JP6998417B2 - Flexible substrate - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a flexible substrate having flexibility.

In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, there is a step of laminating fine patterns on a wafer substrate, and a technique for aligning the wafer substrate and the fine patterns is required. As the alignment technique, a method of providing alignment marks on each of the wafer substrate and the layer having a fine pattern, measuring the relative positions between the alignment marks, and performing alignment so as to eliminate the alignment error is widely used. Has been done.
When superimposing fine patterns on a wafer substrate in a batch manner with high accuracy, it is possible to superimpose them with high accuracy when a material whose pattern dimensions do not change is used. For example, in a nanoimprint batch-type device that superimposes a fine pattern on a wafer substrate, when high-precision alignment with an overlay accuracy of several tens of nm to several hundreds of nm is required, moire fringes are used instead of the normal alignment mark. There is known a technique for magnifying and measuring a minute alignment error using the above (Patent Document 1).

Further, there is known a roll-to-roll method in which a film wound on a roll is continuously flowed in a connected state and a predetermined process is applied to the film. In a device capable of performing a roll-to-roll method, when a fine pattern is superposed on a moving film, an alignment for measuring an alignment error (misalignment) between the film and the layer having the pattern is performed. Each mark is patterned. The patterned alignment mark is imaged by an image sensor, and the relative position between the alignment marks is measured from the captured image to control the alignment so as to eliminate the alignment error (Patent Document 2).

In this way, when the relative positions between alignment marks are measured by the roll-to-roll method and predetermined patterns are continuously superimposed, the overlay accuracy of the flexible film substrate is higher than that of the wafer substrate. Although it decreases, it is sufficiently practical in a process that allows the overlay accuracy to be ± 10 μm or more.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-267682 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-72037

In recent years, with the miniaturization of patterns formed on a substrate, a method of positioning with an overlay accuracy of 1 μm or less is desired even in a roll-to-roll continuous process. For this purpose, it is necessary to solve the following two problems.
The first problem is that the running of a flexible substrate such as a film reduces the resolution at the time of position measurement. In the roll-to-roll continuous process, the film forming the pattern runs. Therefore, in order to optically measure the alignment error on the traveling substrate, the optical device is required to have a measurement resolution smaller than the dimension of the pattern formed on the stationary substrate. Therefore, even if the highest level optical device currently in practical use is used, the overlay accuracy in the roll-to-roll continuous process is limited to ± 10 μm, which is significantly higher than the overlay accuracy on a stationary substrate. Is inferior to.

The second problem is that when the deviation of the alignment mark is detected, it is not known whether it is the phase shift of the patterning or the change of the pattern size due to the expansion and contraction of the substrate. The alignment error is a value obtained by reading the deviation of the relative positions of the substrate and each layer laminated on the substrate. However, since the substrate has flexibility, dimensional changes due to expansion and contraction of the substrate may occur even after patterning due to fluctuations in tension in a continuous roll-to-roll process. In addition, if heat treatment such as drying is performed after patterning, the dimensions may change significantly even if the tension is the same. Therefore, the alignment mark formed on the substrate may not have the pattern dimension of the design value at the time of photographing. Even if the alignment mark technique using moire fringes, which is useful in the batch-type nanoimprint apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, is used for the alignment mark on the substrate traveling by the roll-to-roll method, the first one is described above. The problem may be solved, but this second problem cannot be solved. That is, when the reference alignment mark is photographed, it is unclear whether the alignment error has a phase shift or whether the pattern size has changed due to the expansion and contraction of the substrate. There is a problem that it cannot be measured.

Therefore, in the roll-to-roll continuous process, there is a problem that even if the techniques disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are used in combination, alignment cannot be performed with an overlay accuracy of 1 μm or less.

An object of the present invention is to provide a flexible substrate capable of forming a fine pattern with high alignment accuracy.

In order to achieve the above object, the flexible substrate according to one aspect of the present invention is provided on a long main surface , and a plurality of linear patterns arranged at a predetermined pitch in the longitudinal direction of the main surface. The long side is the size of the pitch of the interference fringes generated when the first mark having the above mark and the second mark having a plurality of linear patterns having different pitches from the first mark and the first mark are overlapped with each other. It is characterized by having a set rectangular vernier pattern .

According to the present invention, a fine pattern can be formed with high alignment accuracy.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the schematic structure of the expansion / contraction control system 100 of the flexible substrate by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the vicinity of the 1st pattern forming part 22 provided in the expansion / contraction control system 100 of the flexible substrate by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the 1st optical system image pickup apparatus 11 provided in the expansion / contraction control system 100 of the flexible substrate by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the 1st reference plate 7a and the like provided in the expansion / contraction control system 100 of the flexible substrate by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the image processing and the calculation of the correction amount in the expansion / contraction control system 100 of the flexible substrate according to the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the expansion / contraction control processing in the expansion / contraction control method of the flexible substrate by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the schematic structure of the expansion / contraction control system 300 of the flexible substrate by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the vicinity of the 1st pattern forming part 42 provided in the expansion / contraction control system 200 of the flexible substrate by 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the schematic structure of the expansion / contraction control system 500 of the flexible substrate by the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the vicinity of the 2nd pattern forming part 43 provided in the expansion / contraction control system 500 of the flexible substrate by the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which the 1st reference plate 17b provided in the expansion / contraction control system 500 of the flexible substrate by the 3rd Embodiment of this invention is seen from the formation surface side of the reference moire mark MMR1, MMR2. It is a figure explaining the moire mark and the like formed on the film substrate 8 in the expansion and contraction control system 500 of the flexible substrate of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the moire fringe which appears in the expansion and contraction control system 500 of the flexible substrate of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the image processing and the calculation of the correction amount in the expansion / contraction control system 500 of the flexible substrate according to the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

[First Embodiment]
The expansion / contraction control system for flexible substrates, the expansion / contraction control method, the alignment method, and the method for manufacturing an electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. First, the schematic configuration of the expansion / contraction control system for the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an expansion / contraction control system for a flexible substrate according to the present embodiment (hereinafter, the expansion / contraction control system for a flexible substrate may be abbreviated as “expansion / contraction control system”) 100. The flexible substrate expansion / contraction control system 100 includes an electronic device manufacturing apparatus 2 that manufactures electronic devices on the flexible substrate, and a substrate expansion / contraction control device that controls expansion and contraction of the flexible substrate conveyed to the electronic device manufacturing apparatus 2. Has 1 and. The electronic device manufacturing apparatus 2 in the present embodiment is a manufacturing apparatus adopting a roll-to-roll method. Further, the electronic device in the present embodiment is an electronic device formed by laminating a plurality of electrode layers having a predetermined pattern, an insulating layer having a predetermined pattern, a semiconductor layer having a predetermined pattern, and the like. Examples of such an electronic device include a semiconductor device of a logic circuit, a semiconductor device of a sensor circuit, a storage device, a display device, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device manufacturing apparatus 2 in the present embodiment feeds out a flexible substrate (hereinafter, the flexible substrate is referred to as a “film substrate”) 8 having a long shape and flexibility. It has a roll 20 and a take-up roll 21 for winding up the film substrate 8 to be conveyed. The electronic device manufacturing apparatus 2 conveys the film substrate 8 from the feeding roll 20 toward the winding roll 21 by a roll-to-roll method. In the substrate transfer path between the feeding roll 20 and the take-up roll 21, a first pattern forming portion 22 for forming the first pattern of the first layer on the film substrate 8 and a film on which the first pattern is formed are formed. The second pattern forming unit 23 that forms the second pattern of the second layer on the substrate 8, and the third pattern that forms the third pattern of the third layer on the film substrate 8 on which the first and second patterns are formed. A three-pattern forming portion 24 is provided. The first pattern forming portion 22, the second pattern forming portion 23, and the third pattern forming portion 24 are arranged in this order from the feeding roll 20 side. The electronic device manufacturing apparatus 2 in the present embodiment has three pattern forming portions, the first to third pattern forming portions 22, 23, 24, but the number of arrangements of the pattern forming portions is not limited to this. The electronic device manufacturing apparatus 2 can have as many pattern forming portions as the number of layers formed on the film substrate 8.

The first pattern forming unit 22 forms a predetermined pattern on the film substrate 8 by, for example, an imprint method or a direct gravure method. The first pattern forming unit 22 has a pair of drive rolls 22a and drive rolls 22b arranged so as to face each other. The drive roll 22a and the drive roll 22b each have a cylindrical shape. The drive roll 22a and the drive roll 22b each rotate at a predetermined position with the central axis of the cylinder as the axis of rotation. The drive roll 22a and the drive roll 22b rotate in opposite directions. The drive roll 22a and the drive roll 22b are rotated in a direction in which the film substrate 8 is conveyed from the feeding roll 20 side toward the second pattern forming portion 23 side. The film substrate 8 sandwiched between the drive roll 22a and the drive roll 22b is continuously conveyed from the feed roll 20 side toward the take-up roll 21 side. The pattern formed on the drive roll 22a is inverted by passing between the drive roll 22a and the drive roll 22b while the film substrate 8 is in contact with the drive roll 22a, and the pattern formed on the drive roll 22a is inverted as the first pattern on the film substrate 8. Is formed in. Although the details will be described later, when the first pattern is formed on the film substrate 8, the moire mark and the vernier pattern used for controlling the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8 are also formed on the film substrate 8.

The second pattern forming unit 23 forms a predetermined pattern on the film substrate 8 by, for example, an imprint method or a direct gravure method. The second pattern forming unit 23 has a pair of drive rolls 23a and drive rolls 23b arranged so as to face each other. The drive roll 23a and the drive roll 23b each have a cylindrical shape. The drive roll 23a and the drive roll 23b each rotate at a predetermined position with the central axis of the cylinder as the axis of rotation. The drive roll 23a and the drive roll 23b rotate in opposite directions. The drive roll 23a and the drive roll 23b are rotated in a direction of transporting the film substrate 8 from the first pattern forming portion 22 side to the third pattern forming portion 24 side. The film substrate 8 sandwiched between the drive roll 23a and the drive roll 23b is continuously conveyed from the feed roll 20 side toward the take-up roll 21 side. When the film substrate 8 passes between the drive roll 23a and the drive roll 23b while in contact with the drive roll 23a, a pattern formed on the drive roll 23a is inverted as a second pattern on the film substrate 8. Is formed in. Although the details will be described later, when the second pattern is formed on the film substrate 8, the moire mark and the vernier pattern used for controlling the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8 are also formed on the film substrate 8.

The third pattern forming unit 24 forms a predetermined pattern on the film substrate 8 by, for example, an imprint method or a direct gravure method. The third pattern forming unit 24 has a pair of drive rolls 24a and drive rolls 24b arranged so as to face each other. The drive roll 24a and the drive roll 24b each have a cylindrical shape. The drive roll 24a and the drive roll 24b each rotate at a predetermined position with the central axis of the cylinder as the axis of rotation. The drive roll 24a and the drive roll 24b rotate in opposite directions. The drive roll 24a and the drive roll 24b are rotated in a direction in which the film substrate 8 is conveyed from the second pattern forming portion 23 side toward the take-up roll 21 side. The film substrate 8 sandwiched between the drive roll 24a and the drive roll 24b is continuously conveyed from the feed roll 20 side toward the take-up roll 21 side. The film substrate 8 passes between the drive roll 24a and the drive roll 24b while in contact with the drive roll 24a, so that the pattern formed on the drive roll 24a is inverted, and the pattern formed on the drive roll 24a is inverted as the third pattern on the film substrate 8. Is formed in. Although the details will be described later, when the third pattern is formed on the film substrate 8, the moire mark and the vernier pattern used for controlling the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8 are also formed on the film substrate 8.

A first substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 25 for adjusting the expansion / contraction of the film substrate 8 conveyed to the first pattern forming unit 22 is arranged in the substrate transfer path between the feeding roll 20 and the first pattern forming unit 22. There is. In the substrate transfer path between the first pattern forming unit 22 and the second pattern forming unit 23, a second substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 26 for adjusting the expansion / contraction of the film substrate 8 conveyed to the second pattern forming unit 23 is provided. Have been placed. In the substrate transfer path between the second pattern forming unit 23 and the third pattern forming unit 24, a third substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 27 for adjusting the expansion / contraction of the film substrate 8 conveyed to the third pattern forming unit 24 is provided. Have been placed. The electronic device manufacturing apparatus 2 has the same number of substrate expansion / contraction adjusting portions as, for example, a pattern forming portion.

The first substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 25 includes an expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a for adjusting the expansion / contraction of the film substrate 8 and a carry-in side guide roll for guiding the film substrate 8 continuously transmitted from the feeding roll 20 side to the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a. It has a 25b and a carry-out side guide roll 25c that guides the film substrate 8 continuously transmitted from the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a to the first pattern forming unit 22. The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a, the carry-in side guide roll 25b, and the carry-out side guide roll 25c each have a cylindrical shape. The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a, the carry-in side guide roll 25b, and the carry-out side guide roll 25c are each rotated at a predetermined position with the central axis of the cylinder as the rotation axis. The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a, the carry-in side guide roll 25b, and the carry-out side guide roll 25c rotate in opposite directions. The carry-in side guide roll 25b and the carry-out side guide roll 25c rotate in the same direction. The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a, the carry-in side guide roll 25b, and the carry-out side guide roll 25c are each rotated in the direction of transporting the film substrate 8 from the feed-out roll 20 side toward the first pattern forming portion 22 side. The film substrate 8 is continuously conveyed toward the first pattern forming portion 22 while being in close contact with a part of each surface of the carry-in side guide roll 25b, the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a, and the carry-out side guide roll 25c.

