KR20070001251A - Exposure pattern forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

A reference glass board (8B) whereupon a reference pattern (P) to be an exposure position reference is previously formed is arranged on a lower side of a glass board (8A), and is transferred in an arrow A direction by a transfer means (4). The reference pattern (P) is illuminated from the lower part of the transfer means (4) by the illuminating means (6), and an image of the reference pattern (P) is picked up by an image pickup means (5) arranged on an upper part of the transfer means (4). An optical system control means (7) detects a reference position previously set to the reference pattern (P) of which the image is picked up by the image pickup means (5), and controls irradiation start or irradiation stop of laser beams, having the reference position as a reference. Then, a pixel of a black matrix to be a reference of a functional pattern formed by being laminated on the glass board (8A) is exposed at a prescribed position on the glass board (8A). Thus, alignment accuracy of the functional pattern is improved and cost increase of an exposure apparatus is suppressed. ® KIPO & WIPO 2007

Description

Exposure pattern formation method {EXPOSURE PATTERN FORMING METHOD}

The present invention relates to an exposure pattern forming method for directly exposing a functional pattern on an object to be exposed. More specifically, the present invention relates to an exposure pattern forming method. The present invention relates to an exposure pattern forming method which is intended to improve the overlapping accuracy of a functional pattern and to suppress the increase in the cost of an exposure apparatus by controlling irradiation start or irradiation stop of a light beam on the basis of the reference position.

The exposure pattern formation method by the conventional exposure apparatus uses the mask which previously formed the mask pattern corresponded to a functional pattern on a glass substrate, and transfers the said mask pattern on a to-be-exposed object, for example, a stepper. Another method is to use a device of micromirror projection or proximity. However, in these conventional exposure pattern forming methods, when laminating and forming a plurality of functional patterns, the accuracy of the overlap of the functional patterns between the layers becomes a problem. In particular, in the case of a large size mask used for forming a TFT for a large liquid crystal display or a color filter, high absolute dimensional accuracy is required for the arrangement of the mask pattern, thereby raising the cost of the mask. In addition, in order to obtain the overlapping accuracy, alignment between the functional pattern of the underlying layer and the mask pattern is necessary, and in particular, this alignment was difficult in a large-sized mask.

On the other hand, there is a method of forming an exposure pattern that directly draws a pattern of CAD data on an object to be exposed using an electron beam or a laser beam without using a mask. This type of exposure pattern forming method uses an exposure apparatus including a laser light source, an exposure optical system for reciprocating scanning of a laser beam emitted from the laser light source, and a conveying means for conveying in a state in which an object is loaded, CAD data The laser beam is reciprocally scanned while controlling the firing state of the laser light source, and the exposed object is conveyed in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction of the laser beam so that the pattern of CAD data corresponding to the functional pattern on the exposed object is two-dimensional. It forms so that it may form (for example, refer patent document 1).

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-144415

However, in such a direct drawing type conventional exposure pattern forming method, high absolute dimensional accuracy is required for the pattern arrangement of CAD data as in the case of using an exposure apparatus using a mask, and a plurality of exposures. In the manufacturing process which forms a functional pattern using an apparatus, when there exists a variation of the precision between exposure apparatuses, there existed a problem that the overlapping precision of a functional pattern worsened. Therefore, in order to cope with such a problem, the high-precision exposure apparatus was needed and the cost of the exposure apparatus was made expensive.

In addition, the alignment between the functional pattern of the underlying layer and the pattern of the CAD data has to be taken in advance, as in the case of using another exposure apparatus using a mask, there are the same problems as described above.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an exposure pattern forming method which is intended to cope with such a problem and to improve the overlapping accuracy of functional patterns and to suppress the increase in cost of the exposure apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the exposure pattern forming method according to the present invention is an exposure pattern forming method of scanning a light beam relative to an exposed object by an exposure optical system and directly exposing a functional pattern on the exposed object, The reference substrate which previously formed the reference pattern which becomes a reference | standard of an exposure position is arrange | positioned under the said to-be-exposed object, conveys the to-be-exposed object and a reference substrate to a predetermined direction by a conveying means, and the upper and lower sides of the said conveying means by illumination means The reference pattern of the reference substrate is illuminated from one side, and the imaging pattern is imaged by imaging means arranged above and below the conveying means, and in advance to the reference pattern imaged by the imaging means by optical system control means. Detect the set reference position, and start or adjust the irradiation of the light beam based on the reference position The control of the stop, and exposes the first functional pattern on a predetermined position on the object to be exposed.

