JP4640757B2 - Defect correcting apparatus and correcting method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a defect correcting device for a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display device and PDP (Plasma Display Panel) and a method for correcting the same, and more particularly to an apparatus for correcting a defect in a flat panel display generated in a manufacturing process and a method for correcting the same. .

  With the recent increase in the size of flat panel displays such as liquid crystal display devices, in the manufacturing process, repeated processes of a manufacturing process, an inspection process, and a correction process are performed. The reason why the inspection process and the correction process are included in the manufacturing process is to regenerate a substrate having defects that can only be discarded, thereby improving the yield. For example, a conventional TFT array substrate manufacturing process is generally the process shown in FIG. 6, and pattern formation by film formation, resist coating, exposure, development, and etching is repeated for each layer. In some of the repeated processes, inspection and correction are performed after completion of pattern formation by etching, and the TFT array substrate is completed. In general, each manufacturing process, inspection process, and correction process are integrated and managed by CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing), etc. In the correction work, the location of the correction part is specified, and the correction is removed. Is determined by CIM or the like.

  In JP-A-10-177844, there is a manufacturing method for improving the yield of flat panel displays and reducing the cost by managing information on defect inspection and information on defect correction in units of substrates or lots. Proposed.

JP-A-10-177844

  As described above, a system integrated by CIM or the like is generally adopted in the manufacturing process of the TFT array substrate, and a manufacturing method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-177844 has been proposed. However, the production efficiency and the product yield are proposed. Is not enough.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and by further improving the tact time and further improving the quality after the substrate correction work, the production efficiency of the flat panel display and the product yield are improved. It is an object of the present invention to provide a defect correcting apparatus and a correcting method thereof capable of realizing improvement.

A defect correction apparatus according to the first invention of the present application is a defect correction apparatus for correcting defects of a flat panel display generated in a manufacturing process, an input unit for inputting information including board information, panel information and defect information, and a specific panel Among the plurality of defects occurring in the above, a calculation unit that obtains a specific matter including the position and the type, size, or correction method of the defect, and a correction target for the defect to be corrected based on the information. possess an output unit for outputting as data to correct defects of the correction object relative to the machine, the said information, the relative positional relationship, the type of defect of each defect between, the defect size and the panel Correction part characteristics, including information on at least one of the pattern layouts, as well as the device status of the correction machine, and further including the material of the correction part being corrected by the correction machine; Characterized in that it comprises at least one modified during data selected from the material and temperature, as well as the group consisting of defect correction conditions of the plate.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the correction machine corrects the defect by laser irradiation.

The defect correction method according to the second invention of the present application is a defect correction method for correcting a defect of a flat panel display that occurs in a manufacturing process. The defect correction method is performed by inputting information including board information, panel information, and defect information, and occurring in a specific panel. Among the plurality of defects, a specific matter including the position and the type, size or correction method of the defect is obtained based on the information, and the specific matter is corrected with respect to the correction machine. A defect correction method for outputting data for correcting a target defect , wherein the information includes at least one of a relative positional relationship between defects, a defect type, a defect size, and a panel pattern layout. And information on the device status of the correction machine, and further, correction part characteristics including the material of the correction part during defect correction by the correction machine, the material of the substrate, and the temperature And characterized in that it comprises at least one modified during data selected from the group consisting of defect correction conditions.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the correction machine corrects the defect by laser irradiation.

  The inventors of the present application have found that the cause of the problem is that there are many processes that require the operator's judgment in the actual correction work of the defective part using the correction device, and the glass substrate, the correction part, and the laser of the correction machine during the correction work. The present inventors have arrived at the present invention as described above, considering that the strength data is not fed back to the modification work condition change.

  In the defect correcting apparatus and the defect correcting method of the present invention configured as described above, the information including the board information, the panel information, and the defect information obtained from the upper CIM is processed, and the position of the defect to be corrected is determined. The specific matters including the above are output to the corrector as data for correcting the defect to be corrected, and the corrector is operated. Adjustment of the condition of the correction machine, final determination of the correction position, determination of correction conditions of the correction machine, and the like are automatically performed. As a result, the tact time can be further improved and the quality after the substrate correction work can be further improved, so that the production efficiency in the flat panel display manufacturing process and the product yield can be improved.

