HK1245420B - Substrate-processing method - Google Patents

Description

Substrate processing method

This invention application is a divisional application of an invention application with an international application date of March 31, 2015, an international application number of PCT/JP2015/060079, a national application number of 201580017855.8 entering the Chinese national phase, and an invention name of “Substrate processing apparatus, device manufacturing method and substrate processing method”.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for forming a structure of a fine electronic device on a substrate, a device manufacturing method, and a substrate processing method.

Background Art

Conventionally, a manufacturing apparatus for performing drawing at a predetermined position on a sheet medium (substrate) is known as a substrate processing apparatus (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 detects alignment marks on a flexible, long sheet substrate that easily expands and contracts in the width direction, measures the expansion and contraction of the sheet substrate, and corrects the drawing position (processing position) based on the expansion and contraction.

Prior art literature

Patent Literature

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-91990

Summary of the Invention

In the manufacturing device of Patent Document 1, exposure is performed by switching a spatial modulation element (DMD: Digital Micromirror Device) while transporting the substrate in the transport direction, and a pattern is drawn on the substrate using a plurality of drawing units. In the manufacturing device of Patent Document 1, exposure is performed using a plurality of drawing units so that adjacent patterns in the width direction of the substrate are joined to each other. However, in order to suppress the error of the joined exposure, the measurement results of the position error of the pattern at the joint generated by test exposure and development are fed back. However, such a feedback process including operations such as test exposure, development, and measurement also varies in its frequency, but it can cause the production line to be temporarily stopped, which may reduce product productivity and cause waste of substrates.

The solution of the present invention is completed in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a substrate processing device, a device manufacturing method and a substrate processing method, which can reduce the bonding error between patterns even when multiple drawing units are used to expose (draw) in the form of a bonding pattern in the width direction of the substrate, and draw a large-area pattern on the substrate with high precision and stability.

According to the first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing device comprising: a conveying device which supports a portion of a long sheet-like substrate along the length direction of the substrate by a supporting member having a curved supporting surface, while moving the substrate along the length direction; and a drawing device which comprises a plurality of drawing units which project a modulated drawing light beam onto the substrate supported by the supporting surface, and simultaneously scan the substrate in a width direction intersecting the length direction within a range smaller than the width of the substrate, and draw a prescribed pattern along the drawing line obtained by the scanning, wherein the plurality of drawing units in the drawing device are arranged along the width direction of the substrate so that The patterns drawn on the substrate by the respective drawing lines of the multiple drawing units are joined together in the width direction of the substrate as the substrate moves in the length direction; a movement measuring device that outputs movement information corresponding to the movement amount or movement position of the substrate based on the conveying device; and a control unit that pre-stores calibration information related to the mutual positional relationship of the drawing lines, and adjusts the drawing position of the pattern formed on the substrate by the respective drawing light beams of the multiple drawing units based on the calibration information and the movement information output from the movement measuring device, wherein the drawing lines are formed on the substrate respectively by the multiple drawing units.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device manufacturing method comprising forming the pattern on the substrate using the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention.

According to the third scheme of the present invention, there is a substrate processing method for drawing a pattern of an electronic device on a long sheet substrate, including the following processing: conveying the sheet substrate at a specified speed along the length direction of the sheet substrate; focusing a light beam in the ultraviolet band oscillating at a frequency Fz from a pulse light source device into a point light on the surface of the sheet substrate, and moving the light beam through an optical scanner, thereby causing the point light to scan along a drawing line of length LBL extending in a width direction intersecting the length direction; and during the scanning of the point light, modulating the intensity of the point light based on the drawing data corresponding to the pattern, and when the interval along the drawing line between the point light formed by the focusing of one pulse of the light beam and the point light formed by the focusing of the next pulse is set to CXs, the effective size of the point light along the drawing line is set to Xs, and the scanning time for the point light to scan the length LBL is set to Ts, it is set to satisfy the following relationship: Xs＞CXs, and Fz＞LBL/(Ts·Xs).

According to the fourth scheme of the present invention, there is a substrate processing method for drawing a pattern of an electronic device on a long sheet substrate, comprising the following steps: a step of conveying the sheet substrate at a prescribed speed along the length direction of the sheet substrate; a step of focusing a light beam in the ultraviolet band pulsed with a frequency Fz from a pulse light source device into a point light on the surface of the sheet substrate, and scanning the point light along a drawing line extending in a width direction intersecting the length direction of the sheet substrate; and a step of modulating the intensity of the light beam by an optical switching element based on the drawing data obtained by dividing the pattern into pixel units during the scanning of the point light, wherein the response frequency Fss of the optical switching element during modulation and the frequency Fz of the pulse oscillation of the light beam are set to a relationship of Fz>Fss.

Effects of the Invention

According to the solution of the present invention, it is possible to provide a substrate processing apparatus and device manufacturing method that can reduce the bonding error when bonding and exposing a pattern across the width of a substrate using multiple drawing units, and can appropriately perform drawing on the substrate using the multiple drawing units. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a substrate processing method that improves the drawing accuracy (such as uniformity of exposure) and fidelity when a single drawing unit draws a pattern along a drawing line.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an exposure apparatus (substrate processing apparatus) according to a first embodiment.

FIG2 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of main parts of the exposure apparatus of FIG1 .

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the arrangement relationship between an alignment microscope and drawing lines on a substrate.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a rotating drum and a drawing device of the exposure apparatus of FIG. 1 .

FIG5 is a plan view showing the arrangement of main parts of the exposure apparatus of FIG1 .

FIG6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a branching optical system of the exposure apparatus of FIG1 .

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the arrangement relationship of a plurality of scanners in the exposure device of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an optical structure for eliminating displacement of a drawing line caused by the inclination of a reflective surface of a scanner.

FIG9 is a perspective view showing the arrangement relationship among the alignment microscope, drawing lines, and encoder head on the substrate.

FIG10 is a perspective view showing the surface structure of the rotating drum of the exposure device of FIG1.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between drawing lines and a drawing pattern on a substrate.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between a beam spot and a drawing line.

FIG. 13 is a graph obtained by simulating a change in intensity distribution caused by the amount of overlap of beam spots corresponding to two pulses obtained on a substrate.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart regarding the adjustment method of the exposure apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the relationship between the reference pattern and the drawing line of the rotating drum.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a signal output by a photosensor that receives reflected light from a reference pattern on a rotating drum in a bright field.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a photoelectric sensor that receives reflected light from a reference pattern of a rotating drum in a dark field.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a signal output from a photosensor that receives reflected light from a reference pattern of a rotating drum in a dark field.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the positional relationship between reference patterns of the rotating drum.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the relative positional relationship among a plurality of drawing lines.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the relationship between the movement distance of the substrate per unit time and the number of drawn lines included in the movement distance.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating pulse light synchronized with the system clock of a pulse light source.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a circuit configuration for generating a system clock for a pulse light source.

FIG24 is a timing chart showing signal transitions in various parts of the circuit configuration of FIG23 .

FIG25 is a flowchart showing a method for manufacturing each device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

About the mode (embodiment) for implementing the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, detailed description is given. The present invention is not limited by the contents described in the following embodiment. In addition, the structural elements described below include elements that are easy for a person skilled in the art to think of and are substantially the same. Moreover, the structural elements described below can be appropriately combined. In addition, various omissions, replacements or changes that can be made to the structural elements are possible within the scope of the present invention.

[First embodiment]

FIG1 is a diagram showing the overall structure of an exposure apparatus (substrate processing apparatus) according to a first embodiment. The substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment is an exposure apparatus EX that performs exposure processing on a substrate P. The exposure apparatus EX is incorporated into a device manufacturing system 1 that performs various processing on the exposed substrate P to manufacture devices. First, the device manufacturing system 1 will be described.

＜Device Manufacturing System＞

The device manufacturing system 1 is a production line (flexible display production line) for manufacturing flexible displays as devices. As flexible displays, there are organic EL displays, etc., for example. The device manufacturing system 1 is a so-called roll-to-roll method, that is, a flexible long substrate P is fed out from a supply roller (not shown) that is wound into a roll shape, and various treatments are continuously performed on the fed substrate P, and then the treated substrate P is wound onto a recovery roller (not shown) as a flexible device. In the device manufacturing system 1 of the first embodiment, an example is shown in which a substrate P as a thin film sheet is fed out from a supply roller, and the substrate P fed out from the supply roller passes through a processing device U1, an exposure device EX, and a processing device U2 in sequence until it is wound onto a recovery roller. Here, the substrate P that is the processing object of the device manufacturing system 1 is explained.

The substrate P is made of, for example, a resin film or a foil formed of a metal such as stainless steel or an alloy. The resin film may be made of one or more of the following resins: polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, polyester resin, ethylene vinyl ester copolymer resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, cellulose resin, polyamide resin, polyimide resin, polycarbonate resin, polystyrene resin, or vinyl acetate resin.

It is preferred that a substrate P have a notably low thermal expansion coefficient, so that, for example, the amount of deformation caused by heat during the various treatments applied to the substrate P can be substantially negligible. The thermal expansion coefficient can be set to be smaller than a threshold value corresponding to the process temperature, for example, by mixing an inorganic filler into a resin film. The inorganic filler can be, for example, titanium oxide, zinc oxide, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, etc. In addition, the substrate P can be a single layer of ultra-thin glass having a thickness of approximately 100 μm manufactured by a float process, etc., or it can be a laminate formed by laminating the above-mentioned resin film, foil, etc. to the ultra-thin glass.

The substrate P constructed in this way is wound into a roll shape to become a supply roller, and the supply roller is installed in the device manufacturing system 1. The device manufacturing system 1 equipped with the supply roller repeatedly performs various processes for manufacturing devices on the substrate P sent out from the supply roller along the length direction. Therefore, patterns for multiple electronic devices (display panels, printed circuit boards, etc.) are formed continuously at fixed intervals in the length direction on the processed substrate P. In other words, the substrate P sent out from the supply roller becomes a substrate for simultaneous processing of multiple pieces. In addition, the substrate P can be a substrate whose surface is modified in advance by a prescribed pre-treatment to make it active, or it can be a substrate with a fine partition structure (a concave-convex structure formed by an imprinting method) formed on the surface for precise patterning.

The processed substrate P is wound into a roll and recovered as a recycling roll. The recycling roll is mounted on a cutting device not shown in the figure. The cutting device equipped with the recycling roll divides (cuts) the processed substrate P into multiple devices for each device. The size of the substrate P is, for example, about 10 cm to 2 m in the width direction (the direction of the short side) and more than 10 m in the length direction (the direction of the long side). In addition, the size of the substrate P is not limited to the above-mentioned size.

Next, the device manufacturing system 1 is described with reference to FIG1 . The device manufacturing system 1 includes a processing device U1, an exposure device EX, and a processing device U2. In FIG1 , an orthogonal coordinate system is used in which the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction are orthogonal to each other. The X direction is the direction from the processing device U1 to the processing device U2 via the exposure device EX in the horizontal plane. The Y direction is the direction orthogonal to the X direction in the horizontal plane and is the width direction of the substrate P. The Z direction is a direction orthogonal to the X direction and the Y direction (vertical direction), and the XY plane is parallel to the installation surface E of the production line where the exposure device EX is installed.

The processing unit U1 performs pre-processing (pre-processing) on the substrate P to be exposed by the exposure unit EX. The processing unit U1 transports the pre-processed substrate P toward the exposure unit EX. At this point, the substrate P transported to the exposure unit EX is a substrate (photosensitive substrate) P with a photosensitive functional layer (photosensitive layer) formed on its surface.

Here, the photosensitive functional layer is applied as a solution onto the substrate P and dried to form a layer (film). A typical example of a photosensitive functional layer is a photoresist, and as a material that does not require development treatment, there are photosensitive silane coupling materials (SAM) whose lyophilicity of the portion exposed to ultraviolet light is modified, or photosensitive reducing materials whose plating reducing groups are exposed in the portion exposed to ultraviolet light. In the case of using a photosensitive silane coupling material as the photosensitive functional layer, since the pattern portion on the substrate P exposed to ultraviolet light is modified from lyophobic to lyophilic, a conductive ink (ink containing conductive nanoparticles such as silver or copper) is selectively applied to the portion that has become lyophilic to form a pattern layer. In the case of using a photosensitive reducing material as the photosensitive functional layer, since the pattern portion on the substrate exposed to ultraviolet light is exposed to plating reducing groups, the substrate P is immediately immersed in a plating solution containing palladium ions and the like for a predetermined time after exposure, thereby forming (precipitating) a pattern layer formed of palladium.

The exposure device EX draws patterns, such as various circuits or wiring patterns for a display panel, on a substrate P supplied from the processing device U1. The exposure device EX exposes a predetermined pattern on the substrate P along a plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 obtained by scanning drawing light beams LB along predetermined scanning directions. Drawing light beams LB are beams projected onto the substrate P from a plurality of drawing units UW1 to UW5, as will be described in detail later.

The processing device U2 receives the substrate P that has been exposed in the exposure device EX and performs post-processing (post-processing) on the substrate P. In the case where the photosensitive functional layer of the substrate P is a photoresist, the processing device U2 performs baking processing, developing processing, cleaning processing, drying processing, etc. below the glass transition temperature of the substrate P. In addition, in the case where the photosensitive functional layer of the substrate P is a photosensitive plating reduction material, the processing device U2 performs electroless plating processing, cleaning processing, drying processing, etc. Moreover, in the case where the photosensitive functional layer of the substrate P is a photosensitive silane coupling material, the processing device U2 performs selective coating processing of selectively applying liquid ink to the lyophilic portion of the substrate P, drying processing, etc. After such processing by the processing device U2, the pattern layer of the device is formed on the substrate P.

Exposure equipment (substrate processing equipment)

Next, the exposure device EX is described with reference to Figures 1 to 10. Figure 2 is a stereoscopic diagram showing the configuration of the main parts of the exposure device of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a diagram showing the configuration relationship between the alignment microscope and the drawing line on the substrate. Figure 4 is a diagram showing the structure of the rotating cylinder and the drawing device (drawing unit) of the exposure device of Figure 1. Figure 5 is a top view showing the configuration of the main parts of the exposure device of Figure 1. Figure 6 is a stereoscopic diagram showing the structure of the branching optical system of the exposure device of Figure 1. Figure 7 is a diagram showing the configuration relationship of the scanners in the multiple drawing units of the exposure device of Figure 1. Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an optical structure for eliminating the misalignment of the drawing line caused by the inclination of the reflective surface of the scanner. Figure 9 is a stereoscopic diagram showing the configuration relationship between the alignment microscope, the drawing line and the encoder head on the substrate. Figure 10 is a stereoscopic diagram showing an example of the surface structure of the rotating cylinder of the exposure device of Figure 1.

As shown in Figure 1, the exposure device EX is an exposure device that does not use a mask, that is, a so-called maskless drawing exposure device. In this embodiment, it is a direct drawing exposure device of the raster scanning method, that is, while continuously conveying the substrate P at a prescribed speed along the conveying direction (length direction), the spot light of the drawing light beam LB is scanned at high speed in the prescribed scanning direction (width direction of the substrate P), thereby depicting the surface of the substrate P and forming a prescribed pattern on the substrate P.

As shown in Figure 1, the exposure apparatus EX includes a drawing device 11, a substrate transport mechanism 12, alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2, and a control unit 16. The drawing device 11 includes multiple drawing units UW1 to UW5. Furthermore, the drawing device 11 uses the multiple drawing units UW1 to UW5 to draw a predetermined pattern on a portion of a substrate P, which is being transported while being supported in close contact above the outer circumference of a cylindrical rotating drum DR. The cylindrical rotating drum DR also serves as part of the substrate transport mechanism 12. The substrate transport mechanism 12 transports the substrate P from the processing device U1 in the preceding process to the processing device U2 in the subsequent process at a predetermined speed. The alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 detect alignment marks, etc., pre-formed on the substrate P to ensure that the pattern to be drawn on the substrate P is aligned relative to the substrate P. The control unit 16, which includes a computer, microcomputer, CPU, FPGA, etc., controls the various components of the exposure apparatus EX and causes them to execute processing. The control unit 16 can be part of a higher-level control device that controls the device manufacturing system 1, or it can be the entire higher-level control device. The control unit 16 is controlled by a higher-level control device. The higher-level control device may be, for example, a host computer or other device that manages the production line.

As shown in Figure 2 , the exposure apparatus EX includes an apparatus frame 13 that supports the drawing apparatus 11 and at least a portion of the substrate transport mechanism 12 (such as the rotating drum DR). Mounted on this apparatus frame 13 are a rotation position detection mechanism (such as the encoder head shown in Figures 4 and 9 ) that detects the rotational angular position and/or rotational speed of the rotating drum DR, displacement along the rotational axis, and the like, as well as alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 shown in Figure 1 (or Figures 3 and 9 ). Furthermore, as shown in Figures 4 and 5 , a light source device CNT is provided within the exposure apparatus EX that emits ultraviolet laser light (pulsed light) as a drawing beam LB. The exposure apparatus EX distributes the drawing beam LB emitted from the light source device CNT with substantially equal light intensity (illuminance) to each of the multiple drawing units UW1 to UW5 that comprise the drawing apparatus 11.

