may collectively illuminate the entire transparent substrate such as a liquid crystal display or a plasma display, or may partially illuminate it and scan the illumination light in one-dimensional or two-dimensional directions.

  The substrate W is a transparent substrate for a flat panel display (FPD) made of a parallel plate that is transparent to illumination light, and is a substrate holder 6 which is horizontally arranged by a substrate transfer device as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. It is supposed to be carried over.

As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate holder 6 has a base portion 7 having a flat mounting surface 7a for mounting a supporting portion described later, and a side surface of the base portion 7 opposite to the mounting surface 7a is At least a drive unit that rotates in the macro observation direction is connected. The drive unit may have a rotating shaft in the longitudinal direction of the base unit 7, and a motor connected to this rotating shaft. In the present embodiment, an inspection articulated arm robot (hereinafter simply referred to as an inspection robot) 8 that is freely driven in multiple directions (arrows A, B, and C shown in the figure) is used as the drive unit. The base portion 7 is connected to the tip arm 9 of the multi-joint arm of the inspection robot 8.
On the mounting surface 7a of the base portion 7, a plurality of supporting portions 10 are arranged at sufficient intervals along the longitudinal direction thereof, and have a comb-like shape as a whole. As shown in FIG. 3, each supporting portion 10 is made of a metal plate material having a height dimension that is longer than a width dimension. At least one of the upper end and the lower end is illuminated by the illumination light transmitted through the substrate W. The inclined surfaces 10b and 10d are formed so as to be directed to the outside of the observation field of view so as not to interfere with the observation by being reflected by the upper end surface of the.
At the upper end of the support portion 10, suction portions 12 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the length direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the suction portion 12 has a suction pad 14 that is in contact with the back surface of the substrate W and is attached to the tip of a rod 13 that stands upright from the support portion 10. An air circulation hole (not shown) is formed penetrating vertically, and this air circulation hole is connected to a suction pump.
As shown in FIG. 4, the rod 13 can be inserted between the upper end of the support unit 10 and the substrate W by the finger 23 of the transfer robot 20 described later, and a sufficient space for vertically moving can be secured. The height of 13 is adjusted.

  Here, the suction portion 12 is attached to the upper surface 10a where a part of the top portion on the upper end side of the support portion 10 is formed flat. At the upper end of the support portion 10, inclined surfaces 10b that open downward are connected to both sides. The inclined surface 10b has a function of preventing the irradiation light transmitted through the substrate W from being reflected toward the observer during the macro inspection. The lower end of the inclined surface 10b is continuous with the side surface 10c perpendicular to the upper surface 10a, and the inclined surface 10d is formed at the lower end of the side surface 10c so as to close downward. The inclined surface 10d prevents the irradiation light from being reflected toward the observer when the substrate holder 6 is turned over to perform the macro inspection of the back surface of the substrate W.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the upper surface 10a of the supporting portion 10 is horizontal with respect to the substrate W, but the lower end of the supporting portion 10, that is, the ridge line formed by the lower inclined surface 10d is located on the base portion 7 side. When the base end portion 11a of the support portion 10 is provided, the support portion 10 is inclined so as to decrease the height in the vertical direction from the end portion 11b toward the tip end portion 11b. By thus changing the height of the supporting portion 10 according to the distance from the base portion 7, the weight of the substrate W is suppressed while the supporting strength of the supporting portion 10 is secured, and the weight is reduced.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, on the upper surface 10a of the support portion 10 on the base end portion 11a side and on the tip end portion 11b side, a thin metal that adsorbs and holds the upper and lower peripheral edge portions of the substrate W so as to be orthogonal to the support portion 10. A holder frame 15, which is made of a plate material and is made lightweight, is fixed. Both ends 15a of the holder frame 15 are bent vertically in a direction in which they approach each other. The length and the arrangement interval of each holder frame 15 are set so as to match the horizontal dimension and the vertical dimension of the substrate W indicated by the imaginary line, and the suction pads 16 are provided at predetermined intervals on the upper surface of each holder frame 15. Plural are arranged. The suction pad 16 is connected to a suction pump and sucks and holds the substrate W together with the suction unit 12.
Further, a plurality of beams 17 that support the support pins 18 that support both side edge portions of the substrate W are arranged at predetermined intervals on the outer surface 10c of the outermost support portion 10 of each of the support portions 10. Has been done. As shown in FIG. 3, the beam 17 extends perpendicularly to the support portion 10, and a support pin 18 is provided upright on the upper surface of the tip end portion thereof. At the tip of the support pin 18, there is provided a sphere made of an antifriction material having a hardness smaller than that of a glass substrate such as Teflon (Teflon is a registered trademark) and having excellent abrasion resistance. The support pins 18 are arranged so as to support both side edges of the substrate W. In the present embodiment, the support pin 18 is arranged on the beam 17, but the suction portion 12 may be arranged instead of this.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inspection robot 8 to which the base portion 7 of the substrate holder 6 is attached is horizontally held by a control device (not shown), for example, as shown by a phantom line in FIG. 1 to the position where the substrate holder 6 is raised at a predetermined tilt angle as shown by the solid line in FIG. Direction, the substrate holder 6 can be vertically moved in the arrow B direction, and the substrate holder 6 can be horizontally moved in the arrow D direction. By using this inspection robot 8, the substrate holder 6 is moved up and down and to the left and right with the substrate holder 6 standing up at an angle suitable for observation under macro illumination, so that the entire surface of the substrate W is moved. Can scan macro illumination light. When the macro illumination optical system is provided so as to be movable in the XY directions, the inspection robot has only to rotate or swing in the direction of arrow A, rotate in the direction of arrow C, and move up and down in the direction of arrow B.
When the substrate holder 6 is raised, an opening is formed in the apparatus main body 2 at a position corresponding to the front side of the substrate holder 6, and an observer visually observes the appearance of the substrate W in the raised state. You can do it.

