KR102020934B1 - Methods for aligning a maskless exposure apparatus - Google Patents

Methods for aligning a maskless exposure apparatus Download PDF

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Publication number
KR102020934B1
KR102020934B1 KR1020120142350A KR20120142350A KR102020934B1 KR 102020934 B1 KR102020934 B1 KR 102020934B1 KR 1020120142350 A KR1020120142350 A KR 1020120142350A KR 20120142350 A KR20120142350 A KR 20120142350A KR 102020934 B1 KR102020934 B1 KR 102020934B1
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KR
South Korea
Prior art keywords
unit
exposure
mark
exposure unit
image mark
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KR1020120142350A
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Korean (ko)
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KR20140074124A (en
Inventor
박종오
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엘지디스플레이 주식회사
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Priority to KR1020120142350A priority Critical patent/KR102020934B1/en
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
    • G03F7/20—Exposure; Apparatus therefor
    • G03F7/2051—Exposure without an original mask, e.g. using a programmed deflection of a point source, by scanning, by drawing with a light beam, using an addressed light or corpuscular source
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
    • G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
    • G03F7/70691—Handling of masks or workpieces
    • G03F7/70775—Position control, e.g. interferometers or encoders for determining the stage position
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/027—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34
    • H01L21/0271—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34 comprising organic layers
    • H01L21/0273—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34 comprising organic layers characterised by the treatment of photoresist layers
    • H01L21/0274—Photolithographic processes

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Exposure And Positioning Against Photoresist Photosensitive Materials (AREA)

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention discloses a method of aligning a maskless exposure apparatus composed of a plurality of exposure units including a DMD and an optical system, which method aligns each exposure unit using an alignment key provided in the exposure unit. Aligning, controlling the DMDs of the adjacent first exposure unit and the second exposure unit to display the first image mark by the first exposure unit and the second image mark by the second exposure unit in the overlapped area; And adjusting the alignment of the first exposure unit and the second exposure unit in an aligned state of the displayed first image mark and the second image mark.

Description

Method for aligning a maskless exposure apparatus

The present invention relates to a method of aligning a maskless exposure apparatus.

Flat panel displays such as liquid crystal display (LCD) and organic light emitting display (OLED) are manufactured through a semiconductor process, and various patterns are formed during the process, and an exposure apparatus is used to form such patterns.

The exposure apparatus exposes the object in accordance with the pattern formed on the mask. The pattern transfer mask is formed by forming an exposure pattern on a quartz disc, which is expensive to manufacture. Since a plurality of masks are required in manufacturing a flat panel display, the more masks are used, the higher the cost.

Therefore, in recent years, a maskless exposure apparatus employing a digital mirror device (DMD) has been proposed and used in place of a mask.

The maskless exposure apparatus digitizes a pattern of a previous mask, and drives a DMD according to the digitized pattern information to expose an object.

1 shows a schematic configuration of a maskless exposure apparatus, and FIG. 2 shows a configuration of an exposure unit.

1 and 2 are examples of the maskless exposure apparatus 1, which includes an exposure unit 10 arranged in two rows.

Each exposure unit 10 is configured as illustrated in FIG. 2 to transmit light including a pattern to the substrate 400 to expose the substrate 400 in a pattern unit PU unit.

The exposure is performed in a scanning manner, for example, assuming that the substrate 400 is scanned by the maskless exposure apparatus 1 while moving in the direction of the arrow for 1 second, the maskless exposure apparatus 1 is operated for 1 second. The substrate 60 is irradiated onto the substrate to expose the substrate.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 2, each of the exposure units 10 is configured as follows. The exposure unit 10 includes a light source 100 for supplying light, a DMD 200 for forming a pattern, and an optical system 300 for adjusting light, and the optical system 300 includes a beam expander 310 and a multi lens array. 320, a filter 330, and a projection lens 340.

The DMD 200 is a mirror device in which a plurality of unit lenses (for example, 1024 × 768) forming pixels are arranged in a lattice shape, and each unit lens is turned on / off according to input pattern information. The unit lens is configured to transmit light to the optical system 300 in an on state, and not to transmit light to the optical system 300 in an off state. Accordingly, the light incident from the light source into the DMD is converted into selective light so as to form a pattern and transmitted to the optical system 300.

The beam expander 310 adjusts the resolution by expanding the light incident from the DMD 210.

The multi lens array 320 separates and focuses the light extended by the beam expander 310 into a plurality of lights. To this end, this multi-lens array consists of a plurality of lenses.

The filter 330 determines the size of light transmitted through the multi lens array 320. The filter 330 includes a plurality of holes for determining the size of light.

The projection lens 340 transfers the light focused by the multi lens array 320 to the substrate 400 in a 1: 1 manner to adjust the focal length.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the exposure unit 10 configured as described above scans the substrate 400 in a state in which a plurality of two columns are arranged to expose the substrate in units of pattern units PU. Therefore, the alignment between the exposure unit 10 and the exposure unit 10 is important, but the method so far used an alignment key.