By such a method, in the reference pattern used as a reference of the exposure position previously formed on the reference substrate, the first functional pattern is exposed on the object to be exposed. Thereby, a 1st functional pattern is formed in the predetermined position on the to-be-exposed object in which nothing is formed.

Further, the first functional pattern formed by exposing to a predetermined position of the object to be exposed is imaged again by an image pickup means, and the reference position preset in the first functional pattern imaged by the image pickup means by the optical system control means is detected. The irradiation start or stop of irradiation of the light beam is controlled on the basis of the reference position, and the exposure of another function pattern is further performed at a predetermined position on the exposed object. This forms another functional pattern at a predetermined position on the exposed object according to the first functional pattern formed on the exposed object.

And the said reference board | substrate is a transparent board | substrate, and arrange | positions the said illumination means and the said imaging means below the said conveying means, and image | photographs the said reference pattern formed in the said reference substrate from below the said conveying means. Thereby, the reference pattern formed in the transparent reference substrate is illuminated by the illumination means arrange | positioned under the conveying means, and it image | photographs from below with the imaging means arrange | positioned below the conveying means.

According to the invention according to claim 1, a reference position set in advance on a reference pattern serving as a reference formed on a reference substrate is picked up by an imaging means and detected, and the irradiation start or irradiation stop of the light beam is controlled based on the reference position. By exposing the first functional pattern at a predetermined position on the exposed object, the first functional pattern can be formed with high accuracy at the predetermined position of the exposed object in which nothing is formed. Moreover, the said reference substrate can be used repeatedly, and the cost of a reference substrate can be reduced.

Further, according to the invention of claim 2, the first functional pattern formed by exposing to a predetermined position on the object to be exposed is imaged again by the imaging means, the reference position preset in the first functional pattern is detected, and the reference position is By controlling the start or stop of irradiation of the light beam as a reference, and further exposing other functional patterns to a predetermined position on the exposed object, the exposure is performed at a predetermined position according to the first functional pattern serving as a reference formed on the exposed object. Other functional patterns can be formed. Therefore, even when a plurality of functional patterns are laminated and formed, the overlapping accuracy of the functional patterns of each layer is increased. Thereby, even when forming a laminated pattern using a some exposure apparatus, the problem of the deterioration of the superposition precision of the functional pattern resulting from the precision difference between exposure apparatus can be eliminated, and the cost increase of an exposure apparatus can be suppressed. Can be.

Further, according to the invention of claim 3, by using a transparent substrate as a reference substrate and illuminating and imaging the reference pattern formed on the reference substrate from below the conveying means, it is possible to determine whether or not the exposed object is transparent or opaque. A functional pattern as a reference can be formed at a predetermined position.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of an exposure apparatus applied to an exposure pattern forming method according to the present invention.

2 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration and operation of the optical switch.

3 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a scanning position of a laser beam and an imaging position of an imaging means.

4 is a block diagram showing the first half of the processing system in the internal structure of the image processing unit.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the second half of the processing system in the internal structure of the image processing unit.

6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a reference pattern formed on a reference glass substrate.

7 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a reference pattern moving in a direction orthogonal to a scanning direction of a laser beam and a scanning trajectory of the laser beam.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a pattern forming method according to the present invention.

9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the output of the ring buffer memory is binarized.

Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an image of a head reference position preset in a reference pattern and a lookup table.

11 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an exposure pattern of pixels of a black matrix is formed on the basis of a reference pattern.

Fig. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an image of the rear reference position preset in the reference pattern and the lookup table.

13 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the scanning position of a laser beam is corrected.

14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an exposure pattern of a color filter formed on a pixel column of a black matrix.

15 is an explanatory diagram showing another arrangement sequence of the imaging device.

[Description of the code]

1: exposure apparatus

3: exposure optical system

4: conveying means

5: imaging means

6: lighting means

7: optical system control means

8A: glass substrate (subject)

8B: reference glass substrate (reference substrate)

21: black matrix

22: pixel (first function pattern)

P: reference pattern

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described in detail based on an accompanying drawing.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of an exposure apparatus applied to an exposure pattern forming method according to the present invention. The exposure apparatus 1 directly exposes a functional pattern on an object to be exposed, and includes a laser light source 2, an exposure optical system 3, a conveying means 4, an imaging means 5, and an illumination means ( 6) and optical system control means (7). In addition, the said functional pattern is a pattern of the component parts which are necessary for the original purpose operation | movement which a product has, For example, in a color filter, the pattern of a pixel pattern of a black matrix and the pattern of each color filter of red, blue, and green In the semiconductor component, the wiring pattern and the various electrode patterns are used. In the following description, the example which used the glass substrate for color filters as a to-be-exposed body is demonstrated.

