TW200949237A - Substrate processing system, inspection apparatus and inspection method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention aims to realize a steady high precision inspection by stably transporting the inspection object at a fixed speed satisfying the production tempo, and adjusting the brightness of light entering the image taking part to a fixed value. The inspection apparatus, which is used as a serially connected device of the substrate processing system, is provided with a transportation unit for moving the substrate which is the inspection object at an essentially stable speed, a linear array camera 21 for shooting the transporting substrate, a camera control part 300 and an image processing part 301. The camera control part 300 controls the exposure time of the linear camera 21 according to feature data 320 related to light reflectivity of the substrate. That is, for substrate ofhigh reflectivity, the exposure time is reduced according to the reflectivity. On the other hand, for substrate of low reflectivity, the exposure time is increased according to the reflectivity. Furthermore, based on the need, the image processing part 301 can carry out an interpolation processing or a sparse processing to generate an image data 321, using a 1:1 aspect ratio for image data generated from the linear array camera 21.

Description

[Technical Field] The present invention relates to a technique for inspecting an object to be inspected while transporting an object to be inspected, such as a substrate, to inspect a state of the surface of the object. [Prior Art] In the liquid crystal manufacturing step, an inspection apparatus is used which inspects the surface of the glass substrate for a flat panel display to inspect the state of the surface of the substrate (e.g., uneven coating of the photoresist). Such an inspection apparatus uses a glass substrate of different brightness (reflectance) as an inspection object in different manufacturing steps. For example, a surface of a substrate on which a metal film such as Chromium or Molybdenum is formed has a high light reflectance and is a bright substrate. Further, the surface of the substrate in which the various patterns formed by the plurality of wires are formed on the surface has a low light reflectance and is a dark substrate. Therefore, in order to perform stable inspection in the inspection apparatus, it is desirable that the inspection apparatus can fix the amount of light incident on the imaging unit in accordance with the change in reflectance of the glass substrate. The amount of light of the illumination light is considered to be a method of fixing the amount of light incident on the imaging unit in accordance with the change in the reflectance of the glass substrate. However, a funnel lamp which is widely used as an illumination light having excellent characteristics has the following problem: if the amount of light is changed, it takes a relatively long time to stabilize the amount of light. In the liquid crystal manufacturing step or the like, there is a case where the device (tandem device) incorporated in the manufacturing line is required to be processed within a predetermined tact time. This is also the case when the inspection apparatus using the line sensor is incorporated into the manufacturing line to perform inspection on all the glass substrates (objects). That is, the inspection apparatus for illuminating a glass substrate using a guillotin lamp has the following concern: 137499.doc 200949237 It is considered that if the amount of light until the illumination light is stabilized and then inspected, there is a problem that the inspection cannot be completed within the tact time. However, if the inspection is performed until the light amount is stabilized, there is a problem that the slight variation in the amount of light is recognized as uneven coating and the inspection accuracy is lowered. Therefore, a technique has been proposed in which the amount of light incident on the imaging unit is fixed by adjusting the exposure time of the imaging unit without adjusting the amount of illumination light. Such an inspection apparatus is disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1. [Patent Document 1] JP-A-2005-024271 SUMMARY OF INVENTION [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the pixel size and the sub-scanning direction in the main scanning direction are set. Since the pixel sizes are equal, the transport speed of the glass substrate must also be changed in accordance with the change in the exposure time. In the case where the transport speed is changed depending on the brightness of the glass substrate, there is a problem that it is difficult to stably transport the glass substrate in a variable speed range in all the speed zones that can be changed. χ, in the dark glass substrate, if the = long exposure time, there is a problem that the transport speed will be correspondingly slowed down, so that the inspection cannot be completed within the production tact time. In the above-mentioned problem, the purpose of the invention is to stably carry the object to be inspected at a fixed speed at the time of production and shooting, and to adjust the amount of light incident on the imaging unit to be fixed, thereby achieving stable high-accuracy inspection. [Technical means for solving the problem] In order to solve the above problem, the invention of the request item is characterized in that it includes a complex geographic sheet 70' which performs processing on the substrate; and a transport mechanism whose 137499.doc 200949237 is substantially fixed The transporting speed transports the substrate between the plurality of processing units; and the inspection device that inspects the surface of the substrate by using the substrate conveyed by the transport mechanism as an object to be inspected; the inspection device includes: a memory mechanism that is pre-memorized The characteristic of the substrate relating to the light reflectance Η λ 'the imaging means for capturing the substrate conveyed by the transport mechanism; and the imaging control means for controlling the above based on the characteristic information of the substrate stored in the memory means The exposure time when the camera mechanism captures the substrate. The invention of claim 2 is the substrate processing system of the invention of claim 1, wherein the transport speed of the transport mechanism is determined based on a production tact time of the plurality of processing units. Further, the invention of claim 3 is the substrate processing system according to the invention of claim 2 or 2, wherein the imaging control means controls the exposure time in such a manner that the amount of received light when the imaging means performs imaging is substantially the same .

