KR101217290B1 - Peripheral Exposure Apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The peripheral exposure apparatus is for peripheral exposure which performs the XY stage 2 which supports the board | substrate 1 to which the resist was apply | coated, the rotation table 3 which supports the XY stage 2, and the peripheral exposure to the board | substrate 1. Drive current is applied to the light source 4, the slider 5 holding the ambient light source 4, the illuminometer 6 for detecting the output light intensity of the ambient light source 4, and the ambient light source 4 The DC power supply 7 to supply and the temperature control mechanism 8 which controls the temperature of the ambient light source 4 are realized, realizing miniaturization and simplicity, and significantly reducing the bad influence to an exposure object, The peripheral region of the object to be exposed is exposed without unnecessary power consumption.

Description

Peripheral Exposure Apparatus

1 is a perspective view schematically showing one embodiment of the peripheral exposure apparatus of the present invention.

2 is a schematic perspective view showing a relationship between a light shielding mask and an irradiation area.

3 is a schematic perspective view showing an irradiation area when no light shielding mask is present.

4 is a perspective view schematically showing another embodiment of the peripheral exposure apparatus of the present invention.

5 is a perspective view schematically showing an example of intermittent exposure.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a peripheral exposure light source in which UV-LEDs are arranged in four rows and four columns of checkerboard eyes.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a light source for peripheral exposure in which UV-LEDs are arranged in a zigzag shape.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the illuminance distribution of a peripheral exposure light source in which UV-LEDs are arranged in three rows and two columns of checkerboard eyes.

9 is a schematic diagram showing illuminance distribution by two UV-LEDs.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the illuminance distribution in the state where the outermost portions of the irradiation ranges of the two UV-LEDs overlap each other.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the illuminance distribution in a state where the intervals of both UV-LEDs are set such that the illuminance between the two UV-LEDs is photosensitive illuminance.

This invention relates to the peripheral exposure apparatus for exposing the peripheral predetermined position of exposure objects, such as a liquid crystal glass substrate, a semiconductor wafer, and a photosensitive film.

Conventionally, the peripheral exposure apparatus for exposing the predetermined position around the exposure object, such as a liquid crystal glass substrate, a semiconductor wafer, and a photosensitive film, is provided and it is utilized.

 When the wiring pattern is formed on a substrate such as a liquid crystal display panel or a semiconductor wafer, a resist is first applied to the entire substrate and then patterned into a desired shape by a photolithography method. The exposure position of a mask pattern is determined so that the strip | belt-shaped margin of width about several mm may be made.

 For this reason, when a positive resist is used in a photolithography process, after exposure, an unexposed resist remains in strip | belt-shaped part to a board | substrate peripheral part. This remaining resist is not only unnecessary but also becomes a dust in subsequent manufacturing processes, which is a major problem as one of the factors for lowering the throughput. Therefore, it is necessary to expose and develop unnecessary resist areas in the periphery of the substrate.

In view of such a problem, as the peripheral exposure apparatus of a rectangular substrate, the apparatus of Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 11-154639 and 5-190448 is known conventionally.

In the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-154639 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-190448, one discharge lamp is used as one light source in exposing one portion of the periphery of the substrate, and a reflector and a lens group are used therein. And a wavelength cut filter, the substrate peripheral part can be exposed by moving a board | substrate or a light source, irradiating the board | substrate peripheral part with the light radiate | emitted therefrom. Moreover, cooling of a light source is achieved by air cooling, and the warm-up which generate | occur | produces there is exhausted by a blower.

In the apparatus described in JP-A-11-l54639 and JP-A-5-190448, since one discharge lamp is used as one light source, the following problems arise.

As the waiting time and the warm-up time of the discharge lamp are long, it is necessary to turn on a discharge lamp at all times even when performing peripheral exposure, and the life of the discharge lamp becomes short, power consumption becomes more than necessary, and as the exchange of discharge lamps becomes frequent Workability worsens.

Since discharge lamps generate a large amount of heat, a large blower is required for cooling.

Since mercury is used inside a discharge lamp, the environmental load at the time of processing of discharge lamps discarded and the health damage of an operator when a discharge lamp is damaged are large.

