KR20010076244A - Peripheral exposure apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To improve the throughput and the working rate of a peripheral aligner. CONSTITUTION: A light source unit 14A and a light source unit 14B are respectively movable in ±X directions along a support member 12A and a support member 12B. The support members 12A and 12B are made to travel in ±Y directions, while emitting light beams from both light source units 14A and 14B, so that the photoresist of the peripheral part of a glass substrate G is exposed. In the state where either the light source units 14A or 14B is turned off, peripheral exposure operation is continued by the other light source unit. This, the continuation of the peripheral exposure operation by only the other light source unit is attained during the cool-down and the warm-up periods of a lamp needed at exchanging of the lamp of the other light source unit. Also, at exposing of an exposure object area along one line, both light source units 14A and 14B are moved in tandem along one line.

Description

Peripheral Exposure Device {PERIPHERAL EXPOSURE APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to an ambient exposure apparatus. According to the present invention, in the process of manufacturing a glass plate or an IC substrate used for an LCD (liquid crystal display device), a plasma display panel (PDP), or the like, a photocoating applied to a portion other than an area to which a circuit pattern or the like around the substrate is exposed. A peripheral exposure apparatus for irradiating light to a resist.

In the lithography process, which is one step in manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel or the like, a projection exposure apparatus in which a projection optical system is installed therein is used. The pattern formed in the mask is projected onto the photoresist coating surface on the substrate by this projection optical system. The substrate has a portion where the pattern is exposed by the above-described process, that is, a pattern region, and a region where the pattern is not exposed, that is, a non-pattern region. It is necessary to irradiate light to this unpatterned area. The reason is that a positive resist is applied to the substrate. That is, the unexposed portion of the positive resist remains on the substrate even after development. In particular, when the photoresist is applied onto the substrate by spin coating, the film thickness thereof becomes thicker on the peripheral side than on the substrate central portion. In general, the periphery of the substrate is often a non-patterned region, and the photoresist remaining without being removed has a property of being easily peeled off as the film thickness becomes thicker. This positive resist may be peeled off during a later treatment step, and may be broken into pieces (particles). This particle is a factor which reduces the yield of the board | substrate to be exposed, such as a liquid crystal display panel. When the substrate is subjected to post-treatment such as CVD even after peeling does not occur, for example, if the photoresist remains on the periphery of the substrate or the like, unevenness in the film thickness of the thin film formed in the pattern region may occur.

Therefore, it is generally performed to irradiate a photoresist of a non-patterned region with light to make it photosensitive and to remove unnecessary resist in a subsequent developing step. As described above, various types of apparatuses for irradiating light to unpatterned regions on a substrate by scanning spot light emitted from a light source as irradiating light to unpatterned regions on a substrate are proposed. Hereinafter, in this specification, the apparatus which irradiates light to the non-pattern area | region on a board | substrate is called "peripheral exposure apparatus." In addition, the part to which light is irradiated from the non-pattern area | region on a board | substrate is called "peripheral exposure area".

As the pattern formed on the substrate becomes finer, shorter wavelengths have been used in projection exposure apparatuses. As a result, the photosensitive wavelength band of the photoresist applied to the substrate is also shifted to the short wavelength side. Therefore, the light source used for the peripheral exposure apparatus also emits light of short wavelength, such as g line | wire or i line | wire.

As the light source used in the peripheral exposure apparatus that can cope with the above-described photoresist, a high brightness one such as ultra-high pressure mercury lamp or the like is used for the purpose of improving the production efficiency. The reason is that when the same dose is applied to the photoresist, the use of a light source with a large amount of light ends in that short exposure time. In other words, it is possible to increase the speed at the time of scanning the spot light emitted from the light source, thereby completing the irradiation of light to the peripheral exposure area for a short time.

By the way, the above-mentioned peripheral exposure apparatus is required to further improve the production efficiency, and it is required to further improve the operation rate in addition to shortening the time required for exposure to improve throughput.

One of the factors that lowers the operation rate is the device stop time during the replacement of the lamp of the light source. Explaining this, the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp emits high heat together with a large amount of light. For this reason, it is necessary to leave it for a while (after cooling down) until temperature falls to the extent that lamp replacement is possible after stopping light emission. In addition, it is necessary to leave it for a while (during warm-up) between the completion of lamp replacement and the start of lighting until the wavelength and light quantity are stabilized. In the meantime, the peripheral exposure apparatus is forced to stop operation, so that the processing water of the substrate is greatly reduced.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve throughput and operation rate of a peripheral exposure apparatus.

1 is a plan view for explaining a schematic configuration of a peripheral exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a peripheral exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing an example of the configuration of a light source unit.

4 is a view for explaining a loader for exchanging an exposure object between the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment and another apparatus.

5 is a view for explaining how the exposure object is set in the peripheral exposure apparatus by the loader.

6 is a block diagram schematically showing a control circuit of the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a state in which a plurality of lighting units are moved along the same line when the exposure target portion extends in the same line.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an operation sequence of the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and is a view for explaining the state when one of the two light source units is turned off during the exposure operation.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which ambient exposure is performed using only a part of the light source unit.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an operation sequence of the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and illustrating the state in which the exposure operation using the light source unit that has been separated from the exposure operation is resumed.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing another example of how ambient exposure is performed using only a part of the light source unit.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

2: surface plate 4: plate holder

5: plate holder support part 8A, 8B: guide rail

12A, 12B: support member 14A, 14B: light source unit

30A, 30B, 31A, 31B: Main scan motor 32A, 32B: Sub scan motor

34A, 34B: Shutter Actuator 36A, 36B: Blind Actuator

40A, 40B: Ultra high pressure mercury lamp 48: Light quantity sensor

49: light emission stop switch 51: light emission resume switch

52: stage actuator 70: loader

100: control unit 200: host computer

Means to solve the problem

The following invention is demonstrated corresponding to FIGS. 1-3 and 6 which show 1 Embodiment.