The substrate processing system of the invention of claim 2 or 2, wherein the image pickup mechanism divides a surface of the substrate into a direction in which the transfer mechanism transports the substrate, and captures the image. The substrate processing system according to the invention of claim 4, wherein the imaging control unit controls the imaging unit to divide the substrate based on characteristic information of the substrate stored in the memory unit. The exposure interval at the time of shooting. The substrate processing of the invention is the above-mentioned camera mechanism. The invention of claim 6 is the same as that of claim 5, characterized in that the inspection device has an aspect ratio of 1:1 from 137499.doc 200949237. The method performs interpolation processing or sparse processing to create imaging data representing the entire inspection area of the substrate. The invention of claim 7 is the substrate processing system of the invention of claim 1 or 2, wherein the substrate processing system further comprises a lamp for illuminating the surface of the substrate photographed by the image pickup mechanism. Further, the invention of claim 8 is an inspection apparatus for inspecting a surface of an inspection object, comprising: a memory mechanism that preliminarily stores characteristic information relating to light reflectance of the inspection object; and a conveying mechanism The object to be inspected is transported at a substantially fixed transport speed; the image pickup unit captures an object to be inspected by the transport mechanism; and the image control unit is based on characteristics of the object to be inspected stored in the memory unit Information to control the exposure time when the above-mentioned imaging mechanism captures an object to be inspected. The invention of claim 9 is characterized in that the imaging control means controls the exposure time such that the amount of received light when the imaging means performs imaging is substantially the same. In the inspection apparatus according to the invention of claim 8 or 9, the image pickup unit is configured to divide the surface of the inspection object by the direction in which the conveyance mechanism conveys the inspection object. . The invention of claim 1 is the inspection apparatus according to the invention of claim 10, wherein the imaging control means controls the imaging mechanism based on the characteristic value m of the inspection object stored in the memory means. The exposure interval when the object to be inspected is divided and photographed. The invention of claim 12, wherein the invention further comprises an illumination device for illuminating the surface of the inspection object photographed by the image pickup mechanism. Further, the invention of claim 13 is characterized in that the inspection object is a glass substrate, a printed substrate or a semiconductor substrate for a flat panel display. Further, the invention of claim 14 is an inspection method for inspecting a surface of an inspection object, which comprises the steps of: preliminarily storing characteristic information relating to the light reflectance of the inspection object in the memory mechanism; b) transporting the object to be inspected at a substantially fixed transport speed; (c) photographing the object to be inspected by the step (b) by the photographing means; and (the sentence is based on the object to be inspected stored in the memory means) The invention of the invention of claim 14 is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned (d) step, the above-mentioned (d) step, The exposure time is controlled in such a manner that the amount of light received by the image capturing mechanism is substantially the same. The invention of claim 16 is the inspection method of the invention of claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the image pickup mechanism In the transport direction of the inspection object in the step (b), the surface of the inspection object is divided and photographed, and further includes Step: (4) controlling the exposure interval when the imaging device divides the object to be inspected and photographs the image based on the characteristic information of the object to be inspected stored in the memory device. [Effect of the Invention] The inventions of claims 1 to 13 are borrowed. The transfer mechanism for transporting the substrate at a substantially fixed transport speed I37499.doc 200949237 and the characteristic information relating to the light reflectance of the substrate are used to control the exposure time when the imaging unit captures the substrate, and the surface can be stably transported to the substrate. The substrate of different brightness. The invention of claim 2, wherein the conveying speed of the conveying mechanism is determined according to the tact time of the plurality of processing units, thereby preventing the processing of the substrate processing system from being limited by the inspection processing speed of the inspection device. In the inventions of 3 and 9, the exposure time is controlled in such a manner that the amount of received light when the imaging unit performs imaging is substantially the same, whereby a more stable inspection can be performed. The inventions of claims 7 and 12 are used to change the amount of light. There is no need to wait until the amount of light is stable, so other halogen lamps with excellent characteristics can be used as the illumination. The invention of Claims 14 to 16 includes the steps of preliminarily storing the characteristics of the inspection object relating to the light reflectance in the information memory mechanism, and the step of transporting the inspection object at a substantially fixed transport speed, and photographing by the photographing mechanism The step of transferring the object to be inspected and the step of controlling the exposure time of the object to be inspected by the imaging means based on the characteristic information of the object to be inspected in the memory means, whereby the substrate can be stably transported to the surface-surface correspondence The substrate of different brightness. The invention of the item 15 of the month is that the exposure time is controlled by the above-mentioned image pickup mechanism in the same manner as the light quantity in the photo, so that a more stable inspection can be performed. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 137499.doc -8- 200949237 <1·Embodiment> FIG. 1 shows a substrate processing system according to the present invention! Round. In addition, in FIG. 1, 'the Z-axis direction shows the vertical direction', and the XY plane is defined as the surface which shows a horizontal surface, but these setting is a simple definition for grasping a positional relationship, and is not limited by the following. The directions stated. The same is true for each of the following figures. The substrate processing system 1 includes a loading unit 10 that is carried into the substrate 90, a cleaning unit u that cleans the substrate 90 and cleans it, and a temperature adjustment unit 12, 13, 14 that adjusts the substrate 9A to a special temperature. In the substrate processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the glass substrate for the flat panel of the liquid crystal display is the substrate to be processed 90. However, the present invention can be applied not only to a case where a glass substrate for a flat panel display is used as an inspection object, but also to a case where a printed substrate, a semiconductor substrate or the like is used as an inspection object. Although not shown in detail, the temperature control units 12, 13, and 14 include a heating unit (heating plate) for heating the substrate 9A, a cooling unit (cooling plate) for cooling the substrate 9A, and between the units. The transport unit that transports the substrate 9〇. Further, the substrate processing system 1 includes an application portion 15 for applying a photoresist to the surface of the substrate 9 , an inspection device 2 for inspecting the surface of the substrate 90 , and an exposure portion 16 for exposing a circuit pattern or the like on the surface of the substrate 90. The developing unit 7 that performs the development process on the exposed substrate 90, the inspection unit 18 that inspects the processing result of the substrate processing system, and the unloading unit 19 that carries out the processing of the substrate 90 after the substrate processing system is completed. 15 includes a transfer unit that receives and carries the substrate 9 from the temperature adjustment unit 13, and a photoresist film that applies a photosensitive material to the surface of the substrate 90 to be loaded, and 137499.doc 200949237 forms a photoresist film on the surface of the substrate 9G. A coating unit, a drying unit that dries the substrate 90 coated with the photoresist, and the like. The 'substrate processing system W includes a plurality of processing units 〇 that perform specific processing on the substrate 9 且 and is configured to transfer the substrate 90 between the plurality of processing units by a suitably disposed transport unit, and to the substrate 90 Perform a series of processing. The inspection apparatus 2 of the present embodiment is configured as a so-called tandem apparatus in the substrate processing system 1 for manufacturing the substrate 90, and the main control of the inspection apparatus 2 and the control substrate processing system. The ties (not shown) are connected in a state in which data communication is possible. Therefore, each of the inspection apparatus 2 can be configured to obtain an inspection from the main controller. Fig. 2 is a view showing the inspection apparatus 2 of the present invention. Further, Fig. 3 is a bus bar wiring diagram of each configuration of the inspection device 2. The inspection device 2 includes a transport unit 2Q, a line camera 2i'_lamp lamp& position sensor 23, and a control unit 3, and the substrate 90 to be transported by the transport unit μ is used as an object to be inspected. The apparatus for inspecting the surface constitutes a check of the present embodiment, and I & 2 is used as a viewing inspection apparatus, and the coating is applied to the photoresist liquid applied on the surface of the substrate 90. The so-called uneven detection of the unevenness of the cloth is performed. However, the inspection device involved in this daily reading is not limited to such use. Further, the arrangement position of the inspection apparatus 2 of the substrate processing system 1 may be different depending on the object to be inspected. For example, when the development unevenness is detected, the inspection device 2 may be provided between the developing unit (10) temperature adjustment unit 137499.doc 200949237. Further, a plurality of inspection devices 2 may be incorporated in the substrate processing system}. As shown in Fig. 2, the transport unit 2 includes a rotary motor 24 that is driven by a control signal from the control unit 3, and a plurality of transport costs 25 each having a cylindrical shape having a rotational axis parallel to the X-axis. The rotary motor 24 of the present embodiment employs a general servo motor that can control the direction of rotation and the rotational speed in accordance with the control signal from the control unit 3. However, it is sufficient that the transport unit 20 of the present invention transports the substrate 90 at a substantially fixed transport speed, and does not necessarily have to have a speed change function. Therefore, for example, a motor that cannot control the number of revolutions (only N (start), (stop) control) can be used as the rotary motor 24. In addition, in FIG. 2, only one rotary motor 24 is illustrated, but the inspection device 2 may also include a plurality of rotary motors 4 as the rotary motor 24, and may be continuously stabilized at at least a specific rotational speed (rotation speed at which the transport speed is realized). The mechanism of the ground rotation. The height positions of the upper ends of the transfer views 25 are substantially the same as each other, and the upper ends of the respective transfer cassettes 125 are brought into contact with the back surface of the substrate 90, so as to have a function of supporting the substrate 90 in a horizontal posture. The transport sheet 702 (5 in 'the driving force generated by the rotary motor 24 is transmitted to each transport parent 25 by a link member (not shown). By this, each transport view 25 • (4) the direction (four)' (4) The support substrate 90 at the upper end of the 105 is held flat and moves in the direction indicated by the thick arrow in Fig. 2. That is, the transfer unit 20 of the present opening constitutes a so-called "rotary transport mechanism", which is sighed The transfer speed between the application portion 15 on the upstream side of the inspection device 2 and the temperature adjustment portion 14 provided on the downstream side of the inspection device 2 is substantially 137499.doc -11 . 200949237 in the (+Y) direction. The function of transporting the substrate 90. In the substrate processing system for the production line of the substrate 90, the "production tact time" is set in the system design. The so-called tact time is the processing unit for the group substrate processing system! The value of the common time for the time of the Tii, the value of the time that the processing unit is allowed to process the base (4). The self-coating cannot be performed in the inspection device 2 incorporated as the tandem device of the substrate processing system 1. Part 15 accepts the substrate 9G in life Within the cycle time to deliver