The discharge lamp has a large structure, and the device of the part concerned also has to be large.

Since the discharge lamp has a large wavelength distribution band of output light and emits light in a wavelength band not related to photosensitivity, the power consumption unnecessarily increases.

In a discharge lamp, since most of the electrical energy is converted into thermal energy, power consumed unnecessarily increases.

Since the output light of the discharge lamp includes infrared rays, not only the exposure to the substrate but also a thermal effect is exerted.

Since discharge lamps have a short lifespan, it is necessary to frequently replace them.

Since the discharge lamp has a wide wavelength distribution band of output light and irradiates light in a wavelength band irrelevant to photosensitivity, an optical load is applied to the substrate, and in order to prevent it, a filter is formed to cut the irradiated portion so that light of unnecessary wavelength bands is not irradiated. There is a need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and can achieve miniaturization and simplicity, and can significantly reduce adverse effects on the exposure target, and furthermore, it does not involve unnecessary power consumption, and thus the peripheral region of the exposure target. It is an object of the present invention to provide a peripheral exposure apparatus capable of exposing light.

The peripheral exposure apparatus of this invention arrange | positions the peripheral exposure light source containing the light emitting diode which emits an ultraviolet light corresponding to the surrounding predetermined position of an exposure object.

Here, the peripheral exposure light source may include a plurality of light emitting diodes arranged in a state in which a predetermined relative relationship is maintained, or may include a plurality of light emitting diodes arranged in a matrix. Moreover, the light source for peripheral exposure may irradiate the light radiated | emitted from a light emitting diode directly to the peripheral predetermined position of an exposure object.

A coolant generating device for supplying a coolant for cooling the light emitting diode, a water temperature detecting device for detecting the temperature of the coolant immediately after cooling the light emitting diode, and a coolant generating device for maintaining the temperature of the coolant immediately after the cooling of the light emitting diode at a predetermined temperature. You may further include the water temperature control apparatus to control.

An energization control device that energizes the light emitting diode in response to being instructed to expose the peripheral predetermined position of the exposure target and prevents energization of the light emitting diode in response to being instructed not to expose the peripheral predetermined position of the exposure target. It may further include.

According to the peripheral exposure apparatus of the present invention, the peripheral exposure light source including the light emitting diode emitting ultraviolet light is disposed in correspondence with a predetermined position around the exposure object, so that miniaturization and simplicity can be realized. The adverse effect to an object can be reduced significantly, and also the peripheral area | region of an exposure object can be exposed, without involving wasteful power consumption.

When the light source for peripheral exposure includes a plurality of light emitting diodes arranged in a state in which a predetermined relative relationship is maintained, leveling of the light intensity can be realized without using a special mechanism. When the light source for peripheral exposure includes a plurality of light emitting diodes arranged in a matrix form, the time for which light is irradiated to the exposure object can be lengthened to increase the light energy applied to the exposure object. When the light source for peripheral exposure emits light emitted from a light emitting diode directly to a predetermined position around the exposure object, miniaturization and simplicity can be realized.

A coolant generating device for supplying a coolant for cooling the light emitting diode, a water temperature detecting device for detecting the temperature of the coolant immediately after the light emitting diode cooling, and a coolant generating device for maintaining the temperature of the coolant immediately after the light emitting diode cooling is maintained at a predetermined temperature. In the case of further including a water temperature control device for controlling, the temperature of the light emitting diode can be kept substantially constant, and the exposure quality can be stabilized.

An energization control device that energizes the light emitting diode in response to being instructed to expose the peripheral predetermined position of the exposure target and prevents energization of the light emitting diode in response to being instructed not to expose the peripheral predetermined position of the exposure target. In the case of further including, the unnecessary power consumption can be prevented and the life of the light emitting diode can be extended.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of the peripheral exposure apparatus of this invention is described in detail with reference to an accompanying drawing.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing one embodiment of the peripheral exposure apparatus of the present invention.

This peripheral exposure apparatus is applied to the peripheral exposure of a liquid crystal panel.