As shown in Figure 1, the exposure apparatus EX is housed in a temperature control chamber EVC. The temperature control chamber EVC is installed on a mounting surface (floor) E of a manufacturing facility via passive or active vibration isolation units SU1 and SU2. The vibration isolation units SU1 and SU2 are installed on the mounting surface E to reduce vibrations emanating from the mounting surface E. The temperature control chamber EVC maintains its interior at a predetermined temperature, thereby suppressing temperature-related shape changes in substrates P transported therein.

The substrate transport mechanism 12 of the exposure device EX has, in order from the upstream side in the transport direction of the substrate P, an edge position controller EPC, a drive roller DR4, a tension adjustment roller RT1, a rotating drum (cylindrical drum) DR, a tension adjustment roller RT2, a drive roller DR6 and a drive roller DR7.

The edge position controller EPC adjusts the position in the width direction (Y direction) of the substrate P conveyed from the processing device U1. The edge position controller EPC slightly moves the substrate P in the width direction so that the position of the end portion (edge) of the substrate P conveyed from the processing device U1 in the width direction converges within a range of approximately ±10 to several tens of μm relative to the target position, thereby correcting the position of the substrate P in the width direction.

The clamping drive roller DR4 rotates while clamping both the front and back surfaces of the substrate P conveyed from the edge position controller EPC, feeding the substrate P downstream in the conveying direction, thereby conveying the substrate P toward the rotating drum DR. The rotating drum DR closely supports the portion of the substrate P to be pattern-exposed on the outer peripheral surface of a cylinder having a predetermined radius from a rotation center line (rotation axis) AX2 extending in the Y direction, and rotates about the rotation center line AX2, thereby conveying the substrate P in the longitudinal direction.

In order to rotate the rotating drum DR about the rotation centerline AX2, shaft portions Sf2 coaxial with the rotation centerline AX2 are provided on both sides of the rotating drum DR. As shown in FIG2 , the shaft portions Sf2 are axially supported on the device frame 13 via bearings. A rotational torque is applied to the shaft portions Sf2 from a drive source (not shown) (a motor and/or a reduction gear mechanism, etc.). Furthermore, a plane containing the rotation centerline AX2 and parallel to the YZ plane is defined as a center plane p3.

Two sets of tension adjustment rollers RT1 and RT2 apply a predetermined tension to the substrate P wound and supported on the rotating drum DR. Two sets of clamping drive rollers DR6 and DR7 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the conveying direction of the substrate P, and apply a predetermined slack (margin) DL to the exposed substrate P. The drive roller DR6 clamps the upstream side of the conveyed substrate P and rotates, while the drive roller DR7 clamps the downstream side of the conveyed substrate P and rotates, thereby conveying the substrate P to the processing device U2. At this time, the substrate P is given slack DL, so that the fluctuation of the conveying speed of the substrate P generated on the downstream side of the conveying direction compared to the drive roller DR6 can be absorbed, and the influence of the fluctuation of the conveying speed on the exposure processing of the substrate P can be blocked.

Therefore, the substrate conveying mechanism 12 adjusts the position in the width direction of the substrate P conveyed from the processing device U1 through the edge position controller EPC. The substrate conveying mechanism 12 conveys the substrate P whose width direction position has been adjusted to the tension adjustment roller RT1 via the drive roller DR4, and conveys the substrate P that has passed the tension adjustment roller RT1 to the rotating drum DR. The substrate conveying mechanism 12 rotates the rotating drum DR, thereby conveying the substrate P supported on the rotating drum DR to the tension adjustment roller RT2. The substrate conveying mechanism 12 conveys the substrate P conveyed to the tension adjustment roller RT2 to the drive roller DR6, and then conveys the substrate P conveyed to the drive roller DR6 to the drive roller DR7. Then, the substrate conveying mechanism 12 conveys the substrate P to the processing device U2 while applying slack DL to the substrate P via the drive rollers DR6 and DR7.

The apparatus frame 13 of the exposure apparatus EX will be described with reference to Fig. 2 again. Fig. 2 shows an orthogonal coordinate system in which the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction are orthogonal to each other, and is the same orthogonal coordinate system as that in Fig. 1 .

As shown in Figure 2, the device frame 13 comprises, from the lower side in the Z direction, a main frame 21, a three-point support 22 serving as a support mechanism, a first optical platform 23, a moving mechanism 24, and a second optical platform 25. The main frame 21 is mounted on the installation surface E via vibration isolation units SU1 and SU2. The main frame 21 rotatably supports the rotating drum DR and the tension adjustment rollers RT1 (not shown) and RT2. The first optical platform 23 is mounted vertically above the rotating drum DR and attached to the main frame 21 via the three-point support 22. The three-point support 22 supports the first optical platform 23 at three support points, enabling adjustment of the Z-direction position (height) at each support point. Therefore, the three-point support 22 can adjust the inclination of the platform surface of the first optical platform 23 relative to the horizontal plane to a predetermined angle. Furthermore, when assembling the device frame 13, the main frame 21 and the three-point support 22 can be positioned in the X and Y directions within the XY plane. On the other hand, after the device frame 13 is assembled, the main body frame 21 and the three-point seat 22 are in a fixed state (rigid state) within the XY plane.

The second optical platform 25 is disposed vertically above the first optical platform 23 and is mounted on the first optical platform 23 via a moving mechanism 24. The platform surface of the second optical platform 25 is parallel to the platform surface of the first optical platform 23. A plurality of drawing units UW1 to UW5 of the drawing device 11 are disposed on the second optical platform 25. The moving mechanism 24 is capable of precisely and minutely rotating the second optical platform 25 relative to the first optical platform 23 about a predetermined rotation axis I extending in the vertical direction, while maintaining the platform surfaces of the first and second optical platforms 23 and 25 parallel to each other. The rotation range is, for example, approximately ± several hundred millimeters radian relative to the reference position, resulting in a structure capable of setting the angle with a resolution of 1 to several millimeters radian. The moving mechanism 24 also includes a mechanism for precisely and minutely displacing the second optical table 25 relative to the first optical table 23 in at least one of the X and Y directions while maintaining the respective table surfaces of the first and second optical tables 23 and 25 parallel to each other. This allows the rotation axis I to be minutely displaced from a reference position in the X or Y direction with a resolution of the order of μm. At the reference position, the rotation axis I extends vertically within the center plane p3 and passes through a predetermined point (the midpoint in the width direction of the substrate P) within the surface (the drawing surface curved along the circumference) of the substrate P wound around the rotating drum DR (see FIG. 3 ). By rotating or displacing the second optical table 25 relative to the first optical table 23 using this moving mechanism 24, the positions of the multiple drawing units UW1 to UW5 relative to the rotating drum DR or the substrate P wound around the rotating drum DR can be adjusted in an integrated manner.

Next, the light source device CNT will be described with reference to FIG5 . The light source device CNT is provided on the main frame 21 of the device frame 13 . The light source device CNT emits a laser beam as a drawing light beam LB projected onto the substrate P. The light source device CNT has a light source that emits light in the ultraviolet region with a predetermined wavelength suitable for exposure of the photosensitive functional layer on the substrate P and having a strong photoactive effect. As the light source, a laser light source can be used that emits, for example, a third harmonic laser (wavelength 355 nm) of YAG that continuously oscillates or pulses at a frequency of several kHz to several hundred MHz.

The light source device CNT includes a laser generator CU1 and a wavelength converter CU2. The laser generator CU1 includes a laser light source OSC and optical fiber amplifiers FB1 and FB2. The laser generator CU1 emits a fundamental wave laser Ls. The optical fiber amplifiers FB1 and FB2 amplify the fundamental wave laser Ls using optical fibers. The laser generator CU1 causes the amplified fundamental wave laser Lr to be incident on the wavelength converter CU2. The wavelength converter CU2 is provided with a wavelength conversion optical element, a beam splitter and/or a polarization beam splitter, a prism, etc. These light (wavelength) selection components are used to extract a 355nm laser (drawing beam LB) as the third harmonic laser. At this time, the laser light source OSC that generates the seed light is pulsed synchronously with the system clock, etc., thereby generating the drawing beam LB with a wavelength of 355nm from the light source device CNT as pulsed light of approximately several kHz to several hundred MHz. In addition, when using such an optical fiber amplifier, the pulse drive method of the laser light source OSC can make the emission time of one pulse of the final output laser (Lr and/or LB) in the picosecond range.

In addition, as a light source, it is possible to use a lamp light source such as a mercury lamp having bright lines in the ultraviolet region (g line, h line, i line, etc.), a solid light source such as a laser diode or a light-emitting diode (LED) having an oscillation peak in the ultraviolet region below a wavelength of 450 nm, or a gas laser light source such as a KrF excimer laser (wavelength 248 nm), an ArF excimer laser (wavelength 193 nm), or a XeCl excimer laser (wavelength 308 nm) that oscillates far ultraviolet light (DUV light).

Here, the drawing light beam LB emitted from the light source device CNT is projected onto the substrate P via the polarization beam splitter PBS provided in each drawing unit UW1 to UW5, as described later. Typically, the polarization beam splitter PBS reflects a linearly polarized light beam that becomes S-polarized light and transmits a linearly polarized light beam that becomes P-polarized light. Therefore, it is preferable that the light source device CNT emit a laser beam that causes the drawing light beam LB incident on the polarization beam splitter PBS to become a linearly polarized light beam (S-polarized light). Furthermore, due to the high energy density of the laser beam, the illumination of the light beam projected onto the substrate P can be appropriately ensured.

Next, the drawing device 11 of the exposure device EX will be described with reference to FIG3 . The drawing device 11 is a so-called multi-beam type drawing device 11 that uses a plurality of drawing units UW1 to UW5. The drawing device 11 branches the drawing light beam LB emitted from the light source device CNT into a plurality of drawing light beams, and focuses the plurality of branched drawing light beams LB into tiny point lights (a few μm in diameter) along a plurality of (for example, 5 in the first embodiment) drawing lines LL1 to LL5 on the substrate P as shown in FIG3 and scans them. Then, the drawing device 11 joins the patterns drawn on the substrate P by each of the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 with each other in the width direction of the substrate P. First, with reference to FIG3 , the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 (scanning trajectories of the point lights) formed on the substrate P by scanning with a plurality of drawing light beams LB by the drawing device 11 will be described.

As shown in Figure 3, multiple drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are arranged in two rows in the circumferential direction of the rotating drum DR, with the center plane p3 interposed therebetween. On the upstream side of the substrate P in the rotational direction, the odd-numbered first drawing lines LL1, third drawing lines LL3, and fifth drawing lines LL5 are arranged parallel to the Y-axis. On the downstream side of the substrate P in the rotational direction, the even-numbered second drawing lines LL2 and fourth drawing lines LL4 are arranged parallel to the Y-axis.

Each of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is formed substantially parallel to the width direction (Y direction) of the substrate P, that is, the rotation center line AX2 of the rotating drum DR, and is shorter than the width dimension of the substrate P. More precisely, each of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 can be inclined at a predetermined angle relative to the extending direction (axial direction or width direction) of the rotation center line AX2 of the rotating drum DR so as to minimize the bonding error of the pattern obtained by the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 when the substrate P is conveyed at a reference speed by the substrate conveying mechanism 12.

The odd-numbered 1st drawing line LL1, the 3rd drawing line LL3 and the 5th drawing line LL5 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the direction of the center line AX2 of the rotating drum DR. In addition, the even-numbered 2nd drawing line LL2 and the 4th drawing line LL4 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the direction of the center line AX2 of the rotating drum DR. At this time, the 2nd drawing line LL2 is arranged between the 1st drawing line LL1 and the 3rd drawing line LL3 in the direction of the center line AX2. Similarly, the 3rd drawing line LL3 is arranged between the 2nd drawing line LL2 and the 4th drawing line LL4 in the direction of the center line AX2. The 4th drawing line LL4 is arranged between the 3rd drawing line LL3 and the 5th drawing line LL5 in the direction of the center line AX2. Furthermore, the 1st to 5th drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are arranged to cover the entire width of the exposure area A7 drawn on the substrate P in the width direction (axial direction).

The scanning direction of the spotlight of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the odd-numbered first drawing line LL1, the third drawing line LL3, and the fifth drawing line LL5 is one-dimensional and identical. Furthermore, the scanning direction of the spotlight of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the even-numbered second drawing line LL2 and the fourth drawing line LL4 is one-dimensional and identical. At this time, the scanning direction (+Y direction) of the spotlight of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the odd-numbered drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 and the scanning direction (-Y direction) of the spotlight of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the even-numbered drawing lines LL2 and LL4 are opposite, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 3. This is because the drawing units UW1 to UW5 have the same structure, the odd-numbered drawing units and the even-numbered drawing units are arranged facing each other by being rotated 180° in the XY plane, and the rotating polygon mirrors serving as beam scanners in each drawing unit UW1 to UW5 rotate in the same direction. Therefore, from the perspective of the conveying direction of the substrate P, the starting position of the drawing of the odd-numbered drawing lines LL3 and LL5 is adjacent to (or consistent with) the starting position of the drawing of the even-numbered drawing lines LL2 and LL4 with an error less than the diameter size of the point light in the Y direction. Similarly, the ending position of the drawing of the odd-numbered drawing lines LL1 and LL3 is adjacent to (or consistent with) the ending position of the drawing of the even-numbered drawing lines LL2 and LL4 with an error less than the diameter size of the point light in the Y direction.

As described above, the odd-numbered drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 are arranged in a row in the width direction of the substrate P so as to be substantially parallel to the rotation center line AX2 of the rotating drum DR on the substrate P. Furthermore, the even-numbered drawing lines LL2 and LL4 are arranged in a row in the width direction of the substrate P so as to be substantially parallel to the rotation center line AX2 of the rotating drum DR on the substrate P.

4 to 7 , the drawing device 11 is described. The drawing device 11 includes the plurality of drawing units UW1 to UW5 , a branching optical system SL that branches the drawing light beam LB from the light source device CNT and guides it to the drawing units UW1 to UW5 , and an alignment detection system 31 for alignment.

The branching optical system SL branches the drawing beam LB emitted from the light source device CNT into multiple components and guides each of the multiple components to the drawing units UW1 to UW5. The branching optical system SL includes a first optical system 41 that branches the drawing beam LB emitted from the light source device CNT into two components; a second optical system 42 into which one of the drawing beams LB branched by the first optical system 41 enters; and a third optical system 43 into which the other of the drawing beams LB branched by the first optical system 41 enters. Furthermore, the first optical system 41 of the branching optical system SL is provided with a beam displacement mechanism 44 that two-dimensionally displaces the drawing beam LB laterally within a plane perpendicular to the axis of travel of the drawing beam LB. The third optical system 43 of the branching optical system SL is provided with a beam displacement mechanism 45 that two-dimensionally displaces the drawing beam LB laterally. The portion of the branching optical system SL located on the light source device CNT side is mounted on the main frame 21, while the portion located on the drawing units UW1 to UW5 side is mounted on the second optical platform 25.

The first optical system 41 includes a half-wave plate 51, a polarizer (polarization beam splitter) 52, a diffuser (beam diffuser) 53, a first reflector 54, a first relay lens 55, a second relay lens 56, a beam shift mechanism 44, a second reflector 57, a third reflector 58, a fourth reflector 59, and a first beam splitter 60. Since the arrangement relationship of these components is difficult to discern in Figures 4 and 5 , the description will be made with reference to the perspective view of Figure 6 .

As shown in Figure 6, the drawing light beam LB emitted from the light source device CNT along the +X direction is incident on the 1/2 wave plate 51. The 1/2 wave plate 51 can rotate within the incident plane of the drawing light beam LB. The polarization direction of the drawing light beam LB incident on the 1/2 wave plate 51 becomes a specified polarization direction corresponding to the rotation position (angle) of the 1/2 wave plate 51. The drawing light beam LB that has passed through the 1/2 wave plate 51 is incident on the polarizer 52. The polarizer 52 transmits the light component of the specified polarization direction contained in the drawing light beam LB, and on the other hand reflects the light component of the polarization direction other than that toward the +Y direction. Therefore, the intensity of the drawing light beam LB reflected by the polarizer 52 can be adjusted according to the rotation position of the 1/2 wave plate 51 through the cooperation of the 1/2 wave plate 51 and the polarizer 52.

A portion of the drawing beam LB (unwanted light components) that passes through the polarizer 52 is irradiated by the diffuser (light trap) 53. The diffuser 53 absorbs a portion of the incoming drawing beam LB, thereby preventing this light component from leaking to the outside. Furthermore, when adjusting the various optical systems through which the drawing beam LB passes, maintaining the laser power at maximum power would be dangerous. Therefore, the rotational position (angle) of the half-wave plate 51 is changed so that the diffuser 53 absorbs a large amount of the light components of the drawing beam LB, significantly attenuating the power of the drawing beam LB directed toward the drawing units UW1 to UW5.

