HK1261329A1 - Substrate processing method and element manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Substrate processing method and device manufacturing apparatus

The present invention is a divisional application of invention patent application, which was filed 2016, 11, 30, and has an application number of "201680065114.1", entitled "exposure apparatus, exposure system, substrate processing method, and device manufacturing apparatus".

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus, an exposure system, a substrate processing method, and a device manufacturing apparatus for exposing a pattern for an electronic device on a sheet substrate.

Background

Conventionally, in a photolithography step when forming an electronic element on a semiconductor substrate (silicon substrate), for example, as disclosed in patent document 1 below, an exposure apparatus is used which transfers a fine pattern of the electronic element to a photosensitive layer (photoresist) on the surface of the substrate.

Patent document 1 discloses the following technique: in transferring a device pattern on a 1-piece substrate, both a stepper (an exposure apparatus using a mask substrate) having a high throughput and an electron beam exposure apparatus having an excellent resolution over light are used, a rough pattern portion of an electronic device is exposed by the stepper, and a fine pattern portion is exposed by the electron beam exposure apparatus.

On the other hand, in recent years, in the manufacture of liquid crystal display elements, organic EL display elements, touch panels, high-density mounting elements, and the like, a step of forming an electronic element unit including any one of a display unit, a sensor electrode, a thin film transistor, an IC chip, a light emitting unit, a wiring layer, and the like on a flexible substrate is used. In this step, there is a case where a photolithography step of transferring a pattern to a photosensitive layer on a flexible substrate made of plastic, polymer resin, or the like using an exposure apparatus is included. However, in pattern transfer using a flexible substrate as an exposure target, two-dimensional deformation due to expansion and contraction of the flexible substrate is likely to occur. Therefore, even if the exposure step is performed using a mask made from design data in order to obtain a high throughput (mass productivity), the registration accuracy when registering and exposing a new pattern to the base pattern layer already formed on the flexible substrate is significantly reduced.

[ background Art document ]

[ patent document ]

[ patent document 1] Japanese patent application laid-open No. Hei 10-303125

Disclosure of Invention

The invention of claim 1 is an exposure apparatus, which carries a flexible strip-shaped sheet substrate along the long side direction and exposes the pattern for electronic element on the sheet substrate; and is provided with: a mark detection unit that detects mark position information of a plurality of marks formed on the sheet substrate; a1 st pattern exposure section for exposing the pattern to an element formation region on the sheet substrate on which the electronic element is to be formed, and projecting an energy beam corresponding to design information of the pattern after performing position adjustment based on the mark position information; and an output unit that generates a mask pattern corresponding to the pattern to be exposed in the element forming region, and outputs at least one of adjustment information related to the position adjustment of the energy ray projected onto the element forming region and the mark position information.

The invention of claim 2 is an exposure system, which carries the flexible strip-shaped sheet substrate along the long side direction and exposes the pattern for electronic element on the sheet substrate; and is provided with: the exposure apparatus according to the above-mentioned 1 st aspect; an actual pattern information generating unit that corrects the design information based on at least one of the adjustment information and the mark position information output by the output unit, and generates actual pattern information for creating a mask pattern corresponding to the pattern to be exposed in the device forming region; and a mask making device for making the mask pattern by using a3 rd pattern exposure part for projecting energy rays according to design information; the mask making device holds a mask substrate on which the mask pattern is to be formed, supplies the actual pattern information as the design information to the 3 rd pattern exposure portion, and forms the mask pattern corresponding to the actual pattern information on the mask substrate by projecting an energy ray corresponding to the actual pattern information onto the mask substrate.

The invention of claim 3 is a substrate processing method of carrying a flexible long strip-shaped sheet substrate in a longitudinal direction and exposing a pattern for an electronic component on the sheet substrate; and comprises the following steps: a detection step of detecting mark position information of a plurality of marks formed on the sheet substrate; a1 st exposure step of performing position adjustment of an energy ray corresponding to design information of the pattern according to the mark position information and then performing projection on an element formation region on the sheet substrate on which the electronic element is to be formed, by a1 st pattern exposure section that projects the energy ray corresponding to the design information; and a generation step of generating actual pattern information for creating a mask pattern to be exposed in the element formation region, based on the design information and at least one of adjustment information related to the position adjustment of the energy ray to be projected onto the element formation region and the mark position information.

The invention in its 4 th aspect is a device manufacturing apparatus for forming an electronic device on a substrate by using a plurality of exposure portions for irradiating exposure light corresponding to a pattern of the electronic device onto a sheet substrate while conveying a flexible long substrate in a longitudinal direction; and the plurality of exposure portions are arranged along a conveying direction of the substrate, each of the plurality of exposure portions includes a substrate support member having a support surface for supporting the substrate by bending the substrate in the conveying direction, the substrate being irradiated with exposure light corresponding to a pattern of the electronic component; the plurality of exposure units are configured to expose the pattern to the substrate in different exposure modes.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a device manufacturing system including an exposure apparatus according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 2 is a view showing a configuration of the 1 st pattern exposure section shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a trace line of a light spot projected onto a substrate by the pattern exposure part 1 shown in fig. 2 and an alignment mark formed on the substrate.

Fig. 4 is a view showing an example of the configuration of the pattern 2 exposure section shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 5A is a plan view of the illumination area on the cylindrical mask held by the rotary holding cylinder viewed from the-Z direction side, and fig. 5B is a plan view of the projection area on the irradiated surface of the substrate supported by the rotary cylinder viewed from the + Z direction side.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing another example of the configuration of the pattern 2 exposure section shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of the mask forming exposure system according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of an exposure apparatus according to modification 1.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing the arrangement relationship between the unmasked exposure portion and the exposure portion using the mask in the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 2, and showing a state during unmasked exposure.

Fig. 10 is a view showing a state in mask exposure in the exposure apparatus of fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing the configuration of an exposure apparatus according to modification 1 of embodiment 2.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing the configuration of an exposure apparatus according to modification 2 of embodiment 2.

Fig. 13 is a diagram showing the entire configuration of the device manufacturing apparatus according to embodiment 3.

Fig. 14 is a view showing a configuration of an exposure section incorporated in the device manufacturing apparatus of fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a flexible sheet sensor suitable for performing pattern exposure on a substrate by a roll-to-roll method using the exposure unit of fig. 14.

Reference numerals

10: component manufacturing system

12. 12 a: substrate conveying mechanism

14. 36: control device

20. 22, 24: light source device

30: exposure system

32: actual pattern information generating section

34: mask manufacturing device

ALG, ALG 1-ALG 4, ALGa, ALGb: alignment microscope

ALGA, ALGB, ALGC: alignment system

AX1, AXo1, AXo2, AXa, AXb, AXc: center shaft

DR, DRa, DRb, DRA, DRB, DRC, RS 1: rotary drum

DR2, DR 3: rotary holding cylinder

EL, EL 1: illuminating light beam

EL 2: imaging beam

EX, EX2, EXa, EXb, EXC: exposure device

EXc1, EXc2, EXc 3: exposure portion

EXH 1: 1 st pattern exposure part

EXH 2: pattern 2 exposure part

EXH 3: pattern 3 exposure part

LB: beam of radiation

MK, MK 1-MK 4: marking

M, M1, M2: cylinder shade

MP: substrate for mask

P: substrate

PL, PL 1-PL 6: projection module

RSS1, RSS2, RSS3, RSS 4: sheet sensor

SP: light spot

W: exposed region (element forming region)

Vdd, Vss (GND): power line

CBL: signal line

FPA (field programmable gate array): fine pattern region

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of an exposure apparatus, an exposure system, a substrate processing method, and a device manufacturing apparatus according to aspects of the present invention are disclosed below, and will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The aspects of the present invention are not limited to the embodiments, and include various modifications and improvements. That is, the components described below include those which can be easily assumed by those skilled in the art and substantially the same, and the components described below may be appropriately combined. Various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the components can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[ embodiment 1]

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a device manufacturing system 10 including an exposure apparatus EX for performing an exposure process on a substrate (an object to be irradiated) P in embodiment 1. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, an XYZ rectangular coordinate system is set, and the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction are described in accordance with the arrows shown in the drawings.

The component manufacturing system 10 is, for example, a manufacturing system assembled into a production line that manufactures a flexible display as an electronic component. As the flexible display, for example, an organic EL display, a liquid crystal display, and the like are available. The component manufacturing system 10 has a so-called Roll-To-Roll (Roll To Roll) configuration, that is: the substrate P is fed from a supply roll (not shown) that winds a flexible sheet-like substrate (sheet substrate) P into a roll shape, various processes are continuously performed on the fed substrate P, and the substrate P after various processes is wound up by a recovery roll (not shown). The substrate P has a belt-like shape in which the conveyance direction of the substrate P is the long side direction (long dimension) and the width direction is the short side direction (short dimension). The substrate P after various processes is a so-called multi-chamfer substrate in which the formation regions (exposure regions) of the plurality of electronic components are connected in the longitudinal direction. The substrate P sent from the supply roll is subjected to various processes in order of the processing apparatus PR1, the exposure apparatus EX, the processing apparatus PR2, and the like, and is taken up by the recovery roll. Here, 1 or more display panels are formed in 1 exposure region on the flexible substrate P, but as other electronic components, a flexible sensor for living things, a flexible color filter and an alignment film for a liquid crystal display, a flexible multilayer wiring film (a long wiring harness), or the like may be formed.