The peripheral exposure apparatus includes an XY stage 2 supporting the substrate 1 coated with a resist, a turntable 3 supporting the XY stage 2, and a peripheral exposure to the substrate 1. Drive current for the light source for exposure 4, the slider 5 holding the light source for ambient exposure 4, the illuminometer 6 for detecting the output light intensity of the light source for ambient exposure 4, and the light source for ambient exposure 4 And a temperature control mechanism 8 for controlling the temperature of the light source 4 for peripheral exposure.

As the board | substrate 1, a glass substrate, the board | substrate made from another material, a semiconductor wafer, a film, etc. can be illustrated. In addition, various shapes can be adopted.

The XY stage 2 moves the substrate 1 two-dimensionally, and the rotation table 3 rotates the substrate 1 together with the XY stage 2.

The ambient light source 4 includes a light emitting diode (UV-LED) 4a that emits ultraviolet rays as a light emitting source, and includes a bracket 4b, a light shielding mask 4c (see FIG. 2), and the like. will be. The light shielding mask 4c has a rectangular window hole, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, and makes the irradiation area of the board | substrate 1 by UV-LED 4a the rectangular shape, and the dimensional precision of an exposure area | region Can increase. 3 shows that the exposure area becomes circular when the light shielding mask is not used. Accordingly, it can be seen that by contrasting with FIG. 3, the dimensional accuracy of the exposure area can be increased in the case of FIG. 2.

The slider 5 reciprocates the peripheral exposure light source 4 in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the substrate 1 in the predetermined direction by the XY stage 2.

The illuminometer 6 receives the output light of the peripheral exposure light source 4 at the movement limit position of the peripheral exposure light source 4 by the slider 5, and supplies an intensity detection signal to the DC power supply 7. .

The DC power supply 7 supplies a driving voltage or a current to the light source 4 for peripheral exposure so that a predetermined output light intensity can be obtained. Preferably, the driving voltage or current is controlled to cause the UV-LED 4a to emit light only during exposure and to change the exposure conditions as necessary. In order to perform such a control, a driving voltage or current is registered in advance as varietal data in a control device (computer, programmable logic array, etc.) equipped with an input function, a storage function, a comparison operation function, an operation command function, and the like. It is preferable.

In addition, it is preferable to periodically measure the output light intensity by the illuminometer 6, supply the output light intensity measurement value to the control device, and calculate the irradiation state of the appropriate UV-LED 4a. Even when 4a) deteriorates with time, stable exposure quality can be achieved.

The temperature control mechanism 8 supplies the chiller 8a for generating the coolant and the coolant flow path 8b for supplying the coolant to the bracket 4b to cool the UV-LED 4a and returning the chiller 8a back to the chiller 8a. ), A valve 8c provided at a predetermined position of the cooling water flow path 8b, a flowmeter 8d, a hydraulic pressure gauge 8e, and a water temperature sensor 8f. Moreover, the water temperature sensor 8f is provided immediately downstream of the bracket 4b, and supplies a temperature detection signal to the chiller 8a to control the operation of the chiller 8a.

In addition, loading and unloading of the board | substrate 1 is performed by the board | substrate moving robot which is not shown in figure, a shuttle conveyance transfer mechanism, a roller conveyor, etc., or by manual labor of an operator.

Moreover, it is preferable to provide the L-shaped alignment guide which is not shown in figure, or the pin-shaped guide which contacts only three points on an L-shape, and this guide when the position of the board | substrate 1 supplied to the XY stage 2 is shift | deviated. The substrate 1 can be pressed firmly into position.

The operation of the peripheral exposure apparatus of the above configuration is as follows.

When the substrate 1 to which the resist is applied is carried in and the positioning is performed by driving the XY stage 2 and the turntable 3, the slider 5 faces the peripheral position to be exposed in the front, The positioning of the peripheral exposure light source 4 is completed to complete the preparation of the peripheral exposure.

Thereafter, the substrate 1 is moved in one direction by the XY stage 2, and the peripheral exposure light source 4 is operated by the DC power supply 7, thereby causing the peripheral portion along one side of the substrate 1. The unnecessary resist of can be exposed.

Subsequently, the XY stage 2 and the turntable 3 are operated, and the slider 5 is operated to position the peripheral light source 4 so as to face the front of the peripheral position to be exposed on the other side. The unnecessary resist of the peripheral portion can be exposed along the corresponding side of the substrate 1.