The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a is configured to apply a horizontal load in a direction away from the carry-in side guide roll 25b and the carry-out side guide roll 25c so that the film substrate 8 is stretched. The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a increases the tension of the film substrate 8 by half of the increase in the horizontal load by increasing the horizontal load, or increases the tension of the film substrate 8 by the decrease in the horizontal load by decreasing the horizontal load. It is a roll that can be reduced by half. As a result, the first substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 25 carries out the film substrate 8 to the first pattern forming unit 22 in a relatively contracted state when the horizontal load is relatively small. On the other hand, when the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a relatively increases the horizontal load, the tension applied to the film substrate 8 increases. As a result, the first substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 25 carries out the film substrate 8 to the first pattern forming unit 22 in a relatively stretched state. As such an expansion / contraction adjusting roll, for example, an air cylinder type dancer roll can be used. As described above, the first substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 25 is configured to adjust the expansion / contraction of the film substrate 8 by changing the positions of the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a with respect to the carry-in side guide roll 25b and the carry-out side guide roll 25c. .. The first substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 25 is configured to change the position of the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a based on a control signal from the control unit 10 described later.

The second substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 26 guides the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 26a for adjusting the expansion / contraction of the film substrate 8 and the film substrate 8 continuously transmitted from the first pattern forming unit 22 side to the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 26a. It has a side guide roll 26b and a carry-out side guide roll 26c that guides the film substrate 8 continuously transmitted from the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a to the second pattern forming unit 23. The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 26a, the carry-in side guide roll 26b, and the carry-out side guide roll 26c each have a cylindrical shape. The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 26a, the carry-in side guide roll 26b, and the carry-out side guide roll 26c are each rotated at a predetermined position with the central axis of the cylinder as the rotation axis. The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 26a is rotated in the opposite direction to the carry-in side guide roll 26b and the carry-out side guide roll 26c. The carry-in side guide roll 26b and the carry-out side guide roll 26c rotate in the same direction. The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 26a, the carry-in side guide roll 26b, and the carry-out side guide roll 26c are each rotated in the direction of transporting the film substrate 8 from the first pattern forming portion 22 side toward the second pattern forming portion 23 side. The film substrate 8 is continuously conveyed toward the second pattern forming portion 23 while being in close contact with a part of each surface of the carry-in side guide roll 26b, the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 26a, and the carry-out side guide roll 26c.

The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 26a is configured to apply a horizontal load in a direction away from the carry-in side guide roll 26b and the carry-out side guide roll 26c so that the film substrate 8 is stretched. The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 26a increases the tension of the film substrate 8 by half of the increase in the horizontal load by increasing the horizontal load, or decreases the tension of the film substrate 8 by the decrease in the horizontal load by decreasing the horizontal load. It is a roll that can be reduced by half. As a result, the second substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 26 carries out the film substrate 8 to the second pattern forming unit 23 in a relatively contracted state when the horizontal load is relatively small. On the other hand, when the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 26a relatively increases the horizontal load, the tension applied to the film substrate 8 increases. As a result, the second substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 26 carries out the film substrate 8 to the second pattern forming unit 23 in a relatively stretched state. As such an expansion / contraction adjusting roll, for example, an air cylinder type dancer roll can be used. As described above, the second substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 26 is configured to adjust the expansion / contraction of the film substrate 8 by changing the positions of the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 26a with respect to the carry-in side guide roll 26b and the carry-out side guide roll 26c. .. The second substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 26 is configured to change the position of the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 26a based on a control signal from the control unit 10 described later.

The third substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 27 guides the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 27a for adjusting the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8 and the film substrate 8 continuously transmitted from the second pattern forming unit 23 side to the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 27a. It has a side guide roll 27b and a carry-out side guide roll 27c that guides the film substrate 8 continuously sent out from the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 27a to the third pattern forming portion 24. The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 27a, the carry-in side guide roll 27b, and the carry-out side guide roll 27c each have a cylindrical shape. The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 27a, the carry-in side guide roll 27b, and the carry-out side guide roll 27c are each rotated at a predetermined position with the central axis of the cylinder as the rotation axis. The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 27a, the carry-in side guide roll 27b, and the carry-out side guide roll 27c are rotated in opposite directions. The carry-in side guide roll 27b and the carry-out side guide roll 27c rotate in the same direction. The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 27a, the carry-in side guide roll 27b, and the carry-out side guide roll 27c are each rotated in the direction of transporting the film substrate 8 from the second pattern forming portion 23 side toward the third pattern forming portion 24 side. The film substrate 8 is continuously conveyed toward the third pattern forming portion 24 while being in close contact with a part of each surface of the carry-in side guide roll 27b, the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 27a, and the carry-out side guide roll 27c.

The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 27a is configured to apply a horizontal load in a direction away from the carry-in side guide roll 27b and the carry-out side guide roll 27c so that the film substrate 8 is stretched. The expansion / contraction adjusting roll 27a increases the tension of the film substrate 8 by half of the increase in the horizontal load by increasing the horizontal load, or increases the tension of the film substrate 8 by the decrease in the horizontal load by decreasing the horizontal load. It is a roll that can be reduced by half. As a result, the third substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 27 carries out the film substrate 8 to the third pattern forming unit 24 in a relatively contracted state when the horizontal load is relatively small. On the other hand, when the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 27a relatively increases the horizontal load, the tension applied to the film substrate 8 increases. As a result, the third substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 27 carries out the film substrate 8 to the third pattern forming unit 24 in a relatively stretched state. As such an expansion / contraction adjusting roll, for example, an air cylinder type dancer roll can be used. As described above, the expansion / contraction adjusting unit 27 is configured to adjust the expansion / contraction of the film substrate 8 by changing the positions of the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 27a with respect to the carry-in side guide roll 27b and the carry-out side guide roll 27c. The expansion / contraction adjusting unit 27 is configured to change the position of the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 27a based on a control signal from the control unit 10 described later.

In the substrate transfer path between the feeding roll 20 and the first substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 25, the first guide roll 28a that guides the film substrate 8 unwound from the feeding roll 20 to the first substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 25. Is placed. In the substrate transfer path between the first pattern forming unit 22 and the second substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 26, the film substrate 8 carried out from the first pattern forming unit 22 is driven by the second substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 26. The drive roll 28b and the second guide roll 28c that guides the film substrate 8 driven by the drive roll 28b to the second substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 26 are arranged in this order. In the substrate transfer path between the second pattern forming unit 23 and the third substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 27, the film substrate 8 carried out from the second pattern forming unit 23 is driven by the third substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 27. The drive roll 28d and the third guide roll 28e that guides the film substrate 8 driven by the drive roll 28d to the third substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 27 are arranged in this order. The guide rolls are appropriately arranged in the substrate transport path according to the route for transporting the film substrate 8 between the feed roll 20 and the take-up roll 21.

The transport path to which the film substrate 8 is conveyed is divided into six sections by gripping the film substrate 8 by the first drive rolls 22a, 22b, the second drive rolls 23a, 23b, and the third drive rolls 24a, 24b. There is. The electronic device manufacturing apparatus 2 can independently control the elongation of the film substrate 8 for each section. In the section from the feeding roll 20 to the first driving rolls 22a and 22b, the elongation of the film substrate 8 is controlled by the thrust of the first substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 25. In the section from the first drive rolls 22a and 22b to the drive roll 28b, the elongation of the film substrate 8 is controlled by the rotation speed of the drive roll 28b with respect to the first drive rolls 22a and 22b. In the section from the drive roll 28b to the second drive rolls 23a and 23b, the elongation of the film substrate 8 is controlled by the thrust of the second substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 26. In the section from the second drive rolls 23a and 23b to the drive roll 28d, the elongation of the film substrate 8 is controlled by the rotation speed of the drive roll 28d with respect to the second drive rolls 23a and 23b. In the section from the drive roll 28d to the third drive rolls 24a and 24b, the elongation of the film substrate 8 is controlled by the thrust of the third substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 27. In the section from the third drive rolls 24a and 24b to the take-up roll 21, the elongation of the film substrate 8 is controlled by the rotation speed of the take-up roll 21 with respect to the third drive rolls 24a and 24b.

In the electronic device manufacturing apparatus 2, the elongation of the film substrate 8 is individually controlled in each of the above-mentioned sections. When the film substrate 8 flows into the next section with different elongations, the elongations in the next section are averaged and gradually change, resulting in disturbance when adjusting the expansion and contraction. However, in the electronic device manufacturing apparatus 2, the expansion / contraction adjusting rolls 25a, 26a, 27a follow the expansion / contraction adjusting rolls 25a, 26a, 27a sequentially by the amount of change in the elongation of the film substrate 8 in the first to third substrate expansion / contraction adjusting units 25, 26, 27. do. Therefore, the electronic device manufacturing apparatus 2 can suppress the influence of the previous section and adjust the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8 to a predetermined amount even if the elongation of the film substrate 8 is different in each section.

Although not shown, the electronic device manufacturing apparatus 2 dries the cleaning apparatus for cleaning the film substrate 8 and the material constituting the pattern formed on the film substrate 8 after cleaning and after forming the first to third patterns. And / or may have various devices as needed, such as a drying device that solidifies.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate expansion / contraction control device 1 is generated based on the control unit 10 that controls the first to third substrate expansion / contraction adjusting units 25, 26, 27 and the moire mark formed on the film substrate 8. It has a first optical system image pickup device 11, a second optical system image pickup device 12, and a third optical system image pickup device 13 for photographing the moire fringes (an example of the first interference fringes). The expansion / contraction control system 100 of the flexible substrate has three first reference plates 7a on a moire mark (an example of a first mark continuously transmitted in synchronization with the transmission of the film substrate 8) formed on the film substrate 8. , 7b, 7c are superposed with reference moire marks (an example of a second mark having no dimensional change due to delivery of the film substrate 8) to generate moire fringes.

The first optical system image pickup apparatus 11 and the first reference plate 7a are arranged on the transmission side of the first pattern forming unit 22. Although the details will be described later, in the first optical system image pickup apparatus 11, the moire mark (an example of the first mark) formed on the film substrate 8 by the first pattern forming unit 22 together with the first pattern and the first reference plate 7a. The moiré fringes based on the interference with the reference moiré mark (an example of the second mark) formed in the moiré pattern are imaged, and the imaged data obtained by capturing the moiré fringes is output to the control unit 10. The first optical system image pickup apparatus 11 is an image pickup unit that images moire fringes generated by superimposing a light source 11b that irradiates a film substrate 8 and a first reference plate 7a with light and a film substrate 8 and a first reference plate 7a. It has 11a and.

The second optical system image pickup device 12 and the first reference plate 7b are arranged on the transmission side of the second pattern forming unit 23. Although the details will be described later, in the second optical system image pickup apparatus 12, the moire mark (an example of the first mark) formed on the film substrate 8 by the second pattern forming unit 23 together with the second pattern and on the first reference plate 7b. The moire fringes based on the interference with the formed reference moire mark (an example of the second mark) are imaged, and the image pickup data obtained by capturing the moire fringes is output to the control unit 10. The second optical system image pickup apparatus 12 takes an image of moire fringes and the like generated by superimposing the film substrate 8 and the first reference plate 7b on the light source 12b that irradiates the film substrate 8 and the first reference plate 7b with light. It has a portion 12a.

The third optical system image pickup apparatus 13 and the first reference plate 7c are arranged on the transmission side of the third pattern forming unit 24. Although the details will be described later, in the third optical system image pickup apparatus 13, the moire mark (an example of the first mark) formed on the film substrate 8 by the third pattern forming unit 24 together with the third pattern and on the first reference plate 7c. The moire fringes based on the interference with the formed reference moire mark (an example of the second mark) are imaged, and the imaged data obtained by capturing the moire fringes is output to the control unit 10. The third optical system image pickup apparatus 13 takes an image of moire fringes and the like generated by superimposing the film substrate 8 and the first reference plate 7c on the light source 13b that irradiates the film substrate 8 and the first reference plate 7c with light. It has a portion 13a.

The first optical system image pickup device 11, the second optical system image pickup device 12, and the third optical system image pickup device 13 have the same configuration and exhibit the same functions. Further, the first reference plate 7a, the first reference plate 7b, and the first reference plate 7c have the same configuration and exhibit the same function. Therefore, hereinafter, the optical system image pickup device and the first reference plate in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5 by taking the first optical system image pickup device 11 and the first reference plate 7a as an example.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic view showing the vicinity of the first pattern forming unit 22 and the first optical system imaging device 11. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the optical system image pickup apparatus 11. The film substrate 8 and the first reference plate 7a are also shown in FIG. 3 for easy understanding. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the first reference plate 7a and the like. FIG. 4A shows a state in which the first reference plate 7a is viewed from the formation surface side of the reference moire mark MMR. FIG. 4B is a schematic view showing a state in which the first reference plate 7a is superposed on the film substrate 8.

As shown in FIG. 2, a first moire mark (an example of the first mark) MM1 is formed on the film substrate 8 that has passed through the first pattern forming portion 22. The first moire mark MM1 is formed on the element forming surface of the film substrate 8 in contact with the drive roll 22a. Although not shown, the first vernier pattern V1 (see FIG. 4B) and the first pattern (not shown) are also formed on the element forming surface of the film substrate 8 on which the first moire mark MM1 is formed. To. The first pattern, the first vernier pattern, and the first moire mark MM1 are formed on the same surface of the film substrate 8 in the first layer forming step by the first pattern forming unit 22.