When the temperature adjustment unit 14 is applied, the processing speed of the substrate processing system W depends on the processing time of the inspection apparatus 2, resulting in a decrease in the processing speed of the entire substrate processing system W. Therefore, in the inspection apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, the transport speed of the transport unit 20 to the substrate 90 is set so that the substrate 90 can be transported from the application unit 15 to the temperature adjustment unit 14 during the tact time of the substrate processing system 1. speed. Therefore, the inspection device 2 can reliably deliver the substrate 9〇 to the temperature adjustment unit 14 during the tact time, so that the processing speed of the substrate processing system is not lowered, and generally, if the structure of the drive system is The various changes in speed are made, and the stability of the action will decrease. Therefore, in the apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, the transport speed of the transport unit 20 is not changed, and the transport speed of the transport unit 20 is fixed (solidally fixed) regardless of the type of the substrate 9A and the manufacturing steps. Therefore, it is only necessary to adjust each unit so that it can be stably transported only at the specific transport speed of the transport unit 20. In addition, the following description will be made on the case where the transport speed of the transport unit 20 is fixed to 100 [mm/see] and 137499.doc -12-200949237. In the second embodiment, the linear array camera 21 has a lens group constituting a specific optical system and a light receiving portion in which a plurality of light-receiving elements (CCDs) are arranged in the X-axis direction. The line camera 21 images the substrate 90 being transported by the transport unit 20 based on the control signal from the control unit 3, and transmits the image obtained by the photographing to the control unit 3. Each of the light receiving elements of the line camera 21 of the present embodiment outputs a light receiving amount at 8 [bits] (256 gray scales). The imaging range of the line camera 21 is set in the main scanning direction (X-axis direction) of the substrate 9A so as to be able to capture the entire area that must be inspected, and further, the X-axis direction of the line camera 21 of the present embodiment ( The resolution of the main scanning direction is set to 0.1 [mm]. On the other hand, the imaging range of the line camera 21 has only one light-receiving area of the light-receiving element in the sub-scanning direction (Y-axis direction) of the substrate 9A, so that the entire area can be captured once. Therefore, the line camera 21 captures the surface of the substrate 90 in the transport direction (Y-axis direction) of the substrate 90 with respect to the substrate 90. In the following description, the time during which the line camera 21 (CCD) continuously receives the incident light is referred to as "exposure time t", and the time from the start of shooting to the start. The time until the next shooting is called "exposure interval T". "." In addition, the exposure time t (hereinafter referred to as "reference exposure time t 〇") and the exposure interval τ (hereinafter referred to as "reference exposure interval T 〇") when the line camera 21 captures a standard substrate (described later) are set to l[msec]. As described above, the transport speed of the transport unit 2 of the present embodiment is fixed to 1 〇〇 [mm/sec] regardless of the type of the substrate 90, etc., without considering 137499.doc •13·200949237. Therefore, at the exposure time (for the reference exposure time tQ, the transport distance of the substrate % of the job is 0.1 [mm], and the resolution of the main scanning direction of the line camera 21 coincides with 0.1 [mm]. When the substrate 9 is a standard substrate, the aspect ratio of the image in the image data 321 (see FIG. 4 described later) is 丨丨 (same). At this time, the exposure interval τ is the reference exposure interval τ 〇 Therefore, the reference exposure time tQ=the reference exposure interval τ〇 is established, and the surface of the substrate 90 is imaged without interruption. Further, the details of the exposure time t and the exposure interval are determined for each substrate 90 under the control of the control unit 3. The halogen lamp 22 is an illumination device that emits white light, and has a function of illuminating the surface of the substrate 9A imaged by the line camera 21. The halogen lamp 22 of the present embodiment does not consider the substrate 90. The type and the like are controlled by the control unit 3 to be a fixed amount of light. Further, the illumination light irradiated from the lamp 22 can be appropriately irradiated to the substrate by optical conversion of an optical system (such as a quartz rod or a lenticular lens). Surface of 90 The position sensor 23 detects the position of the (+Y) side end of the substrate 90 (the front end of the substrate 9〇) and transmits the detection result to the control unit 3. As the position sensor 23', optical can be used. As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 3 includes a cPu (Central Processing Unit) 30 and a read program dedicated to the memory program 310 (Read Only Memory 'only Read memory 3!, and RAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 32 used as a temporary work area of cpu 30. This control unit 3 has the function as a general computer 137499.doc • 14 - 200949237 The CPU 30 operates in accordance with the program 310 stored in the ROM 31, thereby performing calculation of various data, generation of control signals, and the like, thereby controlling the respective configurations of the inspection device 2. Further, the control unit 3 of the inspection device 2 includes The operation unit 33 (button, mouse, keyboard, etc.) from the operator's instruction, and the display unit 34 (light, display, panel, etc.) for displaying various materials to the operator. Further, as described above, 3 also includes a communication unit for performing data communication with the main controller of the substrate processing system 1. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the flow of the functional blocks and data of the inspection device 2. The imaging control shown in Fig. 4 The unit 3, the image processing unit 3, and the inspection unit 302 are functional blocks of the inspection device 2 that are realized by the operation of the program 3 by the CPU 3 of the control unit 3. The characteristic data 320 is used. It refers to information on the light reflectance-related information (information relating to the brightness of the substrate 9A) of the substrate 90 as the inspection object of the inspection device 2. In the present embodiment, the "brightness ratio M" of the Φ substrate 90 with respect to the standard substrate is stored in the characteristic data 32. The characteristic data 320 can be obtained by testing each substrate 90 in advance. In the substrate of the optimum brightness, the substrate a differs depending on the inspection items and the like. In the present embodiment, the brightness ratio substrate is obtained in advance as follows. In the first step, the exposure time t is set as the reference exposure time t〇, and the inspection target area of the substrate 90 is imaged by the line camera 21. Then, the average value of the output values of the respective light receiving elements from the line camera 21 at this time is obtained, and the value obtained by dividing the obtained average value by "128" is set as the "brightness ratio M" of the substrate 卯. The value. Furthermore, the reason why the temporarily obtained average value is divided by 128 137499.doc -15-200949237 is that the light receiving element of the line camera 21 of the present embodiment is 256, the order 'and its central value (ie, "128" ") is the standard. In other words, the substrate 9 〇 standard substrate (the substrate 90 having a luminance ratio 「 of "1") having an average value of the round-out values of each of the light-emitting elements is 128. Furthermore, a median can be obtained instead of the average value, and other calculation methods can be used. Or the value to be a standard is not limited to "128", and may be specified within the range of 118 to 138, etc. Further, the imaging in which the brightness is compared to the river is not limited to the imaging by the line camera 21, and the entire inspection target area can be two-dimensionally imaged to obtain the luminance ratio Μ. Alternatively, the brightness ratio Μ may be obtained by shooting in a special area or a specific line. In other words, it is only necessary to determine the time required to obtain the brightness ratio Μ. The imaging control unit 300 controls the exposure time t when the line camera 21 captures the substrate 9 based on the characteristic data 320 of the substrate 9〇 stored in the RAM 32. In particular, the imaging control unit 300 of the present embodiment controls the exposure time t such that the amount of received light when the line camera 21 performs imaging is substantially the same. Further, the imaging control unit 300 controls the exposure interval T when the line camera 21 divides the substrate 9A based on the characteristic data 320 of the substrate 9〇 stored in the RAM 32. The image processing unit 301 has a function of performing specific image processing on the output signal (signal representing the image data) from the line camera 21, and creating an entire inspection area of the one substrate 90 which is an inspection object ( The image data 321 which becomes the surface area of the substrate 90 to be inspected. The inspection unit 302 performs unevenness inspection on the surface of the substrate 90 based on the image data 321 stored in the RAM 32, and causes the display portion 34 to display the result of checking the substrate % 137499.doc • 16· 200949237. At this time, the inspection unit 3() 2 causes the display unit 34 to display the inspection result and the image data 321 as an image. Furthermore, the specific processing contents of the inspection unit 302 can be the same as the prior art, and thus detailed descriptions are omitted here. Further, the inspection result of the inspection unit 3〇2 or the imaging data 321 may be transmitted to the main controller of the substrate processing system. The configuration and function of the substrate processing system i have been described. Next, a method of inspecting the surface of the substrate 9 in the substrate processing system 1 + will be described. 5 and 6 are flowcharts showing an inspection method of the inspection apparatus 2. First, before starting the inspection, the inspection apparatus 2 acquires the characteristic data 320 from the main controller of the substrate processing system 并将 and memorizes the data in the ram (step sii). Further, the method of acquiring the characteristic data 32 is not limited thereto, and may be input by, for example, an operator operating the operation unit 33 of the inspection apparatus 2. Next, the imaging control unit 300 determines the exposure time 1 based on the characteristic data 320 stored in the RAM 32 (step S12). The imaging control unit 300 of the present embodiment obtains and determines the value of the exposure time t of the line camera 21 based on t = WM. When the exposure time t is determined, the imaging control unit 3 determines the exposure interval T of the line camera 21 based on the characteristic data 320 stored in the RAM 32 (step S13). When the imaging control unit 300 of the present embodiment determines the exposure interval τ, first, ^(ΜχΤο) is calculated. That is, t/TG is obtained. Then, when the obtained quotient is set to s and the remainder is set to R, the value of the exposure interval τ when R=〇 is determined as 137499.doc 17 200949237 S, and the exposure interval τ at R> The value is determined as S+T〇. When the exposure time t and the exposure interval T are determined, the inspection apparatus 2 waits until the substrate 90 is carried in (step S14). Then, after the substrate 15 is loaded from the application unit 15, the substrate 90 is transported by the transport unit 20 (step S15). In the following, the transport processing of transporting the substrate 90 by the transport unit 20 continues until the execution of step S26 described