The X direction is a direction from the processing apparatus PR1 to the processing apparatus PR2 through the exposure apparatus EX in the horizontal plane. The Y direction is a direction orthogonal to the X direction in the horizontal plane and is a width direction of the substrate P. The Z direction is a direction (upward direction) orthogonal to the X direction and the Y direction, and the Z direction is parallel to a direction in which gravity acts.

For example, a resin film, a foil (foil) made of a metal such as stainless steel or an alloy, or the like can be used as the substrate P. As the material of the resin film, for example, at least one or more of a polyethylene resin, a polypropylene resin, a polyester resin, an ethylene-vinyl ester copolymer resin, a polyvinyl chloride resin, a cellulose resin, a polyamide resin, a polyimide resin, a polycarbonate resin, a polystyrene resin, and a vinyl acetate resin can be used. The thickness and rigidity (young's modulus) of the substrate P may be within a range such that the substrate P does not have creases or irreversible wrinkles due to buckling when passing through the transport path of the exposure apparatus EX. Films of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) having a thickness of about 25 to 200 μm are typical of preferable sheet substrates as the base material of the substrate P.

The substrate P is preferably selected from a material having a thermal expansion coefficient not too large because the substrate P is heated in each process performed by the processing apparatus PR1, the exposure apparatus EX, and the processing apparatus PR 2. For example, the thermal expansion coefficient can be suppressed by mixing an inorganic filler in a resin film. The inorganic filler may be, for example, titanium oxide, zinc oxide, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, or the like. The substrate P may be a single layer of an extra thin glass having a thickness of about 100 μm manufactured by a float method or the like, or may be a laminate in which the above resin film, foil, or the like is laminated on the extra thin glass.

The flexibility of the substrate P means that the substrate P can be bent without breaking or breaking even if a force of a self-weight is applied to the substrate P. Also, the flexibility includes the property of buckling by a force of its own weight. The degree of flexibility varies depending on the material, size, and thickness of the substrate P, the layer structure formed on the substrate P, and the environment such as temperature and humidity. In short, the range of flexibility can be referred to as long as the substrate P can be smoothly conveyed without buckling and causing creases or damage (occurrence of cracks) when the substrate P is reliably wound around a conveying direction switching member such as various conveying rollers or a rotary drum provided on a conveying path in the device manufacturing system 10 of the present embodiment.

The processing apparatus PR1 performs the previous process on the substrate P while continuously conveying the substrate P to be subjected to the exposure process by the exposure apparatus EX to the + X direction side in the longitudinal direction. The substrate P subjected to the processing in the previous step is transported to the exposure apparatus EX. By the processing in the preceding step, the substrate P sent out to the exposure apparatus EX becomes a substrate (photosensitive substrate) P on the surface of which a photosensitive functional layer (photosensitive layer) is formed.

The photosensitive functional layer is applied as a solution onto the substrate P and dried, thereby forming a layer (film). A typical example of the photosensitive functional layer is a photoresist, but as a material not requiring development treatment, there are a photosensitive silane coupling agent (SAM) modified in lyophilic property in a portion exposed to ultraviolet irradiation, a photosensitive reducing agent in which a reducing group is exposed in a portion exposed to ultraviolet irradiation, and the like. When a photosensitive silane coupling agent is used as the photosensitive functional layer, the pattern portion exposed to ultraviolet light on the substrate P is modified from lyophilic to lyophilic. Therefore, the pattern layer can be formed by selectively applying a liquid containing a conductive ink (ink containing conductive nanoparticles such as silver or copper) or a semiconductor material on the portion having lyophilic properties. In the case of using a photosensitive reducing agent as the photosensitive functional layer, the plating reducing group is exposed to the pattern portion exposed by ultraviolet rays on the substrate P. Therefore, immediately after exposure, the substrate P is immersed in a plating solution containing palladium ions or the like for a fixed time, thereby forming (depositing) a pattern layer made of palladium. Such plating treatment is an additive (additive) process, but when etching treatment is assumed as a subtractive (reactive) process, the substrate P sent out to the exposure apparatus EX may be formed by using PET or PEN as a base material, depositing a metal thin film such as aluminum (Al) or copper (Cu) on the entire surface thereof, or selectively depositing a photoresist layer thereon.

The exposure apparatus EX exposes a specific pattern such as a circuit or a wiring for a display to an irradiated surface (light-receiving surface) of the substrate P on which the photosensitive functional layer is formed, while continuously conveying the substrate P conveyed from the processing apparatus PR1 to the + X direction side in the longitudinal direction. Thereby, a latent image corresponding to the exposed specific pattern is formed on the photosensitive functional layer of the substrate P. Since the substrate P is continuously conveyed in the conveying direction, a plurality of exposure areas W of the exposure pattern by the exposure apparatus EX are provided at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction of the substrate P (see fig. 3). Since the exposure region W forms an electronic element, the exposure region W is also an element forming region. Further, since the electronic device is configured by overlapping a plurality of pattern layers (layers having patterns), the patterns corresponding to the respective layers are exposed by the exposure apparatus EX.

The processing apparatus PR2 continuously conveys the substrate P subjected to the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus EX in the longitudinal direction to the + X direction side, and performs the processing (for example, plating processing, development, etching processing, etc.) of the subsequent steps on the substrate P. By the processing of the subsequent step, a pattern layer corresponding to the latent image is formed on the substrate P.

As described above, since the electronic component is configured by stacking a plurality of pattern layers, 1 pattern layer is formed through at least the respective processes of the component manufacturing system 10. Therefore, in order to form an electronic component, it is necessary to go through each process of the component manufacturing system 10 shown in fig. 1 at least 2 times. By mounting the recovery roll around which the substrate P is wound as a supply roll to another device manufacturing system 10, the pattern layers can be laminated. Such operations are repeated to form an electronic component. The substrate P after the treatment is in a state where a plurality of electronic components or regions in which specific pattern layers of the electronic components are formed are connected at specific intervals in the longitudinal direction of the substrate P.

The recovery roller for recovering the substrate P formed in a state where the electronic components are connected may be mounted on a cutting device not shown. The cutting device mounted with the recovery roller divides (cuts) the processed substrate P into individual electronic elements, thereby forming a plurality of electronic elements. The dimension of the substrate P is, for example, about 10cm to 2m in the width direction (direction of short dimension) and 10m or more in the length direction (direction of long dimension). The size of the substrate P is not limited to the above size.

Next, the exposure apparatus EX will be described in detail. The exposure apparatus EX is housed in a temperature-controlled room ECV. The temperature controlled chamber ECV keeps the inside at a predetermined temperature, thereby suppressing a change in shape due to the temperature of the substrate P transported inside. The temperature controlled chamber ECV is disposed on the installation surface E of the manufacturing plant by passive or active vibration-resistant units SU1 and SU 2. The anti-vibration units SU1 and SU2 reduce vibration from the installation surface E. The installation surface E may be a surface on which the base is installed or a ground surface. The exposure apparatus EX includes at least a substrate conveyance mechanism 12, a1 st pattern exposure section (exposure section) EXH1, a2 nd pattern exposure section (exposure section) EXH2, a control device 14, and a plurality of alignment microscopes ALG (ALG1 to ALG 4). The controller 14 controls each part (the substrate transfer mechanism 12, the 1 st pattern exposure part EXH1, the 2 nd pattern exposure part EXH2, the alignment microscope ALG, etc.) of the exposure apparatus EX. The control device 14 includes a computer, a storage medium storing a program, pattern data, and the like, and functions as the control device 14 of the present embodiment when the computer executes the program. The 1 st pattern exposure unit EXH1 and the 2 nd pattern exposure unit EXH2 are provided above (on the + Z direction side) the rotary drum DR of the substrate conveyance mechanism 12.

The substrate transfer mechanism (transfer device) 12 transfers the substrate P transferred from the processing device PR1 to the processing device PR2 at a predetermined speed. The substrate transfer mechanism 12 defines a transfer path for the substrate P to be transferred in the exposure apparatus EX. The substrate conveyance mechanism 12 includes an edge position controller EPC, a drive roller R1, a tension adjustment roller RT1, a rotary drum (cylindrical drum) DR, a tension adjustment roller RT2, a drive roller R2, and a drive roller R3 in this order from the upstream side (the-X direction side) in the conveyance direction of the substrate P.

The edge position controller EPC adjusts the position in the width direction (Y direction and the short-dimension direction of the substrate P) of the substrate P conveyed from the processing apparatus PR 1. That is, the edge position controller EPC adjusts the position of the substrate P in the width direction by moving the substrate P in the width direction so that the position of the end (edge) of the substrate P in the width direction, which is conveyed in a state where a specific tension is applied, is within a range (allowable range) of about ± tens μm to several tens μm from the target position. The edge position controller EPC has an edge sensor (edge detection unit), not shown, that detects the position of an edge (edge) of the substrate P in the width direction, and adjusts the position of the substrate P in the width direction based on a detection signal detected by the edge sensor. The drive rollers R1 rotate while holding both front and back surfaces of the substrate P conveyed from the edge position controller EPC, and convey the substrate P to the rotary drum DR. The edge position controller EPC adjusts the position of the substrate P in the width direction so that the longitudinal direction of the substrate P conveyed to the rotary drum DR is orthogonal to the central axis AXo of the rotary drum DR.