The light source 11b provided in the first optical system image pickup apparatus 11 has a light emitting unit 113. The light emitting unit 113 is arranged so as to face the film substrate 8 transmitted from the first pattern forming unit 22. The light source 11b is arranged to face the back surface of the element forming surface of the film substrate 8. Therefore, the light source 11b irradiates light from the back surface side of the film substrate 8 on which the first moire mark MM1 is not formed.

A first reference plate 7a is arranged between the light source 11b and the film substrate 8. The first reference plate 7a is arranged so that the mark forming surface on which the first reference moire mark (an example of the second mark) MMR (details will be described later) is formed faces the back surface of the element forming surface of the film substrate 8. .. The image pickup unit 11a provided in the first optical system image pickup apparatus 11 is arranged to face the light source 11b with the first reference plate 7a and the film substrate 8 interposed therebetween.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image pickup unit 11a captures the image projected by the light source 11b, the mirror 112, the camera 110 that captures the image projected on the mirror 112, and the image projected on the mirror 112 by the camera 110. It has a telecentric lens 111 that forms an image on an element (not shown). The telecentric lens 111 can form an image on the image sensor while maintaining the size of the image regardless of the change in the distance in the optical axis direction. Therefore, the first optical system image pickup apparatus 11 is accurate even if the first moire mark MM1 formed on the traveling film substrate 8 and the reference moire mark MMR formed on the first reference plate 7a are separated from each other. Moire fringes can be imaged by size.

The film substrate 8 is made of a transparent resin (for example, a polyester resin typified by PET or PEN, a PC resin, a PI resin, or a PEEK resin). The thickness of the film substrate 8 is not limited as long as it can be wound onto a roll, but is preferably 1 to 500 μm, for example. Further, the first reference plate 7a is made of, for example, glass.
On the other hand, the first moire mark MM1 formed on the film substrate 8 is made of an ink material (for example, metal ink, pigment ink, paint ink, printing ink) that is difficult to transmit and reflect light. Further, the reference moire mark MMR formed on the first reference plate 7a is made of a metal material (for example, Cr, Ni, Al, Au, Ag, Cu) that is difficult to transmit and reflect light. As described above, the film substrate 8 is formed with the first moire mark MM1 composed of an ink material that is difficult to transmit light and a blank portion that is easily transmitted, and the first reference plate 7a is transmitted with a metal material that is difficult to transmit light. A reference moire mark MMR composed of a blank portion that is easy to easily form is formed. Therefore, although a part of the light from the light source 11b is blocked by the first moire mark MM1 and the reference moire mark MMR, the light source 11b may illuminate the mirror 112 with a sufficient amount of light to make the mirror 112 function as a mirror. can. As a result, the first moire mark MM1, the reference moire mark MMR, the moire fringes described later, and the like are projected on the surface of the mirror 112 directed toward the light source 11b. Since the mirror 112 has a flat plate shape, the first moire mark MM1 and the reference moire mark MMR are projected to the same size as the actual ones.

The first optical system image pickup apparatus 11 has a reference plate adjustment stage 115 arranged between the light source 11b and the mirror 112. The first reference plate 7a is fixedly arranged on the reference plate adjustment stage 115. The reference plate adjusting stage 115 can adjust the relative position between the first moire mark MM1 formed on the film substrate 8 and the reference moire mark MMR formed on the first reference plate 7a. The reference plate adjustment stage 115 is orthogonal to the transport direction of the film substrate 8 (the direction indicated by the thick arrow in FIG. 3) and vice versa, in the plane of the element forming surface of the film substrate 8 in the transport direction of the film substrate 8. The first reference plate 7a can be moved relative to the film substrate 8 in the direction and the rotation direction with the optical axis of the light source 11b as the rotation axis. The reference plate adjustment stage 115 is controlled by the control unit 10 (see FIG. 1).

As shown on the right side in FIGS. 3 and 4A, the first reference plate 7a has a thin rectangular shape. A reference moire mark MMR is formed on the first reference plate 7a. The reference moire mark MMR has a plurality of linear patterns formed side by side substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the first reference plate 7a. The plurality of linear patterns have an elongated rectangular shape extending from a region connecting the midpoints of both ends of the first reference plate 7a toward one long side. As shown on the left side in FIG. 4A, the reference moire mark MMR is formed so that the pitch value of the plurality of linear patterns is “P1”. Hereinafter, "P1" may also be used as a reference code indicating the pitch of a plurality of linear patterns of the reference moire mark MMR.

As shown on the right side in FIG. 4B, the first moire mark MM1 is formed on the film substrate 8 in the first pattern forming portion 22. The first moire mark MM1 has a plurality of linear patterns formed side by side substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the film substrate 8. The first moire mark MM1 is formed between one long side of the film substrate 8 and the device forming region DA in which the electronic device to be manufactured is formed. The plurality of linear patterns constituting the first moire mark MM1 have an elongated rectangular shape extending in a direction orthogonal to one long side of the film substrate 8. As shown on the left side in FIG. 4B, the first moire mark MM1 is designed with the pitch values of the plurality of linear patterns being "P1d + ΔP1d", but is formed on the traveling film substrate 8. The image obtained by capturing the pattern is formed by "P1 + ΔP1" because it includes a pitch error due to expansion and contraction of the substrate. Hereinafter, "P1 + ΔP1" may also be used as a reference code indicating the pitch of a plurality of linear patterns of the first moire mark MM1.

As shown on the right side in FIG. 4B, the first vernier pattern V1 is formed on the film substrate 8 at the same time as the formation of the first moire mark MM1. The first vernier pattern V1 has a plurality of rectangular patterns. The rectangular pattern has a long side along the long side of the film substrate 8. The rectangular pattern constituting the first vernier pattern V1 is designed at the same pitch as the moire when the next layer is aligned. The first vernier pattern V1 is made of the same material as the first moire mark MM1. Therefore, the first vernier pattern V1 is difficult to transmit and reflect light.

The difference between the pitch P1 + ΔP1 of the first moire mark MM1 and the pitch P1 of the reference moire mark MMR is “ΔP1”, which is a small value as compared with “P1”. From the overlapping position where the one linear pattern constituting the first moire mark MM1 and the one linear pattern of the reference moire mark MMR overlap, the more the film substrate 8 travels to the right or left, the more the first moire mark is. The deviation between the linear pattern of the MM1 and the linear pattern of the reference moire mark MMR increases. At a position separated to the right or left by a predetermined distance from the overlapping position, for example, another linear pattern of the reference moirémark MMR is placed at an intermediate position between adjacent linear patterns of the first moirémark MM1. .. Further to the right or left from this intermediate position, the deviation between the linear pattern of the first moire mark MM1 and the linear pattern of the reference moire mark MMR decreases, and yet another linear pattern of the first moire mark MM1. The pattern overlaps with another linear pattern of the reference moiré mark MMR. In the vicinity of the overlapping position where the linear pattern of the first moire mark MM1 and the linear pattern of the reference moire mark MMR overlap, the density of the linear pattern becomes sparse. On the other hand, in the vicinity of the position where the linear pattern of the reference moire mark MMR (or the first moire mark MM1) is arranged between the linear patterns of the first moire mark MM1 (or the reference moire mark MMR), the linear pattern of the linear pattern The density becomes dense. Therefore, as shown on the right side in FIG. 4B, when the linear pattern constituting the first moire mark MM1 and the linear pattern of the reference moire mark MMR are superposed in substantially parallel, the shading is performed at a predetermined cycle. Moire fringe MF is generated repeatedly (see FIG. 5A). Since the first reference plate 7a is fixed to the reference plate adjustment stage 115, for example, when the film substrate 8 is continuously conveyed in the direction of the thick arrow shown on the right side in FIG. 4B, the moire fringe MF Seems to be moving in the direction of the thick arrow.

Although the details will be described later, in the expansion / contraction control system 100 of the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4B, the moire fringe MF is densely packed in the image pickup region α by the first optical system image pickup device 11. Take an image in a field where two or more parts are included. The expansion / contraction control system 100 calculates the luminance distribution of the moiré fringe MF based on the imaged moiré fringe MF, and calculates the moiré fringe pitch Pm from the luminance distribution of the moiré fringe MF. The expansion / contraction control system 100 obtains the first pattern strain ε relative to the first reference plate 7a from the calculated moire fringe pitch Pm and the moire fringe design pitch Pmd. For this reason, the image is taken in a field of view in which two or more dense portions of the moire fringe MF are included.

Returning to FIG. 3, the telecentric lens 111 can image the first moire mark MM1 and the reference moire mark MMR projected on the mirror 112 on the image sensor of the camera 110 without changing their sizes. Therefore, the camera 110 can take an image of the first moire mark MM1, the reference moire mark MMR, the moire fringe MF, etc., which are contained in the image pickup region α shown in FIG. 4 (b), in their sizes. The camera 110 outputs the captured image data to the control unit 10.

Returning to FIG. 1, the control unit 10 is provided in, for example, a personal computer. The control unit 10 has an image processing unit 10a for image processing the image pickup data transmitted from the first to third optical system image pickup devices 11, 12, and 13, respectively. Further, the control unit 10 has a correction amount calculation unit 10b for calculating a correction amount for correcting the tension applied to the film substrate 8 based on the image of each moire fringe generated by the image processing unit 10a. is doing.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating image processing and calculation of a correction amount in the control unit 10. FIG. 5A shows an example of an image generated by the image processing unit 10a based on the image pickup data received from the first optical system image pickup apparatus 11. FIG. 5B shows a moire fringe luminance distribution based on the image shown in FIG. 5A.
In FIG. 5 (b), the vertical axis indicates the height of the brightness of the moire fringes, and the horizontal axis indicates the position on the straight line L2 shown in FIG. 5 (b).

The image processing unit 10a processes the image pickup data transmitted from the camera 110 (see FIG. 3) of the first optical system image pickup device 11. As shown in FIG. 5A, the image processing unit 10a is generated by superimposing the reference moire mark MMR and the first moire mark MM1 superposed on each other and both mark MMRs and MM1s as a result of image processing. Generates an image in which the moire fringe MF is displayed. Since the linear pattern of the reference moire mark MMR and the first moire mark MM1 hardly transmits the light emitted by the light source 11b (see FIG. 2), the image generated by the image processing unit 10a has a relatively dark color (for example, black). ). Further, in the vicinity of the overlapping position where the linear pattern of the first moire mark MM1 and the linear pattern of the reference moire mark MMR overlap, the density of the linear pattern becomes sparse, so that the image is relative to the image generated by the image processing unit 10a. It is represented by a bright color. On the other hand, in the vicinity of the position where one linear pattern of the reference moire mark MMR and the first moire mark MM1 is arranged between the other linear patterns, the density of the linear patterns becomes dense, so that the image processing unit 10a is used. It is represented by a relatively dark color in the generated image.

The correction amount calculation unit 10b, which has received the image shown in FIG. 5A from the image processing unit 10a, calculates the pattern strain ε of the first moire mark MM1. The correction amount calculation unit 10b first generates the moire fringe luminance distribution shown in FIG. 5B in order to calculate the pattern strain ε. The correction amount calculation unit 10b generates a moire fringe luminance distribution based on the brightness on the straight line L2 that is substantially parallel to the straight line L1 and crosses the center of the image of the moire fringe MF. The density of the linear pattern formed by the linear pattern of the first moire mark MM1 and the linear pattern of the reference moire mark MMR gradually changes from a sparse state to a dense state and from a dense state to that state. .. Therefore, the moire luminance distribution has a wavy shape like a sine wave as shown in the lower part of FIG. 5B.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the correction amount calculation unit 10b calculates the moire fringe pitch Pm. The correction amount calculation unit 10b calculates the pattern strain ε from the pitch P1 of the reference moire mark MMR, the moire fringe design pitch Pmd, and the moire fringe pitch Pm using the following equation (1).
ε = (P1 / Pmd) × (Pmd-Pm) / (Pmd-P1) ... (1)

The correction amount calculation unit 10b calculates a correction amount for controlling the tension applied to the film substrate 8 so that the calculated pattern strain ε becomes zero. The correction amount is, for example, the amount of movement of the arrangement position of the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a. The control unit 10 transmits a control signal based on the correction amount calculated by the correction amount calculation unit 10b to the expansion / contraction adjusting rolls 25a, 26a, 27a, and controls the expansion / contraction of the film substrate 8 continuously transmitted.

As described above, in the correction amount calculation unit 10b, the first mark (for example, the first moire mark MM1) continuously transmitted in synchronization with the transmission of the flexible substrate has a dimensional change due to the transmission of the flexible substrate. It corresponds to a strain acquisition unit that acquires the strain (for example, pattern strain ε) of the first mark based on the interference fringes (for example, moire fringe MF) generated by superimposing the non-second mark (for example, the reference moire mark MMR). Further, the control unit 10 corresponds to a substrate expansion / contraction control unit that is continuously sent out based on the acquired strain and controls expansion / contraction of a flexible substrate (for example, a film substrate 8) having a long shape and flexibility. do.

For example, when the pattern strain ε becomes the minimum value (zero), the difference between the moire fringe pitch Pm captured during traveling and the moire fringe design pitch Pmd becomes the minimum (zero). In this case, it means that the moire fringe MF based on the actually formed first moire mark MM1 is an ideal moire fringe. Since the pitch P1 of the reference moire mark MMR is formed according to the design value, when the pattern strain ε becomes the minimum value (zero), the first moire mark MM1 is also formed according to the design value. Therefore, when the tension applied to the film substrate 8 is controlled so that the pattern strain ε becomes the minimum value (zero), the film substrate 8 is expanded and contracted to a predetermined state, and then the first pattern is formed on the film substrate 8, it is formed. The created first pattern is the pattern according to the design value.

