KR20090033031A - Substrate surface inspection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate surface check device is provided to obtain a clear image of a substrate to be checked and to perform a macro check with a good precision. A substrate return unit(25) moves a substrate(33) to be checked according to a fixed direction. An lighting unit(13) irradiates a light on the substrate to be checked. A light receiving unit(15) receives a light reflected on the substrate to be checked or a light transmitting the substrate to be checked. A moving unit integrally moves the lighting unit and the light receiving unit. A control unit controls a driving of the moving unit. A check unit includes the lighting unit and the light receiving unit. A guide unit is parallel installed according to a return direction of the substrate to be checked, and guides a motion of the check unit.

Description

Substrate appearance inspection device {SUBSTRATE SURFACE INSPECTION APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a substrate appearance inspection apparatus.

Background Art Conventionally, a technique for inspecting defects or the like that occur in a mother glass substrate (inspection substrate) used for manufacturing LCD (liquid crystal display), etc., which is an image of an inspection object substrate moving on a conveying path. BACKGROUND ART Inspection apparatuses for imaging and inspecting are known (see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 below).

In the inspection apparatus of the following Patent Document 1, before the inspection target substrate reaches a predetermined position in the photographing field of vision, the inspection apparatus obtains the position of the inspection target substrate and the time required to arrive, thereby capturing the entire inspection target substrate at the photographing predetermined position and then macro. The test is being done.

Moreover, the inspection apparatus of the following patent document 2 carries out macro inspection by moving the imaging means comprised with a linear image pick-up element, and a photographing target in a orthogonal direction, creating a whole image from the image of the linear image picked up.

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1996-313454

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1998-260139

Here, in various in-line manufacturing apparatuses and inspection apparatuses in the manufacturing process and inspection process of the FPD (flat panel display) containing LCD mentioned above, it is calculated | required to shorten a new process time and to improve inspection efficiency.

However, in the inspection apparatus of the above-mentioned patent documents 1 and patent documents 2, when the conveyance speed of an imaging target board | substrate is made high speed, in order to obtain the favorable image of a photographing target board | substrate, processing of a camera or image signal with high sensitivity is carried out. There is a need for a system capable of performing the operation at high speed.

In addition, in order to brighten the image of the photographing target substrate and acquire it as an image having low noise, an illumination device or the like capable of irradiating high-sensitivity bright illumination uniformly to the imaging range is also required.

Such a problem becomes severer as the speed of the conveyance path to which the inspection target substrate moves moves and the accuracy of macro inspection of the inspection target substrate is pursued.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and it is possible to obtain a clear image of an inspection target substrate conveyed on a conveying path with a more inexpensive configuration without using an expensive and high-performance device in a more inexpensive configuration. An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate appearance inspection apparatus capable of performing macro inspection with good accuracy.

In order to solve the said subject, this invention employ | adopts the following means.

The present invention provides a substrate conveying means for moving a substrate to be inspected in a predetermined direction, illumination means for emitting illumination light with respect to the substrate to be inspected, and light emitted from the illumination means and reflected from the substrate to be inspected. Light receiving means for receiving reflected light or transmitted light transmitted through the inspection target substrate, moving means for integrally moving the illumination means and the light receiving means, and control means for controlling the driving of the moving means; Provides a substrate appearance inspection apparatus in which movement of the illumination means and the light receiving means by the movement means is moved along the same direction as the movement direction of the inspection target substrate.

According to the present invention, the illumination light is emitted by the operation of the illumination means to the inspection target substrate moved by the operation of the substrate conveyance means, and the reflected light or transmitted light is received by the light receiving means.

In this case, the illumination means and the light receiving means are moved integrally by the operation of the moving means, and the illumination means and the light receiving means are moved along the same direction as the moving direction of the inspection target substrate by the operation of the control unit. The relative speed of the lighting means and the light receiving means with respect to the target substrate can be made small.

Therefore, a high resolution image can be obtained over the entire surface of the inspection target substrate as compared with the case where the inspection target substrate, or any one of the illumination means and the light receiving means is imaged, so that the inspection target substrate can be macroscopically inspected. have. Thereby, for example, even if the exposure time of the photographing means is extended, it is possible to photograph the reflected light or transmitted light without shaking, and to obtain a clear image. In addition, the macro inspection can be performed while conveying the inspection target substrate, and the tact time can be shortened by effectively utilizing the time required for carrying the inspection target substrate.

In the said invention, the said board | substrate conveyance means may be a structure which moves the said test subject board | substrate at a fixed speed.

By configuring in this way, a clear image with few shaking is easy to be obtained, and the precision of macro inspection can be improved.

