KR100904262B1 - Mask Inspector System - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mask inspection apparatus for inspecting a mask used to form a pattern on a glass substrate on which a thin film is deposited during a TFT-LCD panel manufacturing process, and a mask inspection method using the same. Improved rejection minimizes defect rate of mask defects.

To this end, the present invention provides a rotatable inspection table for fixing the mask to check the defect of the mask is defined, the illuminator for irradiating light to the mask fixed to the inspection table, the illuminator frame for supporting the illuminator; A rotating table connected to the inspection table and rotatable in a left and right direction, a cabinet configured at the lower portion of the illuminator frame and the rotating table, and having a shaft and a shaft support for rotating the rotating table therein, and detachable to the cabinet; And a defect remover for removing defects in the mask when the defects are generated, and including a defect remover detachable in the cabinet and removing the defects in the mask when the defects are generated. Position and rotatable to adjust the position at which light is irradiated. To provide a mask inspection apparatus and inspection method using the same mask as claimed.

Mask defect, inspection table, Senar light source

Description

Mask Inspector System

1 is a perspective view showing a method for removing mask inspection and defects according to the prior art.

2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a mask inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the inspection table and the rotating table according to the present invention.

4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion B of FIG. 3.

5 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion A of FIG. 3.

Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

20: illuminator 30: illuminator frame

40: inspection table 41: mask fixing portion

42: fixed pin 43: pin fixed portion

50: rotating table 51: fixing hole

52: set screw 60: cabinet

61: shaft 62: shaft support

70: Defect Eliminator 80: Wheels

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mask used for forming a pattern on a glass substrate on which thin films are deposited during a TFT-LCD panel manufacturing process, and in particular, a mask for inspecting the mask. An inspection apparatus and an inspection method of a mask using the same.

Among flat panel displays, a-Si TFT-LCD has been gradually increasing to other application fields such as monitors, starting with application of note book PC. The development of the TFT-LCD industry and its universal application have been accelerated by the increase in size and the increase in resolution. Currently, the increase in productivity and the low price are the key issues. Of course, joint efforts of the relevant materials industry and manufacturing equipment companies are required. The TFT-LCD panel manufacturing process is a TFT array process for forming switching elements that apply a pixel-by-pixel signal and colors R, G, and B for realizing color. It can be divided into a color filter process for forming an array and a liquid crystal process for forming a liquid crystal cell between a TFT substrate and a color filter substrate.

 In the manufacturing technique of the TFT substrate or C / F substrate, the process of forming a TFT-array is similar to that of a silicon semiconductor. That is, it consists of processes such as thin film deposition, photolithography, and etching, and includes inspection to check results and abnormalities before and after each process and cleaning to maintain cleanliness. do.

The above unit processes are performed in a series of repeated processes to form respective layers, and are closely related to the before and after processes. The difference from the silicon semiconductor process is that in semiconductor manufacturing, a silicon wafer is processed through a complicated process to make a device, but in TFT-LCD manufacturing, the size of the LCD screen is determined, and the required screen size is rather large. Since is increasing, the production quantity can be increased by increasing the size of the substrate. Optimization of TFT-LCD product characteristics can be achieved when individual processes are harmoniously integrated based on the optimization of unit process conditions, so the stability and development of the unit process is the beginning of TFT-LCD manufacturing.

Brief description of the unit processes in the manufacturing process of the above-described TFT-Array (array) is as follows.

First, the cleaning process aims to enhance adhesion and TFT properties of the thin film to be deposited, in addition to the basic concept of removing defects or particles on the surface of the substrate or film during the initial input or processing to prevent defects. In a broad sense, it may also include a photoresist removal process after an etching process.

Subsequently, the thin film deposition process mainly uses a sputtering method for metal films and transparent electrodes, and a silicon enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method for silicon and insulating films.

In addition, a photolithography process is a series of processes in which a pattern drawn on a mask is transferred onto a glass substrate on which a thin film is deposited. Photh Ressist (PR Coating), Align & Exposure, and Develop are the main processes. In production-oriented TFT-LCD manufacturing, this process is performed in an in-line automated facility.

In addition, the etching process is a method of implementing the actual thin film pattern by selectively removing the thin film according to the pattern formed by the photoresist on the glass substrate using physical and chemical reactions. The thin film of the part where) is formed remains and the thin film of the part without photoresist is removed. In the etching process, there is a dry etching method using a gas plasma and a wet etching method using a chemical solution. After the etching process, a photoresist removal process using an organic solvent is performed.

Finally, the inspection technology, the inspection to confirm the completeness of the unit process in the manufacturing process of the TFT-LCD, or to measure the electrical and optical characteristics of the product is to determine the cause of the defect and to understand and improve the product characteristics As well as contributing, it provides the opportunity to reduce production costs and improve quality, so inspection and test techniques are very important after each unit process. The inspection process includes evaluation of the deposition thickness and the etching thickness of the thin film, pattern formation confirmation, and electrical property evaluation.

