KR101286490B1 - Digital exposure apparatus for identifiable substrate and exposure method thereby - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a substrate recognition type digital exposure apparatus and an exposure method thereof, which can reduce a mask manufacturing cost and increase the efficiency of an exposure operation on a small substrate. According to the present invention, by detecting the recognition code engraved on each small substrate to identify the exposure pattern, a vision camera unit for detecting a plurality of alignment marks, extracts CAD data corresponding to the exposure pattern identified in the vision camera unit, digital CAD data extraction unit for converting the data, CAD data transmission unit for receiving and transmitting the digital data converted by the CAD data extraction unit, by reflecting the ultraviolet light supplied from the outside based on the digital data provided from the CAD data transmission unit A digital exposure apparatus including a digital micro mirror unit for exposing the small substrates is provided.
Accordingly, the present invention achieves the effect of greatly reducing the mask manufacturing cost and the exposure time by exposing each of a plurality of small substrates in a batch without exposing each of the various types of substrates.

Description

Substrate recognition digital exposure apparatus and exposure method by the same {DIGITAL EXPOSURE APPARATUS FOR IDENTIFIABLE SUBSTRATE AND EXPOSURE METHOD THEREBY}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate recognition type digital exposure apparatus and an exposure method thereof, and more particularly, to a substrate recognition type digital exposure apparatus capable of reducing a mask manufacturing cost and increasing the efficiency of an exposure operation on a small substrate. It relates to an exposure method.

Recently, as the mobile phone industry develops, the demand for small liquid crystal display panels is increasing. In order to manufacture such a miniaturized liquid crystal display panel, various processes are used. Among them, an exposure process is performed by applying a photoresist to a substrate to form a photosensitive layer, and then exposing light to a specific portion of the photosensitive layer formed on the substrate. It is done essentially.

In the conventional exposure process, after the photoresist is applied, only the edge part is removed with an organic solvent, and then a mask for opening the exposure area is prepared, the light is irradiated onto the prepared mask to transmit light through the open area of the mask, thereby exposing the photosensitive layer. Done. In this case, the mask manufacturing time and the cost is increased because the mask that opens only the exposure area must be provided for the exposure process.

In order to overcome the drawbacks of such mask fabrication, digital micromirror devices (DMDs), which do not require the use of masks, have recently been in the spotlight.

However, the conventional digital micromirror device does not use a mask, and mainly exposes one small substrate, and when it is desired to expose another small substrate, there is a problem in that the substrates must be replaced. For this reason, the problem which long exposure time has arisen.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, one or more small substrates or various types of small substrates to each of the exposure without substrate replacement, substrate recognition type that can reduce the exposure time to the plurality of small substrates The present invention provides a digital exposure apparatus and an exposure method thereof.

In order to accomplish the objects of the present invention as described above and to carry out the characteristic functions of the present invention described below, features of the present invention are as follows.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an exposure pattern is detected by detecting an identification code engraved on each small substrate, a vision camera unit detecting a plurality of alignment marks, and CAD data corresponding to the exposure pattern identified by the vision camera unit. CAD data extraction unit for extracting and converting into digital data, CAD data transmission unit for receiving and transmitting the digital data converted by the CAD data extraction unit, ultraviolet rays supplied from the outside based on the digital data provided from the CAD data transmission unit A digital exposure apparatus including a digital micro mirror unit for reflecting light to expose the small substrates is provided.

Here, the digital exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment further includes a projection lens unit for optically adjusting the ultraviolet light reflected from the digital micromirror unit and transmitting the light through the small substrates.

In addition, the vision camera unit detects an identification code and an alignment mark for the plurality of small substrates having the same or different sizes, and checks the values of Ｘ, Ｙ, θ by detecting the alignment mark. The stage unit may have a plurality of small substrates disposed on the substrate stage.