The first to third optical system image pickup devices 11, 12, and 13 have a reference plate adjustment stage. Therefore, even if the moire marks formed on the film substrate 8 by the first to third pattern forming portions 22, 23, and 24 are different from each other, the substrate expansion / contraction control device 1 can still use the first reference plate 7a. The reference moire mark can be superimposed on the moire mark formed by each of the first to third pattern forming portions 22, 23, 24 on the 7b and 7c. Therefore, the substrate expansion / contraction control device 1 can calculate the pattern strain for each moire mark formed by the first to third pattern forming portions 22, 23, 24. Therefore, the substrate expansion / contraction control device 1 can individually control the first to third substrate expansion / contraction adjusting units 25, 26, 27.

A method for controlling expansion and contraction of a flexible substrate, a method for aligning, and a method for manufacturing an electronic device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the expansion / contraction control process in the expansion / contraction control method of the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment. Each process included in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is executed by the control unit 10. Hereinafter, the expansion / contraction control process based on the image pickup data acquired by the first optical system image pickup device 11 will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the expansion / contraction control process, first, in step S1, a moire image is acquired, and the process proceeds to step S3. In step S1, the first optical system image pickup apparatus 11 connects the first moire mark MM1 formed on the film substrate 8 and the reference moire mark MMR formed on the first reference plate 7a based on the command of the control unit 10. The moire fringes and their surroundings that appear by superimposing are imaged. The first optical system image pickup apparatus 11 transmits the image pickup data of the imaged moire fringes and their surroundings to the image processing unit 10a of the control unit 10. As a result, the control unit 10 acquires the moire fringes as imaging data.

In step S3, the acquired moire fringes are image-processed, and the process proceeds to step S5. In step S3, the image processing unit 10a performs image processing on the acquired image pickup data to generate an image (see FIG. 5A) in which at least the moire fringe MF is displayed. The image processing unit 10a transmits the generated image to the correction amount calculation unit 10b.

In step S5, a moire fringe luminance distribution is generated, and the process proceeds to step S7. In step S5, the correction amount calculation unit 10b generates a moire fringe luminance distribution (see the lower row in FIG. 5B) based on the received image.

In step S7, the moire fringe pitch Pm is calculated, and the process proceeds to step S9. In step S7, the correction amount calculation unit 10b calculates the moire fringe pitch Pm based on the generated moire fringe brightness distribution.

In step S9, the pattern strain is acquired and the process proceeds to step S11. In step S9, the correction amount calculation unit 10b calculates the pattern strain ε using the calculated moire pitch Pm, the design moire pitch Pmd, the pitch P1 of the reference moire mark MMR, and the equation (1).

In step S11, the correction value of the tension applied to the flexible substrate is calculated, and the expansion / contraction control process of the flexible substrate is completed. In step S11, the correction amount calculation unit 10b calculates the correction amount for controlling the tension applied to the film substrate 8 so that the calculated first pattern strain ε becomes zero. The tension correction value ΔT can be expressed by the following equation (2).
ΔT = ε × E × A ・ ・ ・ (2)
Here, "ε" represents the pattern strain calculated using the equation (1), "E" represents the Young's modulus of the flexible substrate (film substrate 8 in this example), and "A" represents the Young's modulus. It represents the cross-sectional area of the flexible substrate.

The correction amount calculation unit 10b calculates, for example, the movement amount of the arrangement position of the expansion / contraction adjustment roll 25a as the correction amount. When the value of the pattern strain ε is positive, the value of the moire pitch Pm is larger than the value of the design moire pitch Pmd. In this case, the value of the pitch P1 + ΔP1 of the first moire mark MM1 is closer to the value of the pitch P1 of the reference moire mark MMR than the design value. In the present embodiment, since the rotation speed of each roll such as the drive roll 22a is not changed, it is necessary to extend the film substrate 8 in order to increase the pitch P1 + ΔP1 of the first moire mark MM1. Therefore, in order to increase the tension applied to the film substrate 8, the control unit 10 increases the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a so that the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a approaches the guide rolls 25b and 25c by the amount of movement calculated by the correction amount calculation unit 10b. To control.

On the other hand, when the value of the pattern strain ε is negative, the value of the moire pitch Pm is smaller than the value of the design moire pitch Pmd. In this case, the value of the pitch P1 + ΔP1 of the first moire mark MM1 is farther from the value of the pitch P1 of the reference moire mark MMR than the design value. In the present embodiment, since the rotation speed of each roll such as the drive roll 22a is not changed, it is necessary to shrink the film substrate 8 in order to reduce the pitch P1 + ΔP1 of the first moire mark MM1. Therefore, in order to reduce the tension applied to the film substrate 8, the control unit 10 moves the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a away from the guide rolls 25b and 25c by the amount of movement calculated by the correction amount calculation unit 10b. To control.

In the present embodiment, the film substrate 8 is preferably conveyed at a speed of 0.1 m to 10 m / min. On the other hand, the moire fringes are imaged every 100 ms, for example, and the pattern strain is calculated. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8 is controlled every time the film substrate 8 is conveyed by about 0.2 mm to 20 mm.

In the electronic device manufacturing apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, the first moire mark MM1 is formed on the film substrate 8 when the first pattern of the first layer is formed, and the second moire mark is formed when the second pattern of the second layer is formed. It is formed on the film substrate 8 to form a third moire mark when the third pattern of the third layer is formed. Therefore, by forming the pitch of the linear pattern of the first moire mark MM1 on the flexible substrate according to the design value by the expansion / contraction control method described above, the wiring pitch and the wiring width in the first pattern are also as designed. Is formed in. Similarly, by forming the pitch of the linear pattern of the second moire mark according to the design value, the wiring pitch, the wiring width, and the like in the second pattern are also formed according to the design value. Similarly, by forming the pitch of the linear pattern of the third moire mark according to the design value, the wiring pitch, the wiring width, and the like in the third pattern are also formed according to the design value. Therefore, by controlling the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8 based on the first to third moire marks, the first to third patterns are formed according to the design values.

After the first to third patterns are formed as designed by using the expansion and contraction control of the plastic substrate, if there is an alignment error of each pattern, the phase of the first to third patterns is controlled and the alignment is performed. Will be. For the phase control, a known compen method or compenless method can be used.
The compen method is a method in which the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a is moved horizontally to change the path length of the plastic substrate to control the phase. For example, when the alignment error of the second mark with respect to the first mark is +10 μm in the direction in which the substrate flows, the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a is changed by 5 μm so that the path length is shortened by 10 μm. The compensating method (plate cylinder phase correction method) is a method of controlling the phase by momentarily changing the rotation speed of the plate cylinder. For example, if the alignment error of the second mark with respect to the first mark is +10 μm in the direction in which the substrate flows, the rotation speed is momentarily slowed by the amount corresponding to -10 μm in the peripheral length of the plate of the second pattern. To match the phase.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the first to third patterns are formed as designed by controlling the expansion and contraction of the plastic substrate, the error of the first to third patterns is reduced, and thus it is known. Even if phase control is used, the alignment accuracy is improved and a desired laminated pattern can be formed.

As described above, the alignment method according to the present embodiment is adapted to align the laminated patterns laminated on the film substrate 8 by using the expansion / contraction control method for the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment. Further, in the alignment method according to the present embodiment, the first to third moire marks and the reference moire marks are used as the alignment marks.
Further, by using the alignment method according to the present embodiment, a desired laminated pattern can be formed. Therefore, in the method for manufacturing an electronic device according to the present embodiment, a desired laminated pattern can be formed by using the alignment method according to the present embodiment, and an electronic device composed of the laminated pattern can be manufactured.

As described above, according to the expansion / contraction control system, the expansion / contraction control method, the alignment method, and the manufacturing method of the electronic device of the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment, the moire fringes are used to make a minute alignment error of pixel order or less. Can be magnified and measured. Therefore, in a continuous process using a roll-to-roll system device, the minute relative strain of the pattern formed on the flexible substrate is measured using moire fringes, and the relative strain is known for imaging. It is possible to measure a minute alignment error smaller than the pixel size of the device without being affected by the change in the pattern. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to realize highly accurate superposition of fine patterns on a flexible substrate that is flexible and is sent out. As a result, since a complicated circuit element can be formed on the flexible substrate, electronic devices such as a semiconductor device of a logic circuit, a semiconductor device of a sensor circuit, a storage device, and a display device can be formed on the flexible substrate.
Further, according to the present embodiment, even in the case of single-layer patterning, by using a reference plate having a moiré mark as a reference, the relative strain of the single-layer pattern with respect to the reference plate can be measured, whereby the single-layer patterning can be performed. It is also possible to improve the accuracy and contribute to the improvement of the overlay accuracy.

[Second Embodiment]
A stretch control system for a flexible substrate, a stretch control method, an alignment method, and a method for manufacturing an electronic device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. In the expansion / contraction control system, expansion / contraction control method, alignment method, and electronic device manufacturing method of the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment, a pattern to be formed on the flexible substrate is once blanketed in an offset printing method, a reverse printing method, or the like. It is characterized in that the moire mark is also transferred when it is transferred onto the blanket, and the moire fringes are developed based on the moire mark transferred on the blanket. In the expansion / contraction control system, expansion / contraction control method, alignment method, and electronic device manufacturing method of the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment, the expansion / contraction control system, expansion / contraction control method, and alignment of the flexible substrate according to the first embodiment. Components having the same functions and functions as the method and the method for manufacturing an electronic device are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing an expansion / contraction control system 300 for a flexible substrate according to the present embodiment. The expansion / contraction control system 300 for a flexible substrate includes an electronic device manufacturing device 4 for manufacturing an electronic device on the flexible substrate, and a substrate expansion / contraction control device 3 for controlling the expansion / contraction of the flexible substrate. The electronic device manufacturing apparatus 4 in the present embodiment is a manufacturing apparatus adopting a roll-to-roll method. Further, the target electronic device in the present embodiment is the same as the target electronic device in the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7, the electronic device manufacturing apparatus 4 conveys the film substrate 8 from the feeding roll 20 toward the winding roll 21 by a roll-to-roll method. In the substrate transfer path between the feeding roll 20 and the take-up roll 21, a first pattern forming portion 42 for forming the first pattern of the first layer on the film substrate 8 and a film on which the first pattern is formed are formed. The second pattern forming portion 43 that forms the second pattern of the second layer on the substrate 8, and the third pattern that forms the third pattern of the third layer on the film substrate 8 on which the first and second patterns are formed. A three-pattern forming portion 44 is provided. The first pattern forming portion 42, the second pattern forming portion 43, and the third pattern forming portion 44 are arranged in this order from the feeding roll 20 side. The electronic device manufacturing apparatus 4 in the present embodiment has three pattern forming portions of the first to third pattern forming portions 42, 43, 44, but the number of arrangements of the pattern forming portions is not limited to this. The electronic device manufacturing apparatus 4 can have as many pattern forming portions as the number of layers formed on the film substrate 8. Further, the electronic device manufacturing apparatus 4 dries and / or solidifies the cleaning device for cleaning the film substrate 8 and the material constituting the pattern formed on the film substrate 8 after cleaning and after forming the first to third patterns. You may have various devices as needed, such as a drying device for cleaning.

The first pattern forming unit 42 forms a predetermined pattern on the film substrate 8 by, for example, an offset printing method or a reverse printing method. The first pattern forming portion 42 has a drive roll 42a, a blanket roll 42c arranged in contact with the drive roll 42a, and a drive roll 42b arranged to face the blanket roll 42c. The drive roll 42a, the drive roll 42b, and the blanket roll 42c each have a cylindrical shape. The drive roll 42a, the drive roll 42b, and the blanket roll 42c each rotate at a predetermined position with the central axis of the cylinder as the axis of rotation. The drive roll 42a and the drive roll 42b and the blanket roll 42c rotate in opposite directions. The blanket roll 42c and the drive roll 42b rotate from the feeding roll 20 side toward the second pattern forming portion 43 side. The film substrate 8 sandwiched between the blanket roll 42c and the drive roll 42b is continuously conveyed from the feeding roll 20 side to the winding roll 21 side.

By rotating the blanket roll 42c while in contact with the drive roll 42a, the inverted pattern of the pattern formed on the drive roll 42a is transferred onto the blanket roll 42c. By passing between the blanket roll 42c and the drive roll 42b while the film substrate 8 is in contact with the blanket roll 42c, the pattern transferred onto the blanket roll 42c is inverted, and the pattern transferred onto the blanket roll 42c is inverted as the first pattern on the film substrate 8. Is re-transferred to and formed. Therefore, the same pattern as the pattern formed on the drive roll 42a is formed on the film substrate 8 as the first pattern. Although the details will be described later, when the pattern of the drive roll 42a is transferred onto the blanket roll 42c, the moire mark used for controlling the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8 and the mark or pattern obtained by inverting the vernier pattern are also transferred to the blanket roll 42c. .. Further, when the first pattern is re-transferred onto the film substrate 8, the moire mark and the vernier pattern used for controlling the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8 are also re-transferred onto the film substrate 8.