The laser light source 2 emits a light beam, for example, a laser light source of a high output all-solid-mode lock of 4 W or more, which generates an ultraviolet ray of 355 nm.

An exposure optical system 3 is provided in front of the light beam emission direction of the laser light source 2. The exposure optical system 3 reciprocally scans a laser beam as a light beam on the glass substrate 8A, and includes an optical switch 9, a light deflection means 10, and a first mirror from the front of the laser beam in the emission direction. (11), polygon mirror (12), fθ lens (13), and second mirror (14).

The optical switch 9 switches the irradiation and irradiation stop states of the laser beam. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the first and second polarizing elements 15A and 15B are replaced with the respective polarizing elements 15A, The polarization axes p of 15B are spaced apart from each other at right angles to each other (in FIG. 2, the polarization axis p of the polarization element 15A is set in the vertical direction, and the polarization axis p of the polarization element 15B is horizontal. Direction], and the electro-optic modulator 16 is arrange | positioned between the said 1st and 2nd polarizing elements 15A and 15B. The electro-optic modulator 16 operates to rotate the polarization plane of polarized light (linearly polarized light) at a high speed of several nsec when voltage is applied. For example, when the applied voltage is zero, the linearly polarized light having a polarization plane in the vertical direction, for example, selectively transmitted by the first polarizing element 15A in Fig. 2A is the electro-optic modulator 16. ) Is passed through as it is to reach the second polarizing element 15B. Since the second polarizing element 15B is arranged to selectively transmit linearly polarized light having a horizontally polarized plane, the linearly polarized light having a vertically polarized plane cannot be transmitted, in which case the laser beam stops irradiation. It becomes a state. On the other hand, when a voltage is applied to the electro-optic modulator 16 and the linearly polarized polarization plane incident on the electro-optic modulator 16 is rotated by 90 degrees, as shown in FIG. The linearly polarized light having the polarization plane in the direction has a horizontally polarized plane when the electro-optic modulator 16 exits, and the linearly polarized light passes through the second polarization element 15B. As a result, the laser beam is in an irradiation state.

The optical deflecting means 10 moves the scanning position of the laser beam in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction (corresponding to the arrow A direction shown in FIG. 1 in the moving direction of the glass substrate 8A) to scan the correct position. It is an acoustooptical device (AO element) by adjusting.

In addition, the 1st mirror 11 is for bending in the installation direction of the polygon mirror 12 which mentions the advancing direction of the laser beam which passed the optical deflecting means 10 later, and is a planar mirror. In addition, the polygon mirror 12 reciprocally scans a laser beam, and forms eight mirrors in the side surface of a square octagonal rotating body, for example. In this case, the laser beam reflected by one of the mirrors is scanned in the one-dimensional direction of the royal direction with the rotation of the polygon mirror 12, and at the moment when the irradiation position of the laser beam moves to the next mirror surface It returns to a bidirectional direction, and starts scanning to a one-dimensional royal direction with rotation of the polygon mirror 12 again.

In addition, the fθ lens 13 is arranged so that the scanning speed of the laser beam becomes constant velocity on the glass substrate 8A. The fθ lens 13 is disposed so as to substantially match the focal position with the position of the mirror surface of the polygon mirror 12. The second mirror 14 reflects the laser beam that has passed through the fθ lens 13 and enters in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the glass substrate 8A. The second mirror 14 is a planar mirror. In addition, a line sensor 17 is provided at the scanning start side of the laser beam reciprocally scanning near the exit side surface of the fθ lens 13 so as to be orthogonal to the scanning direction, and the predetermined scanning position and the actual scanning of the laser beam. The shift amount from the position is detected, and the scanning start time of the laser beam is detected. Moreover, if the line sensor 17 can detect the scanning start point of a laser beam instead of the f (theta) lens 13 side, it may be provided anywhere, for example, it is provided in the glass substrate conveyance stage 18 side mentioned later. Also good.

A conveying means 4 is provided below the second mirror 14. This conveying means 4 loads the glass substrate 8A on the stage 18, conveys it at the predetermined speed in the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction of the said laser beam, and moves the said stage 18, for example The conveyance roller 19 and the conveyance drive part 20, such as a motor, which rotationally drive the said conveyance roller 19 are provided.