(1) The invention as set forth in claim 1 includes a plurality of lighting units 14A for irradiating exposure light to a non-pattern region of the photosensitive substrate G having a pattern region and a non-pattern region different from the pattern region in which the pattern should be formed. And 14B). The above-described object is achieved by having the exposure control unit 100 select and expose a predetermined lighting unit among the plurality of lighting units 14A and 14B according to the individual states of the plurality of lighting units 14A and 14B. .

(2) In the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the invention described in item 2, the exposure control unit 100 selects at least one of the plurality of lighting units 14A and 14B as a predetermined lighting unit.

(3) In the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the invention described in item 3, the exposure control unit 100 excludes the lighting unit 14A or 14B during maintenance or during irradiation preparation from the selection object.

(4) In the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the invention described in item 4, the exposure control unit 100 selects a predetermined illumination unit based on the amount of illumination light of the illumination units 14A and 14B.

(5) In the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the invention described in item 5, the exposure control unit 100 selects an illumination unit 14A or 14B that can irradiate a predetermined amount of irradiation light as a predetermined illumination unit.

(6) The peripheral exposure apparatus according to the invention described in item 6 changes the series of exposure operations when the exposure control section 100 exposes the non-patterned area in accordance with the selected lighting units 14A and 14B.

(7) The peripheral exposure apparatus according to the invention described in item 7 changes the series of exposure operations when the exposure control unit 100 exposes the non-patterned area in accordance with the number of selected illumination units 14A and 14B.

(8) In the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the invention described in (8), the illumination unit 14A (14B) has a light source 40A (40B) and a condensing optical system (65A, 66A (65B, 66B)); The exposure control unit 100 selects predetermined lighting units 14A and 14B according to the state of the light source 40A 40B.

(9) Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 showing one embodiment, the invention described in item 9 has a photosensitive substrate having a pattern region where a pattern should be formed and a non-pattern region different from the pattern region ( It is applied to a peripheral exposure apparatus having a plurality of lighting units 14A and 14B for irradiating exposure light to the non-patterned area of G). When exposing the exposure target portion PA extending on the same line in the non-patterned area, at least two of the plurality of lighting units 14A and 14B are relatively moved with the photosensitive substrate G along the same line. .

(10) Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 and 6 showing an embodiment, the invention described in item 10 has a photosensitive substrate having a pattern region in which a pattern should be formed and a non-pattern region different from the pattern region. G) Using the peripheral exposure apparatus provided with a plurality of lighting units 14A and 14B for irradiating the exposure light to the unpatterned area, and exposing the unpatterned area to the exposure light emitted from the lighting units 14A and 14B. Applied to the exposure method. Then, the illumination units 14A and 14B exposing the photosensitive substrate G are selected and exposed in accordance with the respective states of the plurality of illumination units 14A and 14B.

In addition, in the term of the means for solving the said subject explaining the structure of this invention, although the figure of embodiment of the invention was used in order to make this invention clear, this invention is not limited to embodiment by this.

Embodiment of the invention

1 is a plan view for explaining a schematic configuration of a peripheral exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 1, the left and right directions of the page are the X axis, the up and down direction is the Y axis, and the direction orthogonal to the ground is the Z axis. In the following description, the directions along these coordinate axes are appropriately X, Y, and Z directions. It is called. In addition, the direction in which a coordinate value increases as needed is called plus X direction, plus Y direction, plus Z direction, etc. Also in other drawings, the coordinate axis is shown so as to match the coordinate axis shown in FIG. 1 as appropriate.

Main scan direction drive mechanism

Four pillars 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D are fixed to four corners of the upper surface of the surface plate 2. Guide rails 8A are laid along the Y direction and fixed to the upper ends of the posts 6A and 6C. Moreover, the guide rail 8B is laid along the Y direction, and is fixed to the upper end of the support posts 6B and 6D.

Two support members 12A and 12B lie along the X direction between the guide rails 8A and 8B. Inside the guide rail 8A, a feed screw mechanism (not shown) rotated independently of each other by main scanning motors 30A and 31A (not shown in FIG. 1, see FIG. 6) is built in the Y direction. have. Further, inside the guide rail 8B, a feed screw mechanism (not shown) rotated and driven independently of each other by the main scan motors 30B and 31B (not shown in FIG. 1, see FIG. 7) is along the Y direction. It is built in. By reversing the main scan motors 30A and 30B, it is possible to move the support member 12A in the ± Y direction (hereinafter, the ± Y direction in FIG. 1 is referred to as the "scanning direction" in the present specification). Similarly, it is possible to move the support member 12B in the ± Y direction by reversing the main scan motors 31A and 31B.

