KR101365821B1 - Repair apparatus and method for Liquid crystal display - Google Patents

Abstract

When repairing a defect on a liquid crystal display substrate, a repair apparatus and method for a liquid crystal display device for shortening a repair operation time without moving a lens of an optical system according to the position of each defect are disclosed. The repair apparatus for a liquid crystal display device includes an optical unit for emitting a laser beam and a substrate disposed under the optical unit, the movable stage capable of moving in the X and Y axis directions, and a traveling direction of the laser beam emitted from the optical unit. And a micromirror array for varying and irradiating onto the substrate, and a micromirror controller for controlling the rotation angle of the micromirror array.

Liquid Crystal Display, Repair, Micromirror, Rotation

Description

Repair apparatus and method for a liquid crystal display device {Repair apparatus and method for Liquid crystal display}

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional repair apparatus.

2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a repair apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a repair apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a repair method using a repair apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

5 to 7 are schematic views for explaining a method for repairing according to a defect position in the repair method shown in FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS (S)

110: repair device 111: laser generating unit

112: incident lens unit 113: optical fiber

114: collimator 115: slit unit

116: barrel portion 117: objective lens

120: movement stage 130: micromirror array

131, 132, 13n: multiple load 140: micromirror controller

150: substrate

M1, M2, M3, Mn: Multiple Micromirrors

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to a repair apparatus and method for a liquid crystal display device used in an inspection step of the liquid crystal display device.

In general, a liquid crystal display (LCD) injects a liquid crystal material having anisotropic dielectric constant between an upper transparent insulating substrate and a lower transparent insulating substrate, and adjusts the strength of an electric field formed in the liquid crystal material to adjust the liquid crystal. By changing the molecular arrangement of the material, a display device for displaying a desired image by controlling the amount of light transmitted through the transparent insulating substrate.

Such a liquid crystal display includes a liquid crystal panel that displays an image in detail, a back light unit disposed under the liquid crystal panel to emit light to the liquid crystal panel, and a cover that combines and protects the backlight unit and the liquid crystal panel ( cover).

The liquid crystal panel includes an array substrate including a driving circuit unit, a color filter substrate, and a liquid crystal layer formed between the array substrate and the color filter substrate, and the array substrate includes gate lines, data lines, and gates defining a plurality of pixel regions. Thin film transistors (TFTs) are provided at the intersections of the lines and the data lines.

The liquid crystal display device configured as described above is manufactured through various photo processes. In this case, protrusions are formed on the substrate due to agglomeration of photoresist, or metal lines (ie, gate lines and data) of the array substrate. Line defects are often caused by disconnection or short circuit in the line, common electrode line, etc.).

Therefore, there is a need for a repair process that can repair it.

The repair apparatus used in the repair process is classified into a thermal method, an electrical method, a tape method, and a laser method according to the driving method.

Among these, the tape method is a method of removing defects on a substrate by physical friction using an abrasive tape, and the laser method is a method of removing defects on a substrate using a laser. The laser method has been used recently because it is superior to other methods in terms of repair accuracy and efficiency.

Hereinafter, a conventional repair apparatus using a laser method will be described in detail.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional repair apparatus.

As shown in the drawing, a conventional repair apparatus largely includes an optical unit 10 for emitting a laser light, and a stage 20 provided below the optical unit 10 and movable in a sliding manner.

A method of repairing a defect of the substrate 25 by using a conventional repair apparatus configured as described above is as follows.

First, the defective substrate 25 is seated and fixed on the upper surface of the stage 20.

Next, the stage 20 is moved to align the substrate 25 placed on the stage 20 to face the lens 10a of the optical unit 10. That is, the lens 10a of the optical unit 10 is aligned so as to be positioned at a position corresponding to a defective portion of the substrate 25.

Next, the laser beam is emitted to the defect site on the substrate 25 through the lens 10a of the optical unit 10 to remove the defect.

However, the conventional repair apparatus has a disadvantage in that the lens 10a of the optical unit 10 must be moved according to each defect position during the repair operation.

In particular, recently, as the size of a panel increases, such as a large television, there is a high possibility that a defect in the panel may occur. In this case, the lens may be removed after moving the lens according to the position of each defect as in the conventional repair apparatus. In the case of using the system, the repair operation time according to the lens shift time is delayed.

For this reason, in order to shorten the repair work time, a plurality of repair apparatuses are provided to repair defects on the substrate at the same time, but there is a problem in that the cost increases as a plurality of equipments are provided.

Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to repair all defects on the substrate by changing the direction of laser light without moving the lens of the optical system according to the position of each defect when repairing the defects on the substrate for the liquid crystal display device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a repair apparatus and method for a liquid crystal display.

In addition, another technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a repair apparatus and method for a liquid crystal display device that can reduce the repair operation time according to the lens shift time by repairing all defects on the substrate even when the lens is stopped. will be.

Further technical problems to be achieved by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and other technical problems not mentioned above are clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. It can be understood.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a repair apparatus for a liquid crystal display device includes an optical unit for emitting a laser beam and a substrate mounted on a lower portion of the optical unit, and movable in the X and Y axis directions. And a stage, a micromirror array configured to vary the traveling direction of the laser light emitted from the optical unit to be irradiated onto the substrate, and a micromirror controller which controls a rotation angle of the micromirror array.

Here, the micromirror array includes a plurality of micromirrors and a plurality of rods which respectively support the plurality of micromirrors and rotate under the control of the micromirror controller.

In addition, the repair apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to the present invention may further include a stage controller for controlling the movement of the moving stage.

In this case, the stage controller is characterized in that it is implemented integrally with the micromirror controller.

On the other hand, the repair method of the liquid crystal display according to the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, (a) mounting the substrate to be repaired on the moving stage, then loading, (b) confirming the defect position on the substrate (C) selecting a reference position to be repaired on the substrate, (d) moving a lens of an optical system to the reference position, (e) determining a micromirror array for each defect position on the substrate at the reference position Adjusting the angles individually, and (f) irradiating a laser to the substrate to remove the defects.

Here, after the step (f), if other defects remain on the substrate, the steps (e) and (f) may be repeated.

Here, step (b) may include receiving all of the defect positions on the substrate from an external inspector.

Here, the reference position of the steps (c) to (e) is characterized in that the centered point with respect to the defect position on the substrate.

Here, the step (e), (e-1) receiving the position of any one of the defects on the substrate, and (e-2) the reference so that the laser light is irradiated to the received defect position Rotating the micromirror array based on position.

The details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings. Advantages and features of the present invention and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail with the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Hereinafter, a repair apparatus and method for a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a repair apparatus for a liquid crystal display device includes a micro mirror capable of correcting a direction in which a laser beam travels in a path of the laser light, thereby simultaneously repairing defects on a substrate even when the lens of the optical system is stopped. Configure it for repair.

2 is a configuration diagram schematically illustrating a repair apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a repair apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 2, a repair apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes an optical unit 110, a moving stage 120, a micromirror array 130, and a micromirror controller 140. It includes. In addition, a stage controller (not shown) for controlling the movement of the movement stage 120 may be further included.

The optical unit 110 is a device for emitting a laser light, and is composed of a reflector, a lens, a prism or the like to make an image of an object by using reflection or refraction of light or to transmit light energy.

In detail, as shown in FIG. 3, the laser light generator 111 generating the laser light, the incident lens unit 112 for incident the laser light generated by the laser light generator 111, and the incident laser light. The collimator 114 for advancing the light in parallel in a predetermined direction, the optical fiber 113 for transmitting the laser light incident from the incident lens unit 112 to the collimator 114, and the laser light emitted from the collimator 114. It includes a slit unit 115 for adjusting the direction and the amount, the barrel portion 116 for passing the laser light, the objective lens 117 is located at the lower end of the barrel portion 116 to form an image of the object.

This configuration is not limited to the example shown.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the moving stage 120 is disposed under the optical unit 110, and the liquid crystal display substrate 150 is mounted on and fixed to an upper surface thereof. In addition, it is possible to move in the X-axis and Y-axis directions.

Here, the liquid crystal display substrate 150 corresponds to a defective substrate having a defect generated through the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display.

The defects may be line defects due to disconnections or short circuits on metal lines (ie, gate lines, data lines, common electrode lines, etc.) of the liquid crystal display, photoresist falling during the photo process, and protrusions due to aggregation. have.

The micromirror array 130 changes the traveling direction of the laser light emitted from the optical unit 110 so that the laser light is irradiated to the defect site on the substrate 150.

The micromirror controller 140 is connected to the micromirror array 130 to individually control the rotation angle of the micromirror array 130. In addition, the micromirror controller 140 may adjust the spacing between the micromirrors.

The micromirror array 130 for this includes in detail, a plurality of micromirrors M1 to Mn and a plurality of rods 131 to 13n.