Referring to Figure 3, the alignment method according to the prior art is as follows. Any one of the components constituting the optical system 300 is configured to include an alignment key ak. In FIG. 3, the alignment key AK is formed in the filter 330. The stage 500 includes a third alignment key ak3 corresponding to the first alignment key ak1 and an alignment key ak4 corresponding to the second alignment key ak2.

The first camera C1 shows an image of whether the first align key ak1 and the third align key ak3 are properly aligned at the first coordinates x1 and y2, and the second camera c2. Is an image showing whether the second alignment key ak2 and the fourth alignment key ak4 are properly aligned at the second coordinates x2 and y2.

As described above, the conventional alignment method is performed in the form of grasping the alignment state of the exposure unit 10 using the alignment key.

On the other hand, as the size of the substrate increases, the number of exposure units also increases accordingly. As the number of exposure units increases, one substrate is exposed using a plurality of exposure units.

However, since the maskless exposure apparatus exposes the substrate in units of pattern units (PUs) formed by the exposure units 10, alignment between neighboring exposure units 10 is also important. Only the alignment state of each of the exposure units 10 is confirmed, but there is a problem in that alignment between patterns formed between adjacent exposure units 10 cannot be confirmed.

The present invention has been devised in such a background, and is intended to allow easy alignment between the exposure unit and the exposure unit.

One embodiment of the present invention discloses a method of aligning a maskless exposure apparatus composed of a plurality of exposure units including a DMD and an optical system, which method aligns each exposure unit using an alignment key provided in the exposure unit. Aligning, controlling the DMDs of the adjacent first exposure unit and the second exposure unit to display the first image mark by the first exposure unit and the second image mark by the second exposure unit in the overlapped area; And adjusting the alignment of the first exposure unit and the second exposure unit in an aligned state of the displayed first image mark and the second image mark.

Each of the first image mark and the second image mark includes a first unit mark disposed on one side and a second unit mark disposed on the other side, the first unit mark of the first image mark, and The second unit mark of the second image mark is overlaid in the overlap area.

Each of the first unit mark and the second unit mark is composed of a pair of marks arranged in the scanning direction, and the first unit mark has a similar shape in which the second unit mark is enlarged or reduced.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the DMD is controlled so that the first image mark by the first exposure unit and the second image mark by the second exposure unit are superimposed on the overlapping area, thereby easily aligning between the exposure unit and the exposure unit. can do.

1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a maskless exposure apparatus.
2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an exposure unit.
3 is a view for explaining the alignment method according to the prior art.
4 is a view for explaining an arrangement state of an exposure unit and a pattern unit produced by the exposure unit.
5 is a flowchart illustrating an alignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a view for explaining an image mark.
7 is a view for explaining how image marks overlap in an overlapping area.
8 is a diagram illustrating another form of the image mark.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, when it is determined that a detailed description of known functions or configurations related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

4 is a view for explaining an arrangement state of an exposure unit and a pattern unit produced by the exposure unit.

The number of the exposure units 10 is determined depending on the size of the substrate to be exposed. In the example of FIG. 4, the exposure unit 10 is illustrated as being arranged in two rows.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the exposure units 10 are arranged in a first column and a second column, and the first and second columns are alternately arranged in a zigzag form.

Each of the exposure units 10 exposes a substrate in units of pattern units PU. The first exposure unit 10a arranged in the first column forms the first pattern unit PU1 corresponding thereto in the first column, and the second exposure unit arranged in the second column adjacent to the first exposure gloss 10a ( 10b) forms the second pattern unit PU2 adjacent to the first pattern unit PU1 in the first row. Since the remaining exposure units also form a pattern unit like the first exposure unit 10a and the second exposure unit 10b, the maskless exposure apparatus may expose one line during one scan time. At this time, the pattern unit and the pattern unit overlap by Δs.

In the present invention, image marks are formed in regions where the pattern units overlap each other (hereinafter, overlap regions) to align the exposure units.

5 is a flowchart illustrating an alignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the alignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

In step S11, as described above, each of the exposure units is aligned between the DMD 200 and the optical system 300 using the alignment key.

In operation S12, the DMD 200 of the first exposure unit 10a is controlled to display the image mark IM. The image mark IM is formed by selectively turning on / off a unit lens constituting the DMD 200 and includes a first image mark IM1 and a second image mark IM2.

The first image mark IM1 is formed in the second area A2 on the right side when the pattern unit PU is divided into two in the scan direction, and the second image mark IM2 is formed in the first area A1 on the left side. Is formed.

The shape of the image mark IM is not particularly limited, but the first image mark IM1 and the second image mark IM2 form a shape in which the shapes merge. For example, if the first image mark IM1 has a rectangular shape, the second image mark IM2 is also rectangular in shape, but the second image mark IM2 is reduced (or enlarged) than the first image mark IM2. It looks like a shape. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8, a circular shape may be formed, and two images may be combined in a male and female form, such as concave and convex.