The stage unit may automatically arrange the small substrates disposed on the substrate stage by moving the substrate stage up and down according to the values of Ｘ, Ｙ, θ transmitted from the vision camera unit.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, (a) advancing a stage having a plurality of small substrates disposed on the substrate stage, (b) recognition code of the small substrates placed on the stage portion and a plurality of Detecting an in mark, (c) automatically aligning each of the small substrates disposed on the substrate stage using the alignment mark, and (d) exposing the plurality of small substrates using the identification code; Finding the pattern information and transmitting the digital data; and (e) exposing the small substrates on the stage by reflecting and transmitting ultraviolet light supplied from the outside based on the digital data. An exposure method of is provided.

Here, the step (b) according to the present embodiment may detect the identification codes and a plurality of alignment marks of the small substrates for the plurality of small substrates having the same or different sizes. It may have any one of a number, an alphabetic character, and a Korean character.

Also, in the step (c) according to the present embodiment, the substrate stage is moved up and down according to the values of Ｘ, Ｙ, θ obtained by recognizing the alignment mark, and thus the small substrates disposed on the substrate stage, respectively. You can sort automatically.

According to the present invention, by varying the size or type of the plurality of small substrates, each of the plurality of small substrates is exposed without replacing various types of substrates, thereby collectively exposing the plurality of small substrates, thereby achieving an effect of greatly reducing the mask manufacturing cost and the exposure time.

In addition, according to the present invention, the digital code having the exposure pattern information is transmitted by using the identification code engraved on each small substrate, and the ultraviolet light is irradiated to each of the small substrates based on the digital data, thereby increasing productivity. Is achieved.

1 is a diagram illustrating a digital exposure apparatus 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the digital exposure apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
3 is an enlarged view of the vision camera unit 110 of the digital exposure apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
4 and 5 exemplarily illustrate the stage unit 200 disposed under the digital exposure apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a view exemplarily illustrating an exposure method S100 by the substrate recognition digital exposure apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar functions throughout the several views.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a digital exposure apparatus 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the digital exposure apparatus 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is an enlarged view of the vision camera unit 110 of the digital exposure apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 4 and 5 are diagrams exemplarily illustrating the stage 200 disposed under the digital exposure apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The stage unit 200 includes a substrate stage 210 and a plurality of small substrates 220.

As shown, the digital exposure apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a vision camera unit 110, CAD data extraction unit 120, CAD data transmission unit 130, digital micro mirror unit 140 ), The projection lens unit 150 and the ultraviolet light source supply unit 160 is configured.

First, the vision camera unit 110 of the present invention detects the identification code 222 engraved on each of the small substrates 220 on the plurality of small substrates 220 disposed on the substrate stage 210. Thereby identifying an exposure pattern and detecting a plurality of alignment marks 221.

In this case, the substrate stage 210 and the plurality of small substrates 220 are both within the control range of the stage unit 200, and the stage unit 200 is disposed under the digital exposure apparatus 100 so that the small substrate ( It is involved in the automatic alignment of 220). This will be described later.

The plurality of small substrates 220 disposed under the digital exposure apparatus 100 of the present invention are exposed objects disposed on the substrate stage 210 and may have the same size or different sizes. For example, the small substrates 220 have the same sizes 220a, 220b, 220c, and 220d as shown in FIG. 4, or the same reference numerals 220e and 220f as shown in FIG. 5 and the same reference numerals 220g and 220h as shown in FIG. 5. The small substrates 220 having different shapes may be arranged side by side on the substrate stage 210. As described above, the plurality of small substrates 220 having various sizes are distinguished by the recognition codes 222.

The recognition code 222 is used to recognize each exposure pattern by sensing the small substrate 220, but may also be used to recognize an exposure pattern according to the type of the small substrate 220. Even when the small substrate 220 is disposed above the substrate stage 210, the exposure pattern of the small substrate 220 may be recognized. In this case, in the case of the same kind, the recognition codes 222 may be the same, and in the case of different kinds, different recognition codes 222 are provided for each kind.

Accordingly, the vision camera 110 of the present invention targets the plurality of small substrates 220 having the same or different sizes or the same or different types, and the identification code 222 applied to each of the small substrates 220. ) To recognize each exposure pattern, and to detect the alignment mark (221).

