KR100508284B1 - Peripheral exposure apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

It aims to improve the throughput of the peripheral exposure apparatus. The light source units 14A and 14B are movable along the support member 12 in the direction of ± X in the figure. The photoresist at the periphery of the glass substrate G is exposed by running the support member 12 in the ± Y direction of the drawing while emitting beams from the two light source units 14A and 14B. When the light source units 14A and 14B move in the ± X direction along the support member 12, the distance between the two light source units 14A and 14B is controlled to be equal to or greater than a certain value. The masks 16A and 16B are driven in the direction of ± X in the drawing, and when there is a portion of the object area of the peripheral exposure that is not to be irradiated, the masks 16A and 16B partially cover the glass substrate G. Shading.

Description

Peripheral exposure apparatus

The present invention relates to an ambient exposure apparatus. In particular, in the process of manufacturing a glass plate or the like used in an LCD (liquid crystal display device), a plasma display panel (PDP), or the like, the present invention is directed to a photoresist coated around a substrate other than an area to which a circuit pattern or the like is exposed. It relates to a preferred ambient exposure apparatus for use in irradiating light.

In the lithography process which is one process at the time of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel etc., the projection exposure apparatus in which the projection optical system is built in is used. The pattern formed in the mask is projected onto the photoresist coating surface on the substrate by this projection optical system. In this substrate, a portion where the pattern is exposed, that is, a pattern region, and a region where the pattern is not exposed, that is, a non-pattern region, are set in the substrate. In the lithography step, it is necessary to irradiate light to the non-patterned region. This is because a positive resist is applied to the substrate. That is, the unexposed portion of the positive resist remains on the substrate even after development. In particular, when the photoresist is applied onto a substrate by spin coating, the thickness becomes thicker on the peripheral side than on the center of the substrate. In general, the substrate exposed portion is a non-patterned region, and the photoresist remaining without being removed has a property that the thicker the thickness, the easier it is to peel off. These positive resists can be peeled off during the post-treatment process and can be scattered into small pieces (particles). Such particles cause a decrease in the yield of a substrate to be exposed, such as a liquid crystal display panel. In addition, even if peeling does not occur, when the substrate is subjected to post-treatment such as CVD, if a photoresist remains on the periphery of the substrate or the like, unevenness of the thin film formed in the pattern region may be brought about.

Therefore, it is generally performed to irradiate the photoresist of a non-pattern area | region with light, and to reduce the unnecessary resist in the subsequent development process. As described above, various types of devices for irradiating light to unpatterned regions on the substrate by scanning spot light emitted from the light source as irradiating light to the unpatterned regions on the substrate are proposed. Hereinafter, in this specification, an apparatus for irradiating light to an unpatterned region on a substrate is referred to as a "peripheral exposure apparatus".

As the pattern formed on the substrate becomes smaller, a shorter wavelength is used for the projection exposure apparatus. As a result, the photosensitive wavelength band of the photoresist applied to the substrate is also changed to the shorter wavelength side. Therefore, the light source used for the peripheral exposure apparatus also emits light of short wavelengths, such as g line | wire and i line | wire.

As the light source used in the peripheral exposure apparatus that can cope with the photoresist described above, a high brightness, for example, ultra-high pressure mercury lamp or the like is used for the purpose of improving the production efficiency. The reason is that when a large amount of light source is used to provide the same dose to the photoresist, the short exposure time may be sufficient. In other words, it is possible to increase the speed at the time of scanning the spot light emitted from the light source, so that the irradiation of light to the non-patterned region can be completed within a short time.

As mentioned above, in order to irradiate the spot light to the exposed part on a board | substrate, it is known to guide the light radiate | emitted from a light source to a light output part with an optical fiber. In a peripheral exposure apparatus using an optical fiber, a light source such as an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp is fixed, and the front end portion of the optical fiber extending from the light source, that is, the light exit portion, is moved with respect to the photosensitive surface of the substrate to be exposed, thereby moving the substrate to a desired exposure pattern. It can be exposed.

However, as the peripheral exposure apparatus is required to further improve the production efficiency, the following description becomes a problem. That is, in order to improve throughput, it is necessary to guide as much light as possible to the photosensitive surface of the substrate, and the loss of light amount due to the use of optical fibers has not been negligible. This loss is caused by loss caused by the filling rate of the optical fiber, attenuation generated when light propagates through the optical fiber, and the like. In particular, as the light to be used is shortened, the absorption in the optical fiber increases and the loss also increases. For this reason, in order to improve throughput, it is necessary to increase the light quantity of a light source or to make an optical fiber the thing of expensive quartz glass products. In addition, the optical fiber deteriorates while the distal end portion of the optical fiber is repeatedly moved to increase the amount of light transfer. Examples of the deterioration of the optical fiber include a case where the optical fiber is bent, or a solarization occurs.

As the pattern of the peripheral exposure formed on the substrate, not only a rectangular pattern surrounding the substrate, but also a pattern of ″ 日 ″, ″ 目 ″, ″ 田 ″, or a combination thereof It tends to be complicated. It is also necessary to form such a complicated pattern as one of the causes of throughput degradation of the peripheral exposure apparatus.

In addition, an alignment mark, an identification number of a substrate, or the like may be formed in a part of the region to be subjected to ambient exposure. Exposure to these areas results in the loss of important information. Therefore, in order to temporarily stop the irradiation of light in the part of the area where these alignment marks, identification numbers, etc. are exposed during the peripheral exposure operation, it is necessary to stop and start the light output unit during the scanning operation. When the light output unit is stopped and operated in this manner, acceleration and deceleration require time, so that throughput of the peripheral exposure apparatus may decrease.

