JP7175409B2 - Exposure device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus that transports a long substrate (workpiece) such as a flexible printed circuit board by a roll to roll carrier (hereinafter referred to as RtoR transport system).

In an exposure apparatus equipped with an RtoR transport system, a supply reel (unwinding roll) is arranged upstream of the exposure stage and a take-up reel (winding roll) is arranged downstream of the exposure stage to supply a long board such as a printed wiring board. After being wound around the reel and the take-up reel, exposure is performed while conveying from the upstream side to the downstream side.

Specifically, while the exposure stage that sucks and supports the back surface of the long substrate is moved along the long substrate transport direction, the exposure head installed above the long substrate moves to the position of the projection area (exposure target area). It projects a corresponding pattern light. When the exposure stage moves to the exposure completion position, the exposure stage descends and returns to the initial exposure position. By repeating the same exposure operation, a pattern is formed on the entire long substrate.

JP 2015-222370 A

A conventional RtoR transport system is fixed to the base (housing) of the exposure apparatus. Therefore, the long substrate is intermittently pulled out from the supply reel before the start of exposure and sent downstream. Further, as the exposure stage returns to the upstream side after the end of exposure, the long substrate may be rewound to the upstream side. Such movement of the substrate causes meandering of the long substrate, and also causes damage such as displacement of the exposure position, warping, wrinkling, and rubbing of the long substrate. In particular, when a plurality of elongated substrates are run in parallel and exposed simultaneously, meandering adjustment becomes difficult.

Therefore, it is required to construct a substrate transfer system that can reliably suppress meandering of the long substrate.

The exposure apparatus of the present invention includes an exposure stage that supports a long substrate and is capable of reciprocating along a substrate transfer line, a substrate supply unit provided with a supply reel and disposed upstream of the exposure stage, and an exposure stage. A substrate take-up unit arranged downstream and provided with a take-up reel, a stage moving mechanism for reciprocating the exposure stage along the substrate transfer line, and a substrate supply unit and substrate take-up unit arranged along the substrate transfer line. a conveying unit moving mechanism for reciprocating by

Then, the substrate supply section and the substrate winding section move along the substrate transfer line in accordance with the movement of the exposure stage so as to maintain the relative positional relationship between the exposure stage and the substrate supply section and the substrate winding section. "Upstream" here refers to the supply reel side of the exposure stage and "downstream" refers to the take-up reel side.

An exposure apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes an exposure stage that supports a long substrate and can reciprocate along a substrate transfer line, and a substrate supply section that is arranged upstream of the exposure stage and provided with a supply reel. and a substrate take-up unit provided with a take-up reel disposed downstream of the exposure stage, the substrate supply unit and the substrate take-up unit being movable along the substrate transfer line, and The apparatus further includes a movement control section that controls movement of the substrate supply section and the substrate winding section so as to maintain a relative positional relationship between the supply section and the substrate winding section.

For example, a sensor that detects the distance between at least one of the substrate supply unit and the substrate winding unit and the exposure stage is further provided, and the movement control unit controls the exposure stage, the substrate supply unit, and the substrate supply unit according to the detected distance. Movement of the substrate winding section can be controlled.

An exposure apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention comprises an exposure stage that supports a long substrate and can reciprocate along a substrate transfer line, and a plurality of exposure heads that project pattern light onto the long substrate. an exposure unit configured, a supply reel that holds and feeds out the unexposed portion of the long substrate in a wound state, and a take-up reel that winds up and holds the exposed portion of the long substrate; At this time, the substrate transport line is moved by a moving mechanism different from the moving mechanism of the exposure stage so that the supply reel and the take-up reel maintain the relative positional relationship between the exposure stage and the supply reel and the take-up reel. move along.

An exposure apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention comprises an exposure stage that supports a long substrate and can reciprocate along a substrate transfer line, and a plurality of exposure heads that project pattern light onto the long substrate. an exposure unit configured, a supply reel that holds and feeds out the unexposed portion of the long substrate in a wound state, and a take-up reel that winds up and holds the exposed portion of the long substrate; A moving mechanism is provided for integrally moving the exposure stage, the supply reel, and the take-up reel along the substrate transport line.

For example, the long board is composed of a plurality of parallel long boards.

For example, the exposure stage can move while sucking and holding the long substrate, and can also move up and down.