later. Next, the imaging control unit 300 determines whether or not the imaging by the line camera 21 is started (step S16), and waits until the timing of starting the imaging is coming. In the step S14, the substrate 9 loaded into the inspection apparatus 2 is not photographed once by the line camera 21, and the imaging control unit 3 performs the step si6 by monitoring the output signal of the position sensor 23. determination. That is, before the initial shooting, the determination of step S16 is performed based on whether or not the substrate 9 is transported to the position where the shooting by the line camera 21 is started. On the other hand, the imaging control unit 300 performs the determination of the step s 16 based on whether or not the elapsed time since the last imaging has reached the exposure interval T determined in the step after the substrate 9 is imaged once. When it is determined as Yes in step S16, the imaging control unit 3 causes the light receiving elements to start the exposure by causing the line camera 21 to receive the incident light (mainly the reflected light of the illumination light irradiated to the substrate 9A) (step) Sl7). Next, the user waits until the exposure time t determined in step S12 is passed from the elapsed time from the execution of step S17 (step S18). When the exposure time t has elapsed, the imaging control unit exposes the line array, and causes the line camera 21 to output an output value representing the amount of received light during the period (step S21). As a result, the line image camera 21 transmits the image data of 137 lines of the line 137499.doc -18-200949237 to the image processing unit 301, thereby creating the image data 321 of one line (step S22). Next, the CPU 30 determines whether or not the substrate 9 is transported to the inspection end position (step S23), and when it is determined that the substrate 9 is not transported to the inspection end position, the process returns to step S16 and the processing is repeated. That is, by repeating the processing of steps S17 to S18 and steps S21 to S22, the substrate 90 is divided line by line in the sub-scanning direction and imaged. Fig. 7 is a view showing an imaging state in the case where the substrate 90 having the luminance ratio Μ "1" is photographed. The solid line in the horizontal direction of Fig. 7 indicates the position at which the line camera 21 starts to be exposed. As described above, the substrate 90-based standard substrate having the luminance ratio Μ "1", the exposure time t at this time becomes the reference exposure time t 〇 (1 [msec]), and the exposure interval τ is the reference exposure interval T 〇 (1 [msecD] According to FIG. 7, it can be clearly seen that in the case of a substrate 9 亮度 (substrate 90 of standard brightness) having a luminance ratio M of "丨", the aspect ratio of the image is 1:1, and φ between exposures is t= When the exposure interval is T, the entire area becomes an image to be imaged. Fig. 8 is a view showing an image pickup state when a bright substrate 9 is a brightness ratio of "2". The solid line in the horizontal direction of Fig. 8 and Fig. 7 The position where the line camera 21 starts to be exposed is similarly indicated, and the broken line in the horizontal direction indicates the position at which the line array unit 27 stops exposure. The substrate 9 whose brightness ratio Μ is "2" has a higher light reflectance than the standard substrate. It is brighter, so the exposure time 1 is shorter than the reference exposure time t〇. In other words, the light receiving amount of the light receiving element of the line camera 21 is reached at a time shorter than the reference exposure time to when the exposure time t is the standard substrate for photographing. Phase 137499.doc -19- 200949237 the same. Specifically, 'in brightness ratio When the substrate of "2" is 9", the exposure time t is 0.5 [msec]. On the other hand, as in the case of the standard substrate, the exposure interval T is the reference exposure 卩m, and the number of lines in the sub-scanning direction and the standard substrate are used. In this case, the number of lines is the same. Therefore, the thinning processing or the interpolation processing of the image processing unit 3G1 is not required. However, the exposure is not performed between the position of the broken line in the horizontal direction and the position of the solid line in the downward direction and the horizontal direction. The area indicated by hatching in 8 is the inspection object.

The area is not photographed. However, the minimum size of the detectable defect required by the inspection device 2 is much larger than the resolution of the light-receiving element of the line camera 21 (-the ratio is generally 1 or more times the length ratio) . Therefore, as shown in Fig. (10), the area to be inspected is not photographed, and even if there is a knife, it will not greatly affect the inspection performance of the inspection unit. Fig. 9 is a view showing an image pickup state in which a darker substrate 90 having a brightness ratio of "1/2" is photographed. That is, Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an image pickup state when a darker substrate 9G having a luminance ratio of 2 2/3" is imaged.

When the temperature of the substrate 90 is less than: the light reflectance is lower than the standard substrate and k is dark. Therefore, the exposure (4) t is longer than the reference exposure time h. In other words, if the exposure time (ie, the reference exposure θ 〇 〇) is longer than the exposure time when the standard substrate is photographed, the amount of light received by the light receiving element on the line camera 2 will not be the same. When 9G is an object to be inspected, in the apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, the exposure interval is n times larger than the reference exposure interval (n is, from ..., number), and the number of lines in the sub-scanning direction is reduced to 1/N. For example, 137499*doc -20- 200949237 is an area of 4 lines in the examples of Figs. 7 and 8, and is reduced to 2 lines in the examples of Fig. 9 and Fig. 。. In the image of the image data 321 so that the aspect ratio is Η, the image processing unit 301 performs data interpolation in the sub-scanning direction. Regarding the method of interpolating such data, various techniques have been proposed previously. In this case, the technology can be used. In addition, the data of the main sweeping can be used to replace the data in the sub-scanning direction.