The rotary drum DR has a central axis AXo extending in the Y direction and extending in a direction intersecting the direction in which gravity acts, and a cylindrical outer peripheral surface having a constant radius from the central axis AXo, and conveys the substrate P in the conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) while rotating around the central axis AXo while supporting a part of the substrate P in the longitudinal direction along the outer peripheral surface (circumferential surface). On both sides of the rotary drum DR in the Y direction, shafts Sft supported by bearings so as to rotate around the central shaft AXo are provided. The shaft Sft is rotated around the center axis AXo by torque applied thereto from a not-shown rotation drive source (e.g., a motor, a reduction mechanism, or the like) controlled by the control device 14.

The driving rollers R2 and R3 are disposed at a predetermined interval in the + X direction, and apply a predetermined slack (margin) to the substrate P after exposure. The drive rollers R2 and R3 rotate while holding both front and back surfaces of the substrate P, and convey the substrate P to the processing apparatus PR2, similarly to the drive roller R1. The drive rollers R2 and R3 are provided on the downstream side (+ X direction side) in the conveyance direction with respect to the rotary drum DR, and the drive roller R2 is provided on the upstream side (-X direction side) in the conveyance direction with respect to the drive roller R3. The tension adjusting rollers RT1 and RT2 are energized in the-Z direction, and apply a predetermined tension to the substrate P wound around the rotary drum DR and supported in the longitudinal direction. Thereby, the tension in the longitudinal direction of the substrate P wound around the rotary drum DR is stabilized within a specific range. By shortening the distance between the tension adjusting rollers RT1 and RT2 in the X direction, the winding angle of the substrate P with respect to the rotary drum DR can be increased. The controller 14 controls a rotation driving source (e.g., a motor, a reduction mechanism, or the like), not shown, to rotate the driving rollers R1 to R3. The conveyance speed of the substrate P supported by the rotary drum DR, that is, the speed of the substrate P in the sub-scanning direction is determined based on the rotational speeds of the drive rollers R1 and R2 and the rotary drum DR.

Next, the structure of the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 will be described with reference to fig. 2. The 1 st pattern exposure section EXH1 exposes the pattern in a direct imaging mode without using a mask, that is, a so-called raster scan mode. The 1 st pattern exposure section EXH1 projects a spot SP, which is a beam LB of exposure energy rays, onto an exposure area W of a substrate P that is supported while being conveyed by a rotary drum DR, and one-dimensionally scans (main scans) the spot SP (energy rays) in a main scanning direction (Y direction) over the substrate P (on an irradiated surface of the substrate P). Then, the 1 st pattern exposure section EXH1 modulates (turns on/off) the intensity of the spot SP scanned in the main scanning direction at a high speed based on pattern data (drawing data) as design information of a pattern to be drawn. Thereby, a light pattern corresponding to a specific pattern such as a circuit or wiring for a display is exposed to light on the surface to be irradiated of the substrate P. That is, the sub-scanning of the substrate P and the main scanning of the spot SP relatively two-dimensionally scan the spot SP on the irradiated surface of the substrate P, and the exposure specific pattern is drawn on the exposure area W of the substrate P.

The 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 includes a light source device 20, a plurality of light introduction optical systems BDU (BDU1 to BDU6), and a plurality of scanning units U (U1 to U6). The light source device 20 includes a pulse light source and emits a pulse beam (pulse light, laser light) LB. The beam LB is ultraviolet light having a peak wavelength in a wavelength band of 370nm or less, and the emission frequency of the beam LB is Fe. The light source device 20 can use a pulse beam having a high luminance in the ultraviolet wavelength region as a fiber amplifier laser light source that can oscillate at a high emission frequency Fe. The fiber amplifier laser light source is composed of a semiconductor laser emitting light in an infrared wavelength region with high-frequency pulses of 100MHz or more, a fiber amplifier amplifying the pulse light in the infrared wavelength region, and a wavelength conversion element (harmonic generation element) converting the amplified pulse light in the infrared wavelength region into pulse light in an ultraviolet wavelength region. The pulse light in the infrared wavelength range from the semiconductor laser is also called seed light, and by changing the light emission characteristics (pulse duration, and the sharp rise or fall) of the seed light, the amplification efficiency (amplification factor) of the fiber amplifier can be changed, and the intensity of the pulse beam in the ultraviolet wavelength range to be finally output can be adjusted at high speed. Further, the pulse beam in the ultraviolet wavelength region outputted from the fiber amplifier laser light source can extremely shorten the light emission duration to several picoseconds to several tens of picoseconds. Therefore, even in the raster scanning method, the spot SP formed by the pulse emission of the pulse beam does not substantially deviate on the irradiated surface of the substrate P, and the shape and intensity distribution (for example, a circular gaussian distribution) in the cross section of the beam are maintained.

The 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 is a so-called multi-beam type pattern exposure portion by including a plurality of scanning units U (U1 to U6) having the same configuration. The plurality of scanning units U (U1 to U6) are arranged in 2 rows in the circumferential direction of the rotary drum DR with a center plane Poc1 described below interposed therebetween. The odd-numbered scanning units U1, U3, and U5 are arranged in 1 row in the Y direction on the upstream side of the center plane Poc1 in the conveyance direction of the substrate P. The even-numbered scanning units U2, U4, and U6 are arranged in 1 row in the Y direction on the downstream side of the center plane Poc1 in the conveyance direction of the substrate P. Each of the scanning units U (U1 to U6) projects the light spot SP onto the irradiation surface of the substrate P, and scans the light spot SP one-dimensionally along a specific scanning line (scanning line) SL extending in the Y direction on the irradiation surface of the substrate P. In order to distinguish the drawing lines SL of the respective scanning units U (U1 to U6), there are drawing lines SL that scan the spots SP with the scanning units U1 displayed as SL1, and similarly, drawing lines SL that scan the spots SP with the scanning units U2 to U6 displayed as SL2 to SL 6.

The positions of the spots SP irradiated onto the irradiated surface of the substrate P by the scanning units U1, U3, and U5 are the same in the transport direction of the substrate P, that is, 1 line in the Y direction. The positions of the spots SP irradiated onto the irradiated surface of the substrate P by the even-numbered scanning units U2, U4, and U6 are the same in the conveyance direction of the substrate P, that is, 1 line in the Y direction. Further, in the transport direction of the substrate P, a center point of the position of the spot SP irradiated on the irradiated surface of the substrate P by the scanning units U1, U3, and U5 and the position of the spot SP irradiated on the irradiated surface of the substrate P by the scanning units U2, U4, and U6, and a plane extending in the Y direction along the central axis AXo of the rotary drum DR are set as a center plane Poc 1. In fig. 2, the direction perpendicular to the Y direction in the center plane Poc1 is set to Z1', and the direction perpendicular to the center plane Poc1 is set to X1'. the-Z1 'direction is the direction side in which gravity acts, and the + X1' direction is the conveyance direction side of the substrate P. The odd-numbered scan cells U1, U3, and U5 and the even-numbered scan cells U2, U4, and U6 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center plane Poc1 in the X1' direction.

Here, the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) of the respective scan cells U (U1 to U6) will be briefly described with reference to fig. 3. The plurality of scanning units U (U1 to U6) are arranged such that the plurality of scanning lines SL (SL1 to SL6) are not separated from each other but are continuous in the Y direction as shown in fig. 3. Each of the scanning units U (U1 to U6) shares the scanning area so that the entire width direction of the exposure area W is covered with all of the scanning units U (U1 to U6). Thus, each of the scanning units U (U1 to U6) can draw a pattern for each of a plurality of regions divided in the width direction of the substrate P. For example, if the Y-direction scanning length (the length of the drawing line SL) of 1 scan cell U is set to about 20 to 50mm, the Y-direction width that can be drawn is increased to about 120 to 300mm by arranging 3 odd-numbered scan cells U1, U3, and U5 and 6 even-numbered scan cells U2, U4, and U6 in total in the Y direction. The lengths of the drawing lines SL1 to SL6 are set to be the same in principle. That is, the scanning distances of the spots SP of the beam LB scanned along each of the drawing lines SL1 to SL6 are set to be the same in principle. In addition, when the width of the exposure region W is to be extended, the length of the scanning line SL itself may be extended or the number of scanning units U arranged in the Y direction may be increased.

The drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) are arranged in 2 rows in the circumferential direction of the rotary drum DR with the center plane Poc1 interposed therebetween. The odd-numbered drawing lines SL1, SL3, and SL5 are located on the irradiated surface of the substrate P on the upstream side (the (-X direction side) in the conveyance direction of the substrate P with respect to the central plane Poc 1. The even-numbered drawing lines SL2, SL4, and SL6 are located on the irradiated surface of the substrate P on the downstream side (+ X direction side) in the conveyance direction of the substrate P with respect to the central plane Poc 1. The drawing lines SL1 to SL6 are substantially parallel to the width direction (Y direction) of the substrate P.

