KR20210004426A - Substrate bonding press apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, provided is a press device. The press device supports a first substrate and a second substrate in a processing chamber, and depressurizes the inside of the processing chamber to bond the first substrate and the second substrate. The press device comprises: a first support member for supporting a first support plate for supporting a first substrate from the outside of a processing chamber; a second support member for further supporting the first support member; a plurality of load cells disposed between the first support member and the second support member; a second support plate for supporting a second substrate; and a driving means for horizontally moving the second support plate while maintaining airtightness in the processing chamber. When the first substrate and the second substrate are bonded, the pressurization is performed by the weight of the first support member and the first support plate. The load cells output a measured value obtained by reducing the reaction force when the first substrate and the second substrate are bonded from the total pressure applied to the load cells. Accordingly, manufacturing defects of a bonded substrate can be reduced.

Description

Substrate bonding press apparatus and method TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate for manufacturing a substrate (panel) in which two substrates, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), are bonded with a gap between them as a predetermined value.

Recently, the area of panels such as LCDs is increasing as the display area is expanded. In addition, the number of pixels per unit area is increasing for fine display. Therefore, in a bonding apparatus for manufacturing a panel in which two substrates are bonded, a large substrate is handled and accurate positioning is required.

Fig. 35 is a partial plan view of a liquid crystal display panel, showing a part of an upper surface of an active matrix liquid crystal display panel using a TFT (thin film transistor) as a switching element as viewed from the color filter substrate side.

In the liquid crystal display panel 10, a plurality of pixel regions 12 arranged in a matrix form on the side of the array substrate 11 are formed, and TFTs 13 are formed in each pixel region 12. Then, the display area 14 of an image is formed by the plurality of pixel areas 12. Further, although detailed illustration is omitted, the gate electrode of the TFT 13 of each pixel region 12 is connected to the gate line, the drain electrode is connected to the data line, and the source electrode is a pixel formed in the pixel region 12. It is connected to the electrode. The plurality of data lines and gate lines are connected to the terminal portion 15 formed on the outer periphery of the array substrate 11 and connected to a driving circuit (not shown) provided outside.

A color filter (CF) substrate 16 formed substantially smaller than the array substrate 11 by the area of the terminal portion 15 is installed to face the array substrate 11 by sealing the liquid crystal with a predetermined cell thickness (cell gap). Has been. On the CF substrate 16, a color filter (indicated by letters R (red), G (green), and B (blue) in the drawing) or a Cr (chrome) film together with a common electrode (not shown) A light-shielding film (black matrix: BM) 17 and the like using the same are formed. The BM 17 is used to define a plurality of pixel regions 12 in the display region 14 to obtain contrast, and to shield the TFT 13 to prevent generation of a light leakage current. Further, the BM frame portion 18 is provided to shield unnecessary light from outside the display area 14.

The array substrate 11 and the CF substrate 16 are bonded to each other by a sealing material 19 containing a thermosetting resin.

By the way, the manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device is broadly divided into an array process of forming a wiring pattern or a switching element (in the case of an active matrix type), etc. on a glass substrate, alignment treatment or arrangement of spacers, and an opposing glass substrate. It consists of a cell process of encapsulating a liquid crystal into the device, and a module process of mounting a driver IC or a backlight.

Among them, in the liquid crystal implantation process performed in the cell process, for example, the array substrate 11 on which the TFT 13 is formed and the CF substrate (counter substrate) 16 opposed thereto are bonded through a sealing material 19. Afterwards, the sealing material 19 is hardened. Next, the liquid crystal and the substrates 11 and 16 are placed in a vacuum bath, and an injection hole (not shown) opened in the sealing material 19 is immersed in the liquid crystal, and the liquid crystal is injected between the substrates 11 and 16 by returning the chamber to atmospheric pressure. Then, a method of sealing the injection port (vacuum injection method) was used.

On the other hand, in recent years, for example, a prescribed amount of liquid crystal is dropped on the substrate surface in the frame of the sealing material 19 formed in a frame shape around the array substrate 11, and the array substrate 11 and the A drop injection method in which a CF substrate 16 is bonded to encapsulate a liquid crystal is attracting attention. Compared with the vacuum injection method, this drop injection method has advantages such as being able to significantly reduce the amount of liquid crystal material used and shortening the liquid crystal injection time, and thus has the possibility of reducing the manufacturing cost of the panel or improving the productivity. .

By the way, in the manufacturing apparatus by the conventional dropping method, the following problem exists.

[1: Substrate deformation, display defect, and adsorption defect]

Substrate grasping is performed using a vacuum chuck, an electrostatic chuck, or a mechanical chuck.

In the holding of the substrate by a vacuum chuck, the substrate is placed on a suction surface on a parallel surface plate, and the back side of the substrate is vacuum-sucked and fixed. By this holding method, for example, the array substrate is held, and an appropriate amount of liquid crystal is dropped onto the surface of the array substrate in which the sealing material is formed in a frame shape by a dispenser or the like. Next, the CF substrate is positioned in a vacuum atmosphere and bonded to the array substrate.

By the way, in the case of holding a substrate by a vacuum chuck, since the vacuum chuck does not function when the degree of vacuum is increased to some extent, it is impossible to sufficiently increase the degree of vacuum in the processing chamber during substrate bonding. Therefore, sufficient bonding pressure cannot be applied to both substrates, and it becomes difficult to uniformly bond both substrates. This causes display failure.

In addition, in the mechanical chuck, since the substrate is gripped using a claw or a ring, stress is applied only to the gripped portion, thereby causing deformation such as warpage or distortion to the substrate. Therefore, at the time of bonding the substrates after liquid crystal dropping, both substrates cannot be held in parallel. When both substrates are bonded in a deformed state, the positional shift increases, resulting in a problem that a defect such as a decrease in the aperture ratio of each pixel or light leakage from the light-shielding portion occurs.

In the holding of the substrate by the electrostatic chuck, a voltage is applied between the electrode formed on the parallel surface plate and the conductive film formed on the glass substrate to generate a coulomb force between the glass and the electrode, thereby adsorbing the glass substrate. In this method, a glow discharge occurs in the middle of reducing pressure from atmospheric pressure to two types of substrates (glass substrate and CF substrate) that are held opposite to each other for substrate bonding, thereby damaging circuits or TFT elements on the substrate. There is a problem that a defect occurs due to the problem. In addition, air remains between the electrostatic chuck and the substrate, whereby the substrate may be separated from the electrostatic chuck in the process of reducing the pressure from atmospheric pressure.

[2: Deterioration of liquid crystal and substrate misalignment]

In the conventional vacuum injection method or drop injection method, in order to cure the sealing material in a short time, a photocurable resin or a photo+thermosetting resin is used as the sealing material. Accordingly, in the liquid crystal display device, there is a problem that display unevenness occurs during sealing where the sealing material and the liquid crystal are in contact with each other. One of the causes is that UV light irradiated to cure the sealing material is irradiated to the liquid crystal in the vicinity of the sealing material.

In the manufacturing process, the injected liquid crystal comes into contact with the uncured sealing material. In the uncured sealing material, the component may be eluted and contaminate the liquid crystal material. Therefore, when strong UV light is irradiated to quickly cure the sealing material, UV light diffused by the substrate or the like is irradiated to the liquid crystal.

In general, when a liquid crystal material is irradiated with UV light, the characteristics of the liquid crystal, in particular, the specific resistance tend to decrease, so that it is impossible to maintain the high voltage retention required in an LCD using TFT. As a result, since the driving voltage of the liquid crystal cell is different from that of the portion not irradiated with UV light (the center portion of the panel), display unevenness occurs. This display non-uniformity is particularly noticeable in the halftone display.

In order to prevent contact between the liquid crystal and the uncured sealing material, it is conceivable to provide frame-shaped spacers 20 at the edges of the substrates 11 and 16 as shown in FIG. 37. However, in this structure, when the liquid crystal 21 that satisfies the frame-shaped spacer 20 is dropped when liquid crystal is injected, as shown in FIG. 37, excess liquid crystal is protruded from the frame-shaped spacer 20. Comes out and comes into contact with the uncured sealant 19 at, for example, position 22.

Further, in the panel provided with the frame-shaped spacers 20, when the processing chamber is opened to the atmosphere after bonding the substrates, atmospheric pressure uniformly acts on the entire surface of the substrate. Accordingly, the center of the substrate 16 is recessed, and as a result, the frame-shaped spacer 20 floats, and the liquid crystal 21 comes into contact with the sealing material 19. In addition, "·" in FIG. 37 indicates the dropping position of the liquid crystal 21.

Further, during curing, stress due to undulations or warping inherent in the substrate tends to remain. Therefore, in the case of using a light+thermosetting resin as a sealing material, when heat treatment is performed on the substrate after curing by light, the stress is released at that time, resulting in a displacement of the substrate.

In addition, after the substrates are bonded in a vacuum and opened to the atmosphere, the bonding is misaligned between the two opposing substrates due to changes in the environment until the sealing material is cured, changes in the state of the substrate, or instability of the substrate posture during gap formation. A shift occurs due to substrate distortion or a gap defect occurs. Therefore, it has a problem that it is difficult to make a stable product.

[3: Variation of cell thickness and influence on substrate]

In order to uniformly disperse the liquid crystal in both the substrate surfaces in the drop injection process, it is necessary to drop the liquid crystal at multiple points on the substrate surface by a dispenser or the like. However, since the dropping amount of liquid crystal per side of the substrate is small, when the dropping positions are dispersed in multiple points, a very small amount of liquid crystal must be dropped with good precision. However, changes in the environment such as temperature at the time of dripping cause a change in viscosity or volume of the liquid crystal, or a performance deviation of the dripping device (dispenser), and thereby the amount of liquid crystal dripping fluctuates. As a result, variations in the cell thickness between the two substrates occur.

38 is a cross-sectional view taken in a direction perpendicular to the liquid crystal panel surface, and is a diagram illustrating an example of variation in cell thickness. 38A shows a state in which a desired cell thickness is obtained by optimal liquid crystal dropping. In Fig. 38, the array substrate 11 and the CF substrate 16 are bonded to each other by a sealing material 19, and a predetermined cell thickness is ensured by beads 23 as spacers.

By the way, when the dropping amount of the liquid crystal increases, as shown in Fig. 38B, the sealing material 19 cannot be pressed to the target gap due to the excess liquid crystal, and display unevenness occurs in the periphery of the panel (periphery of the frame). When the dropping amount of the liquid crystal increases, as shown in Fig. 38C, a phenomenon in which the central portion of the panel expands rather than the sealing material that caused the press failure, resulting in a problem that display unevenness occurs on the entire surface.

[4: Poor contact during bonding]

In the drop injection bonding operation in vacuum, if the liquid crystal dropped on one substrate is not contacted and the alignment marks are not captured in the same field of view of the camera, the liquid crystal is dragged during alignment alignment, resulting in poor cell thickness or This will cause contact with the sealing material.

In general, the bonding accuracy of a liquid crystal display panel requires a high alignment accuracy on the order of several micrometers, and a micron-sized alignment mark is formed on the substrate. A lens having a long focal length is required to simultaneously capture images of alignment marks respectively formed on two separated substrates, but such a lens has a complicated structure and cannot be easily realized. This makes it difficult to perform a stable bonding process in a vacuum, and causes a substrate defect.

[5: Uneven press pressure]

In the bonding process of pressing while securing a stable cell thickness, maintaining parallelism between opposing substrates and pressing with an equal load are important management factors. In practice, the drip injection bonding, which has been attracting attention, is performed in the vacuum processing chamber, but since devices such as hydraulic cylinders for pressing are outside the processing chamber, that is, in the atmosphere, atmospheric pressure corresponding to the introduction cross-sectional area is added to the press surface. Therefore, when the pressure to be pressed is controlled to a value obtained by an experiment in advance (for example, the relative value of the press-in amount and force, etc.), the same pressure cannot be applied to the substrate due to deterioration or change in the equipment, and reproducibility is lost. There is a problem that press failure occurs.

The present invention has been conceived to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate capable of reducing manufacturing defects of a bonded substrate.

In the press apparatus according to the present invention, the first substrate and the second substrate are supported in a processing chamber, and the inside of the processing chamber is depressurized to bond the first substrate and the second substrate. The press device includes: a first support member for supporting a first support plate for supporting the first substrate from the outside of the processing chamber, a second support member for further supporting the first support member, and the first support member Driving means for horizontally moving the plurality of load cells disposed between the second support members, a second support plate for supporting the second substrate, and the second support plate while maintaining airtightness in the processing chamber It is equipped with. When the first substrate and the second substrate are bonded together, it is configured to pressurize with the weight of the first support member and the first support plate, and the plurality of load cells are formed from the total pressure applied to the plurality of load cells. A measured value obtained by reducing a reaction force when bonding the first and second substrates is output.

An actuator for vertically moving the second support member may be provided.

It may be provided with a pressing means for further pressing the first support plate.

The total pressure may be a total value including at least an atmospheric pressure applied to the first support plate and a weight of the first support member and the first support plate.

A control means may be provided for controlling pressure to be applied to the first and second substrates based on the measured value.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus capable of reducing manufacturing defects of a bonded substrate.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a bonding device.
2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conveying device.
3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid crystal dropping device.
4 is an explanatory diagram of a dispenser.
5 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a dripping amount measurement unit.
6 is an explanatory diagram of substrate transfer.
7 is a schematic diagram for explaining adsorption of a substrate in a vacuum atmosphere.
8 is an explanatory diagram of a flat plate.
9 is an explanatory diagram of an electrostatic chuck.
10 is an equivalent circuit diagram of an electrostatic chuck.
11 is a waveform diagram of a voltage applied to an electrostatic chuck.
Fig. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure of substrate peeling.
13 is a schematic configuration diagram of a positioning device.
14 is an explanatory diagram of positioning control.
15 is a schematic configuration diagram of a press device.
16 is a perspective view of an upper plate and a lower plate.
Fig. 17 is a schematic diagram of a transfer device for transferring a substrate to a sealing material curing device.
18 is a schematic configuration diagram of a sealing material curing device.
Fig. 19 is a schematic configuration diagram of a substrate holding device.
Fig. 20 is an explanatory diagram of substrate transport and distortion occurring in the substrate.
Fig. 21 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the procedure of holding the substrate.
22 is an explanatory diagram of substrate transport.
Fig. 23 is a schematic configuration diagram of a positioning device.
24 is an explanatory diagram of a flat plate.
25 is an explanatory diagram of correction conveyance.
26 is a schematic configuration diagram of a bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus of another embodiment.
Fig. 27 is an explanatory diagram of an alignment mark.
Fig. 28 is an explanatory diagram of another positioning control;
29 is an explanatory diagram of another positioning control;
30 is an explanatory diagram of another correction conveyance.
31 is a schematic configuration diagram of another chamber.
Fig. 32 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional example of Fig. 31;
Fig. 33 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional example to Fig. 31;
Fig. 34 is a schematic configuration diagram of another sealing material curing device.
35 is a cross-sectional view of a bonded substrate (liquid crystal display panel).
36 is a cross-sectional view of another conventional bonded substrate.
37 is an explanatory diagram of bonding by a conventional method.
38 is a cross-sectional view of a bonded substrate according to a conventional method.

Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 18.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus that performs a process of injecting and bonding liquid crystal in a cell process during a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device.

The laminated substrate manufacturing apparatus manufactures a liquid crystal display panel by sealing a liquid crystal between the two types of substrates W1 and W2 supplied.

In addition, the liquid crystal display panel manufactured by the device of this embodiment is an active matrix type liquid crystal display panel, wherein the first substrate W1 is an array substrate on which TFTs, etc. are formed, and the second substrate W2 is a color filter or a light shielding film, etc. This is the formed color filter substrate. These substrates W1 and W2 are manufactured and supplied by respective processes.

The bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus 30 includes a control apparatus 31, a seal drawing apparatus 32 controlled therein, a liquid crystal dropping apparatus 33, a bonding apparatus 34, and an inspection apparatus 35. ). The bonding device 34 is composed of a press device 36 and a curing device 37, and these devices 36 and 37 are controlled by a control device 31.

Moreover, the laminated substrate manufacturing apparatus 30 is provided with the conveyance apparatus 38a-38d which conveys the board|substrates W1 and W2 supplied. The control device 31 controls these transfer devices 38a to 38d and a transfer robot, and transfers the substrates W1 and W2 and the bonded substrate produced therefrom.

The first and second substrates W1 and W2 are supplied to the sealing drawing device 32. The sealing drawing device 32 applies a sealing material in a frame shape at a predetermined position along the periphery on the upper surface of either of the first and second substrates W1 and W2 (for example, the glass substrate W1).

An adhesive containing at least a photocurable adhesive is used for the sealing material. And the board|substrates W1, W2 are supplied to the conveyance device 38a, The conveyance device 38a conveys the board|substrates W1, W2 as a set to the liquid crystal dropping device 33.

The liquid crystal dropping device 33 drips liquid crystal onto a plurality of predetermined positions on the upper surface of the substrate W1 to which the sealing material has been applied among the conveyed substrates W1 and W2. The substrate W1 and the substrate W2 on which the liquid crystal has been sprayed are conveyed to the press device 36 by the conveying device 38b.

The press device 36 is provided with a vacuum chamber, and in the chamber, a chuck for suction-holding the substrates W1 and W2, respectively, is provided. The press device 36 sucks and grips the carried substrates W1 and W2 by the lower chuck and the upper chuck, respectively, and then evacuates the inside of the chamber. Then, the press device 36 supplies a predetermined gas into the chamber. The gas to be supplied is a reaction gas such as an excitation gas for a plasma display panel (PDP), and a substitution gas containing an inert gas such as nitrogen gas. With these gases, a pretreatment is performed in which impurities or products adhering to the surface of a substrate or display element are exposed to a reactive gas or a substitution gas for a certain time.

This treatment stabilizes by maintaining the property of the bonded surface that cannot be opened after bonding. In the first and second substrates W1 and W2, a film such as an oxide film is formed on their surfaces, or a floating substance in the air is attached to them, so that the state of the surface changes. Since the change in this state is different for each substrate, it becomes impossible to manufacture a stable panel. Accordingly, these treatments suppress film formation or adhesion of impurities, suppress changes in the state of the substrate surface by treating the adhering impurities, and stabilize the quality of the panel.

Next, the press device 36 optically aligns the position of both substrates W1 and W2 using the alignment mark in a non-contact manner (does not contact the lower surface of the substrate W2 with the sealing material and the liquid crystal on the upper surface of the substrate W1). Without). After that, the press device 36 applies a predetermined pressure to both substrates W1 and W2 to press to a predetermined cell thickness. Then, the press device 36 opens the inside of the vacuum chamber to the atmosphere.

Further, the control device 31 monitors the passage of time from the carrying in of the first and second substrates W1 and W2, and supplies the first and second substrates W1 and W2 to the gas supplied into the press device 36. The time to expose (the time from carrying in until bonding is performed) is controlled. Thereby, the property of the bonding surface that cannot be opened after bonding is maintained and stabilized.

The conveying device 38c takes out the bonded liquid crystal panel from the inside of the press device 36 and conveys it to the curing device 37.

At this time, the control device 31 monitors the lapse of time after pressing the liquid crystal panel, and when a predetermined time elapses, the transfer device 38c is driven to supply the substrate to the curing device 37. The curing device 37 irradiates the conveyed liquid crystal panel with light having a predetermined wavelength to cure the sealing material.

That is, the bonded liquid crystal panel is irradiated with light for curing the sealing material after a predetermined time has elapsed from the press. This predetermined time is determined in advance by an experiment based on the diffusion rate of the liquid crystal and the time required to release the stress remaining on the substrate by pressing.

The liquid crystal enclosed between the substrates W1 and W2 by the press device 36 is diffused by pressing and opening to the atmosphere. The sealing material is cured before the diffusion of the liquid crystal is complete, that is, before the liquid crystal diffuses to the sealing material.

Further, the substrates W1 and W2 are deformed by pressing or the like in a press. In the liquid crystal panel being conveyed by the conveying device 38c, since the sealing material is not cured, the stress remaining in the substrates W1 and W2 is released. Therefore, since the residual stress is small at the time of hardening of the sealing material, positional displacement is suppressed.

The liquid crystal panel in which the sealing material is cured is conveyed to the inspection device 35 by the conveying device 38d. The inspection device 35 measures the positional shift (the direction and the amount of shift) of the substrates W1 and W2 of the conveyed liquid crystal panel, and outputs the measured value to the control device 31.

The control device 31 applies correction to the alignment in the press device 36 based on the inspection result of the inspection device 35.

That is, by moving the amount of displacement of both substrates W1 and W2 in the liquid crystal panel on which the sealing material is cured in a direction opposite to the direction of the displacement thereof, displacement of the liquid crystal panel to be manufactured next is prevented.

Next, the configuration and control of each of the devices 33 to 37 and each of the conveying devices 38a to 38d will be described.

First, the configuration of the conveyance devices 38a and 38b will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

The conveyance device 38a is provided with the slider 41, and is comprised so that the tray 42 which accommodates each board|substrate W1, W2 may be conveyed along the conveyance direction by it. Each of the substrates W1 and W2 has electrodes formed on one side thereof together with a TFT or a color filter, and is accommodated in the tray 42 with the side on which the electrodes are formed to protect them. In addition, identification information (eg, barcode) I1 and I2 for distinguishing types is attached to both substrates W1 and W2.

In this way, production efficiency is improved by conveying the two types of substrates W1 and W2 as one set. Since the substrates W1 and W2 are supplied through different processes, respectively, in a state in which only one substrate is supplied, each process in the bonding process is interrupted, resulting in poor production efficiency. Therefore, by supplying both the required substrates W1 and W2 as a set, the production efficiency is improved by eliminating interruptions in processing.

The conveying device 38b includes a slider 43 that conveys the tray 42 and conveying robots 44 and 45. The conveyance device 38b conveys the tray 42 along a predetermined conveyance direction by the slider 43, and receives both the board|substrates W1, W2 by the conveyance robot 44,45. In addition, the transfer robot reverses the top and bottom of either of the substrates W1 and W2 (substrate W2 to which the sealing material is not applied in the present embodiment), so that the surfaces of the electrodes W1 and W2 are formed. Face it. Then, the transfer robots 44 and 45 carry the opposing substrates W1 and W2 into the press device 36.

The control device 31 includes ID readers 46 and 47, a conveyance controller 48, and a robot controller 49. When both substrates W1 and W2 are conveyed, their identification information is read by the ID readers 46 and 47 and transmitted to the controller 48. The controller 48 determines the substrate that needs to be reversed based on the respective identification information, and transmits the determination result to the robot-side controller 49.

The robot side controller 49 is a transfer robot that receives the substrates W1 and W2 by the transfer robots 44 and 45, respectively, and receives the substrate W2 based on the determination result received from the controller 48. Drive 45 to invert the substrate W2. Further, the controller 49 drives and controls the transfer robots 44 and 45 to carry the substrates W1 and W2 opposed to each other into the press device 36.

Next, the liquid crystal dropping device 33 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

3 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the liquid crystal dropping device 33.

The liquid crystal dropping device 33 includes a dispenser 51, a moving mechanism 52, a control device 53, and a measuring device 54. The dispenser 51 is supported to be horizontally movable by a moving mechanism 52, and liquid crystal is filled therein.

The control device 53 drips liquid crystal with good precision on the conveyed substrate W1 in response to the control signal from the control device 31 of FIG. 1. In detail, the control device 53 controls the liquid crystal in the dispenser 51 to a constant temperature. The control device 53 controls the movement mechanism 52 to move the dispenser 51 to a plurality of predetermined positions on the upper surface of the conveyed substrate W1, and drip liquid crystal onto the substrate W1. Further, the control device 53 controls the moving mechanism 52 to move the dispenser 51 on the measuring device 54, and liquid crystal is dropped onto the measuring device 54. The measurement device 54 measures the weight of the dropped liquid crystal, and outputs the measurement result to the control device 53. The control device 53 adjusts the control amount of the dispenser 51 so as to drip a certain amount of liquid crystal based on the measurement result. Thereby, the temperature change of the liquid crystal is suppressed and the control amount of the dispenser 51 is adjusted in response to environmental changes, so that a certain amount of liquid crystal is always instilled.

4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the configuration of the dispenser 51.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the dispenser 51 includes a syringe 55 in a substantially cylindrical shape filled with liquid crystal LC, and the control device 53 of FIG. 3 is applied to the liquid crystal LC by the plunger 56. By applying pressure, a predetermined amount of liquid crystal LC is dripped from the nozzle 57 at the tip of the syringe 55.

The dispenser 51 is provided with a heater 58 for heating the liquid crystal LC filled in the syringe 55. The heater 58 is formed in a substantially round ring shape according to the external shape of the syringe 55. In addition, in the syringe 55, a thermocouple 59 for measuring the temperature of the liquid crystal LC is provided near the tip. The heater 58 and the thermocouple 59 are connected to a temperature controller 60 installed in the control device 53 of FIG. 3. The temperature controller 60 controls the heater 58 to make the temperature of the liquid crystal LC constant by the temperature of the liquid crystal LC measured based on a signal from the thermocouple 59.

A rotary valve 61 is installed in the syringe 55. The rotary valve 61 is provided with a rotating body 61a installed so as to be vertically rotatable along a plane passing through the axis of the syringe 55 (the longitudinal center line in the drawing). As shown in Fig. 4B, the rotating body 61a is formed with a communication hole 61b having an inner diameter substantially the same as the inner diameter of the syringe 55. The rotational position of the rotary valve 61 is controlled by the control device 53 of FIG. 3.

That is, the control device 53 rotates the rotating body 61a so that the center line of the communication hole 61b coincides with that of the syringe 55, so that the upper and the tip of the syringe 55 are substantially straight pipes (直管) The inner wall is a straight pipe). Thereby, the pressure of the plunger 56 is transmitted to the tip end of the syringe 55 without loss, and the liquid crystal LC is dropped from the nozzle 57 at the tip end by the pressure.

In addition, the control device 53 has the rotating body 61a so that the upper and the tip of the syringe 55 do not communicate, for example, the center line of the communication hole 61b is substantially perpendicular to that of the syringe 55. Rotate. Thereby, when the pressure by the plunger 56 is reduced or the plunger 56 is raised, air is prevented from entering the syringe 55 from the nozzle 57 at the tip end. Thereby, the liquid crystal (LC) from which bubbles have been completely removed can be dripped.

In addition, the rotary valve 61 enables automatic supply of the liquid crystal LC. That is, one side of the pipe is connected between the plunger 56 and the rotary valve 61, and the other side of the pipe is connected to a container filled with liquid crystal. When the rotary valve 61 is closed and the plunger 56 is raised, the liquid crystal LC is supplied from the container into the syringe 55. Therefore, by closing the rotary valve 61, bubbles can be prevented from entering from the nozzle 57 at the tip end, and the liquid crystal LC can be automatically supplied. Thereby, continuous operation becomes possible.

In addition, instead of the rotary valve 61, a valve configured to move a valve body formed in a vertical direction with a through hole having an inner diameter substantially the same as the inner diameter of the syringe 55 in the horizontal direction may be used.

Further, in the vicinity of the nozzle 57 of the syringe 55, an air nozzle 62 and a suction port 63 are provided to face each other with the nozzle 57 interposed therebetween. The air nozzle 62 is connected to a compressor or the like, and is elongated in the transverse direction to form an air curtain perpendicular to the discharge direction of the liquid crystal LC. The liquid crystal LC adhered to the vicinity of the tip of the nozzle 57 is ejected by the air nozzle 62. Thereby, the liquid crystal (LC) scattered and dropped is prevented from adhering to the periphery of the tip and impairing the subsequent ejection accuracy.

Further, the suction port 63 is connected to a vacuum pump or the like, and is formed so as to recover the air injected from the air nozzle 62. The liquid crystal LC which has been scattered by air and dropped by this suction port 63 is recovered. This prevents the liquid crystal LC from adhering to the discharge surface (the upper surface of the substrate W1).

The control device 53 is placed between the dropping and dropping of the liquid crystal LC (after dropping the liquid crystal LC at a predetermined position and then moving to the next dropping position, etc.) by the air nozzle 62 and the inlet 63. The liquid crystal (LC) remaining near the tip of the nozzle 57 is recovered. In this way, contamination of the discharge surface and control of the discharge amount can be performed with high precision.

Further, the dispenser 51 may be configured with only the suction port 63, and even in such a configuration, it is possible to prevent contamination of the discharge surface and increase the accuracy of the discharge amount control.

5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of the measurement device 54.

The measurement device 54 is, for example, an electronic balance, measures the weight of the liquid crystal LC dropped from the dispenser 51 and outputs the measured value to the control device 53. The control device 53 includes a CPU 64, a pulse oscillator 65 and a motor driver 66.

The CPU 64 outputs a control signal according to the amount of liquid crystal (LC) dropped from the dispenser 51 to the pulse oscillator 65, and the pulse oscillator 65 transmits a pulse signal generated in response to the control signal to a motor. It outputs to the driver 66. The motor driver 66 generates a drive signal of the motor 67 in response to the input pulse signal. In this motor 67, for example, a pulse motor is used, and in response to a drive signal, the plunger 56 is moved downward or upward as much as corresponding to the pulse of the drive signal. When the plunger 56 is moved downward, the liquid crystal LC is dropped. That is, the amount of dropping of the liquid crystal LC corresponds to the amount of movement of the plunger 56.

