KR101451094B1 - Close-type exposure apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a contacting-type exposure apparatus which comprises a lower stage having a substrate arranged on the upper surface and including at least one substrate absorption hole on the location contacted with the arranged substrate; a stepwise vacuum unit performing multi-stage vacuum through at least one substrate absorption hole; and a mask holder fitted with a photo mask and moving to the lower stage according to the multi-stage vacuum to press the photo mask against the substrate. Therefore, the contacting-type exposure apparatus performs multi-stage vacuum to increase the degree of vacuum contact between the photo mask and an exposure object to reduce the defect ratio of a product and maximize the efficiency of product production.

Description

CLOSE-TYPE EXPOSURE APPARATUS [0002]

The present invention relates to a contact type exposure apparatus, and more particularly, to a contact type exposure apparatus capable of performing multi-stage vacuum to improve the degree of vacuum adhesion between a photomask and an exposure target to lower the defect rate of the product, ≪ / RTI >

Generally, a predetermined pattern is sensitized by an exposure apparatus to an exposure subject (e.g., glass, wafer, substrate, etc.) coated with a photosensitive material such as a photoresist and then subjected to an etching process Photolithographic method for forming a pattern on an object to be exposed has been widely applied in various fields.

In such an exposure apparatus, a vacuum adhesion method in which a photomask and an object to be exposed are brought into close contact with each other by vacuum is widely adopted in order to improve the adhesion between the photomask and the object to be exposed.

However, in such an exposure apparatus using the vacuum adhesion method, it is very difficult and many problems to bring the photomask and the object to be exposed in close contact with each other perfectly uniformly. In other words, since the photomask is made of glass or a resin plate on which a glass or a photomask film on which circuits to be exposed are drawn is vacuum-adsorbed, when the photomask is brought into contact with the exposure target object by the vacuum pressure, Scattering of light occurs due to a gap generated between the masks, resulting in defective contact at the time of exposure.

Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2008-0039202 discloses an exposure apparatus for a printed wiring board. An exposure apparatus for a printed wiring board is provided with an exposure table on which a substrate to be exposed is placed, a film mask on which a pattern to be exposed is drawn on a substrate to be exposed, and a fluid to be introduced between the film mask and the periphery of the film mask A power device for bringing the exposure table and the film mask holder close to each other, and a sealing space for accommodating the substrate and the film mask is formed by sealing the gap between the exposure table and the film mask holder by the proximity of the film mask holder A first contact means for firstly bringing the film mask and the substrate into close contact with each other by reducing the airtightness of the sealed space and a second contact means for applying predetermined pressure between the film mask and the photo mask holder A fluid is introduced by a pressure, and the film mask and the substrate are brought into close contact again, To be characterized by having. According to the disclosed technology, it is possible to make the adhesion between the film mask and the substrate the most favorable, thereby obtaining an exposure with high precision, shortening the exposure time, and increasing the film mask or preventing deformation.

Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2007-0066832 discloses a close-contact type exposure apparatus that improves the adhesion between a photomask and a substrate. The contact type exposure apparatus includes a platen for positioning a printed wiring board thereon, a photomask for drawing a pattern to be exposed, contacting the printed wiring board to expose the pattern, And a suction device for sucking the photomask between the photomask and the printed wiring board, characterized in that the contact type exposure device has a shape surrounding the printed wiring board, And a frame disposed on the platen on the inner side of the sealing device so as to surround the printed wiring board with substantially the same thickness as the substrate. According to the disclosed technique, the frame body is constituted by a single member, which can securely be fixed by suction, and is easy to mount or take out, as well as capable of automatic transportation and automatic exchange.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2008-0039202 Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2007-0066832

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide a close-contact type exposure apparatus capable of enhancing the vacuum adhesion between a photomask and an exposure target by performing multi-stage vacuum, thereby lowering the defect rate of the product and maximizing the efficiency of product production.

Among the embodiments, the coherent exposure apparatus includes a lower stage having a substrate disposed on an upper surface thereof and including at least one substrate suction hole at a position abutting the substrate, a vacuum hole controlled separately from the at least one substrate suction hole And a mask holder for mounting a photomask on the stage and moving the photomask to the lower stage according to the multi-stage vacuum to adhere the photomask to the substrate.

In one embodiment, the apparatus may further include a sealing portion formed along an edge of the lower stage and sealing the gap between the mask holder and the lower stage.

In one embodiment, the sealing portion may include a sealing tube for infusing and expanding a gas therein according to the multi-stage vacuum.

In one embodiment, the lower stage may further include a vacuum hole disposed between the outer surface of the substrate and the sealing tube.