  Here, FIG. 2 shows the transfer robot 20 used when loading and unloading the substrate W into and from the substrate holder 6. The transfer robot 20 used in this way is, for example, a multi-indirect arm robot in which a plurality of arms 21 are connected, and a robot hand 22 is attached to the tip thereof. The robot hand 22 has a plurality of fingers 23 arranged in a comb shape. The suction portion 12 on the substrate holder 6 side is arranged so as not to interfere with the fingers 23 as shown in FIG. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the thickness of the finger 23 is sufficiently smaller than its height. A suction unit 24 is arranged above the fingers 23 to suck and hold the substrate W indicated by the phantom line in FIG.

The operation of this embodiment will be described.
First, as indicated by a phantom line in FIG. 1, the substrate holder 6 is made to stand by at a horizontal position suitable for loading and unloading the substrate W. The transfer robot 20 sucks and holds one substrate W from the cassette, and transfers the substrate W above the substrate holder 6. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the fingers 23 of the transfer robot 20 are inserted into the support portions 10 of the substrate holder 6 in a horizontal state from a direction orthogonal to each other in a plan view. When the robot hand 22 holding the substrate W is lowered by the transfer robot 20 while maintaining a horizontal posture, the fingers 23 pass between the suction portion 12, the support pins 18, and the beams 15 and are moved to the position shown in FIG. To the position indicated by the virtual line. During this time, the suction portion 12, the support pins 18, and the suction pad 16 are in contact with the back surface of the substrate W, the substrate W is supported by these, and the substrate W is transferred from the transfer robot 20 to the substrate holder 6. When the transfer of the substrate W is completed, the arm 21 of the transfer robot 20 is retracted, and the finger 23 is pulled out from between the substrate W and the substrate holder 6.
The substrate inspecting apparatus 1 aligns the substrate W at a reference position on the substrate holder 6 by an unillustrated aligning means, and then sucks and holds the substrate W by the suction unit 12 and the suction pad 16 at that position. Further, the inspection robot 8 raises the substrate W from the horizontal position toward the observer, as shown by the solid line in FIG. In this state, the observer performs the macro inspection while illuminating the substrate W from above with the illumination light from the light source 3. At this time, the inspection robot 8 may swing the substrate holder 6 in a vertical direction or in a horizontal direction at a minute angle to perform the macro inspection while changing the incident angle of the illumination light with respect to the substrate W. When performing the macro inspection of the back surface of the substrate W, the inspection robot 8 may invert the substrate W and perform the macro inspection with the back surface of the substrate W facing the illumination direction. Furthermore, a backlight device (not shown) may be provided to perform observation while illuminating from the back surface side of the substrate W.