Accordingly, the CPU 64 inputs the measured value of the measurement device 54, and thereby calculates the dripping amount of the liquid crystal LC. Further, the CPU 64 corrects the control signal supplied to the pulse oscillator 65 so as to make the drop amount constant. In this way, the state of the liquid crystal LC (viscosity, etc.) or the movement amount of the plunger 56 (sliding resistance, the state of the motor 67, etc.) prevents the discharge state or amount from being unstable due to unstable. As a result, continuous liquid crystal discharge becomes possible.

Next, carrying of the board|substrates W1, W2 into the press apparatus 36 is demonstrated.

6 is an explanatory diagram of carrying in a substrate.

The press device 36 is provided with a vacuum chamber 71, and the vacuum chamber 71 is divided up and down, and is composed of an upper container 71a and a lower container 71b. The upper container 71a is supported so as to be movable in the vertical direction by a starting mechanism (not shown).

In the chamber, an upper plate 72a and a lower plate 72b are installed to adsorb the substrates W1 and W2, and the upper plate 72a is supported so as to vibrate vertically by a moving mechanism (not shown). . On the other hand, the lower flat plate 72b is supported so as to be movable in the horizontal direction (XY-axis direction) by a moving mechanism (not shown), and is supported so as to be horizontally rotated (theta direction).

The press device 36 is provided with a lift pin 73 supported so as to move up and down. The substrate W1 carried in by the transfer robot 44 is received by a plurality of lift pins 73 raised. Further, as the lift pin 73 descends, the substrate W1 is disposed on the lower flat plate 72b. Then, the substrate W1 is adsorbed and fixed to the lower flat plate 72b by a method described later.

Further, the press device 36 is provided with a guide arm 74. The substrate W2 carried in by the transfer robot 45 is once delivered to the delivery arm 74. Then, the substrate W2 is adsorbed and fixed to the upper flat plate 72a by a method described later.

In the upper flat plate 72a and the lower flat plate 72b, the surfaces on which the substrates W2 and W1 are adsorbed and fixed are processed to have a plan view of 100 μm or less. Further, the adsorption surfaces of both flat plates 72a and 72b have a degree of parallelism adjusted to 50 mu m or less.

Next, a configuration for adsorbing and fixing the substrates W1 and W2 will be described.

7 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an adsorption mechanism of the press device 36.

The upper flat plate 72a is constituted by a rear gripping plate 75a and an electrostatic chuck portion 76a provided on the lower surface thereof. Further, the upper flat plate 72a is provided with an adsorption conduit 77a for vacuum adsorption of the substrate W2. The suction pipe 77a includes a plurality of suction holes formed on the lower surface of the electrostatic chuck portion 76a, a horizontal pipe communicating with the suction holes formed in the rear gripping plate 75a along a horizontal direction, and a plurality of extending upward from the horizontal pipe. It consists of an exhaust path. The adsorption pipe 77a is connected to the vacuum pump 79a through a pipe 78a. A valve 80a is provided in the middle of the pipe 78a, and the valve 80a is connected to the control device 84.

The piping 78a is connected to an isostatic piping 81a that communicates the inside of the piping 78a and the inside of the chamber 71, and a valve 82a is provided in the isostatic piping 81a. Further, a pressure sensor 83a for measuring the pressure in the pipe 78a is provided in the pipe 78a, and the pressure sensor 83a is connected to the control device 84.

Similarly to the above, the lower flat plate 72b is constituted by a rear gripping plate 75b and an electrostatic chuck portion 76b provided on the lower surface thereof.

Further, an adsorption pipe 77b for vacuum adsorption of the substrate W2 is formed on the upper flat plate 72b. The suction pipe 77b includes a plurality of suction holes formed on the lower surface of the electrostatic chuck portion 76b, a horizontal pipe communicating with the suction holes formed in the rear gripping plate 75b along a horizontal direction, and a plurality of downwardly extending from the horizontal pipe. It consists of an exhaust path. The adsorption pipe 77b is connected to the vacuum pump 79b via a pipe 78b. A valve 80b is provided in the middle of the pipe 78b, and the valve 80b is connected to the control device 84.

The piping 78b is connected to an isostatic piping 81b that communicates the inside of the piping 78b and the inside of the chamber 71, and a valve 82b is provided in the isostatic piping 81b. Further, a pressure sensor 83b for measuring the pressure in the piping 78b is provided in the piping 78b, and the pressure sensor 83b is connected to the control device 84.

The chamber 71 is connected to the vacuum pump 86 through a pipe 85 for evacuating the inside of the chamber 71, and a valve 87 is provided in the middle of the pipe 85. The valve 87 is controlled to open and close by the control device 84, thereby evacuating or opening the chamber 71 to the atmosphere. In the chamber 71, a pressure sensor 88 for measuring the pressure in the chamber 71 is provided, and the pressure sensor 88 is connected to the control device 84.

The control device 84 drives the vacuum pumps 79a and 79b and at the same time opens the valves 80a and 80b to evacuate the suction pipes 77a and 77b and the pipes 78a and 78b to evacuate the substrate W2 , W1) is vacuum-adsorbed. Further, the control device 84 electrostatically adsorbs the substrates W2 and W1 by the coulomb force generated by applying a voltage to be described later to the electrostatic chuck portions 76a and 76b.

The control device 84 switches and controls vacuum adsorption and electrostatic adsorption according to the pressure (vacuum degree) in the chamber 71. In detail, the control device 84 divides the chamber 71 as shown in FIG. 6 when receiving the substrates W1 and W2. Therefore, the pressure in the chamber 71 is atmospheric pressure.

Next, the control device 84 supplies voltage to the electrostatic chuck portions 76a and 76b to generate a coulomb force, and in order to bond both substrates W1 and W2 in a vacuum atmosphere, the vacuum pump 86 and the valve The chamber 71 is evacuated by controlling 87. And, the control device 84 is a pipe for evacuation when the pressure in the chamber 71 is lower than the pressure in the pipes 78a, 78b based on signals from the pressure sensors 83a, 83b, 88 The valves 80a and 80b of 78a and 78b are closed, and the valves 82a and 82b of the isostatic pipes 81a and 81b are opened. Thereby, the pressure in the pipes 78a and 78b for evacuation and the adsorption pipes 77a and 77b and the pressure in the chamber 71 are equalized, thereby preventing the substrates W2 and W1 from falling off and shifting their position. .

In this case, when the substrates W1 and W2 are sucked and held only by a vacuum chuck, when the chamber is evacuated, the gas in the pipe flows into the chamber from the suction port when the chamber pressure is lower than the pressure in the pipe for evacuation. This is because the inflow of the gas causes the substrate to come off the chuck on the upper flat plate and the substrate to move on the lower flat plate.

As shown in Figs. 8A and 8B, a plurality of suction grooves 89 are formed on the suction surface side of the electrostatic chuck portion 76a.

The plurality of adsorption grooves 89 are formed in a region for adsorbing the substrate W2. In this embodiment, the suction groove 89 is formed so that the depth with respect to the width becomes 1/2 of the width.

By forming the adsorption groove 89 in this way, it is possible to prevent the gas from remaining between the adsorption surface and the substrate W2, thereby preventing the substrate W2 from falling off and moving under reduced pressure as described above. .

A plurality of suction grooves 89 are formed along a predetermined direction. Thereby, compared with the case where the adsorption groove is formed in a lattice shape, it is possible to prevent the substrate W2 from undulating by vacuum adsorption.

Further, by forming a plurality of adsorption grooves 89 on the adsorption surface, the contact area of the substrate W2 is reduced. When the adsorption groove 89 is not formed, when the substrate W2 is closely adsorbed by the surface and subjected to pressure treatment, the substrate W2 contracts and stress is accumulated due to balance with the adsorption force. This accumulated stress generates a random shift (displacement) when the pressing force is released (the substrate W2 is peeled from the electrostatic chuck portion 76a after bonding). Therefore, by forming the adsorption groove 89, the expansion and contraction in a certain direction can be prevented while reducing the contact area, and bonding processing with a small amount of displacement can be performed.

Further, a groove (not shown) is formed on the suction surface of the electrostatic chuck portion 76b in FIG. 7 in the same manner as the electrostatic chuck portion 76a, thereby preventing the substrate W1 from falling, moving, and deforming.

Next, electrostatic adsorption will be described in detail.

9A is a schematic circuit diagram for applying a voltage to the electrostatic chuck portion 76a.

The electrostatic chuck portion 76a is composed of a plurality of (four in the drawing) dielectric layers 91a to 91d, and electrodes 92a to 92d are buried at a predetermined depth from the surface in each of the dielectric layers 91a to 91d. Further, the electrodes 92a to 92d are embedded so that the thickness of the dielectric layer from the adsorption surface to the electrodes 92a to 92d is 1 mm or more.

The electrodes 92a to 92d of each of the dielectric layers 91a to 91d are alternately connected to the first and second power sources 93a and 93b. That is, the electrodes 92a and 92c of the first and third dielectric layers 91a and 91c are connected to the first power source 93a, and the electrodes 92b and 92d of the second and fourth dielectric layers 91b and 91d are It is connected to the second power supply 93b.

The control device 84 of FIG. 7 controls the first and second power sources 93a and 93b to alternately apply positive and negative voltages to the adjacent electrodes 92a to 92d of each dielectric layer 91a to 91d. It generates a high potential difference. Further, the control device 84 adjusts the strength and weakness of the adsorption force stepwise by making the electrostatic chuck portion 76a such a structure. Thereby, adsorption and peeling of the substrate W2 becomes easy.

Conductive materials 94a and 94b are connected to the horizontal cross-section of the electrostatic chuck portion 76a, specifically, the cross-section of the first dielectric layer 91a and the cross-section of the fourth dielectric layer 91d, respectively. The conductive material 94a is connected to the switching power supply 95a, and the conductive material 94b is connected to the switching power supply 95b through a changeover switch 96.

The changeover switch 96 has a common terminal connected to the conductive material 94b, a first connection terminal connected to the frame ground FG, and a second connection terminal connected to the switching power supply 95b.

The control device 84 of FIG. 7 controls the output voltages of the switching power supplies 95a and 95b in stages according to the applied voltage. Thereby, the electric charge generated by the electrostatic adsorption force is activated. In detail, the control device 84 stops the application of voltage when the substrate W2 is peeled off, and at the same time controls the changeover switch 96 to connect the conductive material 94b to the frame ground FG, or Alternatively, a current flows from the switching power supply 95b toward the switching power supply 95b through the conductive material 94b, the dielectric layers 91d to 91a, and the conductive material 94a. This makes it possible to forcibly remove the charges accumulated during electrostatic adsorption on the respective dielectric layers 91a to 91d. This prevents peeling charging (discharging) caused by a sharp increase in voltage (potential difference) caused by charges accumulated in accordance with changes in their gap distance when peeling the substrate W2 from the adsorption surface.

Thereby, damage to circuit elements or patterns such as TFTs formed on the substrate W2 (and the substrate W1) by discharge can be prevented, and the occurrence of defects can be prevented.

10A is an equivalent circuit diagram of the dielectric layers 91a to 91d, the substrate W2, and their contact surfaces. Here, it is a circuit diagram that is difficult to think of when the substrate is a material close to an insulator such as glass, but the inventors have confirmed that it is possible to adsorb the constituent substrate of an LCD liquid crystal display device using this circuit as a principle. This indicates that even insulators such as glass have resistance and capacitor components.

Fig. 10B shows a diagram for explaining the suction principle of the electrostatic chuck in the same manner as in the equivalent circuit of Fig. 10A. In the figure, V is an applied voltage, Vg is a voltage that contributes to adsorption of the substrate, Rf is the film resistance of the dielectric layer, Rs is the contact resistance between the dielectric layer and the substrate, and C is the capacitance between the substrate and the chuck surface. Further, the voltage Vg is set to Vg = (Rs/(Rf+Rs))×V.

Fig. 9B is a view showing another example of a configuration for preventing peeling and charging, and is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a broken line in Fig. 9A.

The dielectric layer 91a is an adsorption layer of an electrostatic chuck, and a conductive material 97 in contact with the substrate W2 is provided on its surface (adsorbing surface).

The conductive material 97 is provided along the outer periphery of the substrate W2. Further, the width and formation position of the conductive material 97 are set so as to overlap the element formation region (region in which elements and wirings are formed) of the substrate W2. The conductive material 97 is connected to the frame ground FG through the switch 98.

The control device 84 in FIG. 7 controls the switch 98 to connect the conductive material 97 to the frame ground FG when the substrate W2 is peeled off. Thereby, the electric charge accumulated in the dielectric layer 91a and the substrate W2 during electrostatic adsorption is placed on the frame ground FG, thereby facilitating peeling of the substrate and preventing peeling charging, thereby preventing the substrate W2 from being peeled off. It can prevent damage (damage to devices and wiring).

Also, the switch 98 may be connected to the switching power supply 99 instead of the frame ground FG. The control device 84 allows a current to flow through the conductive material 97 through the switch 98 so as to erase the electric charges accumulated in the dielectric layer 91a and the substrate W2 by the power source 99. Even in this way, by placing the electric charge accumulated in the dielectric layer 91a and the substrate W2 on the frame ground FG during electrostatic adsorption, the substrate W2 can be easily peeled off, while preventing peeling charging, thereby preventing the substrate. (W2) can be prevented from being damaged (damage to devices and wiring).

Further, the conductive material 97 is connected to a contact pin or the like through the switch 100, and the contact pin is brought into contact with the wiring formed on the substrate W2. By electrostatic adsorption, the surface (upper surface in the drawing) of the substrate W2 is charged positively (or negatively), and the rear surface (lower surface) is charged negatively (or positively). Therefore, by erasing the electric charge accumulated on both sides of the substrate W2 by turning on the switch 100, it facilitates peeling of the substrate W2 and prevents peeling charging, thereby damaging the substrate W2 ( Damage of elements and wiring) can be prevented.

In addition, by using the switch 98 as a changeover switch, as shown in the figure, the conductive material 97 is configured to be switchable to the frame ground (FG) or the power supply 99, or the contact pin is connected to the frame ground (FG). As with the configuration to be connected, the configuration described above may be appropriately combined and implemented.

11 is a waveform diagram showing stepwise control of the voltage supplied to the electrostatic chuck 76. In this waveform diagram, the solid line represents the waveform of the voltage applied to the dielectric layers 91a to 91d by the power sources 93a and 93b in Fig. 9A, and is shown by the left axis (unit: kV). In addition, the dashed-dotted line represents the waveform of the voltage applied by the switching power supplies 95a and 95b, and is shown by the right axis (unit: V).