In addition to the position of the defect, the specific matter includes the type, size, or correction method of the defect, so that the accuracy in specifying the defect to be corrected can be further improved. Further, by including at least one of the relative positional relationship between the defects, the type of defect, the size of the defect, and the panel pattern layout in the information, the accuracy in identifying the defect to be corrected is further improved. be able to. Moreover, the information by including the information about the device state of the corrector, it is possible to implement appropriate corrective action in accordance with the ability that fixes machine Yusuke. Further, inclusion modification unit characteristics including Material modification portion in the defect correction by the correction unit to the information, the material and the temperature of the substrate, and at least one modified during data selected from the group consisting of defect correction conditions Thus, the correction process is automatically optimized, and correction defects can be reduced.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a defect correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, as a first embodiment, a defect correction apparatus that corrects a defect based on CIM information input from a higher-order CIM and correction machine data will be described. In the defect correction apparatus of the present embodiment, CIM information such as lot information, glass information, panel information, and defect information is input from the upper CIM 1 to the input unit (data transfer unit) 2. Further, in addition to information related to the device status of the correction machine, or information related to the device status of the correction machine, for example, information related to correction conditions unique to the correction machine is transferred to the input unit (data transfer unit) 2 from a database other than the upper CIM or CIM. Is entered. The calculation unit (data processing unit) 3 obtains the relative positional relationship and the type of defect between the defects based on the input CIM information and the corrector information, and further, the relative position between the defects. Based on the relationship and the type of defect, specific matters including the position, the type of defect, and the correction method are calculated for the defect to be corrected. The output unit 4 outputs this specific matter to the corrector 5 as data for correcting the defect to be corrected. Correcting machine 5, based on the specific matters input from the output unit 4, to correct defects in lasers C VD like.

  Glass information, panel information, and defect information, which are data input from the host CIM, will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a liquid crystal panel formed on a glass substrate. FIG. 3A is a view showing a part of the liquid crystal in which a defect exists, and FIGS. 3B and 3C are enlarged views of the defective portion. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of liquid crystal panels 22 are formed on a glass substrate 21, and a TFT pattern (not shown), an electrode pad 25, and the like are formed on each of them. Information about the position of the glass substrate 21 is determined based on the glass substrate reference 23, and information about the position of the liquid crystal panel 22 is determined based on the panel reference 24. The formed liquid crystal panel 22 and the corresponding defect inspection result are associated with the glass substrate 21.

Next, the operation of this embodiment when the defect “C” is corrected will be described with reference to FIGS. The calculation unit 3 uses the data received from the upper CIM 1 or the like via the input unit 2 to determine the position of the defect and the type of the defect by specifying a specific panel of the glass substrate to be corrected and specific cell designation or absolute coordinate designation. First recognize. Further, information obtained from the upper CIM 1 and the like regarding the defects “A”, “C”, and “B” in FIG. 3, for example, information that the defect to be corrected is a defect on the source line, and “B” is a defect in the cell. Based on the information indicating that “B” is not necessary, the calculation unit 3 determines that “B” does not require processing. Further, the calculation unit 3 calculates “A” and “C” from the relative relationship between the coordinate point “B” obtained from the coordinate information of each defect based on the reference point and the coordinate points “A” and “C”. Distinguish and identify the defect “C”. In addition to identifying the defect “C” in this way, in addition to information related to the device status of the corrector, or information related to the device status of the corrector, for example, information related to correction conditions unique to the corrector, for example, the corrector In consideration of the coordinate system in the initial setting and the control accuracy of the correction machine, the calculation unit 3 determines the correction condition. The output unit 4 outputs the correction condition to the correction machine 5 as data for correcting the defect to be corrected. Correcting machine 5, based on the modified conditions input from the output unit 4, to correct defects in lasers C VD like.

  In the actual correction, the corrector 5 moves the center of the coordinate system to the coordinate point “C” specified as described above based on the correction condition data input from the output unit 4 to Perform the correction work.