In one embodiment, the stepwise vacuum portion may be formed of a vacuum pump and a solenoid valve for performing the multi-stage vacuum through the opening and closing of the valve in the vacuum process by the vacuum pump.

In one embodiment, the multi-stage vacuum starts to open and close the solenoid valve after the gap between the mask holder and the lower stage is separated, the mask holder is moved to the lower stage, Can be controlled.

In one embodiment, the at least one substrate suction hole may be spaced along the edge of the substrate when the substrate is disposed.

In one embodiment, the vacuum hole can increase the degree of adhesion by sucking the air layer generated between the substrate and the photomask through the multi-stage vacuum.

Among the embodiments, the contact type exposure apparatus includes a lower stage having a substrate disposed on an upper surface thereof and including at least one substrate suction hole at a position where the substrate is in contact with the arranged substrate, a photomask mounted on the lower stage, And a sealing tube formed along an upper surface edge of the lower stage to expand the sealing tube to seal the gap between the mask holder and the lower stage, .

In one embodiment, there is provided a vacuum pump for performing a multi-stage vacuum through a vacuum hole controlled separately from the at least one substrate suction hole and a solenoid valve for performing the stepwise vacuum through opening and closing of a valve in a vacuum process by the vacuum pump As shown in FIG.

In one embodiment, the solenoid valve can adjust the opening / closing time interval, and the mask holder can control the tight contact interval with the lower stage through the vertical movement.

Among the embodiments, the contact type exposure apparatus includes a substrate on an upper surface, and at least one substrate suction hole and a vacuum hole controlled separately from the at least one substrate suction hole at a position where the substrate is in contact with the disposed substrate, And a sealing portion formed along the edge of the stage. The photomask closely contacts the substrate and the sealing portion, and the stepwise vacuum is performed to perform the multi-stage vacuum through the at least one substrate suction hole.

In one embodiment, the photomask can be mounted to a mask holder and moved to the lower stage through the mask holder.

The contact type exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention performs a multi-stage vacuum to improve the vacuum adhesion between the photomask and the exposure target, thereby reducing the defective rate of the product and maximizing the efficiency of product production.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a closely-spaced exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the lower stage of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating the step-by-step evolution in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the contact type exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 1 performing an exposure operation.
5 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the progress of the exposure operation of FIG.
6 is a top view for explaining the progress of the exposure operation of FIG.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of removing an air layer formed between the substrate and the photomask in FIG. 5 by performing a multi-stage vacuum.

The description of the present invention is merely an example for structural or functional explanation, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described in the text. That is, the embodiments are to be construed as being variously embodied and having various forms, so that the scope of the present invention should be understood to include equivalents capable of realizing technical ideas. Also, the purpose or effect of the present invention should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention, since it does not mean that a specific embodiment should include all or only such effect.

Meanwhile, the meaning of the terms described in the present application should be understood as follows.

The terms "first "," second ", and the like are intended to distinguish one element from another, and the scope of the right should not be limited by these terms. For example, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component.

It should be understood that the term " and / or " includes all possible combinations from one or more related items. For example, the meaning of " first item, second item and / or third item " may be presented from two or more of the first, second or third items as well as the first, second or third item It means a combination of all the items that can be.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected to the other element, but there may be other elements in between. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between. On the other hand, other expressions that describe the relationship between components, such as "between" and "between" or "neighboring to" and "directly adjacent to" should be interpreted as well.

It should be understood that the singular " include "or" have "are to be construed as including a stated feature, number, step, operation, component, It is to be understood that the combination is intended to specify that it does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

In each step, the identification code (e.g., a, b, c, etc.) is used for convenience of explanation, the identification code does not describe the order of each step, Unless otherwise stated, it may occur differently from the stated order. That is, each step may occur in the same order as described, may be performed substantially concurrently, or may be performed in reverse order.

The present invention can be embodied as computer-readable code on a computer-readable recording medium, and the computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices for storing data that can be read by a computer system . Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, and the like, and also implemented in the form of a carrier wave (for example, transmission over the Internet) . In addition, the computer-readable recording medium may be distributed over network-connected computer systems so that computer readable codes can be stored and executed in a distributed manner.

All terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs, unless otherwise defined. Commonly used predefined terms should be interpreted to be consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and can not be interpreted as having ideal or overly formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present application.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a closely-spaced exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, the contact type exposure apparatus 100 includes a lower stage 110, a stepwise vacuum 120, a mask holder 130, and a sealing unit 140.