Moreover, in the said invention, even if it is the structure which has the inspection unit which comprises the said illumination means and the said light receiving means integrally, and the guide means provided in parallel along the conveyance direction of the said inspection target board | substrate, and guides the movement of the said inspection unit, do.

By such a configuration, the positional relationship between the lighting means and the light receiving means can be stabilized by the inspection unit, and the light receiving means can receive the illumination light from the lighting means with good accuracy. In addition, since the illuminating means and the light receiving means are guided along the conveying direction of the inspection target substrate by the guide means, the illuminating means and the light receiving means can be easily and accurately moved in the same direction as the inspection target substrate.

Moreover, in the said invention, it is good also as a structure in which the said lighting means is a line illumination light source, and the said light receiving means is a line sensor.

By such a configuration, the illuminating means and the light receiving means are only irradiated with the linear illumination light orthogonal to the inspection object substrate by the line illumination light source and the linear illumination light is received by the line sensor. Even if it does not scan in the width direction of the conveyance direction of an inspection object board | substrate, the inspection object board | substrate currently conveyed can be imaged efficiently over the whole surface.

The invention further includes a speed detecting means for detecting a conveying speed of the inspection target substrate, wherein the control means moves the moving means in accordance with the conveying speed of the inspection target substrate detected by the speed detecting means. The control structure may be sufficient.

With this arrangement, even if the conveyance speed of the inspection target substrate is changed, the conveyance speed is detected by the speed detection means, and the movement speeds of the illumination means and the imaging means are changed by the operation of the control means, so that The relative speed of the lighting means and the light receiving means can be arbitrarily controlled. Thereby, a relative speed can be adjusted according to the imaging conditions of an imaging means or the magnitude | size of the defect of a test target board | substrate, without reducing the conveyance speed of a test target board | substrate, and a tact time can be shortened effectively.

Moreover, in the said invention, the said control means controls the relative speed of the said illumination means and the said light receiving means with respect to the said inspection target board | substrate so that it may become a fixed speed lower than the conveyance speed of the said inspection target board | substrate. You may also

With this arrangement, since the relative speeds of the illumination means and the light receiving means with respect to the inspection target substrate are always maintained at a constant speed by the operation of the control means, a clear image can be obtained even if the conveyance speed of the inspection target substrate is changed.

In the above invention, the movement speed of the illumination means and the light receiving means may be configured to be set at a lower speed than the conveyance speed of the inspection target substrate.

With such a configuration, a clear image can be obtained even if the performance of the light receiving means is lowered as compared with the case where the illumination means and the light receiving means are stopped and macro inspection of the inspection target substrate is performed.

In addition, in the said invention, the moving speed of the said illumination means and the said light receiving means may be set to the highway rather than the conveyance speed of the said inspection target board | substrate.

With such a configuration, after inspecting the inspection target substrate by passing the illumination means and the light receiving means, the same inspection target substrate can be imaged again by changing the highway and moving the front of the inspection target substrate. . Thereby, for example, the inspection target board | substrate with which the defect was detected by the 1st imaging can be image | photographed again by the high sensitivity imaging conditions, and inspection of a defect part can be performed with more accurate.

In addition, in the said invention, the moving speed of the said illumination means and the said light receiving means may be set to the same speed as the conveyance speed of the said inspection target board | substrate.

By such a configuration, the illumination target and the light receiving means can be imaged in a state where the inspection target substrate is relatively stopped. Therefore, even if a high performance light receiving means is not used, the part to be inspected of the inspection target substrate can be inspected more precisely.

Moreover, in the said invention, the said light receiving means may be a camera provided with a two-dimensional imaging element.

By such a configuration, a two-dimensional image of the inspection target substrate can be obtained, and the macro inspection of the inspection target substrate can be performed quickly and extensively.

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an effect of obtaining a clear image of an inspection target substrate conveyed on a conveying path without using a high performance device and performing macro inspection with good precision.

[First Embodiment]

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the board | substrate visual inspection apparatus which concerns on 1st Example of this invention is demonstrated with reference to drawings.