  In the present embodiment, the correction conditions are automatically adjusted according to the data characteristics, so an example of specific contents regarding the adjustment of the correction conditions according to the data characteristics will be described below. First, regarding the glass substrate information and the panel information obtained from the upper CIM 1 and the like, as shown in FIG. 2, a normal point or an alignment mark exists on each of the normal glass substrate and the panel. In the data based on these, errors in the exposure process and the inspection process are accumulated. Therefore, in order to automatically perform the correction work based on the defect position information based on these, the correction condition is such that the circle indicating the error at the point B in FIG. 3 is reduced to an area that does not overlap with other defects. It is necessary to sufficiently increase the coordinate accuracy on the corrector side. In this embodiment, when the correction condition is determined using the glass substrate information and the panel information, the coordinate accuracy on the correction machine side is automatically sufficiently increased. Next, regarding the defect information obtained from the upper CIM 1 etc., the data by the visual inspection machine represents the position information of each defect in a coordinate system based on a certain standard, and the data by the wiring continuity inspection is a defect. The cell in which the symbol exists is specified by the line. In this way, the data has characteristics. Conventionally, the corrector is operated only by discriminating these data types and replacing the coordinate system on the corrector side. However, the information based on the difference in these data is not only in the defect position designation method, but also in the defect detection method and the inspection area. It becomes possible to discriminate the glass substrate, the panel, the defect, and the like, and the accuracy when specifying the defect to be corrected is improved.

  In order to further improve the accuracy in the present embodiment, the information obtained from the upper CIM 1 is processed by automatically performing coordinate function of coordinate data sequentially and appropriately, and the error range circle of the defect coordinate position is equivalent. There is a way to make it smaller. As a result, the coordinate accuracy on the corrector side can be automatically processed with an accuracy equal to or lower than that of the conventional correction method.

  Next, the point that the present embodiment is superior to the conventional method will be described. Even in the conventional method, it is possible to specify the position and type of a defect as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B based on data from a higher-order CIM such as lot information, glass information, panel information, and defect information. It was done.

  However, information from the upper CIM, such as lot information, glass information, panel information, and defect information, was only used by diverting inspection information necessary for the production process side to the correction process, and was obtained for the purpose of correction. Using these pieces of information as they were instead of data was not accurate enough to identify defects. In other words, although it is possible to specify the position and type of the defect with a certain degree of accuracy for each of the defects “A”, “B”, and “C” in FIG. 3B, they are actually received from the upper CIM or the like. In the data, at the stage of actual correction, the position targeted by the correction machine and the position of the defect did not match with sufficient accuracy. For example, with respect to point B, there is an error in the circle shown in FIG. 3C, and “A”, “B”, and “C” cannot be specified with the data received from the upper CIM, etc. Many scenes that require the operator to make a judgment are present in the confirmation by the worker and the alignment of the correction part.

  The same applies to the specification of the C point. Conventionally, using the data received from the upper CIM 1 or the like, the position of the defect and the type of the defect by specifying the specific panel of the glass substrate to be corrected and the specific cell designation or absolute coordinate designation First, the coordinates of the defect were not specified with high accuracy as in the present embodiment. Therefore, even if the coordinate system of the correction machine is moved to the recognized defect position, the dimensional coordinate error of about the circle in FIG. 3 is not avoided, and the defect position is not changed even if the correction system coordinate system is moved to the designated position. "A", "B" or "C" could not be specified. If there is information on the difference in correction form, the difference between the defects “A” and “C” on the line and the defect “B” in the cell can be determined, but the difference between “A” and “C” cannot be determined. In this correction form, the operator's judgment is involved here, and the non-selection confirmation of “B” by the defect type, selection of the defect “C” necessary for the actual correction work, and the correction to the defect “C” to the correction machine The correction condition is designated, and finally, the defect “C” is subjected to a specific correction by a correction machine.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, while the wiring width is set to about 5 to 10 μm in paragraph 0017, the accuracy of detecting the position of a defect necessary for correction is set to about ± 100 μm in paragraph 0022. This is insufficient as position information for defect correction, and finally correction work cannot be realized without the intervention of the operator. In addition, the worker has to work for finding defects, which increases the work load.