According to the present invention, exposure can be performed while suppressing meandering of a long substrate in an exposure apparatus having an RtoR transport system.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment; FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing part of an exposure device; FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an exposure apparatus; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the positions of the exposure stage and the transport system at the start of exposure and at the end of exposure;

Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an exposure apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing part of the exposure device. FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an exposure apparatus.

The exposure apparatus 10 is an exposure apparatus having an RtoR transport system that performs an exposure operation while transporting a long substrate W wound in a roll, and includes a substrate supply device 20, a substrate winding device 30, and an exposure unit 40. . The long substrate W is formed in a roll shape by winding a long sheet-like substrate in which a copper thin film layer is formed on a long film and a photosensitive material such as a photoresist is applied (or attached). It is As shown in FIG. 2, the long substrate W is composed of two strips (a pair) of substrates W1 and W2 having the same width.

The exposure stage (table) 15 sucks the back surface of the long substrate W to hold it flat, and can move up and down in the Z direction between a back surface adsorption position and a predetermined spaced position away from the back surface, not shown. It goes up and down by the raising and lowering mechanism. The exposure stage 15 is supported by a stage moving mechanism 50 as will be described later, and is movable along the X direction. In the following, the direction along the transport direction (transport line) M of the long substrate W is "X", the direction perpendicular to the transport direction M (substrate width direction) is "Y", and the direction perpendicular to X and Y direction (vertical direction) is represented by “Z”.

The exposure unit 40 is arranged at a predetermined distance in the Z direction from the long substrates W1 and W2, and is fixed to the base (pedestal) 10B via a frame (not shown). As shown in FIG. 3, the exposure unit 40 includes a light source 41 such as a semiconductor laser, an illumination optical system 42, a DMD (Digital Micro-mirror Device) 43 having a plurality of micromirrors arranged in a matrix, and an imaging optical system. 44 and the like, and an exposure area along the transport direction M is defined for each exposure head. The light source 41 is driven by the light source controller 110 .

The DMD of each exposure head positions the attitude of the micromirror based on the drawing data (raster data) corresponding to the exposure area position sent from the exposure control unit 120, and thereby the pattern light is projected onto the long substrates W1 and W2. projected onto. By switching the posture of the micromirror according to the relative movement of the long substrates W1 and W2 with respect to the exposure unit 40, the photosensitive material of the long substrates W1 and W2 is exposed (such as multiple exposure), thereby forming a pattern. be done. A controller 100 (see FIG. 3) controls the entire exposure operation of the exposure apparatus 10 . It should be noted that it is also possible to configure an exposure unit using a mask.

The substrate supply device 20 includes supply reels 22A and 22B arranged upstream of the exposure stage 15, a support roller 24, and a driving mechanism (not shown) that rotates the supply reels 22A and 22B. The drive mechanism is composed of, for example, a stepping motor. The supply reels 22A and 22B, which are cantilever-supported by the substrate supply device 20, hold and fix the unexposed portions of the long substrates W1 and W2 in a rolled state, respectively, and axially rotate to move the unexposed portions of the substrates W1 and W2 to the downstream side. The long substrate W can be sent out toward. The side of the supply reels 22A and 22B as viewed from the exposure stage 15 is referred to as the "upstream side", and the side of the take-up reels 32A and 32B is referred to as the "downstream side".

The substrate take-up device 30 includes take-up reels 32A and 32B, a support roller 34 arranged downstream of the exposure stage 15, and a driving mechanism (not shown) for axially rotating the take-up reels 32A and 32B. there is The take-up reels 32A and 32B respectively hold and fix the exposed portions of the long substrates W1 and W2 in a rolled state, and can take up the long substrates W1 and W2 by axial rotation. can. The winding process of the long substrates W1 and W2 by the substrate supply device 20 and the substrate winding device 30 is controlled by the transport controller 130 (see FIG. 3).

Support rollers 24 and 34 respectively arranged between the supply reels 22A and 22B and the take-up reels 32A and 32B and the exposure stage 15 support the long substrates W1 and W2, and the long substrates W1 and W2 are conveyed. It is configured as a free roller that rotates on its axis. The support rollers 24, 34 are adjusted in height so that the long substrates W1, W2 move downstream at the exposure surface height or at a position slightly lower than the exposure surface height. It is cantilevered by the substrate winding device 30 . Appropriate tension is applied to the long substrates W1 and W2 in the bridge portion of the section T (see FIG. 1) between the support rollers 24 and 34, and the long substrates W1 and W2 are conveyed without wrinkling or stretching. It will be done.