The imaging means 5 is provided in the scanning position front side of the said laser beam of the conveyance direction shown by the arrow A above the said conveying means 4. This imaging means 5 picks up the pixel of the black matrix as a reference pattern P formed in the reference glass substrate 8B mentioned later, and the 1st functional pattern formed in the glass substrate 8A, and a light receiving element is in a line shape. An example is a line CCD. Here, as shown in Fig. 3, the distance D between the imaging position E of the imaging means 5 and the scanning position F of the laser beam is T, and the conveying means 4 When the conveyance speed of V is V, it is set so that D = nVT (n is an integer). Thereby, scanning timing can be set so that scanning of a laser beam may be started when 8 A of glass substrates are conveyed and exposure start position reached the scanning position of a laser beam. The smaller the distance D is, the better. Thereby, the movement error of 8A of glass substrates can be reduced, and the scanning position of a laser beam can be positioned more correctly with respect to the target exposure position. In addition, although FIG. 1 shows the example which provided three imaging means 5, when the scanning range of a laser beam is narrower than the image processing area of one imaging means 5, even if one imaging means 5 is one, When the scanning range is wider than the image processing area of one imaging means 5, a plurality of imaging means 5 may be provided accordingly.

An illuminating means 6 is provided below the conveying means 4. The illuminating means 6 illuminates the pixel 22 to enable imaging by the imaging means 5.

Optical system control means (connected to the laser light source 2, the optical switch 9, the light deflection means 10, the polygon mirror 12, the line sensor 17, the conveying means 4 and the imaging means 5) 7) is provided. This optical system control means 7 detects the reference position preset in the reference pattern P formed in the reference glass substrate 8B picked up by the imaging means 5, or the pixel of the black matrix formed in the glass substrate 8A, Controlling the start or stop of irradiation of the laser beam in the laser light source 2 on the basis of the reference position and applied to the light deflection means 10 based on the output of the line sensor 17. The voltage is controlled to deflect the output direction of the laser beam, the rotational speed of the polygon mirror 12 is controlled to maintain the scanning speed of the laser beam at a predetermined speed, and the glass substrate 8A is conveyed by the conveying means 4. The speed is controlled at a predetermined speed. And the light source drive part 23 which turns on the laser light source 2, the optical switch controller 24 which controls irradiation start and irradiation stop of a laser beam, and the deflection amount of the laser beam in the optical deflection means 10 25 A of optical deflection means drive parts which control the control, the polygon drive part 25B which controls the drive of the polygon mirror 12, the conveyance controller 26 which controls the conveyance speed of the conveyance means 4, and the illumination means ( 6) an illumination light controller 27 for turning on and off the light, an A / D conversion unit 28 for A / D converting an image captured by the imaging means 5, and A / D converted image data To determine the irradiation start position and the irradiation stop position of the laser beam, the irradiation start position of the laser beam obtained by processing by the image processing unit 29 (hereinafter referred to as exposure start position), and the irradiation stop position ( The data of the exposure end position hereinafter) The storage unit 30 stores lookup tables and the like of the two reference positions and the rear reference positions, and the optical switch 9 based on the data of the exposure start position and the exposure end position read out from the storage unit 30. And a modulation data creation processing section 31 for creating modulation data to be turned on and off, and a control section 32 for appropriately controlling the entire apparatus to operate for a predetermined purpose.

4 and 5 are block diagrams illustrating an example of the configuration of the image processing unit 29. As shown in Fig. 4, the image processing unit 29 is parallel to each of the ring buffer memories 33A, 33B, 33C and the ring buffer memories 33A, 33B, 33C, which are connected in parallel, for example. For example, a comparison is performed by binarizing and outputting gray level data by comparing the three line buffer memories 34A, 34B, and 34C to the line buffer memories 34A, 34B, and 34C with the thresholds determined. First reference position determined by the circuit 35, the output data of the nine line buffer memories 34A, 34B, and 34C, and the reference pattern P or black matrix pixels obtained from the storage unit 30 shown in FIG. A head reference position determination circuit 36 which compares a look-up table of the image data corresponding to the head reference position (LUT for the head reference position) and outputs a head reference position determination result when both data coincide with the nine line buffer memories 34A. And 34B, 34C) output data shown in FIG. Rear part reference position determination which outputs a rear part reference position determination result when both data match by comparing the lookup table (LUT for rear part reference position) of image data corresponding to the rear part reference position obtained from the storage part 30 A circuit 37 is provided.