  However, as in the present invention, the information obtained from the higher-level CIM or the like is processed in advance, thereby automating the correction process that has been conventionally involved by the worker and greatly reducing the burden on the worker. Can do. As described above, with respect to the defects “A”, “C” and “B” of the defects in the cell on the source line in FIG. Using this result, each defect position can be specified, or each of the defects “A”, “B”, and “C” can be distinguished and discriminated.

  In addition, in the said patent document 1, it is not touched about automating the correction process which the operator intervened.

If the information obtained by the upper CIM or the like is processed in advance as described above, the correction function is selected by the correction machine, the correction condition is switched according to the defect type, the correction condition is switched by the defect position and size, and the correction machine It can be used for correction of correction conditions depending on the apparatus state . As a result, not only can the position to be corrected and the type of correction be specified more accurately, but also the correction conditions can be automatically adjusted according to the conditions of the device. It can be automatically and optimally implemented.

  Therefore, the following processes that the operator always determined at the time of correction work, that is, confirmation of necessity of correction, specification of correction position, and change of correction conditions according to the change of correction mode type and device condition In this case, the operator's judgment is not necessary, everything can be automated, and the effect of improving the tact time and improving the correction quality can be obtained.

  As another method for accurately identifying a defect to be corrected as in the present embodiment, a cell having a defect obtained by pattern recognition by image processing and “A”, “B”, “C” are provided. There is also a method using the position data. In addition, coordinate processing is performed for each correction operation, data errors such as the correction device and CIM are always corrected, the coordinate error is reduced, and the position of the defect to be corrected can be determined without involving the operator. A method is also conceivable.

Further, in the above embodiment, Material modifications portion in defect repair, materials and temperature of the glass substrate, and processing the modified conditions available to adjust the correcting machine modification function, the processed data and By controlling the correction machine based on the adjustment function of the correction condition according to the apparatus state on the correction machine side, it is possible to further reduce defects caused by the correction machine.

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The second embodiment reduces correction unit of the Material in the modification process, the glass substrate material and temperature, as well as by changing the optimum adjustment conditions based on the adjustment conditions failure due to the above-described correcting machine Is.

In the first embodiment described above, the position and type of the defect are specified based on the information obtained from the higher-level CIM 1 and the data about the correction machine, thereby enabling the determination of the correction position and the processing independent of the operator of the correction work. . In addition to this, in the second embodiment, Material modifications portion in defect repair, materials and temperature of the glass substrate, and adjustment conditions also input fed back to the data exchange unit 2. Calculating unit 3, based on this data to determine the adjustment conditions of the corrector. The output unit 4 outputs the correction condition to the correction machine 5 as a change in the correction condition. The corrector 5 corrects the defect based on the changed correction condition input from the output unit 4.

A case where the “A” defect in FIG. 3 is corrected using a laser CVD apparatus as a correction machine will be described. The “A” defect existing in a specific cell in the glass substrate is recognized based on the data such as the upper substrate CIM1 such as the glass substrate information and the defect information given in the first embodiment, and the condition depending on the area of the glass substrate is determined. Selected. That is, it is selected whether the defect is in the region L in FIG. 5, that is, the source line and the gate line, or in the region M in FIG. 5, that is, in the liquid crystal cell region. Furthermore, the “A” defect is specified by the relative positional relationship between the defects “B” and “C”. Next, the condition of the correction part where the defect exists is also selected, and the first correction condition of the correction machine is set first. Based on the correction condition, the correction work is actually performed by the laser CVD apparatus. During rework, the material of the glass substrate during modification process, the temperature, the material of the laser irradiation unit in the modified site, Osamu Masaki laser status, the CVD material state, and the data of the correction position 置等 on a glass substrate The data is fed back to the input unit 2 and input. Based on the data, the calculation unit 3 obtains correction conditions for the correction machine. The output unit 4 outputs this correction condition to the correction machine 5 (laser CVD apparatus) as a change in the correction condition. The corrector 5 (laser CVD apparatus) corrects the defect by changing the laser intensity and the laser irradiation position based on the changed correction condition input from the output unit 4.