When adsorbing the substrate, the control device 84 of FIG. 7 applies a voltage required for electrostatic adsorption by the power sources 93a and 93b. Next, when the preparation for peeling is started, the control device 84 lowers the voltage of the power sources 93a and 93b to supply a voltage lower than that of the switching power supplies 95a and 95b. Then, when the substrate is peeled off, the control device 84 controls the applied voltage to a negative voltage and increases the voltage supplied by the switching power supplies 95a and 95b. The time for supplying this negative voltage is a time required to activate the electric charges accumulated in the dielectric layer 91a and the substrate W2, and has been obtained in advance by experiment or the like. In this way, the substrate W2 can be easily separated by time management without detecting the charges accumulated in the dielectric layer 91a and the substrate W2.

In this way, a sudden voltage change is suppressed, and electric charges are prevented from remaining in the dielectric layers 91a to 91d and the substrate W2, thereby facilitating peeling of the substrate W2, and preventing peeling and charging. W2) damage (damage to devices and wiring) can be prevented.

The electrostatic chuck portion 76b of FIG. 7 is omitted, but is configured in the same manner as the electrostatic chuck portion 76a described above, and a voltage controlled by the control device 84 of FIG. 7 is applied.

12 is an explanation for explaining a method of peeling the upper flat plate (electrostatic chuck) 72a.

As shown in Fig. 12A, when pressing, the control device 84 of Fig. 7 is turned on to the electrostatic chuck portions 76a and 76b of the upper flat plate 72a and the lower flat plate 72b. ) Is interposed to apply a voltage from the power sources 102a and 102b.

Next, when preparation for peeling is started, as shown in Fig. 12B, the control device 84 turns off the switch 101a connected to the electrostatic chuck portion 76a of the upper flat plate 72a to apply the voltage. Stop.

Then, as shown in Fig. 12C, the control device 84 raises the upper flat plate 72a. At this time, the control device 84 keeps the switch 101b connected to the electrostatic chuck portion 76b of the lower flat plate 72b on, and applies a voltage from the power source 102b. Thereby, by adsorbing the substrates W1 and W2 to the lower flat plate 72b, shifting of the substrates W1 and W2 is prevented, and separation (separation) of the upper flat plate 72a is facilitated.

In this way, after the upper flat plate 72a is separated, the inside of the chamber 71 in Fig. 7 is opened to the atmosphere (under atmospheric pressure). At this time, since the bonded substrates W1 and W2 are adsorbed and held by the lower flat plate 72b, deformation of the substrates W1 and W2 when open to the atmosphere can be suppressed.

Next, alignment of the substrates W1 and W2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14.

13 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the positioning device 36a.

The positioning device 36a is composed of an imaging device 111, first and second moving mechanisms 112 and 113, and a control device 114, and the imaging device 111 includes first and second camera lenses 115 , 116). The first and second camera lenses 115 and 116 are installed by selecting different magnifications, and the first camera lens 115 can capture a wider field of view than the second camera lens 116 ( Low magnification) is set. Accordingly, the first camera lens 115 has a deeper depth of focus (depth of field) than the second camera lens 116 due to the lens characteristics.

The first moving mechanism 112 supports the upper flat plate 72a and supports the imaging device 111 above the upper flat plate 72a. The first moving mechanism 112 has a mechanism for vertically moving the upper flat plate 72a and the first and second camera lenses 115 and 116 while maintaining their vertical distance constant. Accordingly, the relative positions of the first and second camera lenses 115 and 116 and the upper flat plate 72a do not change. And, the distance between the first and second camera lenses 115 and 116 and the upper flat plate 72a is in focus with the substrate W2 sucked and held by the upper flat plate 72a, and the lower plate 72b is sucked and held. It is set to a distance that focuses on one substrate W1.

The first and second camera lenses 115 and 116 are disposed in a horizontal direction at predetermined intervals. In addition, the first moving mechanism 112 is an imaging device so that the first and second camera lenses 115 and 116 are switched and disposed coaxially with the through hole 117 formed in the vertical direction on the upper flat plate 72a. 111) has a mechanism to move horizontally.

The second moving mechanism 113 has a mechanism for supporting the lower flat plate 72b and moving in the horizontal direction (X and Y directions), and a mechanism for horizontal rotation (theta direction).

Alignment marks M1 and M2 are provided on the substrates W1 and W2 at corresponding positions, respectively. In this embodiment, the first alignment mark M1 of the substrate W1 is a black circle, and the second alignment mark M2 of the substrate W2 is a double circle.

The control device 114 roughly aligns the substrates W1 and W2 using the first camera lens 115 having a deep depth of focus, and uses the second camera lens 116 with a shallow depth of focus. The position of the substrates W1 and W2 that are brought close together is precisely aligned.

In detail, the control device 114 first controls the first moving mechanism 112 to set the distance between the upper flat plate 72a and the lower flat plate 72b as the first vertical distance A. At this time, as shown in Fig. 14, the center of the first mark M1 and the second mark M2 is shifted in the field of view 118a of the first camera lens 115. The control device 114 controls the second moving mechanism 113 to match the centers of the first and second marks M1 and M2 (field of view 118b). At this time, the second mark M2 is actually Is a double circle, but is shown as a simple circle due to the magnification of the first camera lens 115 and the spacing of lines.

Further, the first vertical distance A is a distance such that the first and second marks M1 and M2 of the conveyed substrates W1 and W2 reliably enter the field of view, and is obtained in advance by an experiment or the like. When the substrates W1 and W2 are transported, a deviation occurs in the transported position due to an error in their external dimensions or the like, and the amount of the positional deviation is determined by experiment or test operation. In this way, even when the position is shifted, the first vertical distance A and the field of view of the first camera lens 115 so that the first and second marks M1 and M2 enter the field of view of the first camera lens 115 (Magnification) is set in advance.

Next, the control device 114 controls the first moving mechanism 112 to move the upper flat plate 72a and the imaging device 111 downward to a second vertical distance B shorter than the first vertical distance A. And horizontally move the imaging device 111 to use the second camera lens 116. As a result, in the field of view 119a of the second camera lens 116, the centers of the first mark M1 and the second mark M2 are shifted. The control device 114 controls the second moving mechanism 113 to match the centers of the first and second marks M1 and M2 (field of view 119b). Next, the control device 114 is a first The moving mechanism 112 is controlled to move the upper flat plate 72a and the imaging device 111 downward in a third vertical distance C shorter than the second vertical distance B. The third vertical distance C at this time is set to a distance at which the substrate W2 and the sealing material applied to the substrate W1 and the liquid crystal (not shown) do not contact. As a result, in the field of view 120a of the second camera lens 116, the centers of the first mark M1 and the second mark M2 are shifted. The control device 114 controls the second movement mechanism 113 to match the centers of the first and second marks M1 and M2 (field of view 120b), and the third vertical distance C Even if the centers of the first and second marks M1 and M2 in the visual field 120b coincide, the positions of the substrate W1 and the substrate W2 may actually be shifted. However, this shift amount is within the allowable range, and the third vertical distance C is set as such.

In this way, by using the first and second camera lenses 115 and 116 having different fields of view interchangeably, the vertical distances of the substrates W1 and W2 are adjusted according to the depth of focus of the lenses 115 and 116. Position alignment can be performed within the allowable deviation range while (W1, W2) is not in contact.

Next, the press mechanism will be described.

15 is a schematic diagram viewed from the side of a mechanism for applying pressure to the substrates W1 and W2 during bonding.

The press mechanism includes a support frame 121 formed in a gate shape and fixed to a predetermined height, and linear rails 122a and 122b are provided on both sides inside the support frame 121 of the support frame 121, thereby The guides 123a and 123b are supported so as to be able to move up and down. Plates 124a and 124b are spanned between the linear guides 123a and 123b on both sides, and the upper plate 124a is attached to the support plate 126 that moves up and down by the motor 125 installed on the support frame 121. Is hanging by.

In detail, a ball screw 127 is integrally rotatably connected to the output shaft of the motor 125, and a female screw portion 128 formed on the support plate 126 is screwed to the ball screw 127. Therefore, the motor 125 is driven and the ball screw 127 is rotated forward and backward, so that the support plate 126 moves up and down.

The support plate 126 is formed in a U shape, and the female threaded portion 128 is formed on the upper plate. A load cell 129 is attached to the upper surface of the lower plate of the support plate 126, and the lower surface of the upper plate 124a abuts on the load cell 129.

The upper plate 72a installed in the chamber 71 is suspended from the lower plate 124b. In detail, a plurality of holes (four in this embodiment) penetrating in the vertical direction at a predetermined position are formed in the lower plate 124b, and a post 130 is inserted into the holes. The post 130 is formed so that the diameter of the upper end is enlarged so that it does not slip out in the lower direction, and an upper flat plate 72a is attached to the lower end.

A level adjustment part 131 is provided between the upper end of the post 130 and the lower plate 124b. The level adjustment part 131 is, for example, a screw formed on the post 130 and a nut screwed, and by rotating this, the post 130 is raised or lowered to adjust the horizontal level of the upper flat plate 72a. By this level adjustment unit 131, as shown in Fig. 16, the degree of parallelism between the lower flat plate 72b and the upper flat plate 72a is adjusted to 50 µm or less.

A cylinder 132 for applying a processing pressure to the upper plate 72a is attached to the lower surface of the support plate 126. The cylinder 132 is installed so that the piston 133 protrudes toward the lower side, and the tip of the piston 133 is attached to the pressing member 135 attached to the upper plate 72a through the coupling material 134. They are in contact. The coupling member 134 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and is configured to allow an axial shift between the pressing direction of the cylinder 132 (axial direction of the cylinder 132) and the moving direction of the upper flat plate 72a.

The load cell 129 measures the pressure applied by the upper plate 124a, and outputs the measurement result to the controller indicator 136. The pressure of the members supported by the support plate 126 (upper plate 124a, linear guides 123a, 123b, lower plate 124b, post 130, upper plate 72a, and cylinder 132) These are the weight (self weight), the working pressure applied to the upper flat plate 72a by the cylinder 132, and the pressure due to atmospheric pressure.

When the inside of the chambers 71a and 71b is evacuated, an atmospheric pressure of 1 kg/cm2 is added to the upper flat plate 72a through the post 130, and the atmospheric pressure is the lower plate 124b and the linear guides 123a and 123b. ) And is added to the load cell 129 through the upper plate 124a. Accordingly, the load cell 129 detects the sum (=A+B+C) of the self-weight (A), the processing pressure (B), and the atmospheric pressure (C). In addition, the sum of the pressure applied to the load cell 129 is the reaction force caused by the substrates W1 and W2 when bonding the two substrates W1 and W2 by lowering the support plate 126 by driving the motor 125 It is reduced by (D). Therefore, by installing the load cell 129 in this way and reducing its measured value (total value), it is possible to know the load weight actually applied to the substrate at that time.

The controller indicator 136 outputs the pressure measured by the load cell 129 to the CPU (controller) 137. A major regulator 138 is connected to the CPU 137. The CPU 137 receives the result of measuring the pressure applied to the substrates W1 and W2 (not shown) to be bonded between the upper plate 72a and the lower plate 72b at that time by the load cell 129. . Then, the CPU 137 outputs a signal generated to add a constant pressure to the substrates W1 and W2 (not shown) based on the measurement result to the electric power regulator 138. The electric power regulator 138 is a variable pressure control regulator, and adjusts the air pressure supplied to the cylinder 132 in response to an electric signal from the CPU 137. In this way, by controlling the air pressure supplied to the cylinder 132 based on the measurement result of the load cell 129, the substrates W1 and W2 to which a constant pressure is always bonded between the upper plate 72a and the lower plate 72b ) (Not shown).

In addition, external factors such as parallelism of the upper flat plate 72a and the lower flat plate 72b, mixing of foreign matters, or mechanical deviation are the sum of the pressures applied to the load cell 129 in the same way as the reaction force D (self-weight ( A)). Therefore, by reducing the measured value (total value) of the load cell 129 in this way, it is possible to know the in-time load weight actually applied to the substrate. Therefore, the CPU 137 controls the electric signal output to the electric power regulator 138 in response to the measured value of the load cell 129, so that a constant pressure is always added to the upper plate 72a regardless of the influence of external factors. can do.

Further, a motor pulse generator 139 is connected to the CPU 137, and a generated signal is output to the generator 139 to move the upper flat plate 72a up and down. The motor pulse generator 139 outputs a pulse signal generated in response to a signal from the CPU 137 to the motor 125, and the motor 125 rotates in response to the pulse signal.

Further, although the cylinder 132 was used as a means for applying the processing pressure, it may be configured to apply the processing pressure to the upper flat plate 72a using another actuator such as a motor. Further, it may be configured to apply a pressing force using a hydraulic cylinder.

In addition, the lower flat plate 72b may be configured to adjust the degree of parallelism with respect to the upper flat plate 72a.

Further, as long as sufficient pressure can be applied to the substrate to be bonded by the weight (self-weight) of the member supported on the support plate 126, the means for applying a processing pressure such as the cylinder 132 may be omitted. In this case, the load cell 129 receives the self-weight A of the upper flat plate 72a and the member supporting it, and the atmospheric pressure C added by depressurizing the inside of the chamber 71.

Accordingly, the CPU 137 reduces the sum of the pressures applied to the load cell 129 (=A+C) by the reaction force D from the substrates W1 and W2, so that the substrates W1 and W2 at that time. You can see the pressure applied to it.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a conveying device 38c that conveys a panel from the press device 36 of FIG. 1 to the curing device 37. The upper part of the figure shows a mechanism for conveying the panel, and the lower part shows the processing of the control device 31 of FIG. 1.

The conveying device 38c is provided with a moving arm 141, and the panel P1 made of the substrates W1 and W2 bonded by the press device 36 is vacuum-adsorbed to the moving arm 141, and the lower flat plate 72b ), and taken out from the chamber 71. In addition, as shown in Fig. 6, since the chamber 71 is provided with a lift pin 73, this allows the panel P1 to be separated from the lower flat plate 72b, lifted from the lower side, and carried out. You may. Further, in the case of peeling the substrates W2 and W1 from the upper flat plate 72a and the lower flat plate 72b, the lower flat plate 72b is peeled off, and the panel P1 is lifted by the upper flat plate 72a, It is also possible to have a configuration in which it is lifted to the bottom and held and transported.

