KR101707278B1 - Pattern forming apparatus, pattern forming method, alignment apparatus and alignment method - Google Patents

Abstract

A support body BL carrying a pattern and a body SB to which a pattern is transferred are disposed to face each other. The first holding means 61 is moved on the basis of the result of imaging at least a part of the outer edge of the carrier BL to position the carrier BL at the first target position. The second holding means 41 is moved on the basis of the result of imaging at least a part of the outer edge of the subject SB to position the subject SB at a predetermined second target position. At least one of the first holding means 61 and the second holding means 41 is moved on the basis of the image pickup result of the first alignment mark formed on the support body BL and the second alignment mark formed on the support body, Thereby aligning the carrier BL and the transferred body SB.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a pattern forming apparatus, a pattern forming method, an alignment apparatus, and an alignment method,

TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The present invention relates to a technique for aligning two objects held in such a manner that their main surfaces are closely opposed to each other.

There is a technical field in which it is required to arrange two objects in a state in which they are closely opposed to each other and in a predetermined positional relationship. As a technique for forming a pattern on a substrate such as a glass substrate or a semiconductor substrate, for example, there is a technique of transferring a pattern by bringing a support carrying a pattern into close contact with a substrate (substrate), as described in Patent Document 1. In such a transfer technique, in order to appropriately manage the pattern transfer position to the object to be transferred, alignment between the carrier and the transfer object before transfer becomes important. Examples of techniques for aligning these two objects are those described in Patent Documents 2 to 4.

In this technique, the two images (the supporting body and the to-be-transferred body) in which the alignment marks are formed in advance are arranged close to each other, and these alignment marks are picked up by the camera. The relative positional shift amount between the two objects is obtained from the positional relationship of the alignment marks in the image, and the two objects are moved relative to each other to correct the positional deviation.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-158799 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-212489 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-172930 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-342642

In recent years, further thinning and enlargement of devices are required, and high precision of patterns is also required. For this reason, higher precision is required for alignment of the plate member such as the substrate. However, there are cases where it is difficult to comply with such a demand in the above-mentioned conventional technique. For example, in order to enable high-precision alignment based on the imaging result, it is necessary to increase the resolution of the imaging means, but inevitably the imaging range becomes narrow. On the other hand, in order to use the imaging means for rough alignment, a wider imaging range is required, but it is difficult to make a high resolution and a wider imaging range compatible. Moreover, it is expensive to construct an imaging means having a wide imaging range with high resolution.

In addition, for example, it is necessary to align the position of the supporting body or the supporting body in advance to a position at least such that the alignment mark enters the imaging visual field. For this purpose, a prealignment process is generally performed. Such comparatively rough positioning is conventionally performed by, for example, a method in which positioning is performed by colliding an object such as a supporting body or a transfer target body with a position regulating member provided at an appropriate position in the apparatus, And a method of bringing a fit object into a predetermined position in the apparatus. However, in recent years, since the pattern is required to be refined, the size of the alignment mark is reduced, and the required positional accuracy is also becoming finer. For this reason, a camera having a high resolution and a high magnification is used for imaging, and as a result, the imaging visual field is reduced. On the other hand, the size of the object to be handled is also increasing, and the weight of the object is also increased due to this, so that the warpage tends to occur. Therefore, in the mechanical position regulation, the carrier, the transfer body, It is becoming difficult to do.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems and provides an alignment technique capable of highly accurately aligning two objects to be close to each other, for example, a carrier carrying a pattern, and a body to which the pattern is transferred, Forming technology.

A first aspect of the pattern forming apparatus according to the present invention is a pattern forming apparatus comprising a first holding means for holding a carrier for carrying a pattern on a pattern carrying surface, A second moving means for moving the first holding means in parallel with the pattern carrying surface, and a second moving means for moving the first holding means in parallel with the pattern holding surface, And a second moving means for moving at least a part of the outer edge of the carrier held by the first holding means and operating the first moving means on the basis of the image pickup result Wherein the image forming apparatus is configured to position the carrier at a predetermined first target position and to capture at least a part of the outer edge of the transferred body held by the second holding means, A first alignment mark formed on the support member positioned at the first target position and a second alignment mark formed on the second target position on the support member positioned at the first target position, Capturing a second alignment mark formed on the to-be-transferred body positioned in the predetermined position and operating at least one of the first holding means and the second holding means based on the result of the imaging to align the carrier and the transferred body Is performed.

A first aspect of the pattern forming method according to the present invention is characterized in that in order to achieve the above object, a supporting body for holding a pattern is held by a first holding means, and a body to be transferred, A step of arranging a pattern supporting surface of the support and a surface to be supported of the support so as to face each other; and at least a part of the outer edge of the supporting body is picked up, The first holding means is moved to position the carrier at a predetermined first target position and at the same time an image of at least a part of the outer edge of the subject is picked up and the second holding means is moved on the basis of the image pickup result, A pre-alignment step of positioning the subject to be imaged at a predetermined second target position, a first alignment mark formed on the carrier and a second alignment mark Image pick-up, and on the basis of the image pickup result by moving at least one of the first holding means and said second holding means, and a precise alignment process of performing the alignment of the carrying body and the transfer body.

According to the invention thus constituted, the outer edge of each of the holding body held by the first holding means and the held body held by the second holding means is picked up, and based on the image pickup result, the first moving means and the second moving means, And the transferred body to respective target positions. Here, it is preferable that the position of the outer edge of the carrier and the body to be detected should be detectable, and it is preferable that the imaging field of view is larger than that of the high resolution.

The position of the first alignment mark formed on the carrier and the position of the second alignment mark formed on the transferred body can be set within a certain range even if the positioning accuracy to each target position at this time is not necessarily high. That is, by appropriately setting the first and second target positions, the position adjustment can be performed such that the first and second alignment marks become positions where the image can be captured by the precision alignment means. Therefore, the imaging visual field by the precise alignment means may be relatively narrow, thereby enabling high-resolution imaging, and high alignment accuracy can be obtained.

In these cases, the movement of the carrier and the transfer object is performed together with the first and second holding means by moving the first and second holding means for holding them. Therefore, even if the carrier is large and heavy, it can be reliably moved to the target position without deforming them.

As described above, in the first aspect of the present invention, the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark can be moved within a predetermined range by pre-alignment without using the alignment mark. In this way, more precise alignment can be achieved by precise alignment using the first and second alignment marks whose positions are narrowed to some extent. Therefore, it is possible to align the carrier carrying the pattern and the transferred body to which the pattern is transferred with high accuracy.

In the present invention, the precision alignment means may be configured to simultaneously image, for example, the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark in the same field of view. It is possible to more precisely grasp the positional relationship between both of the alignment marks formed on the carrier and the to-be-transferred object in the same field of view, and to perform alignment of the carrier and the transferred body with higher precision.

In addition, for example, the first holding means is configured to hold the carrier in a state in which the peripheral portion of the carrier is held, the horizontal position in which the pattern supporting surface faces upward, and the lower portion of the center inward than the peripheral portion is opened And the pattern forming apparatus may further comprise a pushing up means for pushing the central portion of the carrier from the lower side so that the pattern carried on the carrier is brought into contact with the transfer surface of the transfer target body. In this configuration, even if the central portion of the carrier having the peripheral portion held by the first holding means is bent downward by its own weight, and the carrier is forced to move from the side to the side, it is absorbed by the warpage, making alignment difficult. By applying the present invention in such a case, the effect becomes particularly remarkable.

For example, the pre-alignment means may include a pre-alignment imaging section for imaging the outer edge of the carrier and the to-be-transferred object, while the precise alignment means may include a first alignment mark and a second alignment mark at higher resolutions than the pre- And may have a configuration in which an imaging section for precise alignment for imaging is provided. In this way, by providing the image sensing unit having different resolutions according to the purpose, it is possible to balance the device cost with the required performance.

In this case, the imaging section for precision alignment may have, for example, an imaging optical system whose magnification is fixed. The deviation of the optical axis when the magnification is variable and the deformation of the image at the time of high magnification cause the deterioration of the detection accuracy. However, by fixing the magnification, such a problem can be avoided to detect the position of the alignment mark with high accuracy, Can be positioned.

On the other hand, the pre-alignment means may have a plurality of pre-alignment imaging sections for respectively imaging a plurality of different positions among the plurality of different positions of the outer periphery of the supporting member and the outer periphery of the to- It is possible to grasp the position shift amount in these planes by imaging the outer edge of the carrier and the to-be-transferred body at a plurality of positions, so that the movement to the target position can be more accurately performed.

According to the pattern forming method of the present invention, the position of the carrier on which the first alignment mark is placed is set to the first target position in the field of view of the imaging unit for performing the imaging in the precision alignment step, and the second alignment mark It is preferable that the position of the subject to be inserted is the second target position. By doing so, it becomes possible to reliably place the both alignment marks in the field of view of the imaging section by executing the prealignment process, and then, by performing the precision alignment process thereafter, it is possible to align the carrier and the transferred body with high precision.

For example, in the prealignment step, a plurality of different positions of the outer edge of the carrier are picked up to obtain the positional shift amount of the carrier from the first target position, and the movement of the first holding means according to the positional shift amount On the other hand, it is also possible to capture a plurality of positions different from each other in the outer periphery of the subject to obtain the positional shift amount of the subject from the second target position, and to move the second holding means in accordance with the positional shift amount. By doing so, it is possible to grasp the positional shift amount in the plane of the carrier and the transferred body similarly to the invention of the above-described pattern forming apparatus, and to move to the target position more accurately.

Further, after the precision alignment step, there may be provided a transfer step of transferring the pattern from the carrier to the transfer target by bringing the transfer target and the transfer target into contact with each other. It is possible to form a pattern at a proper position of the transfer target body by performing pattern transfer by abutting them in a state in which the carrier and the transfer target body are precisely aligned.

A second aspect of the pattern forming apparatus according to the present invention is a pattern forming apparatus comprising a first surface capable of holding a pattern in a main surface of a carrier held by a first holding means and a second surface capable of holding a pattern on a first surface of a plate- And a second holding means for holding the second holding means in a state that the second holding means is moved in parallel with the one face of the plate- An image pickup means for picking up an image of at least a part of the outer edge of the pattern on the basis of an image pickup result obtained by the image pickup means and holding the plate by the second holding means, And pre-alignment means for positioning the upper body at a target position.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a second aspect of the pattern forming method related to the present invention is a pattern forming method comprising the steps of: forming a pattern on a main surface of a support, A first step of holding the plate member by the first holding means and holding the plate member by the second holding means, and a step of moving at least one of the first holding means and the second holding means, And a second step of forming a pattern by pressing one surface of the plate member and the other surface of the plate member together, wherein the first step is a step of picking up at least a part of the outer edge of the plate-like member held by the second holding member, And a prealignment step of positioning the plate-like object at a target position by moving the second holding means in parallel with the one face of the plate-shaped object while holding the plate-shaped object based on the imaging result All.

According to the invention thus configured, the one surface of the holding member held by the first holding means and the one surface of the plate-like member held by the second holding means are pressed against each other to form a pattern, but before that, And is positioned at the target position while being held by the means. That is, the prealignment is carried out while the plate member is held by the second holding means. Therefore, even if the conveying position deviation or bending of the plate member caused by the second holding means occurs before the plate member is held, they are eliminated by the pre-alignment, and the plate member can be surely positioned at the target position have. As a result, the accuracy of pattern formation can be enhanced.

In the case where the plate member has a polygonal shape, a plurality of different positions on the first side which are one of sides defining the shape of the plate member are picked up, and a slope for correcting the slope of the plate member with respect to the target position based on the image pick- And correcting the offset of the plate member with respect to the target position based on the image pickup result based on the image pickup result, The pre-alignment may be performed by executing the offset correction process. Thus, the polygonal plate-like object can be accurately positioned at the target position.

It is also preferable that the first and second sides when the plate member is held at the target position by the second holding means are imaged before the execution of the tilt correcting process and the offset correcting process, May be stored as the target position information. In the tilt correction step, information on the position of the plate-like object obtained from the image pickup result and the tilt amount of the plate relative to the target position on the basis of the target position information are obtained. By the movement of the second holding means according to the tilt amount, Correct the slope of the plate against the position. Further, in the offset correcting step, information on the position of the plate-like object obtained from the image pickup result and the offset amount of the plate relative to the target position are obtained on the basis of the target position information, The offset of the plate against the position may be corrected. By performing the two-stage correction processing based on the information obtained from the imaging result and the target position information as described above, the polygonal plate-shaped object can be accurately positioned at the target position.

In the case where a plate provided with the first pattern on one surface is a plate and the one surface of the support is patterned by the first pattern, after the support is held by the first holding means, 1 holding means and the first pattern may be transferred to one surface of the carrier by pressing the one surface of the carrier and the one surface of the plate against each other without aligning the plate positioned at the target position by the prealignment process. This is because, since the plate (plate) is positioned at the target position by the prealignment, a large positional deviation does not occur between the supporting body and the plate, and even if a slight positional deviation occurs, This is because it does not affect the patterning itself.

On the other hand, when transferring the second pattern provided on one surface of the carrier to a substrate, which is one of the plate bodies, it is preferable to perform precise alignment in addition to pre-alignment. That is, when the support has the first alignment mark, the second pattern is provided on one side of the support, and the plate is a substrate having the second alignment mark, The first alignment mark of the substrate and the second alignment mark of the substrate positioned at the target position by the prealignment process are picked up and at least one of the first holding means and the second holding means is moved based on the imaging result, And a transfer step of transferring the second pattern onto one surface of the substrate by pressing one surface of the plate and the one surface of the plate after the precision alignment step, .

Further, in order to appropriately image the outer edge of the plate, it may be configured as follows. That is, the second holding means has a holding plane for sucking and holding the center portion of the other surface of the plate-shaped body, holds the plate-shaped body in a state in which the outer edge of the plate-shaped body is hollowed out from the holding plane, And the outer edge of the plate member may be picked up from the opposite side of the first holding means. As a result, the image pickup means can be arranged without interference with the first holding means or the carrier, thereby enabling the image of the edge of the plate-like object to be satisfactorily captured.

In order to achieve the above object, an alignment apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that a first plate material having a light transmitting property on which a first alignment mark is formed is held, and the first plate material is moved in a direction parallel to the main surface A first holding means and a second plate member on which a second alignment mark is formed are held parallel to the first plate member and in a state in which the first plate member and the second plate member are opposed to each other with a predetermined gap therebetween, And an optical axis is provided so as to be orthogonal to the main surface of the first plate material on the side opposite to the second plate material with respect to the first plate material, And main image pickup means for picking up the image of said second plate-like object, said main image pickup means being provided on the side opposite to said second plate-like object with respect to said first plate- The upper body and Wherein the first holding means is provided at a position where the first alignment mark enters the imaging range of the main image pickup means on the basis of the image pickup result of the sub image pickup means And the second holding means moves the first plate member to a position where the second alignment mark enters the imaging range of the main image sensing unit based on the imaging result of the secondary image sensing unit, At least one of the first holding means and the second holding means moves the second alignment member with respect to the first alignment mark based on the image pickup result of the main image pickup means, The relative position of the first plate member and the second plate member is changed so that the relative position of the mark is a predetermined target position.