The supply reels 22A, 22B and the take-up reels 32A, 32B include well-known mechanisms 26A, 26B and 36A, 36B that secure the rolled wound portions of the substrates W1, W2 during substrate loading. Further, the driving mechanisms of the substrate supply device 20 and the substrate winding device 30 synchronously rotate the supply reel 22A and the take-up reel 32A, and the supply reel 22B and the take-up reel 32B, respectively, to rotate the long substrates W1 and W2 to predetermined positions. It is intermittently conveyed by length.

The stage moving mechanism 50 includes a moving member 52 equipped with an elevating mechanism (not shown) for cantilevering the exposure stage 15, a pair of guide rails 54A and 54B and an actuator 55 installed on the base 10B. A pair of guide rails 54A, 54B extend along the X direction, and the moving member 52 is movable in the X direction and its reverse direction along the guide rails 54A, 54B. The actuator 55 is composed of, for example, a ball screw.

The transfer section moving mechanism 60 includes a plate-shaped moving member 62, a pair of guide rails 64A and 64B installed on the base 10B, and an actuator 65. As shown in FIG. The substrate supply device 20 and the substrate winding device 30 are mounted on the moving member 62 and move together (interlocked). A pair of guide rails 64A, 64B extend along the X direction, and the moving member 62 is movable in the X direction and its reverse direction along the guide rails 64A, 64B.

A movement control unit 70 provided on the base 10B controls the driving of the actuators 55 and 65, and maintains the relative positional relationship between the transport system (the substrate supply device 20 and the substrate winding device 30) and the exposure stage 15. That is, the movement of the exposure stage 15, the substrate supply device 20, and the substrate winding device 30 is feedback-controlled so that the relative distance interval is constant.

In order to measure the relative distance along the transport direction M between the exposure stage 15 and the substrate supply device 20 (substrate take-up device 30), the position detection photosensor 90 faces the exposure stage 15 of the substrate supply device 20. (See Figure 2). The position detection photosensor 90 incorporates a light source such as an LED and illuminates the side surface of the exposure stage 15 . The side surface of the exposure stage 15 is formed so that the light irradiation position has a light amount difference between the reference position and other positions. The movement control unit 70 controls the actuators 55 and 65 based on the difference between the relative distance interval according to the detected light amount and the reference relative distance interval.

A position sensor 80 is provided on the support roller 24 side of the exposure stage 15 to detect the edge position of each of the long substrates W1 and W2. The position sensor 80 can be composed of, for example, a transmissive photosensor such as a line sensor. The substrate supply device 20 and substrate take-up device 30 are provided with mechanisms (not shown) for controlling the axial positions of the supply reels 22A and 22B and the take-up reels 32A and 32B, respectively. It is possible to adjust the axial position of the reel by pressing to correct meandering travel.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the positions of the exposure stage and transport system at the start of exposure and at the end of exposure.

Before the start of exposure, the exposure stage 15 sucks and holds the long substrates W1 and W2, and the supply reels 22A and 22B and the take-up reels 32A and 32B are in a stationary state because they are not driven. With the start of exposure, the exposure stage 15 moves along the X direction at a predetermined speed. At this time, the substrate supply device 20 and the substrate take-up device 30 move along with the movement of the exposure stage 15 .

That is, it starts moving in synchronization with the exposure stage 15 and moves in the X direction at the same speed as the exposure stage 15 so as to maintain the relative positional relationship between the substrate supply device 20 and the substrate winding device 30 and the exposure stage 15 . run side by side. Therefore, long substrates W1 and W2 are not sent downstream and are stationary with respect to exposure stage 15 before movement of exposure stage 15 and during movement of exposure stage 15 . While the exposure stage 15 is moving, pattern light corresponding to the exposure area position of each exposure head is projected from the exposure section 40 .

When the exposure stage 15, the substrate supply device 20 and the substrate take-up device 30 reach the exposure completion position, the exposure stage 15 releases the long substrates W1 and W2 from the suction support and descends. Then, the supply reels 22A, 22B and the take-up reels 32A, 32B rotate synchronously, and the long substrates W1, W2 are taken up by the take-up reels 32A, 32B by a predetermined length.