An object of the present invention is to improve the throughput of an ambient exposure apparatus.

The present invention provides a non-patterned region of a photosensitive substrate having a plurality of lighting units including a light source and a condensing optical system, and having a pattern region to which the pattern is exposed and a non-pattern region to which the pattern is not exposed, with light emitted from the lighting unit. Applies to ambient exposure equipment. And a holding unit for holding the plurality of lighting units to be movable; A first driver for driving the photosensitive substrate and the holding unit in a first direction (direction along the Y axis in FIG. 1); Each of the plurality of lighting units can be positioned at an approximately center portion of the photosensitive substrate, and the driving unit drives each of the plurality of lighting units in a second direction different from the first direction (direction along the X axis in FIG. 1). 2 drive unit; The above object is achieved by providing a drive control unit for controlling the second drive unit so that the plurality of lighting units do not interfere with each other.

It is preferable to control so that the drive control part may maintain the distance between adjacent lighting units of several lighting units more than predetermined distance.

When the driving control unit exposes the unpatterned region of the photosensitive substrate by the light emitted from some of the lighting units (eg, 14A in FIG. 1), the remaining lighting unit (eg, 14B in FIG. 1) is exposed. It is desirable to control so as not to interfere with some lighting units (eg, 14A in FIG. 1).

The present invention also provides a non-pattern area of a photosensitive substrate having a plurality of lighting units including a light source and a condensing optical system, and having a pattern area to which the pattern is exposed and a non-pattern area to which the pattern is not exposed, with light emitted from the lighting unit. This applies to ambient exposure equipment. Light quantity detecting means for detecting the intensity of light emitted from each of the plurality of lighting units; When each of the plurality of lighting units and the photosensitive substrate are moved relative to the non-pattern area on the photosensitive substrate, the plurality of lighting units are based on the lower intensity of the light of the plurality of lighting units detected by the light quantity detecting means. And a moving speed setting means for setting the speed of relative movement between each of the photosensitive substrates and the photosensitive substrate.

The present invention also provides a non-patterned region of a photosensitive substrate having a plurality of lighting units including a light source and a focusing optical system, and having a pattern region to which the pattern is exposed and a non-pattern region to which the pattern is not exposed, with light emitted from the lighting unit. This applies to ambient exposure equipment. And, it may have a beam size changing means for changing the size of the beam emitted from each of the plurality of lighting units independently of each other.

The photosensitive substrate may further have a rotation driving portion for rotating the photosensitive substrate in the direction of the rotation axis substantially perpendicular to the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive substrate. In this case, the operation of changing the distance between the plurality of lighting units, which is performed in accordance with the arrangement of the non-patterned regions in the photosensitive substrate, is performed in parallel with the rotation driving of the photosensitive substrate by the rotation driving unit.

It further has a rotational drive unit for rotating in the direction of the rotation axis substantially perpendicular to the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive substrate, the operation of changing the size of the beam emitted from each of the plurality of lighting units, the rotational drive unit and the photosensitive substrate is rotated and driven This can be done in parallel.

In addition, the present invention has a plurality of illumination units including a light source and a condensing optical system, and a non-pattern region of the photosensitive substrate having a pattern region to which the pattern is exposed and a non-pattern region to which the pattern is not exposed, from the light emitting portion of the lighting unit It is applied to the peripheral exposure apparatus exposed to light. And it is provided in the vicinity of the movement path which relatively moves a plurality of lighting units and the photosensitive substrate, and has a light shielding means for preventing the light emitted from the light output part from being irradiated to the part which does not want irradiation on the photosensitive substrate.

In such a case, the light shielding means may be provided so as to be movable relative to the photosensitive substrate, and the light shielding means may be set at a position between the lighting unit and the photosensitive substrate as necessary.

1 is a plan view illustrating a schematic configuration of a peripheral exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a figure which shows the pattern seen from the II direction shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, the X axis is taken in the left and right directions of the paper, the Y axis is taken in the up and down directions, and the Z axis is taken in the direction orthogonal to the ground. In the following description, directions along these coordinate axes are appropriately referred to as X, Y, and Z directions. . In addition, as needed, the direction in which a coordinate value increases is called plus X direction, plus Y direction, plus Z direction, etc. Also in other drawings, the coordinate axis is shown so as to coincide with the coordinate axis shown in FIG. 1 as appropriate.

Main scan direction drive mechanism

Four support columns 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D are fixed to four corners of the upper surface of the surface plate 2. Guide rails 8A are provided on the upper ends of the support columns 6A and 6C, and guide rails 8B are secured along the Y direction to the upper ends of the support columns 6B and 6D, respectively.

Between the guide rails 8A and 8B, the support member 12 spans along the X direction. Inside the guide rails 8A and 8B, a feed screw mechanism (not shown) rotated by main scanning motors 30A and 30B (not shown in FIG. 1, see FIG. 6), respectively, is built along the Y direction. have. By rotating the main scan motors 30A and 30B forward and reverse, it is possible to move the support member 12 in the ± Y direction (hereinafter, the ± Y direction in FIG. 1 is referred to as the ″ main scan direction ″). have.