Returning to Fig. 6, when the substrate 90 is transported to the inspection end position, the CPU 30 of the control unit 3 determines in step S23 that it is added (at this point in time, the completion of the filming of the sheet substrate 90 in the RAM 32 is completed. Next, the inspection unit 302 performs inspection processing for detecting defects or unevenness based on the imaging data 321 (step S24), and causes the display unit 34 to display the inspection result and the imaging data 321 . Here, the main scanning direction is For example, a circular defect of 1 pixel in the sub-scanning direction is an example, and when the exposure time 1 is "the case where the luminance ratio Μ is "1"), it is 1/2 (luminance ratio 馗) For the case of "2" and 2tG (the case where the brightness is "1/2" than the river) / Figure 11 shows that there are 10 pixels in the main scanning direction and 10 pixels in the sub-scanning direction. The circular defect and the pattern of the imaging condition of the substrate 9〇 whose luminance ratio is "i" is shown in Fig. 12. Further, Fig. 12 shows the image data 321 of the defect acquired in the situation shown in Fig. u (more than a few digits) Fig. 13 shows that the main scanning direction is 1 pixel, the sub-scan A drawing of a circular defect of 10 pixels in the drawing direction and an imaging state of the substrate 9〇 having a luminance ratio M of "2" is shown in Fig. 13. Further, Fig. 14 shows that 137499.doc is obtained under the condition shown in Fig. 13. • 21· 200949237 Defective camera data 321 (digit multi-value) pattern. Comparing Figure 12 with Figure 4 can clearly see that in Figure 14, although the shape of the defect somewhat changes, but did not affect It is recognized (detected) as a defect. Fig. 15 shows a substrate having 10 pixels in the main scanning direction, 10 pixels in the sub-scanning direction, and a substrate 9 having a luminance ratio of φ 1/2". Fig. 16 is a diagram showing the image data 321 (digital multi-value) of the defect acquired in the situation shown in Fig. 15. Comparing Fig. 12 with Fig. 16 makes it clear It is known that in the sub-scanning direction, since the interpolation of the copy line is performed, the image is somewhat rough, but does not affect the recognition as a defect. When the inspection process of step S24 is completed, the CPU 3 of the control unit 3 Whether the surface monitor has been carried out while the substrate 90 has been transported to the carry-out position (step S25) When the substrate 90 is transported to the carry-out position, the transport unit 2 stops the transport of the substrate 90 (step S26). Then, the substrate 90 is carried out from the inspection device 2 (step 527), and then it is determined whether or not the object is to be inspected. When the substrate 90 is present, the process returns to the step su to repeat the process. On the other hand, when there is no substrate 90 to be the inspection object, the inspection is ended. The substrate processing system 1 of the present embodiment is controlled by the inspection device 2, and the exposure time t is controlled based on the characteristic data 320 relating to the light reflectance of the substrate 9 This makes it possible to perform inspection stably on the substrate 90 of different brightness (light reflectance). 137499.doc -22- 200949237 Further, the inspection can be performed while the substrate 90 is stably conveyed at a substantially fixed conveyance speed. Further, by carrying out the conveyance at a substantially fixed conveyance speed, the conveyance can be completed within the tact time of the substrate processing system 7 regardless of the brightness of the substrate 90. Further, since it is not necessary to adjust the amount of light of the halogen lamp 22, it is not necessary to wait until the amount of light has stabilized. <2. Modifications> Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made. For example, a part of the plurality of conveying rollers 25 provided in the conveying unit 2 of the inspection device 2 may be configured as a driven roller that does not transmit the driving force from the rotary motor 24. In the above, the above-mentioned _r must be pulled from the 宂炙n to the 宂炙n, indicating that the non-shooting area is set by shortening the exposure time t without changing the exposure interval. However, it is also possible to set the exposure time "light interval T, and to double the size of the sub-scanning direction. In this case, the number of lines in the sub-scanning direction is increased as compared with the case of photographing the standard substrate. However, the dry (four) is 'even in this case, the image data 321 is thinned out in the sub-scanning direction so that the image width ratio is 1:1. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the "transfer unit 2" which uses the so-called "structure" is described, and (4) the transporter

However, the mechanism for transporting the substrate 9G by the transport unit 20 is not limited to the rotational transport mechanism V. Both ends of the substrate 90 in the X-axis direction can be so-called shuttle transport or the like. The % organization can also be used as a special logic circuit to realize the function of the function block 137499.doc • 23- 200949237 (the imaging control unit 300, the image processing unit 301 and the inspection unit 302). - part or all. Further, each step shown in the above embodiment is merely an example, and the processing contents or order may be changed as long as the same effect can be obtained. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view showing a substrate processing system of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a view showing an inspection apparatus of the present invention; and FIG. 3 is a wiring diagram of each of the inspection apparatuses; FIG. Figure 5 is a flow chart showing the inspection method of the inspection device; Figure 5 is a flow chart showing the inspection method of the inspection device; Figure 6 is a flow chart showing the inspection method of the inspection device; FIG. 8 is a view showing an imaging state when a substrate having a luminance ratio of r 2 ′ is captured; FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a comparison of a luminance ratio of a substrate having a luminance ratio of r 2′′; Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an image capturing condition when a dark substrate having a luminance ratio of "2/3" is photographed; Fig. 11 is a view showing an image capturing state when a dark substrate is photographed; A pattern of one pixel in the main scanning direction, a circular defect in the sub-scanning direction, and an imaging condition of the substrate having a luminance ratio of r丨”; FIG. 12 is a view showing the state shown in FIG. Obtaining the defect of the camera capital 137499.doc 200949237 The image of the substrate in the sub-scanning direction is a pattern of 10 pixels in the main scanning direction, a circular defect of 10 pixels, and a brightness ratio of "2"; Fig. 14 A diagram showing the image data of the defect acquired in the situation shown in FIG. 13;