Sub scanning direction drive mechanism

The light source unit 14A is supported by the support member 12A, and the light source unit 14B is supported by the support member 12B so as to be movable in the ± X direction, respectively. In addition, a feed screw mechanism (not shown) that is rotationally driven by the sub scanning motor 32A (not shown in FIG. 1, see FIG. 6) is built in the support member 12A along the X direction. Similarly, a feed screw mechanism (not shown) that is rotationally driven by the sub scanning motor 32B (not shown in FIG. 1, see FIG. 6) is built in the support member 12B along the X direction. By independently inverting these sub-scan motors 32A and 32B, the light source units 14A and 14B are each independently +/- X direction (hereinafter, the +/- X direction in FIG. 1 is referred to as "sub-scan direction"). Drive) is enabled.

By the main scanning direction driving mechanism and the sub scanning direction driving mechanism described above, the light source units 14A and 14B are configured to be movable independently in the two-dimensional direction along the XY plane.

Light Sensor

The light quantity sensor 48 is a sensor for measuring the light quantity of the luminous flux emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B. The light quantity sensor 48 sequentially measures the amount of light emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B prior to the peripheral exposure operation. The reason for measuring the light amount of the light beam emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B by the light amount sensor 48 will be described later.

Plate holder

Referring to FIG. 2 which shows the state seen from the II direction shown in FIG. 1, the plate holder support part 5 on which the glass substrate G of the exposure object is mounted is fixed to the surface plate 2 It is supported so as to be rotatable about the Z axis. A plurality of projections 4a are formed on the upper surface of the plate holder 4. The height of these some protrusion 4a is aligned substantially the same. In addition, the upper surface of the plurality of protrusions 4a is provided with a hole connected to the negative pressure source through a pipe (not shown). After the glass substrate G of the object to be exposed is mounted on the plate holder 4, the suction, It is fixed.

Light source unit

3 is a diagram schematically illustrating the internal configuration of the light source units 14A and 14B, and shows a cross section in the plane including the optical axis of the light source unit 14A 14B extending in a direction parallel to the Z axis. In addition, since the light source units 14A and 14B have the same structure, in FIG. 3, the component of the light source unit 14B is attached | subjected with the parenthesis, and only the structure of the light source unit 14A is demonstrated.

In the light source unit 14A, an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is fixed inside the reflecting mirror 62A. The relay lens 66A and the projection lens 65A are fixed to the lower side of the reflecting mirror 62A. Thus, the light beam emitted from the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is collected by the reflecting mirror 62A, and then the photosensitive surface of the glass substrate G, that is, the photoresist is applied through the relay lens 66A and the projection lens 65A. Guided to the side.

The shutter 63A driven by the shutter actuator 34A in the direction along the XY plane switches the state of guiding light emitted from the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A to the state of incidence and blocking of the incident surface of the relay lens 66A. It is for. In general, until the light emitted from the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp is stabilized, a warm-up time of several tens of minutes is required after the lamp is started. For this reason, when it is necessary to temporarily stop the irradiation of the light emitted from the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A after the peripheral exposure apparatus starts to operate, the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is not turned off. Shading.

The blind 64A driven by the blind actuator 36A forms a light beam irradiated onto the glass substrate G into a rectangle, and at the same time, the width of the light beam along the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction of the light source units 14A and 14B. Has the function to adjust. This blind 64A is disposed so as to be as close as possible to the photoresist application surface between the light exit surface of the projection lens 65A and the photoresist application surface of the glass substrate G. As shown in FIG. And this blind 64A may be arrange | positioned with respect to the projection lens 65A at the photoresist application surface and the conjugate position (position shown by arrow C in FIG. 3).

Loader

Although the loader 70 demonstrated below with reference to FIG. 4, FIG. 5 may be built in the peripheral exposure apparatus, it does not need to be, but it demonstrates here as being installed outside (nearby) the peripheral exposure apparatus. 4 and 5, only the surface plate 20, the plate holder 4, and the plate holder support 5 are shown, and the illustration of the other components is omitted.

The loader 70 is used to convey the glass substrate G of the object to be exposed between the peripheral exposure apparatus and another apparatus such as a coater developer or a liquid crystal exposure apparatus. And the arm 72 of a scalar robot is provided on the base 75 provided in a floor surface etc. Arm 72 has degrees of freedom of motion around the plane direction, ± Z direction, and Z axis parallel to the XY plane. At the tip of this arm 72, a conveyance frame 73 of Japanese katakana or "コ" shape is fixed. The glass substrate G is conveyed in the state supported by the arm part 73a of the conveyance frame 73. As shown in FIG.

Next, with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, operation | movement of the loader 70 at the time of mounting the glass substrate G on the plate holder 4 is demonstrated. As described above, the plate holder 4 is provided with a plurality of protrusions 4a, and the loader 70 has the protrusions 4a so that the arm 72 and the substrate G do not collide with the protrusions 4a. The glass substrate G supported by the arm part 73a is conveyed in the slightly upper space of the. When the glass substrate G reaches a predetermined position on the plate holder 4, the loader 70 moves the arm 72 in the negative Z direction to lower the glass substrate G. In this process, the glass substrate G is in contact with the plurality of protrusions 4a, and then the glass substrate G is vacuum-adsorbed to the upper surface of the protrusion 4a. Thereafter, the loader 70 moves the arm 72 in the negative Y direction to retract the peripheral exposure apparatus. As described later, the peripheral exposure apparatus starts to operate.