The conveying device 38c is provided with a plurality of conveying flat plates 142a to 142z and a lift mechanism 143. The conveyance flat plates 142a to 142z are sequentially attached to the lift mechanism 143 provided in the moving position, and the lift mechanism 143 lifts the conveyance flat plates 142a to 142z to a height at which the panel P1 is disposed. And the conveyance device 38c arranges the panel P1 on the conveyance flat plates 142a-142z.

The conveyance flat plates 142a to 142z include a smoothing plate 144a and a vacuum gripping mechanism 144b provided on a lower surface of the smoothing plate 144a.

In addition, in the drawing, only the smoothing plate 124z is denoted with a reference numeral.

The top surface of the smoothing plate 144a is processed to have a plan view of 100 μm or less. Further, as shown in Figs. 9C and 9D, the smoothing plate 144a has a plurality of suction holes 145 formed therein. The vacuum gripping mechanism 144b has a built-in check valve, and is configured to hold the panel P1 disposed on the upper surface of the smoothing plate 144a after vacuum suction.

That is, when the conveyance flat plates 142a to 142z are mounted on the lift mechanism 143, the suction hole 145 in Fig. 9C is connected to an exhaust device such as a vacuum pump (not shown), whereby the panel P1 is Vacuum is adsorbed. Thereafter, when the conveying flat plates 142a to 142z are attached and detached from the lift mechanism 143, the backflow of gas is prevented by the check valve of the vacuum gripping mechanism 144b, thereby being adsorbed on the upper surface of the smoothing plate 144a. The panel P1 is held in that state.

2㎜ 이하로 설정되어 있다. 이것에 의해, 프레스 장치(36)의 상측 평판(72a) 및 하측 평판(72b)과 동일하게, 흡착한 패널(P1)이 변형되는(기복하는) 것을 방지하고 있다.The suction hole 145 is a circular hole, and its diameter is

It is set to 2 mm or less. Thereby, similarly to the upper flat plate 72a and the lower flat plate 72b of the press device 36, the adsorbed panel P1 is prevented from being deformed (orientated).

The conveyance device 38c carries in the curing device 37 the conveyance flat plates 142a to 142z on which the panel P1 is adsorbed and held. At this time, the control device 31 of FIG. 1 manages the time from completion of vacuum bonding for each of the conveying flat plates 142a to 142z, and carries the flat plate for conveyance after a certain period of time into the curing device 37.

In each of the substrates W1 and W2 of the panel P1 bonded by the press device 36, the stress due to the bonding process remains, and this stress depends on the time until the sealing material of the panel P1 is hardened. It is alleviated. Therefore, managing the time until carrying in the curing device 37 is substantially the same as managing the relaxation of the stress remaining in the panel P1. That is, the conveyance device 38c relieves the stress remaining in the panel P1 by waiting for the conveyance flat plates 142a to 142z on which the panel P1 is adsorbed and held for a predetermined time. Thereby, the stress remaining after curing of the sealing material is reduced, and the defective rate of the panel P1 is reduced.

Further, by waiting for a predetermined time before curing each panel P1, the stress of each panel P1 is relieved to the same extent. Accordingly, the amount of deformation of the substrates W1 and W2 in each panel P1 becomes uniform, and the deviation of each panel P1 is reduced. Thereby, high processing reproducibility and stability are obtained.

The curing device 37 is provided with a UV lamp 146, thereby irradiating the panel P1 with light having a predetermined wavelength. The light irradiated from the UV lamp 146 is controlled so that the wavelength remains in the region where the sealing material is cured. In addition, the panel P1 is bonded with the substrate W2, which is a color filter substrate on which a color filter or a light-shielding film is formed, as an upper side, and light is irradiated from the upper side. Therefore, deterioration of the liquid crystal can be reduced by irradiating light of a wavelength having little influence on the liquid crystal and preventing the light from being directly irradiated.

The panel P1 on which the sealing material is cured is conveyed from the curing device 37 to the inspection device 35 by a conveying device 38d (see FIG. 1 ).

The inspection device 35 is a device that performs an alignment inspection process, inspects the positional displacement of the substrates W1 and W2 constituting the panel P1, and outputs the amount of the displacement to the control device 31 of FIG. do.

The control device 31 manages the received shift amount for each conveyance flat plate 142a to 142z as their own processing information. Then, the control device 31 feeds back the amount of displacement managed for each of the conveying flat plates 142a to 142z to the alignment of the press device 36. In detail, the upper surface of the smoothing plate 144a is roughly uniformly processed in each of the conveying flat plates 142a to 142z. However, the plan view of the upper surface of the smoothing plate 144a for each conveying flat plate 142a to 142z, etc. There is a car. The difference causes a difference in the amount of displacement to the displacement of the substrates W1 and W2 until they are put into the curing device 37 for each of the conveying flat plates 142a to 142z. And the conveyance flat plate for adsorbing and fixing the panel P1 to be joined next by the press device 36 is disposed at the moving position (in this embodiment, it is attached to the lift mechanism 143 provided at the moving position). , It is possible to know which plate for conveyance is adsorbed and fixed. Therefore, the amount of shift in the conveyance flat plates 142a to 142z for adsorbing and fixing the panel P1 is used as a correction value, and the amount is moved and aligned.

As shown in the lower left of Fig. 17, the control device 31 stores the managed processing information 147 for each of the conveying flat plates 142a to 142z. For example, the control device 31 stores (X:+1, Y:-1) as processing information for the conveyance flat plate 142a. Based on this, when bonding the panel P1 to be adsorbed and fixed to the conveyance flat plate 142a, the control device 31, for example, (X:-1, Y:+1) as a correction value. It is added to the amount of movement during vacuum bonding. In this way, by feeding back the inspection result by the inspection apparatus 35 to alignment, the panel P1 with less displacement can be manufactured.

18 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the coining device 37.

The curing device 37 includes a light source 148, an illuminometer 149, a controller 150, and a top and bottom mouth 151. The light source 148 includes a UV lamp 146 and first and second reflecting plates 152 and 153 installed to irradiate the irradiated light from the UV lamp 146 substantially evenly on the front surface of the panel P1. In the absence of the first reflecting plate 152, the light irradiated to the center of the panel P1 increases compared to that of the surrounding area. It is configured to supply substantially equal energy to the entire surface of the panel P1 while preventing this and suppressing deterioration of the liquid crystal.

The flat plate 142a for conveyance carried in to the coin device 37 is supported by the upper and lower mouths 151. An illuminance sensor 154 is installed on the conveyance flat plate 142a, and the illuminance sensor 154 transmits a signal having a value (e.g., voltage) corresponding to the amount of light irradiated to the panel P1. 149). In addition, the illuminance sensor 154 is similarly provided to each of the conveying flat plates 142b to 142z in FIG. 17.

The illuminometer 149 outputs an illuminance amount of light irradiated to the panel P1 to the controller 150 based on the input signal. The controller 150 outputs a control signal generated based on the input illuminance to the upper and lower spheres 151. For example, the controller 150 generates a control signal so that the amount of illuminance becomes constant. In addition, the controller 150 may generate a control signal to change the amount of illuminance over time.

The upper and lower spheres 151 move the carrier flat plate 142a up and down in response to the control signal. In this way, the distance from the light source 148 to the conveyance flat plate 142a is changed. By configuring in this way, even if the amount of irradiated light from the light source 148 changes (for example, the UV lamp 146 is deteriorated, exchanged, and the reflective surfaces of the first and second reflecting plates 152 and 153 are changed), the panel It is possible to easily control the amount of light irradiated to (P1), suppress uneven curing of the sealing material, and reduce the occurrence of defects.

In addition, the curing device 37 may be configured to include a second light source 155 configured in the same manner as the light source 148 under the flat plate 142a for conveyance. The curing time of the sealing material can be shortened by irradiating the panel P1 with light from the side of the flat plate 142a for conveyance by the second light source 155. In addition, the upper and lower spheres 151 may be configured to move the first and second light sources 148 and 155 relatively up and down with respect to the transport flat plate 142a.

Further, the controller 150 may control the driving voltage or the driving current of the light sources 148 and 155 so as to make the amount of illuminance of the substrates W1 and W2 substantially constant based on the amount of illuminance. In addition, an illuminance sensor 156 is installed on the conveyance flat plate 142a, and the controller 150 controls the driving voltage or driving current of the light sources 148 and 155 according to the amount of illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor 156. You can also control. Thereby, even if the irradiation device deteriorates and the irradiation strength decreases, the curing failure of the sealing material can be suppressed.

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

(1) Under atmospheric pressure in the chamber 71, the substrates W1 and W2 are respectively sucked and held by vacuum adsorption on the upper flat plate 72a and the lower flat plate 72b, and when the inside of the chamber 71 is under reduced pressure, each flat plate 72a, A voltage is applied to 72b) and each is sucked and held by electrostatic adsorption. Then, the back pressure for adsorbing and holding the substrates W1 and W2 at the time of switching under the atmospheric pressure to the reduced pressure was made equal to the pressure in the chamber 71. As a result, it is possible to prevent the substrates W1 and W2 from being electrostatically adsorbed from falling off and moving, thereby reducing bonding failures between the substrates W1 and W2.

(2) On the suction surface of the electrostatic chuck portion 76a, a groove 89 for applying a back pressure to the substrate W2 is formed to extend along a predetermined direction.

As a result, it is possible to prevent the adsorbed substrate W2 from undulating.

(3) The electrostatic chuck portion 76a is made of dielectric layers 91a to 91d, and a voltage is applied to the electrodes 92a to 92d buried in the dielectric layers 91a to 91d at a predetermined depth from the adsorption surface to apply a voltage to the substrate W2. Adsorbs. A conductive material 94a was connected to the side surface of the dielectric layer 91a, and the conductor was interposed to supply a voltage for peeling to the dielectric layer 91a. As a result, the adsorbed substrate W2 can be safely peeled off.

(4) The sealing material is an adhesive containing at least a photocurable adhesive, and includes a curing device for curing the sealing material by irradiating light with light from a light source provided on at least one of the upper and lower sides of the substrates W1 and W2. The amount of light irradiated to the substrates W1 and W2 was measured by the illuminance sensor, and the distance between the light source and the substrates W1 and W2 was controlled based on the measurement result. As a result, it is possible to cure by controlling the amount of light irradiated to the sealing material, suppress uneven curing of the sealing material, and reduce the occurrence of defects.

(5) A liquid crystal dropping device for dropping liquid crystal LC sealed between the substrates W1 and W2 onto the substrate W1 is provided. The liquid crystal dropping device includes a syringe 55 that applies pressure to the filled liquid crystal LC to discharge it from the nozzle, and controls the temperature of the liquid crystal LC filled in the syringe 55. As a result, a small amount of liquid crystal LC can be dripped without being affected by the outside temperature. Further, by removing air bubbles in the liquid crystal LC, fluctuations in the dropping amount can be suppressed.

(6) The imaging device 111 is provided with first and second camera lenses 115 and 116 having different fields of view, and at the same time switching the camera lenses 115 and 116, the distance between the substrates W1 and W2 It was changed to correspond to the camera lenses 115 and 116 to be used for positioning. As a result, it is possible to align the substrates W1 and W2 without contact. Further, by changing the field of view and bringing the substrates W1 and W2 closer together, more precise alignment can be performed.

(7) The load cell 129 is processed by the upper plate 72a, the self-weight of the member supporting it so as to move up and down, the atmospheric pressure C received by depressurizing the inside of the chamber 71, and the cylinder 132 The sum of pressure (B) is detected. By decreasing the total value, it is possible to know the in-time load weighting actually applied to the substrate. Therefore, the CPU 137 controls the electric signal output to the electric power regulator 138 in response to the measured value of the load cell 129, so that a constant pressure is always added to the upper plate 72a regardless of the influence of external factors. can do.

(8) When the substrate W2 is adsorbed on its upper surface to the upper flat plate 72a, the adsorbed substrate W2 is lifted to correct distortion. As a result, the substrate W2 can be reliably adsorbed onto the upper flat plate 72a. Further, the substrate W2 can be adsorbed without causing a positional shift.

In addition, the above embodiment can also be changed to the following form.

In general, the surfaces of the substrates W1 and W2 on which the elements, etc. are formed (element formation surfaces), as shown in Fig. 20A, in order to prevent contamination or damage of the regions where the elements are formed, The surrounding contactable area 162 except for the area 161 in which the element is adsorbed or is formed is gripped by the gripping member 163 (guide arm 74 in FIG. 6). Then, as shown in Fig. 20B, the substrate W2 is bent according to its size. This distortion of the substrate W2 causes a shift in the gripping position during adsorption by the upper flat plate 72a or inability to adsorb. The misalignment affects the misalignment of the substrate. In order to eliminate this influence, the press device may be provided with a distortion correction mechanism 165 as shown in Figs. 19A and 19B.

The distortion correction mechanism 165 is a lift mechanism that lifts the central portion of the substrate W2 upward, and the suction pad 166, the arm 167 holding it, and the upper and lower spheres for moving the arm 167 up and down ( (Not shown) is provided. When the control device (for example, the control device 84 of FIG. 7) vacuum-sucks the substrate W2 by the upper flat plate 72a, the distortion correction mechanism 165

Correct the distortion of (W2).

That is, the control device 84 corrects the distortion of the substrate W2, as shown in FIG. 21B, by the distortion correction mechanism 165 on the curved substrate W2 as shown in FIG. 21A. Next, as shown in Fig. 21C, the control device 84 lowers the upper flat plate 72a and adsorbs the substrate W2 to the upper flat plate 72a by vacuum adsorption. Next, as shown in Fig. 21D, the upper flat plate 72a is raised, and the distortion correcting mechanism 165 and the holding member 163 are retracted. Thereby, as shown in Fig. 21E, the substrate W2 can be reliably adsorbed onto the upper flat plate 72a. In addition, there is no position shift, and the substrate can be adsorbed with reproducibility.

In addition, although the adsorption pad 166 is used in FIGS. 19 and 20, any configuration may be used as long as the distortion can be corrected, and the distortion may be corrected without contact, and the same effect as described above can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, as shown in Fig. 6, the substrates W1 and W2 are transferred into the chamber 71 by the transfer robots 45 and 45, but as shown in Fig. 22, the table 171 is used. The substrates W1 and W2 may be simultaneously transported. On the table 171, the upper holding member 172 and the lower substrate W1, which are formed to hold the upper substrate W2 with the bonding surface (element formation surface) down, are gripped with the bonding surface upward. It includes a configured lower gripping member 173. Further, the upper gripping member 172 is configured to grip the second substrate W2 at a position corresponding to the outside of the sealing material drawn on the upper surface of the first substrate W1. The substrate W2 conveyed in this way is directly suction-held by the upper flat plate 72a, and the first substrate W1 is once received by the lift pin 73, and then suction-held by the lower flat plate 72b.