In order to achieve the above object, an alignment method according to the present invention is a method for aligning a first plate material having a light-transmitting property, on which a first alignment mark is formed, and a second plate material on which a second alignment mark is formed, Placing a main image pickup means such that the optical axis is orthogonal to the main surface of the first plate material on the side opposite to the second plate material with respect to the first plate material with a predetermined gap therebetween; , The first alignment mark and the second alignment mark are viewed by the sub image pickup means having an image pickup range wider than the image pickup range of the main image pickup means from the side opposite to the second plate- Based on the image pickup result, a position at which both the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark enter the image pickup range of the main image pickup means A pre-alignment step of positioning the first plate-like object and the second plate-like object; and a step of picking up the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark in the same field of view by the main image pickup means, And a precision alignment step of relatively moving the first plate material and the second plate material so that the relative position of the second alignment mark with respect to the first alignment mark becomes a predetermined target position.

In these inventions, the first and second plate bodies are moved on the basis of the result of the image pick-up performed by the sub-image pickup means having a wide image pickup range, whereby the first and second alignment marks are positioned in the image pickup range of the main image pickup means . Therefore, even in the main image sensing means with a relatively narrow imaging range, it is possible to surely capture the first and second alignment marks in the same field of view. Then, based on the result of the image pick-up by the main image pickup means, the first plate-like object and the second plate-shaped object are aligned. In the imaging from the oblique direction, since the gap variation between the two plate-like objects appears as the variation of the relative position of the alignment marks in the imaging result, the accuracy of the gap adjustment affects the alignment accuracy. On the other hand, in the present invention, since the optical axis of the main image pickup means is set in the direction orthogonal to the main surface of the first plate-like member, it is possible to perform highly accurate alignment without being influenced by the gap variation. Further, since it is not necessary to widen the imaging range of the main image pickup means, for example, by increasing the magnification at the time of image pickup, it is possible to improve the position detection precision between the first plate body and the second plate body.

In addition, since the main image pickup means does not require a wide image pickup range, the sub-image pickup means need not have a high resolution, and there is no need to provide a configuration for varying the image pickup range or the magnification. It is possible to construct the apparatus at low cost.

In these inventions, it is preferable that the sub-image pickup means is provided such that its optical axis intersects the main surface of the first plate-shaped member at an oblique angle. In this case, the surface area of the first plate material expected by the sub image sensing means is wider than when the optical axis is orthogonal to the main surface of the first plate material. That is, it is possible to enlarge the imaging range of the sub image sensing means. Further, by setting the optical axis in a direction different from the direction of the optical axis of the main image sensing unit, the main image sensing unit and the sub-image sensing unit can perform imaging without interfering with each other.

The imaging range of the sub-image pickup means may include at least a part of the image pickup range of the main image pickup means. The movement of the first plate material and the second plate material based on the imaging result of the sub image sensing means can be achieved by setting the imaging range of the sub image sensing means so as to overlap with the image sensing range of the main image sensing means, And the position of the first plate material and the second plate material after the movement is easily confirmed.

Further, for example, the main image pickup means may have a magnifying optical system whose magnification is fixed. Since the main image pickup means does not require a wide image pickup range, the image pickup range is limited using the magnifying optical system, but by performing image pickup at a high magnification, the detection accuracy of the relative positions of the first and second plate- And the accuracy of customization can be improved. Since the magnification is fixed, imaging at a high magnification is possible without causing a problem such as displacement of the optical axis, which is a problem in the case of magnification variation.

For example, the main image pickup means may have a higher resolution than the sub-image pickup means. By making the main imaging means high resolution, the position detection accuracy can be enhanced. On the other hand, the sub-image pickup means needs to have resolution enough to detect the approximate positions of the first and second alignment marks, and the apparatus cost can be reduced by using the image pickup means having a relatively low resolution.

For example, the depth of field of the sub-image sensing means may be deeper than the depth of field of the main image sensing means, and the sub-image sensing means may capture both the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark in the in- Since the sub-image pickup means does not require a high magnification, it is possible to use an image pickup optical system having a relatively deep depth of field. Therefore, even when the first plate member and the second plate member are arranged with a gap, it is possible to perform imaging in a state in which both the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark are placed in the overlapping range. This makes it possible to improve the position detection accuracy of the first plate material and the second plate material on the basis of the image pickup result of the secondary image pickup means and to more reliably detect the first and second alignment marks in the image pickup range of the main image pickup means .

In addition, for example, a plurality of main image pickup means having mutually different image pickup ranges and a plurality of sub image pickup means having mutually different image pickup ranges may be provided. According to this configuration, since the first and second alignment marks can be provided at a plurality of portions of the first plate-like body and the second plate-like body, respectively, and can be provided for alignment, the accuracy of alignment can be further improved.

For example, at least one of the first plate member and the second plate member may be moved in substantially the same direction in the prealignment step and the precision alignment step. Various mechanisms can be used as the mechanism for moving the first plate body and the second plate body. However, in the prealignment step, after moving the plate-like object to be moved in any direction, It is possible to suppress the lowering of the positioning accuracy caused by the backlash of the moving mechanism and realize high-precision alignment.

 As described above, according to the first embodiment of the pattern forming apparatus and the pattern forming method related to the present invention, the outline of the carrier and the transferred body is picked up to perform rough alignment without using the alignment mark, And the second alignment marks of the to-be-transferred object are picked up to perform more precise alignment. By doing so, the positioning of the carrier and the transferred body can be performed with high accuracy.

According to the second aspect of the pattern forming apparatus and the pattern forming method according to the present invention, the second holding means is moved in parallel with the one face of the plate member while the plate member is held by the second holding means, Positioning of the plate, that is, prealignment is performed. Therefore, even if the conveying position deviation or warpage of the plate-like object occurs before the plate-holding member is held by the second holding means, the plate-like object can be reliably positioned at the target position by the pre-alignment, Can be performed.

According to the alignment apparatus and the alignment method according to the present invention, the first alignment marks formed on the first plate-shaped member and the second alignment marks formed on the second plate-shaped member are imaged by the sub-image pickup means having a relatively wide imaging range, The first and second alignment marks can be picked up by the main image pickup means in which the optical axis is orthogonal to the main surface of the first plate material after positioning in the image pickup range of the main image pickup means. Therefore, it is possible to perform alignment of the first plate-like object and the second plate-shaped object with high precision based on the imaging result of the main image pickup means.

1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a pattern forming apparatus according to the present invention.
2 is a block diagram showing a control system of this pattern forming apparatus.
3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the lower stage block.
4 is a view showing the structure of the lifting / lowering hand unit.
5 is a diagram showing a structure of a transfer roller unit.
6 is a view showing a structure of an upper stage assembly.
7 is a flowchart showing a pattern forming process.
Fig. 8 is a first diagram schematically showing the positional relationship of each part of the apparatus at each stage of processing. Fig.
Fig. 9 is a second diagram schematically showing the positional relationship of each part of the apparatus at each step of the processing. Fig.
Fig. 10 is a third diagram schematically showing the positional relationship of each part of the apparatus in each step of the processing. Fig.
11 is a diagram schematically showing the positional relationship of each part of the apparatus in each step of the processing.
Fig. 12 is a fifth diagram schematically showing the positional relationship of each part of the apparatus at each step of the processing.
Fig. 13 is a sixth diagram schematically showing the positional relationship of each part of the apparatus in each step of the processing.
14 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a plate or a substrate and a blanket.
Fig. 15 is a diagram 7 schematically showing the positional relationship of each part of the apparatus at each stage of processing. Fig.
16 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the alignment process.
17 is a first diagram for explaining the principle of pre-alignment.
18 is a second diagram for explaining the principle of pre-alignment.
19 schematically shows a schematic configuration of an upper stage block and a pre-alignment camera for a substrate.
20 schematically shows the structure of the upper stage block supporting mechanism on the (-X) side.
21 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a (+ X) side upper stage block supporting mechanism.
22 is a diagram schematically showing a pre-alignment process of a plate.
23 is a view for explaining a prealignment process in the apparatus of the second embodiment.
24 is a diagram showing a focus range of the prealignment camera and the alignment camera.
25 is a flowchart showing the alignment process in the second embodiment.
26 is a diagram illustrating an example of the movement of the alignment mark in accordance with the alignment process.

≪ First Embodiment >

1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a pattern forming apparatus according to the present invention. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of this pattern forming apparatus. The pattern forming apparatus 1 also has a function as an alignment apparatus according to the present invention. Fig. 1 shows a state in which the outer cover is removed to show the internal configuration of the apparatus. In order to unify the directions in the respective views, the XYZ orthogonal coordinate axes are set as shown in the lower right of Fig. Here, the XY plane represents a horizontal plane, and the Z axis represents a vertical axis. More specifically, the (+ Z) direction indicates a vertically upward direction. The front direction when viewed from the apparatus is the (-Y) direction, and the access from the outside to the apparatus including the loading / unloading of the articles is made along the Y-axis direction.

This pattern forming apparatus 1 has a structure in which an upper stage block 4 and a lower stage block 6 are attached to a main frame 2. [ In Fig. 1, the upper stage block 4 is marked with a sparse pitch and the lower stage block 6 is marked with a finer pitch in order to distinguish each block. The pattern forming apparatus 1 further includes a control unit 8 (Fig. 2) for controlling each unit of the apparatus in accordance with a previously stored processing program and executing a predetermined operation. The detailed configuration of the upper stage block 4 and the lower stage block 6 will be described later. First, the entire configuration of the apparatus 1 will be described.

The pattern forming apparatus 1 is a device for performing pattern formation by bringing the blanket BL held by the lower stage block 6 and the plate PP or the substrate SB held by the upper stage block 4 into contact with each other. More specifically, the pattern formation process by the device 1 is the same as that described below. First, the plate PP formed corresponding to the pattern to be formed is brought into contact with the blanket BL to which the pattern forming material is uniformly applied, thereby patterning the applied layer supported on the blanket BL (patterning process). Then, by patterning the blanket BL and the substrate SB in this manner, the pattern carried on the blanket BL is transferred to the substrate SB (transferring process). Thus, a desired pattern is formed on the substrate SB.

As described above, the pattern forming apparatus 1 can be used for both the patterning process and the transfer process in the pattern forming process for forming a predetermined pattern on the substrate SB. However, do.

The lower stage block 6 of the pattern forming apparatus 1 is supported by the base frame 21 of the main frame 2. [ The upper stage block 4 includes a pair of upper stage support frames 22 and 23 which are erected from the base frame 21 and extend in the Y direction so as to sandwich the lower stage block 6 from the X direction, Respectively.

The main frame 2 is provided with a pre-alignment camera for detecting the position of the plate PP, the substrate SB, and the blanket BL carried in the apparatus. Specifically, three substrate pre-alignment cameras 241, 242 and 243 for detecting the edges of the plate PP and the substrate SB brought into the apparatus along the Y-axis direction at three different positions are disposed on the upper stage support frame 22 And 23, respectively. Similarly, three blanket pre-alignment cameras 244, 245 and 246 for detecting the edge of the blanket BL carried in the apparatus along the Y-axis direction at three different positions are erected from the upper stage support frames 22 and 23 Respectively. Also, in Fig. 1, one blanket prealigning camera 246 located behind the upper stage block 4 is not shown. In Fig. 2, the prealignment camera for plate and substrate is referred to as "PA camera for substrate" for convenience and "PA camera for blanket" as prealignment camera for blanket.

3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the lower stage block. In the lower stage block 6, pillars 602 are provided standing upright in the vertical direction (Z direction) at the four corners of a plate-shaped alignment stage 601 having a central portion opened. By these pillars 602, A stage support plate 603 is supported. (Hereinafter referred to as "? Direction ") with a rotation axis extending in the vertical direction Z as a rotation center, and three degrees of freedom in the X direction and the Y direction are provided in the lower portion of the alignment stage 601 An alignment stage support mechanism 605 (FIG. 2) such as a cross roller bearing is provided. The alignment stage 601 is attached to the base frame 21 via the alignment stage support mechanism 605. Therefore, by the operation of the alignment stage support mechanism 605, the alignment stage 601 can move in a predetermined range in the X direction, the Y direction, and the? Direction with respect to the base frame 21.

An annular rectangular lower stage 61 having an upper surface coinciding with a substantially horizontal plane and an opening window 611 formed at an upper portion of the stage support plate 603 is disposed. The blanket BL is placed on the upper surface of the lower stage 61, and the lower stage 61 holds the blanket BL.

The opening size of the opening window 611 is required to be larger than the planar size of the effective area (not shown) of the central part that effectively functions as the pattern formation area in the surface area of the blanket BL. That is, when the blanket BL is placed on the lower stage 61, the entire area corresponding to the effective area of the lower surface of the blanket BL faces the opening window 611, and the lower part of the effective area must be completely opened . The coating layer formed by the pattern forming material is formed so as to cover at least the entire effective region.

A plurality of grooves 612 are provided on the upper surface 61a of the lower stage 61 so as to respectively follow the peripheral edges of the opening window 611. The grooves 612 are controlled through a control valve Pressure supply portion 804 of the unit 8, as shown in Fig. Each of the grooves 612 is arranged in an area of a plane size smaller than the plane size of the blanket BL. The blanket BL is placed on the lower stage 61 so as to cover all of the grooves 612, as indicated by the one-dot chain line in the drawing. In order to enable this, a stopper member 613 for regulating the position of the blanket BL is appropriately disposed on the upper surface 61a of the lower stage.

Each of the grooves 612 functions as a vacuum adsorption groove by supplying a negative pressure to each groove 612. Thus, the four sides of the periphery of the blanket BL are adsorbed and held on the upper surface 61a of the lower stage 61. By constituting the vacuum adsorption grooves by a plurality of independent grooves 612, even if vacuum breakage occurs in some grooves for some reason, adsorption of the blanket BL by other grooves is maintained, and the blanket BL can be reliably held. Further, the blanket BL can be adsorbed with a stronger attraction force than in the case where a single groove is provided.

Up and down hand units 62 and 63 for moving the blanket BL up and down in the Z axis direction are provided below the opening window 611 of the lower stage 61 and a transfer roller unit 64 for pushing up the blanket BL ) Is installed.

4 is a view showing the structure of the lifting / lowering hand unit. Since the two lift hand units 62 and 63 have the same structure, the structure of one lift hand unit 62 will be described. The lifting hand unit 62 has two pillars 621 and 622 which are installed upright in the Z direction from the base frame 21. The plate base slide base 623 is vertically And is movably attached. More specifically, guide rails 6211 and 6221 extending in the vertical direction (Z direction) are attached to the two struts 621 and 622, respectively, and the back surface of the slide base 623, that is, the (+ A slider (not shown) attached to the main surface is slidably attached to the guide rails 6211 and 6221. The elevating mechanism 624 having a suitable driving mechanism such as a motor and a ball screw mechanism moves the slide base 623 up and down in accordance with a control command from the control unit 8. [

A plurality of (four in this example) hands 625 are attached to the slide base 623 so as to be vertically movable. The structure of each hand 625 is basically the same except that the shape of the base portion differs depending on the attachment position. Each hand 625 has a slider 627 slidably engaged with a guide rail 626 attached along the vertical direction (Z direction) to the front surface of the slide base 623, that is, the (-Y) Is fixed. The slider 627 is connected to a lifting mechanism 628 having a suitable drive mechanism such as a rodless cylinder attached to the back surface of the slide base 623. By the operation of the lifting mechanism 628, And moves up and down with respect to the base 623. Each of the hands 625 is provided with an independent lifting mechanism 628, and each of the hands 625 can be moved up and down individually.