As shown in Fig. 5, the image processing unit 29 inputs the head reference position determination result and counts the count circuit 38A for counting the number of matches of the image data corresponding to the head reference position, and the count circuit 38A. 1 is compared with the exposure start pattern or the pixel number obtained from the storage unit 30 shown in FIG. A comparison circuit 39A output to 31), a counting circuit 38B for inputting the rear part reference position determination result to count the number of matches of image data corresponding to the rear part reference position, and the counting circuit 38B. The modulation end signal shown in Fig. 1 when the exposure end signal or pixel number is compared by comparing the output value of the output and the pixel number obtained from the storage unit 30 shown in Fig. A comparator circuit 39B output to the creation processor 31, a head pattern or pixel counting circuit 40 for counting the number of head patterns or pixels based on the output of the coefficient circuit 38A, and the head pattern Alternatively, the reference pattern P column or pixel column is compared when the numerical value of the pixel count circuit 40 is compared with the reference pattern P column or pixel column number obtained from the storage unit 30 shown in FIG. A comparison circuit 41 for outputting a designated signal to the modulated data creation processor 31 shown in FIG. 1 is provided. The counting circuits 38A and 38B are reset by the read start signal when the read operation by the imaging means 5 is started. In addition, the head pattern or the pixel counting circuit 40 is reset by the exposure pattern end signal when the formation of the predetermined predetermined exposure pattern ends.

Next, the exposure pattern formation method performed using the exposure apparatus 1 comprised in this way is demonstrated. First, when power is supplied to the exposure apparatus 1, the optical system control means 7 drives. Thereby, the laser light source 2 is started and a laser beam is emitted. At the same time, the polygon mirror 12 starts to rotate and scanning of the laser beam becomes possible. However, at this time, since the optical switch 9 is still off, the laser beam is not irradiated.

Next, as a reference substrate on which the glass substrate 8A in which no pattern was formed on the stage 18 of the conveying means 4, and the reference pattern P used as a reference | standard shown in FIG. 6 were formed. The reference glass substrate 8B is stacked with the glass substrate 8A facing upwards. Moreover, since the conveying means 4 conveys both glass substrates 8A and 8B at a constant speed, as shown in FIG. 7, the scanning trace (arrow B) of a laser beam is a movement direction (arrow A) of the stage 18. As shown in FIG. Relative to the Therefore, when both glass substrates 8A and 8B are provided in parallel with the said moving direction (arrow A), as shown to Fig.7 (a), an exposure position will be compared with the reference pattern Pa of a scanning start. A deviation may occur in the reference pattern Pb at the end of scanning. In this case, as shown in Fig. 7B, both glass substrates 8A and 8B are integrally installed to be inclined with respect to the conveying direction (arrow A direction) so that the arrangement direction of the reference pattern P and the laser are inclined. The scanning trajectories (arrows B) of the beams may be coincident with each other. However, since the scanning speed of a laser beam is much faster than the conveyance speed of both glass substrates 8A and 8B in reality, the said shift amount is small. Therefore, both glass substrates 8A and 8B are provided in parallel with the moving direction, and measure the deviation amount based on the data picked up by the image pickup means 5, so that the light deflection means 10 of the exposure optical system 3 ) May be adjusted to correct the deviation. In addition, in the following description, it demonstrates that the said shift amount is negligible.

Next, the conveyance drive unit 20 is driven to move the stage 18 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. At this time, the conveyance drive unit 20 is controlled to be a constant speed by the conveyance controller 26 of the optical system control means 7.

Next, when the reference pattern P formed in the reference glass substrate 8B reaches the imaging position of the imaging means 5, the imaging means 5 starts imaging, and image data of the reference pattern P picked up. The exposure start position and the exposure end position are detected based on. Hereinafter, the specific formation method of an exposure pattern is demonstrated with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step S1, the image of the reference pattern P is acquired by the imaging means 5. The acquired image data is taken into three ring buffer memories 33A, 33B and 33C of the image processing unit 29 shown in FIG. 4 and processed. The latest three pieces of data are output from each ring buffer memory 33A, 33B, 33C. In this case, for example, two pieces of data are output from the ring buffer memory 33A, one piece of data is output from the ring buffer memory 33B, and the latest data is output from the ring buffer memory 33C. Further, each of these data is arranged by three line buffer memories 34A, 34B, and 34C, respectively, for example, to arrange an image of a CCD pixel of 3x3 on the same clock (time axis). The result is obtained, for example, as an image as shown in Fig. 9A. When this image is numerically converted, it corresponds to the numerical value of 3x3 as shown in FIG. Since these digitized images are arranged on the same clock, the comparison circuit 35 compares the thresholds and binarizes them. For example, if the threshold value is "45", the image of Fig. 9A will be binarized as shown in Fig. 9C.

Next, in step S2, the leading and rear part reference positions are detected. Specifically, reference position detection is performed in the head reference position determination circuit 36 by comparing the binarized data with data of the head reference position LUT obtained from the storage unit 30 shown in FIG.