Sub scan direction drive mechanism

The two light source units 14A and 14B are supported by the support member 12 so as to be movable in the ± X direction. In addition, inside the support member 12, two feed screw mechanisms (not shown) rotated by the sub scanning motors 32A and 32B (not shown in FIG. 1, see FIG. 6) are embedded along the X direction. have. By independently rotating these sub-scan motors 14A and 14B, the light source units 14A and 14B are each independently +/- X direction (hereinafter referred to as "X" in FIG. Drive).

Shading Unit

Beams 9A are provided on the side surfaces of the support columns 6A and 6C, and beams 9B are secured along the Y direction to the side surfaces of the support columns 6B and 6D, respectively. The light shielding unit 11A is fixed to the beam 9A, and the light shielding unit 11B is fixed to the beam 9B.

The configuration of the light shielding unit 11A will be described. This light shielding unit 11A has a base portion 10A, a moving member 13A, and a mask 16A. The moving member 13A is capable of relative movement in the ± X direction with respect to the base portion 10A by a pneumatic actuator (not shown). With the above configuration, by driving the mask 16A in the sub-scanning direction with a pneumatic actuator, the light beams emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B can be switched to a state of inducing and blocking the exposure object. The light shielding unit 11B also has the same structure as that of the light shielding unit 11A. By driving the mask 16B in the sub-scanning direction by the pneumatic actuator, the luminous flux emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B can be switched to a state of inducing and blocking the exposure object as necessary.

Although the above-mentioned light shielding unit was demonstrated to be fixed to each of the beams 9A and 9B one by one, the position and the number which these light-shielding units are installed are not limited to what was shown in this embodiment, It can decide arbitrarily. In addition, the light shielding units 11A and 11B may be provided not only to the beams 9A and 9B but also to be movable along the beams 9A and 9B. By providing the light blocking units 11A and 11B so as to be movable, it is possible to mask any position in the peripheral exposure area of the substrate G in response to the recipe.

In addition, by making the moving speeds of the plurality of light blocking units 11A and 11B higher than the moving speeds of the light source units 14A and 14B, it is also possible to mask a plurality of locations per one light source unit. This will be described. At first, the light shielding units 11A and 11B are held at the first position to be masked to start ambient exposure, and the light source units 14A and 14B pass through the light shielding units 11A and 11B, and then the mask 16A, 16B) is evacuated and the light shielding units 11A and 11B are moved again to overtake the light source units 14A and 14B. Next, when the mask is stopped at a position to be masked and covers and waits for the next region to be masked on the exposure area PA with the masks 16A and 16B, masking a plurality of locations per one light source unit may be performed as described above. It becomes possible. In addition, when the light source units 14A and 14B reach the light shielding units 11A and 11B, the light shielding units 11A and 11B are moved at a constant speed with the light source units 14A and 14B, and the light shielding units are started at a predetermined position. By stopping (11A, 11B), masking of a region wider than the light shielding width in the masks 16A, 16B can be performed. In addition, although the example which drives the mask 16A, 16B with a pneumatic actuator was demonstrated, you may use the motor etc. which can control a position.

Light Sensor

The light quantity sensor 48 is a sensor for measuring the light amount of the light beam emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B. By the light quantity sensor 48, the light amount of the light beam emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B is sequentially measured before the peripheral exposure operation. In addition, a half mirror or the like may be disposed in the optical paths of the light source units 14A and 14B to monitor the light reflected by the half mirror. The reason why the light quantity sensor 48 measures the light quantity of the light beam emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B will be described later.

Plate holder

Referring to FIG. 2, the plate holder 4 on which the glass substrate G, which is an exposure target object, is mounted is supported to be rotatable in the Z-axis direction by the plate holder support part 5 fixed to the surface plate 2. It is. On the upper surface of the plate holder 4, a plurality of projections 4a are provided. The height of these some processus | protrusion 4a becomes substantially the same.

In addition, the upper surface of the plurality of protrusions 4a is provided with a hole connected to the negative pressure source through a pipe not shown, and the glass substrate G, which is an object to be exposed, is placed on the plate holder 4, and then adsorption, It is fixed. Although four such protrusions 4a are illustrated in FIG. 4, the protrusions 4a are provided at a number and positions such that the warpage of the substrate G does not adversely affect the Young's modulus, size, and thickness of the substrate G. do.

Light source unit

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating the internal configuration of the light source units 14A and 14B, and is a cross section in the plane including the optical axis of the light source units 14A and 14B which extend in a direction parallel to the Z axis. Indicates. In addition, since the light source units 14A and 14B have the same structure, in FIG. 3, the component of the light source unit 14B is attached | subjected with the parenthesis, and only the structure of the light source unit 14A is demonstrated.

Inside the light source unit 14A, an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is fixed inside the reflecting mirror 62A. Below the reflector 62A, the relay lens 66A and the projection lens 65A are fixed, and the luminous flux emitted from the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is focused on the reflector 62A, and then the relay lens 66A and the projection lens. Through 65A, the photosensitive surface of the glass substrate G, that is, the surface to which the photoresist is applied, is guided.

The shutter 63A driven by the shutter actuator 34A in the direction along the XY plane is in a state of blocking light emitted from the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A to the incident surface of the relay lens 66A and blocking the light. It is to switch. In general, until the light emitted from the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp is stabilized, a warm up time of several tens of minutes is required from the start of the lamp lighting. For this reason, when it is necessary to temporarily stop the irradiation of the light emitted from the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A after the peripheral exposure apparatus starts to operate, the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is not turned off and the shutter 63A is turned off. Shade with.