That is, in the elevating hand unit 62, the elevating mechanism 624 can vertically move the hand 625 by moving the slide base 623 upward and downward, and the elevating mechanism 628 can move up and down independently It is possible to raise and lower the hands 625 individually.

The upper surface 625a of the hand 625 is finished in an elongated planar shape having a longitudinal direction in the Y direction. The upper surface 625a of the hand 625 can abut the lower surface of the blanket BL to support the blanket BL. The upper surface 625a is provided with a suction hole 625b communicating with a negative pressure supply portion 804 provided in the control unit 8 via a piping and a control valve not shown. As a result, negative pressure from the negative pressure supply portion 804 is supplied to the suction hole 625b as necessary, and the blanket BL can be sucked and held on the upper surface 625a of the hand 625. [ Therefore, slippage when the blanket BL is supported by the hand 625 can be prevented.

A suitable gas such as dry air or inert gas is supplied from the gas supply unit 806 of the control unit 8 through a pipe and a control valve (not shown) to the suction hole 625b if necessary. That is, the negative pressure from the negative pressure supply portion 804 and the gas from the gas supply portion 806 are selectively supplied to the suction holes 625b in accordance with the opening and closing of the respective control valves controlled by the control unit 8. [

When gas from the gas supply unit 806 is supplied to the suction holes 625b, a small amount of gas is discharged from the suction holes 625b. As a result, a minute gap is formed between the lower surface of the blanket BL and the hand upper surface 625a, and the hand 625 is separated from the lower surface of the blanket BL while supporting the blanket BL from below. Therefore, while supporting the blanket BL by each hand 625, it is possible to move the blanket BL in the horizontal direction without sliding friction with respect to each hand 625. [ Further, the gas discharge holes may be provided on the hand upper surface 625a separately from the suction holes 625b.

3, in the lower stage block 6, the elevating hand units 62 and 63 having the above-described configuration are arranged so as to face each other in the Y direction with the hand 625 inward. In the state where each hand 625 is at its lowest position, the hand upper surface 625a is located at a position which is lower than the upper surface 61a of the lower stage, i.e., greatly retreats in the (-Z) direction. On the other hand, in the state in which each hand 625 is at its highest position, the tip of each hand 625 is projected upward from the opening window 611 of the lower stage 61, and the hand upper surface 625a, (+ Z) direction, that is, above the upper surface 61a.

When viewed from above, there is a constant gap between the ends of the hands 625 facing each other of the lifting / lowering hand units 62 and 63, and they do not contact each other. As described later, the transfer roller unit 64 is moved in the X direction by using this gap.

5 is a diagram showing a structure of a transfer roller unit. The transfer roller unit 64 includes a transfer roller 641 that is a cylindrical roller member extending in the Y direction and a transfer roller 641 that extends in the Y direction along the lower side of the transfer roller 641 and rotates the transfer roller 641 at both ends thereof And a lifting mechanism 644 having a suitable driving mechanism and moving the supporting frame 642 up and down in the Z direction. The transfer roller 641 is not connected to the rotation drive mechanism and rotates freely. The support frame 642 is provided with a backup roller 643 which abuts against the surface of the transfer roller 641 from below to prevent warping of the transfer roller 641. [

The length of the transfer roller 641 in the Y direction is equal to the length of the side of the opening window 611 of the lower stage 61 along the Y direction, that is, the opening dimension of the opening window 611 in the Y direction And is longer than the length along the Y direction of the plate PP or the substrate SB when held on the upper stage described later. Since the length of the effective area effective as the pattern formation area in the blanket BL is naturally less than the length of the plate PP or the substrate SB, the transfer roller 641 in the Y direction is longer than the effective area.

The lifting mechanism 644 has a base portion 644a and a support leg 644b that extends upward from the base portion 644a and is connected to the center of the support frame 642 in the Y direction. The support leg 644b is vertically movable with respect to the base portion 644a by a suitable drive mechanism such as a motor or a cylinder. The base portion 644a is slidably attached to a guide rail 646 extending in the X direction and connected to a moving mechanism 647 having a suitable driving mechanism such as a motor and a ball screw mechanism . A guide rail 646 is attached to the upper surface of the lower frame 645 which is extended in the X direction and fixed to the base frame 21. [ The transfer mechanism 647 operates to cause the transfer roller 641, the support frame 642 and the lifting mechanism 644 to travel integrally in the X direction.

In this pattern forming apparatus 1, the transfer roller 641 is brought into contact with the blanket BL held on the lower stage 61 to partially push up the blanket BL, so that the blanket BL is held on the upper stage, So that the blanket BL is brought into contact with the plate PP or the substrate SB arranged close to the substrate PP.

The lifting mechanism 644 travels through a gap created between the elevating hand units 62 and 63 facing each other. The upper surface 625a of each hand 625 is retractable in the -Z direction from the lower surface of the support frame 642 of the transfer roller unit 64 downward. The supporting frame 642 of the transfer roller unit 64 passes over the upper surface 625a of each hand 625 and moves to the upper side of the transfer roller unit 64 by the transfer roller unit 64, (625) is avoided.

Next, the structure of the upper stage block 4 will be described. 1, the upper stage block 4 includes an upper stage assembly 40, which is a structure extending in the X direction, and upper stage assemblies 40, which are installed upright from the upper stage support frames 22 and 23, A pair of support pillars 45 and 46 for respectively supporting both ends in the X direction of the upper stage assembly 40 and an appropriate driving mechanism such as a motor and a ball screw mechanism and moving the entire upper stage assembly 40 in the Z direction And a lifting mechanism (47).

6 is a view showing a structure of an upper stage assembly. The upper stage assembly 40 includes an upper stage 41 holding a plate PP or a substrate SB on a lower surface thereof, a reinforcing frame 42 provided on an upper portion of the upper stage 41, Shaped structure 43 extending horizontally along the direction of the upper stage 41 and an upper adsorption unit 44 mounted on the upper stage 41. [ As shown in FIG. 6, the upper stage assembly 40 has a substantially symmetrical shape with respect to the XZ plane and the YZ plane including the outer center of the outer stage.

The upper stage 41 is a flat plate member that is slightly smaller than the plane size of the plate PP or the substrate SB to be held, and the lower surface 41a thereof held in the horizontal posture holds the plate PP or the substrate SB against the holding plane Respectively. Since the holding plane requires a high flatness, quartz glass or stainless steel is suitable as the material. A through hole for attaching the adsorption pad of the upper adsorption unit 44, which will be described later, is provided on the holding plane.

The reinforcing frame 42 is a combination of reinforcing ribs extending in the Z direction on the upper surface of the upper stage 41 so as to prevent the upper stage 41 from warping and to lower A plurality of reinforcing ribs 421 parallel to the YZ plane and reinforcing ribs 422 parallel to the XZ plane are suitably combined. The reinforcing ribs 421 and 422 can be made of, for example, a metal plate.

The beam-like structural body 43 is a structural body having a longitudinal direction formed by combining a plurality of metal plates, and both ends of the beam-like structural body 43 are supported by the support pillars 45 and 46 so as to be movable up and down. Concretely, guide rails 451 and 461 extending in the Z direction are provided on the support columns 45 and 46, respectively. On the (+ Y) side main surface of the beam-like structural body 43 opposed to the guide rails 451 and 461, Which are slidably engaged with each other. 1, the beam-like structural body 43 and the support column 46 are connected by a lifting mechanism 47. By operating the lifting mechanism 47, the beam-like structural body 43 is moved horizontally And moves in the vertical direction (Z direction) while maintaining the posture. Since the upper stage 41 is integrally coupled to the beam-like structural body 43 through the reinforcing frame 42, the upper stage 41 moves the holding plane 41a horizontally As shown in Fig.

The structures of the reinforcing frame 42 and the beam-like structural body 43 are not limited to those shown in the drawings. Here, the plate-like member parallel to the YZ plane and the plate-like member parallel to the XZ plane are combined to obtain the required strength. However, a metal plate, an angle member, or the like may be appropriately combined with other shapes. Such a structure is used in order to configure the upper stage assembly 40 to be light in weight. It is conceivable to increase the thickness of the upper stage 41 or to make the beam-like structural body 43 a solid body in order to reduce warpage of each part. However, if the mass of the entire upper stage assembly 40 becomes large Throw away.

The increase in the weight of the structure disposed at the upper portion of the apparatus requires more strength and durability in the mechanism for supporting or moving the structure, and the entire apparatus becomes very large and heavy. It is more realistic to reduce the weight of the entire structure while obtaining the necessary strength by combination of plate materials and the like.

A pair of upper adsorption units 44 are mounted on the upper part of the upper stage 41 surrounded by the reinforcing frame 42. A state in which one upper adsorption unit 44 is taken out upward is shown in the upper part of Fig. In the upper adsorption unit 44, for example, a rubber adsorption pad 443 is attached to the lower ends of a plurality of pipes 442 extending downward from the support frame 441. The upper end of each pipe 442 is connected to the negative pressure supply unit 804 of the control unit 8 through a pipe and a control valve (not shown). The support frame 441 does not interfere with the ribs 421 and 422 constituting the reinforcing frame 42.

The support frame 441 is supported so as to be movable in the vertical direction with respect to the base plate 446 through a pair of sliders 444 and a pair of guide rails 445 engaged with the sliders 444. [ The base plate 446 and the support frame 441 are coupled to each other by a lifting mechanism 447 having a suitable drive mechanism such as a motor and a ball screw mechanism. The support frame 441 is raised and lowered with respect to the base plate 446 by the operation of the lifting mechanism 447 and the pipe 442 and the adsorption pad 443 are moved up and down integrally therewith.

The base plate 446 is fixed to the side surface of the beam-like structure 43, so that the upper adsorption unit 44 is integrated with the upper stage 41. In this state, the lower ends of the pipes 442 and the suction pads 443 are inserted into through holes (not shown) provided in the upper stage 41. The adsorption pad 443 is moved by the operation of the lifting mechanism 447 such that the lower surface of the adsorption pad 443 is moved to a position below the lower surface (holding plane) 41a of the upper stage 41, (Upper) of the through-holes of the through-holes 41. As shown in Fig. When the lower surface of the adsorption pad 443 is positioned at substantially the same height as the holding plane 41a of the upper stage 41, the upper stage 41 and the adsorption pad 443 cooperate to form the plate PP or the substrate SB In the holding plane 41a.

Returning to Fig. 1, the upper stage assembly 40 configured as described above is installed on the base plate 481. [ More specifically, the support pillars 45 and 46 are erected on the base plate 481, respectively, and the upper stage assembly 40 is attached to the support pillars 45 and 46 so that the upper stage assembly 40 can be raised and lowered. The base plate 481 is attached to the upper stage support frames 22 and 23 and supported by an upper stage block supporting mechanism 482 having an appropriate movable mechanism such as a cross roller bearing.

Therefore, the entire upper stage assembly 40 can be moved horizontally with respect to the main frame 2. Specifically, the base plate 481 horizontally moves in the horizontal plane, that is, in the XY plane, by the operation of the upper stage block supporting mechanism 482. A pair of base plates 481 provided in correspondence with the support columns 45 and 46 are movable independently of each other and the upper stage assembly 40 is supported by the main frame 2, In the X direction, the Y direction, and the &thetas; direction.

Each part of the pattern forming apparatus 1 configured as described above is controlled by the control unit 8. [ 2, the control unit 8 includes a CPU 801 that is responsible for the overall operation of the apparatus, a motor control unit 802 that controls the motors installed in each unit, And a negative pressure supply unit 804 for generating a negative pressure to be supplied to each unit. When the negative pressure supplied from the outside can be used, the control unit 8 does not need to have the negative pressure supply portion.

The motor control unit 802 controls the motor groups provided in the respective function blocks to perform positioning and movement of each unit of the apparatus. The valve control unit 803 controls the valve groups provided on the negative pressure pipe line connected to the functional blocks from the negative pressure supply unit 804 and on the pipeline connected to the hand 625 from the gas supply unit 806 , Performs the vacuum suction by the negative pressure supply and releases it, and discharges gas from the hand upper surface 625a.

The control unit 8 includes an image processing unit 805 that performs image processing on an image captured by a camera. The image processing unit 805 performs predetermined image processing on the image picked up by the pre-alignment cameras 241 to 243 for the substrate and the pre-alignment cameras for the blanket 244 to 246 attached to the main frame 2 , The substrate SB, and the blanket BL. Further, the positional relationship between the substrate SB and the blanket BL is detected more precisely by performing predetermined image processing on the image picked up by the alignment camera 27 for precise alignment, which will be described later. The CPU 801 controls the upper stage block supporting mechanism 482 and the alignment supporting mechanism 605 based on these position detection results and controls the plate PP or the substrate SB held by the upper stage 41 and the lower stage (The prealignment process and the precise alignment process) of the blanket BL retained in the blanks 61 are performed.

Next, the pattern forming process in the pattern forming apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described. In this pattern forming process, the plate PP or the substrate SB held by the upper stage 41 and the blanket BL held by the lower stage 61 are arranged close to each other with a small gap therebetween. Then, the transfer roller 641 comes into contact with the lower surface of the blanket BL and moves along the lower surface of the blanket BL while locally pushing the blanket BL upward. The pushed blanket BL first locally abuts the plate PP or the substrate SB, and as the roller moves, the contact portion gradually expands and eventually abuts the entire plate PP or the substrate SB. As a result, patterning from the plate PP to the blanket BL or pattern transfer from the blanket BL to the substrate SB is performed.

7 is a flowchart showing a pattern forming process. Figs. 8 to 15 are diagrams schematically showing the positional relationship of each unit of the apparatus in each step of the processing. Fig. Hereinafter, the operation of each part in the pattern formation processing will be described with reference to Figs. 8 to 15. Fig. In order to easily show the relationship between the respective parts in each step of the processing, there is a case where the constitution not directly related to the processing of the above step or the code not to be attached thereto is omitted. In addition, since the operation is the same except for the case where the object to be processed held on the upper stage 41 is the plate PP and the case where the substrate SB is used, the plate PP and the substrate SB are alternately read in a common manner do.

In this pattern forming process, the plate PP corresponding to the pattern to be formed first is carried into the initialized pattern forming apparatus 1 and set in the upper stage 41 (step S101), and then the pattern forming material The blanket BL having the uniform coating layer formed thereon is carried in and set in the lower stage 61 (step S102). The plate PP is conveyed with the effective surface corresponding to the pattern downward and the blanket BL with the coating layer facing upward.

Fig. 8 shows a process up to the time when the plate PP or the substrate SB is carried into the apparatus and set in the upper stage 41. Fig. As shown in Fig. 8 (a), in the initial state, the upper stage 41 is retracted upward and the distance from the lower stage 61 is increased, so that a large processing space SP is formed between the two stages. Each hand 625 is retracted downward from the upper surface of the lower stage 61. The transfer roller 641 is positioned at the most (-X) direction among the positions facing the opening window 611 of the lower stage 61 and is positioned below the upper surface of the lower stage 61 in the vertical direction In a position retreated to. Each control valve connected to the negative pressure supply part 804 is closed.