The drawing beam LB reflected in the +Y direction by the polarizer 52 is reflected in the +X direction by the first reflecting mirror 54 , enters the beam shift mechanism 44 via the first relay lens 55 and the second relay lens 56 , and reaches the second reflecting mirror 57 .

The first relay lens 55 converges the drawing beam LB (substantially parallel beam) from the light source device CNT to form a narrow beam (beam waist), and the second relay lens 56 makes the converged and divergent drawing beam LB a parallel beam again.

As shown in FIG6 , beam displacement mechanism 44 includes two parallel plates (quartz) arranged along the direction of travel of drawing beam LB (the +X direction). One of these parallel plates is tiltable about an axis parallel to the Y axis, while the other is tiltable about an axis parallel to the Z axis. Based on the tilt angles of the parallel plates, drawing beam LB is displaced laterally within the ZY plane and emitted from beam displacement mechanism 44.

The drawing beam LB is then reflected by the second reflector 57 in the -Y direction and reaches the third reflector 58. It is then reflected by the third reflector 58 in the -Z direction and reaches the fourth reflector 59. The drawing beam LB is then reflected by the fourth reflector 59 in the +Y direction and enters the first beam splitter 60. The first beam splitter 60 reflects a portion of the light component of the drawing beam LB in the -X direction and directs it to the second optical system 42, while directing the remaining light component of the drawing beam LB to the third optical system 43. In this embodiment, the drawing beam LB directed to the second optical system 42 is then distributed to the three drawing units UW1, UW3, and UW5, while the drawing beam LB directed to the third optical system 43 is then distributed to the two drawing units UW2 and UW4. Therefore, it is preferred that the reflectivity to transmittance ratio of the first beam splitter 60 at the light splitting plane be 3:2 (reflectivity 60%, transmittance 40%), but this is not necessarily required and may also be 1:1.

Here, the third reflector 58 and the fourth reflector 59 are provided at a predetermined distance from each other on the rotation axis I of the moving mechanism 24. That is, the center line of the drawing light beam LB (parallel light beam) reflected by the third reflector 58 and directed toward the fourth reflector 59 is set to coincide with the rotation axis I (to be coaxial).

Furthermore, the structure up to the light source device CNT including the third reflector 58 (the portion enclosed by the two-dot chain line in the upper Z direction of FIG. 4 ) is disposed on the main frame 21 side, while the structure up to the plurality of drawing units UW1 to UW5 including the fourth reflector 59 (the portion enclosed by the two-dot chain line in the lower Z direction of FIG. 4 ) is disposed on the second optical platform 25 side. Therefore, the third reflector 58 and the fourth reflector 59 are disposed so that even if the first optical platform 23 and the second optical platform 25 are rotated relative to each other by the moving mechanism 24, the drawing beam LB passes coaxially with the rotation axis I. Therefore, the optical path of the drawing beam LB from the fourth reflector 59 to the first beam splitter 60 is not changed. Consequently, even if the second optical platform 25 is rotated relative to the first optical platform 23 by the moving mechanism 24, the drawing beam LB emitted from the light source device CNT disposed on the main frame 21 side can be appropriately and stably guided to the plurality of drawing units UW1 to UW5 disposed on the second optical platform 25 side.

The second optical system 42 branches one of the drawing beams LB branched by the first beam splitter 60 of the first optical system 41 and guides the branched beams toward odd-numbered drawing units UW1, UW3, and UW5 described below. The second optical system 42 includes a fifth mirror 61, a second beam splitter 62, a third beam splitter 63, and a sixth mirror 64.

The drawing light beam LB reflected in the -X direction by the first beam splitter 60 of the first optical system 41 is reflected in the -Y direction by the fifth reflector 61 and enters the second beam splitter 62. A portion of the drawing light beam LB entering the second beam splitter 62 is reflected in the -Z direction and guided to one of the odd-numbered drawing units, UW5 (see FIG5 ). The drawing light beam LB that has passed through the second beam splitter 62 is incident on the third beam splitter 63. A portion of the drawing light beam LB that has passed through the third beam splitter 63 is reflected in the -Z direction and guided to one of the odd-numbered drawing units, UW3 (see FIG5 ). Furthermore, a portion of the drawing light beam LB that has passed through the third beam splitter 63 is reflected in the -Z direction by the sixth reflector 64 and guided to one of the odd-numbered drawing units, UW1 (see FIG5 ). Furthermore, in the second optical system 42 , the drawing light beam LB irradiated to the odd-numbered drawing units UW1 , UW3 , and UW5 is slightly inclined with respect to the −Z direction.

Furthermore, in order to effectively utilize the power of the drawing light beam LB, it is preferable that the ratio of the reflectivity to the transmittance of the second beam splitter 62 be close to 1:2, and the ratio of the reflectivity to the transmittance of the third beam splitter 63 be close to 1:1.

On the other hand, the third optical system 43 branches the other drawing beam LB obtained by the first beam splitter 60 of the first optical system 41 and guides it toward the even-numbered drawing units UW2 and UW4 described later. The third optical system 43 includes a seventh mirror 71, a beam shifting mechanism 45, an eighth mirror 72, a fourth beam splitter 73, and a ninth mirror 74.

Drawing beam LB, which passes through first beam splitter 60 of first optical system 41 in the +Y direction, is reflected in the +X direction by seventh mirror 71, then passes through beam displacement mechanism 45 and is incident on eighth mirror 72. Beam displacement mechanism 45, similar to beam displacement mechanism 44, is composed of two tiltable parallel plane plates (quartz), and displaces drawing beam LB traveling in the +X direction toward eighth mirror 72 laterally within the ZY plane.

The drawing light beam LB reflected in the -Y direction by the eighth reflector 72 enters the fourth beam splitter 73. A portion of the drawing light beam LB that impinges on the fourth beam splitter 73 is reflected in the -Z direction and directed to one of the even-numbered drawing units, UW4 (see Figure 5). The drawing light beam LB that has passed through the fourth beam splitter 73 is reflected in the -Z direction by the ninth reflector 74 and directed to one of the even-numbered drawing units, UW2. Furthermore, in the third optical system 43, the drawing light beam LB that impinges on the even-numbered drawing units UW2 and UW4 is also slightly tilted relative to the -Z direction.

In this manner, the branching optical system SL branches the drawing light beam LB from the light source device CNT into a plurality of drawing units UW1 to UW5. At this time, the first beam splitter 60, the second beam splitter 62, the third beam splitter 63, and the fourth beam splitter 73 are configured to have an appropriate reflectivity (transmittance) corresponding to the number of branches of the drawing light beam LB so that the beam intensity of the drawing light beam LB irradiated to the plurality of drawing units UW1 to UW5 is uniform.

The beam displacement mechanism 44 is disposed between the second relay lens 56 and the second reflecting mirror 57. The beam displacement mechanism 44 can finely adjust the positions of all the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 formed on the substrate P within the drawing surface of the substrate P at the μm level.

In addition, the beam displacement mechanism 45 can finely adjust the even-numbered second drawing line LL2 and the fourth drawing line LL4 among the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 formed on the substrate P within the drawing surface of the substrate P at the μm level.

The multiple drawing units UW1 to UW5 are further described with reference to Figures 4, 5, and 7. As shown in Figure 4 (and Figure 1), the multiple drawing units UW1 to UW5 are arranged in two rows in the circumferential direction of the rotating drum DR, with the center plane p3 interposed therebetween. Among the multiple drawing units UW1 to UW5, the first drawing unit UW1, the third drawing unit UW3, and the fifth drawing unit UW5 are arranged on the side (the -X direction side in Figure 5) where the first, third, and fifth drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 are arranged across the center plane p3. The first drawing unit UW1, the third drawing unit UW3, and the fifth drawing unit UW5 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the Y direction. Furthermore, among the multiple drawing units UW1 to UW5, the second drawing unit UW2 and the fourth drawing unit UW4 are arranged on the side (the +X direction side in Figure 5) where the second and fourth drawing lines LL2 and LL4 are arranged across the center plane p3. The second drawing unit UW2 and the fourth drawing unit UW4 are arranged at a predetermined interval along the Y direction. At this time, as shown in Figure 2 or Figure 5 above, the second drawing unit UW2 is located between the first drawing unit UW1 and the third drawing unit UW3 in the Y direction. Similarly, the third drawing unit UW3 is located between the second drawing unit UW2 and the fourth drawing unit UW4 in the Y direction. The fourth drawing unit UW4 is located between the third drawing unit UW3 and the fifth drawing unit UW5 in the Y direction. In addition, as shown in Figure 4, the first drawing unit UW1, the third drawing unit UW3, and the fifth drawing unit UW5, and the second drawing unit UW2 and the fourth drawing unit UW4 are arranged symmetrically with the center plane p3 as the center when viewed from the Y direction.

Next, the configuration of the optical system within each drawing unit UW1 to UW5 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Since each drawing unit UW1 to UW5 has the same configuration, the first drawing unit UW1 (hereinafter simply referred to as drawing unit UW1) will be described as an example.

The drawing unit UW1 shown in FIG4 includes a light deflector 81, a polarization beam splitter PBS, a quarter-wave plate 82, a scanner 83, a bending mirror 84, an f-θ lens system 85, and a Y-magnification correction optical component (lens group) 86B including a cylindrical lens 86, for scanning a spot light with a drawing beam LB along a drawing line LL1 (first drawing line LL1). Furthermore, a calibration detection system 31 is provided adjacent to the polarization beam splitter PBS.

The light deflector 81 uses, for example, an acousto-optic modulator (AOM). The AOM is an optical switching element that switches between an on state (ON state) in which the first-order diffracted light of the incident imaging light beam is generated in a predetermined diffraction angle direction, and an off state (OFF state) in which the first-order diffracted light is not generated, by internally generating a diffraction grating using ultrasonic waves (high-frequency signals).

The control unit 16 shown in FIG1 quickly switches the projection/non-projection of the drawing light beam LB onto the substrate P by switching the light deflector 81 on/off. Specifically, one of the drawing light beams LB distributed by the branching optical system SL is irradiated on the light deflector 81 at a slight inclination relative to the -Z direction via the relay lens 91. When the light deflector 81 is switched off, the drawing light beam LB advances in an inclined state and is shielded by the light shielding plate 92 provided in front of the light deflector 81. On the other hand, when the light deflector 81 is switched on, the drawing light beam LB (first-order diffracted light) is deflected in the -Z direction and irradiated onto the polarization beam splitter PBS provided in the Z direction of the light deflector 81 through the light deflector 81. Therefore, when the light deflector 81 is switched on, the point light of the drawing light beam LB is projected onto the substrate P, and when the light deflector 81 is switched off, the point light of the drawing light beam LB is not projected onto the substrate P.

Furthermore, the AOM is positioned at a position where the drawing light beam LB, which has been converged by the relay lens 91, is narrowed. Therefore, the drawing light beam LB (first-order diffracted light) emitted from the optical deflector 81 diverges. Therefore, a relay lens 93 is provided after the optical deflector 81 to return the divergent drawing light beam LB to a parallel beam.

The polarization beam splitter PBS reflects the drawing light beam LB irradiated from the light deflector 81 via the relay lens 93. The drawing light beam LB emitted from the polarization beam splitter PBS sequentially enters the 1/4 wave plate 82, the scanner 83 (rotating polygon mirror), the bending mirror 84, the f-θ lens system 85, the optical component for Y magnification correction 86B, and the cylindrical lens 86, and is focused on the substrate P as a scanning point light.

Meanwhile, the polarization beam splitter PBS cooperates with the quarter-wave plate 82 positioned between the polarization beam splitter PBS and the scanner 83 to direct the reflected light of the drawing beam LB projected onto the substrate P or the outer circumference of the rotating drum DR thereunder, in a reverse direction, into the Y-magnification correction optical component 86B, the cylindrical lens 86, the f-θ lens system 85, the bending mirror 84, and the scanner 83, thereby transmitting the reflected light. Specifically, the drawing beam LB incident on the polarization beam splitter PBS from the optical deflector 81 is linearly polarized laser light, converted to S-polarized light, and is reflected by the polarization beam splitter PBS. Furthermore, the drawing beam LB reflected by the polarization beam splitter PBS passes through the quarter-wave plate 82, the scanner 83, the bending mirror 84, the f-θ lens system 85, the Y-magnification correction optical component 86B, and the cylindrical lens 86, and then incident on the substrate P. The point light of the drawing beam LB focused on the substrate P becomes circularly polarized light. The reflected light from the substrate P (or the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum DR) enters the light transmission path of the drawing beam LB in the opposite direction and passes through the quarter-wave plate 82 again, thereby becoming linearly polarized laser light of P polarization. Therefore, the reflected light from the substrate P (or the rotating drum DR) reaching the polarization beam splitter PBS transmits through the polarization beam splitter PBS and illuminates the photosensor 31Cs of the calibration detection system 31 via the relay lens 94.

Thus, the polarizing beam splitter PBS is a light splitter disposed between the scanning optical system including the scanner 83 and the alignment detection system 31. The alignment detection system 31 shares a large portion of the light transmission optical system for directing the drawing beam LB toward the substrate P, thereby becoming a simple and compact optical system.

As shown in Figures 4 and 7, the scanner 83 includes a reflective mirror 96, a rotating polygon mirror 97, and an origin detector 98. The drawing beam LB (parallel beam) that has passed through the quarter-wave plate 82 passes through the cylindrical lens 95, is reflected by the reflective mirror 96 in the XY plane, and is irradiated onto the rotating polygon mirror 97. The rotating polygon mirror 97 is configured to include a rotation axis 97a extending in the Z direction and a plurality of reflection surfaces 97b formed around the rotation axis 97a. The rotating polygonal mirror 97 rotates about the rotation axis 97a in a predetermined direction, thereby causing the reflection angle of the drawing light beam LB (the light beam intensity-modulated by the optical deflector 81) incident on the reflective surface 97b to continuously change within the XY plane. Consequently, the reflected drawing light beam LB is focused into a point light by the bending mirror 84, the f-θ lens system 85, and the second cylindrical lens 86 (and the Y-magnification correction optical component 86B), and is scanned along the drawing line LL1 (and similarly along LL2 to LL5) on the substrate P. An origin detector 98 detects the origin of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the drawing line LL1 (and similarly along LL2 to LL5) on the substrate P. The origin detector 98 is located on the opposite side of the reflective mirror 96, across from the drawing light beam LB reflected by each reflective surface 97b.

In order to simplify the explanation, Figure 7 only shows a photoelectric detector with respect to the origin detector 98. However, in fact, a detection light source such as an LED and/or a semiconductor laser is also provided to project a detection light beam onto the reflecting surface 97b of the rotating polygonal mirror 97 onto which the depicting light beam LB is projected. The origin detector 98 photoelectrically detects the reflected light of the detection light beam reflected on the reflecting surface 97b through a narrow slit.

Thus, the origin detector 98 is set to always output a pulse signal indicating the origin at a predetermined time before the timing of irradiating the drawing line LL1 (LL2 to LL5) on the substrate P with spot light.

The drawing light beam LB irradiated from the scanner 83 to the bending mirror 84 is reflected in the −Z direction by the bending mirror 84 and enters the f-θ lens system 85 and the cylindrical lens 86 (and the Y magnification correction optical component 86B).

Furthermore, if the reflecting surfaces 97b of the rotating polygonal mirror 97 are not strictly parallel to the center line of the rotation axis 97a but are slightly tilted (surface tilt), the drawing lines (LL1 to LL5) formed by the point light projected onto the substrate P are shifted in the X direction on the substrate P for each reflecting surface 97b. Therefore, FIG8 will be used to describe how the two cylindrical lenses 95 and 86 are provided to reduce or eliminate the shift in the X direction of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 taken in response to the surface tilt of the reflecting surfaces 97b of the rotating polygonal mirror 97.

The left side of Figure 8 shows the optical path of cylindrical lens 95, scanner 83, f-theta lens system 85, and cylindrical lens 86 expanded in the XY plane, while the right side shows the same optical path expanded in the XZ plane. As a basic optical configuration, the reflecting surface 97b of the rotating polygon mirror 97, which receives the image beam LB, is positioned at the entrance pupil position (front focal position) of the f-theta lens system 85. Consequently, the angle of incidence of the image beam LB incident on the f-theta lens system 85 is θp, relative to the rotation angle θp/2 of the rotating polygon mirror 97. The image height position of the spotlight projected on substrate P (the illuminated surface) is determined proportionally to this angle of incidence θp. Furthermore, by positioning the reflecting surface 97b at the front focal position of the f-theta lens system 85, the image beam LB projected on substrate P remains telecentric at all locations along the drawing line (the principal ray of the spotlight is always parallel to the optical axis AXf of the f-theta lens system 85).