If the table 171 configured in this way is used, the two substrates W1 and W2 can be simultaneously carried into the press device 36, so that the time required for transport can be shortened. In addition, compared to the case where two substrates W1 and W2 are carried into the processing chamber 71 by the transfer robots 44 and 45 of the first embodiment, handling of the second substrate W2 held on the upper side is easier. It becomes possible to shorten the time required for conveyance (carry-in). In addition, since the substrates W1 and W2 are aligned in advance and the relative positions of the substrates W1 and W2 are maintained, that is, two can be simultaneously conveyed so that the positions are not shifted. It becomes possible to shorten (or omit) the positioning time in 36).

In the above embodiment, as shown in Fig. 13, the lower flat plate 72b is supported by the moving mechanism 113, but the lower flat plate 72b can also be configured to be detachable. 23 is a schematic configuration diagram of the positioning device 36b. The moving mechanism 113 of this positioning device 36b supports the stage 175, and a positioning hole 177 formed in the lower flat plate 72b with a positioning pin 176 installed on the stage 175 ) To attach the lower flat plate 72b to the stage 175 in a horizontal direction to prevent relative movement. By forming the lower plate 72b detachably in this way, the bonded substrates W1 and W2 can be transferred to the curing device 37 by the transfer device 38c of FIG. 1 without being peeled from the lower flat plate 72b. I can. This eliminates the need to move the panel P1 to which the substrates W1 and W2 are bonded by the sealing material before curing, as shown in Fig. 17, so that a more stable panel P1 can be manufactured.

In the above embodiment, the suction groove 89 is formed on the suction surface of the electrostatic chuck portion 76a (see Figs. 8A and 8B), but as shown in Figs. 24A to 24C, the suction groove 89 and the substrate W2 It is also possible to form an exhaust groove 178 that makes the back side of the periphery of the same as the atmosphere of the substrate W2.

The exhaust groove 178 is formed along the same direction as the direction in which the suction groove 89 is formed. In addition, the exhaust groove 178 is formed by notching a side so as to extend from the region where the substrate W2 is adsorbed to the end surface of the electrostatic chuck portion 76a.

With this exhaust groove 178, it is possible to prevent the substrate W2 from moving or falling off due to bubbles remaining in the contact interface of the peripheral portion of the substrate W2.

Further, by forming the exhaust groove 178, the contact area of the substrate W2 is further reduced compared to the above embodiment. Thereby, the bonding process with a smaller displacement amount can be performed.

Further, as described in the above embodiment, by forming the suction groove 89 and the exhaust groove 178 on the suction surface of the electrostatic chuck portion 76b in the same manner, movement or dropping of the substrate W1 can be prevented.

Further, the exhaust groove 178 only needs to be able to equalize the pressure on the back side of the peripheral portion of the substrate W2 and the atmosphere (pressure) in the chamber 71, and it is not necessary to notch the end face of the electrostatic chuck portion 76a.

In the above embodiment, an alignment device for aligning the substrates W1 and W2 is provided before carrying the substrates W1 and W2 into the press device 36 (for example, before liquid crystal dropping). This alignment device includes an image recognition camera and a stage movable in the X-axis and θ directions (the X-axis is a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, and the θ-direction is a rotational direction). The image recognition camera is provided with a lens having a lower magnification than the first camera lens 115 of FIG. 13. Therefore, the bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus provided with this alignment device has at least two sets of lenses having a lower magnification than the second camera lens 116 (refer to FIG. 13) performing fine alignment.

The reference image is stored in the alignment device, and by comparing the image of the substrates W1 and W2 photographed with the camera with the reference image, the amount of displacement (X, W2) of the conveyed substrates W1, W2 Y, θ) is measured. And, the position shift in the X-axis direction and the shift in the θ-axis are corrected by the stage, and the amount of the shift in the Y-axis is output to a conveying device that transports the substrates W1 and W2 to the press device 36 in FIG. 1 as a correction value. do. The conveying device conveys the substrates W1 and W2 by adding the conveyance amount to the amount of deviation in the Y-axis direction received as a correction value. When the alignment device and the transfer device are configured in this way, by correcting the shift in the Y-axis direction during transfer, the alignment time in the alignment device is shortened, until the input substrates W1 and W2 are carried into the press device 36. It is possible to improve the manufacturing efficiency by shortening the required time.

In addition, the reference image stored in the alignment device is conveyed by returning the substrates W1 and W2 aligned with the alignment device (refer to FIG. 13) of the press device 36 to the alignment device in the conveying direction, and the conveyed It is an image imaged by the board|substrates W1 and W2 by an image recognition camera.

The upper end of Fig. 25 shows the position 181 of the substrate where the alignment has been completed by the press device 36, the position 182 of the substrate transported to the liquid crystal dropping device 33, and the position 182 in which it is placed again (alignment device). The position 183 of the conveyed substrate is shown.

Images of the substrates W1 and W2 transferred to this substrate position 183 are stored as reference images.

Next, the board|substrates W1 and W2 are conveyed from the right side of FIG. 25 bottom. That is, the injected substrates W1 and W2 have their central position deviated from the central position of the position 183. The shift amounts (X, Y, θ) of these central positions are calculated by comparing the reference image and the image taken of the substrates W1 and W2. Further, the shift in the X-axis direction and the shift in the θ direction are corrected by the stage, and the amount of the shift in the Y-axis direction is output to the conveying device as a correction value. The conveying device adds the correction value to the conveyance amount, and conveys the substrates W1 and W2 to the liquid crystal dropping device 33. At this time, the positions of the transported substrates W1 and W2 substantially coincide with the positions 182 at the upper end. Further, the substrates W1 and W2 are conveyed from the liquid crystal dropping device 33 to the press device 36 by a conveying device. The positions of the transported substrates W1 and W2 at this time substantially coincide with the positions 181 at the upper end.

By configuring the alignment device and the transfer device in this way, the time required to transfer the substrates W1 and W2 to the press device 36 can be shortened. In addition, the positions of the substrates W1 and W2 conveyed to the press device 36 substantially coincide with the positions 181 of the substrates aligned by the press device 36. Therefore, the time required for complicated positioning by the press device 36 is shortened.

In addition, since the alignment device performs alignment based on the images of the substrates W1 and W2 captured by the image recognition camera, it does not contact the end surfaces of the substrates W1 and W2. Thereby, it is possible to suppress particles generated by contact with a substrate having a poor cross-sectional state.

Further, by transferring the substrates W1 and W2 from the press device 36 to the alignment device in advance, the Y axis of the press device 36 and the Y axis of the alignment device can be substantially matched. Thereby, it is only necessary to transfer the carried-in substrates W1 and W2 along one axis (Y-axis), and the configuration and control of the transfer device can be simplified, and other processing devices can be installed during transfer to the press device 36. It can be installed easily.

The above embodiment was embodied as a device for manufacturing a bonded substrate for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, but it will be embodied as a device for manufacturing other bonded substrates such as a plasma display panel (PDP) or an electroluminescence display panel, and an organic EL display panel. May be.

In the above embodiment, the press device 36 uses the lower flat plate 72b as a reference, but the upper flat plate 72a can be used as a reference.

In the above embodiment, the UV lamp 146 is used to cure the sealing material in the curing device 37, but a curing device that performs a curing method by temperature change may also be used.

In the above embodiment, the flat plates 142a to 142z for conveyance are separated from the lift mechanism 143 in FIG. 17 and are conveyed. However, this may be conveyed together with the lift mechanism 143.

In the above embodiment, the valves 82a and 82b are opened and closed to make the back pressure of the substrates W1 and W2 equal to the pressure in the chamber 71, but to prevent the substrates W1 and W2 from dropping and moving. Hazardous back pressure is preferably equal to or less than the pressure in the chamber 71, and configuration and control may be appropriately changed for this purpose. For example, the control device 84 opens the valves 80a and 80b for vacuum adsorption when the inside of the chamber 71 is brought into a reduced pressure atmosphere. Even in this way, it is possible to prevent the substrates W1 and W2 from falling off and moving.

In the above embodiment, steps other than press are performed at atmospheric pressure, but some steps may be performed in a reduced pressure atmosphere. For example, the bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus 201 shown in FIG. 26 is used. This device 201 includes a sealing drawing device 32, a carry-in robot 202, a first preliminary vacuum chamber 203, a bonding processing chamber 204, a second preliminary vacuum chamber 205, a take-out robot 206, and an inspection device ( 35), and a control device 207.

The first preliminary vacuum chamber 203 is provided with a first gate valve 211 for carrying in the first and second substrates W1 and W2. The first preliminary vacuum chamber 203 is partitioned by the bonding processing chamber 204 and the second gate valve 212, and the bonding processing chamber 204 is formed by the second preliminary vacuum chamber 205 and the third gate valve 213. It is divided. The second preliminary vacuum chamber 205 is provided with a fourth gate valve 214 for carrying out a panel in which two substrates W1 and W2 are bonded together.

The control device 207 controls the substrate bonding process. For example, the control device 207 controls the opening/closing of each of the gate valves 211 to 214, controlling the atmosphere in the first and second preliminary vacuum chambers 203, 205 (depressurizing, atmospheric pressure), and bonding processing chamber 204 The inside atmosphere is controlled, the carry-in robot 202, and the carry-out robot 206 are controlled.

The sealing material is drawn on the upper surface of the first substrate W1 by the sealing drawing device 32 and carried into the first preliminary vacuum chamber 203 by the carry-in robot 202. The second substrate W2 is carried into the first preliminary vacuum chamber 203 by the carry-in robot 202 after passing (passing) the process of sealing drawing.

The control device 207 performs pretreatment on the first and second substrates W1 and W2 carried in the first preliminary vacuum chamber 203. The pretreatment is gas treatment, and is a treatment in which impurities or products adhering to the surface of a substrate or display element are exposed to a reactive gas or a substitution gas for a certain period of time. The reaction gas is an excitation gas for plasma display panel (PDP). The substitution gas is an inert gas such as nitrogen gas.

Further, a pretreatment device may be provided in the first preliminary vacuum chamber 203, and at least one of the gas treatment, heat treatment, and plasma treatment may be performed. The heat treatment is performed by heating the first and second substrates W1 and W2 to modify the surface, activate the bonding surface, and remove moisture. Plasma treatment is performed for treatment with plasma that generates a product on the substrate that cannot be activated by gas substitution or gas reaction or heat treatment.

These treatments stabilize by maintaining the property of the bonded surface that cannot be opened after bonding. In the first and second substrates W1 and W2, a film such as an oxide film is formed on their surfaces, or a floating substance in the air is attached to them, so that the state of the surface changes. Since the change in this state is different for each substrate, it becomes impossible to manufacture a stable panel. Accordingly, these treatments suppress formation of a film or adhesion of impurities, suppress changes in the state of the substrate surface by treating the adhering impurities, and stabilize the quality of the panel. Further, according to the laminated substrate manufacturing apparatus 201, since a separate pretreatment apparatus is not required, high productivity can be obtained by requesting a response from the apparatus 201.

In addition, when the sealing material drawn on the substrate W1 is affected by the plasma treatment, the sealing material is masked or plasma is generated in portions other than the sealing material. In the case of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, the liquid crystal dropping device 33 shown in FIG. 1 is provided in the first vacuum preliminary chamber 203.

The first and second substrates W1 and W2 on which the pretreatment has been performed are transferred from the first preliminary vacuum chamber 203 to the bonding processing chamber 204.

The bonding processing chamber 204 is provided with a press device 36 shown in FIG. 1, and the press device 36 includes a positioning device 36a shown in FIG. 13 (or a positioning device 36b shown in FIG. 23 ). Include.

The control device 207 controls the pressure in the bonding processing chamber 204 and controls the gas supply into the processing chamber. The gas to be supplied is the reaction gas or substitution gas described above.

The control device 207 performs alignment and bonding of the carried first and second substrates W1 and W2. In addition, the control device 207 monitors the passage of time from the carrying in of the first and second substrates W1 and W2, and supplies the first and second substrates W1 and W2 to the gas supplied into the bonding processing chamber 204. The time to expose (the time from carrying in until bonding is performed) is controlled. Thereby, the property of the bonding surface that cannot be opened after bonding is maintained and stabilized.

The bonded first and second substrates W1 and W2 (panels) are transferred from the bonding processing chamber 204 to the second preliminary vacuum chamber 205. The second preliminary vacuum chamber 205 is provided with a conveying device 38c and a curing device 37 shown in FIG. 1. The control device 207 first decompresses (vacuum) the inside of the second preliminary vacuum chamber 205, and then transfers the first and second substrates W1 and W2 into the preliminary vacuum chamber 205. Then, the control device 207 controls the curing device 37, and cures the sealing material between the first and second substrates W1 and W2 carried in the second preliminary vacuum chamber 205 in a reduced pressure atmosphere. By curing the sealing material in this way, deviation due to airflow or pressure distribution at the time of opening to the atmosphere is prevented.

Further, it can also be embodied as a bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus provided with only one of the first and second preliminary vacuum chambers 203 and 205. Further, a plurality of first preliminary vacuum chambers 203 may be arranged in parallel. The first and second substrates W1 and W2 pre-processed in each of the first preliminary vacuum chambers 203 are sequentially carried into the bonding processing chamber 204 to perform bonding processing. With this configuration, the manufacturing time per set of substrates W1 and W2 can be shortened.

In the above embodiment, the position (in-field position) of the mark (position alignment mark) provided to bond the first and second substrates W1 and W2 captured in the field of view of the imaging device 111 in FIG. 13 It is also possible to store in advance and to move the imaging device 111 horizontally by the difference (coordinate difference) from the position in the field of view of the alignment mark provided on the conveyed substrate.

First, the substrate as a reference is conveyed, and the alignment mark provided on the substrate is captured by the first camera lens 115. In addition, since the substrate as a reference is corrected and transported by the method shown in Fig. 25, the alignment mark of the substrate does not deviate from the field of view even if a transport error occurs, and the magnification of the camera lens is preset so that it does not deviate from the field of view. have. In addition, the control device 114 of FIG. 13 is the position in the field of view (coordinate values (X, Y)) of the mark M0 depicted in the imaging field F1 by the first camera lens 115 shown in FIG. 27A. I remember. The position of the mark M0 at this time is a position at which the mark M0 can be captured in the field of view by the second camera lens 116 changed by moving the imaging device 111 a predetermined distance.

Next, the substrate (described here using the first substrate W1) is conveyed, and the alignment mark M1 provided on the substrate W1 is imaged with the first camera lens 115. Then, the control device 114 calculates the in-view position (coordinate values (x, y)) of the mark M1 in the imaging field F2 shown in FIG. 27B, and the coordinates between the position and the stored in-view position Due to the difference, the first camera lens 115 is moved as shown in Fig. 27C to match the position of the mark M1 in the field of view of the mark M1 in the new field of view F2a with that of the mark M0. This makes it possible to reliably capture the mark M1 in the field of view when switching to the second camera lens 116 next.