In this state, the plate PP placed on the outside plate hand HP from the front side of the apparatus, that is, from the (-Y) direction to the (+ Y) direction is measured in advance before being brought into the processing space SP do. The edition hand HP may be an operation tool manually operated by an operator or may be a hand of an external carrier robot. At this time, since the hand 625 and the transfer roller 641 are retracted downward, the carrying-in operation can be facilitated. When the plate PP is positioned at a predetermined position, the upper stage 41 descends as indicated by an arrow.

When the upper stage 41 is lowered to a predetermined position close to the plate PP, as shown in Fig. 8 (b), the suction pad 443 provided on the upper stage 41 is pressed against the lower surface of the upper stage 41, And is discharged downward beyond the plane 41a, and abuts on the upper surface of the plate PP. By opening the control valve connected to the adsorption pad 443, the top surface of the plate PP is adsorbed by the adsorption pad 443, and the plate PP is held. Then, by lifting the adsorption pad 443 while the adsorption is continued, the plate PP is lifted from the plate hand HP. At this point, the edition hand HP moves out of the apparatus.

Finally, as shown in Fig. 8 (c), the lower surface of the adsorption pad 443 rises to the same height as or slightly higher than the holding plane 41a, whereby the upper surface of the plate PP is moved upward Is held in close contact with the holding plane (41a) of the stage (41). The adsorption grooves or adsorption holes may be provided on the lower surface of the upper stage 41 so as to adsorb and hold the plate PP fed from the adsorption pads 443. Thus, the maintenance of the plate PP is completed. By the same procedure, the substrate SB can be carried by the substrate hand HS.

Figs. 9 and 10 show a process from the introduction of the plate PP until the blanket BL is carried in and held in the lower stage 61. Fig. When the holding of the plate PP by the upper stage 41 is completed, as shown in Fig. 9 (a), the upper stage 41 is raised so as to form a larger processing space SP again, And is lifted up to a position higher than the upper surface 61a of the lower stage 61. At this time, the top surfaces 625a of the hands 625 are all flush with each other.

In this state, as shown in Fig. 9 (b), it is accepted that the blanket BL on which the coating layer PT of the patterning material is formed on the upper surface is placed on the external blanket hand HB and is brought into the processing space SP. The thickness of the blanket BL is measured prior to loading. The blanket hand HB is preferably of the fork type having fingers extending in the Y direction so as not to interfere with the hand 625 and to pass through the gaps thereof.

The upper surface 625a of the hand 625 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the blanket BL and the lower surface of the blanket BL is pressed against the lower surface of the blanket BL as shown in Fig. The BL is supported by the hand 625. By supplying a negative pressure to the suction hole 625b (Fig. 4) provided on the hand 625, the support can be made more reliable. Thus, the blanket BL can be handed from the blanket hand HB to the hand 625, and the blanket hand HB can be discharged to the outside of the apparatus.

10 (a), the hand 625 is lowered while keeping the height of the upper surface 625a of each hand 625, and finally the upper surface 625a of the hand is lowered to the lower side 61, As shown in FIG. As a result, the periphery of the side of the blanket BL 4 abuts against the upper surface 61a of the lower stage 61.

At this time, as shown in Fig. 10 (b), negative pressure is supplied to the vacuum adsorption grooves 612 provided in the upper stage upper surface 61a of the lower stage, and the blanket BL is adsorbed and held. Along with this, the suction to the hand 625 is released. As a result, the peripheral portion of the four sides of the blanket BL is held by the lower stage 61 by suction. 10B, the blanket BL and the hand 625 are spaced apart from each other to specify that the suction holding by the hand 625 is canceled. Actually, the lower surface of the blanket BL is in contact with the upper surface 625a of the hand maintain.

Assuming that the hand 625 is separated in this state, it can be considered that the blanket BL bends downward at the central portion due to its own weight, and becomes convex downward as a whole. By holding the hand 625 at the same height as the upper surface 61a of the lower stage, this bending can be suppressed and the blanket BL can be kept flat. Thus, the periphery of the blanket BL is attracted and held by the lower stage 61, while the central portion of the blanket BL is supplementarily supported by the hand 625, and the holding of the blanket BL is completed.

The order of the plate PP and the blanket BL may be reversed. However, when the plate PP is carried in after the blanket BL is carried in, there is a fear that foreign matter falls on the blanket BL at the time of bringing the plate PP into contact with the coating layer PT to contaminate the coating layer PT or cause defects. By setting the plate PP to the upper stage 41 and then setting the blanket BL to the lower stage 61 as described above, such a problem can be avoided in advance.

Returning to Fig. 7, when the plate PP and the blanket BL are set in the upper and lower stages, respectively, the pre-alignment process of the plate PP and the blanket BL is subsequently performed (step S103). Further, the gap adjustment is performed so that the two face each other with a predetermined gap (step S104).

11 is a diagram showing a process of a gap adjusting process and an alignment process. 11 (c) is a process required only in a transfer process to be described later, which will be described later in the explanation of the transfer process. As described above, the plate PP, the substrate SB, or the blanket BL are carried from the outside, but the positional deviation may occur at the time of the water supply. The prealignment process is a process for roughly positioning each of the plate PP or the substrate SB held by the upper stage 41 and the blanket BL held by the lower stage 61 at a proper position for subsequent processing.

11 (a) is a side view schematically showing the arrangement of a configuration for performing pre-alignment. As described above, in this embodiment, six pre-alignment cameras 241 to 246 are provided on the upper part of the apparatus. The three cameras 241 to 243 are pre-alignment cameras for the substrate for detecting the edge of the plate PP (or the substrate SB) held on the upper stage 41. [ The other three cameras 244 to 246 are pre-alignment cameras for blanket for detecting the outer edge of the blanket BL. Here, the prealignment cameras 241 to 243 are referred to as " substrate prealignment cameras " for convenience. However, these prealigning cameras 241 to 243 can be used for both positioning of the plate PP and positioning of the substrate SB, .

As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 11 (a), the pre-alignment cameras 241 and 242 for the substrate are provided at substantially the same position in the X direction and different in position in the Y direction, (-X) side outer edge portion of the image pickup element from above. Since the upper stage 41 is formed in a plane size slightly smaller than the substrate SB, the (-X) side outer edge of the plate PP (or the substrate SB) extending to the outer side than the end of the upper stage 41 is picked up from above . Although not shown, another pre-alignment camera 243 for the substrate is provided on the front side of the sheet of Fig. 11 (a), and the camera 243 is mounted on the plate PP (or the substrate SB) Side side edge portion from above.

On the other hand, the blanket pre-alignment cameras 244 and 246 are provided at substantially the same position in the X direction and different positions from each other in the Y direction, and the (+ X) of the blanket BL placed on the lower stage 61, Side outer edge portion from above. Another preliminary alignment camera 245 for blanket is provided on the front side of the paper surface of Fig. 11 (a), and the camera 245 picks up the (-Y) side edge portion of the blanket BL from above.

The positions of the plate PP (or the substrate SB) and the blanket BL are grasped from the image pickup results by these prealignment cameras 241 to 246, respectively. Then, the upper stage block supporting mechanism 482 and the alignment stage supporting mechanism 605 are operated as necessary, whereby the plate PP (or the substrate SB) and the blanket BL are respectively positioned at preset target positions. Positioning by the upper stage block supporting mechanisms 4821 and 4822 based on the imaging result, that is, the prealignment processing of the plate PP (or the substrate SB) will be described later in detail.

When the blanket BL is horizontally moved together with the lower stage 61, it is preferable that the upper surface 625a of each hand 625 and the lower surface of the blanket BL are slightly spaced apart as shown in Fig. 11 (a) Do. For this purpose, the gas supplied from the gas supply unit 806 may be discharged from the suction hole 625b of the hand 625. [ This is also true in the precision alignment processing described later.

In addition, for the substrate SB which is thin or large and susceptible to warping, for example, the substrate SB may be provided for processing in a state in which a plate-like support member is abutted against the back surface, for example. In these cases, even if the supporting member is larger than the substrate SB, for example, the position of the outer edge of the substrate SB can be detected by forming the supporting member in a transparent material or providing a partially transparent window or through hole in the supporting member If the configuration is easy, the same pre-alignment process as described above is possible.

11 (b), the upper stage 41 holding the plate PP is lowered with respect to the lower stage 61 holding the blanket BL, and the gap G between the plate PP and the blanket BL is set to be Adjust it to a preset value. At this time, the thicknesses of the plate PP and the blanket BL previously measured are considered. That is, after the thicknesses of the plate PP and the blanket BL are added, the gap between the upper stage 41 and the lower stage 61 is adjusted such that the gap therebetween is a predetermined value. The gap value G here can be set to, for example, about 300 mu m.

Regarding the thicknesses of the plate PP and the blanket BL, it is preferable that the thickness of the plate PP and the blanket BL are measured every time the plate is used, since there are individual differences due to manufacturing dimensional deviations, The gap G may be defined between the lower surface of the plate PP and the upper surface of the blanket BL, or between the lower surface of the plate PP and the upper surface of the coating layer PT of the pattern forming material supported on the blanket BL. As long as the thickness of the application layer PT is strictly controlled in the application step, it is technically equivalent.

7, when the plate PP and the blanket BL are opposed to each other with the gap G in this way, the plate PP and the blanket BL are moved in the X direction while the transfer roller 641 is abutted against the lower surface of the blanket BL Let's face it. As a result, the coating layer PT of the pattern forming material on the blanket BL is patterned by the plate PP (patterning processing; step S105).

12 shows the process of the patterning process. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 12 (a), the transfer roller 641 is raised to a position just below the blanket BL, and in the X direction, the center line of the transfer roller 641 coincides with the end of the plate PP The transfer roller 641 is disposed at a position slightly off in the same position or in the direction (-X) than this. In this state, as shown in Fig. 12 (b), the transfer roller 641 is further raised to abut the lower surface of the blanket BL, and the blanket BL at the abutted position is locally pushed upward. As a result, the blanket BL (more precisely, the coating layer PT of the pattern forming material supported on the blanket BL) is pressed against the lower surface of the plate PP with a predetermined pressing force. Since the transfer roller 641 is longer than the plate PP (and the effective area) in the Y direction, an elongated region along the Y direction from the one end to the other end in the Y direction of the bottom surface of the plate PP abuts against the blanket BL All.

Thus, the lifting mechanism 644 runs in the (+ X) direction while the transfer roller 641 pressurizes the blanket BL, thereby moving the push-up position of the blanket BL in the (+ X) direction. In order to prevent the hand 625 from coming into contact with the transfer roller 641 at this time, as shown in Fig. 12 (c), the hand 625 having the distance in the X- The upper surface 625a of the hand 625 is retracted downwardly to a position lower than the lower surface of the support frame 642. [

Since the suction by the hand 625 has already been released, the blanket BL is not pulled down with the descent of the hand 625. It is also possible to prevent the blanket BL, which has lost support by the hand 625, from falling down by its own weight by properly managing the timing of starting the descent in synchronization with the running of the transfer roller 641. [

Fig. 13 shows the traveling process of the transfer roller 641. Fig. The abutting plate PP and the blanket BL are held in close contact with each other through the coating layer PT of the pattern forming material. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 13 (a), the plate PP and the blanket BL The close region is gradually enlarged in the (+ X) direction. At this time, as shown in the drawing, the transfer roller 641 is moved in the descending order of the hand 625 as it approaches.

Thus, finally, all the hands 625 are lowered and the transfer roller 641 reaches the vicinity of the (+ X) side end portion under the lower stage 61 as shown in Fig. 13 (b). At this point in time, the transfer roller 641 reaches the position substantially on the (+ X) side end of the plate PP or on the (+ X) side more finely than the end of the plate PP, PT.

The area of the area pressed by the transfer roller 641 in the lower surface of the blanket BL is constant while the transfer roller 641 travels while maintaining a constant height. Therefore, by pressing the transfer roller 641 against the blanket BL while the lifting mechanism 644 applies a constant load, the plate PP and the blanket BL are pressed against each other with a constant pressing force while sandwiching the coating layer PT of the pattern forming material therebetween . As a result, the patterning from the plate PP to the blanket BL can be performed satisfactorily.

In patterning, it is ideal that the entire surface area of the plate PP can be used effectively. However, a region which is not effectively usable due to contact with the hand at the time of scratching or transportation inevitably occurs in the periphery of the plate PP . As shown in Fig. 13 (b), when the central portion excluding the end regions of the plate PP is defined as a valid region AR functioning effectively as a plate, at least the pressing force and the traveling speed of the transfer roller 641 in the effective region AR It is preferable to have a constant value. In order to do so, the Y-direction length of the transfer roller 641 needs to be longer than the length of the effective area AR in the same direction. In the X direction, the transfer roller 641 starts running from the (-X) side position with respect to the end of the effective area AR in the (-X) direction, and the effective area AR It is preferable to maintain a constant speed until reaching the end of the motor. The surface area of the blanket BL opposed to the effective area AR of the plate PP becomes the effective area on the side of the blanket BL.

Fig. 14 shows the positional relationship between the plate or substrate and the blanket. More specifically, this drawing is a plan view of the positional relationship when the plate PP or the substrate SB abuts against the blanket BL as viewed from above. As shown in the drawing, the blanket BL has a larger plane size than the plate PP or the substrate SB. The area R1 of the blanket BL, which is near the periphery of the dotted portion in the drawing, is an area in contact with the upper surface 61a of the lower stage when being held by the lower stage 61. And the blanket BL is held in the lower stage 61 with the lower surface opened for the inner side than the lower side.

The plate PP and the substrate SB are almost the same size, and they are smaller than the opening window size of the lower stage 61. The effective area AR effectively used for actual pattern formation is smaller than the size of the plate PP or the substrate SB. Therefore, the area corresponding to the effective area AR of the blanket BL is in a state in which the lower surface is opened and faces the opening window 611 of the lower stage 61.

The hatching region R2 represents a region (pressing region) which is simultaneously pressed by the transfer roller 641 in the lower surface of the blanket BL. The pressing region R2 is an elongated region extending in the roller extension direction, that is, the Y direction, and both end portions in the Y direction extend to the outer side than the end portions of the plate PP or the substrate SB. Therefore, when the transfer roller 641 presses the blanket BL in a state parallel to the lower surface of the blanket BL, the pressing force is constant in the Y direction from one end to the other end of the effective area AR in the Y direction Do.

Thus, the transfer roller 641 moves in the X direction while applying a constant pressing force in the Y direction to the effective area AR, so that the plate PP or the substrate SB and the blanket BL are pressed against each other with a constant pressing force in the whole effective area AR. This makes it possible to prevent pattern damage caused by uneven pressurization and to form a good quality pattern.

When the transfer roller 641 reaches the end on the (+ X) side in this manner, the traveling of the transfer roller 641 is stopped and the transfer roller 641 is retracted downward as shown in Fig. 13 (c) . As a result, the transfer roller 641 is separated from the lower surface of the blanket BL, and the patterning process is completed.