The blind 64A driven by the blind actuator 36A has a function of shaping the light beam irradiated onto the glass substrate G into a quadrangle and adjusting the width (size) of the light beam in the sub-scanning direction. The blind 64A is disposed between the emission surface of the projection lens 65A and the photoresist coating surface of the glass substrate G as close as possible to the photoresist coating surface. Such blinds 64A may be disposed at positions (positions indicated by symbols C in FIG. 3) corresponding to the photoresist coating surface with respect to the projection lens 65A.

Loader

In the following, the loader 70 described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 may or may not be built in the peripheral exposure apparatus, but will be described as being installed outside (nearby) the peripheral exposure apparatus. 4 and 5, only the surface plate 2, the plate holder 4, and the plate holder support 5 are shown, and the illustration of other components is omitted.

The loader 70 is used for conveying the glass substrate G, which is an exposure object, between the peripheral exposure apparatus and another apparatus such as a coating apparatus, a developing apparatus, a liquid crystal exposure apparatus, or the like. And the arm 72 of the scalar robot is provided on the base part 75 arrange | positioned at the upper surface etc. The arm 72 has degrees of freedom to operate in the plane direction, the ± Z direction, and the Z axis direction parallel to the XY plane. A c-shaped conveyance frame 73 is fixed to the tip of such an arm 72. Glass substrate G is conveyed in the state supported by the arm part 73a of the conveyance frame 73.

4 and 5, the operation of the loader 70 when the glass substrate G is placed on the plate holder 4 will be described. As described above, the plate holder 4 is provided with a plurality of protrusions 4a. The loader 70 conveys the glass substrate G supported by the arm portion 73 in a space slightly above the protrusion 4a so that the arm 72 and the substrate G do not collide with the protrusion 4a. . When the glass substrate G reaches the predetermined position on the plate holder 4, the loader 70 moves the arm 72 in the negative Z direction to lower the glass substrate G. In this process, the glass substrate G is in contact with the plurality of protrusions 4a, and the glass substrate G is then vacuum-adsorbed onto the upper surface of the protrusion 4a. Then, the loader 70 moves the arm 72 in the negative Y direction to retract the peripheral exposure apparatus. As described later, the peripheral exposure apparatus starts to operate.

Control circuit

6 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a control circuit that performs operation control of the peripheral exposure apparatus described above. The control unit 100 which collectively controls the operation of the peripheral exposure apparatus includes the main scan motors 30A and 30B, the sub scan motors 32A and 32B, the shutter actuators 34A and 34B, the blind actuators 36A and 36B, and Ultra-high pressure mercury lamps 40A and 40B are connected. The control unit 100 is further connected with electronic direction change valves 46A, 46B and 50, a light amount sensor 48 and a stage actuator 52. In addition, the host computer 200 is connected to the control unit 100. The host computer 200 communicates with control circuits that are embedded in a plurality of devices including peripheral exposure apparatuses to collectively control the manufacturing process, and is installed outside the peripheral exposure apparatus. The control unit 100 is configured to expose the glass substrate G on the plate holder 4 and then expose the glass substrate G from the host computer 200. When information such as control variables (recipe) such as the dose amount provided on the exposure surface is input, control of the exposure operation described below is started.

Operation of peripheral exposure equipment

The operation of the peripheral exposure apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 as appropriate. In addition, in the following operation description, it is assumed that the ultrahigh pressure mercury lamps 40A and 40B are in a stable state where a considerable time has elapsed since the start of the lighting, that is, a state where ambient exposure can be performed. According to the recipe input from the host computer 200, the control unit 100 starts the ambient exposure operation control.

First, a description will be given of the case where four sides of the glass substrate G having a quadrangular outer shape are exposed in a ″ ㅁ ″ shape. After the glass substrate G is placed on the plate holder 4, the controller 100 controls the electronic direction switching valve 50 to communicate the holes drilled in the plurality of protrusions 4a with a negative pressure source, not shown. Let's do it. Accordingly, the glass substrate G is adsorbed and fixed to the plate holder 4.

The control unit 100 controls and rotates the main scanning motors 30A and 30B and the sub scanning motors 32A and 32B, and sequentially emits the light output units of the light source units 14A and 14B above the light quantity sensor 48. The light quantity of the luminous flux emitted from each light source unit is measured. The control part 100 has relative light source units 14A and 14B with respect to the glass substrate G from the value of the one with less light amount, and the dose amount (exposure amount) contained in the information of the recipe input from the host computer 200. Calculate the moving speed when moving.

When peripheral exposure is performed at the movement speed determined in this manner, the photoresist exposed at the light beam emitted from the light source unit having the higher light quantity becomes overexposure. However, since the peripheral exposure aims at removing unnecessary resist, there is no problem even if the exposure amount is somewhat overwritten. On the contrary, the problem is that the amount of dose is insufficient and the unnecessary resist cannot be completely removed. Therefore, by controlling the movement speed of these light source units on the basis of the smallest light quantity among the light fluxes emitted from the plurality of light source units 14A and 14B as in the present embodiment, it is controlled that the exposure amount shortage of the photoresist occurs. can do. Therefore, the problem is not caused during the subsequent process, such as peeling off the remaining photoresist which cannot be completely removed.

The control unit 100 controls the shutter actuators 34A and 34B to close the shutters 63A and 63B so that the light beams do not emit from the light source units 14A and 14B. Subsequently, the control unit 100 controls the main scanning motors 30A and 30B and the sub scanning motors 32A and 32B, and drives the light source units 14A and 14B in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction for positioning. Do it. That is, the luminous flux emission positions of the light source units 14A and 14B coincide with the peripheral exposure start positions. Subsequently, the control unit 100 controls the blind actuators 36A and 36B based on the recipe input from the host computer 200, and controls the blind actuators 36A and 36B to adjust the light beams emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B in accordance with the width of the non-pattern area. Adjust the beam width.