The board | substrate visual inspection apparatus 1 which concerns on a present Example is the board | substrate conveyance path (substrate conveying means) 25 provided with the conveyor 23 comprised by the some roller 21 as shown in FIG. 6, for example. ) Or a mother glass substrate for producing an FPD conveyed on a substrate conveying path 31 having a floating plate 29 having a plurality of ejection holes 27 as shown in FIG. 7 (inspection) An apparatus for imaging and macro inspection of the entire surface of the target substrate, hereinafter referred to as "substrate" 33.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the board | substrate external appearance inspection apparatus 1 determines the board | substrate conveyance path 25 which connects between the manufacturing apparatuses which manufacture the board | substrate 33, and the said board | substrate conveyance path 25 top. The inspection apparatus unit (inspection unit) 3 which inspects the external appearance of the surface of the board | substrate 33 conveyed at the conveyance speed of 3, and the said inspection apparatus unit 3 are mounted, for example, a linear guide, a roller guide, etc. A linear guide such as a linear motor for moving the inspection device unit 3 in the conveying direction of the substrate conveying path 25 according to the guide (guide means) 5 and the guide 5 constituted by the guide 5. The drive part (moving means) 7 which consists of a mechanism, the speed detection part (speed detection means) 9 which detects the conveyance speed of the board | substrate 33, and the control part (control means) 11 which controls the drive part 7 Equipped with.

The inspection apparatus unit 3 includes an illumination unit (illumination means) 13 for generating illumination light irradiated onto the surface of the substrate 33, and the reflected light emitted from the illumination unit 13 and reflected from the surface of the substrate 33. An imaging unit (light receiving means) 15 for photographing is provided.

The illumination part 13 is a line illumination light source which irradiates the linear illumination light orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the board | substrate 33, for example. The illumination part 13 is provided in the upper part of the board | substrate conveyance path 25 so that it may have a predetermined positional relationship of the imaging part 15 mentioned later, and the optical axis of illumination light with respect to the surface of the board | substrate 33 at a predetermined inclination angle. It is arranged inclined.

The imaging unit 15 is composed of, for example, a line sensor having a plurality of pixels arranged in one dimension, but in addition, a two-dimensional sensor camera having a light receiving element, such as a CCD or a CMOS, which is arranged in two dimensions, for example. It doesn't matter. The imaging part 15 is provided so that it may be located in the upper part of the board | substrate conveyance path 25, and a some pixel may incline the optical axis with respect to the surface of the board | substrate 33 on the board | substrate conveyance path 25 at a predetermined inclination angle. The optical axis is arranged at the center of the illumination range by the illumination unit 13.

The positional relationship between the illumination unit 13 and the imaging unit 15 is such that the incident angle of the illumination light and the reflection angle of the reflected light picked up by the imaging unit 15 with respect to the vertical line on the surface of the substrate 33 have the same arrangement, thereby interfering the interference light. It is a positional relationship in which imaging is performed, or a positional relationship in which scattered light and diffracted light are imaged in an arrangement in which the incident angle and the reflection angle are different. Thereby, the imaging part 15 is made to acquire the line scan image of the board | substrate 33 conveyed on the board | substrate conveyance path 25 in order.

The pair of guides 5 is provided in parallel along the conveyance direction of the board | substrate conveyance path 25. The inspection device unit 3 travels on the pair of guides 5 by the driving force of the driving unit 7, and the illumination light from the lighting unit 13 is irradiated onto the substrate 33 through the guides 5. The reflected light from the surface of the substrate 33 passes through the through hole 5a and is displayed on the imaging unit 15.

The drive part 7 comprises the slider which is not shown which comprises the movable electromagnet of the linear motor provided in the main-body part which supports the inspection apparatus unit 3, and the guide 5 which comprises the fixed electromagnet which drives a slider for running. It consists of a linear motor having a. By sequentially driving the fixed electromagnet on the guide 5 side along the rail, the movable electromagnet on the inspection apparatus unit 3 side and the fixed electromagnet allow the inspection apparatus unit 3 to run at an arbitrary speed along the guide. It is possible.

The speed detection apparatus 9 detects the speed of the substrate 33 conveyed on the substrate conveyance path 25, and outputs the detected substrate speed signal of the detected substrate 33 to the control unit 11.

The effect | action of the board | substrate visual inspection apparatus 1 which concerns on this embodiment comprised in this way is demonstrated.

In order to test the board | substrate 33 conveyed on the board | substrate conveyance path 25 by the board | substrate visual inspection apparatus 1 which concerns on a present Example, it inspects in the vicinity of the board | substrate carrying-in side of the board | substrate conveyance path 25 first. Arrange the device unit 3.

Subsequently, by the operation of the speed detecting device 9, the conveying speed of the substrate 33 on the substrate conveying path 25 is detected before the substrate 33 reaches the lower portion of the substrate appearance inspecting apparatus 1. The substrate speed signal is output to the control unit 11.

3, when the board | substrate 33 is located in the lower part of the board | substrate external appearance inspection apparatus 1, the control part 11 will be in the same direction as the moving direction of the board | substrate 33. As shown in FIG. The drive unit 7 is controlled to travel. At this time, the drive part 7 is controlled so that the movement speed SS (SS> 0) of the test | inspection apparatus unit 3 may become smaller than the conveyance speed S (S> 0) of the board | substrate 33. FIG.