The second pattern forming unit 43 forms a predetermined pattern on the film substrate 8 by, for example, an offset printing method or a reverse printing method. The second pattern forming portion 43 has a drive roll 43a, a blanket roll 43c arranged in contact with the drive roll 43a, and a drive roll 43b arranged to face the blanket roll 43c. The drive roll 43a, the drive roll 43b, and the blanket roll 43c each have a cylindrical shape. The drive roll 43a, the drive roll 43b, and the blanket roll 43c each rotate at a predetermined position with the central axis of the cylinder as the axis of rotation. The drive roll 43a, the drive roll 43b, and the blanket roll 43c rotate in opposite directions. The blanket roll 43c and the drive roll 43b rotate from the first pattern forming portion 42 side toward the third pattern forming portion 44 side. The film substrate 8 sandwiched between the blanket roll 43c and the drive roll 43b is continuously conveyed from the feeding roll 20 side to the winding roll 21 side.

By rotating the blanket roll 43c while in contact with the drive roll 43a, the inverted pattern of the pattern formed on the drive roll 43a is transferred onto the blanket roll 43c. By passing between the blanket roll 43c and the drive roll 43b while the film substrate 8 is in contact with the blanket roll 43c, a pattern in which the pattern transferred onto the blanket roll 43c is inverted is a second pattern on the film substrate 8. It is re-transferred to and formed. Therefore, the same pattern as the pattern formed on the drive roll 43a is formed on the film substrate 8 as the second pattern. Although the details will be described later, when the pattern of the drive roll 43a is transferred onto the blanket roll 43c, the moire mark used for controlling the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8 and the mark or pattern obtained by inverting the vernier pattern are also transferred to the blanket roll 43c. .. Further, when the second pattern is re-transferred onto the film substrate 8, the moire mark and the vernier pattern used for controlling the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8 are also re-transferred onto the film substrate 8.

The third pattern forming unit 44 is adapted to form a predetermined pattern on the film substrate 8 by, for example, an offset printing method or a reverse printing method. The third pattern forming portion 44 has a drive roll 44a, a blanket roll 44c arranged in contact with the drive roll 44a, and a drive roll 44b arranged to face the blanket roll 44c. The drive roll 44a, the drive roll 44b, and the blanket roll 44c each have a cylindrical shape. The drive roll 44a, the drive roll 44b, and the blanket roll 44c are each rotated at a predetermined position with the central axis of the cylinder as the axis of rotation. The drive roll 44a and the drive roll 44b and the blanket roll 44c rotate in opposite directions. The blanket roll 44c and the drive roll 44b rotate from the second pattern forming portion 43 side toward the take-up roll 21 side. The film substrate 8 sandwiched between the blanket roll 44c and the drive roll 44b is continuously conveyed from the feeding roll 20 side to the winding roll 21 side.

By rotating the blanket roll 44c while in contact with the drive roll 44a, the inverted pattern of the pattern formed on the drive roll 44a is transferred onto the blanket roll 44c. By passing between the blanket roll 44c and the drive roll 44b while the film substrate 8 is in contact with the blanket roll 44c, the pattern transferred onto the blanket roll 44c is inverted, and the pattern transferred onto the blanket roll 44c is inverted as the third pattern on the film substrate 8. Is re-transferred to and formed. Therefore, the same pattern as the pattern formed on the drive roll 44a is formed on the film substrate 8 as the third pattern. Although the details will be described later, when the pattern of the drive roll 44a is transferred onto the blanket roll 44c, the moire mark used for controlling the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8 and the mark or pattern obtained by inverting the vernier pattern are also transferred to the blanket roll 44c. .. Further, when the third pattern is re-transferred onto the film substrate 8, the moire mark and the vernier pattern used for controlling the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8 are also re-transferred onto the film substrate 8.

As shown in FIG. 7, the substrate expansion / contraction control device 3 is generated based on the control unit 30 that controls the first to third substrate expansion / contraction adjusting units 25, 26, 27 and the moire marks formed on the film substrate 8. First optical system image pickup device 11, second optical system image pickup device 12, third optical system image pickup device 13, fourth optical system image pickup device 31, fifth optical system to image moire fringes (an example of the first interference fringe). It has a system image pickup device 32 and a sixth optical system image pickup device 33. The expansion / contraction control system 300 for the flexible substrate individually superimposes three first reference plates 7a, 7b, 7c on the moire mark formed on the film substrate 8 to generate moire fringes. Further, the expansion / contraction control system 300 of the flexible substrate superimposes the second reference plate 9a on the moire mark formed on the blanket roll 42c to generate moire fringes, and the moire mark formed on the blanket roll 43c is second. The reference plate 9b is overlapped to generate moiré fringes, and the second reference plate 9c is overlapped with the moiré mark formed on the blanket roll 44c to generate moiré fringes.

The fourth optical system image pickup device 31, the fifth optical system image pickup device 32, and the sixth optical system image pickup device 33 have the same configuration and exhibit the same functions. Further, the second reference plate 9a, the second reference plate 9b, and the second reference plate 9c have the same configuration and exhibit the same function. Therefore, hereinafter, the optical system image pickup device and the second reference plate in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7 by taking the fourth optical system image pickup device 31 and the second reference plate 9a as an example. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an enlarged vicinity of the first pattern forming unit 42, the first optical system image pickup device 11, and the fourth optical system image pickup device 31.

As shown in FIG. 8, a first moire mark (an example of the first mark) MM1 is formed on the film substrate 8 that has passed through the first pattern forming portion 42. The first moire mark MM1 is formed on the element forming surface which is the surface of the film substrate 8 in contact with the blanket roll 42c. Although not shown, a first vernier pattern and a first pattern are also formed on the element forming surface of the film substrate 8 on which the first moire mark MM1 is formed. The first pattern, the first vernier pattern, and the first moire mark MM1 are formed on the same surface of the film substrate 8 in the first layer forming step by the first pattern forming unit 22. The vernier pattern in the present embodiment has the same shape as the vernier pattern V1 in the first embodiment.

The fourth optical system image pickup apparatus 31 takes an image of moire fringes generated by superimposing the first light source 31b and the second light source 31c that irradiate the blanket roll 42c with light, and the blanket roll 42c and the second reference plate 9a. It has a portion 31a. Since the image pickup unit 31a has the same configuration as the image pickup unit 11a provided in the first optical system image pickup apparatus 11 in the first embodiment and exhibits the same function, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The first light source 31b and the second light source 31c are arranged at intervals substantially the same as the width of the image pickup unit 31a. The first light source 31b has a first light emitting unit 315b. The second light source 31c has a second light emitting unit 315c. The first light source 31b and the second light source 31c are arranged so that the optical axes of the first light emitting unit 315b and the second light emitting unit 315c face the surface of the blanket roll 42c where the optical axes of the imaging unit 31a intersect. The first light source 31b and the second light source 31c irradiate the surface of the blanket roll 43c with light from an oblique direction.

The image pickup unit 31a is arranged so that the optical axis is orthogonal to the central axis of the blanket roll 42c. The image pickup unit 31a is arranged farther from the blanket roll 42c than the first and second light sources 31b and 31c. A second reference plate 9a is arranged between the image pickup unit 31a and the blanket roll 42c. The second reference plate 9a is arranged between the first light source 31b and the second light source 31c. The second reference plate 9a is arranged so that the mark forming surface on which the reference moire mark MMR (details will be described later) is formed faces the pattern transfer surface of the blanket roll 42c. The first pattern, moire mark, vernier pattern, etc. are transferred from the drive roll 42a to the pattern transfer surface of the blanket roll 42c.

The fourth optical system image pickup apparatus 31 and the second reference plate 9a are arranged between the contact portion of the drive roll 42a and the blanket roll 42c and the contact portion of the blanket roll 42c and the film substrate 8. Therefore, the reference moire mark MMR and the transfer moire mark MT1 formed on the second reference plate 9a before the transfer moire mark MT1 transferred to the pattern transfer surface of the blanket roll 42c is re-transferred onto the film substrate 8. Is superimposed on. The transfer moire mark MT1 is a portion that becomes a mold for forming a first mark (for example, the first moire mark MM1) on a roll (for example, a blanket roll 42c) that forms a predetermined pattern on a flexible substrate (for example, a film substrate 8). Corresponds to. The transfer moire mark MT1 has the same configuration as the first moire mark MM1 in the first embodiment. That is, the transfer moire mark MT1 is composed of a plurality of linear patterns having a minute pitch difference (for example, ΔP1d) with respect to the pitch of the plurality of linear patterns constituting the reference moire mark MMR. Therefore, when the reference moire mark MMR and the transfer moire mark MT1 are superimposed, moire fringes appear. Therefore, the fourth optical system image pickup apparatus 31 can image the moire fringes expressed by superimposing the reference moire mark MMR and the transfer moire mark MT1.

The image processing unit 30a provided in the control unit 30 performs image processing on the image pickup data transmitted from the fourth optical system image pickup apparatus 31. As a result of image processing, the image processing unit 30a displays the reference moire mark MMR and the transfer moire mark MT1 superposed on each other, the moire fringes generated by superimposing both mark MMRs and MT1, and the vernier pattern. Generate an image.

The correction amount calculation unit 30b calculates the moire fringe pitch based on the vernier pattern and the moire fringes displayed on the image transmitted from the image processing unit 30a by the same method as the correction amount calculation unit 10b according to the first embodiment. Then, the pattern strain is calculated using the above equation (1). The pattern strain calculated by the correction amount calculation unit 30b is the strain of the transfer moire mark MT1 transferred onto the blanket roll 43c.

The correction amount calculation unit 30b calculates a correction amount for controlling the tension applied to the film substrate 8 so that the calculated pattern strain is minimized. The correction amount is, for example, the thrust of the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a. The control unit 30 transmits a control signal based on the correction amount calculated by the correction amount calculation unit 30b to the expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25a, and controls the expansion / contraction of the film substrate 8 continuously transmitted.

As described above, the expansion / contraction control system 300 according to the present embodiment utilizes the transfer moire mark MT1 transferred to the blanket rolls 42c, 43c, 44c in the previous stage of forming the moire mark MMR on the film substrate 8 of the film substrate 8. Expansion and contraction can be controlled. The blanket rolls 42c, 43c, 44c are easily deformed because they have the surface of a soft resin layer of, for example, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). In the expansion / contraction control system 300 according to the present embodiment, the strain possessed by the pattern roll in manufacturing, that is, the strain generated when the ink is transferred from the drive rolls 42a, 43a, 44a to the blanket rolls 42c, 43c, 44c, is generated by the film substrate 8. It can be known before the pattern is formed. As a result, the expansion / contraction control system 300 further improves the controllability of the positioning accuracy of pattern formation on the film substrate 8. By knowing the "strain" that the pattern roll has in the production in advance of forming the pattern on the film substrate 8, the expansion / contraction control accuracy is improved. The expansion / contraction control system 300 operates so that the strain on the film substrate 8 becomes zero, but the operation amount of expansion / contraction of the film substrate 8 is corrected based on the strain of the blanket rolls 42c, 43c, 44c.

As described above, the expansion / contraction control system 300 enables feedforward control that predicts and controls the strain of the first moire mark MM1 formed on the film substrate 8. Further, the control unit 30 can calculate a correction amount for controlling the tension applied to the film substrate 8 based on the image pickup data transmitted from the first optical system image pickup device 11. The image pickup data transmitted by the first optical system image pickup apparatus 11 includes a moire fringe MF expressed based on the first moire mark MM1 formed on the film substrate 8. Therefore, the expansion / contraction control system 300 enables feedback control that is controlled based on the strain of the first moire mark MM1 actually formed on the film substrate 8.

Similarly, the fifth optical system image pickup apparatus 32 takes an image of the moire fringes expressed by superimposing the transfer moire mark formed on the blanket roll 43c and the reference moire mark of the second reference plate 9b, and controls the image pickup data. It can be sent to 30. Further, the second optical system image pickup apparatus 12 captures an image of moire fringes expressed by superimposing the second moire mark formed on the film substrate 8 and the reference moire mark of the first reference plate 7b, and controls the image pickup data. It can be transmitted to the unit 30. The control unit 30 calculates a correction amount for controlling the tension applied to the film substrate 8 based on the image pickup data received from the fifth optical system image pickup device 32, and the image pickup data received from the second optical system image pickup device 12. The correction amount for controlling the tension applied to the film substrate 8 can be calculated based on the above.

Similarly, the sixth optical system image pickup apparatus 33 takes an image of the moire fringes expressed by superimposing the transfer moire mark formed on the blanket roll 44c and the reference moire mark of the second reference plate 9c, and controls the image pickup data. It can be sent to 30. Further, the third optical system image pickup apparatus 13 captures an image of moire fringes expressed by superimposing the third moire mark formed on the film substrate 8 and the reference moire mark of the first reference plate 7c, and controls the image pickup data. It can be transmitted to the unit 30. The control unit 30 calculates a correction amount for controlling the tension applied to the film substrate 8 based on the image pickup data received from the sixth optical system image pickup device 33, and the control unit 30 calculates the image pickup data received from the third optical system image pickup device 13. The correction amount for controlling the tension applied to the film substrate 8 can be calculated based on the above.

Next, the expansion / contraction control method of the flexible substrate, the alignment method, and the manufacturing method of the electronic device according to the present embodiment will be briefly described. The basic processing flow of the expansion / contraction control method for the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment is the same as the expansion / contraction control method for the flexible substrate according to the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, in the processing of steps S1 to S11 shown in FIG. 6, in addition to the first to third optical system image pickup devices 11, 12, and 13, the fourth to sixth optical system image pickup devices 31, 32, 33 The pattern distortion and the correction amount are calculated based on the image pickup data transmitted from.

In the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the film substrate 8 is conveyed at a speed of 1 m to 2 m / min, whereas the moire fringes are imaged every 300 ms and the pattern strain is calculated. It has become so. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8 is controlled every time the film substrate 8 is conveyed by about 0.5 cm to 1 cm.