By the way, in the case where the alignment mark, the identification number, or the like is marked in the peripheral portion of the glass substrate G, it is necessary to prevent this portion from being exposed. In such a case, information indicating that there is a portion which does not perform peripheral exposure among the recipes input from the host computer 200 is included. The control unit 100 controls the electronic direction change valves 46A and 46B in accordance with this information to drive the mask 16A in the positive X direction and the mask 16B in the negative X direction. Accordingly, the light blocking units 11A and 11B are switched to the state illustrated in FIG. 1, and the masks 16A and 16B cover a part of the exposure area PA on the glass substrate G. As shown in FIG. As a result, the luminous flux emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B and incident on the photoresist applied to the glass substrate G is partially shielded, and the portion not to be exposed on the substrate G is masked.

The control unit 100 controls the shutter actuators 34A and 34B to open the shutters 63A and 63B so that the light beams are emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B, and then the main scanning motors 30A and 30B. ) To scan the light source units 14A and 14B in the main scanning direction. The light source units 14A and 14B integrally scan the upper portion of the glass substrate G at a substantially constant speed while being held by the support member 12, and the two sides of the glass substrate G (in Fig. 1). Ambient exposure of the two sides along the Y direction is completed. At this time, the part shielded by the light shielding units 11A and 11B is not exposed. As described above, in the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the present invention, even when there is a portion not to be exposed in the middle, the light source units 14A and 14B can be scanned at a substantially constant speed from the start to the stop of the scanning. Can be. In the conventional method, the scanning of the light source unit is paused at the head of the portion not to be exposed to close the shutters 63A and 63B, the scanning is resumed, and the scanning is paused again at the end of the portion not to be exposed. Open the shutter to resume scanning. The above-described peripheral exposure apparatus can complete the peripheral exposure in a short time as compared to the conventional method, and can improve the throughput of the peripheral exposure apparatus.

As described above, as the peripheral exposure of the two opposite sides of the glass substrate G is completed, the controller 100 controls the shutter actuators 34A and 34B to close the shutters 63A and 63B, so that the light source unit is closed. The emission of the light beams from 14A and 14B is stopped.

Subsequently, the control unit 100 controls the stage actuator 52 to rotate the plate holder 4 by 90 degrees in the rotation axis direction parallel to the Z axis. At the same time, in accordance with the recipe input from the host computer 200, the controller 100 controls the sub scanning motors 32A, 32B and the blind actuators 36A, 36B to determine the distance between the optical axes of the light source units 14A, 14B. At the same time, the beam size is changed. In this manner, by rotating the plate holder 4 and changing the distance between the optical axes of the light source units 14A and 14B and the beam size at the same time, it is possible to improve the through foot of the peripheral exposure apparatus. In addition, the change in the distance between the optical axes between the plurality of light source units 14A and 14B may be performed at the same time as the rotation of the plate holder 4, or only the change in the beam size may be performed.

Subsequent to the above-described rotation of the plate holder 4, change of the distance between the optical axes of the light source units 14A and 14B, and change of the beam size, the control unit 100 controls the main scanning motors 30A and 30B to control the light source. The output section of the luminous flux of the units 14A and 14B is moved to the start position of the next peripheral exposure. Then, when it is determined that there is an area requiring light shielding among the areas to be subjected to the next exposure based on the recipe input from the host computer 200, the control unit 100 determines that the masks 16A and 16B are the glass substrates G. FIG. The state which covers a part of exposure area PA of an image is maintained. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no area requiring light shielding, the controller 100 controls the electronic direction change valves 46A and 46B to evacuate the masks 16A and 16B from the range of ambient exposure of the glass substrate G. . Subsequently, the control unit 100 controls the shutter actuators 34A and 34B to open the shutters 63A and 63B, bring the light beams out from the light source units 14A and 14B, and then the main scan motors 30A and 30B. ), And the light source units 14A and 14B are scanned in the main scanning direction.

By the above control operation by the controller 100, the peripheral exposure of the four sides ". &Quot; shapes of the glass substrate G is completed. When the pattern of the ambient exposure is a ″ 目 ″ shape, ″ 日 ″ shape, ″ 田 ″ shape, or a pattern of a combination thereof, the controller 100 continues to perform the same ambient exposure operation as described above. Do it repeatedly. At this time, the control unit 100 performs exposure by scanning both of the light source units 14A and 14B when there are even numbers of peripheral exposures. On the other hand, when there are an odd number of patterns of the peripheral exposure, such as a ″ day ″ pattern, the controller 100 performs the last one pattern using any one of the plurality of light source units 14A and 14B. The sub scanning motors 32A and 32B are controlled. At this time, the movement of the remaining light source units, that is, the light source units that do not perform the peripheral exposure operation, is controlled by the controller 100 so as not to interfere with the light source units that perform the peripheral exposure operation. In the description of the above embodiment, an example in which two light source units are provided has been described, but the number of light source units may be three or more. In such a case, what is necessary is just to expose the remaining number of patterns when dividing the number of patterns of ambient exposure by the number of light source units by a part of light source units. The light source unit that does not perform the ambient exposure operation is controlled by the control unit 100 so as not to interfere with the light source unit that performs the ambient exposure operation.