As shown in Figure 8, the two cylindrical lenses 95 and 86 function as parallel flat glass with zero refractive power (power) in the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis 97a of the rotating polygon mirror 97 (the XY plane), and function as convex lenses with a certain positive refractive power in the Z direction (the XZ plane) extending from the rotation axis 97a. The cross-sectional shape of the drawing light beam LB (a substantially parallel light beam) incident on the first cylindrical lens 95 is a circle of approximately several millimeters. However, if the focal position of the cylindrical lens 95 in the XZ plane is set on the reflecting surface 97b of the rotating polygon mirror 97 via the reflector 96, a slit-shaped spot light with a beam width of several millimeters in the XY plane and converging in the Z direction is focused on the reflecting surface 97b, extending along the rotation direction.

The drawing light beam LB reflected by the reflecting surface 97b of the rotating polygonal mirror 97 is parallel in the XY plane, but diverges in the XZ plane (the direction in which the rotation axis 97a extends) and enters the f-θ lens system 85. Therefore, the drawing light beam LB immediately after exiting the f-θ lens system 85 is substantially parallel in the XZ plane (the direction in which the rotation axis 97a extends). However, due to the action of the second cylindrical lens 86, it is also focused into a spot of light in the XZ plane, that is, in the direction perpendicular to the extension of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 on the substrate P. As a result, a small circular spot of light is transmitted along each drawing line on the substrate P.

By providing cylindrical lenses 86, as shown on the right side of FIG8 , the reflecting surface 97b of the rotating polygonal mirror 97 and the substrate P (the illuminated surface) can be set to an optically conjugate relationship within the XZ plane. Therefore, even if each reflecting surface 97b of the rotating polygonal mirror 97 has a tilt error relative to the non-scanning direction (the extension direction of the rotation axis 97a) that is orthogonal to the scanning direction of the drawing light beam LB, the position of the drawing lines (LL1 to LL5) on the substrate P will not shift in the non-scanning direction of the spot light (the transport direction of the substrate P). In this way, by providing cylindrical lenses 95 and 86 before and after the rotating polygonal mirror 97, an optical system for surface tilt correction of the polygonal reflecting surface in the non-scanning direction can be formed.

Here, as shown in Figure 7, the scanners 83 of the multiple drawing units UW1 to UW5 are symmetrically arranged with respect to the center plane p3. Of the multiple scanners 83, the three scanners 83 corresponding to drawing units UW1, UW3, and UW5 are located upstream of the rotating drum DR in the direction of rotation (the -X direction in Figure 7), while the two scanners 83 corresponding to drawing units UW2 and UW4 are located downstream of the rotating drum DR in the direction of rotation (the +X direction in Figure 7). Furthermore, the three upstream scanners 83 and the two downstream scanners 83 are arranged opposite each other with the center plane p3 sandwiched between them. In this way, the three upstream scanners 83 and the two downstream scanners 83 are arranged in a 180° rotation relationship about the rotation axis I (Z axis). Therefore, if the three rotating polygon mirrors 97 on the upstream side are rotated, for example, counterclockwise, while the drawing light beam LB is irradiated onto the rotating polygon mirrors 97, the drawing light beam LB reflected by the rotating polygon mirrors 97 is scanned from the drawing start position to the drawing end position along a predetermined scanning direction (for example, the +Y direction in FIG. 7 ). On the other hand, if the two rotating polygon mirrors 97 on the downstream side are rotated counterclockwise while the drawing light beam LB is irradiated onto the rotating polygon mirrors 97, the drawing light beam LB reflected by the rotating polygon mirrors 97 is scanned from the drawing start position to the drawing end position along a scanning direction opposite to that of the three rotating polygon mirrors 97 on the upstream side (for example, the -Y direction in FIG. 7 ).

Here, when observing in the XZ plane of Figure 4, the axis of the drawing light beam LB reaching the substrate P from the odd-numbered drawing units UW1, UW3, and UW5 becomes a direction consistent with the setting azimuth line Le1. That is, the setting azimuth line Le1 becomes a line connecting the odd-numbered drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 and the rotation center line AX2 in the XZ plane. Similarly, when observing in the XZ plane of Figure 4, the axis of the drawing light beam LB reaching the substrate P from the even-numbered drawing units UW2 and UW4 becomes a direction consistent with the setting azimuth line Le2. That is, the setting azimuth line Le2 becomes a line connecting the even-numbered drawing lines LL2 and LL4 and the rotation center line AX2 in the XZ plane. Therefore, each travel direction (main light) of the drawing light beam LB that becomes a point light projection on the substrate P is set to be toward the rotation center line AX2 of the rotating cylinder DR.

The Y magnification correction optical component 86B is disposed between the f-θ lens system 85 and the substrate P. The Y magnification correction optical component 86B can isotropically enlarge or reduce the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 formed by the drawing units UW1 to UW5 by a slight amount in the Y direction.

Specifically, the following mechanism can be used, namely, a mechanism that mechanically bends a transmissive parallel plane plate (quartz) of a certain thickness that covers the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 respectively with respect to the extension direction of the drawing lines so that the magnification (scanning length) of the drawing lines in the Y direction can be changed, or a mechanism that moves a part of the three-group lens system of convex lens, concave lens, and convex lens along the optical axis so that the magnification (scanning length) of the drawing lines in the Y direction can be changed.

The various components of the drawing device 11 configured in this manner are controlled by the control unit 16, thereby drawing a predetermined pattern on the substrate P. Specifically, while the drawing light beam LB projected onto the substrate P is scanning in the scanning direction, the control unit 16 modulates the light deflector 81 on and off based on the CAD information of the pattern to be drawn on the substrate P. This deflects the drawing light beam LB, thereby drawing the pattern on the photosensitive layer of the substrate P. Furthermore, the control unit 16 synchronizes the scanning direction of the drawing light beam LB along the drawing line LL1 with the movement of the substrate P in the transport direction due to the rotation of the rotating drum DR, thereby drawing the predetermined pattern in the portion of the exposure area A7 corresponding to the drawing line LL1.

Next, the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 are described with reference to Figures 3 and 9. The alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 detect alignment marks pre-formed on the substrate P, or reference marks and/or reference patterns formed on the rotating drum DR. Hereinafter, the alignment marks of the substrate P and the reference marks and/or reference patterns of the rotating drum DR are referred to as marks. The alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 are used to align the substrate P and a predetermined pattern to be drawn on the substrate P, or to calibrate the rotating drum DR and the drawing device 11.

The alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 are arranged upstream of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 formed by the drawing device 11 in the rotation direction of the rotating drum DR (the conveyance direction of the substrate P). The alignment microscope AM1 is arranged upstream of the alignment microscope AM2 in the rotation direction of the rotating drum DR.

Alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 are composed of an objective lens system GA (represented in FIG9 as objective lens system GA4 of alignment microscope AM2) that projects illumination light onto substrate P or rotating drum DR, thereby causing light generated at the mark to enter the objective lens system GA, and a camera system GD (represented in FIG9 as camera system GD4 of alignment microscope AM2) that uses a two-dimensional CCD, CMOS, or the like to capture images (bright field images, dark field images, fluorescent images, etc.) of the mark received via objective lens system GA. The illumination light used for alignment is light in a wavelength range to which the photosensitizing layer on substrate P has little sensitivity, for example, light with a wavelength of approximately 500 to 800 nm.

A plurality (e.g., three) of alignment microscopes AM1 are arranged in a row in the Y direction (the width direction of the substrate P). Similarly, a plurality (e.g., three) of alignment microscopes AM2 are arranged in a row in the Y direction (the width direction of the substrate P). In other words, a total of six alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 are provided.

For ease of understanding, Figure 3 shows the arrangement of three of the six objective lens systems GA for alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2, namely, the objective lens systems GA1 to GA3 of alignment microscope AM1. The observation areas (detection positions) Vw1 to Vw3 on substrate P (or the outer surface of the rotating drum DR) formed by the three objective lens systems GA1 to GA3 of alignment microscope AM1 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the Y direction parallel to the rotation centerline AX2, as shown in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 9, the optical axes La1 to La3 of each objective lens system GA1 to GA3, passing through the center of each observation area Vw1 to Vw3, are parallel to the XZ plane. Similarly, the observation areas Vw4 to Vw6 on substrate P (or the outer surface of the rotating drum DR), formed by the three objective lens systems GA of alignment microscope AM2, are arranged at predetermined intervals in the Y direction parallel to the rotation centerline AX2, as shown in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 9, the optical axes La4 to La6 of each objective lens system GA, passing through the center of each observation area Vw4 to Vw6, are also parallel to the XZ plane. Furthermore, the observation areas Vw1 to Vw3 and the observation areas Vw4 to Vw6 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the rotation direction of the rotating drum DR.

Based on the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2, the observation areas Vw1 to Vw6 for marking are set on the substrate P and/or the rotating drum DR, for example, within a range of approximately 500 to 200 μm square. The optical axes La1 to La3 of the alignment microscope AM1, i.e., the optical axes La1 to La3 of the objective lens system GA, are set in the same direction as the setting azimuth line Le3 extending radially from the rotation centerline AX2 toward the rotating drum DR. Thus, when viewed within the XZ plane of Figure 9 , the setting azimuth line Le3 connects the observation areas Vw1 to Vw3 of the alignment microscope AM1 and the rotation centerline AX2. Similarly, the optical axes La4 to La6 of the alignment microscope AM2, i.e., the optical axes La4 to La6 of the objective lens system GA, are set in the same direction as the setting azimuth line Le4 extending radially from the rotation centerline AX2 toward the rotating drum DR. Thus, when viewed within the XZ plane of Figure 9 , the setting azimuth line Le4 connects the observation areas Vw4 to Vw6 of the alignment microscope AM2 and the rotation centerline AX2. At this time, the alignment microscope AM1 is arranged on the upstream side of the rotation direction of the rotating cylinder DR compared with the alignment microscope AM2, so the angle between the center plane p3 and the setting azimuth line Le3 is larger than the angle between the center plane p3 and the setting azimuth line Le4.

As shown in FIG3 , exposure areas A7 drawn by five drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the X direction on the substrate P. A plurality of alignment marks Ks1 to Ks3 (hereinafter referred to as marks) are formed around the exposure areas A7 on the substrate P, for example in a cross shape, for use in alignment.

In Figure 3, marks Ks1 are placed at regular intervals along the X direction in the peripheral area on the -Y side of exposure area A7, and marks Ks3 are placed at regular intervals along the X direction in the peripheral area on the +Y side of exposure area A7. Furthermore, mark Ks2 is placed in the center of the Y direction in the blank area between two exposure areas A7 adjacent in the X direction.

Furthermore, the mark Ks1 is formed so as to be sequentially captured within the observation area Vw1 of the objective lens system GA1 of the alignment microscope AM1 and the observation area Vw4 of the objective lens system GA of the alignment microscope AM2 during the conveyance of the substrate P. Furthermore, the mark Ks3 is formed so as to be sequentially captured within the observation area Vw3 of the objective lens system GA3 of the alignment microscope AM1 and the observation area Vw6 of the objective lens system GA of the alignment microscope AM2 during the conveyance of the substrate P. Furthermore, the mark Ks2 is formed so as to be sequentially captured within the observation area Vw2 of the objective lens system GA2 of the alignment microscope AM1 and the observation area Vw5 of the objective lens system GA of the alignment microscope AM2 during the conveyance of the substrate P.

Therefore, among the three alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2, the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 on both sides of the rotating drum DR in the Y direction can always observe or detect the marks Ks1 and Ks3 formed on both sides in the width direction of the substrate P. Furthermore, among the three alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2, the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 at the center of the rotating drum DR in the Y direction can always observe or detect the mark Ks2 formed in the blank portions between the exposure areas A7 drawn on the substrate P.

Here, the exposure apparatus EX is a so-called multi-beam drawing apparatus. Therefore, in order to properly join the multiple patterns drawn on the substrate P in the Y direction by the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 of the multiple drawing units UW1 to UW5, calibration is required to maintain the joining accuracy of the multiple drawing units UW1 to UW5 within an acceptable range. Furthermore, baseline management is required to precisely determine the relative positional relationship between the observation areas Vw1 to Vw6 of the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 and the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 of the multiple drawing units UW1 to UW5. Calibration is also required for this baseline management.

Calibration for confirming the bonding accuracy of the plurality of drawing units UW1 to UW5 and for baseline management of the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 requires providing reference marks and/or reference patterns on at least a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum DR that supports the substrate P. For this purpose, as shown in FIG10 , the exposure apparatus EX uses a rotating drum DR having reference marks and/or reference patterns provided on its outer peripheral surface.

The rotating drum DR has scale portions GPa and GPb on both ends of its outer circumference, similar to those shown in Figures 3 and 9, which form part of the rotation position detection mechanism 14 described later. In addition, the rotating drum DR has narrow limiting bands CLa and CLb formed by concave grooves or convex ribs engraved on the inner side of the scale portions GPa and GPb over the entire circumference. The width of the substrate P in the Y direction is set to be smaller than the spacing in the Y direction between the two limiting bands CLa and CLb, and the substrate P is tightly supported by the inner area of the outer circumference of the rotating drum DR, which is clamped by the limiting bands CLa and CLb.

The rotating drum DR has a grid-like reference pattern (also used as a reference mark) RMP on its outer circumference, which is sandwiched between the restriction bands CLa and CLb. This reference pattern RMP is composed of a plurality of line patterns RL1 (inclined at +45 degrees relative to the rotation centerline AX2) and a plurality of line patterns RL2 (inclined at -45 degrees relative to the rotation centerline AX2) repeatedly engraved at regular intervals (periods) Pf1 and Pf2. The width of each line pattern RL1 and RL2 is LW.

The reference pattern RMP is formed into a uniform oblique pattern (oblique grid pattern) over the entire surface in such a manner that the friction force and/or the tension of the substrate P do not change at the portion where the substrate P contacts the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum DR. Furthermore, the line patterns RL1 and RL2 do not necessarily need to be inclined at 45 degrees. They can also be a vertical and horizontal grid pattern in which the line pattern RL1 is parallel to the Y axis and the line pattern RL2 is parallel to the X axis. Furthermore, the patterns RL1 and RL2 do not need to intersect at 90 degrees. The line patterns RL1 and RL2 can also intersect so that the rectangular area enclosed by two adjacent line patterns RL1 and two adjacent line patterns RL2 has a rhombus-like corner other than a square (or rectangle).

Next, the rotational position detection mechanism 14 will be described with reference to Figures 3, 4, and 9. As shown in Figure 9, the rotational position detection mechanism 14 optically detects the rotational position of the rotating drum DR. For example, an encoder system using a rotary encoder or the like may be employed. The rotational position detection mechanism 14 is a motion measurement device comprising scales GPa and GPb disposed at both ends of the rotating drum DR, and a plurality of encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 facing the scales GPa and GPb, respectively. While Figures 4 and 9 only show the four encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 facing the scale GPa, similar encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 are also disposed facing the scale GPb. The rotational position detection mechanism 14 includes displacement gauges YN1, YN2, YN3, and YN4 capable of detecting movement of the two ends of the rotating drum DR (minor displacements in the Y direction extending from the rotational centerline AX2).

The scales GPa and GPb each have an annular scale pattern extending over the entire circumference of the outer surface of the rotating cylinder DR. The scales GPa and GPb are diffraction gratings with concave or convex lines engraved at regular intervals (e.g., 20 μm) along the outer surface of the rotating cylinder DR, forming an incremental scale. Therefore, the scales GPa and GPb rotate integrally with the rotating cylinder DR around the rotation center axis AX2.

The substrate P is configured to be wound on the inner side of the scale portion GPa, GPb avoiding the two ends of the rotating drum DR, that is, on the inner side of the limiting bands CLa, CLb. In the case where a strict configuration relationship is required, it is set so that the outer peripheral surface of the scale portion GPa, GPb and the outer peripheral surface of the portion of the substrate P wound on the rotating drum DR become the same plane (having the same radius from the center line AX2). To this end, the outer peripheral surface of the scale portion GPa, GPb is radially higher than the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum DR for winding the substrate only by the thickness of the substrate P. Therefore, the outer peripheral surface of the scale portion GPa, GPb formed on the rotating drum DR can be set to a radius substantially the same as that of the outer peripheral surface of the substrate P. Thus, the encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 can detect the scale portion GPa, GPb at the same radial position as the drawing surface of the substrate P wound on the rotating drum DR, and can reduce the Abbe error caused by the difference in the radial direction of the rotating system between the measurement position and the processing position.

The encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 are respectively arranged around the scale parts GPa and GPb when viewed from the rotation center line AX2, and are at different positions in the circumferential direction of the rotating drum DR. The encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 are connected to the control unit 16. The encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 project a measuring light beam onto the scale parts GPa and GPb, and photoelectrically detect the reflected light beam (diffracted light), thereby outputting a detection signal corresponding to the circumferential position change of the scale parts GPa and GPb (for example, a two-phase signal with a 90-degree phase difference) to the control unit 16. The control unit 16 interpolates and digitally processes the detection signal through a counter circuit (not shown), thereby being able to measure the angular change of the rotating drum DR, that is, the circumferential position change of its outer peripheral surface, with a sub-micron resolution. The control unit 16 can also measure the conveying speed of the substrate P from the angular change of the rotating drum DR.

In addition, as shown in Figures 4 and 9, the encoder head EN1 is arranged on the setting azimuth line Le1. The setting azimuth line Le1 is a line in the XZ plane that connects the projection area (reading position) of the measurement light beam based on the encoder head EN1 onto the scale part GPa (GPb) and the rotation center line AX2. In addition, as described above, the setting azimuth line Le1 is a line in the XZ plane that connects the drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 and the rotation center line AX2. Based on the above, the line connecting the reading position of the encoder head EN1 and the rotation center line AX2 and the line connecting the drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 and the rotation center line AX2 are the same azimuth line.

Similarly, as shown in Figures 4 and 9, encoder head EN2 is positioned on setting azimuth line Le2. Setting azimuth line Le2 is a line in the XZ plane connecting the projection area (reading position) of the measurement light beam from encoder head EN2 onto scale unit GPa (GPb) with rotation center line AX2. Furthermore, as described above, setting azimuth line Le2 is a line in the XZ plane connecting trace lines LL2 and LL4 with rotation center line AX2. Based on the above, the line connecting the reading position of encoder head EN2 with rotation center line AX2 and the line connecting trace lines LL2 and LL4 with rotation center line AX2 are the same azimuth line.

In addition, as shown in Figures 4 and 9, the encoder head EN3 is arranged on the setting azimuth line Le3. The setting azimuth line Le3 is a line connecting the projection area (reading position) of the measuring light beam based on the encoder head EN3 onto the scale part GPa (GPb) and the rotation center line AX2 in the XZ plane. In addition, as mentioned above, the setting azimuth line Le3 is a line connecting the observation area Vw1 to Vw3 of the substrate P based on the alignment microscope AM1 and the rotation center line AX2 in the XZ plane. Based on the above content, the line connecting the reading position of the encoder head EN3 and the rotation center line AX2, and the line connecting the observation area Vw1 to Vw3 of the alignment microscope AM1 and the rotation center line AX2 become the same azimuth line when observed in the XZ plane.

Similarly, as shown in Figures 4 and 9, the encoder head EN4 is arranged on the setting azimuth line Le4. The setting azimuth line Le4 is a line connecting the projection area (reading position) of the measuring light beam based on the encoder head EN4 onto the scale part GPa (GPb) and the rotation center line AX2 in the XZ plane. In addition, as mentioned above, the setting azimuth line Le4 is a line connecting the observation area Vw4 to Vw6 of the substrate P based on the alignment microscope AM2 and the rotation center line AX2 in the XZ plane. Based on the above content, the line connecting the reading position of the encoder head EN4 and the rotation center line AX2, and the line connecting the observation area Vw4 to Vw6 of the alignment microscope AM2 and the rotation center line AX2 become the same azimuth line when observed in the XZ plane.

When the installation orientations of encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 (the angular directions within the XZ plane centered on rotation centerline AX2) are represented by installation orientation lines Le1, Le2, Le3, and Le4, multiple drawing units UW1 to UW5 and encoder heads EN1 and EN2 are arranged such that the installation orientation lines Le1 and Le2 form angles ±θ° relative to center plane p3, as shown in FIG4 . Installation orientation lines Le1 and Le2 are positioned so that encoder heads EN1 and EN2 do not spatially interfere with each other around the scale marks of scale section GPa (GPb).

The displacement gauges YN1 , YN2 , YN3 , and YN4 are respectively arranged around the scale portion GPa or GPb when viewed from the rotation center line AX2 , and are located at different positions in the circumferential direction of the rotating drum DR.

The displacement meters YN1, YN2, YN3, and YN4 can reduce Abbe errors by detecting displacement at a position as close as possible in the radial direction to the drawing surface on the substrate P wound on the rotating drum DR. The displacement meters YN1, YN2, YN3, and YN4 project a measuring light beam toward one of the two ends of the rotating drum DR and photoelectrically detect the reflected light beam (or diffracted light). The detection signals corresponding to the position changes of the two ends of the rotating drum DR in the Y direction (the width direction of the substrate P) are output to the control unit 16. The control unit 16 digitally processes the detection signals through a measurement circuit (not shown) (counter circuit and interpolation circuit, etc.), thereby being able to measure the displacement changes of the rotating drum DR (and the substrate P) in the Y direction with sub-micron resolution. The control unit 16 can also detect the offset rotation of the rotating drum DR from the changes on one of the two ends of the rotating drum DR.

Although only one of the four displacement meters YN1, YN2, YN3, and YN4 is required, having three or more of the four displacement meters allows for the detection of the movement of one of the two end surfaces of the rotating drum DR (dynamic tilt changes, etc.) in order to measure the offset rotation of the rotating drum DR. Furthermore, if the control unit 16 can stably measure the marks and/or patterns on the substrate P (or the marks on the rotating drum DR, etc.) using the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2, the displacement meters YN1, YN2, YN3, and YN4 may be omitted.

Here, the control unit 16 detects the rotational angular positions of the scale units (rotating cylinders DR) GPa and GPb using encoder heads EN1 and EN2, and performs drawing operations by the odd-numbered and even-numbered drawing units UW1 to UW5 based on the detected rotational angular positions. Specifically, while the drawing light beam LB projected onto the substrate P is scanning in the scanning direction, the control unit 16 on/off-modulates the light deflector 81 based on the CAD information of the pattern to be drawn on the substrate P. The timing of on/off modulation of the light deflector 81 based on the detected rotational angular positions enables the pattern to be drawn on the photosensitive layer of the substrate P with high accuracy.

In addition, the control unit 16 can determine the correspondence between the positions of the alignment marks Ks1 to Ks3 on the substrate P and the rotational angular position of the rotating drum DR by storing the rotational angular positions of the scale parts GPa and GPb (rotating drum DR) detected by the encoder heads EN3 and EN4 when the alignment marks Ks1 to Ks3 on the substrate P are detected by the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2. Similarly, the control unit 16 can determine the correspondence between the position of the reference pattern RMP on the rotating drum DR and the rotational angular position of the rotating drum DR by storing the rotational angular positions of the scale parts GPa and GPb (rotating drum DR) detected by the encoder heads EN3 and EN4 when the reference pattern RMP on the rotating drum DR is detected by the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2. In this way, the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 can accurately measure the rotational angular position (or circumferential position) of the rotating drum DR at the moment the mark is sampled within the observation areas Vw1 to Vw6. Then, in the exposure apparatus EX, the substrate P is aligned (aligned) with a predetermined pattern drawn on the substrate P, or the rotary drum DR and the drawing apparatus 11 are calibrated based on the measurement result.

In addition, actual sampling is performed as follows, that is, when the rotation angle position of the rotating drum DR measured by the encoder heads EN3 and EN4 becomes an angle position corresponding to the position of the mark on the substrate P and/or the reference pattern on the rotating drum DR that has been roughly determined in advance, the image information output from each shooting system GD of the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 is written into the image memory or the like at high speed, thereby performing actual sampling. That is, the image information output from each shooting system GD is sampled using the rotation angle position of the rotating drum DR measured by the encoder heads EN3 and EN4 as a trigger. In addition, in addition to this method, there is also a method of simultaneously sampling the rotation angle position of the rotating drum DR measured by the encoder heads EN3 and EN4 (counter measurement value) and the image information output from each shooting system GD in response to each pulse of a clock signal of a certain frequency.

Furthermore, since the marks on the substrate P and the reference pattern RMP on the rotating drum DR move in one direction relative to the observation areas Vw1 to Vw6, it is desirable to use a CCD and/or CMOS imaging element with a fast shutter speed when sampling the image information output from each imaging system GD. This also requires increasing the brightness of the illumination light used to illuminate the observation areas Vw1 to Vw6. Considering the use of a flash lamp or a high-brightness LED as the illumination light source for the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2, it is possible to use the same.

Figure 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the positional relationship between drawing lines and drawing patterns on a substrate. Drawing units UW1-UW5 scan along drawing lines LL1-LL5 with spot beams of drawing light LB, thereby drawing patterns PT1-PT5. Drawing start positions OC1-OC5 of drawing lines LL1-LL5 serve as drawing start points PTa of patterns PT1-PT5. Drawing end positions EC1-EC5 of drawing lines LL1-LL5 serve as drawing end points PTb of patterns PT1-PT5.

The drawing start end PTa and the drawing end end PTb of pattern PT1 are joined to the drawing end PTb of pattern PT2. Similarly, the drawing start end PTa of pattern PT2 is joined to the drawing start end PTa of pattern PT3, the drawing end PTb of pattern PT3 is joined to the drawing end PTb of pattern PT4, and the drawing start end PTa of pattern PT4 is joined to the drawing start end PTa of pattern PT5. In this way, the patterns PT1 to PT5 drawn on substrate P are joined to each other in the width direction of substrate P as substrate P moves in the length direction, thereby drawing the device pattern across the entire large exposure area A7.

Figure 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the relationship between the spotlight of the drawing beam and the drawing line. Of the drawing units UW1 to UW5, the drawing lines LL1 and LL2 of drawing units UW1 and UW2 are representatively described. Since the drawing lines LL3 to LL5 of drawing units UW3 to UW5 are similar, their description is omitted. Due to the uniform rotation of the rotating polygon mirror 97, the spotlight SP of the drawing beam LB draws the drawing line length LBL along the drawing lines LL1 and LL2 on the substrate P, from the drawing start positions OC1 and OC2 to the drawing end positions EC1 and EC2.

Typically, in direct drawing exposure, even when the device draws a pattern of the minimum exposable size, stable pattern drawing is achieved with high precision through multiple exposures (multiple writing) using multiple spot lights SP. As shown in Figure 12, on drawing lines LL1 and LL2, if the effective diameter of the spot light SP is Xs, then because the drawing beam LB is pulsed light, the spot light SP generated by one pulse (with a picosecond emission time) and the spot light SP generated by the next pulse are scanned so that they overlap in the Y direction (main scanning direction) by a distance CXs of approximately half the diameter Xs.

Furthermore, since the substrate P is transported in the +X direction at a constant speed simultaneously with the main scanning of the spot light SP along each drawing line LL1 or LL2, each drawing line LL1 or LL2 moves at a constant spacing in the X direction on the substrate P (sub-scanning). This spacing is also set here to a distance CXs that is approximately 1/2 of the diameter Xs of the spot light SP, but is not limited to this. Therefore, in the sub-scanning direction (X direction), adjacent spot light SPs are exposed overlappingly in the X direction by a distance CXs that is 1/2 of the diameter Xs (or any other overlapping distance is acceptable). Furthermore, the drawing start position OC1 and drawing end position EC1 of the drawing line LL1, as well as the drawing start position OC2 and drawing end position EC2 of the drawing line LL2, are set so that the light beam spot light SP fired at the drawing end position EC1 of the drawing line LL1 and the light beam spot light SP fired at the drawing end position EC2 of the drawing line LL2 overlap in the width direction (Y direction) of the substrate P as the substrate P moves in the longitudinal direction (i.e., sub-scanning).

For example, when the effective diameter Xs of the beam spot light SP is set to 4 μm, a pattern can be successfully exposed with the minimum size occupied by two rows × two columns (a total of four spots arranged overlapping in both the main and sub-scan directions) or three rows × three columns (a total of nine spots arranged overlapping in both the main and sub-scan directions), i.e., a pattern with a minimum line width of approximately 6 μm to 8 μm. Furthermore, when the rotating polygon mirror 97 has ten reflective surfaces 97b and the rotating polygon mirror 97 rotates at a speed of 10,000 rpm or higher, the number of scans (referred to as the scanning frequency Fms) of the spot light SP (drawing beam LB) on the drawing lines (LL1 to LL5) formed by the rotating polygon mirror 97 can be set to 1666.66...Hz or higher. This means that a pattern with a minimum line width of 1666 lines or more can be drawn on the substrate P in the transport direction (X direction) at a rate of 1000 rpm. Accordingly, if the transport distance per second (transport speed) of the substrate P is slowed down, the overlapping distance CXs between the point lights related to the sub-scanning direction (X direction) can be set to a value less than 1/2 of the diameter Xs of the point light, for example 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, etc. In this case, the same drawing pattern is exposed by multiple scans along the drawing line of the point light, thereby increasing the exposure amount given to the photosensitive layer of the substrate P.

In addition, when the conveying speed of the substrate P formed by the rotational drive of the rotating drum DR is about 5 mm/s, the spacing (distance CXs) of the drawing line LL1 (LL2 to LL5) shown in Figure 12 in the X direction (conveying direction of the substrate P) can be about 3 μm.

In this embodiment, the resolution R of the pattern drawing in the main scanning direction (Y direction) is determined by the minimum on/off switching time of the acousto-optic element (AOM) constituting the optical deflector 81, similar to the effective diameter Xs of the spot light SP and the scanning frequency Fms. Using a modulator with a maximum response frequency Fss = 50 MHz as the AOM, the on and off times can be approximately 20 ns each. Furthermore, since the effective scanning period of the drawing light beam LB (scanning of the spot light corresponding to the drawing line length LBL) by one reflective surface 97b of the rotating polygonal mirror 97 is approximately 1/3 of the rotation angle of one reflective surface 97b, the resolution R, determined by the switching time of the optical deflector 81, is R = LBL/(1/3)/(1/Fms) × (1/Fss) ≈ 3 μm, assuming the drawing line length LBL is 30 mm.

Based on this relationship, to improve the resolution R of pattern drawing, a modulator with a maximum response frequency Fss of 100 MHz is used as the acousto-optic element (AOM) of the light deflector 81, for example, and the on/off switching time is set to 10 nsec. This reduces the resolution R by half, to 1.5 μm. In this case, the transport speed of the substrate P formed by the rotation of the rotating drum DR is reduced to half. As another method of improving the resolution R, for example, the rotation speed of the rotating polygon mirror 97 can also be increased.

Resists typically used in photolithography have a resist sensitivity Sr of approximately 30 mj/ ^cm² . Assuming the transmittance ΔTs of the optical system is 0.5 (50%), the effective scanning period on one reflective surface 97b of the rotating polygon mirror 97 is approximately 1/3, the drawing line length LBL is 30 mm, the number Nuw of drawing units UW1 to UW5 is 5, and the transport speed Vp of the substrate P by the rotating drum DR is 5 mm/s (300 mm/min), the required laser power Pw of the light source device CNT can be estimated as follows.

Pw＝30/60×3×30×5/0.5/(1/3)＝1350mW

Assuming that there are seven drawing units, the required laser power Pw of the light source device CNT can be estimated by the following formula.

Pw＝30/60×3×30×7/0.5/(1/3)＝1890mW

For example, if the resist sensitivity is approximately 80 mj/ ^cm² , then for exposure at the same speed, a light source device CNT with a beam output of approximately 3 to 5 W is required. Instead of preparing such a high-power light source, by reducing the transport speed Vp of the substrate P caused by the rotation of the rotary drum DR to 30/80 of the initial value of 5 mm/s, exposure can be performed using a light source device with a beam output of approximately 1.4 to 1.9 W.

In addition, assuming that the length LBL of the drawing line is 30 mm, and that the point diameter Xs of the light beam spot light SP and the resolution (the minimum grid for specifying the light beam position, equivalent to 1 pixel) Xg determined by the light switching of the acousto-optic element (AOM) based on the light deflector 81 are equal to 3 μm, the time for one rotation of the rotating polygonal mirror 97 when the rotation speed of the 10-faceted rotating polygonal mirror 97 is 10,000 rpm is 3/500 seconds, and the effective scanning period performed by one reflecting surface 97b based on the rotating polygonal mirror 97 is 1/3 of the rotation angle of one reflecting surface 97b, then the effective scanning time Ts (seconds) performed by one reflecting surface 97b is calculated by (3/500)×(1/10)×(1/3), which is Ts=1/5000 (seconds). Therefore, when the light source device CNT is a pulsed laser, the pulse emission frequency Fz is calculated as Fz = LBL / (Ts·Xs), with Fz = 50 MHz being the minimum frequency. Therefore, in the embodiment, a light source device CNT is required that outputs a pulsed laser with a frequency of 50 MHz or higher. Accordingly, the pulse emission frequency Fz of the light source device CNT is preferably at least twice (e.g., 100 MHz) the maximum response frequency Fss (e.g., 50 MHz) of the acousto-optic element (AOM) of the optical deflector 81.

Moreover, the following control can be performed: the driving signal for switching the acousto-optic element (AOM) of the light deflector 81 to the on state/off state does not generate pulsed light during the period when the acousto-optic element (AOM) transitions from the on state to the off state, or from the off state to the on state, so that the light source device CNT is synchronized with a clock signal oscillating with the pulsed light frequency Fz.