Returning to Fig. 7, when the patterning process is completed in this way, the plate PP and the blanket BL are taken out (step S106). Fig. 15 shows the process of taking out the plate and the blanket. 15A, each of the hands 625 lowered during the patterning process is raised again so that the upper surface 625a is positioned at the same height as the upper surface 61a of the lower stage 61 As shown in Fig. In this state, the adsorption of the plate PP by the adsorption pad 443 of the upper stage 41 (adsorption by adsorption grooves or adsorption holes, adsorption by them) is released. As a result, the holding of the plate PP by the upper stage 41 is released, and the laminate in which the plate PP and the blanket BL are integrated through the coating layer PT of the pattern forming material is left on the lower stage 61. And the central portion of the laminate is supported by the hand 625. [

Subsequently, as shown in Fig. 15 (b), the upper stage 41 is raised to form a wide processing space SP, the attraction of the lower stage 61 by the groove 612 is released, 625 are moved further upward than the lower stage 61. At this time, it is preferable to hold the laminate by the hand 625 by suction.

This makes access from the outside possible. Thus, as shown in Fig. 15 (c), the blanket hand HB in the state in which the plate PP is in close contact is taken out to the outside by taking in the blanket hand HB from the outside and performing an operation opposite to that at the time of carrying. When the plate PP thus adhered is peeled from the blanket BL by an appropriate peeling means, a predetermined pattern is formed on the blanket BL.

Next, a case where a pattern formed on the blanket BL is transferred to the substrate SB as a final object will be described. The process is basically the same as in the case of the patterning process. 7, the substrate SB is first set on the upper stage 41 (step S107), and the blanket BL after pattern formation is set on the lower stage 61 (step S108). After the pre-alignment treatment and the gap adjustment of the substrate SB and the blanket BL are performed (steps S109 and S110), the pattern on the blanket BL is transferred to the substrate SB by running the transfer roller 641 under the blanket BL (Step S112). After the transfer is completed, the integrated blanket BL and the substrate SB are taken out and the process is terminated (step S113). These series of operations are also the same as those shown in Figs. 8 to 15. In these figures, in the case where the plate PP is read by replacing the plate PP with the substrate SB, reference character PT denotes a pattern after the patterning process.

However, in the transfer process, more precise alignment (precision alignment process) of both is performed before the substrate SB and the blanket BL are abutted to transfer the pattern properly at a predetermined position of the substrate SB (step S111). Figure 11 (c) shows the process.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the pattern forming apparatus 1 is provided with a precision alignment camera 27 supported by a support column set up in the (+ Z) direction from the base frame 21. The precision alignment camera 27 is provided with a total of four optical axes with the optical axis thereof being vertically upward so as to image the four corners of the substrate SB through the opening window 611 of the lower stage 61, respectively.

Alignment marks (substrate-side alignment marks) serving as position references are formed at the four corners of the substrate SB, while blanket-side alignment marks are formed as part of the pattern patterned by the plate PP at positions corresponding to the alignment marks . These are picked up in the same field of view of the precision alignment camera 27, their positional relationship is detected, and the amount of displacement of the both is obtained and the amount of movement of the blanket BL for correcting the displacement is obtained. By moving the alignment stage 601 by the obtained movement amount by the alignment stage support mechanism 605, the lower stage 61 moves in the horizontal plane, and the positional deviation between the substrate SB and the blanket BL is corrected.

High precision alignment of the substrate SB and the blanket BL can be performed by imaging the alignment marks formed on the substrate SB and the blanket BL opposed to each other with a minute gap G therebetween by the same camera. In this sense, the alignment process can be said to be a more precise precision alignment process as compared with the case where the substrate SB and the blanket BL are picked up separately to perform position adjustment. In this embodiment, it is possible to form a pattern highly precisely aligned at a predetermined position of the substrate SB by bringing the two in contact with each other. Alignment marks respectively formed on the substrate SB and the blanket BL can be positioned within the field of view of the precision alignment camera 27 by pre-aligning the substrate SB and the blanket BL in advance.

In addition, at the time of forming the pattern on the blanket BL by the plate PP, such a precise alignment process is not necessarily required. This is because the positional deviation between the pattern formed on the blanket BL and the blanket-side alignment mark does not occur because the blanket-side alignment mark is previously formed on the plate PP together with the pattern, and the blanket-side alignment mark and the substrate- A slight misalignment between the plate PP and the blanket BL does not affect the pattern formation. In this respect, in the patterning process, only the prealignment process is executed.

The alignment process will be described in more detail. As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to perform the alignment adjustment between the substrate SB and the blanket BL with respect to each other with a small gap G (for example, G = 300 μm) . Therefore, it is possible to align the substrate SB and the blanket BL with very high positional accuracy (for example, about ± 3 μm).

16 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the alignment process. As shown in Fig. 16 (a), on the lower surface of the substrate SB held on the upper stage 41, that is, near the four corners of the transfer surface of the pattern, alignment marks ) AMs are formed in advance. On the other hand, an alignment mark (blanket-side alignment mark) AMb having an appropriate shape is formed on the upper surface of the blanket BL held on the lower stage 61, that is, on the pattern supporting surface. More specifically, when the alignment mark AMb is formed on the plate PP in advance with the pattern to be formed, and when the coating layer PT formed by the pattern forming material on the blanket BL is patterned by the plate PP, the alignment mark AMb Is formed on the blanket BL.

Therefore, on the blanket BL after patterning, a pattern to be transferred to the substrate SB and an alignment mark AMb are formed, and the positional relationship therebetween is fixed. Therefore, by positioning the substrate-side alignment mark AMs and the blanket-side alignment mark AMb, the relative positions of the substrate SB and the pattern to be transferred to the substrate SB are correctly defined.

Specifically, as shown in Fig. 16 (a), by the alignment camera 27 disposed on the inner side of the opening 611 of the lower stage 61 and below the blanket BL, the blanket side The alignment mark AMb and the substrate side alignment mark AMs formed on the lower surface of the substrate SB are imaged through the blanket BL. The blanket BL is made mainly of quartz glass, for example, and has light transmittance. At this time, as shown in Fig. 16 (b), both alignment marks AMs and AMb are included in the same field of view FV.

The picked-up image is subjected to image processing in the image processing section 805 of the control unit 8, and the relative positions of the both alignment marks AMs and AMb are detected. As shown in Fig. 16 (b), by making the shapes of the both alignment marks AMs and AMb different from each other, identification thereof becomes easy. Further, by performing position detection in an image in which both alignment marks AMs and AMb are placed in the same field of view FV, it is possible to obtain a relative position between both alignment marks AMs and AMb with high accuracy. Such imaging and position detection is performed on the alignment marks respectively provided at the four corners of the substrate SB, whereby the positional shift amount between the substrate SB and the blanket BL is obtained. In principle, the alignment can be performed using the alignment mark for each of the substrate SB and the blanket BL, but alignment marks are formed at least two positions and alignment is performed by picking up the alignment marks. Can be positioned.

The alignment stage support mechanism 605 moves the alignment stage 601 (Fig. 3) in the horizontal plane so as to cancel the obtained positional shift amount. As a result, the lower stage 61 moves horizontally by a necessary amount in the XY &thetas; direction, and precise alignment of the substrate SB and the blanket BL (more precisely, the pattern on the blanket BL) is realized.

In order to perform such a precise alignment with high accuracy, it is necessary to increase the resolution in detecting the position of the alignment mark, and therefore, it is necessary to perform imaging at a relatively high magnification. In order to place the substrate-side alignment mark AMs and the blanket-side alignment mark AMb in the same field of view, the relative positions of the substrate SB and the blanket BL are adjusted to some extent (for example, several tens of microns The positional accuracy of the sensor).

However, it is not easy to realize the positional accuracy of the substrate SB and the blanket BL from the outside of the apparatus at the time of the water supply. Even if the stopper member 613 is disposed and regulated in position as shown in Fig. 3, The required positional accuracy may not be reached due to the dimensional deviation of the member. Particularly, when the substrate SB and the blanket BL become large, they become brittle, the dimensional deviation increases, and the weight increases. Therefore, there is a limit in accuracy in position regulation by mechanical impact.

Variability of the magnification and field of view FV of the alignment camera 27 for the purpose of use in such a relatively rough alignment is undesirable because it may cause the imaging position accuracy at the time of imaging for precision alignment to be rather lowered. This is because, by making the magnification variable, the optical axis shift of the optical system, the light quantity shortage at the time of a high magnification, and image distortion become easy to occur. Thus, in this embodiment, prealignment is performed prior to precision alignment, so that the relative positions of the substrate SB and the blanket BL are matched to such an extent that the both alignment marks AMs and AMb enter the same view of the alignment camera 27. [ With respect to the imaging optical system of the alignment camera 27, the magnification and field of view FV become constant.

17 and 18 are diagrams for explaining the principle of pre-alignment in this embodiment. More specifically, FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the imaging range of the blanket BL by the prealignment camera, and FIG. 18 is a view for explaining the principle of alignment based on an image picked up by the prealignment camera.

As described above, in this embodiment, six pre-alignment cameras 241 to 246 are provided on the upper part of the apparatus. Three of the cameras 241 to 243 are pre-alignment cameras for the substrate for detecting the outline of the substrate SB. The other three cameras 244 to 246 are pre-alignment cameras for blanket for detecting the outer edge of the blanket BL. These cameras may be lower in magnification than the alignment camera 27 for precision alignment, and thus a wide field of view can be ensured. In addition, the resolution can be lower, and the increase in the device cost can be suppressed.

The position detection of the substrate SB by the substrate prealimation cameras 241 to 243 and the alignment based thereon and the detection of the position of the blanket BL by the prealigning cameras 244 to 246 for blanket and the alignment based thereon It is the same as enemy. Hereinafter, the principle of alignment of the blanket BL based on the imaging results of the blanket pre-alignment cameras 244 to 246 will be described as an example.

17, the blanket prealigning cameras 244 to 246 take two images of the outer edge of the (+ X) side of the four sides of the blanket BL and one edge of the outer edge of the (+ Y) do. In the figure, areas IR1, IR2, and IR3 respectively indicate imaging ranges by cameras 246, 244, and 245. [ It is possible to improve the alignment accuracy by imaging the outer edge near the edge of the blanket BL.

It is possible to obtain the positional shift amount of the blanket BL in two dimensions in the X direction and the Y direction independently by imaging a part of two sides which are not parallel to each other among the four sides forming the outer edge of the blanket BL. In addition, by capturing two or more images on the same side or sides parallel to each other, the tilt amount of the blanket BL in the? Direction can be obtained.

In Fig. 18 (a), the X-direction positions of the imaging ranges IR1 and IR2 are slightly different. It is assumed that there is a possibility that the attachment position deviation of each camera may occur due to the dimensional accuracy of the parts and the like. In order to indicate that the blanket can be aligned even in a state including slight misalignment between the cameras, have.

The principle of alignment based on the imaging result will be described with reference to Fig. First, assuming a blanket BLi at a design abnormal position (target position) without positional deviation, as shown in Fig. 18 (a), the blanket ends Is registered as a reference value. More specifically, the distance X10 in the X direction from the end of the imaging range IR1 by the camera 246 to the (+ X) side end of the blanket BLi and the distance X10 in the XY direction of the imaging range IR2 in the imaging range IR2 by the camera 244 An X direction distance X20 from the end to the (+ X) side end of the blanket BLi and a Y direction distance Y30 from the end of the imaging range IR3 by the camera 245 to the (Y) side end of the blanket BLi are registered as reference values I will. Registration of the reference value does not need to be renewed unless the position of each camera is changed.

Next, the end portions of the blanket BL are respectively imaged by the blanket pre-alignment cameras 244 to 246 with the blanket BL actually carried. Fig. 18 (b) shows an example thereof. In general, the blanket BL is placed on the lower stage 61 in such a state that it is deviated from the abnormal position. At this time, the distance X11 in the X direction from the end of the imaging range IR1 by the camera 246 to the (+ X) side end of the blanket BL and the distance X11 in the XY direction of the imaging range IR2 in the imaging range IR2 by the camera 244 Y distance Y31 from the end of the imaging range IR3 by the camera 245 to the (+ Y) side end of the blanket BL is obtained.

If there is no positional deviation in the blanket BL, these values X11, X21, and Y31 match the reference values X10, X20, and Y30, respectively, but they generally have different values. The difference of the value from the reference value indicates the magnitude of the displacement of the blanket BL. That is, the difference between the value Y31 and the value Y30 corresponds to the position shift amount in the Y direction of the blanket BL. The difference between the value X11 and the value X10 and the difference between the value X21 and the value X20 all correspond to the positional shift amount of the blanket BL in the X direction. The difference between the values (X20-X10) and the values (X21-X11) corresponds to the positional shift amount (slope) of the blanket BL around the Z axis, that is, the? Direction. By registering the blanket outer edge position in the abnormal state as a reference value and obtaining the relative positional shift amount therefrom, accuracy is not required for the absolute position of each camera. That is, the attachment position of the camera does not have to be strictly controlled, and it is sufficient that the position accuracy is such that the outline of the blanket BL irregularly positioned at each time of loading can be stably placed in the visual field.

From these values, the amount of positional shift from the abnormal position of the blanket BL is obtained in each of the X direction, the Y direction, and the? Direction. By calculating the horizontal movement amount of the blanket BL for eliminating the positional deviation and moving the blanket BL, Can be performed. The position detection and movement may be repeatedly performed until the blanket BL is positioned at the abnormal position. The substrate SB or plate PP held in the upper stage 41 can be positioned in the same manner.

Even if the positional accuracy finally required can not be obtained in the positioning based on the low magnification image picked up by the prealignment camera, it is possible to obtain at least the substrate-side and blanket-side both alignment marks in the same field of view FV of the alignment camera 27 The alignment is sufficiently feasible by the above method. In other words, the abnormal position (target position) of the blanket BL and the substrate SB is preset so that at least the substrate-side and blanket-side alignment marks are within the same field of view FV of the alignment camera 27, and the above-described prealignment process is performed .

The movement of the substrate SB or the blanket BL based on the imaging results of the prealignment camera can be performed at any timing after the transfer of the plate PP (or the substrate SB) and the blanket BL and before the precision alignment. In this embodiment, after the plate PP (or the substrate SB) and the blanket BL are loaded, the prealignment processing is performed before the gap adjustment is performed. This is to prevent a disturbance due to the existence of the blanket BL at the position close to the rear when detecting the end of the plate PP or the substrate SB by the substrate pre-alignment cameras 241 to 243. On the other hand, if the pre-alignment treatment is performed after adjusting the gap between the plate PP (or the substrate SB) and the blanket BL, it is possible to more reliably prevent the positional deviation in the horizontal direction that may occur when the gap is changed.

With respect to the movement of the substrate SB for the prealignment, the upper stage block supporting mechanism 482 moves the upper stage assembly 40 and horizontally moves the upper stage 41 holding the substrate SB. On the other hand, regarding the movement of the blanket BL, the alignment stage support mechanism 605 moves the alignment stage 601 and horizontally moves the lower stage 61 holding the blanket BL. At this time, as shown in Fig. 11 (a), it is preferable that the upper surface 625a of each hand 625 is separated from the lower surface of the blanket BL. In this embodiment, the elevating hand units 62 and 63 are fixed to the base frame 21. When the alignment stage 601 moves horizontally by the operation of the alignment stage supporting mechanism 605, It does not work with this.