Here, with reference to FIG. 7, two examples of the peripheral exposure of the pattern of ″ 目 ″ shape are performed by the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and the peripheral exposure of the pattern of ″ 日 ″ shape is performed. An example will be described.

FIG. 7A illustrates an example in which two patterns of the ″ 目 ″ shape pattern have relatively wide intervals, and FIG. 7B illustrates peripheral exposure of the shape pattern shown in FIG. 7A. An example of the exposure control procedure by the control part 100 at the time of carrying out is shown. As shown in step A of FIG. 7B, two patterns along the long sides of the substrate G are exposed by the light source units 14A and 14B, and then the plate holder 4 (FIG. 2) is opened. Rotate 90 degrees. During rotation of the plate holder 4, the light source units 14A and 14B are driven in the sub-scanning direction to adjust the spacing. Subsequently, as shown in step B, two patterns along the short side of the substrate G are exposed. At this time, the relative movement direction between the light source units 14A and 14B and the glass substrate G is the opposite direction to the relative movement direction in step A. FIG. After the exposure operation in step B is completed, the light source units 14A and 14B are driven in the sub-scanning direction to narrow the interval between the two light source units. Then, as shown in step C, the light source units 14A and 14B and the substrate G are driven relative to the direction of relative movement in step B so that the remaining two patterns are exposed.

Fig. 7C shows an example in which two patterns among the shape patterns of the “目” have relatively narrow intervals, and Fig. 7D shows the peripheral exposure of the shape pattern shown in Fig. 7C. An example of the exposure control procedure by the control part 100 at the time of carrying out is shown. The term " relatively narrow " refers to the light emitted from the light exit units of these light source units even when the light source units 14A and 14B are brought closest to each other due to the size of the light source units 14A and 14B. This means that the interval between the patterns is narrower than the pitch of the luminous flux.

As shown in the procedure P of FIG. 7D, two patterns along the long sides of the substrate G are exposed by the light source units 14A and 14B, and the plate holder 4 is then rotated 90 degrees. . During rotation of the plate holder 4, the light source units 14A and 14B are driven in the sub-scanning direction to adjust the spacing. Subsequently, as shown in step Q, the leftmost pattern and the third pattern from the left are exposed among the four patterns along the direction parallel to the direction in which the short side of the substrate G extends. At this time, the relative movement direction between the light source units 14A and 14B and the glass substrate G is in a direction opposite to the relative movement direction in the procedure P. FIG. After the exposure operation in step Q is completed, the light source units 14A and 14B are driven in the sub-scanning direction. As shown in step R, the light source units 14A and 14B and the substrate G are driven in the opposite direction to the relative moving direction in step Q, and the remaining two patterns are exposed.

In the example shown in FIG. 7B, when the four patterns are exposed along the direction parallel to the direction in which the short side of the glass substrate G extends, it is exposed to the outside, the outside, the inside, and the inside. In the example shown in FIG.7 (d), it exposes outside, inside, inside, and outside. That is, when a light source unit moves in the sub-scanning direction, the control unit 100 maintains the distance between the light source unit and light source units adjacent to each other in the light source unit at a predetermined value or more so as to maintain a plurality of light source units 14A, 14B). And the control part 100 moves another light source unit so that it may not interfere (interfere) with the movement of one light source unit. By moving the plurality of light source units as described above, neighboring light source units do not interfere with each other. Moreover, exposure can be performed even if there exists a comparatively narrow part in the pattern which forms an exposure pattern. In particular, when the light source unit in which the light source and the condensing optical system are integrally formed, such as the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment, is used, the size of the light source or the condensing optical system becomes a neck, It is easy to generate a restriction on the pitch of the light beam emitted. However, by exposing as described above, even if it is a narrow pattern interval, it becomes possible to perform exposure without reducing throughput.

FIG. 7E shows an example in which the exposure pattern has a ″ day ″ shape pattern, and FIG. 7F shows the control unit 100 when performing the peripheral exposure of the shape pattern shown in FIG. 7E. ) Shows an example of an exposure control procedure. As shown in step X of FIG. 7F, two patterns along the long sides of the substrate G are exposed by the light source units 14A and 14B, and the plate holder 4 is then rotated 90 degrees. . During rotation of the plate holder 4, the light source units 14A and 14B are driven in the sub-scanning direction to adjust the spacing. Subsequently, as shown in step Y, two patterns along the short side of the substrate G are exposed. At this time, the relative movement direction between the light source units 14A and 14B and the glass substrate G is the opposite direction to the relative movement direction in step X. After the exposure operation in step Y is completed, only the light source unit 14B is driven in the sub scanning direction. As shown in step Z, the light source units 14A and 14B and the substrate G are driven relative to the direction of relative movement in step Y to expose the remaining patterns. In addition, in step Z, the shutter 63 of the light source 14A is in a closed state. In the above, the example which used the light source unit 14B at the time of exposing the remaining pattern was demonstrated, Of course, the light source unit 14A may be used. In addition, when exposure of the above-mentioned "day" shape or a pattern equivalent thereto is repeatedly performed, the light source units 14A and 14B may be used alternately or alternately every predetermined number of times.

As described above, in the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, high throughput can be exposed regardless of the exposure pattern shape. In particular, since the light from the ultra-high pressure mercury lamps 40A and 40B is guided to the substrate G without using an optical fiber, a decrease in the amount of light due to the filling rate of the optical fiber is suppressed, thereby improving throughput of the peripheral exposure apparatus. Can be. In addition, since there is no problem caused by deterioration of the optical fiber, the reliability of the peripheral exposure apparatus can be increased, and in addition, the degree of freedom of the peripheral exposure pattern that can be formed on the substrate can be increased by driving the plurality of light source units as described above. Become.