15 is a view showing a circular defect of 10 pixels in the main scanning direction, a circular defect of 10 pixels in the sub-sweeping direction, and an imaging state of the substrate having a luminance ratio of "1/2"; and FIG. A diagram showing the image data of the defect acquired in the situation shown in FIG. [Description of main component symbols] 1 Substrate processing system 2 Inspection device 3 Control unit 10 Loading unit 11 Cleaning unit 12, 13, 14 Temperature adjustment unit 15 Application unit 16 Exposure unit 17 Development unit 18 Inspection unit 19 Removal unit 20 Transport unit 137499 .doc -25- 200949237 21 Line camera 22 Halogen lamp 30 CPU 31 ROM 32 RAM 90 Substrate 300 Imaging control unit 301 Image processing unit 302 Inspection unit 310 Program 320 Characteristic data 321 Camera data 137499.doc -26

Claims (1)

200949237 VII. Application for Patent Park: ι· A substrate processing system, comprising: a plurality of processing units, which perform processing on a substrate; and a transport mechanism that is at a substantially fixed transport speed in the plurality of The substrate is transported between the processing units; and the inspection device is configured to inspect the surface of the substrate by using the substrate conveyed by the transport mechanism as an inspection object; the inspection device includes: a memory mechanism that pre-stores the substrate and the light reflectance Corresponding characteristic information; an imaging mechanism that captures a substrate that is transported by the transport mechanism; and an imaging control mechanism that controls the imaging mechanism to capture an image based on characteristic information of the substrate peaked in the memory mechanism; τ 噃 2. The substrate processing system of claim 1, which is determined by the production tact time of the feed rate. A plurality of processing units 3: The substrate processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the description of the image control mechanism is performed by the camera mechanism described above, and the exposure amount is substantially the same. The substrate processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the image pickup mechanism is configured to convey the surface of the substrate by the transfer mechanism. The substrate processing system of claim 4, wherein 137499.doc 200949237 is configured to control the exposure of the imaging mechanism to divide the substrate and capture the image according to the characteristic information of the substrate stored in the memory mechanism. interval. 6. The substrate processing system of claim 5, wherein the inspection device performs an interpolation process or a sparse process in such a manner that an aspect ratio of image data from the image pickup mechanism is 1:1, thereby performing an entire inspection of the presentation substrate. Regional camera data. 7. The substrate processing system of claim 1 or 2, further comprising a halogen lamp that illuminates a surface of the substrate photographed by said image pickup mechanism. 8. An inspection apparatus characterized in that: the inspection object is inspected on the surface of the inspection object, and includes: (5) a memory mechanism that preliminarily stores characteristics information relating to light reflectance of the inspection object; The object to be inspected is transported at a substantially fixed transport speed; the image pickup unit captures an object to be inspected by the transport mechanism; and the image control unit is based on the object to be inspected stored in the memory unit Characteristic information to control the exposure time when the above-mentioned imaging mechanism captures an object to be inspected. The inspection apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the imaging control means controls the exposure time such that the amount of received light when the imaging means performs imaging is substantially the same. 10. The inspection apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the imaging means transmits the object to be inspected by the transport mechanism, and divides the surface of the object to be inspected and images the image. The inspection apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the imaging control means controls the imaging means to divide the inspection object and take a picture based on the characteristic information of the inspection object stored in the memory means. Exposure interval. The inspection apparatus of claim 8 or 9, further comprising a gull light, which illuminates a surface of the inspection object photographed by the image pickup mechanism. The inspection apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the object to be inspected is a glass substrate, a printing substrate or a semiconductor substrate for a flat panel display. The inspection method is characterized in that it checks the surface of the inspection object and includes the following steps: (a) pre-memorizing the characteristic information of the inspection object related to the light reflectance in the memory mechanism; (b) (a) the object to be inspected by the step (b) is photographed by the photographing means; and (d) the object to be inspected stored in the memory means is imaged The characteristic information 'controls the exposure time when the imaging mechanism captures an object to be inspected. The inspection method of claim 14, wherein in the step (d), the exposure time is controlled such that the amount of light received by the imaging means is substantially the same. 137499.doc 200949237. The inspection method according to claim 14 or 25, wherein the moving object of the inspection object is divided and photographed; and the imaging mechanism is further configured to send the inspection object to the (b) The object includes the following steps: (e) controlling the exposure interval when the imaging device divides the inspection target and captures the image based on the characteristic information of the inspection object stored in the memory mechanism. 137499.doc