Thereby, the test | inspection apparatus unit 3 scans along the conveyance direction of the board | substrate 33 with the relative speed T1 (T1 = S-SS) with respect to the board | substrate 33 which is moving. In other words, the relative speed T1 corresponds to the scanning speed of the inspection device unit 3 with respect to the substrate 33. In addition, in the figure, code | symbol A has shown the detection position on the board | substrate 33. As shown in FIG.

The inspection apparatus unit 3 with respect to the board | substrate 33 is matched with the imaging conditions of the imaging part 15 by reducing the relative speed of the inspection apparatus unit 3 with respect to the board | substrate 33, ie, controlling by the relative speed T1. Relative speed T1 can be adjusted.

When a defect on the board | substrate 33 is detected by the test | inspection apparatus unit 3, in order to image the defect in high resolution, the moving speed of the test apparatus unit 3 is made higher than the conveyance speed of the board | substrate 33, and an inspection apparatus. The unit 3 is returned to the detection start position of the defect. In this case, the control part 11 is the speed | rate which the inspection point of the detection apparatus unit 3 reaches the defect position of the board | substrate 33 which is conveying according to data, such as the position where a defect was detected, the conveyance speed of the board | substrate 33, etc. And time are calculated | required, and the inspection apparatus unit 3 is moved so that the inspection point of the inspection apparatus unit 3 may be located slightly ahead of a conveyance direction rather than a defect. Thereafter, the control unit 11 adjusts the moving speed of the inspection device unit 3 so that the relative speed of the inspection device unit 3 with respect to the substrate 33 is delayed from the initially set relative speed.

As a result, since the line scan image is acquired in order by the imaging part 15 at the relative speed T1 later than the conveyance speed of the board | substrate 33, an image of high resolution can be obtained over the whole surface of the board | substrate 33, and a board | substrate Macro inspection of (33) can be performed favorably. Moreover, since it is not necessary to lower the conveyance speed of the board | substrate 33 in order to acquire a high resolution image, the inspection efficiency in an inspection process does not fall. In addition, when a defect is detected, depending on the imaging condition, the relative speed T1 of the inspection apparatus unit 3 with respect to the board | substrate 33 is made slower, the resolution of the imaging part 15 is raised, and a minute defect is favorable. You can also shoot.

As explained above, according to the board | substrate visual inspection apparatus 1 which concerns on a present Example, the relative speed of the inspection apparatus unit 3 with respect to the board | substrate 33 can be adjusted arbitrarily according to the imaging conditions of the imaging part 15. Thus, for example, even if the exposure time which is the imaging condition of the imaging unit 15 is increased (or the shutter speed is slowed), the inspection apparatus unit 3 is set to a relative speed suitable for the exposure time (or the shutter speed). By adjusting at the moving speed of, the reflected light reflected from the surface of the substrate 33 can be photographed without shaking.

In addition, the relative speed of the inspection apparatus unit 3 with respect to the board | substrate 33 can be arbitrarily controlled by changing the speed of the inspection apparatus unit 3 by the control part 11. Therefore, by adjusting the relative speed according to the imaging conditions and the size of the defect of the imaging unit 15, a clear image of the surface of the substrate 33 can be obtained without sacrificing the conveyance speed of the substrate 33 and inspection can be performed with good accuracy. Can be.

And this embodiment can be modified as follows.

For example, in the present embodiment, the control unit 11 has a movement speed lower than the conveyance speed of the substrate 33 so that the relative speed (scanning speed) of the inspection device unit 3 with respect to the substrate 33 becomes smaller. Although the furnace inspection apparatus unit 3 is driven, the scanning direction with respect to the board | substrate 33 may be reversed by making the moving speed of the inspection apparatus unit 3 higher than the conveyance speed of the board | substrate 33. FIG.

In addition, in this embodiment, although the moving direction of the inspection apparatus unit 3 is made into the same direction as the moving direction of the board | substrate 33, the conveyance speed of the board | substrate 33 is a low speed according to the conveyance speed of the board | substrate 33. In this case, the movement direction of the inspection apparatus unit 3 may be moved in the opposite direction to the movement direction of the substrate 33, and the scanning direction with respect to the substrate 33 may be reversed. In such a case, since the moving range of the inspection apparatus unit 3 can be made smaller than the speed of the inspection apparatus unit 3, the length of the guide 5 can be made shorter.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the drive part 7 may be controlled so that the moving speed SS of the test | inspection apparatus unit 3 may be equal to the conveyance speed S of the board | substrate 33 (SS = S). In this case, when using the camera etc. which used the above-mentioned two-dimensional sensor as the imaging part 15, the predetermined area | region of the board | substrate 33 can be acquired effectively in the relatively stationary state. In addition, the defect detected from the obtained image can be continuously displayed as a still image on the monitor in a state of tracking for a predetermined time.