Next, from the perspective of beam shape (the intensity distribution of two overlapping spot lights SP), the relationship between the spot diameter Xs of the beam spot lights SP and the pulse emission frequency Fz of the light source device CNT is explained using the graph in Figure 13. The horizontal axis of Figure 13 represents the drawing position of the spot lights SP in the Y direction along the drawing line or in the X direction along the transport direction of the substrate P, or the size of the spot lights SP. The vertical axis represents the relative intensity value normalized to 1.0 for the peak intensity of a single spot light SP. The intensity distribution of a single spot light SP is assumed to be a Gaussian distribution, denoted by J1.

In Figure 13, the intensity distribution J1 of a single spot light SP has a diameter of 3 μm at an intensity of 1/ ^e² relative to the peak intensity. Intensity distributions J2 to J6 represent simulation results of the integrated intensity distribution (profile) obtained on the substrate P when two pulses of such spot light SP are irradiated at different positions in the main scanning direction or the sub-scanning direction, with the amount of positional shift (interval) being varied.

In the graph of Figure 13, intensity distribution J5 shows the case where two pulses of spot light SP are spaced at the same distance as a 3μm diameter spot light, intensity distribution J4 shows the case where the two pulses of spot light SP are spaced at a distance of 2.25μm, and intensity distribution J3 shows the case where the two pulses of spot light SP are spaced at a distance of 1.5μm. As can be seen from the changes in intensity distributions J3 to J5, in intensity distribution J5, under the condition of spot light SP with a diameter of 3μm and a spacing of 3μm, the profile obtained by integration calculation is a lumpy shape with the highest intensity at the center of each of the two spots, and the normalized intensity at the midpoint between the two spots is only about 0.3. In contrast, under the condition of spot light SP with a diameter of 3μm and a spacing of 1.5μm, the profile obtained by integration calculation is not a clearly lumpy distribution but rather a generally flat distribution with the midpoint between the two spots sandwiched between them.

In addition, in Figure 13, the intensity distribution J2 represents the integral calculation profile when the spacing distance between the two pulses of point light SP is 0.75 μm, and the intensity distribution J6 represents the integral calculation profile when the spacing distance is set to the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the intensity distribution J1 of a single point light SP, that is, 1.78 μm.

In this manner, under pulsed oscillation conditions, such as irradiating two spot lights at a spacing CXs shorter than the same spacing as the diameter Xs of the spot light SP, two prominent nodular distributions tend to appear. Therefore, it is desirable to set an optimal spacing distance that prevents intensity unevenness (degradation of drawing accuracy) during exposure. As shown in intensity distributions J3 or J6 in Figure 13 , it is preferable to overlap at a spacing CXs of approximately half (e.g., 40-60%) of the diameter Xs of the individual spot lights SP. This optimal spacing distance CXs can be set by adjusting at least one of the pulse emission frequency Fz of the light source device CNT and the scanning speed or scanning time Ts (rotation speed of the rotating polygon mirror 97) of the spot lights SP along the drawing line in the main scanning direction. It can also be set by adjusting at least one of the scanning frequency Fms (rotation speed of the rotating polygon mirror 97) of the drawing line and the X-direction movement speed of the substrate P in the sub-scanning direction.

For example, when the absolute value of the rotation speed of the rotating polygon mirror 97 (scanning time Ts of the point light) cannot be adjusted with high precision, by adjusting the pulse light emission frequency Fz of the light source device CNT, the ratio between the spacing distance CXs of the point light SP in the main scanning direction and the diameter Xs (size) of the point light can be adjusted to the optimal range.

Thus, when two spot lights SP overlap along the scanning direction, even when Xs > CXs, the light source device CNT sets the pulse emission frequency Fz to satisfy the relationship Fz > LBL/(Ts·Xs), or Fz = LBL/(Ts·CXs). For example, if the pulse emission frequency Fz of the light source device CNT is 100 MHz and the rotating polygon mirror 97 has 10 faces and rotates at 10,000 rpm, the effective diameter Xs of the spot lights, defined by 1/ ^e² or the full width at half maximum (FWHM), can be set to 3 μm. The pulsed laser beams (spot lights) from each drawing unit UW1 to UW5 are irradiated onto each drawing line LL1 to LL5 at intervals (CXs) of approximately half the diameter Xs, or 1.5 μm. This improves the uniformity of the exposure during pattern drawing, enabling the production of a faithful exposure image (resist image) that conforms to the drawing data even for fine patterns, thus achieving high-precision drawing.

Furthermore, if h is an arbitrary integer, the resolution (response frequency Fss) determined by the optical switching speed of the acousto-optic element (AOM) and the pulse oscillation frequency Fz of the pulse laser light source device CNT, converted into position or time, must be integer multiples, i.e., Fz = h·Fss. This is because the timing of optical switching by the acousto-optic element (AOM) does not switch on and off while the pulse light source device CNT is emitting a pulsed beam.

In the exposure device EX of the first embodiment, since a pulse light source device CNT that combines the optical fiber amplifiers FB1 and FB2 and the wavelength conversion element of the wavelength conversion unit CU2 is used, pulse light with such a high oscillation frequency can be easily obtained in the ultraviolet band (400 to 300 nm).

Furthermore, light switching by the acousto-optic element (AOM) is performed based on a bit sequence (drawing data) that divides the pattern to be drawn into pixel units of, for example, 3μm×3μm, and uses "0" or "1" to indicate whether or not the point light of the pulse beam is irradiated for each pixel unit. When the length of the drawing line LBL is 30mm, the number of pixels in one scan of the point light is 10,000 pixels, and the acousto-optic element (AOM) has the responsiveness (response frequency Fss) to switch the bit sequence of 10,000 pixels during the scanning time Ts. On the other hand, the pulse oscillation frequency Fz is set so that adjacent point lights in the main scanning direction overlap with each other, for example, by about 1/2 of the diameter Xs. Accordingly, it is preferable to set the relationship between the pulse oscillation frequency Fz and the response frequency Fss of the light switching of the acousto-optic element (AOM) so that the integer h in the previous relationship Fz=h·Fss is greater than 2, that is, Fz>Fss.

Next, a method for adjusting the drawing device 11 of the exposure apparatus EX will be described. FIG14 is a flowchart illustrating the adjustment method of the exposure apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG15 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the relationship between the reference pattern of the rotating drum and the drawing line. FIG16 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the signal output from the photosensor that receives reflected light from the reference pattern of the rotating drum in the bright field. To perform calibration for determining the positional relationship of the plurality of drawing units UW1 to UW5, the control unit 16 operates the rotating drum DR as shown in FIG15. The rotating drum DR can transport a substrate P having a light-transmitting property sufficient to allow the drawing light beam LB to pass therethrough.

As described above, the reference pattern RMP is integrated with the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum DR. As shown in FIG15 , any reference pattern RMP1 among the reference patterns RMP moves along with the movement of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum DR. Therefore, after the reference pattern RMP1 passes through the drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5, it passes through the drawing lines LL2 and LL4. For example, when the same reference pattern RMP1 passes through the drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5, the control unit 16 causes the drawing light beams LB of the drawing units UW1, UW3, and UW5 to scan. Then, when the same reference pattern RMP1 passes through the drawing lines LL2 and LL4, the control unit 16 causes the drawing light beams LB of the drawing units UW2 and UW4 to scan (step S1). Therefore, the reference pattern RMP1 becomes a reference for grasping the positional relationship of the drawing units UW1 to UW5.

Photosensor 31Cs (Figure 4) of calibration detection system 31 detects reflected light from reference pattern RMP1 via f-θ lens system 85 and a scanning optical system including scanner 83. Photosensor 31Cs is connected to control unit 16, which detects detection signals from photosensor 31Cs (step S2). For example, drawing units UW1-UW5 scan multiple lines of each of the multiple drawing light beams LB along a predetermined scanning direction for each of the drawing lines LL1-LL5.

For example, as shown in FIG16 , the drawing units UW1 to UW5 perform a first column scan SC1 using the drawing light beam LB from the drawing start position OC1 in the direction along the rotation center line AX2 of the rotating drum DR (the Y direction) by the drawing line length LBL (see FIG12 ). Next, the drawing units UW1 to UW5 perform a second column scan SC2 using the drawing light beam LB from the drawing start position OC1 in the direction along the rotation center line AX2 of the rotating drum DR (the Y direction) by the drawing line length LBL (see FIG12 ). Finally, the drawing units UW1 to UW5 perform a third column scan SC3 using the drawing light beam LB from the drawing start position OC1 in the direction along the rotation center line AX2 of the rotating drum DR (the Y direction) by the drawing line length LBL (see FIG12 ).

Since the rotating drum DR rotates about the rotation center line AX2, the X-direction positions of the first scan column SC1, the second scan column SC2, and the third scan column SC3 on the reference pattern RMP1 differ by ΔP1 and ΔP2. Alternatively, the control unit 16 may operate the various components in the following order: while the rotating drum DR is stationary, the drawing light beam LB is scanned along the first scan column SC1. Then, the rotating drum DR is rotated by ΔP1 and then stationary, and the drawing light beam LB is scanned along the second scan column SC2. Finally, the rotating drum DR is rotated again by ΔP2 and then stationary, and the drawing light beam LB is scanned along the third scan column SC3.

As described above, in the reference pattern RMP, the intersections Cr1 and Cr2 of the two line patterns RL1 and RL2 that intersect each other and are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder DR are set to be smaller than the length LBL of the above-mentioned drawing line. Therefore, when the drawing light beam LB of the first column scan SC1, the second column scan SC2, and the third column scan SC3 is projected, the drawing light beam LB is irradiated at least on the intersections Cr1 and Cr2. The line patterns RL1 and RL2 are formed as concave and convex on the surface of the rotating cylinder DR. If the level difference of the concave and convex surface of the rotating cylinder DR is set to a specific condition in advance, the reflection intensity of the reflected light generated by the drawing light beam LB projected on the line patterns RL1 and RL2 will locally differ. For example, as shown in FIG16 , in the case where the line patterns RL1 and RL2 are concave portions on the surface of the rotating cylinder DR, if the drawing light beam LB is projected onto the line patterns RL1 and RL2, the reflected light reflected by the line patterns RL1 and RL2 is received by the photoelectric sensor 31Cs in the bright field.

The control unit 16 detects the edge position pscl of the reference pattern RMP based on the output signal from the photosensor 31Cs. For example, the control unit 16 stores the first column scan position data Dsc1 and the center value mpscl of the edge position pscl of the reference pattern RMP based on the output signal from the photosensor 31Cs during the first column scan SC1.

Next, the control unit 16 stores the second column scan position data Dsc2 and the center value mpscl of the edge position pscl of the reference pattern RMP based on the output signal obtained from the photosensor 31Cs during the second column scan SC2. Next, the control unit 16 stores the third column scan position data Dsc3 and the center value mpscl of the edge position pscl of the reference pattern RMP based on the output signal obtained from the photosensor 31Cs during the third column scan SC3.

The control unit 16 calculates the coordinate positions of the intersections Cr1 and Cr2 of the two intersecting line patterns RL1 and RL2 based on the first column scanning position data Dsc1, the second column scanning position data Dsc2, and the third column scanning position data Dsc3, and the center value mpscl of the edge positions pscl of the plurality of reference patterns RMP. As a result, the control unit 16 can also calculate the relationship between the intersections Cr1 and Cr2 of the two intersecting line patterns RL1 and RL2 and the drawing start position OC1. Similarly, for the other drawing units UW2 to 5, the control unit 16 can also calculate the relationship between the intersections Cr1 and Cr2 of the two intersecting line patterns RL1 and RL2 and the drawing start positions OC2 to OC5 (see FIG. 11 ). Furthermore, the center value mpscl can also be calculated based on the peak value of the signal output from the photosensor 31Cs.

While the above description describes the case where the photosensor 31Cs receives reflected light from the line patterns RL1 and RL2 in a bright field, the photosensor 31Cs can also receive reflected light from the line patterns RL1 and RL2 in a dark field. Figure 17 schematically illustrates a photosensor receiving reflected light from a reference pattern on a rotating drum in a dark field. Figure 18 schematically illustrates the signal output by the photosensor receiving reflected light from the reference pattern on a rotating drum in a dark field. As shown in Figure 17, the calibration detection system 31 includes a light-shielding member 31f having an annular light-transmitting portion between the relay lens 94 and the photosensor 31Cs. Therefore, the photosensor 31Cs receives edge scattered light or diffracted light from the reflected light from the line patterns RL1 and RL2. For example, if the line patterns RL1 and RL2 are concave portions on the surface of the rotating drum DR, as shown in Figure 18, the drawing light beam LB is projected onto the line patterns RL1 and RL2, and the photosensor 31Cs receives the reflected light from the line patterns RL1 and RL2 in a dark field.

The control unit 16 detects the edge position pscd1 of the reference pattern RMP based on the signal output from the photosensor 31Cs. For example, based on the output signal obtained from the photosensor 31Cs during the first column scan SC1, the control unit 16 stores the first column scan position data Dsc1 and the center value mpscd1 of the edge position pscd1 of the reference pattern RMP. Next, based on the output signal obtained from the photosensor 31Cs during the second column scan SC2, the control unit 16 stores the second column scan position data Dsc2 and the center value mpscd1 of the edge position pscd1 of the reference pattern RMP. Based on the output signal obtained from the photosensor 31Cs during the third column scan SC3, the control unit 16 stores the third column scan position data Dsc3 and the center value mpscd1 of the edge position pscd1 of the reference pattern RMP.

The control unit 16 calculates the intersections Cr1 and Cr2 of the two intersecting line patterns RL1 and RL2 based on the first column scanning position data Dsc1, the second column scanning position data Dsc2, and the third column scanning position data Dsc3 and the center value mpscd1 of the edge positions pscd1 of the plurality of reference patterns RMP. As a result, the control unit 16 calculates the relationship between the coordinate positions of the intersections Cr1 and Cr2 of the two intersecting line patterns RL1 and RL2 and the drawing start position OC1.

Similarly, for the other drawing units UW2-5, the control unit 16 can also calculate the relationship between the intersections Cr1 and Cr2 of the two intersecting line patterns RL1 and RL2 and the drawing start positions OC2-OC5. In this way, when the photosensor 31Cs receives reflected light from the line patterns RL1 and RL2 in a dark field, the accuracy of the edge positions pscd1 of the multiple reference patterns RMP can be improved.

As shown in Figure 14, the control unit 16 obtains adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the configuration status of multiple drawing lines LL1 to LL5 or the configuration errors between them based on the detection signal detected in step S2 (step S3). Figure 19 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the positional relationship between the reference patterns of the rotating drum. Figure 20 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the relative positional relationship between multiple drawing lines. As described above, the odd-numbered 1st drawing line LL1, 3rd drawing line LL3 and 5th drawing line LL5 are configured. As shown in Figure 19, the control unit 16 pre-stores the reference distance PL between the detected intersections Cr1 for each of the 1st drawing line LL1, the 3rd drawing line LL3 and the 5th drawing line LL5. Similarly, the control unit 16 also pre-stores the reference distance PL between the detected intersections Cr1 for each of the 2nd drawing line LL2 and the 4th drawing line LL4. The control unit 16 also stores in advance a reference distance ΔPL between the detected intersections Cr1 for each of the second drawing line LL2 and the third drawing line LL3. Furthermore, the control unit 16 also stores in advance a reference distance ΔPL between the detected intersections Cr1 for each of the fourth drawing line LL4 and the fifth drawing line LL5.

For example, as shown in FIG20 , the control unit 16 already knows the positional relationship of the drawing start position OC1 of the first drawing line LL1 based on the signal from the origin detector 98 (see FIG7 ). Therefore, it can determine the distance BL1 between the intersection Cr1 and the drawing start position OC1. Furthermore, the control unit 16 can detect the position of the drawing start position OC3 of the third drawing line LL3 using the origin detector 98 and can therefore determine the distance BL3 between the intersection Cr1 and the drawing start position OC3. Therefore, the control unit 16 can determine the positional relationship between the drawing start positions OC1 and OC3 based on the distances BL1, BL3, and the reference distance PL, and store the inter-origin distance ΔOC13 between the origins of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the drawing lines LL1 and LL3. Similarly, the control unit 16 can detect the position of the drawing start position OC5 of the fifth drawing line LL5 using the origin detector 98 and can therefore determine the distance BL5 between the intersection Cr1 and the drawing start position OC5. Therefore, the control unit 16 can determine the positional relationship between the drawing start positions OC3 and OC5 based on the distances BL3 and BL5 and the reference distance PL, and store the distance ΔOC35 between the origins of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the drawing lines LL3 and LL5.