Further, it is also possible to correct the amount of movement of the imaging device 111 so as to change from the first camera lens 115 to the second camera lens 116 based on the calculated coordinate difference.

In addition, the alignment performed by storing the above-described position in the field of view can be performed on a substrate in which a mark captured by the low magnification first camera lens 115 and a mark captured by the high magnification second camera lens 116 are separately provided. Can be applied. As shown in FIG. 28, on the third substrate W3 (the first substrate W1 or the second substrate W2), marks captured by the first camera lens 115 (hereinafter, rough marks) (Ma) and a mark (hereinafter, a fine mark) (Mb) captured by the second camera lens 116 is provided at a position suitable for alignment of the substrate W3 (eg, four corners). . The coarse marks Ma and the fine marks Mb are provided at predetermined intervals. In addition, when a substrate that is positioned with respect to the third substrate W3 (for example, when the coarse marks Ma and the fine marks Mb are installed on the first substrate W1), the second substrate W2 is Corresponding to that), alignment marks corresponding to the coarse marks Ma and the fine marks Mb are provided.

As shown in Fig. 29A, the distance between the central axis of the first camera lens 115 and the second camera lens 116 is fixed. In addition, a field-of-view image in which the coarse mark Ma is captured by the first camera lens 115 (Fig. 29B), a field-of-view image in which the minute mark Mb is captured by the second camera lens 116 (Fig. 29C), and a coarse mark The relative coordinates of the position of the imaging device 111 that captured (Ma) and the position of the imaging device 111 that captured the fine mark Mb are recorded in the control device 114.

The positioning device 36a shown in Fig. 13 first captures the coarse mark Ma by the first camera lens 115 (Fig. 29D), and the imaging device (Fig. 29D) captures the coarse mark Ma at a reference position. Calculate the amount of movement that moves 111). That is, the positioning device 36a is the distance and angle required for the movement of the imaging device 111 from the position in the field of view of the sparse mark Ma captured by the first camera lens 115 and the position in the field of view previously stored. X, Y, θ) is calculated. Further, the positioning device 36a moves the imaging device 111 at the calculated distance and angle.

Next, the positioning device 36a moves the imaging device 111 and changes from the first camera lens 115 to the second camera lens 116. The moving distance of the imaging device 111 to be moved at this time is a moving distance when an image is registered by the first and second camera lenses 115 and 116, and is stored. Therefore, when the substrate W3 is not moved, the fine mark Mb captured in the field of view of the second camera lens 116 from the position in the field of view of the coarse mark Ma captured by the first camera lens 115 It is possible to predict the amount of positional displacement.

Thereby, it is possible to absorb the deviation (transport error) caused by transport with respect to the field of view of the first and second camera lenses 115 and 116, and reliably capture the minute mark Mb in the field of view during bonding (Fig. 29E) Since the amount of movement of the imaging device 111 can be position controlled by pulses or the like, calibration is performed by adjusting the alignment by the relative distance between the first and second camera lenses 115 and 116. It can be corrected even when doing so, and the goal is not missed.

Therefore, since marks with a ratio that cannot be moved into the field of view can be used in general, it becomes possible to realize alignment recognition with high determination establishment for a high-resolution field of view.

In addition, the first camera lens 115 and the second camera lens 116 are mounted on different cameras, respectively, and the distance of the cameras (the optical axis distance between the first camera lens 115 and the second camera lens 116) It can also be carried out by fixing.

In addition, if the deviation (X-axis, Y-axis, θ direction) of the substrates W1 and W2 can be detected, the number, position, and shape of the coarse marks Ma and the fine marks Mb can be appropriately changed. For example, in FIG. 27, the sparse mark Ma is set to two places, and the positions are set to be near the center of the upper and lower sides in the drawing. In addition, it is also possible to change the sparse mark Ma, the fine mark Mb, and the mark in each shape to a shape other than a circular shape (for example, a square shape or a cross shape). Furthermore, the shape of a plurality of marks provided on one substrate may be different, and it becomes possible to easily confirm the direction of the substrate.

The coarse mark Ma can also be used for alignment performed before carrying the substrate into the press device 36.

Fig. 30 is a diagram schematically showing a process from the alignment device 221 to the press device 36 for performing alignment before carrying in. The press device 36 is provided with a positioning device 36a shown in FIG. 13. In addition, in FIG. 30, the main part of the press device 36 (positioning device 36a) is shown.

The positioning device 221 includes an imaging device 222, a moving mechanism 223 for moving it, a control device 224 for controlling the moving mechanism 223, and a flat plate 225 for holding and adsorbing the substrate W. A stage (not shown) for moving the X-axis, Y-axis, and θ directions (X-axis is a direction parallel to the transport direction, Y-axis is a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and θ direction is a rotational direction). The imaging device 222 is provided with a lens (third camera lens) 226 having a lower magnification than the first camera lens 115. For example, the first camera lens 115 has a magnification x 6, the second camera lens 116 has a magnification x 10, and the third camera lens 226 has a magnification x 2. In Fig. 30, the field of view (F11, F12, F13) represents a state in which the coarse mark Ma is captured by the first camera lens 115, the second camera lens 116, and the third camera lens 226, respectively. have. Therefore, the bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus provided with this alignment device 221 has at least two sets of lenses having a lower magnification than the second camera lens 116 performing fine alignment. Further, a plurality of alignment devices 221 are provided, and are provided at positions corresponding to the sparse marks Ma.

In the control device 224 of the positioning device 221, a reference image obtained by capturing the sparse mark Ma by the third camera lens 226 is stored. As for the reference image, the substrate in the state in which the minute mark Mb is captured by the second camera lens 116 is conveyed to the positioning device 221 by reverse feed shown in FIG. 25, and the substrate W This is the image that captured the loose mark of.

Next, the 1st and 2nd board|substrates W1, W2 (the 1st board|substrate W1 is shown in the figure) is carried into the positioning apparatus 221.

The positioning device 221 compares the image of the substrate W1 photographed by the third camera lens 226 with the reference image, so that the amount of displacement (X) of the X-axis, Y-axis, and θ-axis of the conveyed substrate W , Y, θ) are measured. The amount of deviation is the position of the minute mark Mb with respect to the position of the second camera lens 116 when the conveyed substrate W is conveyed to the press device 36 in an unaligned state (a state not aligned). It is substantially the same as the relative coordinate position (displacement amount). That is, it is the same as predicting the positional shift of the substrate W in the positioning device 36a by the positioning device 221.

Then, the positioning device 221 corrects the positional deviation in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction and the angular deviation in the θ direction by the stage. The substrate W having this position corrected is transferred by the transfer device 227 and held by the upper gripping member 172 and the lower gripping member 173 of the table 171, respectively (the second substrate W2 and the second 1 It is carried in to the board|substrate W1) and the press apparatus 36.

Since the positions of the substrates W1 and W2 carried in the press device 36 are corrected by the positioning device 221, when the second camera lens 116 detects the minute mark Mb, the camera A fine mark Mb is captured at approximately the center of the field of view (approximately the center of the lens optical axis). In this way, the minute mark Mb can be captured at the center of the optical axis of the second camera lens 116. Further, when the minute mark Mb approaches the optical axis of the second camera lens 116, the influence of image distortion can be reduced, and alignment errors can be reduced, that is, high precision can be achieved. Further, since the reproducibility of the detection position of the minute mark Mb is improved, the minute mark Mb is easily captured within the viewing range, so that the time for searching for the position of the minute mark Mb can be shortened. Therefore, the time required until the inputted substrates W1 and W2 are carried into the press device 36 can be shortened, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency.

Further, alignment of the substrates W(W1, W2) by the stage in the X-axis, Y-axis, and θ directions may be performed by other than the stage. For example, as in the conveying method described with reference to FIG. 25, correction according to the shift in the conveying direction (the X-axis direction in FIG. 30) is applied to the conveying distance of the conveying device 227. Further, the shift in the θ direction is inclined to correspond to the angular shift of the arm of the transfer device 227 with respect to the transfer direction, and the substrate W is received. Even in this way, the substrate W (the first and second substrates) so that the fine mark Mb (coarse mark Ma) enters the field of view of the second camera lens 116 (first camera lens 115). (W1, W2)) can be conveyed.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, the lower flat plate 72b provided in the vacuum chamber 71 is moved by the movement mechanism 113 to align the first and second substrates W1 and W2 (position Alignment), but the chamber 71 may be moved together with the lower flat plate 72b.

31 is a schematic configuration diagram of the positioning device 230. The positioning device 230 includes a vacuum chamber 231 and a moving mechanism 232. The vacuum chamber 231 is composed of an upper container 231a and a lower container 231b. The vacuum chamber 231 is connected to the pump 236 through a pipe 233, a valve 234, and a pipe 235, and the vacuum chamber 231 is operated by driving the pump 236 and opening and closing the valve 234. It is configured to decompress the inside of 231).

The upper container 231a is supported to be opened and closed with respect to the lower container 231b by an opening/closing mechanism (not shown), and the lower container 231b is moved in the horizontal biaxial direction by a moving mechanism 232 around the bottom. It is supported so that it can be rotated in the θ direction.

In the vacuum chamber 231, an upper flat plate 237a and a lower flat plate 237b are disposed. The upper flat plate 237a is supported by hanging from the support plate 239 through a plurality of posts 238, and the support plate 239 is fixed. A bellow 240 is provided between the support plate 239 and the upper container 231a to surround each post 238 and maintain airtightness of the chamber 231. The lower flat plate 237b is fixed to the inner bottom surface of the lower container 231b.

An O-ring 241 and a temporary fixing pin 242 are provided in the opening of the vacuum chamber 231, that is, a location where the upper container 231a and the lower container 231b abut. The O-ring 241 is installed to seal the space between the upper container 231a and the lower container 231b, and the temporary fixing pin 242 is used for the movement of the lower container 231b by the moving mechanism 232. It is installed to follow 231a).

The positioning device 230 configured as described above firstly opens the chamber 231 and holds the first and second substrates W1 and W2 carried in on the lower plate 237b and the upper plate 237a, respectively. . Next, the positioning device 230 closes the vacuum chamber 231 and operates the valve 234 to open to drive the pump 236 to vacuum the inside of the chamber 231.

Then, the alignment device 230 aligns the first and second substrates W1 and W2. In this alignment, since the inside of the vacuum chamber 231 is depressurized, the entire vacuum chamber 231 is moved. This configuration can significantly reduce the number of components and suppress the generation of particles from the sealing material, as compared with the two examples described later.

In addition, since the temporary fixing pin 242 depressurizes the inside of the vacuum chamber 231, the upper container 231a and the lower container 231b are in close contact and the entire vacuum chamber 231 is moved. Show. However, by the temporary fixing pin 242, the position of the upper container 231a and the lower container 231b can be performed with good precision.

32 and 33 are schematic configuration diagrams of the first and second conventional examples of FIG. 31.

The vacuum chamber 251 of the positioning device 250 of the first conventional example is composed of an upper container 251a and a lower container 251b, and the upper container 251a is relative to the lower container 251b supported so as to be immovably supported. It is supported to be openable and closed by a moving mechanism (not shown).

In the vacuum chamber 251, an upper flat plate 252a and a lower flat plate 252b are disposed. The upper flat plate 252a is supported by hanging from the support plate 254 through a plurality of posts 253, and the support plate 254 is fixed. Between the support plate 254 and the upper container 251a, a bellow 255 for enclosing each post 253 and maintaining airtightness of the chamber 251 is provided.

The lower plate 252b is connected to the support plate 257 through a plurality of posts 256, and the support plate 257 is moved in the horizontal biaxial direction by a moving mechanism (not shown), and is rotated in the θ direction. . Between the support plate 257 and the lower container 251b, bellows 258 for surrounding each post and maintaining airtightness in the chamber are provided, respectively.

An O-ring 259 is provided in the opening of the vacuum chamber 251, that is, a location where the upper container 251a and the lower container 251b abut.

Therefore, this first conventional example has a greater number of components and more complicated than the positioning device 230 shown in Fig. 31, and there is a concern about maintainability. In other words, the positioning device 230 of Fig. 31 can significantly reduce the number of parts compared to the first conventional example, and maintain good maintenance properties.

The vacuum chamber 261 of the positioning device 260 of the second conventional example is movable in the horizontal biaxial direction by the upper container 261a supported immovably and a moving mechanism (not shown), and further, θ It consists of a lower container (261b) supported so as to be rotatable in the direction. The upper flat plate 262a is supported in the upper container 261a, and the lower flat plate 262b is supported in the lower container 261b so as not to be movable. An O-ring 263 is provided in the opening of the vacuum chamber 261, that is, a location where the upper container 261a and the lower container 261b abut.

Accordingly, it is considered that the second conventional example has significantly reduced the number of parts compared to the first conventional example, and is also excellent in maintainability. However, in the alignment of the first substrate W1 and the second substrate W2, since the lower container 261b moves with respect to the upper container 261a, a sealing component (O-ring 263) that maintains vacuum ) Is difficult to maintain and manage. Further, by the movement of the lower container 261b, the lower container 261b and the upper container 261a come into contact with each other to generate particles. Since the substrates W1 and W2 before bonding do not like contamination, they are not suitable as mass-produced devices that operate for a long time. In other words, the positioning device 230 of Fig. 31 is suitable for a mass-produced device that operates for a long time because it is easier to maintain and manage the O-ring 241 and does not generate particles compared to the second conventional example.

In the above embodiment, the configuration of the curing device may be appropriately changed. 34 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the coining device 270.

The curing device 270 includes a light source 271, a controller 273, and a cooling mechanism 274. The light source 271 is configured in the same manner as the light source 148 shown in FIG. 18, and the curing device 270 is formed between the first and second substrates W1 and W2 of the panel P1 that is sucked and held by the flat plate 275. Cure the sealing material. In addition, similarly to the above-described embodiment, the curing device 270 may be configured to include a second light source 276 configured in the same manner as the light source 155 of FIG. 18 under the flat plate 275.

The flat plate 275 which adsorbs and holds the panel P1 is made so as to suppress the amount of reflected light of the irradiated light low. For example, light is absorbed by making the surface black or the like. This is effective because the curing time of the sealing material of the panel P1 is kept within a certain range. That is, the flat plate 275 reflects light, and the sealing material of the panel P1 receives irradiation light from the light source 148 and reflected light from the flat plate 275. Therefore, since the sealing material is cured in a shorter time than the curing time only by irradiation light, management of the curing time becomes difficult.