The lower stage 110 includes a substrate 10 on which an exposure operation is performed and a substrate stage 10 disposed on the upper surface of the lower stage 110 through a stepwise vacuum 120 connected to the lower stage 110 have. Here, the lower stage 110 may include a plurality of holes formed at a position where the substrate 10 is disposed and at an edge of the lower stage.

The stepped vacuum 120 is connected at the lower end of the lower stage 110 and fixes the substrate 10 through a plurality of holes formed in the lower stage 110. The substrate 10 and the photomask 20 The air layer formed therebetween can be removed.

The mask holder 130 is formed in the form of a framed frame through which the center passes, and is moved toward the lower stage 110 by a separate power. Further, the mask holder 130 may be mounted with a photomask 20 which is in close contact with the upper end of the substrate 10 on a penetrating surface formed at the center. Here, the photomask 20 is a tempered glass or transparent resin plate obtained by vacuum-adsorbing a photomask film on which circuits to be exposed are drawn.

The sealing portion 140 is formed in the form of a tube surrounding the edge of the lower stage 110. A plurality of inflow holes (not shown) for introducing a gas (e.g., air) into the tube may be formed in the sealing portion 140. As the exposure is performed, a gas flows into the inside through the inflow hole Can be inflated. The expanded sealing portion 140 is in contact with the mask holder 130 and the photomask 20 moved downward and seals the space between the lower stage 110 and the mask holder 130, It is possible to prevent the inflow of air into the inside. Here, the sealing portion 140 may have a uniform shape depending on the degree of close contact between the photomask 20 and the substrate 10.

2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the lower stage of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2, the lower stage 110 includes a base plate 110a and an exposure plate 110b. The lower stage 110 is connected to the stepwise vacuum chambers 120 at the lower end, and the sealing part 140 is formed at the upper end.

The base plate 110a constitutes a lower stage 110. A stepwise vacuum 120 is connected to a lower end of the base plate 110a and a plate connected to the exposure plate 110b at an upper end thereof. (110b) and the stepwise vacuum chamber (120). Also, at least one substrate suction hole 210a and a vacuum hole 220a may be formed in the center of the base plate 110a.

The at least one substrate suction hole 210a is configured to suck and fix the substrate 10 disposed at the upper center of the exposure plate 110b by at least a suction force generated from the stepwise vacuum 120, To the one substrate suction hole 210b, and may be spaced apart from the base plate 110a at regular intervals.

The vacuum hole 220 serves to increase the degree of adhesion between the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 by sucking and removing an air layer formed therebetween when the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 are closely contacted with each other. May be formed in the vicinity of the edge where they are not laid.

The at least one substrate suction hole 210 and the vacuum hole 220 formed in the base plate 110a are connected to at least one of the suction holes formed in the step plate 120 connected to the lower end, To the substrate suction hole 210 and the vacuum hole 220 of the substrate holder 210.

The exposure plate 110b is formed of a transparent plate having the same size as that of the base plate 110a and the lower end thereof is fastened and connected to the base plate 110a by fastening means such as bolts and nuts. In addition, the substrate 10 may be disposed at an upper end of the exposure plate 110b so that the light emitted from the exposure plate 110b may be incident on the substrate 10 at a predetermined wavelength.

At least one substrate suction hole 210 is formed at the upper center of the exposure plate 110b and the substrate 10 may be disposed at the upper center of the exposure plate 110b having at least one substrate suction hole 210 formed therein have. At least one substrate suction hole 210 is formed on the base plate 110a to receive the suction force formed in the stepwise vacuum chambers 120 during the exposure operation from the at least one substrate suction hole 210 of the base plate 110a, It is possible to prevent the substrate 10 from being shaken or deviating from the designated position in the course of the contact of the mask 20. Also, at least one substrate suction hole 210 may be formed spaced apart at a position where the substrate 10 is placed.

The exposure plate 110b may be formed with a vacuum hole 220 for sucking an air layer formed therebetween when the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 are in close contact with each other. Here, the vacuum holes 220 may be formed on the inner side of the sealing portion 140, which is spaced apart from the substrate 10 by a predetermined distance, and which surrounds the edge of the exposure plate 110b. The vacuum hole 220 allows the photomask 20 and the exposure plate 110b to be in close contact with each other while simultaneously removing the air layer formed between the substrate 10 and the photomask 20, ) Can be increased.

The at least one substrate suction hole 210 and the vacuum hole 220 formed in the exposure plate 110b may include at least one substrate suction hole 210 and a vacuum hole 220 in the same position.