Corrections are made by adjusting and changing the correction conditions of the correction machine in real time during the correction process, taking into account the data about the glass substrate, correction part, laser, etc. obtained during the correction process and the device status of the correction machine. It is possible to always process the location under the optimal correction condition, and it is possible to reduce correction defects in the correction process.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the correction machine is controlled without an operator so as to always operate optimally. For this reason, the adjustment of the correction condition based on the information on the material of the correction unit and the information on the wiring material on the board side of the correction unit, and the adjustment of the correction condition due to the apparatus state of the correction machine are sequentially corrected and adjusted during the correction process. Thus, it becomes possible to eliminate correction defects resulting from the correction processing. As a result, it is possible to optimize the adjustment of the correction conditions based on factors such as a difference in the device state of the correction machine, a difference in the board type, and a difference in the wiring type of the correction unit, regardless of the operator during the correction process. Thus, it is possible to eliminate the operator's intervention in the correction process. As a result, optimization in the correction process can be automatically performed, and improvement in correction efficiency and improvement in the quality of the liquid crystal display device can be realized.

  The adjustment of the correction conditions of the correction machine in this embodiment is not performed sequentially during correction, but is performed at regular inspection intervals, or regardless of adjustments at correction points on the actual product board, It may be changed to a method that is performed separately in a form in which calibration data is obtained by providing a specific condition setting position, and the correction method may be changed to a method other than the laser CVD method.

  In addition, there are two methods for judging the quality of the correction state, such as an optical observation method for the correction part and a continuity inspection method for the correction part. In order to correct the defective part appropriately, the correction process and the result of the correction result are good. It is necessary to carry out the determination step together.

  The present invention can be used in a process for correcting defects in a flat panel display generated in the manufacturing process, thereby improving the production efficiency of the flat panel display and improving the product yield.

1 is a block diagram of a defect correction apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram of the liquid crystal panel formed on the glass substrate. (A) is the figure which showed a part of liquid crystal in which a defect exists, (b) and (c) are the enlarged views of a defective part. It is a block diagram of the defect correction apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram for selecting the area | region where a defect exists. It is a figure which shows the general manufacturing process of the conventional TFT array substrate.

Explanation of symbols

21: Glass substrate 22: Liquid crystal panel 23: Glass substrate reference 24: Panel reference 31: Panel electrode 32: Panel pattern wiring 33: Cell with defect 34: Source 35: Gate 36: Error range of defect B

Claims (4)

In a defect correction apparatus for correcting defects in a flat panel display that occurs in the manufacturing process, from an input unit for inputting information including board information, panel information and defect information, and a plurality of defects occurring in a specific panel, About the defect to be corrected, the calculation unit for obtaining the specific matter including the position and the type, size or correction method of the defect based on the information, and correcting the specific defect to the correction machine. an output unit for outputting as data for have a,
The information includes information on at least one of the relative positional relationship between the defects, the type of defect, the size of the defect, and the panel pattern layout, and the apparatus state of the correction machine, and further, by the correction machine A defect correction apparatus comprising at least one data being corrected selected from the group consisting of a correction portion characteristic including a material of a correction portion during defect correction, a substrate material and temperature, and a defect correction condition . The defect correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the correction machine corrects the defect by laser irradiation. In a defect correction method for correcting a defect of a flat panel display generated in a manufacturing process, information including substrate information, panel information and defect information is input, and a correction target is selected from a plurality of defects generated in a specific panel. With respect to the defect, specific items including the position and the type, size, or correction method of the defect are obtained based on the information, and the specific item is output to the correction machine as data for correcting the defect to be corrected. A defect correction method to
The information includes information on at least one of the relative positional relationship between the defects, the type of defect, the size of the defect, and the panel pattern layout, and the apparatus state of the correction machine, and further, by the correction machine A defect correction method comprising: at least one data being corrected selected from the group consisting of a correction portion characteristic including a material of a correction portion being corrected, a substrate material and temperature, and a defect correction condition . The defect correction method according to claim 3 , wherein the correction machine corrects the defect by laser irradiation.

Images