In addition, since the detection position A on the board | substrate 33 is always grasped | ascertained by the test | inspection apparatus unit 3, when the moving speed of the test | inspection apparatus unit 3 is adjusted to the same speed with respect to the conveyance speed of the board | substrate 33, The surface of the substrate 33 can be imaged under the same conditions as when the substrate 33 is stopped. Therefore, the imaging time by the imaging part 15 can be lengthened, and the defect part to test | inspect on the surface of the board | substrate 33 can be picked up with high precision and high resolution, without image bias of an image, and more precise inspection is carried out. I can do it.

For example, in this embodiment, although the line sensor is employ | adopted as the imaging part 15, you may employ | adopt the camera which used two-dimensional imaging elements, such as CCD, as mentioned above. In this case, it is preferable to arrange | position a some camera in the width direction of a board | substrate conveyance path, and to move each camera integrally in a conveyance direction.

For example, in this embodiment, although the inspection apparatus unit 3 is provided in the upper part of the board | substrate 33, you may provide the inspection apparatus unit 3 in the lower part of the board | substrate 33. FIG. .

For example, in this embodiment, although the imaging part 15 image | photographs the reflected light reflected by the surface of the board | substrate 33, as shown in FIG. 5, the imaging part 15 was made into the board | substrate ( It is good to arrange | position so that it may be located under the 33, and let the imaging part 15 image the transmitted light which permeate | transmitted the board | substrate 33. FIG.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a movement inspection apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit of the moving test apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a transfer relationship between a substrate and a movement of the inspection device unit of the movement inspection device of FIG. 1.

It is a figure which shows the transfer relationship of the board | substrate with the movement of the inspection apparatus unit of the movement inspection apparatus which concerns on the modification of 1st Example of this invention.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the lighting unit and the imaging unit of the movement inspection apparatus according to the modification of the first embodiment of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows the board | substrate conveyance path provided with a floating plate.

7 is a view showing a substrate transport path including a conveyor.

[Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings]

(1) substrate appearance inspection device

(7) drive unit (moving means)

(11) control unit (control means)

(13) Lighting part (lighting means)

(15) Imaging portion (light receiving means)

(25) Board | substrate conveyance path (substrate conveyance means)

(33) Substrate (Inspection Substrate)

Claims (10)

Board | substrate conveying means which moves a test | inspection board | substrate along a fixed direction, Illumination means for emitting illumination light to the inspection target substrate; Light-receiving means for receiving the reflected light emitted from the illumination means and reflected from the inspection target substrate or transmitted light passing through the inspection target substrate; Moving means for integrally moving the lighting means and the light receiving means; Control means for controlling driving of the moving means Including, And the control means allows the movement of the illumination means and the light receiving means by the moving means to move along the same direction as the moving direction of the inspection target substrate. The method of claim 1, The board | substrate conveyance means is a board | substrate external appearance inspection apparatus which moves the said test subject board | substrate at a constant speed. The method according to claim 1 or 2, An inspection unit integrating the illumination means and the light receiving means; The board | substrate visual inspection apparatus provided in parallel along the conveyance direction of the said inspection target board | substrate, and the guide means which guides the movement of the said inspection unit. The method of claim 1, And said illuminating means is a line illumination light source, and said light receiving means is a line sensor. The method of claim 1, Further including speed detecting means for detecting a conveying speed of the inspection target substrate, And said control means controls said moving means in accordance with a conveying speed of said inspection target substrate detected by said speed detecting means. The method according to claim 1 or 5, The said control means controls the external appearance of the said illumination means and the said light receiving means with respect to the said test target board | substrate so that it may become a fixed speed lower than the conveyance speed of the said test target board | substrate. The method of claim 6, The board | substrate visual inspection apparatus of which the moving speed of the said lighting means and the said light receiving means is set at a lower speed than the conveyance speed of the said test target board | substrate. The method according to claim 1 or 5, The board | substrate visual inspection apparatus of which the moving speed of the said lighting means and the said light receiving means is set more than the conveyance speed of the said inspection target board | substrate. The method according to claim 1 or 5, The board | substrate visual inspection apparatus of which the moving speed of the said illumination means and the said light receiving means is set to the same speed as the conveyance speed of the said test subject board | substrate. The method of claim 1, And said light receiving means is a camera having a two-dimensional imaging element.

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