As described above, the mask used in the photolithography process is used to form a pattern on the glass substrate on which the thin film is formed, and the upper and lower portions of the mask are described above. If there is a defect, the pattern formation on the glass substrate is not accurate and there is a problem of defects caused by this. That is, defects in the upper and lower parts of the mask cause a difference in the exposure amount on the TFT pattern, thereby preventing the formation of an accurate pattern and generating a defect.

Such defects due to mask defects are classified and managed as class A defects in the actual process. Therefore, a test for mask defect detection is necessary.

1 is a view for explaining a method for removing mask inspection and defects according to the prior art.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mask inspection according to the related art includes a mask 1 in which a pattern 6 is defined, an illuminator 2 for irradiating light for inspecting the mask 1, and the mask 1. And a wiper (5) for removing the defect (4) when the defect (4) is detected on the mask (1) to which the mask (1) is fixed.

Referring to the process of performing the mask 1 inspection in more detail, first, the mask 1, on which the pattern 6 is formed, is fixed to the inspection table 3. And, using the light irradiated from the illuminator 2, the defect 4 of the upper and lower parts of the mask 1 is inspected. In this case, the light source to be used is a general fluorescent light source and the inspection is performed directly by the naked eye. .

When the defect 4 is detected on the upper and lower portions of the mask 1 by the mask inspection as described above, the defect 4 is removed by using a rectangular wiper 5 made of a cloth. Removal is done by hand.

However, the mask inspection according to the prior art has the following problems.                         

First, when the mask is fixed to the inspection table and the light source is irradiated and the upper part of the mask is inspected first, the mask needs to be reversed and re-fixed for the lower part of the mask. there was.

Second, there was a limit in detecting defects of a fine mask by using a general fluorescent light source as inspection light in mask inspection.

Third, since defects detected in the mask inspection are performed by hand using a wiper, there are problems such as difficulty in removing accurate defects and difficulty in working.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and facilitates the detection of defects on the upper and lower masks used for pattern formation on the glass substrate on which the thin film is deposited during the TFT LCD panel manufacturing process, and the removal function is improved. It is an object of the present invention to provide a mask inspection apparatus and a mask inspection method using the same to minimize the defect rate caused by the defect of the mask.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a rotatable inspection table for fixing the mask for inspecting the presence or absence of the defect of the mask defined pattern, illuminator for irradiating light to the mask fixed to the inspection table, the illuminator A cabinet supporting the illuminator frame, a swivel connected to the inspection table and rotatable in a left and right direction, a cabinet configured at the lower portion of the illuminator frame and the swivel, and having a shaft and a shaft support for rotating the swivel therein; And a defect remover that is detachable to the cabinet and removes the defect when the defect occurs in the mask, and includes a defect remover that is detachable to the cabinet and removes the defect when the mask occurs. Located on both sides of the upper part of the frame, so that the position of the light irradiation can be adjusted It is characterized in that it is installed to be rotatable.
Provided are a mask inspection apparatus and a mask inspection method using the same.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a mask inspection apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mask inspection apparatus according to the present invention includes an illuminator 20 for irradiating light for defect inspection of a mask (not shown), and an illuminator frame for supporting and installing the illuminator 20. 30 and an inspection table 40 for fixing and inspecting the mask are provided.

First, the illuminator 20 is installed on the upper part of the illuminator frame 30, the illuminator 20 is installed to be rotatable so as to adjust the position to which the light is irradiated and when inspecting the defect (not shown) of the mask Irradiate the light for inspection.

At least two such illuminators 20 may be installed so that brighter light may be irradiated during defect inspection of a mask, and light may be concentrated as a light source to provide a sensor light that may increase the accuracy of inspection. It is preferable to use.

3 and 4, the inspection table 40 is provided with a mask fixing part 41 which is adjustable in length so as to correspond to each mask size when fixing the mask. It is configured to adjust the length of the fixing portion (41).                     

In addition, the inspection table 40 is configured to be able to rotate 360 ° in the up and down direction unlike the inspection table 3 for the conventional mask inspection, unlike the prior art by this structure, without re-fixing the mask for inspection Inspection to the back of the mask is possible. In addition, a fixing pin 42 and a pin fixing part 43 are installed to fix the inspection table 40 at a desired angle so that defect inspection of the mask may be performed. Such fixing pin 42 and pin fixing part 43 may be installed. With a) it is possible to perform the inspection by fixing the inspection table 40 at the angle required for the mask inspection can be more accurate inspection.

And, the inspection table 40 is connected to the swivel table 50, the swivel table 50, as shown in Figure 3 and 5, is configured to rotate 180 ° in the left and right directions, the lower In the fixing hole 51 and the fixing screw 52 is formed so that it can be fixed at a desired angle. Therefore, according to the left and right rotation of the rotating table 50, the test table 40 connected thereto also rotates in the left and right directions, and if there is an angle to be fixed during rotation, the fixing screw 52 is turned to fix the fixing hole ( 51 to fix the swivel table 50 at a desired angle.

As shown in FIG. 2, the swivel table 50 and the illuminator frame 30 connected to the test table 40 are installed above the cabinet 60 and the inside of the cabinet 60 is the swivel table 50. A shaft 61 and a shaft support 62 are provided for rotation of the shaft. When the rotary table 50 is rotated in the left and right directions, the shaft 61 is supported by the shaft support 62 and connected to the rotary table 50. While rotating the rotating table 50 is rotated.