The scanning lines SL1, SL3, and SL5 are arranged on a straight line with a specific interval in the width direction (scanning direction) of the substrate P. The scanning lines SL2, SL4, and SL6 are arranged on a straight line at a predetermined interval in the width direction (scanning direction) of the substrate P. At this time, the drawing line SL2 is disposed between the drawing line SL1 and the drawing line SL3 in the width direction of the substrate P. Similarly, the drawing line SL3 is disposed between the drawing line SL2 and the drawing line SL4 in the width direction of the substrate P. The drawing line SL4 is disposed between the drawing line SL3 and the drawing line SL5 in the width direction of the substrate P, and the drawing line SL5 is disposed between the drawing line SL4 and the drawing line SL6 in the width direction of the substrate P. In the present embodiment, the scanning direction of the spot SP of the beam LB scanned along the drawing lines SL1, SL3, and SL5 is set to the-Y direction, and the scanning direction of the spot SP of the beam LB scanned along the drawing lines SL2, SL4, and SL6 is set to the + Y direction.

Next, the configuration of the scanning unit U (U1 to U6) will be described with reference to fig. 2. Since the scan cells U (U1 to U6) have the same configuration, only the scan cell U1 will be described, and the descriptions of the scan cells U2 to U6 will be omitted. In the description of the scanner unit U1, the description will be given using the XtYZt orthogonal coordinate system. The Zt direction is parallel to the traveling direction of the beam LB irradiated from the scanning unit U1 to the substrate P, and the Xt direction is a direction perpendicular to the YZt plane. the-Zt direction is the direction side in which gravity acts, and the + Xt direction is the conveyance direction side of the substrate P.

The scanning unit U1 includes cylindrical lenses CYa and CYb, a polygon mirror PM and an f θ lens FT, and an optical path specifying member RG capable of appropriately bending the optical path of the beam LB. The optical path specifying member RG includes a plurality of mirrors and the like. The cylindrical lenses CYa and CYb, the polygon mirror PM, and the f θ lens FT are provided on the optical path of the beam LB defined by the optical path defining member RG. The beam LB incident from the light introduction optical system BDU1 is incident on the polygon mirror PM. The polygon mirror PM reflects the incident beam LB toward the f θ lens FT. The polygon mirror PM deflects and reflects the incident beam LB in order to scan the spot SP irradiated onto the irradiated surface of the substrate P. The polygon mirror PM is a rotary polygon mirror having a rotation axis AXp extending in the Zt direction and a plurality of reflection surfaces formed around the rotation axis AXp, and details thereof are not shown. By rotating the polygon mirror PM about the rotation axis AXp, the reflection angle of the pulse-shaped beam LB incident on the reflection surface of the polygon mirror PM can be continuously changed. Thus, the reflection direction (deflection direction) of the beam LB is continuously changed by 1 of the reflection surfaces, and the spot SP of the beam LB irradiated onto the irradiated surface of the substrate P is scanned along the scanning line SL1 (see fig. 3). The rotation of the polygon mirror PM is rotated at a fixed speed by a polygon mirror driving unit, not shown, including a motor and the like under the control of the control device 14.

A cylindrical lens CYa is provided in front of the polygon mirror PM in the traveling direction of the beam LB. Thus, beam LB is incident on polygon mirror PM after passing through cylindrical lens CYa. The cylindrical lens CYa having the generatrix parallel to the Y direction can suppress the influence of the inclination of the reflection surface of the polygon mirror PM with respect to the Zt direction (when the reflection surface is inclined with respect to the normal of the XtY plane). For example, the irradiation position of the spot SP of the beam LB irradiated onto the irradiation surface of the substrate P is suppressed from shifting in the Xt direction.

The f θ lens FT is a scanning lens that passes through the telecentricity of the beam LB from the polygon mirror PM so as to be parallel to the optical axis of the f θ lens FT in the XtY plane. The optical axis of the f θ lens FT is parallel to the Xt direction. The beam LB having passed through the f θ lens FT is projected onto the surface to be irradiated of the substrate P by the cylindrical lens CYb. The beam LB projected onto the substrate P is converged into a minute spot SP having a diameter of about several μm (for example, 3 μm) on the irradiated surface of the substrate P by the cylindrical lens CYb having its generatrix parallel to the Y direction. The spot SP projected onto the surface to be irradiated of the substrate P is scanned along a drawing line SL1 extending in the main scanning direction by the polygon mirror PM. The rotation speed of the polygon mirror PM and the emission frequency Fe of the light source device 20 are defined so that the spot SP is irradiated along the drawing line SL1 while overlapping the spot SP by a certain amount (for example, 1/2, i.e., 1.5 μm, the diameter of the spot SP) each time.

An incident angle θ b of the beam LB with respect to the f θ lens FT varies depending on a rotational angle position (range of θ b/2) of the polygon mirror PM. The f θ lens FT projects the spot SP of the beam LB to an image height position on the irradiated surface of the substrate P proportional to the incident angle θ b. When the focal length is f and the image height position is y, the f θ lens FT has a relationship of y to f θ b. Accordingly, the f θ lens FT can accurately scan the spot SP of the beam LB at a constant velocity in the Y direction. When the incident angle θ b of the beam LB with respect to the f θ lens FT is 0 degree, the beam LB incident on the f θ lens FT travels along the optical axis of the f θ lens FT.

The optical axis of the beam LB irradiated from the scanning unit U1 to an arbitrary point (for example, a midpoint) on the drawing line SL1 is set as an irradiation axis Le 1. Similarly, the optical axes of the beams LB irradiated from the scanning units U2 to U6 to arbitrary points (for example, middle points) on the drawing lines SL2 to SL6 are set as irradiation axes Le2 to Le 6. The irradiation axes Le (Le1 to Le6) are lines connecting the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) and the central axis AXo in the X1'Z1' plane (XZ plane). Accordingly, each of the scanning units U (U1 to U6) irradiates the beam LB so as to be orthogonal to the irradiated surface of the substrate P in the X1'Z1' plane (XZ plane). That is, each of the scanning units U (U1 to U6) irradiates the beam LB toward the central axis AXo of the rotary drum DR in the X1'Z1' plane (XZ plane). The irradiation axes Le1, Le3, Le5 are in the same direction in the X1'Z1' plane (XZ plane), and the irradiation axes Le2, Le4, Le6 are in the same direction in the X1'Z1' plane (XZ plane). In the X1'Z1' plane (XZ plane), the irradiation axes Le1, Le3, Le5 and the irradiation axes Le2, Le4, Le6 are set so that the angles with respect to the central plane Poc1 are ± θ (see fig. 2).

The plurality of light introduction optical systems BDU (BDU1 to BDU6) guide the beam LB from the light source device 20 to the plurality of scanning units U (U1 to U6). The light introducing optical system BDU1 guides the light beam LB to the scanning unit U1, and the light introducing optical system BDU2 guides the light beam LB to the scanning unit U2. Similarly, the light-guiding optical systems BDU 3-BDU 6 guide the light beam LB to the scanning units U3-U6. The light introduction optical system BDU (BDU1 to BDU6) emits the beam LB to the scanning unit U (U1 to U6) along the irradiation axis Le (Le1 to Le 6). That is, the beam LB guided from the light introduction optical system BDU1 to the scanning unit U1 passes through the irradiation axis Le 1. Similarly, the beam LB guided from the light guide optical systems BDU2 through BDU6 to the scanning units U2 through U6 passes through the irradiation axes Le2 through Le 6. The beam LB from the light source device 20 is divided into 6 beams LB by a beam splitter, a mirror, or the like (not shown) and enters each of the light introduction optical systems BDU (BDU1 to BDU 6).

The plurality of light introduction optical systems BDU (BDU1 to BDU6) have drawing optical elements AOM (AOM1 to AOM6) that modulate (turn on/off) the intensity of the beam LB guided to the plurality of scanning units U (U1 to U6) at high speed in accordance with pattern data. The light introducing optical system BDU1 includes a drawing optical element AOM1, and similarly, the light introducing optical systems BDU2 to BDU6 include drawing optical elements AOM2 to AOM 6. The drawing optical elements AOMs (AOMs 1 to AOM6) are Acousto-Optic modulators (Acousto-optical modulators) having a property of passing through the beam LB. The drawing optical elements AOMs (AOMs 1 to AOM6) generate 1-time diffracted light obtained by diffracting the beam LB from the light source device 20 at a diffraction angle corresponding to the frequency of the high-frequency signal as the drive signal, and emit the 1-time diffracted light as the beam LB toward each of the scanning units U (U1 to U6). The drawing optical elements AOMs (AOMs 1 to AOM6) are turned on/off according to on/off of a drive signal (high-frequency signal) from the control device 14, and thereby 1-time diffracted light is generated by diffracting the incident beam LB.

The drawing optical elements AOMs (AOMs 1 to AOM6) guide the incident beam LB to an absorber (not shown) provided in the light introduction optical systems BDU (BDU1 to BDU6) by passing the beam LB without diffracting it when the drive signal (high frequency signal) from the control device 14 is in an off state. Accordingly, when the drive signal is in the off state, the beam LB passed through the drawing optical elements AOM (AOM1 to AOM6) is not incident on the scanning unit U (U1 to U6). That is, the intensity of the beam LB passing through the scanning unit U (U1 to U6) is low (zero). This means that, when viewed on the irradiation surface of the substrate P, the intensity of the spot SP of the beam LB irradiated on the irradiation surface is modulated to a low level (zero). On the other hand, when the drive signal (high frequency signal) from the control device 14 is in the on state, the drawing optical elements AOMs (AOMs 1 to AOM6) diffract the incident beam LB to emit diffracted light for 1 time, thereby guiding the beam LB to the scanning units U (U1 to U6). Accordingly, when the drive signal is in the on state, the intensity of the beam LB passing through the scanning units U (U1 to U6) is high. This means that, when viewed on the surface to be irradiated of the substrate P, the intensity of the spot SP of the beam LB irradiated on the surface to be irradiated is modulated to a high level. By applying on/off drive signals to the drawing optical elements AOMs (AOMs 1 to AOMs 6), the drawing optical elements AOMs (AOMs 1 to AOMs 6) can be switched on/off.