When winding onto the winding reels 32A and 32B ends, the exposure stage 15, the substrate supply device 20, and the substrate winding device 30 are synchronously moved to return to the exposure start position. During this time, the supply reels 22A, 22B and the take-up reels 32A, 32B are stationary because they are not driven. By repeating the exposure operation described above, a pattern is formed on the entire long substrates W1 and W2.

As described above, according to this embodiment, in the exposure apparatus 10 having the RtoR transport system for transporting the long substrates W1 and W2, the substrate supply reels 22A and 22B provided upstream of the exposure stage 15 hold the supply reels 22A and 22B. A device 20 and a substrate winding device 30 holding take-up reels 32A and 32B provided downstream are provided. During the exposure operation, the stage moving mechanism 50 moves the exposure stage 15 in the X direction, and at the same time, the substrate supply device 20 and the substrate take-up device 30 move together in the X direction by the transfer section moving mechanism 60 .

Since the substrate transport system (substrate supply device 20, substrate take-up device 30) moves together with the exposure stage 15, the long substrates W1 and W2 are not delivered downstream before and during the movement of the exposure stage 15. . Therefore, meandering travel during exposure, which occurs in a conventional transport system, is suppressed, and warpage due to exposure position shift or wrinkling of the substrate due to meandering travel does not occur. Moreover, by constructing such a substrate transfer system, it is possible to construct the substrate transfer system with a simple structure without the need to provide a mechanism such as a dancer roller.

The substrate supply device 20 and the substrate take-up device 30 only have to feed the long substrate W in one direction downstream during exposure, and there is no need to rewind it. Therefore, it is possible to realize pattern exposure in which meandering of the long substrate W is suppressed. In particular, it is suitable for an exposure apparatus that transports two strips of long substrates W1 and W2 that are difficult to adjust for meandering.

Since the board transfer system moves, the board transfer length (the length of the board between the supply reels 22A, 22B and the take-up reels 32A, 32B) can be shortened. By shortening the substrate transfer length, wrinkles and stretches of the long substrates W1 and W2 are less likely to occur, and patterns can be formed with high accuracy. In particular, only one support roller 24, 34 can be provided to constitute a transport system for sending out the long substrates W1, W2.

Further, after the exposure operation is completed, the long substrates W1 and W2 are sent downstream and wound up while the long substrates W1 and W2 are not being sucked and supported by the exposure stage 15, so winding can be performed smoothly. . At this time, since the board transfer length is short, winding can be performed in a short time.

In this embodiment, the exposure stage 15 and the substrate transfer system (substrate supply device 20, substrate take-up device 30) are separately driven by a stage moving mechanism 50 and a transfer section moving mechanism 60, respectively. Regarding the long substrates W1 and W2, the winding diameters of the roll-shaped portions of the supply reels 22A and 22B and the roll-shaped portions of the take-up reels 32A and 32B are The weight balance is not constant because it changes gradually in the process of being worn.

However, by providing the transport unit moving mechanism 60 different from the stage moving mechanism 50, even if there is a change in the weight balance of the long substrates W1 and W2, it is possible to prevent the movement control of the exposure stage 15 from being affected. Further, it is possible to construct a transport system while using a conventional stage moving mechanism.

On the other hand, the substrate supply device 20 and the substrate winding device 30 are fixedly supported by the same moving member 62 and move together. Since the substrate supply device 20 and the substrate take-up device 30 are interlocked, the relative positional relationship between the substrate supply device 20 and the substrate take-up device 30 does not change, and the relative maintenance relationship with the exposure stage 15 is maintained. It becomes easier to let In addition, the conveying unit moving mechanism 60 can be combined with one drive system.

On the other hand, the movement control unit 70 drives and controls the actuators 55 and 65 so as to maintain the relative positional relationship between the exposure stage 15 and the substrate supply device 20 and the substrate winding device 30 while the exposure stage 15 is moving. there is As a result, the supply reels 22A and 22B and the take-up reels 32A and 32B approach the exposure stage 15, thereby suppressing the elongated substrates W1 and W2 from being stretched or warped, and preventing exposure position deviation.

Note that the movement control unit 70 may control the movement speed and acceleration when the distance becomes equal to or greater than a threshold. Alternatively, the supply reels 22A, 22B and/or the take-up reels 32A, 32B may be controlled to rotate axially to adjust the long substrates W1, W2 to be appropriately tensioned.