In this case, the recognition code 222 is a unique code given to each small substrate 220, and may exist in any one of numbers, alphabetical characters, and Korean characters for identification. This recognition code is used in the CAD data extraction unit 120 to be described later.

On the other hand, a plurality of alignment marks 221 are provided for each of the small substrates 220, and are used to obtain values of Ｘ, Ｙ, θ by sensing by the vision camera 110. That is, the vision camera 110 of the present invention detects a plurality of alignment marks 221 applied to each of the small substrates 220 to obtain values of Ｘ, Ｙ, θ, and obtain the obtained Ｘ, Ｙ, θ values. Is transmitted to the stage unit 200 having the plurality of small substrates 220 disposed on the substrate stage 210 so as to be used to automatically align the plurality of small substrates 220.

Accordingly, the stage unit 200 automatically moves the substrate stage 210 up and down according to the received values V, V, and θ to automatically align the small substrates 220 disposed on the substrate stage 210. This will be done.

Next, the CAD data extracting unit 120 of the present invention receives the exposure pattern information of the small substrates 220 transmitted from the vision camera unit 110 to extract CAD data corresponding to the exposure pattern. It converts digital data.

At this time, CAD data is data which recorded the exposure pattern applied to every small board | substrate 220, and is produced by a CAD program. Such CAD data has exposure pattern information according to each exposure pattern, and of course, the CAD data may have different exposure pattern shapes according to the size or type of the small substrate 220. As such, the extracted CAD data is converted into digital data and transmitted to the CAD data transmitter 130.

Next, the CAD data transfer unit 130 of the present invention serves to transmit the digital data provided by the CAD data extractor 120 to the digital micro mirror unit 140.

In this case, the digital data refers to information in which the exposure pattern portion is recognized in digital form of ON and OFF by recognizing exposure pattern information of CAD data generated from the CAD program.

Next, the digital micromirror unit 140 of the present invention prepares for exposing the ultraviolet light supplied from the external ultraviolet light source supply unit 160 based on the digital data provided from the CAD data transmission unit 130. It serves to reflect downward toward the plurality of small substrates 220.

In other words, the digital micromirror 140 according to the present invention reflects the ultraviolet light by the exposure information in accordance with the recognition codes given to the plurality of small substrates 220.

Finally, the projection lens unit 150 of the present invention optically adjusts the ultraviolet (UV) light reflected from the digital micro-mirror unit 130 to prepare the exposure to the lower portion of the projection lens unit 150 It transmits through the substrates 220. Therefore, the unique ultraviolet light is transmitted to each of the small substrates 220 to expose the plurality of small substrates 220 at one time.

As described above, the digital exposure apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment automatically exposes a plurality of small substrates 220 having the same or different sizes or the same or different types simultaneously, without replacing the small substrates. The exposure process is possible, and the advantages of shortening the exposure work time will be provided.

Meanwhile, the small substrate 220 described above is a substrate applied to a miniaturized electronic device such as a touch panel of a mobile phone, and includes a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), an electroluminescent display (ELD), It refers to the size of the substrate applied to the liquid crystal display panel, such as VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display) and OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes), the large-area substrate means the size of the substrate that is applied to a large screen, such as a TV.

Second Embodiment

6 is a view exemplarily illustrating an exposure method S100 by the substrate recognition digital exposure apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, in the exposure method S100 using the substrate recognition type digital exposure apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, each of the plurality of small substrates 220 is exposed at a time in the digital exposure apparatus 100. As a useful method, steps S110 to S150 are performed.

Each step will be described. First, in step S110, the stage unit 200 having the plurality of small substrates 220 disposed on the substrate stage 210 is advanced in the direction in which the digital exposure apparatus 100 is installed. It plays a role. In this case, the plurality of small substrates 220 may be small substrates having the same or different sizes or small substrates having the same or different types.

Subsequently, in step S120, a plurality of alignment marks and recognition codes engraved on the plurality of small substrates 220 mounted on the substrate stage 210 in the stage unit 200 are detected.