However, when each hand 625 is lowered for this purpose, the blanket BL may be bent downward along with this. The gas is discharged from the suction hole 625b of the hand upper surface 625a while maintaining the vertical position of each hand 625 so that the blanket BL and the hand upper surface 625a It is possible to make a minute gap between them. As a result, sliding friction with the hand 625 is avoided when the blanket BL is moved. By maintaining the state in which the blanket BL is sucked and held by the lower stage 61, displacement of the blanket BL with respect to the lower stage 61 is prevented. As shown in Fig. 11 (c), the same can be applied to the movement of the blanket BL in the precision alignment.

It is possible to move the substrate SB or the blanket BL while maintaining these positions by moving them together with the stage while holding them in the upper stage 41 or the lower stage 61, It is possible to prevent deterioration of the alignment accuracy caused by the positioning accuracy.

Up to this point, the prealignment of the plate PP (or the substrate SB) has been described briefly. Hereinafter, the pre-alignment process of the plate PP will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 19 to 22. Fig. Since the pre-alignment process of the substrate SB is also the same as that of the plate PP described below, the detailed description of the pre-alignment process of the substrate SB is omitted.

19 schematically shows a schematic configuration of an upper stage block and a pre-alignment camera for a substrate. The configuration and arrangement of the upper stage block 4 and the substrate prealimation cameras 241 to 243 are as described above. As shown in Fig. 19 (a), the upper stage 41, the reinforcing frame 42, Shaped structure body 43 and supporting columns 45 and 46 and is horizontally drivable while being supported by the upper stage block supporting mechanism 482. [

Hereinafter, in order to distinguish the base plates 481 provided at two places from each other in the X direction, one of the two base plates 481 disposed on the -X side is referred to as 4811 And one on the (+ X) side is denoted by reference numeral 4812. Likewise, in order to distinguish the upper stage block supporting mechanisms 482 provided at two places with different positions in the X direction from each other, one of the two upper stage block supporting mechanisms 482 disposed on the (-X) 4821, and one disposed on the (+ X) side is denoted by reference numeral 4822.

20 schematically shows the structure of the upper stage block supporting mechanism on the (-X) side. The upper stage block supporting mechanism 4821 is a two-axis stage mechanism for driving the base plate 4811 in the X direction and the Y direction. In the upper stage block supporting mechanism 4821, a guide rail 482b extending in the Y direction is fixed on the base member 482a as shown in Fig. 20 (b) And a slider 482c is attached so as to be slidable in the Y direction. In addition, a Y-axis ball screw bracket 482d is attached on the slider 482c. The Y-axis ball screw bracket 482d extends in the X direction as shown in Fig. 20 (a), and the (+ X) side end portion of the Y- . A Y-axis motor 482f is attached to the (+ Y) side end of the Y-axis ball screw 482e and the Y-axis motor 482f is operated in response to an operation command from the motor control unit 802 The Y-axis ball screw bracket 482d moves in the Y direction. The Y-axis moving section is constituted by these constitutions.

An X-axis moving section is provided on the Y-axis ball screw bracket 482d. This X-axis moving section includes a linear guide in which a slider 482h is slidably mounted in the X direction with respect to a guide rail 482g extending in the X direction, a ball screw 482j for the X axis, a ball screw 482j for the X axis Axis ball screw bracket 482k and an X-axis motor 482m, which are threadedly engaged with the X-axis drive shaft 482j. The slider 482h is fixed to the upper surface of the (+ X) side end portion of the Y-axis ball screw bracket 482d with the guide rail 482g positioned above the slider 482h. In addition, an X-axis ball screw bracket 482k is attached to the guide rail 482g. Therefore, when the X-axis motor 482m connected to the (-X) side end of the X-axis ball screw 482j operates according to an operation command from the motor control unit 802 (FIG. 2), the X- 482k move in the X-axis direction with respect to the Y-axis moving section. As described above, the two-axis stage mechanism is configured in such a manner that the X-axis moving portion is stacked on the Y-axis moving portion, and the X-axis ball screw bracket 482k can be moved in the X and Y directions.

The base plate 4811 is attached to the X-axis ball screw bracket 482k via the cross roller bearing 482n. Therefore, the base plate 4811 can be driven in the X and Y directions by controlling the Y-axis motor 482f and the X-axis motor 482m.

21 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a (+ X) side upper stage block supporting mechanism. This upper stage block supporting mechanism 4822 is provided with a bracket 482p having the same shape in place of the ball screw mechanism and the X axis motor in the X axis moving part and the ball screw bracket 482k for X axis, The upper stage block supporting mechanism 4821 has the same structure as the upper stage block supporting mechanism 4821 except that the upper stage block supporting mechanism 4821 is provided. Therefore, the upper stage block supporting mechanism 4822 can be driven only in the Y direction while supporting the base plate 4812 movably in the X direction and the Y direction.

Returning to Fig. 19, description will be continued. All of the plate PP and the substrate SB used in the present embodiment are plate-shaped bodies having a rectangular shape, and the pre-alignment cameras 241 and 242 for a substrate in the pre-alignment camera are arranged on four sides E1 (-X) side, and the substrate prealimation camera 243 picks up two images of the outer edge of the (-X) side in correspondence with the short side E2 on the (-Y) side And one image of the outer edge of the (-Y) side is picked up. In the figure (c), the regions IR4, IR5 and IR6 indicate the imaging range by the cameras 241 to 243, respectively. As described above, by picking up the outlines near the corner portions of the plate PP, it is possible to improve the positioning accuracy in the pre-alignment.

In this embodiment, the reason why the two sides E1 and E2 not parallel to each other are imaged is that the position deviation of the plate PP with respect to the target position in two dimensions of the X direction and the Y direction is independently To save. The reason for imaging at two or more positions on the same side E1 is to obtain the tilt amount of the plate PP with respect to the target position in the? Direction, and it is preferable to use the long side as in this embodiment. However, it is not limited to the long side, but may be the sides E2 and E4 on the short side. It is also possible to obtain an amount of tilt by imaging at two sides parallel to each other (for example, sides E1 and E3 or sides E2 and E4).

Next, the pre-alignment process of the plate PP will be described with reference to FIG. 22 is a diagram schematically showing a pre-alignment process of a plate. In this embodiment, the plate PP held in advance by the upper stage 41 is positioned at the target position in advance and the plate PP at the target position is picked up by each of the cameras 241 to 243 as shown in Fig. 22 (a) So,

The position X40 in the X direction of the long side E1 in the image IR4,

The position X50 in the X direction of the long side E1 in the image IR5,

A position Y60 in the Y direction of the short side E2 in the image IR6,

And stores these values in the storage unit (not shown) of the control unit 8 as the target position information, including the shift amount? X0 of the positions X40 and X50. Here, it is not necessary that the positions X40 and X50 coincide with each other, and they may be shifted. It is not necessary to update the target position information X40, X50, Y60, and X0 as long as the positions of the cameras 241 to 243 are not changed.

Next, when the plate PP is actually carried, the CPU 801 of the control unit 8, based on the imaging results of the cameras 241 to 243 in accordance with the program stored in advance in the storage unit (not shown) The block support mechanisms 4821 and 4822 are controlled to position the plate PP at the target position (pre-alignment of the plate PP). That is, the plate PP is imaged on the upper stage 41 and picked up by the pre-alignment cameras 241 to 243 for the substrate in the state where the plate PP is adsorbed and held on the upper stage 41. Fig. 22 (b) shows an example thereof. In general, the plate PP is attracted and held on the upper stage 41 in such a manner as to deviate from the target position. At this time, the position X41 in the X direction of the long side E1 in the image IR4 captured by the camera 241, and the position X51 in the X direction of the long side E1 in the image IR5 captured by the camera 242 I ask. In addition, the symbol DELTA X1 in the figure (b) shows the shift amounts of the positions X41 and X51.

Here, when the plate PP is sucked and held on the upper stage 41 without causing positional deviation with respect to the target position, the positions X41 and X51 coincide with the target position information X40 and X50, and the shift amount? The position Y61 of the short side E2 in the image IR6 captured by the camera 243 in the Y direction also coincides with the target position information Y60. However, as shown in Fig. 22 (b) It becomes a different value for any one.

Thus, in the present embodiment, the tilt amount of the plate PP with respect to the target position is obtained by calculation based on the target position information X40, X50 and the positions X41, X51. Then, the Y-axis motors 482f and 482f and the X-axis motor 482m are operated by the tilt amounts to rotate the upper stage 41 in the horizontal plane to correct the inclination. 22 (c), the position X42 of the long side E1 in the image IR4 captured by the camera 241 in the X direction and the position X42 of the camera 242 in the X2 direction after the tilt correction, for example, The shift amount DELTA X2 of the position X52 in the X direction of the long side E1 in the image IR5 captured by the image capturing device 10 coincides or substantially coincides with the target position information DELTA X0. If the difference between the shift amount? X2 and the target position information? X0 is not within the specified value, the tilt amount of the plate PP with respect to the target position is calculated again based on the positions X42 and X52, The Y-axis motors 482f and 482f and the X-axis motor 482m are operated to rotate the upper stage 41 in the horizontal plane to correct the inclination. The slope of the plate PP with respect to the target position can be accurately corrected by repeating the process until the shift amount? X2 coincides with or substantially coincides with the target position information? X0 and the difference is within the specified value.

When the tilt correction is thus completed, based on the position X42 (or position X52) and the target position information X40 (or X50) in the X direction of the long side E1 in the image IR4 captured by the camera 241 after the tilt correction The offset amount Xoff of the plate PP in the X direction is calculated. The offset amount Yoff of the plate PP in the Y direction is calculated based on the position Y62 in the Y direction and the target position information Y60 of the short side E3 in the image IR6 captured by the camera 243 after the tilt correction. The X-axis motor 482m is operated by the offset amount Xoff to shift the upper stage 41 in the X direction and the Y-axis motors 482f and 482f are operated by the offset amount Yoff to move the upper stage 41, In the Y direction. As a result, as shown in Fig. 22 (d), the plate PP is positioned at the target position, and the prealignment processing is completed. If the position X43 (or position X53) in the X direction of the long side E1 in the image IR4 captured by the camera 241 after offset correction does not match the target position information X40 (or X50) and the offset amount Xoff is The position Y63 of the short side E3 in the image IR6 captured by the camera 246 after the offset correction does not coincide with the target position information Y60 and the offset amount Yoff is within the specified value The motor on the side where the offset is generated is operated to shift by the offset amount. It is possible to accurately correct the offset of the plate PP with respect to the target position by repeating the offset correction until the offset amounts Xoff and Yoff are all within the specified value. In this way, the plate PP (or the substrate SB) is pre-aligned.

 As described above, in the present embodiment, the upper surface of the blanket BL held by the lower stage 61 and the lower surface of the plate PP or the substrate SB held by the upper stage 41 are pressed against each other to form a pattern. The positioning of the plate PP or the substrate SB to the target position, that is, the prealignment process is carried out in the state of being held by the upper stage 41 beforehand. Therefore, when the plate PP is transported by the plate hand HP, a positional deviation occurs during the water supply to the plate PP or the substrate upper stage 41 at the time of transporting the substrate SB by the substrate hand HS, Even if large warpage occurs in the substrate SB, the plate PP and the substrate SB can be reliably positioned at the target position by eliminating them by the pre-alignment process. As a result, the accuracy of pattern formation can be enhanced.

Since the tilt correction and the offset correction are performed on the basis of the imaging results by the cameras 241 to 243, the rectangular plate PP and the substrate SB can be accurately positioned at the target position.

In the above embodiment, the holding plane 41a of the upper stage 41 is formed in a plane size slightly smaller than each of the plate PP and the substrate SB, and the plate PP and the central portion of the substrate SB are attracted, The plate PP and the substrate SB are adsorbed and held in a state in which the outer edge of the SB comes out from the holding plane 41a. An edge of the plate PP and the edge of the substrate SB are picked up from the (+ Z) side opposite to the lower stage 61 with respect to the plate PP and the substrate SB. Therefore, the cameras 241 to 243 can pick up the edges of the plate PP and the substrate SB without interfering with the lower stage block.

≪ Second Embodiment >

In the above embodiment, the outer edge portions of the substrate SB (or plate PP) and the blanket BL are respectively picked up by the substrate prealigning cameras 241 to 243 and the blanket prealigning cameras 244 to 246, The pre-alignment process is performed by moving the upper stage 41 and the lower stage 61 based on the result. In this case, since the planar sizes of the substrate SB and the blanket BL are different, the outer edge of the substrate SB and the outer edge of the blanket BL need to be picked up by different cameras, respectively, and the number of cameras is increasing. Alternatively, it is also possible to perform the prealignment processing by a smaller number of cameras, for example, in the following manner.

A second embodiment of a pattern forming apparatus having a function as an alignment apparatus according to the present invention will be described below. The arrangement of the second embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in the principle of the arrangement of the prealignment camera and the prealignment process based on the result of the imaging, and the other aspects of the device of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment . Therefore, the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted. The configuration and operation peculiar to the second embodiment will be mainly described. It should be noted that the imaging range FV of the alignment camera 27 is represented by the symbol FVl in order to distinguish it from the imaging range FV2 of the prealignment camera.

In the pre-alignment processing of this embodiment, instead of imaging the outer edge of the substrate SB and the blanket BL performed in the first embodiment, alignment marks formed on the substrate SB and the blanket BL, more specifically, substrate- The blanket-side alignment mark AMb formed on the mark AMs and the blanket BL is imaged by the prealignment camera. Then, the substrate SB and the blanket BL are moved horizontally on the basis of the image pickup result, and the alignment mark provided on each of them is moved within the imaging range FV1 of the alignment camera 27. [ The details of the precision alignment process are the same as those in the first embodiment.

23 is a view for explaining a prealignment process in the apparatus of the second embodiment. More specifically, Fig. 23 (a) is a diagram schematically showing the arrangement of the pre-alignment camera in the pattern forming apparatus according to the second embodiment, and Fig. 23 (b) Fig. Fig. 23 (b) shows the coordinate axes corresponding to the state in which the blanket BL is raised from below.

In this embodiment, a prealigning camera 25 is provided below the blanket BL held by the lower stage 61, and the prealigning camera 25 is disposed with its optical axis AX2 facing upward. More specifically, the prealignment camera 25 is provided so that the optical axis has a slope of the angle? With respect to the normal to the lower surface of the blanket BL. In this example, the optical axis AX2 is inclined by an angle? In the (+ X) direction. The angle? Is suitably about 30 to 60 degrees.

On the other hand, the alignment camera 27 is provided such that its optical axis AX1 is orthogonal to the lower surface of the blanket BL. The alignment camera 27 has a lens unit LU1 functioning as an imaging optical system and an image pickup device IM1 made up of, for example, a CCD sensor or a CMOS sensor. The lens unit LU1 is a magnifying optical system, and its magnification is a predetermined constant value. The prealignment camera 25 also has a lens unit LU2 and an imaging device IM2.

The lens unit LU1 of the alignment camera 27 is, for example, an enlargement optical system having a magnification of about 10 times. As shown in Fig. 23 (b), the alignment camera 27 picks up a relatively narrow imaging range FV1 at a high magnification . On the other hand, the lens unit LU2 of the prealignment camera 25 has a magnification of about 0.5 to 1, and captures an image pickup range FV2 wider than the alignment camera 27 at a low magnification. Therefore, even if the resolving power of the imaging devices IM1 and IM2 is the same, the alignment camera 27 can capture images with high resolution.