The first image mark IM1 includes at least two unit marks IMa. In this case, the shape of the unit mark IMa constituting the first image mark IM1 may be the same or different as illustrated in FIG. 6. For example, one of the unit marks IMa may have a rectangular shape, and the other may have a circular shape. This unit mark is preferably arranged along the scanning direction. In this way, the unit marks must be arranged along the scanning direction to facilitate alignment between neighboring exposure units.

The second image mark IM2 also includes at least two unit marks IMb. The shape of the unit mark IMb constituting the second image mark IM2 may be the same or different as illustrated in FIG. 6. For example, one of the unit marks IMb may have a rectangular shape and the other may have a circular shape. This unit mark is preferably arranged along the scanning direction. In this way, the unit marks must be arranged along the scanning direction to facilitate alignment between neighboring exposure units.

In addition, like the first exposure unit 10a, the second exposure unit 10b also controls the DMD 200 to display an image mark IM. The image mark displayed by the second exposure unit 10b also displays the same image mark as that of the first exposure unit 10a.

FIG. 7 shows the first pattern unit PU1 and the second pattern unit PU2 formed by the first exposure unit 10a and the second exposure unit 10b.

The first pattern unit PU1 includes a second image mark IM2 located in the first area A1, and a first image mark IM2 located in the second area A2. The PU2 also includes a second image mark IM2 located in the first area A1 and a first image mark IM2 located in the second area A2.

The second region A2 of the first pattern unit PU1 overlaps the first region A2 of the second pattern unit PU2 to form an overlap region. In this case, the first image pattern IM1 located in the second area A2 of the first pattern unit PU1 is the second image pattern IM2 located in the first area A1 of the second pattern unit PU2. ) And overlapping areas.

Therefore, when the first image pattern IM1 and the second image pattern IM2 overlap without error in the overlapping area, the first exposure unit 10a and the second exposure unit 10b mean an aligned state. If there is an error, one of the first exposure unit 10a and the second exposure unit 10b may be adjusted and aligned to align between the first exposure unit 10a and the second exposure unit 10b. (Step S13).

Although the above description has been made in the form of aligning the exposure units through the image obtained by the camera, the photoresist formed on the substrate is patterned after aligning the exposure units as described above, and also through the pattern shape shown in the overlapping region. You can check the alignment status.

 Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification but should be defined by the claims.

Claims (5)

A method of aligning a maskless exposure apparatus composed of a plurality of exposure units including a digital mirror device (DMD) and an optical system forming a pattern,
Aligning each exposure unit using an alignment key provided in the exposure unit;
The first image mark and the second image mark are respectively displayed in the first area and the second area divided into two parts based on the scan direction by controlling the DMD of the exposure unit, respectively. Overlapping a portion of the second region of the exposure unit and the neighboring second exposure unit with each other to generate an overlap region;
Adjusting alignment of the first exposure unit and the second exposure unit in an alignment state of the first image mark of the first exposure unit and the second image mark of the second exposure unit displayed in the overlapping area.
Alignment method of the maskless exposure apparatus comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
The first image mark includes two or more first unit marks arranged in the first area along the scanning direction, and the second image mark includes two or more second unit marks arranged along the scanning direction in the second area. The alignment method of the maskless exposure apparatus containing a unit mark.
The method of claim 2,
And a first unit mark of the first image mark and a second unit mark of the second image mark are overlapped in the overlapping region.
delete The method of claim 3,
And the first unit mark is a similar shape in which the second unit mark is enlarged or reduced in size.
KR1020120142350A 2012-12-07 2012-12-07 Methods for aligning a maskless exposure apparatus KR102020934B1 (en)

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KR102421913B1 (en) 2014-12-29 2022-07-19 삼성디스플레이 주식회사 Exposure method, exposure device for performing the method and manufacturing method of display substrate using the method
KR102333285B1 (en) * 2015-08-20 2021-11-30 삼성전자주식회사 Exposure apparatus

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2010533310A (en) * 2007-07-10 2010-10-21 エルジー エレクトロニクス インコーポレイティド Maskless exposure method
KR101059811B1 (en) 2010-05-06 2011-08-26 삼성전자주식회사 Maskless exposure apparatus and method of alignment for overlay in maskless exposure

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
KR100213284B1 (en) * 1996-09-25 1999-08-02 전주범 Mask align key design for tma
KR101349558B1 (en) * 2007-01-17 2014-01-16 엘지전자 주식회사 Maskless exposure apparatus and method for aligning the same

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2010533310A (en) * 2007-07-10 2010-10-21 エルジー エレクトロニクス インコーポレイティド Maskless exposure method
KR101059811B1 (en) 2010-05-06 2011-08-26 삼성전자주식회사 Maskless exposure apparatus and method of alignment for overlay in maskless exposure

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