The plurality of micromirrors M1 to Mn reflect the laser light emitted through the objective lens 117 of the optical unit 110 to change the traveling direction of the laser light.

In addition, the plurality of micromirrors M1 to Mn may be located in a space between the optical unit 110 and the moving stage 120 disposed up and down as shown in the drawing, and may change at least a direction in which the laser beam travels. Two or more are provided.

Although only three micromirrors are illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the present invention is not limited to the size according to the size of the panel and the intensity of the laser light, and may be provided in plurality.

The plurality of rods 131 to 131n support each of the plurality of micromirrors M1 to Mn and rotate the micromirrors M1 to Mn under the control of the micromirror controller 140.

That is, the plurality of rods 131 to 13n are electrically connected to the micromirror controller 140 and provided to be rotatable from the rotation shaft, and are rotated at a predetermined angle through the micromirror controller 140. This adjusts the rotation angle of each of the supported micromirrors M1 to Mn.

A stage controller (not shown) controls the movement of the movement stage 120 to move the substrate 150 seated on the movement stage 120 to the area to be repaired.

Such a stage controller may be provided separately from the micromirror controller 140 as well as may be integrally implemented with the micromirror controller 140.

The repair apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention configured as described above includes a micromirror array 130 in which a plurality of micromirrors M1 to Mn are arranged in the optical unit 110, and a plurality of micromirrors. By adjusting the angles of the mirrors M1 to Mn to change the path of the laser light, defects on the substrate 150 are corrected without moving the optical unit 110.

Hereinafter, a repair method of the liquid crystal display according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a repairing method of a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4 in conjunction with FIG. 2, in the first step, the defective substrate 150 is seated and fixed on the upper surface of the movement step 120, and then the movement stage 120 is moved in the X-axis and Y-axis directions. In operation S1, the controller 510 loads the memory to the area to be repaired.

Prior to this step, the defect location on the substrate 150 must be detected by an external Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) device in the inspection process.

After loading, the objective lens 117 of the optical unit 110 is aligned so as to be positioned at a position corresponding to the defect portion of the substrate 150, and the defect position of the substrate 150 is accurately identified (S2).

At this time, all the defect positions on the substrate 150 detected by the external auto optical inspector are received, and all the defect positions on the substrate 150 are identified.

Thereafter, the reference position to be repaired is selected on the substrate 150, and the optical unit 110 is moved to the reference position (S3).

The reference position is a reference point at which the laser light can be irradiated to all the defect positions on the substrate 150 by reflection or refraction.

For example, a point that becomes the center of all the defect positions on the substrate 150 may be selected as the reference position.

Thereafter, the micromirror array 130 is rotated according to the defect position on the substrate 150 at the reference position (S4).

That is, the position of any one of the defects to be repaired among the defects on the substrate 150 is received, and the micromirror array 130 is rotated so that the laser beam is irradiated to the defect position to be repaired from the reference position.

In this case, the rotation angles of the plurality of micromirrors M1 to Mn constituting the micromirror array 130 may vary depending on the reference position.

In addition, the rotation operation of the plurality of micromirrors M1 to Mn is controlled by the plurality of rods 131 to 13n supporting each of the micromirrors and the micromirror controller 140 that controls the rotation angles of the rods 131 to 13n. Can be.

Thereafter, laser light is irradiated through the optical unit 110 to remove defects on the substrate 150, respectively (S5 and S6).

In particular, the laser light emitted through the optical unit 110 is reflected by the micromirror array 130 before being irradiated onto the substrate 150 and irradiated onto the substrate 150 in a state where the traveling direction is changed. Since the defect is located at the site, the defect can be removed without moving the optical unit 110.

Subsequently, if it is determined whether the repair is to be continued, if other defects remain on the substrate 150, the process returns to the previous step S4 to perform a repair operation, and when other defects do not remain on the substrate 150. The repair operation ends at step S7.

In the case of returning to the previous step S4, as described above, another defect position on the substrate 150 is received, and the angle of rotation of the micromirror array 130 is adjusted according to the received defect position, and then on the substrate 150. The laser beam is irradiated to remove the defect.

As described above, a repair operation that is repeatedly performed as an example will be described.

5 to 7 are schematic diagrams for explaining a method of repairing according to a defect position in the repair method illustrated in FIG. 4, wherein the first defect A, the second defect B, and the second defect B are disposed on one substrate 150. Assuming that there is a third defect C, a process of sequentially repairing the first defect A, the second defect B, and the third defect C without moving the optical unit is illustrated.