The relative positional relationship between the imaging range FV1 of the alignment camera 27 and the imaging range FV2 of the prealignment camera 25 is prescribed in advance. It is preferable that the positions of both cameras are set so that the imaging range FV2 of the prealignment camera 25 includes the imaging range FV1 of the alignment camera 27, as shown in Fig. 23 (b). Although it is preferable that most of the imaging range FV1 of the alignment camera 27 is included in the imaging range FV2 of the prealignment camera 25, there may be a positional relationship in which a part of the imaging range FV1 deviates.

Thus, the movement of the substrate-side alignment mark AMs and the blanket-side alignment mark AMb in the prealignment processing is performed within the imaging range FV2 of the prealignment camera 25. [ Therefore, the pre-alignment camera 25 can verify that the alignment mark has moved to the predetermined position after the pre-alignment process. In addition, the pre-alignment process can be performed in a state in which the substrate SB and the blanket BL are disposed at a position near the final target position. The position of the imaging range FV1 of the alignment camera 27 and the position of the imaging range FV2 of the prealignment camera 25 are calculated from the contrast between the alignment mark captured by the prealignment camera 25 and the alignment mark captured by the alignment camera 27 The relationship can be verified. These all contribute to improvement of the position detection accuracy of the alignment mark.

The optical axis AX2 of the prealignment camera 25 is set in the oblique direction with respect to the lower surface of the blanket BL so that the imaging can be performed without the prealignment camera 25 and the alignment camera 27 interfering with each other. That is, it is avoided that the components of one camera block the view of the other camera.

In addition, since the imaging is performed in a state where the prealignment camera 25 is disposed in the oblique direction with respect to the blanket BL and the substrate SB, the blanket BL and the substrate SB, which are predicted by the prealignment camera 25, As a result, the imaging range FV2 is increased in the X direction. This is disadvantageous in terms of accuracy of position detection of the alignment mark, but is not a problem in the prealignment process of matching the approximate positions of the substrate SB and the blanket BL. Rather, the wider imaging range makes it easier to detect the approximate positions of the substrate-side and blanket-side alignment marks, which is advantageous because the permissible range for positional deviation at the time of carrying the substrate SB and the blanket BL is widened.

24 is a diagram showing a focus range of the prealignment camera and the alignment camera. 24 (a) shows the in-focus range FR1 of the alignment camera 27. Fig. The alignment camera 27 has a relatively high magnification lens unit LU1, and its depth of field is relatively shallow. Therefore, the in-focus range FR1 in the vertical direction (Z direction) is relatively narrow, and it is difficult to put both the substrate SB and the blanket BL opposed to each other with the gap G in the in-focus range. Therefore, there is a case where it is not possible to simultaneously align the substrate-side alignment marks AMs and the blanket-side alignment marks AMb. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 24 (a), the Z-direction position of the alignment camera 27 is set such that the upper surface of the blanket BL is put in the focus range FR1 and the blanket-side alignment mark AMb is in focus.

As a result, if the substrate-side alignment marks AMs are not in focus, a particularly high spatial frequency component disappears in the imaging result. It is possible to detect at least the center-of-gravity position of the substrate-side alignment mark AMs with high accuracy even if the figure includes a relatively low spatial frequency component as the substrate-side alignment mark AMs even from an unfit image, Position alignment does not occur. To enable this, as shown in Fig. 16B, for example, the substrate side alignment mark AMs can be a solid figure and the blanket side alignment mark AMb can be a hollow figure.

On the other hand, with respect to the prealignment camera 25, since the lens unit LU2 has a low magnification, a deeper depth of field can be used, and as shown in Fig. 24 (b), the inoculation range FR2 along the optical axis direction can be widened have. Therefore, it is possible to perform imaging in a state in which the substrate-side alignment marks AMs and the blanket-side alignment marks AMb provided in the substrate SB and the blanket BL opposed to each other with the gap G are in the overlapping range. That is, both the substrate side and the blanket-side alignment marks can be imaged in the same field of view in a state in which they are in focus. Therefore, even a camera whose resolution is not so high can be used, and sufficient position detection accuracy can be obtained practically even by imaging from the oblique direction.

As alignment camera 27, for example, magnification 10 times, when it is used to have the image pickup device IM1 of the lens unit LU1 and the ^second 3-inch size of the working distance 16mm, the imaging range is less than 1mm FV1 1 mutation, more Specifically, it is about 0.7 mm to 0.8 mm. On the other hand, as the prealignment camera 25, for example, using a lens unit LU2 having a magnification of 0.5 times, a depth of field of 6 mm and an imaging device IM2 having a size of 1/3 inch and ^{2 in} size, the tilt angle? , The imaging range FV2 is about 16 mm in the long side direction (X direction) and about 12 mm in the short side direction (Y direction). Assuming that the gap G is about 300 mu m, the substrate SB and the blanket BL all fall within the in-focus range FR2 of about 7 mm < ^{2 &} gt ;. It is sufficient to detect the substrate side and blanket side alignment marks from the substrate SB and the blanket BL which are carried in from the outside.

25 is a flowchart showing the alignment process in the second embodiment. In the process of the first embodiment, the pre-alignment process is performed before the gap between the substrate SB and the blanket BL loaded in the apparatus is adjusted. In the second embodiment, however, the substrate SB and the blanket BL must be close to each other Therefore, the prealignment process and the precision alignment process are sequentially executed after the gap adjustment. In the figure, the respective processing steps in steps S202 to S205 correspond to the prealignment processing, and the processing steps in steps S206 to S211 correspond to the precision alignment processing.

That is, when the substrate SB and the blanket BL are opposed to each other with a predetermined gap G being spaced apart from each other (step S201) by the gap adjustment, imaging by the prealignment camera 25 is carried out (step S202) Side alignment mark AMb is picked up in the same field of view. At this time, there may be a case where any one alignment mark deviates from the imaging range FV2. However, since there is a limit in the movable range of the substrate SB and the blanket BL by the upper stage block supporting mechanism 482 and the alignment stage supporting mechanism 605 If there is such a large positional deviation, it may be processed as an error.

The position of the substrate-side alignment mark AMs and the position of the blanket-side alignment mark AMb are detected from the imaging result (step S203). At this time, since the substrate SB and the blanket BL are spaced apart from each other with the gap G and imaging is performed from the oblique direction, the position of the substrate side alignment mark AMs in the captured image is projected at a position different from the original horizontal position . The position detection is carried out by correcting this point. Since the positional deviation in this case only appears as a certain amount of displacement in the X direction, it can easily be corrected by subtracting that amount. A slight position detection error due to the deviation of the gap may occur. However, since the precision alignment process is performed later, there is no problem.

When the positions of the substrate-side alignment mark AMs and the blanket-side alignment mark AMb are detected, the movement amounts of the substrate SB and the blanket BL necessary for putting them in the imaging range FV1 of the alignment camera 27 are calculated (step S204) Thus, the upper stage 41 and the lower stage 61 are moved (step S205). When any one of the alignment marks is already within the imaging range FV1, the movement is unnecessary. Thus, the substrate-side alignment marks AMs and the blanket-side alignment marks AMb all appear within the imaging range FV1 of the alignment camera 27. [

The alignment camera 27 picks up the substrate-side alignment mark AMs and the blanket-side alignment mark AMb in the same field of view (step S206), and the position of each alignment mark is detected from the picked-up image (step S207). Based on the positional relationship of the alignment marks, the relative positions of the substrate SB and the blanket BL are grasped, and the amount of movement of the blanket BL required to make these positional relations predetermined is calculated (step S208). What is necessary here is to adjust the relative positional relationship between the substrate SB and the blanket BL, and the movement may be either the substrate SB or the blanket BL. In the present embodiment, the lower stage 61 is moved in accordance with the obtained required movement amount to move the blanket BL (step S209).

After moving, the image is picked up by the alignment camera 27 again, and the relative positions of the substrate-side alignment mark AMs and the blanket-side alignment mark AMb are verified (step S210). It is determined whether or not the error of the relative position of the two is within a predetermined proper range (step S211). If the difference is within the proper range, the process is ended, and if not, the process returns to step S208. Thus, the loop processing is repeated until the error of the position is within the proper range. In the case where the alignment stage support mechanism 605 has the positioning accuracy of the degree that the alignment mark can be moved to the proper range by one movement, the verification after the movement and the loop processing can be omitted.

Since the deviation of the gap G does not affect the detection of the position of the alignment mark in the precision alignment process based on the result of imaging by the alignment camera 27 arranged so that the optical axis AX1 is orthogonal to the lower surface of the blanket BL, This is possible. At this time, since the substrate side and blanket side alignment marks AMs and AMb are positioned in advance in the image pickup range FV1 by the prealignment processing, it is possible to perform image pickup with a high image pickup range FV1 with a narrow range. Further, since there is no need to vary the imaging range, an imaging optical system with a fixed magnification can be applied. Therefore, high-resolution imaging can be performed without being influenced by optical axis shift, image deformation, or the like, which occurs when the magnification is changed, thereby enabling high-precision alignment.

In this embodiment, the substrate stage SB and the blanket BL are roughly aligned by moving the upper stage 41 and the lower stage 61 respectively by a necessary amount in the pre-alignment process, and then the lower stage 61 ) Is shifted by a necessary amount, only the blanket BL is moved so as to perform relative positioning with respect to the substrate SB more accurately. That is, the movement of the substrate-side alignment mark AMs due to the movement of the substrate SB occurs only in the prealignment process, and the movement of the blanket-side alignment mark AMb accompanying the movement of the blanket BL occurs in both the prealignment process and the precision alignment process Is done.

26 is a diagram illustrating an example of the movement of the alignment mark in accordance with the alignment process. As shown in Fig. 26 (a), the substrate side alignment mark AMs picked up within the imaging range FV2 of the prealignment camera 25 is moved to the position P1 in the imaging range FV1 of the alignment camera 27 by the prealignment processing do. On the other hand, the blanket-side alignment mark AMb moves to the position P2 in the imaging range FV1 of the alignment camera 27 by the prealignment processing and moves to the final target position P3 by the precision alignment processing. At this position P3, the relative position of the substrate-side alignment marks AMs is predefined.

At this time, it is preferable that the movement directions of the blanket-side alignment marks AMb in the movement to the position P2 and the movement in the position P3 are substantially the same. That is, in the prealignment processing, it is preferable to move the blanket BL so that the blanket-side alignment mark AMb moves toward a midway position or a position near the target position P3. In addition, there is no need for the moving directions to be completely the same in these movements. When the movement is divided into the X direction and Y direction components, the directions of movement need to be the same for each component. In the example of Fig. 26 (a), the X direction component of the movement to the position P2 in the prealignment processing is the (-X) direction. In this case, it is preferable that the direction of the X direction component of the movement to the position P3 in the precision alignment process is the -X direction. The same applies to the Y direction component. The reason is the same as the following.

26B showing a comparative example shows that the blanket-side alignment mark AMb moves in the (-X) direction and the (-Y) direction in the pre-alignment processing and moves to the position P4, X) direction and (+ Y) direction and moved to the target position P3. As described above, when the moving direction is opposite between the prealignment process and the precise alignment process in at least one of the X direction and the Y direction, the positioning error may increase due to the backlash of the moving mechanism.

As shown in Fig. 26 (a), by making the moving directions in the X and Y directions the same between the pre-alignment process and the precise alignment process, it is possible to suppress errors caused by such backlash, Can be performed. Particularly, in the case where the loop processing is omitted in the precision alignment processing, this is effective in improving the accuracy.

Although the principle of the prealignment processing and the precise alignment processing using the one set of prealignment camera 25 and the alignment camera 27 has been described in this embodiment, a plurality of them are provided in order to obtain higher alignment accuracy, It is more preferable that imaging is performed at a plurality of different positions. In the pattern forming apparatus of this embodiment, the substrate SB provided with alignment marks at four rectangular corners is used as an object to be processed, and four alignment cameras 27 are provided corresponding to these substrates SB. For the precision alignment process, it is preferable that three or more position detection results out of the four alignment marks are used.

On the other hand, the prealignment camera 25 does not need to correspond to all the alignment marks for the purpose of rough alignment, and it is possible to obtain sufficient precision, for example, about two. For example, two pre-alignment cameras 25 are provided in correspondence with two alignment marks arranged in the vicinity of the diagonal of the substrate SB, and the prealignment processing is performed. When the alignment ranges of the four alignment cameras 27 are adjusted It is possible to obtain the positional precision to the extent of positioning the mark.

In this case, it is preferable that the required movement amounts of the substrate SB and the blanket BL based on the imaging results of the alignment marks are calculated by averaging the necessary movement amounts respectively obtained from the position detection results at a plurality of locations.

 As described above, in this embodiment, the prealignment process and the precise alignment process are sequentially performed between the substrate SB and the blanket BL opposed to each other with a minute gap G, whereby both of them can be aligned with high accuracy. Then, the substrate SB and the blanket BL are brought into close contact with each other in such a highly precise alignment state, whereby the pattern supported on the blanket BL can be accurately transferred to the predetermined position of the substrate SB.

Further, in the step of patterning processing from the plate PP to the blanket BL, the above-described pre-alignment processing of the second embodiment can not be applied. This is because no alignment mark is formed on the blanket BL at this time to serve as a reference for alignment. Therefore, it is not possible to align the plate PP with the blanket BL at the time of patterning processing, but this is not a problem. This is because the positional relationship between the pattern on the blanket BL and the substrate SB, regardless of the position of the pattern to be supported on the blanket BL, This is because it is maintained properly.

<Others>

 As described above, in the above-described embodiment, the pattern forming apparatus 1 is an example of embodying the "pattern forming apparatus" and the "alignment apparatus" of the present invention. The blanket BL corresponds to the "support body" and the "first plate body" of the present invention, and the plate PP corresponds to the "plate body" and the "second plate body" of the present invention. In addition, the substrate SB corresponds to the "transferred body", "plate body" and "second plate body" of the present invention. The blanket-side alignment mark AMb corresponds to the "first alignment mark" of the present invention, while the substrate-side alignment mark AMs corresponds to the "second alignment mark" of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the lower stage 61 functions as the "first holding means" of the present invention, and the alignment stage supporting mechanism 605 functions as the "first moving means" of the present invention. On the other hand, the upper stage 41 functions as the "second holding means" of the present invention, its lower surface 41a corresponds to the "holding plane", and the upper stage block supporting mechanisms 482 (4821, 4822) Quot; moving means &quot; and &quot; second moving means &quot; of the present invention. The transfer roller unit 64 functions as the &quot; push-up means &quot; of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 8, the substrate prealimation cameras 241 to 243, and the preliminary alignment cameras 244 to 246 for blanket function as a "prealignment means" The substrate prealimation cameras 241 to 243 function as the "imaging means" and the "prealigning imaging section", and the blanket prealigning cameras 244 to 246 have the function as the "prealigning imaging section" . The control unit 8 and the alignment camera 27 integrally function as the "precision alignment means" of the present invention. The alignment camera 27 has functions of "precision alignment imaging section", "main imaging section" Lt; / RTI &gt; In addition, the prealignment camera 25 in the second embodiment functions as &quot; secondary imaging means &quot; of the present invention.