The stepped vacuum chamber 120 is connected to the lower end of the base plate 110a constituting the lower stage 110 through fastening means and has at least one substrate suction hole (not shown) formed in the base plate 110a and the exposure plate 110b And the air layer formed between the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 through the vacuum hole 220 is removed by performing a multi-stage vacuum. Here, the multi-stage vacuum is difficult to remove the air layer formed between the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 during the adhesion process between the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 in the conventional exposure work, It is complementary to the difficulty in adjusting the configuration of the necessary equipment and strength.

More specifically, the multi-stage vacuum is applied to the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 through the vacuum hole 220 connected to the solenoid valve 320 of the stepwise vacuum 120, Refers to increasing the adhesion rate between the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 by repeatedly sucking the substrate 3 a plurality of times (for example, 3 to 5 times). Here, the solenoid valve 320 can be instantaneously opened and closed a plurality of times (for example, three to five times) in order to provide a suction force necessary for the multi-stage vacuum. The air layer formed between the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 is moved and removed from the center to the periphery so that the adhesion rate between the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 can be gradually widened from the center. For example, referring to FIG. 6, A represents a region where the solenoid valve 320 is opened and closed once the multi-stage vacuum is performed, and the center of the photomask 20 and the substrate 10 are in close contact with each other. The contact area between the photomask 20 and the substrate 10 can be widened in the order of B, C, and D by opening and closing the solenoid valve 320 a number of times. Such a multi-stage vacuum requires less time to stabilize the vacuum than the prior art, and the air layer can be removed using a small amount of power. Here, the vacuum stabilization time represents the time required for completely removing the air layer formed between the substrate 10 and the photomask 20.

2, the sealing part 140 is formed in a tube shape surrounding the edge of the exposure plate 110b, and the outer side of the vacuum hole 220 formed at the edge of the base plate 110a and the exposure plate 110b . The sealing portion 140 may be formed with a plurality of inflow holes (not shown) for introducing a gas (e.g., air) into the inside of the tube and may be formed through an inflow hole (not shown) So that the gas can be inflated to a predetermined size.

In one embodiment, the sealing portion 140 may be formed of a material such as silicone, rubber, or the like having elasticity, and may be inflated to a height of 1 mm to 3 mm due to the gas introduced therein.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating the step-by-step evolution in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 3, the stepped vacuum 120 is formed by a vacuum pump 310 and a solenoid valve 320.

3A shows the construction of the stepped vacuum 120, in which the vacuum pump 310 is connected to a solenoid valve 320. [ The stepped vacuum 120 may secure the substrate 10 to the lower stage 110 through at least one substrate suction hole 210 and may be coupled to the inner air of the enclosed space through the vacuum hole 220, The substrate 10 and the photomask 20 can be brought into close contact with each other by sucking the air layer formed between the photomask 10 and the photomask 20.

The vacuum pump 310 generates a suction force for removing air enclosed inside through the lower stage 110, the mask holder 130, and the sealing portion 140.

The solenoid valve 320 is connected to the vacuum pump 310, and the valve is opened and closed by an electrical signal. Here, the solenoid valve 320 can control the vacuum range in which the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 are in close contact, by instantaneously controlling the opening and closing of the valve according to a given signal to perform a multi-stage vacuum.

In one embodiment, stepped vacuum 120 may be implemented by connecting at least one solenoid valve to each other as shown in FIG. 3B.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the contact type exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 1 performing an exposure operation.

4, the mask holder 130 moves in the direction of the paper surface by external power and abuts the sealing portion 140 formed at the upper end of the lower stage 110. At this time, the mask holder 130 is moved to the lower stage The photomask 20 may be mounted on the lower surface opposite to the photomask.

The sealing part 140 is expanded by the inflow of gas into the inside of the sealing part 140, thereby sealing the gap where the mask holder 130 and the lower stage 110 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. The expanded sealing portion 140 can prevent air from being introduced into the interior from which an exposure operation is performed from the outside.

The stepped vacuum 120 performs a vacuum close operation through the at least one substrate suction hole 210 and the vacuum hole 220 of the lower stage 110. The center of the photomask 20 mounted on the mask holder 130 is depressed and abutted toward the substrate 10 and the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 are closely contacted with each other The area can be enlarged.

5 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the progress of the exposure operation of FIG.