The control unit 16 can detect the position of the drawing start position OC2 of the second drawing line LL2 using the origin detector 98, thereby determining the distance BL2 between the intersection Cr1 and the drawing start position OC2. Furthermore, the control unit 16 can detect the position of the drawing start position OC4 of the fourth drawing line LL4 using the origin detector 98, thereby determining the distance BL4 between the intersection Cr1 and the drawing start position OC4. Therefore, the control unit 16 can determine the positional relationship between the drawing start positions OC2 and OC4 based on the distances BL2 and BL4 and the reference distance PL, and can store the inter-origin distance ΔOC24 between the origins of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the drawing lines LL2 and LL4.

Furthermore, since drawing start position OC1 and drawing start position OC2 are located at positions determined via the same reference pattern RMP1, control unit 16 can easily store the distance ΔOC12 between the origins of drawing light beam LB scanned along drawing lines LL1 and LL2. As described above, exposure apparatus EX can determine the positional relationship between the origins (drawing start points) of each of the plurality of drawing units UW1 to UW5.

The control unit 16 can also detect a joining error between the drawing start position OC2 and the drawing start position OC3 based on a reference distance ΔPL between the intersection Cr1 detected between the second drawing line LL2 and the third drawing line LL3. Furthermore, the control unit 16 can also detect a joining error between the drawing start position OC4 and the drawing start position OC5 based on a reference distance ΔPL between the intersection Cr1 detected between the fourth drawing line LL4 and the fifth drawing line LL5.

Two intersections Cr1 and Cr2 are detected between the drawing start positions OC1 to OC5 and the drawing end positions EC1 to EC5 of each drawing line LL1 to LL5. This allows the scanning direction from the drawing start positions OC1 to OC5 to the drawing end positions EC1 to EC5 to be detected. Consequently, the control unit 16 can detect the angular error of each drawing line LL1 to LL5 relative to the direction along the center line AX2 (Y direction).

The control unit 16 determines adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the configuration state or relative configuration errors of the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 for the reference pattern RMP1. The reference pattern RMP, including the reference pattern RMP1, is a grid-like reference pattern repeatedly engraved at regular intervals (periods) Pf1 and Pf2. Therefore, the control unit 16 determines adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the configuration state or relative configuration errors of the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 for the reference pattern RMP repeated at the respective intervals Pf1 and Pf2, and calculates information related to the deviation in the relative positional relationship of the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5. As a result, the control unit 16 can further improve the accuracy of the adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the configuration state or relative configuration errors of the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5.

Next, as shown in Figure 14, the control unit 16 performs a process for adjusting the drawing state (step S4). The control unit 16 adjusts the drawing positions formed by the odd-numbered and even-numbered drawing units UW1-UW5 based on adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the arrangement of the plurality of drawing lines LL1-LL5 or their relative arrangement errors, and the rotational angle positions of the scale units (rotating drums DR) GPa and GPb detected by the encoder heads EN1 and EN2. The encoder heads EN1 and EN2 can detect the transport amount of the substrate P based on the scale units (rotating drums DR) GPa and GPb.

Figure 21, similar to Figure 12, schematically illustrates the relationship between the substrate's movement distance per unit time and the number of trace lines included in that movement distance. As shown in Figure 21, encoder heads EN1 and EN2 can detect and store the movement distance ΔX per unit time of substrate P. Alternatively, the aforementioned alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 can sequentially detect multiple alignment marks Ks1 to Ks3, calculate the movement distance ΔX, and store it.

Within the movement distance ΔX per unit time of the substrate P, the plurality of drawing lines LL1 formed by the drawing unit UW1 are drawn by the beam lines SPL1, SPL2, and SPL3 of the beam spot lights SP. These lines are scanned so as to overlap in the X-direction (and Y-direction) by approximately 1/2 of the spot diameter Xs of the respective beam spot lights SP. Similarly, the beam spot lights SP on the drawing terminal PTb side of the drawing line LL1 and the beam spot lights SP on the drawing terminal PTb side of the drawing line LL2 are joined by an overlapping distance CXs in the width direction of the substrate P as the substrate P moves in the longitudinal direction.

For example, when the rotating drum DR moves up and down, the drawing positions in the X direction formed by the odd-numbered and even-numbered drawing units UW1 to UW5 are misaligned, which may lead to, for example, a deviation in the magnification in the X direction. If the transport speed (moving speed) of the substrate P transported by the rotating drum DR slows down, the spacing CXs in the X direction of the beam lines SPL1, SPL2 and SPL3 becomes smaller, and it can be adjusted to reduce the drawing magnification in the X direction. On the contrary, if the transport speed (moving speed) of the substrate P transported by the rotating drum DR increases, the spacing CXs in the X direction of the beam lines SPL1, SPL2 and SPL3 becomes larger, and it can be adjusted to increase the drawing magnification in the X direction. The drawing line LL1 is described above with reference to Figure 21, and the same applies to the other drawing lines LL2 to LL5. The control unit 16 can change the relationship between the lengthwise movement distance ΔX of the substrate P per unit time and the number of beam lines SPL1, SPL2, and SPL3 included in this movement distance based on adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the arrangement of the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 or any relative arrangement errors, and the rotational angle positions of the scale units (rotating cylinders DR) GPa and GPb detected by the encoder heads EN1 and EN2. Thus, the control unit 16 can adjust the X-direction drawing positions formed by the odd-numbered and even-numbered drawing units UW1 to UW5.

FIG22 is a diagram schematically illustrating pulsed light emitted in synchronization with the system clock of the pulse light source. Hereinafter, the drawing line LL2 will be described with reference to FIG21 , and the same applies to the other drawing lines LL1 and LL3 to LL5. The light source device CNT is capable of emitting a beam spot light SP in synchronization with the pulse signal wp serving as the system clock SQ. The pulse interval Δwp (=1/Fz) of the pulse signal wp is changed by changing the frequency Fz of the system clock SQ. This temporal pulse interval Δwp corresponds to the spacing distance CXs in the main scanning direction of the spot light SP of each pulse on the drawing line LL2. The control unit 16 causes the beam spot light SP of the drawing light beam LB to scan the drawing line length LBL along the drawing line LL2 on the substrate P.

The control unit 16 has the function of partially changing the period of the system clock SQ while the drawing light beam LB scans along the drawing line LL2, thereby increasing or decreasing the pulse interval Δwp at arbitrary locations along the drawing line LL2. For example, if the original system clock SQ is 100 MHz, the control unit 16 partially changes the system clock SQ to, for example, 101 MHz (or 99 MHz) at certain time intervals (periods) while scanning along the drawing line length LBL. As a result, the number of beam spots SP along the drawing line length LBL increases or decreases. In other words, the control unit 16 partially increases or decreases the duty cycle of the system clock SQ at a predetermined number (one or more) of periodic intervals while scanning along the drawing line length LBL. As a result, the interval between the beam spots SP generated by the light source CNT changes by the change in pulse interval Δwp, and the overlapping distance CXs between the beam spots SP changes. Furthermore, the distance between the drawing start point PTa and the drawing end point PTb in the Y direction appears to expand or contract.

As an example, assuming a 30mm drawing line length LBL, the line is divided into 11 equal parts. The pulse interval Δwp of the system clock SQ is increased or decreased at only one point for every approximately 3mm of drawing length (cycle interval). As shown in Figure 13, the increase or decrease in pulse interval Δwp is set within a range that does not significantly degrade the integrated calculation profile (intensity distribution) associated with changes in the separation distance CXs between two adjacent spot lights SP. For example, if the reference separation distance CSx is 50% of the spot light diameter Xs (3μm), the pulse interval Δwp is set to approximately ±15%. If the pulse interval Δwp is increased or decreased by +10% (separation distance CSx is 60% of the spot light diameter Xs), the spot light corresponding to one pulse is shifted in the main scanning direction at 10 discrete locations along the drawing line length LBL, extending by 10% of the diameter Xs. As a result, the drawn line length LBL is extended by 3μm relative to 30mm. This means that the pattern drawn on the substrate P is expanded by 0.01% (100 ppm) in the Y direction. Therefore, even if the substrate P expands or contracts in the Y direction, the drawn pattern can be exposed so as to expand or contract in the Y direction accordingly.

The configuration is such that the position at which the pulse interval Δwp is increased or decreased can be preset to an arbitrary value, such as every 100 pulses, every 200 pulses, etc. of the system clock SQ, for example, for each scan of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5. In this way, the expansion and contraction amount in the main scanning direction (Y direction) of the drawing pattern can be changed over a wide range, and a magnification correction can be dynamically applied corresponding to the expansion and contraction and/or deformation of the substrate P. Therefore, the control unit 16 of the exposure apparatus EX of this embodiment includes a circuit for generating a system clock SQ, which includes: a clock oscillator that generates an original clock signal with a fixed pulse interval Δwp as the system clock SQ, and a time offset unit that increases or decreases the time until the next clock pulse of the system clock SQ is generated relative to the immediately preceding pulse interval Δwp after counting the number of clock pulses of the system clock SQ to a preset value. In addition, in the drawn line (length LBL), the number of parts that increase or decrease the pulse interval Δwp of the system clock SQ is roughly determined according to the magnification correction ratio (ppm) in the Y direction of the pattern to be drawn, but in the minimum case, it can be at least one of the scanning times Ts of the point light SP corresponding to the length LBL.

FIG23 shows an example of a clock generation circuit that partially varies the pulse interval Δwp of the system clock SQ. In FIG23 , a clock oscillator 200 outputs a basic clock signal CKL having the same frequency as the system clock SQ. The basic clock signal CKL is applied to a delay circuit 202, which generates the system clock SQ by adding a predetermined delay time Td to each pulse of the basic clock signal CKL, and to a multiplication circuit 204, which multiplies the frequency of the basic clock signal CKL by, for example, 20 times, to output a multiplied clock signal CKs.

Delay circuit 202 internally includes a counter that counts the number of pulses of the multiplied clock signal CKs until it reaches a predetermined value ΔNs. The time this counter takes to count the predetermined value ΔNs corresponds to the delay time Td. The predetermined value ΔNs is set by preset circuit 206. Preset circuit 206 internally holds a standard value _Ns0 , which serves as the initial value for the predetermined value ΔNs. When a preset value Dsb (a value corresponding to the change in delay time Td, ΔTd) is input from an external source (e.g., the host CPU), the new predetermined value ΔNs is overwritten with the previous predetermined value ΔNs + Dsb.

This overwriting is performed in response to a completion pulse signal b output by a counter circuit 208, which counts pulses of the system clock SQ output from the delay circuit 202. Counter circuit 208 repeatedly counts the number of system clock SQ pulses to a preset value Dsa and outputs a completion pulse signal b. It then resets the count to zero and begins counting the number of system clock SQ pulses again. The preset value Dsa is the number of pulses Nck of the spot light corresponding to the length LBL/N obtained by dividing the length of the drawn line LBL into N equal parts. However, it does not necessarily correspond to the length LBL/N and can be any value. The delay circuit 202, preset circuit 206, and counter circuit 208 described above constitute a time shifting unit.

Figure 24 is a timing diagram showing the temporal transitions of signals in various components of the circuit configuration of Figure 23. A standard value _Ns0 is set as the initial value in the preset circuit 206, and a predetermined value ΔNs applied to the delay circuit 202 is the standard value _Ns0 . Before the counter circuit 208 counts to the set number of pulses Nck, that is, before generating the completion pulse signal b, the predetermined value ΔNs from the preset circuit 206 is Ns0. As shown in Figure 24, the delay circuit 202 counts the number of pulses of the multiplied clock signal CKs to the predetermined value ΔNs based on the rising edge of each pulse of the basic clock signal CKL. Simultaneously with the completion of this count, it outputs a single pulse wp as the system clock SQ. Therefore, the delay time _Td1 from the rising edge of a pulse of the basic clock signal CKL to the rising edge of the corresponding pulse wp of the system clock SQ corresponds to the time required to count the pulses of the multiplied clock signal CKs to the predetermined value ΔNs.

In FIG24 , when the counter circuit 208 counts the preset value Dsa (number of pulses Nck) based on the pulse wp of the system clock SQ generated after a delay time _Td1 corresponding to the pulse _CKn of the basic clock signal CKL, the counter circuit 208 outputs a completion pulse signal b. In response, the preset circuit 206 overwrites the new specified value ΔNs with "the immediately previous specified value ΔNs + Dsb." The preset value Dsb corresponds to the change (ΔTd) in the pulse interval Δwp shown in FIG22 . While set to a negative value in FIG24 , the same applies to positive values. Therefore, before the next pulse CKn ₊₁ following the pulse _CKn of the basic clock signal CKL occurs, the delay circuit 202 sets the specified value ΔNs, which corresponds to a delay time Td2 _that is shorter by ΔTd than the delay time _Td1 set by the standard value _Ns0 .

As a result, the pulse interval Δwp' between the pulse wp' of the system clock SQ generated in response to pulse CKn ₊₁ of the basic clock signal CKL and the immediately preceding pulse wp is shorter than the preceding pulse interval Δwp. After pulse wp' is generated, the completion pulse signal b is not generated until the counter circuit 208 counts the number of system clock SQ pulses Nck. Therefore, the predetermined value ΔNs set in the delay circuit 202 remains at a value corresponding to the delay time _Td2 . Until the next completion pulse signal b is generated, the system clock SQ is consistently output delayed by the delay time _Td2 relative to the basic clock signal CKL. Therefore, the ratio β of the pulse interval Δwp determined by the frequency Fz of the basic clock signal CKL to the pulse interval Δwp' corrected by the time offset is:

β＝Δwp’/Δwp＝1±(ΔTd/Δwp) (where ΔTd＜Δwp), the width dimension of the pattern drawn along the drawing line is enlarged compared to the design value specified by the drawing data when β＞1, and is reduced compared to the design value when β＜1 (the case of Figure 24).

In the circuit configuration of FIG23 , the pulse interval Δwp between one pulse wp of the system clock SQ generated immediately after the completion pulse signal b is generated is varied by a time interval ΔTd, and this operation is repeated for each count of the number of pulses Nck of the system clock SQ. Furthermore, in the circuit configuration of FIG23 , if the standard value Ns0 stored internally in the preset circuit 206 is _set to 20 and the externally set preset value Dsb is set to zero, the specified value ΔNs remains at 20 (no Y-direction drawing magnification correction is performed) regardless of whether the completion pulse signal b is generated. Furthermore, since the frequency of the multiplication clock signal CKs is 20 times the frequency of the basic clock signal CKL, if the preset value Dsb is set to +1 (or -1) when the specified value ΔNs is 20, the specified value ΔNs is overwritten and increases (or decreases) by 20, 21, 22, ... (or 20, 19, 18, ...) each time the completion pulse signal b is generated. Moreover, one pulse of the multiplied clock signal CKs is equivalent to 1/20 (5%) of the standard pulse interval Δwp (pulse interval distance CXs), so if the preset value Dsb changes by ±1, the degree of overlap between two consecutive point lights changes in units of 5%.

As described above, since the pulsed beams output from the pulsed laser light source device CNT in response to the system clock SQ, which partially increases and decreases the pulse interval Δwp, are commonly supplied to each of the drawing units UW1 to UW5, the pattern drawn by each of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 expands and contracts at the same rate in the Y direction. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG12 (or FIG11 ), to maintain the accuracy of the joints between adjacent drawing lines in the Y direction, the drawing timing is corrected by shifting the drawing start positions OC1 to OC5 (or drawing end positions EC1 to EC5) of each of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 in the Y direction.

Examples of circuit configurations that partially vary the pulse interval Δwp of the system clock SQ include digitally varying the delay times _Td1 and _Td2 as shown in Figures 23 and 24 , as well as analog variations. Alternatively, each time the counter circuit 208 counts the system clock SQ to a preset value Dsb (number of pulses Nck), the pulse interval Δwp' at one location can be corrected by a small amount, such as 1%, relative to the standard pulse interval Δwp. In this case, the number of locations where the standard pulse interval Δwp is corrected to the pulse interval Δwp' during a single scan of the spot light along the drawing line length LBL can be varied according to the desired magnification correction amount. For example, if the number of locations to be corrected is 100, the Y-direction dimension of the pattern drawn by a single spot light scan increases or decreases by the pulse interval Δwp.

While the optical deflector (AOM) 81 shown in FIG4 is switched on/off in response to a continuous bit sequence (a sequence of bit values "0" or "1") transmitted as drawing data, the transmission of these bit values may also be synchronized with the pulse signal wp ( FIG24 ) of the system clock SQ, whose pulse interval Δwp partially increases or decreases. Specifically, a single bit value is transmitted to the driver circuit of the optical deflector (AOM) 81 between the generation of one pulse signal wp and the generation of the next pulse signal wp. If this bit value is, for example, "1" and the previous bit value is "0," the optical deflector (AOM) 81 is switched from the off state to the on state.