In the above-described embodiment, the position of the ideal blanket BLi shown in Fig. 18A corresponds to the "first target position" of the present invention. Although not shown, the ideal position of the substrate when the same method is applied to the substrate SB corresponds to the &quot; second target position &quot; of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, steps S107 to S108 in Fig. 7 correspond to the "arrangement step" of the present invention, and step S109 corresponds to the "prealignment step" of the present invention. Note that step S111 corresponds to the "precision alignment process" of the present invention. Step S112 corresponds to the "transfer step" of the present invention. It should be noted that step S201 shown in Fig. 25 corresponds to the "arrangement step" of the present invention, steps S202 to S205 correspond to the "prealignment step" of the present invention, and steps S206 to S211 correspond to the " Respectively.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than those described above can be made as long as the gist of the present invention is not deviated. For example, in the above-described embodiment, three substrate pre-alignment cameras and three pre-alignment cameras for blanket are provided, respectively. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The same camera may also function as a pre-alignment camera for a substrate and a pre-alignment camera for a blanket.

In the above embodiment, the pre-alignment cameras for the substrate and for the blanket pick up the outlines near the corners of the substrate and the blanket, respectively, but the imaging positions are not limited thereto. For example, the positional shift amount of the substrate or the blanket may be obtained by capturing each of the two sides facing each other, or by imaging each of the two corner portions in a diagonal relationship with each other. It is also possible to obtain the tilt amount of the blanket from the inclination of the outer edge appearing in the image.

In the above-described embodiment, the precision alignment process is performed using the blanket-side alignment mark AMb patterned with the pattern on the blanket BL. However, an alignment mark previously fixedly formed on the blanket BL may be used. In this case, precise alignment is required even when patterning from the plate PP to the blanket BL in order to form the pattern at the proper position of the substrate SB.

In the precision alignment process in the above embodiment, the lower stage 61 is moved horizontally to move the blanket BL relative to the substrate SB. However, even if the substrate SB is moved together with the upper stage 41, to be. Alternatively, both the substrate SB and the blanket BL may be moved.

The above embodiment has a configuration in which the lower stage 61 formed in a frame shape in which the inside is opened holds the periphery of the blanket BL. However, the alignment technique based on the idea of the present invention is not limited to this For example, a pattern forming apparatus having a structure in which a blanket is placed on a stage of a flat plate shape.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the outer edges of the plate PP and the substrate SB are picked up by the three substrate pre-alignment cameras 241 to 243, but the number of cameras and the attachment positions are limited to those in the above- And the number and position of the portions to be picked up are not limited to those of the above embodiments and are arbitrary as long as at least a part of the outer edge of the plate PP and the substrate SB can be picked up and provided to the prealignment.

In the above-described embodiment, the prealignment is divided into two steps of tilt correction and offset correction. However, the correction method based on the result of imaging by the cameras 241 to 243 is not limited to this. For example, Tilt correction and offset correction may be performed simultaneously.

For example, in the above embodiment, the substrate SB and the blanket BL are held in a horizontal posture to face each other. However, the alignment technique according to the present invention can be applied regardless of this posture.

The above embodiment is a pattern forming apparatus to which the alignment technique related to the present invention is applied. However, the application of the present invention is not limited to the apparatus for transferring a pattern onto such a substrate, It is applicable to various applications that need. For example, in the case where the substrate described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 4 is disposed opposite to the mask, or in the case of aligning two substrates with a predetermined functional layer sandwiched between them, for example, as in an EL display device It is possible to apply the technical idea of the present invention.

The present invention is suitably applicable to various technical fields in which it is required to align two objects with high precision and face each other.

1 pattern forming device, alignment device
8 control unit (pre-alignment means, precision alignment means)
25 pre-alignment camera (sub image pickup means)
27 Alignment camera (precision alignment means, imaging unit for precision alignment, main image pickup means)
41 upper stage (second holding means)
41a retention plane
61 lower stage (first holding means)
64 Transfer roller unit (push-up means)
605 Alignment stage supporting mechanism (first moving means)
241 to 243 Pre-alignment camera for substrate (imaging unit, pre-alignment unit, pre-alignment imaging unit)
244 to 246 Prealignment camera for blanket (pre-alignment unit, pre-alignment imaging unit)
482 (4821, 4822) The upper stage block supporting mechanism (moving means, second moving means)
AMb blanket side alignment mark (first alignment mark)
AMs substrate side alignment mark (second alignment mark)
BL blanket (carrier, second plate)
PP plate (plate, first plate)
SB substrate (transferred body, plate body, first plate body)
S107 to S108 Batch process
S109 Prealignment process
S111 Precision alignment process
S112 Transfer process
S201 batch process
S202 to S205 Prealignment process
S206 to S211 Precision alignment process

Claims (30)

A first holding means for holding a carrier carrying a pattern on a pattern carrying surface,
A second holding means for holding the transferred object having the transfer surface to which the pattern is transferred with the transfer surface inclined to face the pattern carrying surface of the carrier,
A first moving means for moving the first holding means in parallel with the pattern supporting surface,
A second moving means for moving the second holding means in parallel with the surface to be latched,
At least a part of the outer edge of the carrier held by the first holding means is picked up and the first moving means is operated based on the image pickup result to position the carrier at a predetermined first target position A second holding means for holding at least a part of an image of at least a part of an outer edge of the body to be held held by the second holding means, Alignment means,
A first alignment mark formed on the carrier positioned at the first target position and a second alignment mark formed on the body to be positioned positioned at the second target position are picked up, And a second aligning means for aligning the carrier and the body by operating at least one of the first holding means and the second holding means,
Wherein the first target position and the second target position are positions where the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark respectively enter the same imaging field of view of the precision alignment means. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the precision alignment means simultaneously images the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark in the same field of view. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the first holding means holds the carrier in a state of holding the peripheral portion of the carrier so as to be in a horizontal posture in which the pattern supporting surface faces upward and in a lower portion of the central portion inward than the peripheral portion,
Further comprising push-up means for pushing the central portion of the carrier from below to cause the pattern supported on the carrier to come into contact with the non-transferred surface of the transferred body. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the prealignment means includes a prealignment imaging section for imaging an outer edge of the carrier and the body, and wherein the precision alignment means includes a first alignment mark and a second alignment mark with higher resolution than the prealignment imaging section, And an imaging section for precise alignment for imaging a mark. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the imaging section for precision alignment has an imaging optical system whose magnification is fixed. The method according to claim 4 or 5,
Wherein the prealignment means has a plurality of the prealignment imaging sections for respectively imaging a plurality of different positions of the outer periphery of the supporting body and a plurality of different positions of the outer periphery of the transferred body. There is provided a pattern forming apparatus for forming a pattern by pressing one surface of a main surface of a support held by a first holding means and capable of supporting a pattern and one surface of a plate-
Moving means for moving the second holding means in parallel with one surface of the plate-
An image pickup means for picking up at least a part of the outer edge of the plate-like object held by the second holding means,
Alignment means for positioning the plate-like object at a target position by operating the moving means while holding the plate-like object by the second holding means on the basis of the imaging result of the imaging means before forming the pattern Respectively,
The plate-like member has a polygonal shape,
Wherein the movement by the prealignment means includes a movement such as correcting the inclination of the plateau with respect to the target position. The method of claim 7,
The second holding means has a holding plane for sucking and holding a center portion of the other surface of the plate-like member, holding an outer edge of the plate-like member out of the holding plane to allow the plate-
Wherein the image pickup means picks up the outer edge of the plate-like object from the side opposite to the first holding means with respect to the plate-like object. A first holding means for holding a first plate material having a light transmitting property on which a first alignment mark is formed and capable of moving the first plate material in a direction parallel to the main surface thereof,
The second plate material on which the second alignment marks are formed is held parallel to the first plate material with a predetermined gap therebetween and is moved in a direction parallel to the main surface of the second plate material, Possible second holding means,
A main image pickup means provided on an opposite side of the first plate-shaped object to the second plate-like object so that an optical axis is orthogonal to the main surface of the first plate-like object, and images the first and second plate- ,
A sub-image pickup means provided on the side opposite to the second plate-like body with respect to the first plate-like body, for picking up images of the first plate-like object and the second plate-like object in an image pickup range wider than the image pickup range of the first image pick- Respectively,
The first holding means moves and positions the first plate material at a position where the first alignment mark enters the image pickup range of the main image pickup means on the basis of the image pickup result of the sub image pickup means, The second holding means moves and positions the second plate material at a position where the second alignment mark enters the imaging range of the main image pickup means based on the imaging result of the means,
Wherein at least one of the first holding means and the second holding means sets the relative position of the second alignment mark to the first alignment mark to a predetermined target position on the basis of the imaging result of the main image pickup means, And the relative position between the first plate body and the second plate body is changed. The method of claim 9,
And the optical axis of the sub image sensing means intersects obliquely with the main surface of the first plate member. The method according to claim 9 or 10,
Wherein the imaging range of the sub image pickup means includes at least a part of the image pickup range of the main image pickup means. The method according to claim 9 or 10,
Wherein the main image pickup means has an enlarging optical system whose magnification is fixed. The method according to claim 9 or 10,
Wherein the main imaging means has a higher resolution than the sub-imaging means. The method according to claim 9 or 10,
Wherein the depth of field of the sub image sensing means is deeper than the depth of field of the main image sensing means and the sub image sensing means takes both the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark in a focusing range. The method according to claim 9 or 10,
And a plurality of said main image sensing means having different imaging ranges from each other and a plurality of said sub image sensing means having different imaging ranges from each other. A method of holding a pattern carrying body of a carrying body by a first holding means and holding a transferred body to which the pattern is transferred by a second holding means, A disposing step of disposing them in opposition,
At least a part of the outer edge of the carrier is picked up and the first holding means is moved on the basis of the image pickup result to position the carrier at a predetermined first target position, A prealignment step of imaging a part of the object and moving the second holding means based on the imaging result to position the object to a predetermined second target position;
A first alignment mark formed on the carrier and a second alignment mark formed on the carrier, and moving at least one of the first holding means and the second holding means based on the imaging result, And a precise alignment step for aligning the transferred body with each other,
Wherein the first target position and the second target position are positions at which the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark respectively enter the same imaging field of view in the imaging in the precision alignment process. 18. The method of claim 16,
Wherein in the precision alignment step, the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark are simultaneously imaged in the same field of view. 18. The method of claim 17,
The position of the carrier on which the first alignment mark is inserted is set to the first target position within the field of view of the imaging unit for performing the imaging in the precision alignment step and the second alignment mark is placed in the field of view of the imaging unit, Is set as the second target position. 18. The method of claim 16,
The prealignment step picks up a plurality of different positions of the outer edge of the carrier and obtains the positional shift amount of the carrier from the first target position and determines the movement of the first holding means in accordance with the positional shift amount And a second holding means for moving the second holding means in accordance with the positional shift amount by imaging a plurality of positions different from each other in the outer periphery of the body to be handled to obtain the positional shift amount of the transferred object from the second target position, / RTI &gt; The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19,
And a transfer step of transferring the pattern from the carrier to the transfer target by bringing the transfer target and the transfer target into contact with each other after the precision alignment process. The supporting body is held by the first holding means in a state in which one side of the main body of the supporting body is capable of supporting the pattern and one side of the plate body are opposed to each other, And a second step of,
And a second step of moving at least one of the first holding means and the second holding means to form a pattern by pressing one surface of the supporting member and one surface of the plate-
Wherein the first step is a step of picking up at least a part of the outer edge of the plate-like object held by the second holding means and holding the plate-shaped object on the basis of the image pickup result, And a pre-alignment step of positioning the plate-like object at a target position by moving in parallel with the first side face,
The plate-like member has a polygonal shape,
Wherein movement by the prealignment step includes movement such as correcting a slope of the plateau with respect to the target position. 23. The method of claim 21,
Wherein the prealignment step comprises:
A slope correction step of picking up a plurality of mutually different positions on the first side which are one of sides defining the shape of the plate material and correcting the slope of the plate material with respect to the target position based on the image pickup result,
A second side that is not parallel to the first side and the first side of the sides that define the shape of the plate-like object corrected for inclination; and an offset of the plateau with respect to the target position based on the imaging result And an offset correcting step of correcting the offset correction value. 23. The method of claim 22,
The first side and the second side when the plate material is held at the target position by the second holding means and information about the target position obtained from the image pickup result is stored as the target position information Further comprising a third step,
Wherein the tilt correction step is a step of obtaining the tilt amount of the plateau with respect to the target position based on the information about the position of the plateau obtained from the image pickup result and the target position information, And correcting the slope of the plate-like object with respect to the target position,
Wherein the offset correction step includes a step of obtaining information on the position of the plate-like object obtained from the imaging result and an offset amount of the plate-like object with respect to the target position on the basis of the target position information, And correcting the offset of the plate member with respect to the target position by movement of the plate member. The method of any one of claims 21 to 23,
The plate material is a plate provided with a first pattern on one surface,
Wherein the second step includes a step of holding the carrier by the first holding means and then performing positioning of the plate positioned at the target position by the prealignment step with the first holding means, And a patterning step of transferring the first pattern onto one surface of the support by pressing one surface of the support and the one surface of the plate against each other. The method of any one of claims 21 to 23,
The carrier has a first alignment mark and a second pattern is provided on the one surface of the carrier,
Wherein the plate material is a substrate having a second alignment mark,
In the second step,
The first alignment mark of the carrier held by the first holding means and the second alignment mark of the substrate positioned at the target position by the prealignment process are picked up based on the image pickup result A fine alignment step of moving at least one of the first holding means and the second holding means to align the carrier and the substrate,
And a transfer step of transferring the second pattern onto one surface of the substrate by pressing one surface of the substrate and one surface of the substrate after the precise alignment step. Transmissive first plate material on which a first alignment mark is formed and a second plate material on which a second alignment mark is formed are arranged in parallel close to each other with a predetermined gap therebetween, A main image pickup means is disposed on the side opposite to the second plate-like body with respect to the first plate-like body so that the optical axis is orthogonal to the main surface of the first plate-
The first alignment mark and the second alignment mark are moved in the same field of view from the side opposite to the second plate-like body with respect to the first plate-like object by the sub-image pickup means having an image pickup range wider than the image pickup range of the main image pick- A first plate-like object and a second plate-like object are positioned at positions where the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark both enter the imaging range of the main image pickup means on the basis of the image pickup result, An alignment step,
Wherein the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark are captured by the main imaging means in the same field of view and the relative position of the second alignment mark with respect to the first alignment mark is determined based on a predetermined target Position relative to the first plate-like body and the second plate-like body so that the first plate-shaped body and the second plate-shaped body are positioned. 27. The method of claim 26,
And the optical axis of the sub image sensing means is obliquely intersected with the main surface of the second plate material. 26. The method of claim 26 or 27,
Wherein the imaging range of the sub image sensing means is set to include at least a part of the image sensing range of the main image sensing means. 26. The method of claim 26 or 27,
In the prealignment step, imaging is performed by placing the first alignment mark and the second alignment mark in an in-focus range by the sub-image sensing means having a depth of field deeper than the depth of field of the main image sensing means. 26. The method of claim 26 or 27,
Wherein the at least one of the first plate member and the second plate member is moved in the same direction in the prealignment step and the precision alignment step.

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