Control circuit

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a control circuit that performs operation control of the peripheral exposure apparatus described above. The control unit 100 which collectively controls the operation of the peripheral exposure apparatus includes the main scan motors 30A, 30B, 31A and 31B, the sub-scan motors 32A and 32B, the shutter actuators 34A and 34B, and the blind actuators 36A and 36B. And ultra-high pressure mercury lamps 40A and 40B are connected. The control unit 100 is further connected with an electronic direction switching valve 50, a light quantity sensor 48, a stage actuator 52, a light emission stop switch 49, and a light emission resume switch 51. The electronic direction switching valve 50 is for switching to a state of communicating between a hole drilled in each of the projections 4a and a negative pressure source (not shown) and a state of blocking. The stage actuator 52 is for rotating the plate holder 4 around an axis of rotation parallel to the Z axis. The light emission stop switch 49 is a switch operated by an operator, and is a switch for setting to turn off any of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamps 40A and 40B. The light emission resumption switch 51 is a switch operated by an operator, and is a switch for setting to resume lighting of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A or 40B set to be extinguished by the light emission stop switch 49.

The host computer 200 is also connected to the control unit 100. The host computer 200 communicates with control circuits respectively provided in a plurality of devices including the peripheral exposure apparatus to collectively control the manufacturing process and is provided outside the peripheral exposure apparatus. The control part 100 mounts the glass substrate G to be exposed in the plate holder 4, and exposes the process sequence and the glass substrate G when exposing the glass substrate G from the host computer 200. Control of exposure operation described below is started by inputting information such as (recipe) control parameters such as dose to be given to the surface.

Operation of peripheral exposure equipment

The operation of the peripheral exposure apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 as appropriate. In the following description of the operation, the ultra-high pressure mercury lamps 40A and 40B are assumed to be in a stable state, that is, in a state where ambient exposure can be completed after a considerable time has elapsed since the start of lighting.

According to the recipe input from the host computer 200, the control unit 100 starts the peripheral exposure operation control. Here, the case where the four sides of the glass substrate G which has a rectangular outline shape are exposed in Japanese Katakana "Ro" shape is demonstrated first. After the glass substrate G is mounted on the plate holder 4, the controller 100 controls the electronic directional valve 50 to communicate the holes drilled in the plurality of protrusions 4a with a negative pressure source (not shown). . As a result, the glass substrate G is attracted to and fixed to the plate holder 4.

The control unit 100 rotates the main scan motors 30A, 30B, 31A and 31B and the sub-scan motors 32A and 32B, and sequentially emits light from the light source units 14A and 14B on the upper side of the light quantity sensor 48. It locates and measures the light quantity of the light beam radiate | emitted from each light source unit. The control part 100 temporarily stores the value obtained by measuring.

Subsequently, the control unit 100 determines the movement speed when the light source units 14A and 14B are moved relative to the glass substrate G based on the dose (exposure amount) included in the information of the recipe input from the host computer 200. Calculate

The control unit 100 controls the shutter actuators 34A and 34B to close the shutters 63A and 63B so that the light beams do not emit from the light source units 14A and 14B. Subsequently, the control unit 100 controls the main scan motors 30A, 30B, 31A and 31B and the sub-scan motors 32A and 32B, and drives the light source units 14A and 14B in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction to position them. . That is, the luminous flux emission positions of the light source units 14A and 14B coincide with the peripheral exposure start positions. Subsequently, the controller 100 controls the blind actuators 36A and 36B based on the recipe input from the host computer 200, and the beam width of the light beam emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B in accordance with the width of the peripheral exposure area. Adjust

The control unit 100 controls the shutter actuators 34A and 34B to open the shutters 63A and 63B so that the light beams are emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B, and then the main scan motors 30A, 30B, 31A, 31B) is controlled to scan the light source units 14A and 14B in the main scanning direction. The light source units 14A and 14B scan the upper side of the glass substrate G at a substantially constant speed while being supported by the supporting members 12A and 12B, respectively, and the two sides of the glass substrate G (in the Y direction in Fig. 1). 2) Ambient exposure is completed.

As described above, as the peripheral exposure of the two opposite sides of the glass substrate G is completed, the controller 100 controls the shutter actuators 34A, 34B to close the shutters 63A, 63B, and the light source units 14A, The emission of the light beam from 14B) is stopped.

The controller 100 then controls the stage actuator 52 to rotate the plate holder 4 by 90 degrees around the axis of rotation parallel to the Z axis. Then, in accordance with the recipe input from the host computer 200, the controller 100 controls the sub-scan motors 32A, 32B and the blind actuators 36A, 36B to change the distance between the optical axes of the light source units 14A, 14B. At the same time, the beam size is changed.

Following the rotation of the plate holder 4 described above, a change in the distance between the optical axes of the light source units 14A and 14B, and a change in the beam size, the control unit 100 controls the main scan motors 30A, 30B, 31A and 31B. The light source units 14A and 14B are moved in the main scanning direction, and the light exit portion is moved to the start position of the next peripheral exposure.

Subsequently, the control unit 100 controls the shutter actuators 34A and 34B to open the shutters 63A and 63B, and the light beams are emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B, and then the main scan motors 30A, 30B, 31A, 31B) is controlled and the light source units 14A and 14B are scanned in the main scanning direction.

As a result of the above-described control operation by the control unit 100, the peripheral exposure of the four sides of the glass substrate G (Japanese katakana "lo" shape) is completed. In the above, when the peripheral exposure of the four sides of the glass substrate G is performed, the example in which the control unit 100 controls the blind actuators 36A and 36B to change the beam size according to the width of the peripheral exposure area has been described. It is not necessary to change the beam size. That is, in the case of performing peripheral exposure of four sides of the glass substrate G, the beam size is not narrowed, and the extra light flux may be escaped to the outside of the glass substrate G.