In the above description, the example in which the light quantity sensor 48 is provided on the surface plate 2 in order to detect the light quantity of the light beam emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B has been described, but the light source units 14A and 14B have been described. A light quantity sensor may be incorporated in each. The number of light source units included in the peripheral exposure apparatus is not limited to two, but may have three or more.

In order to drive a plurality of light source units in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction, other actuators or mechanisms, such as linear motors and belt drive mechanisms, may be used, as well as the transfer screw mechanism described above. As described below with reference to FIG. 8, a rotating mechanism may be used as a mechanism for driving the light source unit in the sub scanning direction.

8 is an example showing another example of the sub scanning direction driving mechanism of the light source unit in the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 8, only a part of the peripheral exposure apparatus is shown. The other part is the same as that shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 8, the same components as those of the peripheral exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. The light source units 14A and 14B are supported by the drive member 12 via the rotational arms 134A and 134B. The sub-scan motor 132A and the encoder 133A are attached to the rotation center axis of the rotation arm 134A. Similarly, the sub-scan motor 132B and the encoder 133B are attached to the pivotal axis of the rotational arm 134B. These sub scanning motors 132A, 132B and encoders 133A, 133B are all connected to the control part 100. FIG.

By the sub scanning motors 132A and 132B controlled by the control part 100, the rotation arm 134A and 134B rock-drives, respectively. The light source units 14A and 14B are fixed to the tip ends of the rotational arms 134A and 134B, and the positions of the light source units 14A and 14B in the sub scanning direction are based on the angular positions of the rotational arms 134A and 134B. Is determined. The angular positions of the rotational arms 134A and 134B are detected by the encoders 133A and 133B, respectively. The control unit 100 controls the sub scanning motors 132A, 132B based on the angular position information input from the encoders 133A, 133B, and performs positioning of the light source units 14A, 14B in the sub scanning direction. In addition, in the example described here, the opening shape (cross section shape of the beam) formed by the blinds 64A and 64B is inclined with respect to the main scanning direction according to the angular position of the rotational arms 134A and 134B. In order to correct this inclination, the light source units 14A and 14B may be made to allow relative rotation with respect to the rotational arms 134A and 134B. Alternatively, only the portions of the blind 64A (64B) and the blind actuator 36A (36B) may be allowed to be rotated relative to the pivot arm 134A (134B). In addition, instead of using such a rotating mechanism, each rotation arm 134A (134B) may be replaced by a parallel link using two arms, and the light source units 14A and 14B may be supported at the front end portions of the parallel links, respectively. . In this case, irrespective of the angular position of the parallel link, that is, the position of the sub scanning direction of the light source units 14A and 14B, the angular position of the opening formed by the blinds 64A and 64B is kept constant with respect to the main scanning direction. do.

In the above description, an example in which a plurality of light source units are driven in the main scanning direction has been described, but instead, the substrate G may be driven in the main scanning direction. Further, both of the plurality of light source units and the substrate G may be driven to relatively move the plurality of light source units and the substrate G. In such a case, the light shielding units 11A and 11B shown in FIG. 1 may be configured to move integrally with the plate holder 4.

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects are obtained.

(1) According to the invention of Claims 1 to 3, when driving each of a plurality of lighting units that can be positioned in a substantially central portion of the photosensitive substrate in the second direction, the driving is performed such that the plurality of lighting units do not interfere with each other. This makes it possible to smoothly operate the peripheral exposure apparatus without causing a problem such that the plurality of lighting units collide with each other, and it is possible to improve the through foot of the peripheral exposure apparatus.

(2) According to the invention of claim 4, when the intensity of light emitted from each of the plurality of lighting units is detected, and each of the plurality of lighting units and the photosensitive substrate are relatively moved, the non-pattern area on the photosensitive substrate is exposed. The speed of relative movement between each of the plurality of lighting units and the photosensitive substrate is set based on the lower intensity among the light intensities of the plurality of lighting units detected by the light quantity detecting means. Thereby, even if there is a deviation in the amount of light beams emitted from the plurality of lighting units, the exposure can be performed with an amount of light sufficient to remove the photoresist. In addition, it is not necessary to repeat the surrounding exposure operation several times depending on the amount of light for each lighting unit, and exposure can be performed at once, so that the throughput of the peripheral exposure apparatus decreases even if there is a deviation in the amount of light for each lighting unit. Can be controlled.

(3) According to the invention described in claim 5, by changing the sizes of beams emitted from each of the plurality of lighting units independently of each other, it is possible to simultaneously expose a plurality of patterns having different widths, and throughput of the peripheral exposure apparatus. It becomes possible to improve.

(4) According to the invention described in claim 6, the operation of changing the distance between the plurality of lighting units is performed in parallel with the rotation driving of the photosensitive substrate by the rotation driving unit, and thus the interval between the plurality of exposure operations performed subsequently. ) Is shortened. Therefore, it becomes possible to improve the through foot of the peripheral exposure apparatus.

(5) According to the invention as set forth in claim 7, the plurality of exposures performed continuously are performed in parallel with the rotation of the photosensitive substrate by the rotation driving unit. The interval between operations is shortened. Therefore, it becomes possible to improve the through foot of the peripheral exposure apparatus.