In addition to the two strips of long substrates W1 and W2, it is also possible to arrange a larger number of long substrates in parallel and transport them at the same time. The substrate supply device 20 and the substrate winding device 30 may be moved by separate moving mechanisms without being mechanically connected. Further, the exposure stage 15, the substrate supply device 20, and the substrate winding device 30 may be moved by the same movement mechanism.

In the above embodiment, the substrate supply device 20 is provided on the upstream side of the exposure stage 15, and the substrate winding device 30 is provided on the downstream side thereof. Although the take-up reels 32A and 32B are driven, the long substrates W1 and W2 may be moved in opposite directions.

That is, two pairs of reels are provided on both sides of the exposure stage 15, and the supply reel and the take-up reel are installed so that one reel pair is wound in the X direction, while the other reel pair is oriented in the -X direction. It is possible to provide a supply reel and a take-up reel so as to take up the film. In this case, a pair of transfer devices, which combine the functions of the substrate supply device and the substrate winding device, are moved with respect to the exposure stage. When the long substrates W1 and W2 are configured to move in opposite directions in this way, it is possible to reduce the change in the weight balance of the long substrates between the upstream side and the downstream side of the exposure stage.

In the above-described embodiment, the exposure stage 15 is moved to achieve relative movement between the long substrates W1 and W2 and the exposure unit 40 for exposure. The unit 40 may be relatively moved by moving in the substrate transfer direction by a moving device (not shown). In that case, the substrate supply device 20 and the substrate take-up device 30 are fixed to the base 10B so as to maintain the relative positional relationship with the exposure stage 15 .

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 exposure device 15 exposure stage 20 substrate supply device 22A, 22B supply reel 30 substrate winding device 32A, 32B winding reel 40 exposure section 50 stage movement mechanism 60 transport section movement mechanism 70 movement control section 80 position sensor 90 photo for position detection sensor

Claims (7)

an exposure stage that supports a long substrate and can reciprocate along a substrate transfer line;
a substrate supply unit arranged upstream of the exposure stage and provided with a supply reel;
a substrate winding unit disposed downstream of the exposure stage and provided with a winding reel;
a stage moving mechanism that reciprocates the exposure stage along a substrate transport line;
a transport unit moving mechanism that reciprocates the substrate supply unit and the substrate winding unit along a substrate transport line;
a substrate transport line that moves along with the movement of the exposure stage so that the substrate supply section and the substrate winding section maintain a relative positional relationship between the exposure stage and the substrate supply section and the substrate winding section; An exposure device that moves along the an exposure stage that supports a long substrate and can reciprocate along a substrate transfer line;
a substrate supply unit arranged upstream of the exposure stage and provided with a supply reel;
a substrate winding unit arranged downstream of the exposure stage and provided with a winding reel;
the substrate supply unit and the substrate winding unit are movable along a substrate transfer line;
The apparatus further comprises a movement control section that controls movement of the substrate supply section and the substrate winding section so as to maintain a relative positional relationship between the exposure stage and the substrate supply section and the substrate winding section. exposure device. further comprising a sensor for detecting a distance between at least one of the substrate supply unit and the substrate winding unit and the exposure stage;
3. An exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said movement control section controls movements of said exposure stage, said substrate supply section, and said substrate winding section according to the detected distance. an exposure stage that supports a long substrate and can reciprocate along a substrate transfer line;
an exposure unit composed of a plurality of exposure heads each projecting pattern light onto the long substrate;
a supply reel that holds and feeds out the unexposed portion of the long substrate in a wound state;
A take-up reel that takes up and holds the exposed portion of the long substrate,
a moving mechanism for the exposure stage so that the supply reel and the take-up reel maintain the relative positional relationship between the exposure stage and the supply reel and the take-up reel during an exposure operation; is moved along the substrate transfer line by a different moving mechanism. an exposure stage that supports a long substrate and can reciprocate along a substrate transfer line;
an exposure unit composed of a plurality of exposure heads each projecting pattern light onto the long substrate;
a supply reel that holds and feeds out the unexposed portion of the long substrate in a wound state;
A take-up reel that takes up and holds the exposed portion of the long substrate,
An exposure apparatus, comprising: a movement mechanism for integrally moving the exposure stage, the supply reel, and the take-up reel along a substrate transfer line during an exposure operation. 6. An exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said elongated substrate comprises a plurality of arranged elongated substrates. 7. The exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the exposure stage moves while sucking and holding the elongated substrate, and can be raised and lowered.

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