In the same manner, the unnecessary resist of the peripheral portion can be exposed along all sides of the substrate 1.

When the above process is performed, peripheral exposure of all four sides of the rectangular substrate 1 can be performed. In addition to exposing only one side, it is also possible to perform exposure to the inside of the substrate in addition to the exposure of the peripheral portion. The case where this function is applied to other apparatuses may not expose either side.

It is also possible to arrange | position the light source 4 for peripheral exposures in the shape whole surface to which it intends to expose previously, or the shape which divided | divided the shape, and to irradiate | expose for a required time in the state which restrained the stage.

In addition, when the exposure to the unnecessary resist portion is in full swing, the XY stage 2, the turntable 3, and the slider 5 can be operated to perform peripheral exposure in accordance with the shape having irregularities on the exposure end surface.

4 is a perspective view schematically showing another embodiment of the peripheral exposure apparatus of the present invention.

This peripheral exposure apparatus is applied to the peripheral exposure of a semiconductor wafer.

The peripheral exposure apparatus differs from the peripheral exposure apparatus in FIG. 1 in that the XY stage 2 is omitted, instead of the L-shaped alignment guide or the pin-shaped guide contacting only three points on the L-shaped cross-section detection device 9. Is provided only and the point where the shape of the window hole of the light shielding mask 4c is set to slit instead of a rectangle.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, peripheral exposure can be achieved by irradiating the light from the light source 4 for peripheral exposures while rotating the circular substrate 1.

In each said embodiment, although the peripheral exposure light source 4 is stopped and the board | substrate 1 is moved, the peripheral exposure is achieved, but the board | substrate 1 is stopped and the light source 4 for peripheral exposures is stopped. By moving, it is possible to achieve ambient exposure.

In addition, it is also possible to employ a plurality of peripheral exposure light sources 4.

In each said embodiment, although the surface which supports the board | substrate 1 is set to the flat surface, it is possible to employ | adopt the structure which supports the board | substrate 1 by protruding a some support pin. When 1) is a quadrangle, it is also possible to hold | maintain 1 side part of the board | substrate 1, and to hold | maintain the board | substrate 1 in a horizontal state or a vertical state.

In each of the above embodiments, it is possible to control the DC power supply 7 so as to turn on / off the UV-LED 4a. In this case, based on the ON time and the OFF time, As described above, the exposure can be achieved intermittently.

In each said embodiment, although three UV-LED 4a is linearly arranged, it is possible to arrange | position another number of UV-LED 4a. It is also possible to arrange the UV-LEDs 4a in plural rows and plural columns (see Figs. 6 and 7). The peripheral exposure light source 4 shown in FIG. 6 arranges the UV-LED 4a in the shape of a board | substrate, and the peripheral exposure light source 4 shown in FIG. 7 shall crush the UV-LED 4a. It is arranged in shape.

In these cases, the time for which light is irradiated to the substrate 1 can be lengthened, and the light energy applied to the substrate 1 can be increased (see FIG. 8, but FIG. 8 shows the UV-LED 4a). Illuminance distribution in the case of arranging 3 rows and 2 columns of checkerboard eyes).

Moreover, by setting the space | interval of adjacent UV-LED4a suitably, the area which can be exposed can be expanded.

This point is explained further.

In order to completely expose the resist coated on the substrate 1 to realize peripheral exposure, resist sensitivity (mJ / cm 2), UV-LED roughness (mW / cm 2), exposure speed (mm / sec), and irradiation area Four parameters of width mm are related.

Here, the resist sensitivity (mJ / cm 2) is a value indicating how much light energy is applied to the resist coated on the substrate 1.

The illuminance (mW / cm 2) of the UV-LED is the amount of light energy per unit area at the surface of the substrate of light irradiated from the UV-LED (light in the wavelength band where the resist is exposed).

The exposure speed (mm / sec) is the speed at which the UV-LED passes over the substrate.

The irradiation area width mm is the width (dimensions in the passing direction) of the area on the substrate on which the irradiation light shines.

In order to accurately expose the peripheral portion of the substrate 1 to achieve the peripheral exposure, it is necessary to satisfy the following conditions.