According to the expansion / contraction control system and the expansion / contraction control method of the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment, it is possible to expand and measure a minute alignment error below the pixel order by utilizing the moire fringes. Further, according to the expansion / contraction control system and the expansion / contraction control method of the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment, the expansion / contraction of the flexible substrate can be feed-forward controlled before the moire marks of each layer are formed on the flexible substrate. Further, according to the expansion / contraction control system and the expansion / contraction control method of the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment, the expansion / contraction of the flexible substrate can be feedback-controlled based on the result of forming moire marks of each layer on the flexible substrate. .. Therefore, the expansion / contraction control system 300 according to the present embodiment can control the expansion / contraction of the flexible substrate before and after the formation of the first to third patterns, and can align the patterns of each layer with higher accuracy.

[Third Embodiment]
A stretch control system for a flexible substrate, a stretch control method, an alignment method, and a method for manufacturing an electronic device according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 14. The expansion / contraction control system for the flexible substrate, the expansion / contraction control method, the alignment method, and the method for manufacturing the electronic device according to the present embodiment include a moire mark formed on the Nth layer and a moire mark formed on the N + 1 layer. It is characterized in that the expansion and contraction of the flexible substrate is controlled by using the moire fringes that are expressed by superimposing the above. In the expansion / contraction control system for flexible substrates, the expansion / contraction control method, the alignment method, and the method for manufacturing electronic devices according to the present embodiment, the expansion / contraction control system for flexible substrates and the expansion / contraction control method according to the first and second embodiments. , The components having the same functions and functions as the alignment method and the manufacturing method of the electronic device are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing an expansion / contraction control system 500 for a flexible substrate according to the present embodiment. The flexible substrate expansion / contraction control system 500 includes an electronic device manufacturing apparatus 4 that manufactures electronic devices on the flexible substrate, and a substrate expansion / contraction control device that controls expansion and contraction of the flexible substrate conveyed to the electronic device manufacturing apparatus 4. Has 5 and. As shown in FIG. 9, the electronic device manufacturing apparatus 4 in the present embodiment has the same configuration as the electronic device manufacturing apparatus 4 in the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9, the substrate expansion / contraction control device 5 in the present embodiment has a control unit 50 that controls the first to third substrate expansion / contraction adjusting units 25, 26, 27, and a moire mark formed on the film substrate 8. The first optical system image pickup device 11, the second optical system image pickup device 12, and the third optical system image pickup device 13 that image the moire fringes (an example of the first, second, and / or third interference fringes) generated based on the above. It has a fourth optical system image pickup device 31, a fifth optical system image pickup device 32, a sixth optical system image pickup device 33, and a seventh optical system image pickup device 52 and an eighth optical system image pickup device 53. The substrate expansion / contraction control device 5 individually superimposes the first reference plates 7a, 17b, 17c and the third reference plates 6b, 6c on the moire marks formed on the film substrate 8 to generate moire fringes. Further, the expansion / contraction control system 500 superimposes the second reference plate 9a on the moire mark formed on the blanket roll 42c to generate moire fringes, and attaches the second reference plate 9b to the transfer moire mark formed on the blanket roll 43c. Moire fringes are generated by superimposing the second reference plate 9c on the transfer moire marks formed on the blanket roll 44c to generate moire fringes. Further, the substrate expansion / contraction control device 5 superimposes the moire mark on the Nth layer and the moire mark on the N + 1 layer to generate moire fringes.

The first optical system image pickup device 11, the second optical system image pickup device 12, and the third optical system image pickup device 13 provided in the substrate expansion / contraction control device 5 are the first optical system image pickup device 11 and the second optical system image pickup device 11 in the first embodiment. Each of the optical system image pickup device 12 and the third optical system image pickup device 13 has the same configuration. However, in the second optical system image pickup apparatus 12 in the present embodiment, the second moire mark (an example of the third mark) formed on the film substrate 8 and the reference moire mark (fourth) formed on the first reference plate 17b. In addition to the moire fringes (an example of the second interference fringe) expressed in the mark (an example of the mark), the first moire mark (an example of the first mark) and the second moire mark formed on the film substrate 8 are expressed. Moire fringes (an example of the third interference fringe) are also imaged. Further, in the second optical system image pickup apparatus 12, the moire mark (an example of the first mark) formed on the film substrate 8 by the first pattern forming unit 42 and the reference moire mark formed on the first reference plate 17b. Moire fringes (an example of the first interference fringe) based on interference with (an example of the second mark) are imaged. Further, the third optical system image pickup apparatus 13 in the present embodiment has a third moire mark (an example of the third mark) formed on the film substrate 8 and a reference moire mark (fourth) formed on the first reference plate 17c. In addition to the moire fringes (an example of the second interference fringe) expressed by the mark (an example of the mark), the second moire mark (an example of the first mark) and the third moire mark formed on the film substrate 8 are expressed. Moire fringes (an example of the third interference fringe) are also imaged. Further, in the third optical system image pickup apparatus 13, the moire mark (an example of the first mark) formed on the film substrate 8 by the second pattern forming unit 43 and the reference moire mark formed on the first reference plate 17c. Moire fringes (an example of the first interference fringe) based on interference with (an example of the second mark) are imaged.

In the expansion / contraction control system 500 according to the present embodiment, it is based on the interference between the moire mark of the first layer formed on the film substrate 8 and the moire mark of the second layer formed directly above the first layer. Moire fringes are used to control the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8. Therefore, the moire mark formed by the second pattern forming portion 43 corresponds to the third mark with respect to the moire mark formed by the first pattern forming portion 42, and is formed by the third pattern forming portion 44. It corresponds to the first mark for the moire mark. The moire mark formed by the third pattern forming portion 44 corresponds to the third mark with respect to the moire mark formed by the second pattern forming portion 43. When the electronic device manufacturing apparatus 4 is further provided with a fourth pattern forming portion, the moire mark formed by the third pattern forming portion 44 is relative to the moire mark formed by the fourth pattern forming portion. Corresponds to the first mark.

The seventh optical system image pickup device 52 provided in the substrate expansion / contraction control device 5 images the moire fringes expressed by the first moire mark formed on the film substrate 8 and the reference moire mark formed on the third reference plate 6b. Then, the image pickup data including the imaged moire fringes is transmitted to the control unit 50. Further, the eighth optical system image pickup device 53 provided in the substrate expansion / contraction control device 5 has moire fringes expressed by the second moire mark formed on the film substrate 8 and the reference moire mark formed on the third reference plate 6c. Is imaged, and image pickup data including the imaged moire fringes is transmitted to the control unit 50.

The seventh optical system image pickup device 52 and the eighth optical system image pickup device 53 have the same configuration and exhibit the same functions. Further, the third reference plate 6b and the third reference plate 6c have the same configuration and exhibit the same function. Therefore, hereinafter, with respect to the optical system image pickup apparatus and the third reference plate in the present embodiment, FIGS. 10 to 14 are used with reference to FIG. 9 by taking the seventh optical system image pickup apparatus 52 and the third reference plate 6b as an example. explain. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an enlarged vicinity of the second pattern forming unit 43, the second optical system image pickup device 12, the fifth optical system image pickup device 32, and the seventh optical system image pickup device 52. FIG. 11 shows a state in which the first reference plate 17b is viewed from the formation surface side of the reference moire marks MMR1 and MMR2. FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing a state in which the first moire mark MM1 and the second moire mark MM2 formed on the film substrate 8 are viewed from the moire mark forming surface side. FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing a state in which the first reference plate 17b is superposed on the first moire mark MM1 and the second moire mark MM2 formed on the film substrate 8 as viewed from the moire mark forming surface side. be.

As shown in FIG. 10, a second moire mark (an example of a third mark) MM2 is formed on the film substrate 8 that has passed through the second pattern forming portion 43. The second moire mark MM2 is formed on the element forming surface which is the surface of the film substrate 8 in contact with the blanket roll 43c. Although not shown, a second vernier pattern and a second pattern are also formed on the element forming surface of the film substrate 8 on which the second moire mark MM2 is formed. The second pattern, the second vernier pattern, and the second moire mark MM2 are formed on the same surface of the film substrate 8 in the second layer forming step by the second pattern forming unit 43. The vernier pattern in the present embodiment has the same shape as the vernier pattern V1 in the first embodiment.

The fifth optical system image pickup apparatus 32 takes an image of moire fringes generated by superimposing the first light source 32b and the second light source 32c that irradiate the blanket roll 43c with light, and the blanket roll 43c and the second reference plate 9b. It has a portion 32a. Since the image pickup unit 32a has the same configuration as the image pickup unit 11a provided in the first optical system image pickup apparatus 11 in the first embodiment and exhibits the same function, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The first light source 32b and the second light source 32c are arranged at intervals substantially the same as the width of the image pickup unit 32a. The first light source 32b has a first light emitting unit 325b. The second light source 32c has a second light emitting unit 325c. The first light source 32b and the second light source 32c are arranged so that the optical axes of the first light emitting unit 325b and the second light emitting unit 325c face the surface of the blanket roll 43c where the optical axes of the imaging unit 32a intersect. The first light source 32b and the second light source 32c irradiate the surface of the blanket roll 43c with light from an oblique direction.

The image pickup unit 32a is arranged so that the optical axis is orthogonal to the central axis of the blanket roll 43c. The image pickup unit 32a is arranged farther from the blanket roll 43c than the first and second light sources 32b and 32c. A second reference plate 9b is arranged between the image pickup unit 32a and the blanket roll 43c. The second reference plate 9b is arranged between the first light source 32b and the second light source 32c. The second reference plate 9b is arranged so that the mark forming surface on which the reference moire mark MMR is formed faces the pattern transfer surface of the blanket roll 43c. A second pattern, a moire mark, a vernier pattern, and the like are transferred from the drive roll 43a to the pattern transfer surface of the blanket roll 43c.

The fifth optical system image pickup apparatus 32 and the second reference plate 9b are arranged between the contact portion of the drive roll 43a and the blanket roll 43c and the contact portion of the blanket roll 43c and the film substrate 8. Therefore, before the transfer moire mark MT2 transferred to the pattern transfer surface of the blanket roll 43c is re-transferred onto the film substrate 8, the reference moire mark MMR and the transfer moire mark MT2 formed on the second reference plate 9b are formed. Is superimposed on. The transfer moire mark MT2 is composed of a plurality of linear patterns having a small pitch difference (for example, ΔPN) with respect to the pitch of the plurality of linear patterns constituting the reference moire mark MMR. Therefore, when the reference moire mark MMR and the transfer moire mark MT2 are superimposed, moire fringes appear. Therefore, the fifth optical system image pickup apparatus 32 can image the moire fringes expressed by superimposing the reference moire mark MMR and the transfer moire mark MT2. Further, the plurality of linear patterns constituting the transfer moire mark MT2 have a minute pitch difference (for example, ΔP2d) with respect to the pitch of the plurality of linear patterns constituting the first moire mark MM1.

The light source 52b provided in the seventh optical system image pickup apparatus 52 has a light emitting unit 521. The light emitting unit 521 is arranged so as to face the film substrate 8 transmitted from the first pattern forming unit 22 (see FIG. 9). The light source 52b is arranged to face the element forming surface of the film substrate 8. Therefore, the light source 52b irradiates light from the element forming surface side of the film substrate 8 on which the first moire mark MM1 is formed.

The image pickup unit 52a provided in the seventh optical system image pickup device 52 is arranged to face the light source 52b with the film substrate 8 interposed therebetween. A third reference plate 6b is arranged between the image pickup unit 52a and the film substrate 8. The third reference plate 6b is arranged so that the mark forming surface on which the reference moire mark (an example of the second mark) MMR is formed faces the back surface of the element forming surface of the film substrate 8. The configuration of the image pickup unit 52a has the same configuration as that of the image pickup unit 11a in the first embodiment, and exhibits the same function. The image pickup unit 52a has a telecentric lens. Therefore, unlike the first embodiment, the seventh optical system image pickup apparatus 52 operates on the film substrate 8 even if the reference moire mark MMR of the third reference plate 6b and the first moire mark MM1 do not face each other. The first moire mark MM1 formed in the moiré mark MM1, the reference moire mark MMR formed on the third reference plate 9b, and the moire fringes expressed by both moire marks MM1 and MMR can be imaged with accurate dimensions. The plurality of linear patterns constituting the reference moire mark MMR of the third reference plate 6b have the same configuration as the plurality of linear patterns constituting the transfer moire mark MT2.

The first reference plate 17b has a reference moire mark (an example of a second mark) MMR1 and a reference moire mark (an example of a fourth mark) MMR2. The first reference plate 17b is arranged so that the mark forming surface on which the reference moire marks MMR1 and MMR2 are formed faces the film substrate 8 transmitted from the second pattern forming unit 43. The mark forming surface is arranged to face the back surface of the element forming surface of the film substrate 8 on which the first and second moire marks MM1 and MM2 are formed.

The second optical system image pickup apparatus 12 in the present embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments, and is the first moire mark (an example of the first mark) MM1 and the second formed by the first pattern forming unit 42. The second moire mark (an example of the third mark) formed by the pattern forming unit 43 and the moire fringes (an example of the third interference fringe) expressed by the MM2 are imaged. Further, the second optical system image pickup apparatus 12 has a moire fringe (an example of the first interference fringe) expressed by the reference moire mark MMR1 and the first moire mark MM1 of the first reference plate 17b, and the first reference plate 17b. The moire fringes (an example of the second interference fringes) expressed by the reference moire mark MMR2 and the second moire mark MM2 are imaged. The second optical system image pickup apparatus 12 simultaneously images these moire fringes.