5A, the mask holder 130 is mounted on the lower end of the photomask 20 and moves toward the upper end of the lower stage 110 to come into contact with the sealing part 140 formed at the upper end thereof. Here, the photomask 20 and the substrate 10 may be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance (2 mm to 3 mm). At least one substrate suction hole 210 formed in the lower stage 110 can closely fix the substrate 10 to the lower stage 110 due to the suction force generated in the stepwise vacuum 120. [

When the mask holder 130 and the sealing portion 140 come into contact with each other and the exposure operation is ready, a multi-stage vacuum is performed by the stepwise vacuum 120. 6, when the multi-stage vacuum is performed, the solenoid valve 320 is opened and closed for a short time, and the center of the multi-stage vacuum can be vacuum-contacted with the upper end of the substrate 10 corresponding to A, Each time the vacuum is repetitively performed, the area of vacuum adhesion with the substrate 10 in the size of B, C, and D can be enlarged. In this process, the degree of warping of the photomask 20 can be larger.

5, the photomask 20 is subjected to a multi-stage vacuum in at least one of the substrate suction holes 210 and the vacuum holes 220 so as to be convexly bent toward the lower stage 110. The photomask 20 in which the bending is generated is vacuum-adhered from the center of the substrate 10 and may have a low degree of adhesion according to the degree of bending of the photomask 20 toward the edge of the substrate 10. Here, a low degree of adhesion may cause a multiplicity of air layers between the substrate 10 and the photomask 20. At this time, the vacuum hole 220 continuously performs a multi-stage vacuum to remove the air layer, so that the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 can be completely vacuum-bonded as shown in FIG. 6D.

The mask holder 130 may further move toward the substrate 10 in close contact with the photomask 20 as shown in FIG. 5C. In this process, the sealing portion 140 is moved by the mask holder 130, You can.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of removing an air layer formed between the substrate and the photomask in FIG. 5 by performing a multi-stage vacuum.

Referring to FIG. 7A, when the multi-stage vacuum is not applied, the edge of the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 first come into close contact with each other during the process of the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 being in close contact with each other, May be formed. Such an air layer (A) can not be removed even after a long time of stabilizing the vacuum, resulting in poor adhesion, and scattering of light occurs during the exposure operation, resulting in deterioration of the quality of the product. Accordingly, the multi-stage vacuum is performed through the vacuum hole 220 formed at the edge of the lower stage 110 to push out the air layer A from the center of the substrate 10 to the edge B, 10 can be brought into close contact with the photomask 20 completely.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims It can be understood that

10: substrate
20: Photomask
100: contact type exposure apparatus
110: Lower stage
120: Gradual progression study
130: mask holder
140: Sealing part
210: at least one substrate suction hole
220: Vacuum hole
310: Vacuum pump
320: Solenoid valve

Claims (13)

A lower stage including at least one substrate suction hole at a position where a substrate is disposed on an upper surface and abuts on the arranged substrate, and a vacuum hole which is controlled separately from the at least one substrate suction hole and is arranged on an outer surface of the substrate;
A stepping vacuum chamber formed of a vacuum pump and a solenoid valve for performing multi-stage vacuum through opening and closing of the valve during a vacuum process by the vacuum pump, and performing the multi-stage vacuum through the vacuum hole; And
And a mask holder which mounts a photomask and moves to the lower stage according to the multi-stage vacuum to adhere the photomask to the substrate,
The multi-
Wherein the opening and closing of the solenoid valve is started after the gap between the mask holder and the lower stage is separated and the mask holder is moved to the lower stage to control the tight contact interval between the substrate and the photomask.
The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a sealing part formed along an edge of the lower stage and sealing the gap between the mask holder and the lower stage.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the sealing portion
And a sealing tube for inflowing the gas into the inside of the sealing tube according to the multi-stage vacuum to expand the sealing tube.
The vacuum cleaner according to claim 3, wherein the vacuum hole
And the sealing tube is disposed between the outer surface of the substrate and the sealing tube.
delete delete 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one substrate suction hole
Wherein the first and second substrates are spaced from each other along an edge of the substrate when the substrate is disposed.
The vacuum cleaner according to claim 4, wherein the vacuum hole
And the air layer generated between the substrate and the photomask through the multi-stage vacuum is sucked into the substrate to increase the degree of contact.
A lower stage including at least one substrate suction hole at a position where a substrate is disposed on an upper surface and abuts on the arranged substrate, and a vacuum hole which is controlled separately from the at least one substrate suction hole and is arranged on an outer surface of the substrate;
A mask holder mounted with a photomask and moved to the lower stage to closely adhere the photomask to the substrate;
A sealing part formed on a top edge of the lower stage to seal the gap between the mask holder and the lower stage by expanding the sealing tube in the moving process; And
And a stepping vacuum formed by a solenoid valve for performing the multi-stage vacuum through the opening and closing of the valve during the vacuum process by the vacuum pump,
The solenoid valve
Closing time interval between the substrate and the photomask, and the close contact interval between the substrate and the photomask is controlled.

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