The pattern data is provided for each of the scanning units U (U1 to U6), and the control device 14 switches the drive signals applied to the respective drawing optical elements AOM (AOM1 to AOM6) to the on state/off state at high speed in accordance with the pattern data (for example, a data line in which a specific pixel unit is associated with 1 bit and the off state and the on state are displayed with a logical value of "0" or "1") of the pattern drawn by the respective scanning units U (U1 to U6).

Here, the pattern data is simply described, and the pattern data is obtained by dividing the pattern drawn by each scanning unit U by pixels having a size set according to the size of the spot SP and displaying each of the plurality of pixels as logical information (pixel data) corresponding to the pattern. That is, the pattern data is dot map data composed of a plurality of pixel data which are two-dimensionally decomposed so that a direction along the scanning direction (main scanning direction, Y direction) of the light spot is set as a column direction and a direction along the transport direction (sub scanning direction, X1' direction) of the substrate P is set as a row direction. The pixel data is 1-bit data of "0" or "1". The pixel data of "0" indicates that the intensity of the spot SP irradiated on the substrate P is at a low level, and the pixel data of "1" indicates that the intensity of the spot SP irradiated on the substrate P is at a high level. Accordingly, the control device 14 sets the driving signal applied to the drawing optical element AOM to the off state when the pixel data is "0", and sets the driving signal applied to the drawing optical element AOM to the on state when the pixel data is "1". The 1-line pixel data of the pattern data corresponds to 1 drawing line SL (SL1 to SL6), and the intensity of the light spot SP projected onto the substrate P along the 1 drawing line SL (SL1 to SL6) is modulated in accordance with the 1-line pixel data. The 1-line pixel number is said to be serial data DL. That is, the pattern data is bitmap data in which the 1 st row serial data DL1, the 2 nd row serial data DL2, … …, and the nth row serial data DLn are arranged in the row direction.

The main body frame UB in fig. 2 holds a plurality of light introduction optical systems BDU (BDU1 to BDU6) and a plurality of scanning units U (U1 to U6). The main body frame UB includes a1 st frame UB1 holding a plurality of light introduction optical systems BDU (BDU1 to BDU6) and a2 nd frame UB2 holding a plurality of scanning units U (U1 to U6). The 1 st frame Ub1 holds a plurality of light introduction optical systems BDU (BDU1 to BDU6) above (+ Z1' direction side) the plurality of scanning units U (U1 to U6) held by the 2 nd frame Ub 2. The 1 st frame Ub1 supports a plurality of light introduction optical systems BDU (BDU1 to BDU6) from below (the side of the Z1' direction). The odd-numbered light guide optical systems BDU1, BDU3, BDU5 are supported by the 1 st frame Ub1 so as to correspond to the positions of the odd-numbered scanning units U1, U3, U5, and to be arranged in 1 row in the Y direction on the upstream side (the (-X1' direction side) in the substrate P conveyance direction with respect to the center plane Poc 1. The even-numbered light introduction optical systems BDU2, BDU4, BDU6 are supported by the 1 st frame Ub1 so as to correspond to the positions of the even-numbered scanning units U2, U4, U6, and to be arranged in 1 row in the Y direction on the downstream side (+ X1' direction side) of the center plane Poc1 in the conveyance direction of the substrate P. The 1 st frame Ub1 is provided with a plurality of openings Hs (Hs1 to Hs6) corresponding to the plurality of light introduction optical systems BDU (BDU1 to BDU 6). The beam LB emitted from each of the plurality of light introduction optical systems BDU (BDU1 to BDU6) is incident on the corresponding scanning unit U (U1 to U6) without being blocked by the 1 st frame Ub1 by the plurality of openings Hs (Hs1 to Hs 6).

The 2 nd frame Ub2 rotatably holds the scanning units U (U1 to U6) so that the scanning units U (U1 to U6) can rotate only a small amount (for example, about ± 2 °) around the irradiation axes Le (Le1 to Le 6). That is, when the scanning units U (U1 to U6) are rotated around the irradiation axes Le (Le1 to Le6), the relative positional relationship between the position of the beam LB incident on the XtY plane of the scanning unit U (U1 to U6) and the center position of the beam LB on the XtY plane of the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) corresponding to the scanning units U (U1 to U6) is maintained. Therefore, even when the scanning units U (U1 to U6) are rotated, the scanning units U (U1 to U6) can scan the spot SP along the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) while projecting the spot SP of the beam LB onto the substrate P. Since the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) are rotated around the irradiation axis Le (Le1 to Le6) by the rotation of the scanning units U (U1 to U6), the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) can be inclined within a small range (for example, ± 2 °) with respect to a state parallel to the Y axis. The rotation of the scanning units U (U1 to U6) around the irradiation axes Le (Le1 to Le6) is performed by an actuator (not shown) under the control of the control device 14.

The alignment microscopes ALG (ALG1 to ALG4) of the exposure apparatus EX are provided along the Y direction, and each mark position detection unit detects position information (mark position information) of alignment marks MK (MK1 to MK4) formed on the substrate P shown in fig. 3. The markers MK (MK1 to MK4) are reference markers for aligning the specific pattern of the exposure field W drawn on the irradiated surface of the substrate P with respect to the substrate P or the base pattern layer formed on the substrate P. The alignment microscope ALG (ALG1 to ALG4) images markers MK (MK1 to MK4) on the substrate P supported by the circumferential surface of the rotating cylinder DR. The alignment microscopes ALG (ALG1 to ALG4) are provided on the upstream side (the (-X direction side) of the substrate P in the conveyance direction than the spot SP of the beam LB projected onto the irradiated surface of the substrate P from the 1 st pattern exposure section EXH 1.

The alignment microscopes ALG (ALG1 to ALG4) include a light source for projecting alignment illumination light onto the substrate P and an image pickup device such as a CCD or a CMOS for picking up an image of the reflected light. The imaging signals obtained by imaging the alignment microscopes ALG (ALG1 to ALG4) are transmitted to the control device 14. The controller 14 detects position information on the substrate P of the markers MK (MK1 to MK4) based on the imaging signal. In general, the detection region (imaging range) of the alignment microscope ALG on the substrate P is 1mm square or less, and the measurement of the position of the mark MK (the amount of positional displacement of the mark, etc.) based on the imaging signal is not limited to the detection region (imaging range). Therefore, in order to specify the actual mark position on the substrate P, an encoder system for precisely measuring the rotational angle position of the rotary drum DR (i.e., the movement position and the movement amount of the substrate P) is provided, and measurement information output from the encoder system at the moment when the mark MK is imaged in the detection region (imaging range) of the alignment microscope ALG is sampled in advance. Thus, the positions of the markers MK (MK1 to MK4) on the substrate P can be obtained in accordance with the rotational angle position of the rotary drum DR. The alignment microscope ALG or the alignment microscope ALG and the encoder system correspond to the mark detection unit of the present invention. The alignment illumination light is light in a wavelength region where the photosensitive functional layer of the substrate P has substantially no sensitivity, for example, light having a wavelength of about 500 to 800 nm.

Marks MK 1-MK 4 are provided around each exposure field W. The markers MK (MK1 to MK4) may be formed at the same time when the layer 1 (underlayer formed by rapid exposure) is patterned. For example, when the pattern for layer 1 is exposed, a pattern for markers MK (MK 1-MK 4) can be exposed also around the exposure area W of the exposed pattern. Further, a pattern for markers MK (MK1 to MK4) may be formed on the substrate P before the pattern for layer 1 is exposed. In this case, alignment operation may be performed taking into consideration deformation of the substrate P and the like using the markers MK (MK1 to MK4) from the stage of exposing the pattern for the layer 1. Further, mark MK may also be formed in exposure area W. For example, a mark MK (MK 1-MK 4) may be formed in the exposure area W and along the outline of the exposure area W.

The alignment microscope ALG1 photographs the marker MK1 present in the observation region (detection region) Vw 1. Similarly, alignment microscopes ALG2 to ALG4 capture images of markers MK2 to MK4 present in observation regions Vw2 to Vw 4. Accordingly, the alignment microscopes ALG1 to ALG4 are provided in the order of the alignment microscopes ALG1 to ALG4 from the-Y direction side of the substrate P in accordance with the positions of the markers MK1 to MK 4. The alignment microscopes ALG (ALG1 to ALG4) are provided so that distances in the X direction between the exposure positions (drawing lines SL1 to SL6) and the observation regions Vw (Vw1 to Vw4) of the alignment microscopes ALG (ALG1 to ALG4) are shorter than the length of the exposure region W in the X direction. The number and arrangement of the alignment microscopes ALG provided in the Y direction may be changed according to the number and arrangement of the marks MK formed in the width direction of the substrate P. The size of the observation regions Vw1 to Vw4 on the irradiated surface of the substrate P is set to a size of about 100 to 500 μm square, depending on the size and alignment accuracy (position measurement accuracy) of the marks MK1 to MK 4.