  After the macro inspection is completed, the substrate holder 6 is returned to the horizontal position, and then the suction holding by the suction portion 12 and the suction pad 16 is released. When carrying out the substrate W, the robot hand 22 is moved horizontally by the transfer robot 20 to insert the finger 23 between the substrate W and the support portion 10. Further, the robot hand 22 is raised to transfer the substrate W to the transfer robot 20, and then the arm 21 is retracted to carry it out toward the cassette.

According to this embodiment, the substrate holder 6 for macro inspection has a comb-teeth-shaped frame structure, and the supporting arms 10 corresponding to the comb-teeth have the strength for holding the substrate W. As described above, as compared with the substrate holder having the rectangular frame, the outer shape of the substrate holder 6 can be downsized, and the entire apparatus can be downsized. Further, since the substrate holder 6 is lighter than the conventional one, the substrate holder 6 can be moved quickly, and the inspection time can be shortened. Further, since the substrate holder 6 is light in weight and there is no load distribution, the moment of inertia can be reduced, and the load on the articulated arm robot used as the inspection robot 8 can be reduced. Therefore, it becomes possible to use a downsized articulated arm robot. Further, it is possible to minimize the interruption of light even when the inspection is performed with the backlight at the time of transmitted illumination inspection.
Further, when the substrate holder 6 is raised, the supporting portion 10 is arranged in a vertical direction, that is, arranged so as to support the back surface of the substrate W from the upper side to the lower side, and holds the back surface of the substrate W by suction. It is possible to suppress the deflection and vibration of the substrate W during macro observation. The fingers 23 of the transfer robot 20 interfere with the substrate holder 6 by providing the holder frame 16 on the base end portion 11a and the tip end portion 11b of the support portion 10 arranged in a comb shape and opening the loading direction of the substrate W. It is possible to safely carry in and out the substrate W. In addition, since the beam W is extended from the supporting unit 10 disposed outside to support the side of the substrate W that is not supported by the supporting unit 10, the peripheral portion of the substrate W on the loading/unloading side is reliably held. In addition, the weight can be further reduced by omitting the holder frames on both sides.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals. In addition, overlapping description will be omitted.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the substrate holder 30 has a base portion 7 attached to the tip of an arm 9 of an inspection robot (inspection articulated arm robot) 8 and an attachment surface of the base portion 7. A plurality of supporting portions 10 are arranged in parallel to the base portion 7 at a predetermined interval so as to be orthogonal to the base portion 7. The base portion 7 has a thickness dimension almost equal to the height dimension of the base end portion 11a of the support portion 10, is formed thinner than the base portion of the first embodiment, and is lightweight. There is. The upper surface of the support portion 10 is formed as a flat surface and is arranged at a position higher than the upper surface of the base portion 7. The upper surfaces of the base portion 7 and the support portion 10 may be flush with each other so that the base portion 7 holds one side edge of the substrate W by suction. Further, openings are formed on the upper surface of the support arm portion 10, and suction portions 31 in which suction pads are fitted in the openings are arranged at predetermined intervals. The suction part 31 is connected to a suction pump via a flow hole formed in the support part 10. A beam 32 is arranged on the outer surface of the outermost support arm 10. The beam 32 extends vertically from the support unit 10 and supports the back surface of the substrate W with its upper surface. The suction unit 31 may be attached to the upper surface of the beam 32, for example.

The operation of this embodiment will be described.
First, the substrate holder 30 is made to stand by at a horizontal position suitable for loading and unloading the substrate W. The transfer robot 20 transfers the substrate W to above the substrate holder 6. At this time, the fingers 23 of the transfer robot 20 are arranged such that the fingers 23 are arranged between two adjacent support arm portions 10 in parallel to each support portion 10 of the substrate holder 30 in a plan view, that is, the substrate. The support portion 10 of the holder 30 and the finger 23 of the transfer robot 20 are inserted so as to mesh with each other. After releasing the suction to the substrate W, when the robot hand 22 holding the substrate W is lowered by the transfer robot 20 while maintaining the horizontal posture, the fingers 23 are lowered between the supporting portions 10, so that the substrate The back surface of W abuts on the support arm 10 and the beam 32, respectively, and the substrate W is transferred from the transfer robot 20 to the substrate holder 30. When the transfer of the substrate W is completed, the arm 21 of the transfer robot 20 is horizontally retracted, and the finger 23 is pulled out from between the substrate W and the substrate holder. When the inspection robot 8 raises the substrate holder 30 at a predetermined angle and swings the substrate holder 30 in the up-down direction or the left-right direction, if it is a position that does not interfere with the substrate holder 30, the delivery position of the substrate W, or this delivery position The robot hand 22 may be on standby at the retracted position that is lowered below the position.
Further, when the substrate W is aligned at a reference position on the substrate holder 30 by an aligning means (not shown), the substrate W is sucked and held by the suction unit 31 at that position. Furthermore, the inspection robot 8 raises the substrate W from the horizontal position of the substrate holder 30 toward the observer, and illuminates the substrate W with illumination light from above to perform macro inspection.