As shown in FIG. 11, the first reference plate 17a has a thin rectangular shape. A reference moire mark MMR1 is formed substantially in the center of the first reference plate 17a. The reference moire mark MMR1 has a plurality of linear patterns formed side by side substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the first reference plate 17a. The plurality of linear patterns have an elongated rectangular shape extending from the vicinity of the region connecting the midpoints of both ends of the first reference plate 17a toward one long side. Further, a reference moire mark MMR2 is formed on the first reference plate 17a between the reference moire mark MMR1 and the other long side of the first reference plate 17a. The reference moire mark MMR2 has a plurality of linear patterns formed side by side substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the first reference plate 17a. The plurality of linear patterns have a predetermined gap from the reference moire mark MMR1 and have an elongated rectangular shape extending from the reference moire mark MMR1 toward the other long side.

As shown on the lower left side in FIG. 11, the reference moire mark MMR1 is formed so that the pitch value of the plurality of linear patterns is “P1”. Hereinafter, "P1" may also be used as a reference code indicating the pitch of a plurality of linear patterns of the reference moire mark MMR1. Further, as shown on the upper left side in FIG. 11, the reference moire mark MMR2 is formed so that the pitch value of the plurality of linear patterns is “P2”. Hereinafter, "P2" may also be used as a reference code indicating the pitch of a plurality of linear patterns of the reference moire mark MMR2.

As shown on the right side in FIG. 12, the first moire mark MM1 is formed on the film substrate 8 in the first pattern forming portion 42. The first moire mark MM1 has a plurality of linear patterns formed side by side substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the film substrate 8. The first moire mark MM1 is formed between one long side of the film substrate 8 and the device forming region DA in which the electronic device to be manufactured is formed. The plurality of linear patterns constituting the first moire mark MM1 have an elongated rectangular shape extending in a direction orthogonal to one long side of the film substrate 8. The first moire mark MM1 is designed with a pitch value of a plurality of linear patterns of "P1d + ΔP1d", but since it includes a pitch error due to expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8, as shown on the lower left side in FIG. It is formed by the pitch "P1 + ΔP1".

As shown on the right side in FIG. 12, in the second pattern forming portion 43, the second moire mark MM2 and the second vernier pattern V2 are formed on the film substrate 8. The second moire mark MM2 is formed at two locations with the second vernier pattern V2 in between. When n layers are laminated on a flexible substrate, the moire marks of the first layer and the nth layer may be one place, but the second layer to the n-1th layer are between adjacent layers on both sides. This is because it is preferable to arrange two moire marks in order to form a moire pattern.

Immediately above the first layer containing the first moire mark MM1, a second layer containing the second moire mark MM2 is formed, which is superimposed on a part of the region where the first moire mark MM1 is formed. That is, a part of one of the second moire mark MM2 is formed so as to overlap the region where the first moire mark MM1 is formed. That is, the first portion in which only the second moire mark MM2 is present, the second portion in which the moire fringe MF12 is generated due to the presence of the first moire mark MM1 and the second moire mark MM2, and the portion different from the first portion. It is configured to have three of the third parts in which only the first moire mark MM1 is present. The first portion corresponds to a region where the first mark (for example, the first moire mark MM1) is formed and the third mark (for example, the second moire mark MM2) is not formed. The second portion corresponds to a region where the first mark (for example, the first moire mark MM1) and the third mark (for example, the second moire mark MM2) are overlapped. The third portion corresponds to a region where the third mark (for example, the second moire mark MM2) is formed and the first mark (for example, the first moire mark MM1) is not formed. The reference moire mark MMR2 and the first part of the reference plate 17b of FIG. 11, the blank portion and the second part of the reference plate 17b, and the reference moire mark MMR1 and the third part of the reference plate 17b are overlapped with each other. 2 Moire mark MM2 and reference moire mark MM2 moire fringe MF2, second moire mark MM1 and first moire mark MM2 moire fringe MF12, and first moire mark MM1 and reference moire mark MMR1 moire fringe MF1 at the same time. It can be observed.

The other second moire mark MM2 is formed substantially line-symmetrically with the one second moire mark MM2 with the second vernier pattern V2 as the axis of symmetry. The two second moire marks MM2 each have a plurality of linear patterns formed side by side substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the film substrate 8. The plurality of linear patterns constituting each of the two second moire marks MM2 have an elongated rectangular shape extending in a direction orthogonal to one long side of the film substrate 8. The two second moire marks MM2 are designed with the pitch values of a plurality of linear patterns being "P2d + ΔP2d", but because they include a pitch error due to expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8, they are shown on the lower left side in FIG. In addition, it is formed by the pitch "P2 + ΔP2".

As shown in the center of FIG. 12, the first vernier pattern V1 is formed on the film substrate 8 at the same time as the formation of the first moire mark MM1. The first vernier pattern V1 has a plurality of rectangular patterns. The rectangular pattern has a long side along the long side of the film substrate 8. The rectangular pattern constituting the first vernier pattern V1 is designed at the same pitch as the moire when the second layer is aligned.
The second vernier pattern V2 has a plurality of rectangular patterns like the first vernier pattern V1. The rectangular pattern has a long side along the long side of the film substrate 8. The rectangular pattern constituting the second vernier pattern V2 is designed at the same pitch as the moire when the third layer, which is the next layer, is aligned.
The first and second vernier patterns V1 and V2 are made of the same material as the first and second moire marks MM1 and MM2. The first and second moire marks MM1 and MM2 and the first and second vernier patterns V1 and V2 are difficult to transmit and reflect light.

The difference between the pitch P1 + ΔP1 of the first moire mark MM1 and the pitch P2 + ΔP2 of the second moire mark MM2 is “ΔP1-ΔP2”, which is a small value as compared with “P1” and “P2”. Therefore, in the same manner as described using "P1" and "P1 + ΔP1" in the first embodiment, the first moire mark MM1 and the second moire mark MM2 are formed so as to overlap each other, whereby FIG. 12 As shown in the center of the inside, the moire fringe MF12 is expressed in the region where the first and second moire marks MM1 and MM2 overlap.

As shown in FIG. 13, when the first reference plate 17b is superposed on the forming regions of the first moire marks MM1 and MM2, a part of the reference moire mark MMR1 formed on the first reference plate 17b becomes the first moire mark. A part of the reference moire mark MMR2 formed on the first reference plate 17b overlaps with a part of the forming region of the MM1 and overlaps with a part of the forming region of the second moire mark MM2. The difference between the pitch P1 + ΔP1 of the first moire mark MM1 and the pitch P1 of the reference moire mark MMR1 is “ΔP1”, which is a small value as compared with “P1”. Further, the difference between the pitch P2 + ΔP2 of the second moire mark MM2 and the pitch P2 of the reference moire mark MMR2 is “ΔP2”, which is a small value as compared with “P2”. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, the first moire mark MM1 and the reference moire mark MMR1 are overlapped with each other in the same manner as described using “P1” and “P1 + ΔP1” in the first embodiment. Moire fringe MF1 is expressed in the region where both marks MM1 and MMR1 overlap. Similarly, by overlapping the second moire mark MM2 and the reference moire mark MMR2, as shown in FIG. 13, moire fringes MF2 are expressed in the region where both marks MM2 and MMR2 overlap. The second optical system image pickup apparatus 12 images the moire fringes MF1, MF2, MF12 and the first vernier pattern V1 in a field in which two or more moire fringes MF1, MF2, MF12 and the first vernier pattern V1 are contained in the imaging region α, respectively. do.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating image processing and calculation of a correction amount in the control unit 50. FIG. 14A shows an example of an image of the image pickup region α generated by the image processing unit 50a based on the image pickup data received from the second optical system image pickup apparatus 12. FIG. 14 (b) shows a vernier luminance distribution and a moire fringe luminance distribution based on the image shown in FIG. 14 (a). In FIG. 14B, the vernier luminance distribution is shown in the first row, the moiré fringe MF12 luminance distribution is shown in the second tier, the moiré fringe MF2 luminance distribution is shown in the third tier, and the moiré fringe MF2 luminance distribution is shown in the fourth row. The fringe MF1 luminance distribution is shown. The “burner brightness distribution” in FIG. 14 (b) represents the brightness distribution based on the image of the first vernier pattern V1 shown in FIG. 14 (a), and the “moire fringe MF12 brightness distribution” is shown in FIG. 14 (a). The "moire fringe MF2 brightness distribution" represents the brightness distribution based on the image of the moire fringe MF12 shown, the "moire fringe MF2 brightness distribution" represents the brightness distribution based on the image of the moire fringe MF2 shown in FIG. 14 (a), and the "moire fringe MF1 brightness distribution" represents. It shows the brightness distribution based on the image of the moire fringe MF1 shown in FIG. 14 (a). In FIG. 14B, the vertical axis of the first stage indicates the high and low luminance of the first vernier pattern V1, and the horizontal axis of the first stage indicates the position on the straight line L1 shown in FIG. 14A. There is. Further, in FIG. 14 (b), the vertical axis of the second to fourth stages indicates the height of the brightness of each moire fringe, and the horizontal axis of the second to fourth stages is FIG. 14 (b). ) Is parallel to the straight line L1 and indicates the position of the center of each moire fringe.

The image processing unit 50a performs image processing on the image pickup data transmitted from the second optical system image pickup apparatus 12. As shown in FIG. 14A, the image processing unit 50a has a moire fringe MF12 generated by overlapping the first moire mark MM1 and the second moire mark MM2 as a result of image processing, and the first moire mark MM1 and a reference. An image is generated in which the moire fringe MF1 generated by overlapping the moire mark MMR1, the moire fringe MF2 generated by overlapping the second moire mark MM2 and the reference moire mark MMR2, and the first vernier pattern V1 are displayed. Since the reference moire marks MMR1, MMR2, the first and second moire marks MM1, MM2, and the first vernier pattern V1 hardly transmit the light emitted by the light source 12b (see FIG. 10), the image generated by the image processing unit 50a. It is represented by a relatively dark color (for example, black). Further, in the vicinity of the overlapping position where the linear pattern of the first moire mark MM1 and the linear pattern of the second moire mark MM2 overlap, the density of the linear pattern becomes sparse, so that in the image generated by the image processing unit 50a. Represented in a relatively bright color. On the other hand, in the vicinity of the position where one of the linear patterns of the first moire mark MM1 and the second moire mark MM2 is arranged between the other linear patterns, the density of the linear patterns becomes dense, so that the image processing unit 50a Is represented by a relatively dark color in the generated image. Further, in the vicinity of the overlapping position where the linear pattern of the first moire mark MM1 and the linear pattern of the reference moire mark MMR1 overlap, the density of the linear pattern becomes sparse, so that the image generated by the image processing unit 50a is relative. It is represented by a bright color. On the other hand, in the vicinity of the position where one linear pattern of the first moire mark MM1 and the reference moire mark MMR1 is arranged between the other linear patterns, the density of the linear patterns becomes dense, so that the image processing unit 50a is used. It is represented by a relatively dark color in the generated image. Further, in the vicinity of the overlapping position where the linear pattern of the second moire mark MM2 and the linear pattern of the reference moire mark MMR2 overlap, the density of the linear pattern becomes sparse, so that the image is relative to the image generated by the image processing unit 50a. It is represented by a bright color. On the other hand, in the vicinity of the position where one linear pattern of the second moire mark MM2 and the reference moire mark MMR2 is arranged between the other linear patterns, the density of the linear patterns becomes dense, so that the image processing unit 50a is used. It is represented by a relatively dark color in the generated image.

The correction amount calculation unit 50b, which receives the image shown in FIG. 14A from the image processing unit 50a, calculates the pattern strain ε of the second moire mark MM2. The correction amount calculation unit 50b first generates graphs of the vernier luminance distribution and the moire fringe luminance distribution shown in FIG. 14B in order to calculate the pattern strain ε. The correction amount calculation unit 50b generates a graph of the vernier luminance distribution based on the brightness on the straight line L1 connecting the centers of the short sides of the image of the first vernier pattern V1. The first vernier pattern V1 is composed of a plurality of rectangular patterns. Therefore, the vernier luminance distribution has a rectangular shape as shown in the first stage in FIG. 14 (b). Further, the correction amount calculation unit 50b generates a graph of the moire fringe MF12 luminance distribution based on the brightness on the straight line that is substantially parallel to the straight line L1 and crosses the center of the image of the moire fringe MF. The density of the linear pattern formed by the linear pattern of the first moire mark MM1 and the linear pattern of the second moire mark MM2 gradually changes from a sparse state to a dense state and from a dense state to that state. do. Therefore, the moire luminance distribution has a corrugated shape like a sine wave as shown in the second stage in FIG. 14 (b). Further, the correction amount calculation unit 50b generates a graph of the moire fringe MF2 luminance distribution based on the brightness on the straight line that is substantially parallel to the straight line L1 and crosses the center of the image of the moire fringe MF2. The density of the linear pattern formed by the linear pattern of the second moire mark MM2 and the linear pattern of the reference moire mark MMR2 gradually changes from a sparse state to a dense state and from a dense state to that state. .. Therefore, the moire fringe MF2 luminance distribution has a wavy shape like a sine wave as shown in the third stage in FIG. 14 (b). Further, the correction amount calculation unit 50b generates a graph of the moire fringe MF1 luminance distribution based on the brightness on the straight line that is substantially parallel to the straight line L1 and crosses the center of the image of the moire fringe MF1. The density of the linear pattern formed by the linear pattern of the first moire mark MM1 and the linear pattern of the reference moire mark MMR1 gradually changes from a sparse state to a dense state and from a dense state to that state. .. Therefore, the moire fringe MF1 luminance distribution has a wavy shape like a sine wave as shown in the fourth stage in FIG. 14 (b).