The 1 st pattern exposure section EXH1 performs position adjustment and projection of the light spot SP corresponding to the design information (pattern data) of the pattern drawn by the scanning units U (U1 to U6) based on the position information (actually, the position information corresponding to the rotational angle position of the rotary drum DR) of the markers MK (MK1 to MK4) detected by using the alignment microscopes ALG (ALG1 to ALG4) under the control of the control device 14. In the case where the exposure area W is not tilted or deformed, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of markers MK (MK 1-MK 4) are arranged in a rectangular shape, but in the case where the exposure area W is tilted or deformed, the markers MK (MK 1-MK 4) are also arranged in a tilted or deformed manner. Therefore, when the exposure region W is inclined or deformed, the position of the spot SP irradiated on the substrate P needs to be adjusted accordingly. For example, when a specific pattern is newly drawn on the base pattern layer, the specific pattern to be drawn may be inclined or deformed according to the inclination or deformation of the whole or a part of the base pattern layer. Accordingly, the controller 14 adjusts the position of the spot SP projected onto the substrate P by the 1 st pattern exposure part EXH1 in accordance with the design information based on the position information of the markers MK (MK1 to MK 4).

For example, the controller 14 may adjust the position of the spot SP by rotating the scanning units U (U1 to U6) around the irradiation axes Le (Le1 to Le6) to adjust the inclination angles of the respective scanning lines SL (SL1 to SL6) with respect to the Y direction. When the inclination of the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) is adjusted, the ends of the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) adjacent in the Y direction are separated from each other or overlap each other, and therefore the drawing lines SL1 to SL6 do not continue in the Y direction. Therefore, at least one of the scanning length (magnification in the main scanning direction) of each of the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) and the position in the main scanning direction of each of the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) needs to be corrected so that the end portions of the adjacent drawing lines SL are continued in the Y direction.

The scanning length of the scanning lines SL (SL1 to SL6) can be changed by adjusting the magnification of the scanning lines SL (SL1 to SL6) in the main scanning direction. Thereby, the position of the pulse-shaped light spot SP projected onto the substrate P in the Y direction is finely adjusted. The magnification adjustment in the main scanning direction may be performed by adjusting, for example, the light emission frequency Fe of the light source device 20. When the number of the light spots SP (pulsed light) irradiated along the 1 drawing line SL (SL1 to SL6) is set so as to have a simple relationship with the number of the pixels arranged in the main scanning direction (for example, in a state where the light spots of 2 pulses are overlapped with each other at 1/2 of the spot diameter with respect to 1 pixel), the pulse interval of the light spots SP projected in the main scanning direction is shortened as long as the light emission frequency Fe is slightly increased. As a result, the entire pattern drawn by drawing the lines SL (SL1 to SL6) becomes shorter in the main scanning direction. Conversely, if the light emission frequency Fe is slightly lowered, the pulse interval of the spot SP projected in the main scanning direction becomes longer, and as a result, the pattern drawn by the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) becomes longer as a whole in the main scanning direction. In addition, by providing optical members for magnification correction (not shown) including lens elements and the like for correcting the magnification in the scanning direction inside the scanning units U (U1 to U6), the scanning lengths of the scanning lines SL (SL1 to SL6) can be changed.

Further, by slightly shifting the respective drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) in the main scanning direction, the pattern exposed by the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) can be subjected to position correction in the main scanning direction. Each of the scanning units U (U1 to U6) is provided with an origin sensor (not shown) that optically detects a scanning start timing of the spot SP scanned by the polygon mirror PM of the scanning unit U (U1 to U6). And a detector for receiving the reflected light of the measurement light projected onto the reflection surface of the polygon mirror PM and outputting an origin signal. When the angular position of the reflection surface of the polygon mirror PM is a specific angular position before the scanning start point at which the spot SP is projected onto the drawing line SL (SL1 to SL6), the origin sensor outputs the origin signal. Normally, after a fixed time Ts has elapsed from the output of the origin signal, the drawing optical elements AOMs (AOMs 1 to AOM6) are switched according to the serial data DL of the pattern data to start drawing. However, by changing the time Ts from the output origin signal to the start timing of switching of the drawing optical elements AOMs (AOMs 1 to AOMs 6) based on the serial data DL, the respective drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) can be shifted in the main scanning direction.

For example, if the time Ts is shortened, the drawing start timing of the spot SP is advanced, and therefore, the spot SP is shifted to the + Y direction side in the case of drawing the lines SL1, SL3, and SL5, and shifted to the-Y direction side in the case of drawing the lines SL2, SL4, and SL6 (see fig. 3). Conversely, if the time Ts is extended, the shift is to the-Y direction side when drawing the lines SL1, SL3, and SL5, and the shift is to the + Y direction side when drawing the lines SL2, SL4, and SL6 (see fig. 3). In this way, the position of the spot SP projected onto the substrate P in the main scanning direction in accordance with the design information (pattern data) is finely adjusted. Further, the position adjustment of each of the scanning lines SL (SL1 to SL6) in the main scanning direction may be performed by using an optical member (for example, a tiltable parallel plate glass, an angle-adjustable mirror, or the like) that can shift or change the angle of the beam LB passing through each of the scanning units U (U1 to U6) in the direction corresponding to the main scanning direction. The positional adjustment of the drawing lines SL in the main scanning direction is performed at the same time when the inclination correction of each drawing line SL or the magnification correction of each drawing line SL in the main scanning direction is performed, and thus deterioration of the joining accuracy at the end portions of the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) can be suppressed. As described above, the positional adjustment of the drawing line SL (SL1 to SL6) which is the scanning locus of the spot SP includes the inclination correction of the drawing line SL, the magnification correction of the drawing line SL in the main scanning direction, the offset correction of the drawing line SL in the main scanning direction, and the like, and information (an error amount, a correction amount, and the like) relating to the positional adjustment is referred to as adjustment information.

Next, the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 will be described. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH 2. The 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 is a scanning exposure apparatus that projects an image of a pattern (mask pattern) of a cylindrical mask M onto an exposure area W of a substrate P that is conveyed and supported by a rotary drum DR by rotating the cylindrical reflective mask (hereinafter, cylindrical mask) M. Such an exposure apparatus using a reflection mask is disclosed in, for example, pamphlet of international publication No. 2013/094286, and therefore, the following description will be made briefly.

The 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 is a multi-lens pattern exposure portion including a light source device 22, a plurality of illumination modules IL (IL1 to IL6) constituting an illumination optical system, a rotary holding cylinder (cylindrical or columnar base material) DR2 for holding a cylindrical mask M, and a plurality of projection modules PL (PL1 to PL6) constituting a projection optical system. The cylindrical mask M is a reflective mask using a metal cylindrical body, for example. The cylindrical mask M is formed on the surface of a base material of a cylindrical body having a central axis AX1 extending in the Y direction and extending in a direction intersecting the direction in which gravity acts, and a cylindrical outer peripheral surface having a constant radius from the central axis AX 1. The peripheral surface of the cylindrical mask M is a mask surface P1 on which a specific mask pattern is formed. On the mask surface P1, a mask pattern is formed by patterning a high reflection region that reflects illumination light with high efficiency and a low reflection region that does not reflect reflection light or reflects reflection light with extremely low efficiency. The cylindrical mask M can be manufactured at low cost because the base material is a cylindrical body made of metal. In the cylindrical mask M, mask patterns corresponding to all or part of 1 pattern layer may be formed. Further, a plurality of mask patterns corresponding to 1 pattern layer may be formed. That is, a plurality of mask patterns corresponding to 1 pattern layer may be formed in the cylindrical mask M repeatedly in the circumferential direction.

The rotation holding cylinder DR2 holds the cylindrical mask M such that the central axis AX1 of the cylindrical mask M becomes the rotation center. The rotary holding cylinder DR2 is rotated around the center axis AX1 by being applied with torque from a not-shown rotary drive source (e.g., a motor, a reduction mechanism, or the like) controlled by the controller 14. Thereby, the cylindrical mask M is scanned. The rotation direction of the rotary holding cylinder DR2 is opposite to the rotation direction of the rotary cylinder DR, and the rotary holding cylinder DR2 rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the rotary cylinder DR. That is, the rotational speed of the rotary holding drum DR2 is the same as the rotational speed of the rotary drum DR. A surface extending in the Y direction and passing through the central axis AXo of the rotary drum DR and the central axis AX1 of the cylindrical mask M is referred to as a central surface Poc 2. In fig. 4, a direction orthogonal to the Y direction in the center plane Poc2 is referred to as Z2', and a direction orthogonal to the center plane Poc2 is referred to as X2'. the-Z2 'direction is the direction side in which gravity acts, and the + X2' direction is the conveyance direction (scanning direction) side of the substrate P.

The light source device 22 generates light (illumination light) EL such as ultraviolet rays to be irradiated to the substrate P. The light source device 22 includes, for example, a lamp light source such as a mercury lamp, and a solid-state light source such as a laser diode or a light emitting diode. The illumination light generated by the light source device 22 is guided to the plurality of illumination modules IL (IL1 to IL6) by a light guide member such as an optical fiber (not shown). The illumination modules IL (IL1 to IL6) include a plurality of optical members such as an integrator optical system, a rod lens, or a fly-eye lens. The illumination modules IL (IL1 to IL6) irradiate a plurality of illumination regions IR (IR1 to IR6) on the mask plane P1 of the cylindrical mask M with illumination light EL (hereinafter referred to as illumination light flux EL1) which is an energy ray having a uniform illumination distribution. The illumination module IL1 irradiates an illumination light beam EL1 to an illumination area IR1 on the cylindrical mask M. Similarly, the illumination modules IL2 to IL6 irradiate the illumination light beams EL1 to the illumination areas IR2 to IR6 on the cylindrical mask M. The plurality of illumination modules IL (IL1 to IL6) are identical to each other.