Irradiation area width (mm) / {resist sensitivity (mJ / cm 2) / UV-LED roughness (mW / cm 2)} ≥ exposure speed (mm / sec)

In general, however, parameters other than "illuminance of UV-LED" are first determined from the use conditions. Therefore, the illuminance of the UV-LED may be determined to satisfy the above conditional expression. As shown in Fig. 9, the light emitted from the UV-LED has a normal distribution shape with the highest illuminance in the center. In FIG. 9 and the following figures, numerals 1 to 5 represent illuminance, and the illuminance to which the resist is accurately exposed is set to 3 or more.

Therefore, when there is no overlap in irradiation of individual UV-LEDs, as shown in FIG. 9, neither UV-LED nor illuminance distribution changes at all.

If the relative positions of the UV-LEDs are set so that the portions of the illuminance 1 overlap each other, the lowest illuminance between the two UV-LEDs is 2 (see Fig. 10). In this roughness 2, however, the resist cannot be accurately exposed.

If the relative position of the UV-LEDs is set so that the part of illuminance 1 overlaps with the part of illuminance 2, the lowest illuminance between both UV-LEDs is 3 (see Fig. 11). Thus, it is possible to accurately resist the resist over the entire range between both UV-LEDs. That is, compared with FIG. 9, the roughening of roughness can be achieved significantly.

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize miniaturization and simplicity, to significantly reduce adverse effects on the exposure target, and to expose the peripheral region of the exposure target without incurring unnecessary power consumption. Exert.

Moreover, by lighting only at the time of exposure, the lifetime of a light emitting diode can be lengthened, power consumption can be minimized, and workability | operativity, such as light emitting diode exchange, can be improved.

Since the amount of heat generated by the light emitting diode can be reduced, cooling in a compact chiller is possible.

Since the light emitting diode does not use mercury, it can eliminate health damage and environmental load of workers.

Since the light emitting diode is small in size and light weight, miniaturization of the device can be realized.

Since the light emitting diode has a narrow wavelength distribution band, it is possible to irradiate only in the wavelength band related to photosensitization (exposure), thereby preventing unnecessary power consumption.

Since the light emitting diode has high luminous efficiency, generation of thermal energy can be suppressed, and further, power consumption can be suppressed.

Since the output light of the light emitting diode does not contain infrared rays, no heat load is applied to the object to be processed.

Since the light emitting diode has a long lifetime, the replacement cycle can be lengthened, and the number of replacement operations can be reduced.

Since the output light of the light emitting diode has a narrow wavelength distribution band, it can irradiate only the wavelength band related to photosensitive exposure, eliminating optical stress on the object to be processed, and does not require a filter to cut unnecessary wavelength bands. The configuration can be simplified.

Claims (6)

It is made by arranging the peripheral light source 4 including the light emitting diode 4a which emits ultraviolet light in correspondence with a predetermined position around the exposure object 1, The cooling water generating device 8a for supplying the cooling water for cooling the light emitting diode 4a, the water temperature detection device 8f for detecting the temperature of the cooling water immediately after the cooling of the light emitting diode, and the temperature of the cooling water immediately after the cooling of the light emitting diode are determined to a predetermined temperature. Water temperature control device for controlling the coolant generating device (8a) to maintain the, Irradiation area width (mm) / {resist sensitivity (mJ / cm 2) / illuminance of ambient light source (mW / cm 2)} ≥ satisfies the condition of exposure speed (mm / sec), Peripheral exposure apparatus to partially overlap the illuminance between the light emitting diodes (4a). The peripheral exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral exposure light source (4) includes a plurality of light emitting diodes (4a) arranged in a state of maintaining a predetermined relative relationship. The peripheral exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral exposure light source (4) includes a plurality of light emitting diodes (4a) arranged in a matrix. delete The peripheral exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the peripheral exposure light source (4) directly irradiates light emitted from the light emitting diode (4a) to a peripheral predetermined position of the exposure object. The light emitting diode 4a is energized in response to being instructed to expose the peripheral predetermined position of the exposure object 1, and the peripheral predetermined position of the exposure object 1 is exposed. And an energization control device for interrupting energization to the light emitting diode (4a) in response to being instructed not to.

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