Here, it is assumed that the position where the first defect A is present is selected as the reference position to repair the defect A first.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, after moving the optical unit 110 to the reference position of the first defect A, the laser light L1 emitted from the optical unit 110 is applied to the first defect A. FIG. Rotate the micromirror array 130 to be irradiated.

When the objective lens 117 of the optical unit 110 is aligned to be positioned at a position corresponding to a portion of the first defect A of the substrate 150, the laser light L1 irradiated vertically from the optical unit 110 is Since the traveling direction does not need to be changed, the micromirror array 130 is rotated perpendicularly from the substrate 150.

Thereafter, the laser beam L1 is irradiated to the first defect A portion to remove the first defect A. FIG.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the second defect B may be repaired without moving the optical unit 110 at the reference position.

That is, the micromirror array 130 is rotated so that the laser light emitted from the optical unit 110 is irradiated to the position of the second defect B from the reference position.

In this case, the plurality of micromirrors M1 to M3 constituting the micromirror array 130 are individually adjusted to rotate the micromirrors M1 and M2 that are close to at least the second defect B. FIG.

Thereafter, when the laser light is irradiated, the laser light L2 emitted from the optical unit 110 is incident to the micromirror array 130, is reflected by the second micromirror M2, and the reflected laser light L2. ) Is again reflected by the first micromirror M1 and irradiated onto the substrate 150 with the traveling direction varying from the reference position to the left.

Therefore, the second defect B on the substrate 150 can be removed.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 7, in order to repair the third defect C on the substrate 150, the rotation angle of the micromirror array 130 is adjusted again.

According to this, the laser light L3 emitted from the optical unit 110 is reflected by the second micromirror M2 and the third micromirror M3, which is to the right from the reference position, that is, the third defect C The third defect C on the substrate 150 may also be removed because the radiation is varied and irradiated to the position of.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, You will understand.

Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are provided so that those skilled in the art can fully understand the scope of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, The invention is only defined by the scope of the claims.

The repair apparatus for a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention made as described above includes a micromirror for reflecting a laser beam in an optical unit, and moving the optical unit by varying the traveling direction of the laser beam by adjusting the angle of the micromirror. All defects on the substrate can be repaired without.

Therefore, since the defects on the substrate can be repaired even when the lens of the optical system is stopped during the repair operation, the repair operation time according to the lens shift time can be shortened.

In addition, it is possible to reduce the cost of the equipment provided, there is an effect that can improve the production efficiency.

Claims (9)

An optical unit emitting laser light; A moving stage provided on the lower portion of the optical unit to move in the X-axis and Y-axis directions; A micromirror array including a plurality of micromirrors, the micromirror array disposed between the optical unit and the moving stage to vary the traveling direction of the laser light emitted from the optical unit to be irradiated onto the substrate; And A micromirror controller for receiving the position of any one of the defects on the substrate to be repaired, and rotating the plurality of micromirrors to irradiate the laser light to a defect position to be repaired from a reference position; And the reference position is a reference point at which the laser light can be irradiated to all defect positions on the substrate by reflection or refraction of the plurality of micromirrors. The method of claim 1, The micromirror array, And a plurality of rods each supporting the plurality of micromirrors and rotating under the control of the micromirror controller. The method of claim 1, And a stage micromirror controller for controlling movement of the moving stage. The method of claim 3, And the stage micromirror controller is integrated with the micromirror controller. (a) placing a substrate to be repaired on the moving stage and then loading it; (b) identifying a defect location on the substrate; (c) selecting a reference position to repair on the substrate; (d) moving the lens of the optical system to the reference position; (e) individually adjusting the angle of the micromirror array for each defect position on the substrate at the reference position; And (f) irradiating a laser beam onto the substrate to remove the defect, The reference position of the steps (c) to (e) is a reference point at which the laser light can be irradiated to all defect positions on the substrate by reflection or refraction of the micromirror array. . The method of claim 5, After the step (f), if another defect remains on the substrate, the steps (e) and (f) are repeated. The method of claim 5, The repairing method of the liquid crystal display device may include receiving all of the defect positions on the substrate from an external inspector. The method of claim 5, And the reference position is a point which is centered with respect to all defect positions on the substrate. The method of claim 5, wherein step (e) (e-1) receiving a position for any one of the defects on the substrate; And (e-2) rotating the micromirror array based on the reference position so that a laser beam is irradiated to the received defect position Repair method of a liquid crystal display comprising a.

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