In addition, a defect remover 70 for removing a defect of a mask is installed at one end of the cabinet 60, and a wheel 80 is installed at a lower portion thereof as a moving means for moving the mask inspection apparatus.

The defect remover 70 is detachably installed at one end of the cabinet 60 and is a pistol-shaped nitrogen gun that injects nitrogen gas to remove fine defects. It is composed of

However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the shape of the defect remover 70 and the type of gas may be changed as much as possible.

Referring to the mask inspection method using the mask inspection apparatus of the present invention composed of various equipment as described above are as follows.

First, a mask (not shown) is fixed to the inspection table 40 for defect inspection of the mask. At this time, the length of the mask fixing part 41 is adjusted according to the size of the mask to fix the mask to the inspection table 40. When the mask is fixed, the mask defect is visually inspected by irradiating light from the illuminator 20 installed above the illuminator frame 30. In this case, the light is as described above using the three light.

If a defect is found during the mask inspection as described above, the defect is removed by spraying nitrogen gas using the defect remover 70 installed in the cabinet 60. This operation is performed after fixing the inspection table 40 at a predetermined angle using the pin fixing part 43 and the fixing pin 42. After the mask inspection work at the predetermined angle as described above, the pin fixing part 43 ), The fixing pin 42 is removed to readjust the upper and lower angles of the inspection table 40. When the readjustment of the up and down angles is completed, the inspection table 40 is fixed at the desired angle using the fixing pin 42 and the mask inspection operation is performed again as described above.

At this time, the adjustment of the angle is not only the up and down direction angle adjustment by the fixing pin 42 and the pin fixing portion 43 as described above, but also the fixing hole 51 installed in the rotating table 50 connected to the test table 40. And the left and right direction angle adjustment by the fixing screw 52 is also made at the same time. That is, when the upper and lower angles of the inspection table 40 are adjusted, and the left and right angles are also adjusted, that is, when the mask inspection needs to be performed at the left and right oblique angles, the rotating table ( After rotating 50 at a desired angle, the fixing operation is performed by the fixing hole 51 and the fixing screw 52.

In this way, the mask inspection can be performed at various angles of the upper, lower, left and right, so that the inspection part of the mask can be precisely designated and the inspection of the part can be performed closely.

The mask inspection apparatus and the mask inspection method using the same according to the present invention as described above has the following effects.

First, by fixing the mask to be able to rotate in the vertical direction and the left and right directions, more accurate and detailed inspection is possible, so that the defect detection capability can be improved and the defect rate according to the mask defect can be reduced.

Second, the accuracy of the inspection can be increased by using the sena light as a light source without using the conventional fluorescent light source.

Third, the defect can be removed more precisely and conveniently by using a nitrogen (N ₂) gun that injects nitrogen (N₂) gas rather than manually, thereby reducing the convenience and time of work. .

Claims (10)

A rotatable inspection table for holding a mask to check whether a mask has a defect in which a pattern is defined; An illuminator for irradiating light to a mask fixed to the inspection table; An illuminator frame for supporting the illuminator; A swivel table connected to the test table and capable of rotating in a left and right direction; A cabinet configured under the illuminator frame and the swivel and installed therein with a shaft and a shaft support for rotation of the swivel; Detachable to the cabinet and includes a defect remover for removing the defect when the defect occurs in the mask, The illuminator is positioned on both sides of the upper portion of the illuminator frame, the mask inspection apparatus, characterized in that rotatably installed so as to adjust the position to which the light is irradiated. The method of claim 1, The illuminator is a mask inspection device, characterized in that for irradiating the three light. The method of claim 1, The illuminator is a mask inspection device, characterized in that the adjustable angle. The method of claim 1, And at least two illuminators are installed on the illuminator frame. The method of claim 1, The inspection table is a mask inspection device, characterized in that consisting of a pin fixing part and a fixing pin for fixing the inspection plate at a desired angle and the mask fixing portion is adjustable according to the size of the mask. The method of claim 1, Mask inspection apparatus, characterized in that the lower part of the cabinet is installed for the movement of the mask inspection apparatus. The method of claim 1, The mask defect remover is a mask inspection device, characterized in that consisting of a pistol-shaped nitrogen gun for injecting nitrogen gas. The method of claim 1, The rotating table is a mask inspection apparatus comprising a fixing hole and a fixing screw to be fixed at a desired angle. A first step of fixing a mask having a pattern defined therein to a size by adjusting a length of a mask fixing part to a size; A second step of inspecting the presence or absence of a defect by irradiating light onto the front surface of the mask fixed to the inspection table using an illuminator installed on both sides of the upper part of the illuminator frame and rotatably installed to adjust a position at which light is irradiated; ; A third step of removing the defect by injecting nitrogen gas when a defect is detected in the mask; And a fourth step of re-adjusting the angle of the inspection table and repeating the second and third steps. The method of claim 9, The light is a method for inspecting a mask, characterized in that the use of the three light.

Images