When the pattern shape of the surrounding exposure area is not Japanese katakana or `` lo '' shape, for example, so-called Japanese kanji "目" shape, Japanese kanji "日" shape, Japanese kanji "田" shape, or these are combined In the case of a pattern of one shape, the control part 100 then repeats the above-described operation of the peripheral exposure. At this time, when there are an even number of lines forming the pattern of the peripheral exposure area, the control unit 100 performs scanning by scanning both of the light source units 14A and 14B. On the other hand, when the number of lines constituting the pattern of the peripheral exposure area is an odd number, exposure of one line remaining in one of three methods described below with reference to FIG. 7 is performed. 7 shows a part of the peripheral exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and shows only the vicinity of the light source units 14A and 14B.

(1) Method of performing ambient exposure using only one light source unit

When performing ambient exposure using any of the light source units 14A and 14B, the control unit 100 compares the amount of light in large amounts based on the measurement result of the light quantity of the luminous flux emitted from each light source unit 14A and 14B. Ambient light exposure is performed using a light source unit capable of emitting light beams. In this way, the scanning speed can be increased by using the light source unit with the larger amount of light, so that the throughput of the peripheral exposure apparatus can be increased.

(2) Scanning light source units in a vertical column and performing ambient exposure

In this method, as shown in Fig. 7A, the peripheral exposure is performed by causing the two light source units 14A and 14B to be vertical columns along the extending direction of the line forming the pattern PA of the peripheral exposure area. to be. As described above, by scanning the plurality of light source units 14A and 14B in a vertical column as described above, the dose per one light source unit 14A and 14B can be reduced. That is, since the scanning speed can be increased, the time required for ambient exposure can be shortened, and the throughput of the exposure apparatus can be improved.

(3) A method of peripheral exposure by dividing one line forming a pattern of the peripheral exposure area into a plurality of light source units.

This method is similar to the method of (2) above, and when exposing one of the lines forming the pattern PA of the peripheral exposure area, the plurality of light source units 14A and 14B are formed on the one line. This is a method of performing peripheral exposure by moving to follow. And different from the method of said (2), as shown in FIG.7 (b), when surrounding exposure along one pattern PA, the exposure area by these several light source units 14A and 14B shares. It is a point. In this case, the scanning speed cannot be increased, but since the plurality of light source units 14A and 14B share different areas on one line to perform the peripheral exposure, and the exposure is performed almost simultaneously, the light source until the end of the peripheral exposure is completed. The scanning distance of each of the units 14A and 14B can be shortened. Therefore, the time required for ambient exposure can be shortened.

In the above method, when one exposure in the line forming the pattern of the peripheral exposure area is performed by the method of (1), the light source unit on the side which does not perform the peripheral exposure operation is the light source unit on the side performing the peripheral exposure operation. Move so as not to interfere with

Ambient exposure continuously performed when the lamp is replaced

When it is necessary to replace any of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamps 40A and 40B, the peripheral exposure operation can be continued with the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp of the side which is not subject to replacement in the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the present invention. Hereinafter, the peripheral exposure operation at that time will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. In the following description, it is assumed that the replacement object is 14A in the ultrahigh pressure mercury lamps 14A and 14B.

8 is a timing chart schematically showing an example of an operation sequence of the peripheral exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The operation sequence shown in FIG. 8 is controlled by the control part 100 shown in FIG. An example of the pattern PA of the peripheral exposure area is shown in FIG. 9A, and the patterns PA of the peripheral exposure area are formed in the operating sequence shown in FIG. 8 in FIG. 9B and FIG. 9C. The lines are exposed in order. The pattern PA of the peripheral exposure area shown in Fig. 9A is composed of lines 1 to 4 extending in the longitudinal direction of the figure and lines 5 to 8 extending in the lateral direction. In the following, these lines are simply referred to as "line 1", "line 2",... It is called.

First, the normal peripheral exposure operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 (b). In the present embodiment, since the peripheral exposure is usually performed by the two light source units 14A and 14B, the exposure of two lines is performed in one main scan. That is, the exposure of the lines 1 and 4 is performed at the same time in the main path of the main scanning, and the exposure of the lines 2 and 3 is performed at the same time in the return. 8, 14, 23, 58, 67,... In the graph showing the operation timing of the main scan; This shows that the line 1 and the line 4, the line 2 and the line 3, the line 5 and the line 8, the line 6 and the line 7 are exposed at about the same time as described above in one main injection. Subsequently, the plate holder 4 is rotated 90 degrees, and the exposure of the lines 5 and 8 is performed at the same time in the main path of the main scanning, and the exposure of the lines 6 and 7 is performed at the same time in the return path. The above exposure operation is shown in the order A, B, C and D in Fig. 9B. At this time, the exchange of irradiating / not irradiating light onto the glass substrate G is performed by the control section 100 controlling the shutter actuators 34A and 34B (FIG. 6), and the ultra-high pressure mercury lamps 40A and 40B are always It is on.

Next, the control operation of the control part 100 in the case where the operator operates the light emission stop switch 49 (FIG. 6) to turn off the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A in the middle of the above-mentioned peripheral exposure operation. It demonstrates.