Furthermore, the control unit 16 can adjust the Y-direction drawing positions of the odd-numbered and even-numbered drawing units UW1-UW5 based on adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the arrangement state or mutual arrangement errors of the plurality of drawing lines LL1-LL5 and information detected by the displacement meters YN1, YN2, YN3, and YN4 capable of detecting the displacement of both ends of the rotating drum DR, so as to offset the Y-direction error caused by the offset rotation of the rotating drum DR. Furthermore, the control unit 16 can change the Y-direction length (drawing line length LBL) formed by the odd-numbered and even-numbered drawing units UW1-UW5 based on adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the arrangement state or mutual arrangement errors of the plurality of drawing lines LL1-LL5 and information detected by the displacement meters YN1, YN2, YN3, and YN4 capable of detecting the displacement of both ends of the rotating drum DR, so as to offset the Y-direction error caused by the offset rotation of the rotating drum DR.

In addition, the control unit 16 can adjust the X-direction or Y-direction drawing positions formed by the odd-numbered and even-numbered drawing units UW1 to UW5 based on the adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the configuration status of the multiple drawing lines LL1 to LL5 or the mutual configuration errors and the information detected by the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2, so that the errors in the X-direction or Y-direction of the substrate P are offset.

The exposure apparatus EX of the first embodiment includes a moving mechanism 24 as a displacement correction mechanism. As described above, the moving mechanism 24 displaces the second optical table 25 relative to the first optical table 23 within the drawing surface, about the rotation axis I including a predetermined point within the drawing surface of the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 formed on the substrate P by the drawing light beams LB from the plurality of drawing units UW1 to UW5. Based on adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the arrangement state of the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 or mutual arrangement errors, when all of the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 have errors with respect to at least one of the X and Y directions, the control unit 16 can drive and control the driving unit of the moving mechanism 24 so that the second optical table 25 is displaced in at least one of the X and Y directions by an amount sufficient to offset the errors.

When the second optical platform 25 is displaced in at least one of the X and Y directions, the fourth reflector 59 shown in Figure 6 is displaced in the X or Y direction by the amount of displacement. In particular, the Y-direction displacement of the fourth reflector 59 causes the drawing light beam LB from the third reflector 58 to be displaced in the Z direction when it is reflected in the +Y direction. This displacement in the Z direction is then corrected by the beam displacement mechanism 44 in the first optical system 41. This maintains the correct optical path for the light beam LB in the second optical system 42 and the third optical system 43 following the fourth reflector 59.

In addition, in the exposure device EX of the first embodiment, when the multiple drawing lines LL1 to LL5 have errors with respect to at least one of the X direction and the Y direction through adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the configuration status of the multiple drawing lines LL1 to LL5 or the mutual configuration errors, the control unit 16 can drive and control the beam displacement mechanism 44 to cause the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 formed on the substrate P to be slightly displaced in the X direction and/or Y direction by an amount that offsets the errors.

Moreover, in the exposure device EX of the first embodiment, when the odd-numbered or even-numbered drawing lines among the multiple drawing lines LL1 to LL5 have errors with respect to at least one of the X direction and the Y direction through adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the configuration status of the multiple drawing lines LL1 to LL5 or the mutual configuration errors, the control unit 16 drives and controls the light beam displacement mechanism 45 to slightly displace the even-numbered drawing lines LL2 and LL4 formed on the substrate P in the X direction and/or Y direction by an amount of displacement that offsets the error, thereby slightly adjusting the relative positional relationship between the odd-numbered drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 formed on the substrate P.

Furthermore, the control unit 16 can adjust the Y magnification of the drawing units UW1-UW5 based on adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the arrangement or relative arrangement errors of the plurality of drawing lines LL1-LL5, as well as information detected by the displacement meters YN1, YN2, YN3, and YN4 or the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2. For example, the image height of the telecentric f-θ lens included in the f-θ lens system 85 is proportional to the angle of incidence. Therefore, when adjusting only the Y magnification of the drawing unit UW1, the control unit 16 can adjust the Y magnification by adjusting the focal length f of the f-θ lens system 85 based on the adjustment information (calibration information) and information detected by the displacement meters YN1, YN2, YN3, and YN4 or the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2. This adjustment mechanism can, for example, combine one or more of a bending plate for magnification correction, a magnification correction mechanism for the telecentric f-θ lens, and a halving (a tiltable parallel plate glass) for displacement adjustment. In addition, by making the rotation speed of the rotating polygon mirror 97 that rotates at a certain rotation speed slightly variable, the spacing distance CXs between each point light SP (pulse light) drawn synchronously with the system clock SQ can be slightly changed (the overlap amount between adjacent point lights is slightly staggered), and as a result, the Y magnification can also be adjusted.

The exposure apparatus EX of the first embodiment includes a moving mechanism 24 as a rotation mechanism. As described above, the moving mechanism 24 includes a rotation axis I passing through a predetermined point within the drawing surface of the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 formed on the substrate P by the drawing light beams LB from the plurality of drawing units UW1 to UW5, and rotates the second optical table 25 relative to the first optical table 23 within the drawing surface. When the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 have an angular error with respect to the Y direction due to adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the arrangement state of the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 or a mutual arrangement error, the control unit 16 can drive and control the driving unit of the moving mechanism 24 to rotate the second optical table 25 by an amount sufficient to offset the angular error.

Furthermore, when rotation correction is required for each drawing unit UW1 to UW5, the f-θ lens system 85 and the second cylindrical lens 86 shown in FIG8 are rotated slightly about the optical axis AXf, thereby enabling each drawing line LL1 to LL5 to be slightly rotated (tilted) on the substrate P. The light beam LB scanned by the rotating polygon mirror 97 is imaged (converged) along the generatrix of the cylindrical lens 86 in the non-scanning direction. Therefore, the rotation of the cylindrical lens 86 about the optical axis AXf enables each drawing line LL1 to LL5 to be rotated (tilted).

The exposure apparatus EX of the first embodiment only needs to process at least one of the processes for adjusting the drawing position performed by the control device in step S4. Furthermore, the exposure apparatus EX of the first embodiment may also process the processes in combination with the processes for adjusting the drawing position performed by the control device in step S4.

By the adjustment method of the substrate processing device described above, in the exposure device EX of the first embodiment, test exposure for suppressing the bonding error between the patterns PT1 to PT5 adjacent to each other in the width direction (Y direction) of the substrate P is no longer required, or the number of test exposures can be reduced. Therefore, the exposure device EX of the first embodiment can shorten the calibration work that takes time, such as the test exposure, drying and developing process, and confirmation of the exposure results. Moreover, the exposure device EX of the first embodiment can suppress the waste of the substrate P by the number of times the test exposure feedback is performed. The exposure device EX of the first embodiment can quickly obtain adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the configuration state of the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 or the mutual configuration error. The exposure device EX of the first embodiment can make corrections in advance based on the adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the configuration state of the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 or the mutual configuration error, thereby making it easy to correct various components such as displacement, rotation, and magnification in the X direction or Y direction. Moreover, the exposure device EX of the first embodiment can improve the accuracy of overlapping exposure on the substrate P.

In addition, the exposure device EX of the first embodiment illustrates the following example: the light deflector 81 includes an acousto-optic element, and performs point scanning with the depicting light beam LB by rotating the polygonal mirror 97. However, in addition to point scanning, a method of depicting the pattern using a DMD (Digital Micro mirror Device) or an SLM (Spatial light modulator) can also be used.

[Second embodiment]

Next, the exposure apparatus EX of the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, in order to avoid duplication with the first embodiment, only the parts different from the first embodiment will be described, and the same components as the first embodiment will be marked with the same reference numerals as the first embodiment.

In the exposure apparatus EX of the second embodiment, the photosensor 31Cs of the alignment detection system 31 does not detect the reference pattern (also used as a reference mark) RMP, but instead detects reflected light (scattered light) from alignment marks Ks1 to Ks3 located on the substrate P. The alignment marks Ks1 to Ks3 are arranged at positions on the substrate P in the Y direction that pass through one of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 of the plurality of drawing units UW1 to UW5. When the point light SP of the drawing beam LB scans the alignment marks Ks1 to Ks3, the scattered light reflected from the alignment marks Ks1 to Ks3 is received by the photosensor 31Cs in either the bright field or dark field.

The control unit 16 detects the edge positions of the alignment marks Ks1 to Ks3 based on the signals output from the photosensors 31Cs. Furthermore, as in the first embodiment, the control unit 16 can determine adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the arrangement of the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 or their relative arrangement errors based on the detection signals detected by the photosensors 31Cs.

Furthermore, the control unit 16 can adjust the X- or Y-direction drawing positions performed by the odd- and even-numbered drawing units UW1-UW5 based on adjustment information (calibration information) corresponding to the configuration state of the plurality of drawing lines LL1-LL5 or their relative configuration errors, and information detected by the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2, to offset the X- or Y-direction errors of the substrate P. When the point light SP of the drawing beam LB is projected onto the alignment marks Ks1-Ks3, the photosensitive layer on the alignment marks Ks1-Ks3 is exposed to light, potentially deforming the alignment marks Ks1-Ks3 in subsequent processes. Preferably, multiple columns of alignment marks Ks1-Ks3 are pre-set, and the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 read alignment marks Ks1-Ks3 that have not been deformed by exposure.

Therefore, in the exposure apparatus EX of the second embodiment, the pattern drawing data can include data for turning on/off the optical deflector (AOM) 81, so that the spot light SP of the drawing light beam LB scans near the alignment marks Ks1 to Ks3, which can be deformed by exposure, and does not irradiate the alignment marks Ks1 to Ks3, which are not expected to be deformed by exposure. This allows the alignment information to be acquired in near real time while exposure is performed using the drawing light beam LB, and the alignment marks Ks1 to Ks3 (the positions of the substrate P) can also be read.

The exposure apparatus EX of the second embodiment is similar to the exposure apparatus EX of the first embodiment, and no longer requires test exposure for suppressing bonding errors, or the number of test exposures can be reduced. Moreover, in the exposure apparatus EX of the second embodiment, it is possible to measure error information such as the configuration state or mutual configuration relationship of multiple drawing lines LL1 to LL5 while performing pattern exposure on the substrate P, and quickly (almost in real time) obtain the corresponding adjustment information (calibration information). Therefore, in the exposure apparatus EX of the second embodiment, it is possible to gradually perform corrections and/or adjustments such as maintaining the specified accuracy while exposing the device pattern based on the error information or adjustment information (calibration information) measured quickly, and it is possible to easily suppress the reduction in bonding accuracy between the drawing units including various error components such as displacement error in the X direction or Y direction, rotation error, and magnification error, which are problems in the multi-drawing head method. As a result, the exposure apparatus EX of the second embodiment can maintain the overlap accuracy during overlapping exposure on the substrate P at a high precision.

<Device Manufacturing Method>

Next, a device manufacturing method will be described with reference to Fig. 25. Fig. 25 is a flowchart showing a device manufacturing method according to each embodiment.

In the device manufacturing method shown in FIG25 , the functions and performance of a display panel formed from self-luminous elements such as organic EL are first designed, and the required circuit and wiring patterns are designed using CAD (step S201). Furthermore, a supply roll is prepared, on which a flexible substrate P (resin film, metal foil, plastic, etc.) serving as the base material of the display panel is wound (step S202). The roll-shaped substrate P prepared in step S202 may be a substrate with a modified surface, a substrate with a pre-formed base layer (e.g., micro-convexities formed by embossing), or a substrate with a light-sensitive functional film and/or a transparent film (insulating material) pre-laminated, as needed.

Next, a base layer composed of electrodes, wiring, an insulating film, TFTs (thin-film semiconductors), etc., which constitute the display panel device, is formed on the substrate P, and a light-emitting layer (display pixel portion) composed of self-luminous elements such as organic EL is formed in a manner stacked on the base layer (step S203). This step S203 may also include processing formed by the following steps, etc.: a conventional photolithography step of exposing and developing a photoresist layer using the exposure device EX described in the previous embodiments; an exposure step of pattern-exposing the substrate P coated with a photosensitive silane coupling material instead of the photoresist to modify the hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of the surface to form a pattern; a wet process of pattern-exposing a photosensitive catalyst layer to selectively impart plating reduction properties to form a metal film pattern (wiring, electrodes, etc.) by electroless plating; or a printing process of drawing a pattern using a conductive ink containing silver nanoparticles.

Next, the substrate P is cut according to each display panel device continuously manufactured on the long strip substrate P in a roller manner, and a protective film (environmentally resistant interlayer) and a color filter are attached to the surface of each display panel device to assemble the device (step S204). Then, an inspection process is performed to see whether the display panel device functions normally and whether it meets the desired performance and characteristics (step S205). As described above, a display panel (flexible display) can be manufactured. In addition, the electronic device made of a flexible long sheet substrate is not limited to a display panel, and can also be a flexible wiring network used as a wiring harness (wiring harness) to connect various electronic components installed in automobiles and/or trams.

Description of Reference Signs

1 Device Manufacturing System

11. Drawing Device

12. Substrate transport mechanism

13 Device Framework

14 Rotational position detection mechanism

16 Control Unit

23 1st Optical Platform

24 Mobile Mechanism

25 2nd optical platform

31 Calibration and testing system

31Cs photoelectric sensor

31f Light-shielding component

73 4th beam splitter

81 Light Deflector

83 Scanner

96 Reflector

97 Rotating Polygonal Mirror

97a Rotation axis

97b Reflective surface

98 Origin Detector

AM1, AM2 alignment microscope

DR Rotating Drum

EN1, EN2, EN3, EN4 encoder read heads

EX exposure device

I Rotation axis

LL1～LL5 drawing lines

PBS Polarizing Beam Splitter

UW1～UW5 drawing units

Claims (9)

1. A substrate processing method for drawing patterns of electronic devices on a long strip-shaped substrate, characterized by comprising the following steps: A process of conveying the sheet substrate at a predetermined speed along the length direction of the sheet substrate; A process of focusing a beam of ultraviolet light emitted from a pulsed light source device at a frequency of Fz into a point light on the surface of a sheet substrate, and scanning the point light along a drawing line extending in a width direction intersecting the length direction of the sheet substrate; and During the scanning of the point light, a process is performed whereby the intensity of the light beam is modulated using a light switching element based on the depiction data obtained by dividing the pattern into pixel units. The modulation response frequency Fss of the optical switching element and the pulse oscillation frequency Fz of the light beam are set to a relationship of Fz > Fss. 2. The substrate processing method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The frequency Fz and the response frequency Fss are set to the relationship Fz = h·Fss, where h is an integer greater than or equal to 2. 3. The substrate processing method as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The scanning process is performed by a drawing unit, which includes a rotating polygon mirror, an f-θ lens, and a cylindrical lens disposed between the sheet substrate and the f-θ lens. The rotating polygon mirror causes the intensity-modulated light beam in the modulation process to be repeatedly deflected in a one-dimensional direction corresponding to the direction of the drawing line. The light beam deflected by the rotating polygon mirror enters the f-θ lens, which guides the light beam to the drawing line on the sheet substrate. The f-θ lens and the cylindrical lens focus the light beam deflected in the one-dimensional direction onto the sheet substrate as the point light. 4. The substrate processing method as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The optical switching element is composed of an acousto-optic element, which switches between an on state where the first diffracted light of the ultraviolet band beam from the pulsed light source device is generated at a predetermined diffraction angle, and an off state where the first diffracted light is not generated. 5. The substrate processing method as described in claim 3, characterized in that, When the length of the tracing line on the sheet substrate is set to LBL, the effective dimension of the spot light along the tracing line is set to Xs, the interval along the tracing line between the spot light formed by focusing one pulse of the light beam and the spot light formed by focusing the next pulse is set to CXs, and the scanning time for the spot light to scan the length LBL is set to Ts, the following relationship is set to be satisfied: Xs＞CXs, and Fz＞LBL/(Ts·Xs). 6. The substrate processing method as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The pulsed light source device has a mechanism that pulses and emits the light beam in response to a clock pulse of frequency Fz output from a clock generator. The rotating multifaceted mirror has a mechanism that can change the rotation speed to adjust the scanning time Ts. Adjust at least one of the rotation speed of the rotating multifaceted mirror and the frequency Fz of the clock pulse to set the ratio CXs/Xs of the size Xs to the interval CXs to a specified range. 7. The substrate processing method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The specified range for the ratio CXs/Xs is set to 40% to 60%. 8. The substrate processing method as described in claim 6 or 7, characterized in that, When the period of the clock pulse determined by the frequency Fz is set to Δwp, the clock generating unit has a mechanism to correct the period Δwp of the clock pulse at one or more discrete points during the scan time Ts to a period Δwp’ that has been increased or decreased by time ΔTd, wherein ΔTd < Δwp. The size of the pattern drawn on the sheet substrate in the direction along the drawing line is enlarged or reduced relative to the size of the design specified by the drawing data. 9. The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The pulsed light source device includes: a light source that generates light of a fundamental wave; an optical fiber amplifier that amplifies the light of the fundamental wave; and a wavelength conversion element that converts the amplified light of the fundamental wave into a beam of light in the ultraviolet band.