The control unit 50 executes the image processing shown in FIG. 15A in the first embodiment of the image data transmitted from the seventh optical system image pickup device 52 and the fifth optical system image pickup device 32, and the control unit 50 executes the image processing shown in FIG. The moire fringe brightness distribution shown in (b) is generated. Although the details will be described later, the substrate expansion / contraction control device 5 has a pattern strain ε1 based on the image pickup data transmitted from the fifth optical system image pickup device 32 in order to calculate a correction amount for correcting the expansion / contraction of the film substrate 8. 7 The pattern strain ε2 based on the image pickup data transmitted from the optical system image pickup device 52 and the alignment error based on the image pickup data transmitted from the second optical system image pickup device 12 are calculated.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the present embodiment, the moire mark and the vernier pattern are not formed on the film substrate 8 before the first layer is formed. Therefore, the expansion / contraction control system 500 does not have an optical system image pickup device between the first pattern forming unit 42 and the first substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 25. Further, only the first moire mark is formed as the moire mark on the film substrate 8 on which the substrate transport path between the first pattern forming portion 42 and the second pattern forming portion 43 is sent out. Therefore, in the expansion / contraction control system 500, the first optical system image pickup device 11 arranged between the first pattern forming unit 42 and the second substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 26 has a first reference plate 7a and a first moire mark. The moire fringes that appear by superimposing and are imaged.

Next, the expansion / contraction control method of the flexible substrate, the alignment method, and the method of manufacturing the electronic device according to the present embodiment will be described again with reference to FIGS. 9 to 14. The process of controlling the expansion and contraction of the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment includes the steps of creating a vernier luminance distribution and calculating the vernier pitch Pv in addition to the process of the method of controlling the expansion and contraction of the flexible substrate according to the first embodiment. Is done. In the present embodiment, in the processing of steps S1 to S7 shown in FIG. 6, the image pickup data transmitted from the fifth optical system image pickup device 32 and the seventh optical system image pickup device 52 in addition to the second optical system image pickup device 12. The pattern strain is also calculated based on. Further, between step S7 and step S11 shown in FIG. 6, a step of creating a vernier luminance distribution based on the vernier pattern and a calculation step of calculating the vernier pitch based on the created vernier luminance distribution are executed. Further, in the present embodiment, the alignment error is obtained based on the image pickup data transmitted from the second optical system image pickup apparatus 12 in step S15 shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the expansion / contraction control method of the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment will be described by taking as an example the second pattern formed by the second pattern forming unit 43 shown in FIG.

In the first layer (corresponding to the Nth layer), the first moire mark MM1 of the first layer having the periodicity of the pitch P1 and the pitch of the moire fringes that appear when ideal patterning with zero strain is achieved. The vernier pattern V1 having the same pitch is patterned on the film substrate 8.

An idle portion in front of the second pattern forming portion 43 forming the second pattern of the second layer (corresponding to the N + 1th layer) (for example, between the second substrate expansion / contraction adjusting portion 26 and the second pattern forming portion 43). In, the third reference plate 6b in which the moire mark having the same pitch as the second moire mark MM2 in the second layer is patterned, and the moire mark MM1 in the first layer already patterned on the film substrate 8 are superposed. The moire fringe MF1 and the vernier pattern V1 are imaged by the seventh optical system image pickup device 52 in a field in which two or more moire fringe MF1 and vernier pattern V1 are included.

On the blanket roll 43c of the second pattern forming portion 43 of the second layer, the transfer moire mark MT2 of the second layer having the periodicity of the pitch P1 + ΔP1 having the pitch of the moire mark of the first layer and the minute pitch difference ΔP1 is placed. Pattern.

The second reference plate 9b on which the reference moire mark MMR having the same pitch as the first layer moire mark MM1 is patterned, and the second layer transfer moire mark MT2 formed on the blanket roll 43c are overlapped with each other. The moire fringe MF2 and the vernier pattern V1 are imaged by the fifth optical system image pickup device 32 in the field where two or more fringe patterns MF2 and the vernier pattern V1 are included.

The pattern of the second layer formed on the blanket roll 43c is re-transferred onto the film substrate 8, and the second moire mark MM2 of the second layer is superposed on the first moire mark MM1 of the first layer.

The moire fringe MF12 expressed by the first moire mark MM1 of the first layer and the second moire mark MM2 of the second layer superposed on the film substrate 8, and the reference moire marks MMR1 and MMR2 and the first of the first reference plate 17b. The second optical system imager 12 has the moire fringes MF12, MF1, MF2 and the vernier pattern V1 in a field in which two or more of the moire fringes MF1 and MF2 expressed by the second moire marks MM1 and MM2 and the vernier pattern V1 are inserted. Image with.

The captured image data of the moire fringes MF1, MF2, MF12 and the vernier pattern V1 are transmitted to the control unit 50. The image processing unit 50a that has received these image pickup data performs image processing to generate three images A1, A2, and A3. The image processing unit 50a generates an image A1 based on the moiré fringe MF1 and the vernier pattern V1, generates an image A2 based on the moiré fringe MF2 and the vernier pattern V1, and creates the moiré fringes MF1, 2, 12 and the vernier pattern V1. Based on this, an image A3 (see FIG. 14A) is generated. The correction amount calculation unit 50b uses the three images A1, A2, and A3 generated by the image processing unit 50a to obtain the moire fringe brightness distribution of each of the moire fringes MF1, MF2, and MF12 and the vernier brightness distribution of the vernier pattern V1. obtain.

The correction amount calculation unit 50b calculates the vernier pitch Pv from the vernier luminance distribution, and calculates the moiré fringe pitches Pm1, Pm2, Pm12 of the moiré fringes MF1, MF2, and MF12 from the moiré fringe luminance distribution. Using the vernier pitch Pv, the moire fringe pitch Pm1 and the equation (1), the relative pattern strain ε1 of the second layer with respect to the first layer in design is obtained.
Using the vernier pitch Pv, the moire fringe pitch Pm2, and the equation (1), the relative pattern strain ε2 of the first layer with respect to the second layer in design is obtained.
Using the vernier pitch Pv, the moire fringe pitch Pm12, and the equation (1), the relative pattern strain ε3 of the first layer with respect to the second layer is obtained.

The phase difference Em (see FIG. 14B) between the vernier luminance distribution and the moire fringe luminance distribution based on the image A3 and the following equation (3) are used to obtain the alignment error e of the second layer with respect to the first layer. ..
e = ((P2 + ΔP2) × (1 + ε1)-(P1 + ΔP1) × (1 + ε2)) / ((P2 + ΔP2) × (1 + ε1)) × Em ... (3)

The tension applied to the film substrate 8 is changed so that the pattern strain ε1 of the first layer follows the pattern strain ε2 of the second layer so that the pattern strain ε3 of the second layer relative to the first layer is minimized. Correct to. The alignment of the second layer is performed so that the alignment error e (phase difference Em) of the second layer with respect to the first layer is minimized.

In the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the film substrate 8 is conveyed at a speed of 0.1 m to 10 m / min, whereas the moire fringes are imaged every 100 ms and the pattern distortion is generated. It is designed to be calculated. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the expansion and contraction of the film substrate 8 is controlled every time the film substrate 8 is conveyed by about 0.2 mm to 2 mm.

In the electronic device manufacturing apparatus 4 of the present embodiment, the first moire mark MM1 is formed on the film substrate 8 when the first pattern of the first layer is formed, and the second moire mark MM2 is formed when the second pattern of the second layer is formed. At least a part of the moiré mark is formed on the film substrate 8 by superimposing the first moire mark MM1, and at least a part of the third moire mark is formed on the second moire mark MM2 when the third pattern of the third layer is formed. It has become like. According to the expansion / contraction control system and the expansion / contraction control method of the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment, the tension applied to the flexible substrate is set so that the alignment error of the moire marks laminated on the flexible substrate is minimized. It is designed to be controlled. As a result, the relative alignment of the first to third moire marks can be performed, so that the first to third patterns can be aligned and a desired laminated pattern can be formed.

As described above, the alignment method according to the present embodiment is adapted to align the laminated patterns laminated on the film substrate 8 by using the expansion / contraction control method for the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment. Further, in the alignment method according to the present embodiment, the first to third moire marks and the reference moire marks are used as the alignment marks.
Further, by using the alignment method according to the present embodiment, a desired laminated pattern can be formed. Therefore, in the method for manufacturing an electronic device according to the present embodiment, a desired laminated pattern can be formed by using the alignment method according to the present embodiment, and an electronic device composed of the laminated pattern can be manufactured.

As described above, according to the expansion / contraction control system and the expansion / contraction control method for the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment, it is possible to expand and measure a minute alignment error below the pixel order by using the moire fringes. Further, according to the expansion / contraction control system and the expansion / contraction control method of the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment, the minute relative strain of the pattern of each layer can be magnified and measured by utilizing the moire fringes. When the Nth layer and the N + 1th layer are overlapped, the reference is the pattern of the Nth layer. When the pattern of the Nth layer changes on the film substrate flowing between the pattern forming portions, the enlargement ratio of the moire fringes changes. However, the expansion / contraction control system for the flexible substrate according to the present embodiment simultaneously measures the relative strain of the N + 1th layer pattern with respect to the Nth layer pattern to obtain an accurate alignment error e corrected for the pattern strain. It becomes possible.

Further, the expansion / contraction control system 500 according to the present embodiment can control the expansion / contraction of the film substrate 8 by using the moire mark of the Nth layer before forming the pattern of the N + 1th layer. Therefore, the expansion / contraction control system 500 enables feedforward control that predicts and controls the strain of the moire mark of the N + 1th layer formed on the film substrate 8. By utilizing the moire mark of the Nth layer, the local tension fluctuation occurring in the film substrate 8, that is, the aperiodic tension fluctuation can be detected before forming the pattern of the N + 1th layer. Further, the control unit 50 can calculate a correction amount for controlling the tension applied to the film substrate 8 based on the moire fringes expressed by the moire mark on the Nth layer and the moire mark on the N + 1th layer. .. Therefore, the expansion / contraction control system 500 enables feedback control that controls based on the strain of the moire mark actually formed on the film substrate 8. Periodic tension fluctuations can be detected by using the moiré marks of the Nth layer and the N + 1th layer.

Therefore, the expansion / contraction control system 500 according to the present embodiment can detect the aperiodic and periodic tension fluctuations and control the expansion / contraction of the film substrate 8 before and after the formation of the first to third patterns, and can control the expansion / contraction of each layer with higher accuracy. The pattern can be aligned.

1,3,5 Substrate expansion / contraction control device 2,4 Electronic device manufacturing device 6b, 6c Third reference plate 7a, 7b, 7c, 17b, 17c First reference plate 8 Film substrate 9a, 9b, 9c Second reference plate 10, 30,50 Control unit 10a, 30a, 50a Image processing unit 10b, 30b, 50b Correction amount calculation unit 11 First optical system image pickup device 11a, 12a, 13a, 31a, 32a, 52a, 53b Image pickup unit 11b, 12b, 13b, 52b, 53b Light source 12 Second optical system image pickup device 13 Third optical system image pickup device 20 Unwinding roll 21 Winding roll 22, 42 First pattern forming unit 22a, 22b, 23a, 23b, 24a, 24b, 28b, 28d, 42a , 42b, 43a, 43b, 44a, 44b Drive roll 23,43 Second pattern forming unit 24,44 Third pattern forming unit 25 First substrate expansion / contraction adjusting unit 25a, 26a, 27a Expansion / contraction adjusting roll 25b, 26b, 27b Side guide rolls 25c, 26c, 27c Carry-out side guide roll 26 Second substrate expansion / contraction adjustment unit 27 Third substrate expansion / contraction adjustment unit 28a First guide roll 28c Second guide roll 28e Third guide roll 31 Fourth optical system image pickup device 31b, 32b 1st light source 31c, 32c 2nd light source 32 5th optical system image pickup device 33 6th optical system image pickup device 42c, 43c, 44c Blanket roll 52 7th optical system image pickup device 53 8th optical system image pickup device 100, 300 , 500 Flexible substrate expansion / contraction control system 110 Camera 111 Telecentric lens 112 Mirror 113, 123 Light emitting unit 115 Reference plate adjustment stage 315b, 325b First light emitting unit 315c, 325c Second light emitting unit MF, MF1, MF2, MF3, MF12 Moire fringe MM1 1st moire mark MM2 2nd moire mark MMR, MMR1, MMR2 Reference moire mark MT1, MT2 Transfer moire mark V1 1st vernier pattern V2 2nd vernier pattern

Claims (4)

A first mark provided on a long main surface and having a plurality of linear patterns arranged at a predetermined pitch in the longitudinal direction of the main surface, and a first mark .
A rectangular vernier whose long side is set to the size of the pitch of the interference fringes generated when the second mark having a plurality of linear patterns having different pitches from the first mark and the first mark are overlapped with each other. With patterns
A flexible substrate comprising. A device forming region on which the device to be manufactured is formed is provided on the main surface.
The flexible substrate according to claim 1. The first mark is provided between the device forming region and one long side of the main surface in a plan view.
The flexible substrate according to claim 2 . A third mark, which is superposed on a part of the region where the first mark is formed and is formed on the main surface and has a pitch different from that of the first mark, is further provided.
The flexible substrate according to claim 2 or 3 .

Images