(6) According to the invention as set forth in claim 8, it is provided in the vicinity of the movement path for relatively moving the plurality of lighting units and the photosensitive substrate, and prevents the light emitted from the light exiting portion from being irradiated to the part where the irradiation on the photosensitive substrate is not desired. By having the light shielding means for this purpose, even if there is a portion in the non-patterned region to be exposed, which is not subjected to exposure, the illumination unit can be scanned without stopping. That is, it is not necessary to pause the illumination unit under scanning for the peripheral exposure operation to operate the shutter in the illumination unit, so that exposure to unwanted portions is not prevented. In this way, the stop and movement (acceleration / deceleration operation) of the lighting unit during the peripheral exposure operation becomes unnecessary, so that the through foot of the peripheral exposure apparatus can be increased.

(7) According to the invention as set forth in claim 9, the light shielding means is set at a position between the lighting unit and the substrate as necessary, so that the peripheral exposure of the other type of substrate can be performed in one peripheral exposure apparatus.

1 is a plan view illustrating a schematic configuration of a peripheral exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a peripheral exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a configuration example of a light source unit;

4 is a view for explaining a loader exchanging an exposure object between the peripheral exposure apparatus and another apparatus according to the present embodiment;

5 is a view for explaining how the exposure object is set in the peripheral exposure apparatus by the loader,

6 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a control circuit of a peripheral exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

7 is a view for explaining the procedure of the peripheral exposure operation performed corresponding to various exposure pattern shapes,

8 is a view showing another example of the sub scanning mechanism of the light source unit.

<Description of the code>

2: surface plate 4: plate holder

5: Plate holder support part 8A, 8B: guide rail

9A, 9B: Beams 11A, 11B: Shading unit

12: support member 14A, 14B: light source unit

16A, 16B: Mask 30A, 30B: Main injection motor

32A, 32B: Sub scan motor 34A, 34B: Shutter actuator

36A, 36B: Blind actuator 40A, 40B: Ultra high pressure mercury lamp

46A, 46B: Electronic directional valve 48: Light quantity sensor

52: stage actuator 70: loader

100: control unit 200: host computer

Claims (9)

A periphery which has a plurality of illumination units including a light source and a condensing optical system, and which exposes the non-pattern regions of the photosensitive substrate having the pattern region to which the pattern is exposed and the non-pattern region to which the pattern is not exposed, with light emitted from the illumination unit. In the exposure apparatus, A holding unit for holding the plurality of lighting units to be movable; A first driver for driving the photosensitive substrate and the holding unit in a first direction relatively; A second driver for driving each of the plurality of lighting units in a second direction different from the first direction to change the distance between the plurality of lighting units; And a driving control unit controlling the second driving unit so that the plurality of lighting units do not interfere with each other. The peripheral exposure apparatus of claim 1, wherein the driving control unit controls the lighting units adjacent to each other of the plurality of lighting units to not interfere with each other. The method of claim 1, wherein the driving control unit interferes with the remaining lighting unit and the part of the lighting unit when exposing the non-pattern area of the photosensitive substrate by the light emitted from the lighting unit of the plurality of lighting units. Peripheral exposure apparatus, characterized in that not to control. A periphery which has a plurality of illumination units including a light source and a condensing optical system, and which exposes the non-pattern regions of the photosensitive substrate having the pattern region to which the pattern is exposed and the non-pattern region to which the pattern is not exposed, with light emitted from the illumination unit. In the exposure apparatus, Light amount detecting means for detecting an intensity of light emitted from each of the plurality of lighting units; When exposing the non-pattern area on the photosensitive substrate by relatively moving each of the plurality of lighting units and the photosensitive substrate, based on the intensity of the lower one of the intensities of the light of the plurality of lighting units detected by the light quantity detecting means. And moving speed setting means for setting a speed of relative movement between each of the plurality of lighting units and the photosensitive substrate. A periphery which has a plurality of illumination units including a light source and a condensing optical system, and which exposes the non-pattern regions of the photosensitive substrate having the pattern region to which the pattern is exposed and the non-pattern region to which the pattern is not exposed, with light emitted from the illumination unit. In the exposure apparatus, And a beam size changing means for changing the size of beams emitted from each of said plurality of lighting units independently of each other. The photosensitive substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a rotation driving unit for rotating the photosensitive substrate in a direction of a rotation axis substantially orthogonal to the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive substrate, The operation of changing the distance between the plurality of lighting units performed in accordance with the arrangement of the non-pattern area in the photosensitive substrate is performed in parallel with the rotation driving of the photosensitive substrate by the rotation driving unit. Exposure apparatus. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a rotation driving unit for rotating the photosensitive substrate in a direction of a rotation axis substantially perpendicular to the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive substrate, And an operation of changing the size of the beams emitted from each of the plurality of lighting units is performed in parallel with the rotation driving of the photosensitive substrate by the rotation driving unit. The unpatterned area of the photosensitive substrate having a plurality of lighting units including a light source and a condensing optical system, and having a pattern area to which a pattern is exposed and a non-pattern area to which the pattern is not exposed, is used as light from the light exit portion of the lighting unit. In the peripheral exposure apparatus to be exposed, It is provided in the vicinity of the movement path for the relative movement of the plurality of illumination units and the photosensitive substrate, and having a light shielding means for preventing the light emitted from the light exit portion is irradiated to the portion that does not want to be irradiated on the photosensitive substrate Peripheral exposure apparatus characterized by. The peripheral exposure apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the light shielding means is installed to be movable relative to the photosensitive substrate, and is set at a position between the lighting unit and the photosensitive substrate as necessary.