For example, when the head reference position is set in the upper left corner of the reference pattern P as shown in Fig. 10A, the head reference position LUT is shown in Fig. 10B. At this time, the data of the head reference position LUT is "000011011". Accordingly, the binarized data is compared with the data " 000011011 " of the reference position LUT, and when both data coincide, it is determined that the image data acquired by the imaging means 5 is the head reference position, and the head reference position determination circuit ( The head reference position determination result is output from 36). When four reference patterns P are arranged as shown in Fig. 11, the upper left corner portion of the reference pattern P corresponds to the head reference position.

Based on the determination result, the number of matches is counted in the counting circuit 38A shown in FIG. The number of counts is compared with the exposure start pattern number obtained from the storage unit 30 shown in FIG. 1 in the comparison circuit 39A, and when the numerical values coincide, the modulation showing the exposure start permission signal shown in FIG. It outputs to the data creation processing part 31. In this case, as shown in Fig. 11, for example, the first, second, third, and fourth reference patterns P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ , and P _{4 in} the scanning direction of the laser beam as the exposure start pattern. ), The upper left corner of each reference pattern becomes the leading reference position, and the element address in the line CCD of the image pickup means 5 corresponding to the leading reference position, for example, "1000", "2000", "3000" and "4000" are stored in the optical switch controller 24.

On the other hand, the binarized data is compared with the data of the rear part reference position LUT obtained from the storage unit 30 shown in FIG. For example, when the rear reference position is set in the upper right corner corner of the reference pattern P as shown in Fig. 12A, the LUT for the rear reference position is shown in Fig. 12B. The data of the LUT for the rear part reference position at this time becomes "110110000". Accordingly, the binarized data is judged that the image data acquired by the image capturing means 5 is the rear reference position when both data coincide with the data " 110110000 " of the LUT for the rear reference position. The rear part reference position determination result is output from the determination circuit 37. As shown in Fig. 11, when four reference patterns P are arranged, for example, as shown in Fig. 11, the upper right corner part of each reference pattern P corresponds to the rear reference position.

On the basis of the determination result, the number of matches is counted in the counting circuit 38B shown in FIG. The number of counts is compared with the exposure end pattern number obtained from the storage unit 30 shown in FIG. 1 in the comparison circuit 39B, and the modulation data showing the exposure end signal shown in FIG. It outputs to the creation process part 31. In this case, as shown in Fig. 11, for example, the first, second, third, and fourth reference patterns P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ , and P in the scanning direction of the laser beam as the exposure termination pattern. ₄ ), the upper right corner of each reference pattern becomes the rear reference position, and the element address in the line CCD of the imaging means 5 corresponding to the rear reference position, for example, "1990", " 2990 "," 3990 ", and" 4990 "are stored in the optical switch controller 24. When the head and rear reference positions are detected as described above, the flow advances to step S3.

In step S3, the exposure position in the moving direction of the glass substrate 8A is detected. Here, as shown in Fig. 3, the distance D between the scanning position F of the laser beam and the imaging position E of the imaging means 5 is D = nVT [n is an integer and V is a transport means ( Since the moving speed and T of 4) are set to the scanning period of the laser beam, the exposure position can be calculated by counting the scanning period T of the laser beam when V is made constant.

Next, in step S4, the exposure position is adjusted while scanning the laser beam. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 13, the adjustment of the exposure position includes the scanning position (element address) of the current laser beam detected by the line sensor 17 provided in the fθ lens 13 and the predetermined reference element address. In comparison, the amount of misalignment is detected, and the optical deflection means 10 is controlled to match the scanning position of the laser beam to the reference element address (reference scanning position).

Next, the exposure is started in step S5. Exposure start is performed by controlling the on timing of the optical switch 9 by the optical switch controller 24. FIG. In this case, first, the optical switch 9 is turned on to scan the laser beam, and when the scanning start time of the laser beam is detected by the line sensor 17, the optical switch 9 is turned off immediately. At this time, the element address " 1000 " of the imaging means 5 corresponding to, for example, the first head reference position in Fig. 11 is read out from the modulation data creation processing section 31, and the head reference is determined from the scanning start time of the laser beam. The time t ₁ to the position is calculated in the control unit 32. In this case, the scanning time t ₀ from the scanning start time of the laser beam to the element address "1" of the imaging means 5 is measured in advance, and the scanning speed of the laser beam is measured in the line of the imaging means 5. By synchronizing with the clock CLK of the CCD, by counting the number of clocks up to the element address " 1000 ", the time t ₁ can be easily obtained as t ₁ = t ₀ + 1000 CLK.