For example, as shown in Fig. 8, a setting in which the operator turns off the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A by operating the light emission stop switch 49 during the exposure operation of the lines 2 and 3 (the timing indicated by the symbol A in Fig. 8). In this case, the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is not turned off at that time. Then, as described above, the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is turned off at the timing (the timing indicated by the reference sign B in FIG. 8) after the exposure which has been performed at the time when the operator operated the light emission stop switch 49 is completed. . Therefore, the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A does not turn off during ambient exposure, and the glass substrate G does not become a defective product. In addition, since the operator can perform the above-mentioned operation without minding to what extent the peripheral exposure operation currently performed is progressing, the operability of a peripheral exposure apparatus can be improved.

After the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is turned off, the control unit 100 controls the peripheral exposure operation by the single light source described below.

After the new glass substrate G is mounted on the plate holder 4, the controller 100 controls the main scan motors 30A, 31A and the sub scan motor 32A to move the light source unit 14A out of the ambient exposure range. Move. As described above, the light source unit 14A may not move outside the peripheral exposure range and may continue to move without interfering with the movement of the light source unit 14B. In this case, only when the lamp is replaced, the light source unit 14A may be retracted out of the peripheral exposure range to stop. Subsequently, the control unit 100 controls the main scanning motors 30B and 31B and the sub scanning motor 32B to move the light output portion of the light source unit 14B to the exposure start position of line 1. Thereafter, the control unit 100 controls the main scanning motors 30B and 31B and the sub scanning motor 32B to alternately perform the main scanning operation and the sub scanning operation of the light source unit 14B. In the control operation, the controller 100 controls the shutter actuator 34B only during the main scanning operation of the light source unit 14B to emit the light beam from the light source unit 14B. An example of the exposure procedure when the peripheral exposure operation is performed in this way is shown in Fig. 9C. As shown by the procedures P to W in Fig. 9C, even if all of the light source units are not lit, the line 4, line 3, line 2, line 1, line 5, line 6, line 7, line 8 And the peripheral exposure operation is continuously performed using the light source unit 14B on the side which is not turned off. This state is shown in the right part of the graph which shows the operation timing of main scanning in FIG. In other words, there is a part of the graph which is described as 4, 3, 2, 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, which is a single main scan line 4, line 3, line 2,. Has shown the state which it exposes independently one by one.

In the peripheral exposure operation using only the light source unit 14B, since the light source unit 14A moves to a position which does not interfere with the light source unit 14B related to the peripheral exposure operation, the peripheral exposure operation can be continued. At this time, compared with the case where two light source units are used, throughput decreases. However, since the peripheral exposure operation can be continued, the decrease in the operation rate of the peripheral exposure apparatus due to lamp replacement can be suppressed to the minimum.

The operator replaces the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A with a new one after a predetermined time has elapsed since the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A has turned off, and the temperature of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A has decreased to the extent that it can be replaced. At this time, since the light source unit 14A is located outside the operating range of the light source unit 14B related to the peripheral exposure operation, the operation of the peripheral exposure apparatus can be continued even when the lamp is replaced. After replacing the ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp 40A with a new one, the operator operates the light emission resumption switch 51 (Fig. 6) to set the ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp 40A to start lighting. When the control unit 100 detects the above setting by the operator, the control unit 100 resumes energization of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A with the shutter 63A closed.

Ambient exposure after lamp restarts

Peripheral exposure operation using only the light source unit 14B described above each time a new glass substrate G is set until the warm-up of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is completed after a predetermined time has elapsed after the energization to the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A. This is done repeatedly. After detecting that the operation of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is stable, the control unit 100 resumes the peripheral exposure operation using all the light source units 14A and 14B where it is suitable for the end of the operation. Here, the term "suitable for the end of the operation" means that the peripheral exposure operation performed at the time when the operation stability of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is detected is completed, and the peripheral exposure operation on the new glass substrate G is completed. It represents the starting point. In terms of suppressing the operation rate drop of the peripheral exposure apparatus as much as possible in this `` suitable end of operation '' immediately after the completion of the peripheral exposure operation performed at the time when the operation stability of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is detected. It is preferable at the start of the peripheral exposure operation to be performed. However, after watching the peripheral exposure operation several times, the peripheral exposure operation using all the light source units 14A and 14B may be resumed. The peripheral exposure still remaining after the scanning by the light source unit 14B, which is performed at the time when the operation stability of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is detected, with respect to the return timing control of the light source unit 14A. Peripheral exposure may be performed with respect to the target pattern (line) using the light source units 14A and 14B.

The light emission stop switch 49 and the light emission resume switch 51 described above may be provided on a console (not shown), or the operator may operate a keyboard or the like (not shown). Alternatively, the operator may operate a touch panel or the like provided on a display (not shown) that displays the operation state of the peripheral exposure apparatus.

As a method for detecting the stability of the operation of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamps 40A and 40B, the control unit 100 measures the voltage applied to the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp and the current flowing in the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp, and these measurement results are determined to a predetermined value. There is a way to detect what is reached. Alternatively, the elapsed time after the start of lighting of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp may be measured, and it may be detected that this time has reached a predetermined value. In addition, a luminance sensor, a radiation temperature measuring sensor, or the like may be provided to detect that the operation of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp is stable based on the magnitude of the signal output from these sensors.

The peripheral exposure operation performed after resuming lighting of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp during the extinguishing described above will be described with reference to FIG. 10. FIG. 10 is a timing chart schematically showing an example of an operation sequence of the peripheral exposure apparatus performed after the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A which is turned off is restarted. In FIG. 10, the operator operates the light emission resumption switch 51 in the middle of the peripheral exposure operation performed after the substrate exchange at the timing denoted by the symbol α, and sets to resume lighting of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A. . In accordance with this setting, the control unit 100 starts to energize the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A (timing indicated by A in FIG. 10). The control unit 100 detects the completion of the operation stabilization of the ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp 40A by the method described above (timing B denoted in FIG. 10). Thereafter, as the new glass substrate G is mounted on the plate holder 4 (timing indicated by? In Fig. 10), the control unit 100 starts the peripheral exposure operation using all the light source units.