Between the illumination modules IL (IL 1-IL 6) and the cylindrical mask M, a plurality of polarizing beam splitters PBS (PBS 1-PBS 6) and a plurality of λ/4 wavelength plates QW (QW 1-QW 6) are disposed. The polarization beam splitter PBS (PBS1 to PBS6) reflects linearly polarized light (for example, P polarized light) polarized in a specific direction, and passes linearly polarized light (for example, S polarized light) polarized in a direction orthogonal to the specific direction. Accordingly, illumination light beams EL1 (for example, P-polarized light) from the illumination modules IL (IL1 to IL6) are reflected by the polarizing beam splitter PBS (PBS1 to PBS6) and then irradiated to the cylindrical mask M through the λ/4 wavelength plate QW (QW1 to QW 6). Then, the reflected light of the illumination light beam EL1 (hereinafter referred to as an image light beam EL2) reflected by the cylindrical mask M passes through the λ/4 wavelength plate QW (QW1 to QW6) and the polarization beam splitter PBS (PBS1 to PBS6), and enters the projection modules PL (PL1 to PL 6). The plurality of projection modules PL (PL1 to PL6) project the imaging light beam EL2 (energy ray) to a plurality of projection areas PA (PA1 to PA6) on the irradiated surface of the substrate P supported by the rotary drum DR. Further, the illumination light beam EL1 from the illumination module IL and its reflected light, i.e., the imaging light beam EL2, are incident on the polarizing beam splitter PBS1 and the λ/4 wavelength plate QW 1. Similarly, the illumination light beam EL1 from the illumination modules IL2 to IL6 and the image light beam EL2 as the reflected light thereof enter the polarizing beam splitters PBS2 to PBS6 and the λ/4 wavelength plates QW2 to QW 6.

The plurality of illumination modules IL (IL1 to IL6) are arranged in 2 rows in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical mask M with the center plane Poc2 interposed therebetween. The odd numbered illumination modules IL1, IL3, and IL5 are arranged in 1 row in the Y direction on the upstream side (the (-X2' direction side) of the scanning direction (rotation direction) of the cylindrical mask M with respect to the center plane Poc 2. The even-numbered illumination modules IL2, IL4, and IL6 are arranged in 1 row in the Y direction on the downstream side (+ X2' direction side) of the center plane Poc2 in the scanning direction (rotation direction) of the cylindrical mask M.

Fig. 5A is a plan view of the illumination regions IR (IR1 to IR6) on the cylindrical mask M held by the rotary holding cylinder DR2, as viewed from the-Z2' direction side. As shown in fig. 5A, the plurality of illumination regions IR (IR1 to IR6) are arranged in 2 rows along the circumferential direction (X2' direction) of the cylindrical mask M with the center plane Poc2 interposed therebetween. Illumination regions IR1, IR3, and IR5 are arranged on the cylindrical mask M on the upstream side (on the side of the (-X2 'direction) in the scanning direction of the cylindrical mask M, and illumination regions IR2, IR4, and IR6 are arranged on the cylindrical mask M on the downstream side (on the side of the (+ X2' direction) in the scanning direction of the cylindrical mask M. The illumination regions IR (IR1 to IR6) are elongated trapezoidal regions having parallel short sides and long sides extending in the width direction (Y direction) of the cylindrical mask M. In this case, the odd numbered illumination regions IR1, IR3, IR5 and the even numbered illumination regions IR2, IR4, IR6 are provided such that the short sides thereof face each other on the inner side and the long sides thereof face the outer side.

The odd numbered illumination regions IR1, IR3, and IR5 are arranged in 1 row at a specific interval in the Y direction. Similarly, the even-numbered illumination regions IR2, IR4, and IR6 are also arranged in 1 row at specific intervals in the Y direction. At this time, illumination region IR2 is disposed between illumination region IR1 and illumination region IR3 in the Y direction. Illumination region IR3 is disposed between illumination region IR2 and illumination region IR4 in the Y direction. Illumination region IR4 is disposed between illumination region IR3 and illumination region IR5 in the Y direction, and illumination region IR5 is disposed between illumination region IR4 and illumination region IR6 in the Y direction.

The illumination regions IR (IR1 to IR6) are arranged so that the triangular portions of adjacent trapezoidal illumination regions IR overlap (overlap) in the X2' direction. The illumination regions IR (IR1 to IR6) are trapezoidal regions, but may be rectangular regions. Further, the cylindrical mask M has a pattern forming region a1 in which a mask pattern is formed and a non-pattern forming region a2 in which no mask pattern is formed. The non-pattern forming region a2 absorbs the low reflection region of the illumination light beam EL 1. In this manner, the plurality of illumination regions IR (IR1 to IR6) are arranged so as to cover the full width of the pattern forming region a1 in the Y direction. The pattern forming area a1 corresponds to the exposure area W of the substrate P.

The plurality of projection modules PL (PL1 to PL6) project the image light beam EL2 from the cylindrical mask M to a plurality of projection areas PA (PA1 to PA6) on the irradiated surface of the substrate P. The projection module PL1 projects the imaging light beam EL2 from the illumination area IR1 of the cylindrical mask M to the projection area PA 1. Similarly, the projection modules PL2 to PL6 project the image light beams EL2, which are reflected light from the illumination areas IR2 to IR6 of the cylindrical mask M, onto the projection areas PA2 to PA 6. Thus, the projection modules PL (PL1 to PL6) can project the image of the mask pattern of the illumination regions IR (IR1 to IR6) on the cylindrical mask M onto the projection regions PA (PA1 to PA6) on the substrate P.

The plurality of projection modules PL are arranged corresponding to the plurality of illumination modules IL (IL1 to IL 6). The plurality of projection modules PL (PL1 to PL6) are arranged in 2 rows in the circumferential direction of the rotary drum DR with the center plane Poc2 interposed therebetween. The odd numbered projection modules PL1, PL3, and PL5 are arranged in 1 row in the Y direction at the upstream side (the side in the (-X2' direction) of the conveyance direction of the substrate P with respect to the center plane Poc2 in correspondence with the positions of the odd numbered illumination modules IL1, IL3, and IL 5. The even-numbered projection modules PL2, PL4, and PL6 are arranged in 1 row in the Y direction at the downstream side (+ X2' direction side) of the center plane Poc2 in the conveyance direction of the substrate P corresponding to the positions of the even-numbered illumination modules IL2, IL4, and IL 6.

Fig. 5B is a plan view of the projection area PA (PA1 to PA6) on the irradiated surface of the substrate P supported by the rotary drum DR, viewed from the + Z direction side. The plurality of projection areas PA (PA1 to PA6) on the substrate P are arranged corresponding to the plurality of illumination areas IR (IR1 to I6) on the cylindrical mask M. That is, the plurality of projection regions PA (PA1 to PA6) are arranged in 2 rows along the circumferential direction (X2' direction) of the rotary drum DR with the center plane Poc2 therebetween. Projection regions PA1, PA3, and PA5 are arranged on the substrate P on the upstream side (on the side of the (-X2 'direction) in the conveyance direction of the substrate P, and projection regions PA2, PA4, and PA6 are arranged on the substrate P on the downstream side (on the side of the (+ X2' direction)) in the conveyance direction of the substrate P. The projection areas PA (PA1 to PA6) are elongated trapezoidal areas having parallel short sides and long sides extending in the width direction (Y direction) of the substrate P (rotary drum DR). In this case, the odd-numbered projection regions PA1, PA3, and PA5 and the even-numbered projection regions PA2, PA4, and PA6 are provided such that the short sides thereof face each other on the inner side and the long sides thereof face the outer side.

The odd-numbered projection regions PA1, PA3, and PA5 are arranged in 1 line at a specific interval in the Y direction. Similarly, the even-numbered projection regions PA2, PA4, and PA6 are also arranged in 1 line at a specific interval in the Y direction. At this time, the projection area PA2 is disposed between the projection area PA1 and the projection area PA3 in the Y direction. The projection area PA3 is disposed between the projection area PA2 and the projection area PA4 in the Y direction. The projection area PA4 is disposed between the projection area PA3 and the projection area PA5 in the Y direction, and the projection area PA5 is disposed between the projection area PA4 and the projection area PA6 in the Y direction.

The projection areas PA (PA1 to PA6) are arranged so that the triangular portions of adjacent trapezoidal projection areas PA overlap (overlap) in the X2' direction. The projection regions PA (PA1 to PA6) are trapezoidal regions, but may be rectangular regions. In this manner, the plurality of projection regions PA (PA1 to PA6) are arranged so as to cover the full width of the exposure field W set on the substrate P in the Y direction.