Hereinafter, a method of exposing the pixels 22 of the black matrix 21 shown in FIG. 11B will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the laser beam applied here uses the beam narrowed enough thinly compared with the reference pattern P. As shown in FIG.

In this case, CAD data of the internal pixel 22 surrounded by the thick frame shown in FIG. 11B is stored in the storage unit 30. Here, the exposure is performed at the exposure start position and the exposure based on the CAD data read out from the storage unit 30 for each stripe pattern for slicing the pixel 22 at the scanning width of the laser beam, as shown in Fig. 11B. An end position is specified, and the exposure start position and the exposure end position are made to correspond to the element address of the line CCD of the imaging device 5 to manage the scanning time of the laser beam. Specifically, in FIG. 11B, first, the L ₁ line is exposed. In this case, exposure is permitted from the first leading reference position "1000", and exposure starts after time t ₂ . Then, the exposure ends after time t ₃ .

Next, in step S6, the rear part reference position is detected. The rear portion reference position is similar to the above, for example, the scanning time t ₄ of the laser beam from the first leading reference position "1000" to the first rear reference position "1990" is managed, and the rear portion is managed. The exposure operation with respect to the _first reference pattern P ₁ at the reference position "1990" is completed. As shown in Fig. 11B, in the case of the L ₁ line, the exposure stop state is maintained.

Next, in step S7, it is determined whether or not one scan of the laser beam is finished. If NO is determined here, the process returns to step S2 to repeat the above-described operation. In step S2, when the second leading reference position "2000" and the second rear reference position "2990" are detected, for example, as shown in Fig. 11A, steps S3 and S4. Proceed to step S5 via. In this case, in the same manner as described above, the exposure starts after t ₂ from the second leading reference position "2000", and then the exposure ends after t ₃ . At the rear reference position "2990", the exposure of the L ₁ line to the _second reference pattern P ₂ is terminated.

Steps S2 to S6 described above are repeatedly executed until one scanning of the laser beam is finished. Thereby, when the exposure operation | movement of the L1 line with respect to a _1st reference pattern sequence is complete | finished, a "Yes" determination is made in step S7. The flow then advances to step S8.

In step S8, the control part 32 determines whether the exposure of the exposure pattern with respect to the predetermined area (here, the first reference pattern column) has been completed. If NO is determined, the process returns to step S2, and the operation of steps S2 to S6 is repeated to perform the exposure operation on the L ₂ line in Fig. 11B. For example, exposure starts after t ₅ from the first leading reference position "1000", then ends exposure after t ₆ , and the first reference pattern (P) at the first rear reference position "1990". _The exposure operation ₁ ) is terminated.

Likewise, L ₃ , L ₄ ... When the exposure operation with respect to the first reference pattern string is ended by repeating the exposure operation with respect to the first reference pattern row, " Yes " At this time, the exposure pattern of the black matrix 21 shown by oblique lines in FIG. 11B is exposed on the glass substrate 8A corresponding to the first reference pattern column.

Next, in step S9, it is determined by the control part 32 whether all formation of the exposure pattern with respect to the reference pattern row of a conveyance direction is complete | finished. Here, if " No " The exposure operation with respect to the reference pattern column of is performed, and the exposure pattern of the pixel 22 of the black matrix 21 is exposed on the glass substrate 8A in accordance with each reference pattern column. Thereby, when it determines with "Yes" in step S10, all formation of the exposure pattern with respect to 8A of glass substrates is complete | finished.

Next, in the same manner as described above, an exposure pattern of a red, blue, or green color filter is formed based on the pixels 22 of the black matrix 21 of the glass substrate 8A. Hereinafter, the formation method of the exposure pattern of a color filter is demonstrated easily. In addition, as the laser beam applied here, a beam having a diameter approximately the same as the width of the pixel 22 is used.

First, in step S1 in FIG. 8, the image pickup device acquires an image of the pixel 22 of the black matrix 21. Next, in step S2, a head reference position and a rear reference position predetermined in the pixel 22 are detected. In the case of forming a stripe-shaped exposure pattern as shown by an oblique line in FIG. 14, for example, "1" is set as the exposure start pixel number in FIG. In this case, therefore, the comparator 39A outputs to the optical switch controller 24 an exposure start permission signal that permits the exposure start from the head reference position set in the upper left portion of the first pixel 22 ₁ .