As described above, the operator can set the resumption of lighting of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A while extinguished without worrying about the operating state of the peripheral exposure apparatus, thereby improving operability. After the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A having restarted lighting has completed the warm-up, the controller 100 automatically resumes the peripheral exposure operation using the plurality of light source units 14A and 14B. Peripheral exposure is not performed. Therefore, defects in the glass substrate G during ambient exposure are not caused by the replacement operation of the ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp. In addition, about the replacement of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A, a display or an operator call indicating that the replacement is possible is performed. Alternatively, the replacement may be performed or the exposure may be continued until the operator waits.

As described above, after the replacement of the high-pressure mercury lamp 40A to be turned off, the cool down is completed and the replacement is performed with a new ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A, the start of lighting and the completion of the warm-up period remain. The ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40B can continue the exposure. For this reason, it becomes possible to minimize the fall of the processing capability of the peripheral exposure apparatus by the replacement operation of a light source lamp.

As mentioned above, although the light source units 14A and 14B were all movable on the whole exposure object area | region of the glass substrate G to be exposed, it demonstrated as an example, but this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above. For example, referring to FIG. 1, the light source unit 14A can move only the region on the left side, with the center line extending in the Y direction of the glass substrate G, and the light source unit 14B only the region on the right side. It is good also as a movable structure. In this case, when performing the ambient exposure using a single light source unit, the peripheral exposure cannot be performed in the order shown in Fig. 9C, so that the peripheral exposure can be performed in the order described below with reference to Fig. 11.

Fig. 11 (a) shows an example of the pattern PA of the peripheral exposure area as in Fig. 9 (a), and Fig. 11 (b) shows the lines 1 to 8 which form the pattern PA of the peripheral exposure area. The state of this exposure is shown in order. For example, when the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is to be replaced, the control unit 100 performs operation control of ambient exposure as follows using only the light source unit 14B. That is, the control part 100 performs exposure of the line 4, the line 3 sequentially (sequence K), and rotates the plate holder 4 90 degree clockwise in FIG. Subsequently, the control part 100 performs exposure of the lines 5 and 6 in sequence (step L), rotates the plate holder 4 further 90 degrees clockwise, and performs the exposure of the lines 1 and 2 sequentially ( Order M). The control part 100 further rotates the plate holder 4 by 90 degree clockwise, and exposes the lines 8 and 7 (step N).

After exposing to all the lines forming the pattern PA of the peripheral exposure area as described above, the control part 100 rotates the plate holder 4 by 270 degrees counterclockwise to return to the initial position. As described above, instead of returning the plate holder 4 to its initial position by rotating it 270 degrees counterclockwise, the plate holder 4 may be further rotated 90 degrees clockwise. In this case, it is preferable to rotate the plate holder 4 in the direction opposite to that mentioned above at the time of the peripheral exposure performed with respect to the next glass substrate G. As shown in FIG. By controlling the rotation of the plate holder 4 in this manner, the pipe of the pneumatic system, the pipe of the electric system, and the like connected to the plate holder 4 are not twisted.

In the above description, the peripheral exposure apparatus has been described as having two light source units 14A and 14B. However, the number of light source units may be three or more. In this case, when the peripheral exposure is performed using all the light source units, the last remaining number of lines becomes halfway depending on the relationship between the number of lines forming the pattern of the peripheral exposure area and the number of the light source units. In such a case, what is necessary is just to expose the remaining number of patterns by dividing the number of the lines which form the pattern of the peripheral exposure area by the number of the light source units related to the peripheral exposure to some light source units.

In the above, an example in which the light source unit 14B is scanned in the main scanning direction when ambient exposure is performed using only the light source unit 14B until the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 40A is replaced and ready for use again is described. In this example, peripheral exposure may be performed by scanning the light source unit 14B in the sub-scanning direction as well. That is, the light source units 14A and 14B are movable in the sub-scanning direction substantially perpendicular to the main scanning direction while being supported by the supporting member 12A or 12B. Using this, as shown in Fig. 1, when the glass substrate G is mounted, the light source unit 14B is moved in the main scanning direction during the peripheral exposure on the long side and in the sub scanning direction during the peripheral exposure on the short side. You may inject. In this case, the beam size of the light beam emitted from the light source unit is preferably configured to be changed in the two-dimensional direction. In the above, an example in which ambient exposure is performed with the ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp 40B when the ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp 40A is a replacement object has been described. When the ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp 40B is the replacement object, the ambient exposure is performed only by the light source unit 14A. Of course it can be done.

In the above description, the example in which the light amount sensor 48 is provided on the surface plate 2 in order to detect the light amount of the light beam emitted from the light source units 14A and 14B has been described. Each of the light source units 14A and 14B has been described. It may be built in.

It is for driving a plurality of light source units in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction, and may use not only the transfer screw mechanism described above but other actuators or mechanisms such as a linear motor and a belt driving mechanism.

In the above, the peripheral exposure operation of the glass substrate used for the LCD panel, the PDP panel and the like has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to the peripheral exposure of other substrates such as wafers.