The cooling mechanism 274 is provided to set the surface temperature of the flat plate 275 to a preset temperature. The surface temperature of the flat plate 275 is set to a predetermined temperature in order to maintain the curing time of the sealing material provided on the panel P1 within a predetermined range.

In detail, the sealing material provided on the panel P1 is cured by heat added by the irradiated light. Accordingly, the surface temperature of the flat plate 275 is increased by light passing through the first and second substrates W1 and W2 constituting the panel P1 and heat conducted from the panel P1. Further, since the flat plate 275 absorbs light and suppresses the amount of reflected light, the temperature is liable to rise.

When the panel P1 conveyed from the press device is placed on the flat plate 275 whose surface temperature has risen, the sealing material of the panel P1 starts to harden by heat conducted from the flat plate 275. This is because the curing start time becomes unclear, and the curing time of the sealing material cannot be managed. In addition, if light is irradiated to the flat plate 275 in which the temperature is increased for the same time as when the temperature of the flat plate 275 is low, the liquid crystal of the panel P1, elements such as driver ICs or transistors are deteriorated due to the temperature. It may be damaged.

The cooling mechanism 274 includes a temperature detector mechanism 281 and a surface cooling mechanism 282. The temperature detector 281 includes a sensor 283 and a controller 273 for detecting a surface temperature, and the sensor 283 is composed of a sensor head 284 and a thermometer 285. The sensor head 284 detects the surface temperature of the flat plate 275 non-contact and outputs the detection signal. The thermometer 285 converts the detection signal of the sensor head 284 into temperature data. The controller 273 compares the temperature data from the thermometer 285 with the preset temperature data stored in advance.

The surface cooling mechanism 282 includes a controller 273, a compressor 286, a blowing head 287, an intake head 288, and an intake pump 289. The controller 273 controls the compressor 286 based on the comparison result, and the gas comes into contact with the surface of the flat plate 275 from the blowing head 287 connected to the compressor 286. The flat plate 275 is cooled by this gas. An intake pump 289 is connected to the intake head 288, and by driving the intake pump 289, the gas discharged from the blowing head 287 and sprayed on the flat plate 275 is sucked to improve cooling efficiency. I'm making it.

When the above various embodiments are put together, it becomes as follows.

(Note 1) In a bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus in which two first and second substrates are carried into a processing chamber, and the inside of the processing chamber is decompressed to bond the first and second substrates, when switching under reduced pressure under atmospheric pressure, A bonded substrate manufacturing, characterized in that at least one of the first and second gripping plates disposed opposite to gripping the first and second substrates, the back pressure for suctioning and gripping the substrate is equal to the pressure in the processing chamber Device.

(Note 2) Under atmospheric pressure in the processing chamber, the first and second substrates are respectively adsorbed and held by pressure differential adsorption to the first and second gripping plates, and the first and second gripping plates in the processing chamber under reduced pressure. The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to Appendix 1, wherein voltage is applied and each of them is sucked and held by electrostatic adsorption.

(Note 3) Note that at least one of the first and second gripping plates is provided with a second groove having the same pressure as the first groove applying back pressure to the substrate so as to extend along a predetermined direction. The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to 1 or 2.

(Note 4) The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to Note 3, wherein the second groove is formed so that the adsorbed substrate covers a part of the second groove.

(Appendix 5) A dielectric layer for electrostatic adsorption is formed on the side of the adsorption surface of the first and second gripping plates, and a voltage is applied to an electrode buried at a predetermined depth from the adsorption surface in the dielectric layer to adsorb the substrate. The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to any one of Appendix 1 to 4, characterized in that.

(Appendix 6) The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to Appendix 5, wherein a conductor is connected to a side surface of the dielectric layer, and a voltage for peeling is supplied to the dielectric layer through the conductor.

(Annex 7) A conductor is formed on the surface of the dielectric layer so as to overlap with the element formation region of the substrate from the side of the substrate, and when the substrate is peeled off, the conductor is grounded or a predetermined voltage is supplied to the conductor. The bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus according to Note 5 or 6 to be used.

(Note 8) A conductor is formed on the surface of the dielectric layer so as to overlap the element formation region of the substrate from the side of the substrate, and when the substrate is peeled off, a terminal connected to the conductor is brought into contact with the conductor formed on the substrate. The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to Appendix 5 or 6, characterized in that it is made.

(Note 9) The processing chamber in a state in which the first and second substrates are separated from the first and second substrates bonded to one of the first and second gripping plates under reduced pressure, and the first and second substrates are adsorbed and held by the other gripping plate. The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to any one of Appendix 1 to 8, wherein the inside is opened to the atmosphere.

(Note 10) The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to any one of notes 1 to 9, wherein the first and second substrates opposed to the processing chamber are simultaneously carried in.

(Note 11) A first positioning device for positioning the first and second substrates respectively sucked and gripped on the first and second gripping plates, wherein the first positioning device includes the first and second gripping plates. The alignment marks provided on the first and second substrates are imaged by an image pickup device in which the first and second substrates respectively adsorbed and gripped by the gripping plate are mounted on either of the first and second substrates, The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to any one of Appendix 1 to 10, wherein the substrate is aligned.

(Note 12) The alignment mark installed at the same position as the first and second substrates on a third substrate carried into the processing chamber prior to the first and second substrates is imaged by the imaging device, and the alignment mark is A position in the field of view is stored in advance, and the imaging device is moved by a difference in coordinates between the position in the first field of view and a position in the second field of view of the imaged alignment marks of the first and second substrates brought in. The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to any one of Appendix 1 to 11.

(Annex 13) It has at least two sets of lenses with an imaging magnification lower than the imaging magnification at the time of bonding, and before bonding the first and second substrates, positioning is performed step by step using lenses of each magnification. The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to Appendix 11 or 12.

(Note 14) The laminated substrate manufacturing apparatus according to any one of notes 11 to 13, comprising: a second alignment device that performs alignment before carrying the first and second substrates into the processing chamber.

(Note 15) A first reference position of the first and second substrates to be aligned and a second reference position of the first and second substrates in the second alignment device are stored, and the second alignment device Note 13 or 14, characterized in that correction according to the difference between the position of the first or second substrate carried in to the second reference position and the second reference position is applied when transporting the first or second substrate to the first reference position. The laminated substrate manufacturing apparatus described in.

(Appendix 16) The processing chamber is divided into two containers, each of which is fixed with first and second gripping plates for gripping the first and second substrates, and one container is attached to a movable mechanism during alignment. And the other container moves together with the one container after depressurizing the inside of the processing chamber.

(Note 17) The adhesive for bonding the first and second substrates is an adhesive containing at least a photocurable adhesive, wherein the adhesive is cured by irradiating light from a light source provided on at least one side of the first and second substrates to the adhesive. A curing device is provided, and in the device, the amount of light irradiated to the first and second substrates is measured by an illuminance sensor, and the distance between the light source and the first and second substrates is controlled based on the measurement result. The laminated substrate manufacturing apparatus according to any one of Appendix 1 to 16, characterized in that.

(Note 18) The adhesive for bonding the first and second substrates is an adhesive containing at least a photocurable adhesive, wherein the adhesive is cured by irradiating light from a light source provided on at least one side of the first and second substrates. A curing device is provided, and in the device, an amount of light irradiated to the first and second substrates is measured by an illuminance sensor, and the intensity irradiated to the light source and the first and second substrates is constant based on the measurement result. The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to any one of appendices 1 to 16, characterized in that the control is controlled so as to maintain the same.

(Note 19) The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to note 17 or 18, wherein the curing device includes a mechanism for cooling a holding plate for adsorbing and holding the bonded first and second substrates.

(Note 20) The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to Appendix 19, wherein the gripping plate is made of a material that is difficult to absorb light.

(Note 21) A support member installed outside the processing chamber for vertically supporting the one holding plate installed in the processing chamber to be depressurized, a support plate for suspending the support member, an actuator for vertically moving the support plate, and the support plate A load cell is provided between the support members so that the weight of the support member and the upper gripping plate is applied, and the load cell includes atmospheric pressure added to the upper gripping plate by depressurizing the inside of the processing chamber, and the support member and the According to any one of appendices 1 to 20, characterized in that the total sum of the self-weight of the upper gripping plate is output as a measured value, and the value by which the measured value is reduced is recognized as the pressure applied to the first and second substrates. Bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus.

(Note 22) An actuator for applying a processing pressure to the upper gripping plate, the actuator is installed on the support plate so that the processing pressure is applied to the load cell, and the load cell includes the self-weight, the atmospheric pressure, and the The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to note 21, wherein the total of the processing pressure is output as a measured value, and the processing pressure of the actuator is controlled based on a value at which the measured value is decreased.

(Annex 23) Having at least one flat plate for conveyance on which the surfaces on which the bonded first and second substrates are disposed are formed smoothly, and the first and second substrates after the bonding are moved to the flat plate for transfer, and the adhesive is applied. The bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus according to any one of Appendix 1 to 22, which is conveyed to a curing device to be cured.

(Note 24) The laminated substrate manufacturing apparatus according to note 23, wherein the time until irradiating light to the adhesive in the curing device is controlled.

(Appendix 25) The first and second substrates are moved from the gripping plate to a plurality of conveying flat plates in which the surfaces on which the bonded first and second substrates are disposed are processed into a predetermined plan view, and the plurality of conveying flat plates are moved. , It is characterized in that it has a moving mechanism for carrying in a device for curing the adhesive by managing the time from bonding for each of the conveying plates, and carrying the conveying plates obtained by adsorbing and holding the first and second substrates after a predetermined period of time has elapsed. The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to any one of Appendix 1 to 22.

(Note 26) Note that the positional shift of the first and second substrates after curing of the adhesive is stored for each of the conveying flat plates as conveying information, and the substrate is moved to perform alignment based on the conveying information. The bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus according to any one of 23 to 25.

(Note 27) An inspection device for inspecting the positional displacement of the first and second substrates after curing of the adhesive is provided, and the first and second substrates are moved according to the amount of positional displacement detected by the inspection device to align the position. The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to note 26, wherein the amount of the alignment shift is corrected.

(Note 28) The laminated substrate manufacturing apparatus according to note 27, wherein the inspection device is disposed on a conveyance line of the substrate.

(Note 29) Any one of notes 1 to 28, wherein the one gripping plate is detachably installed, and the gripping plate having the bonded first and second substrates adsorbed and gripped is detached and transported to the next step. The laminated substrate manufacturing apparatus described in.

(Appendix 30) A container formed to be depressurized separately from the processing chamber in which the bonding is performed, and pretreatment of bonding is performed on at least one of the first and second substrates in the container. The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to any one of.

(Note 31) A mechanism for drawing a sealing material for sealing between the first and second substrates is provided, and the pretreatment is a process of exposing the first and second substrates after drawing the sealing material to a selected gas. The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to Appendix 30.

(Note 32) The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to Note 30, wherein the pretreatment is a heat treatment performed on at least one of the first and second substrates.

(Note 33) The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to note 30, wherein the pretreatment is a plasma treatment performed on the first or second substrate.

(Appendix 34) A container formed so as to be formed under reduced pressure is provided separately from the processing chamber for bonding, and the first and second substrates after the curing treatment of the sealing, the transfer treatment up to the curing treatment, and bonding are provided with the first and second substrates. 2 The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to any one of Appendixes 30 to 33, wherein at least one of the treatments to be peeled off from the holding plate is performed in the container.

(Appendix 35) A liquid dropping device for dropping the liquid sealed between the first and second substrates onto the first or second substrate, and having a mechanism for automatically measuring the discharge amount of the liquid onto the substrate. The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to any one of Appendix 1 to 34, wherein the coating amount is constantly managed by correcting the optimal dripping amount before discharging of.

(Note 36) A liquid dropping device for dropping a liquid sealed between the first and second substrates onto the first or second substrate is provided,

The liquid dropping device includes a syringe that applies pressure to the filled liquid and discharges it from the nozzle, and the syringe has an opening/closing valve capable of blocking the flow of the liquid, and the pipe in contact with the liquid is related to the change of the liquid. The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to any one of Annex 1 to 34, characterized by having at least one of equal to the pressure and controlling the temperature of the liquid.

(Note 37) The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to note 36, wherein a suction port for sucking the liquid attached to the nozzle is provided near the nozzle of the syringe.

(Note 38) The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to note 37, wherein a gas injection nozzle for spraying gas at the tip of the nozzle is provided to face the suction port.

(Annex 39) comprising a measuring device for measuring the amount of liquid dropped from the syringe, and controlling the amount of movement of the plunger for applying pressure to discharge the liquid based on the measurement result of the measuring device. The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to any one of Appendix 35 to 38.

(Note 40) Each of the first and second substrates is manufactured by a different process, and includes a transfer robot that simultaneously receives the first and second substrates and carries them into the process, and the first and second substrates Recognition information is provided in each of, and the transfer robot vertically inverts the first or second substrate based on the respective recognition information. The laminated substrate manufacturing apparatus according to any one of notes 1 to 39.

(Note 41) The apparatus for manufacturing a bonded substrate according to any one of notes 1 to 40, comprising a mechanism for correcting distortion of the adsorbed substrate when adsorbing the first or second substrate to one holding plate.

55: syringe
71: chamber as a processing chamber
72a, 72b: upper and lower flat plates as gripping plates
76a, 76b: electrostatic chuck part constituting the gripping plate
89: suction groove
91a-91d: dielectric layer
92a-92d: electrode
94a: Challenge
111: imaging device
115, 116: camera lens
129: load cell
132: cylinder as actuator
165: distortion correction mechanism
W1, W2: first and second substrates

Claims (4)

A press apparatus for carrying in a first substrate and a second substrate into a processing chamber 71 and bonding the first substrate and the second substrate by decompressing the interior of the processing chamber,
First support members 123a, 123b, 124a, 124b, 130 for supporting the upper flat plate 72a installed in the processing chamber,
A second support member 126 supporting the first support member from below,
And a load cell 129 installed so that at least a part of the weight of the first support member and the upper plate is applied,
The load cell is attached to an upper surface portion of the second support member, and a lower surface of the upper plate 124a of the first support member abuts on the load cell,
The load cell outputs a measured value obtained by reducing a reaction force when bonding the first substrate and the second substrate from the total pressure applied to the load cell,
And control means for controlling pressure to be applied to the first and second substrates based on the measured value. The method of claim 1,
The total pressure is an atmospheric pressure applied to the upper flat plate, and the total weight of the first support member and the upper flat plate is a sum of the weights. The method of claim 2,
And a pressing means (132) for applying pressure to the upper flat plate, and adding a pressing force of the pressing means to the total pressure. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
And a motor (125) for vertically moving the second support member supporting the first support member from below.

Images