Subsequently, in step S130, the values of Ｘ, Ｙ, and θ are obtained using the sensed alignment mark, and the alignment between the small substrate 220 and the vision camera 110 is precisely aligned so that the exposure position of the small substrate 220 is accurate. Subsequently, the substrate stage 210 is moved up and down according to the obtained values of V, V, and θ to automatically perform alignment of the small substrates 220 disposed on the substrate stage 210.

In this case, the identification code refers to a unique code assigned to each small board, and may be given the same recognition code in the same size or the same type, and different recognition codes are given in the case of different sizes or different types. It is preferable. The identification code may exist in the form of any one of numbers, alphabetic characters, and Korean characters for unique identification, and may be engraved in plural in each small substrate 220.

Subsequently, in step S140 of the present invention, the exposure pattern information corresponding to the plurality of small substrates 220 is found using the recognition code recognized in step S120, and the digital data is transmitted. The exposure pattern information recognizes the exposure pattern information of the CAD data in the form of a BMP file and converts the exposure pattern information into digital data.

Subsequently, in step S150 of the present invention, based on the digital data transmitted in step S140, the UV light supplied from the outside is optically adjusted and reflected and transmitted toward the small substrates 220 disposed on the substrate stage 210. 220 serves to expose.

As described above, in the second exemplary embodiment, the digital exposure apparatus 100 may expose the plurality of small substrates 220 arranged in the same or different sizes or disposed in the same or different types, respectively. By reducing the time and exposure process time it is possible to significantly reduce the work and process costs.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments or constructions. You can understand that you can do it. The embodiments described above are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

100: digital exposure apparatus 110: vision camera unit
120: CAD data extraction unit 130: CAD data transmission unit
140: digital micro mirror unit 150: projection lens unit
160: ultraviolet light source supply unit 200: stage unit
210: substrate stage 220: small substrate
221: alignment mark 222: recognition code

Claims (9)

A vision camera unit which detects an identification code engraved on each substrate to identify an exposure pattern and detects a plurality of alignment marks;
A CAD data extracting unit extracting CAD data corresponding to the exposure pattern identified by the vision camera unit and converting the CAD data into digital data;
A CAD data transmitter for receiving and transmitting the digital data converted by the CAD data extractor;
Digital micro mirror unit for exposing the substrates by reflecting ultraviolet light supplied from the outside based on the digital data provided from the CAD data transmission unit
Digital exposure apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1,
And a projection lens unit for optically adjusting the ultraviolet light reflected from the digital micromirror unit and transmitting the light to the substrates. The method of claim 1,
The vision camera unit,
And a recognition code and an alignment mark for the plurality of substrates having the same or different sizes. The method of claim 1,
The vision camera unit,
And detecting the values of Ｘ, 값, and θ through the detection of the alignment mark, and transmitting the values to the stage unit having a plurality of substrates disposed above the substrate stage. 5. The method of claim 4,
And the stage unit moves the substrate stage up and down according to the values Ｘ, Ｙ, and θ transmitted from the vision camera unit to automatically align the substrates disposed on the substrate stage, respectively. (a) advancing a stage portion having a plurality of substrates disposed above the substrate stage;
(b) detecting a plurality of alignment marks and recognition codes of the substrates in the stage unit;
(c) automatically aligning substrates disposed on the substrate stage using the alignment marks;
(d) finding exposure pattern information suitable for the plurality of substrates using the identification code and transmitting digital data; And
(e) exposing the substrates on the stage by reflecting and transmitting ultraviolet light supplied from the outside based on the digital data;
Exposure method of the digital exposure apparatus comprising a. The method according to claim 6,
The step (b)
And a plurality of alignment marks and identification codes of the substrates for the plurality of substrates having the same or different sizes. 8. The method of claim 7,
The recognition code is,
The exposure method of the said digital exposure apparatus characterized by having any one of numbers, alphabetic characters, and Hangul characters. The method according to claim 6,
The step (c)
And the substrate stage is moved up and down according to the values of Ｘ, Ｙ, θ obtained by recognizing the alignment mark to automatically align the substrates arranged on the substrate stage.

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