  After the macro inspection is completed, the substrate holder 30 is returned to the horizontal position, and then the suction holding by the suction unit 31 is released. The finger 23 of the transfer robot 20 is inserted between the substrate W and the support portion 10 and then lifted, the substrate W is transferred to the transfer robot 20, and the substrate W is unloaded toward the cassette.

  According to this embodiment, since the substrate holder 30 has a comb-tooth-shaped frame structure and the tip side thereof is open, the transport robot 20 is inserted in parallel between the supporting portions 10 so as to mesh with each other. be able to. By transferring the substrate W in the meshed state as described above, the substrate W can be directly transferred between the transfer robot 20 and the substrate holder 30, so that the substrate W can be received on the substrate holder 30 side. It is not necessary to provide a lift mechanism, the configuration can be simplified, and the time for delivering the substrate W can be shortened. Furthermore, by omitting the holder frame, the substrate holder 30 can be made smaller and lighter. The downsizing and weight saving of the substrate holder 30 and the effects associated therewith are similar to those of the first embodiment.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, but can be widely applied.
For example, in the substrate holder 6 as shown in FIG. 2, the support portion 10 may be provided with the support pins 18 that come into contact with the back surface of the substrate W. In this case, the support pins 18 and the suction portions 12 may be alternately arranged on the support portion 10, or the support pins 18 or the suction portions 12 may be arranged for each support portion 10.
Further, in the substrate holder 30 as shown in FIG. 5, the tip end side of each supporting portion 10 may be connected by a long plate-shaped bar. By connecting the tip portion 11b of the support portion 10 to this crosspiece, the vibration of each support portion 10 can be suppressed. In order to prevent the fingers 23 of the transfer robot 20 from interfering with the crosspieces, it is preferable to provide the crosspieces on the lower surface of the support portion 10 or to provide the crosspieces with notches corresponding to the shapes of the fingers.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in the substrate holder 6, the holder frame 15 is formed into a U-shape with one side opened so as to match the shape of the rectangular glass substrate W, and the substrate W is carried out from the side where one side is opened. You may enter. The holder frame 15 shown in FIG. 2 may be provided only on the front end side of the support portion 10, and the base portion 7 may suck and hold one side edge portion of the substrate W.

  According to the present invention, since the supporting portion for supporting the substrate is provided in a comb shape, it is possible to reduce the size and weight as compared with the case where the peripheral portion of the substrate is supported by the rectangular holder body. Further, by doing so, it is possible to reduce the load on the articulated robot that swings or rotates the substrate holder, and to downsize the substrate inspection apparatus.

Claims (5)

A substrate holder of a substrate inspection device, which is attached to a tip portion of a drive unit and moves the substrate while holding the substrate,
A base portion connected to the drive portion,
A plurality of support portions extending from the base portion in a comb shape in parallel,
A suction unit that suction-holds the substrate on the support unit,
The substrate holder of a substrate inspection apparatus, wherein the plurality of supporting portions have strength for holding the substrate.     The substrate holder of a substrate inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the height of the support portion is changed according to a distance from a base end portion that is a portion attached to the base portion.     The peripheral portion of the substrate is adsorbed and held by a base end portion of the support portion, which is a portion attached to the base portion, and a tip end portion of the support portion, which is located far from the base portion. The substrate holder of the substrate inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a holder frame is provided so as to be orthogonal to the supporting portion.     The board inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a beam that supports a peripheral edge portion of the substrate is extended from an outer surface of the outermost support portion of the plurality of support portions. Board holder. A substrate holder according to claim 1;
An articulated robot that is the drive unit that supports the substrate holder swingably;
And a light source that emits predetermined visible light,
A substrate inspection apparatus configured to irradiate the substrate with visible light from the light source to perform a visual inspection of the substrate.

Images