On the other hand, "6" is set as the exposure end pixel number shown in FIG. In this case, the comparator 39B outputs to the optical switch controller 24 an exposure end signal for terminating the exposure at the rear reference position set at the upper right part of the _sixth pixel 2222. Next, in the same manner as described above, after detecting the first pixel string in step S3, the scanning position of the laser beam is adjusted in step S4. Next, in step S5, the control unit 32 calculates the scanning time of the laser beam from the head reference position to the exposure start position based on the CAD data of the exposure pattern of the color filter read from the storage unit 30. do. 14, the head reference position coincides with the exposure start position. Next, in step S6, the scanning time of the laser beam from the exposure start position to the exposure end position is calculated based on the CAD data. In Fig. 14, the exposure end position coincides with the rear reference position.

Next, in step S7, it is determined whether or not one scan of the laser beam is finished, and if not, steps S1 to S6 are repeated. Then, when one scan is finished, the flow advances to step S8 to determine whether or not all exposures to the first pixel column have been completed. In the case of Fig. 14, since the exposure to the first pixel column is terminated in one scan of the laser beam, a determination of "Yes" is made in step S8, and the flow proceeds to step S9. Then, it is determined whether all the formation of the exposure pattern with respect to the predetermined pixel column in the conveyance direction is finished. Here, when "yes" determination is made, formation of the exposure pattern of the red color filter, for example with respect to 8A of glass substrates is complete | finished.

Thus, according to the exposure pattern formation method of this invention, the imaging position 5 detects and detects the reference position preset in the reference pattern P formed in the reference glass substrate 8B, based on the said reference position. The glass substrate 8A in which nothing is formed by controlling irradiation start or irradiation stop of the light beam and forming an exposure pattern of the pixels 22 of the black matrix 21 at a predetermined position where the glass substrate 8A is located. ), The exposure pattern of the pixel 22 can be formed with high accuracy.

In the same manner as described above, when the exposure pattern is formed based on the reference position specified for the pixel 22 of the black matrix 21 formed on the glass substrate 8A, for example, red, blue, The exposure pattern of each green color filter can be formed with high precision. Thereby, even when each exposure pattern is formed using a some exposure apparatus, the problem of the deterioration of the overlapping precision of the exposure pattern resulting from the precision difference between exposure apparatus can be eliminated, and the cost increase of an exposure apparatus is suppressed. can do.

When the arrangement pitches of the reference pattern P and the pixels 22 are the same, pixels of arbitrary shapes can be exposed using the same reference glass substrate 8B.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the example where the illumination means 6 was arrange | positioned under the conveyance apparatus 4 and used back illumination was demonstrated, it is not limited to this, The illumination means 6 is not limited to the conveyance apparatus 4 of the example. You may arrange | position upward and apply fall illumination.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 15, the illumination pattern and the imaging means 5 are arrange | positioned under the conveyance means 4, and the reference pattern P formed in the transparent reference glass substrate 8B from the lower side of the said conveyance means 4 is carried out. ) May be imaged. Thereby, the functional pattern which becomes a reference | standard in the predetermined position of a to-be-exposed object can be formed whether a to-be-exposed object is transparent or opaque.

And the formation method of the exposure pattern of this invention is not limited to what is applied to large board | substrates, such as a color filter of a liquid crystal monitor, but can also be applied to exposure of the pattern in a semiconductor etc.

Claims (3)

It is an exposure pattern formation method which scans a light beam with respect to a to-be-exposed object by an exposure optical system, and exposes a functional pattern directly on the to-be-exposed object, The reference substrate which previously formed the reference pattern which becomes a reference | standard of an exposure position is arrange | positioned under the said to-be-exposed object, and conveys the said to-be-exposed object and a reference substrate to a predetermined direction by a conveying means, Illuminating means illuminates the reference pattern of the reference substrate from one of the upper and lower sides of the conveying means; The said reference pattern is imaged with the imaging means arrange | positioned at either the upper and lower sides of the said conveying means, Detecting a reference position preset to the reference pattern picked up by the imaging means by the optical system control means, controlling irradiation start or irradiation stop of the light beam on the basis of the reference position, and a predetermined position on the exposed object Exposing a first functional pattern to the exposure pattern forming method. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first functional pattern formed by exposing at a predetermined position on the object to be exposed is imaged again by an image pickup means, and the optical system control means presets the first functional pattern imaged by the image pickup means. Detecting a reference position, controlling the start or stop of irradiation of the light beam on the basis of the reference position, and performing exposure of another function pattern at a predetermined position on the object to be exposed, forming an exposure pattern Way. The said reference substrate is a transparent board | substrate, The said illumination means and the said imaging means are provided under the said conveying means, and the said reference pattern formed in the said reference substrate from below the said conveying means is imaged. The exposure pattern forming method characterized by the above-mentioned.

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