In the above, the exposure of the straight line has been described. When driving the light source units 14A and 14B, the non-patterned area to be subjected to the peripheral exposure by combining the driving along the main scanning direction and the driving along the sub scanning direction. Exposure along this curve or cutting line can also be performed.

In the above description, an example in which the plurality of light source units 14A and 14B are driven independently in the main scanning direction by the support members 12A and 12B has been described. However, the plurality of light source units on one support member are in the sub-scan direction. It may be supported so as to be movable. In this case, since the plurality of light source units cannot be driven independently in the main scanning direction, the exposure described with reference to FIG. 7 cannot be performed. However, for example, during one of the light source units warming up, the exposure can be performed by the method described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 11 using the remaining light source units.

In response to the above-described embodiments of the invention and the claims, the ultra-high pressure mercury lamps 40A and 40B are light sources, the relay lenses 66A and 66B and the projection lenses 65A and 65B are condensing optical systems, and the light source units 14A and 14B. ) The illumination unit, the glass substrate G the photosensitive substrate, and the control unit 100 constitute the exposure control unit.

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects are obtained.

(1) According to the invention described in (1) or (10), the predetermined lighting unit is selected from among the plurality of lighting units according to the individual states of the plurality of lighting units and exposed, for example, during maintenance or irradiation preparation. Exposure can be performed by selecting something other than an illumination unit, such as being in the middle or the quantity of light falling, and the fall of the operation rate of an exposure apparatus can be suppressed.

(2) According to the invention as set forth in item 2, the exposure control unit can continue the exposure operation with at least one lighting unit by selecting at least one of the plurality of lighting units as the predetermined lighting unit, thereby suppressing a decrease in the operation rate of the exposure apparatus. can do.

(3) According to the invention described in (3), the exposure control unit can continuously perform exposure with the remaining lighting units by excluding the lighting units during maintenance or under irradiation preparation from the selection object, thereby reducing the operation rate of the exposure apparatus. It can be suppressed.

(4) According to the invention described in (4), the exposure control unit selects a predetermined illumination unit based on the amount of illumination light of the illumination unit, so that, for example, selecting an illumination unit having a large amount of light can shorten the time required for exposure. The throughput of the exposure apparatus can be improved.

(5) According to the invention described in (5), the exposure control section can select an illumination unit that can irradiate a predetermined amount of irradiation light as a predetermined illumination unit, thereby preventing the time required for exposure from being extended.

(6) According to the invention described in (6), the exposure control section changes the series of exposure operations when exposing the non-patterned area in accordance with the selected lighting unit, thereby optimizing the order according to the number, state, light quantity, etc. of the selected lighting unit. The exposure operation can be performed, and the exposure time can be shortened to improve the throughput of the exposure apparatus.

(7) According to the invention described in (7), the exposure control unit changes the series of exposure operations when exposing the non-patterned area in accordance with the number of selected lighting units, thereby exposing them in the optimum order according to the number of selected lighting units. The operation can be performed, and the exposure time can be shortened to improve the throughput of the exposure apparatus.

(8) According to the invention described in (8), the lighting unit has a light source and a condensing optical system, and the exposure control unit selects a predetermined lighting unit according to the state of the light source, for example, during maintenance, off, or irradiation. By selecting the lighting unit in accordance with the state of the light source, such as being prepared or the amount of light being lowered, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the operation rate of the exposure apparatus.

(9) According to the invention described in (9), when exposing the exposure target portion extending in the same line among the non-patterned regions of the photosensitive substrate, at least two of the plurality of lighting units are aligned with the photosensitive substrate along the same line. By moving, exposure time can be shortened and the throughput of an exposure apparatus can be improved.

Claims (10)

A peripheral exposure apparatus having a plurality of lighting units for irradiating exposure light to the non-pattern region of the photosensitive substrate having a pattern region to form a pattern and a non-pattern region different from the pattern region, And an exposure control unit which selects and exposes a predetermined lighting unit among the plurality of lighting units according to the respective states of the plurality of lighting units. The method of claim 1, And the exposure control unit selects at least one of the plurality of lighting units as the predetermined lighting unit. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the exposure control unit excludes the lighting unit during maintenance or during irradiation preparation from the selection object. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the exposure control unit selects the predetermined illumination unit based on the amount of illumination light of the illumination unit. The method of claim 4, wherein And the exposure control unit selects, as the predetermined lighting unit, an illumination unit capable of irradiating a predetermined amount of irradiation light. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the exposure control unit changes a series of exposure operations when exposing the non-patterned area in accordance with the selected illumination unit. The method of claim 6, And the exposure control unit changes a series of exposure operations when exposing the non-patterned area in accordance with the number of the selected illumination units. The method of claim 6, The lighting unit has a light source and a condensing optical system, And the exposure control unit selects the predetermined lighting unit according to the state of the light source. A peripheral exposure apparatus having a plurality of lighting units for irradiating exposure light to the non-pattern region of the photosensitive substrate having a pattern region to form a pattern and a non-pattern region different from the pattern region, And exposing at least two of the plurality of lighting units to move relative to the photosensitive substrate along the same line when exposing an exposure target portion extending in the same line among the non-pattern regions. The non-pattern area using a peripheral exposure apparatus provided with a plurality of illumination units for irradiating exposure light to the non-pattern area of the photosensitive substrate having a pattern area where a pattern should be formed and a non-pattern area different from the pattern area. In the exposure method for exposing to the exposure light emitted from the illumination unit, And an illumination unit for exposing the photosensitive substrate is selected and exposed according to the respective states of the plurality of illumination units.