The illumination region IR (IR1 to IR6) on the mask plane P1 of the cylindrical mask M is scanned in the-X2 'direction by the scanning (rotation) of the cylindrical mask M, and the projection region PA (PA1 to PA6) on the irradiated surface of the substrate P is scanned in the-X2' direction by the rotation of the rotary drum DR. Accordingly, the imaging light beam EL2 corresponding to the image of the mask pattern of the illumination area IR (IR1 to IR6) scanned in the-X2 'direction passes through the projection modules PL (PL1 to PL6) and is projected onto the projection area PA (PA1 to PA6) on the illuminated surface of the substrate P scanned in the-X2' direction. Thereby, the mask pattern formed on the mask surface P1 of the cylindrical mask M is exposed to the exposure area W of the substrate P.

Each of the projection modules PL (PL1 to PL6) is provided with a correction optical system (not shown) capable of adjusting at least one of the position, size (magnification), and inclination with respect to the Y direction of the projection area PA (PA1 to PA6) projected onto the substrate P, and this will not be described in detail. Thereby, at least one of the position, size (magnification), and inclination with respect to the Y direction of the image of the mask pattern of the illumination region IR (IR1 to IR6) on the cylindrical mask M on the substrate P can be adjusted. A pattern exposure unit of a multi-lens system for correcting a projected image of a mask pattern when projection exposure is performed using the cylindrical mask M is also disclosed in the above-mentioned pamphlet of international publication No. 2013/094286. The control device 14 may drive the correction optical system of the projection modules PL (PL1 to PL6) based on the position information of the markers MK (MK1 to MK4) detected using the alignment microscopes ALG (ALG1 to ALG4) to correct the projected image of the mask pattern. The correction optical system is driven by an actuator, not shown, under the control of the control device 14.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of another configuration of the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 using the passage type cylindrical mask. The pattern exposure 2 portion EXH2 shown in fig. 6 exposes a specific pattern on the substrate P by a so-called proximity method. The same components as those in fig. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The pattern exposure 2 portion EXH2 in fig. 6 includes the light source device 24 and a rotary holding cylinder DR2 for holding the passage-type cylindrical mask M. In the case of fig. 6, the rotary holding cylinder DR2 is formed of a circular tube of quartz or the like having a constant thickness, and a mask pattern patterned with a light-shielding layer (chrome or the like) is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the circular tube. The cylindrical mask M is provided so that the clearance with the rotary holding cylinder DR2 becomes small. While rotating the cylindrical mask M in the scanning direction (rotation direction), the light source device 24 directly irradiates the substrate P supported by the rotating cylinder DR with illumination light (illumination light beam) EL as an energy beam, and thereby the illumination light beam EL corresponding to the image of the mask pattern formed on the cylindrical mask M is projected onto the irradiated surface of the substrate P. The illumination light beam EL irradiated from the light source device 24 to the substrate P is irradiated onto the central plane Poc2 in the-Z2' direction. The rotary holding cylinder DR2 rotates in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the rotary cylinder DR and rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the rotary cylinder DR.

As described above, the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 of the 2 nd type has been described, but the mode of the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 is not limited thereto. That is, the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 may be a scanning type exposure apparatus that performs scanning exposure of the exposure region W of the substrate P with respect to the image of the mask pattern (image formed by reflected light or image formed by transmitted light) formed on the mask surface P1 of the cylindrical mask M.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of the exposure system 30 according to embodiment 1. The exposure system 30 includes an exposure apparatus EX, an actual pattern information generating unit 32, and a mask creating apparatus 34. In fig. 7, the actual pattern information generating unit 32 is shown as a separate body from the exposure apparatus EX and the mask making apparatus 34, but the actual pattern information generating unit 32 may be provided in the exposure apparatus EX or the mask making apparatus 34. The exposure system 30 according to embodiment 1 is a system including: since the substrate P is a flexible sheet substrate, the tendency of deformation of the exposure region W formed on the substrate P is estimated from the results of position measurement of the marks MK (MK1 to MK4) and the like, and a mask having a new pattern to be superimposed and exposed on the exposure region W is produced taking into account the tendency of deformation of the exposure region W; by mounting the manufactured mask on an exposure apparatus (the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2), the overlay accuracy in the overlay exposure of the substrate P is improved, and the productivity is improved.

In fig. 7, the control device (output unit) 14 of the exposure apparatus EX outputs at least one of position information and adjustment information (error amount or adjustment amount for inclination correction of the drawing line SL, magnification correction in the main scanning direction of the drawing line SL, offset correction in the main scanning direction of the drawing line SL, and the like) of the marks MK (MK1 to MK4) sequentially detected by the alignment microscope ALG to generate a mask pattern corresponding to a pattern to be exposed in the exposure field W, to the actual pattern information generation unit 32. The "pattern to be exposed in the exposure region W" refers to a pattern actually exposed by the 1 st pattern exposure section EXH1, that is, a pattern in which the projection position (drawing position) of the spot SP is adjusted. That is, the controller 14 generates a mask pattern corresponding to the pattern actually exposed by the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1, and outputs at least one of the position information and the adjustment information of the markers MK (MK1 to MK 4). The adjustment information is information (such as the tilt angle of the drawing line SL, the magnification of the drawing line SL in the scanning direction, and the shift amount of the drawing line SL in the scanning direction) relating to the position adjustment for adjusting the position of the spot SP projected onto the substrate P in accordance with the design information (pattern data) based on the position information of the markers MK (MK1 to MK4) as described above. When outputting the adjustment information, the control device 14 outputs information on the adjustment of the position of the spot SP of each of the scanning units U (U1 to U6).

The actual pattern information generating unit 32 includes a computer, a storage medium storing a program and the like, and functions as the actual pattern information generating unit 32 of the present embodiment when the computer executes the program. The actual pattern information generating unit 32 corrects the design information (pattern data) based on at least one of the position information and the adjustment information of the transmitted marks MK (MK1 to MK4), and generates actual pattern information (pattern data) for creating a mask pattern corresponding to a pattern in the exposure area W to be exposed on the substrate P. That is, the actual pattern information generating unit 32 corrects the design information (pattern data) based on at least one of the position information and the adjustment information of the markers MK (MK1 to MK4), and generates actual pattern information (pattern data) for creating a mask pattern that can obtain a pattern actually exposed by the 1 st pattern exposure unit EXH 1. The "design information" is design information (pattern data) used in the 1 st pattern exposure section EXH1 of the exposure apparatus EX. The pattern data (design information) is stored in a storage medium of the actual pattern information generating unit 32. The actual pattern information generating section 32 outputs the generated actual pattern information to the mask making device 34. The actual pattern information generating unit 32 generates actual pattern information obtained by correcting the design information (pattern data) of each of the scanning units U (U1 to U6).

The mask forming apparatus 34 exposes a pattern corresponding to the actual pattern information to the cylindrical mask substrate MP, thereby forming a mask pattern corresponding to the actual pattern information on the mask substrate MP. The mask substrate MP on which the mask pattern corresponding to the actual pattern information is formed is a cylindrical mask M used in the 2 nd pattern exposure section EXH 2. The mask making apparatus 34 includes an exposure apparatus EX 2. The exposure apparatus EX2 includes a3 rd pattern exposure portion EXH3, a rotary holding cylinder DR3 for holding a cylindrical mask substrate MP having a photosensitive functional layer (e.g., a photoresist layer) formed on the surface thereof, and a controller 36. The controller 36 is a computer that controls the exposure of the 3 rd pattern exposure section EXH3 and the rotation of the rotary holding cylinder DR 3. The 3 rd pattern exposure portion EXH3 has the same configuration as the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH 1. Therefore, the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 will be described with reference to the reference numerals, and the 3 rd pattern exposure portion EXH3 will be described. The rotation holding cylinder DR3 has the same configuration as the rotation holding cylinder DR2, and holds the mask substrate MP such that the center axis AX1 of the mask substrate MP is the rotation center.

Under the control of the controller 36, the scanning units U (U1 to U6) of the 3 rd pattern exposure section EXH3 scan (main scan) the spot SP one-dimensionally in the main scanning direction (Y direction) on the mask substrate MP while projecting the spot SP, which is the energy beam LB, onto the mask substrate MP held and rotated by the rotary holding cylinder DR 3. At this time, the control device 36 causes the 3 rd pattern exposure section EXH3 to expose a pattern corresponding to the actual pattern information to the irradiated surface of the mask substrate MP by supplying the actual pattern information (pattern data) sent thereto from the actual pattern information generation section 32 to the 3 rd pattern exposure section EXH 3. That is, the 3 rd pattern exposure section EXH3, under the control of the control device 36, modulates (turns on/off) the intensity of the spot SP scanned in the main scanning direction at high speed in accordance with the actual pattern information, thereby exposing the pattern corresponding to the actual pattern information. In the 3 rd pattern exposure section EXH3, the actual pattern information is design information for exposing a pattern to the mask substrate MP. The intensity of the spot SP is modulated by switching the drawing optical elements AOM (AOM1 to AOM6) of the optical waveguide optical system BDU (BDU1 to BDU6) provided in the 3 rd pattern exposure portion EXH3 in the same manner as the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH 1. The pulsed beam LB emitted from the light source device 20 of the 3 rd pattern exposure portion EXH3 may be an electron beam or an optical beam such as ultraviolet light.

In this way, the 3 rd pattern exposure section EXH3 modulates the intensity of the spot SP projected onto the irradiated surface of the mask substrate MP based on the actual pattern information, and thus the pattern drawn by the 3 rd pattern exposure section EXH3 becomes a mask pattern for obtaining the pattern actually exposed by the 1 st pattern exposure section EXH 1.

Here, the mask making device 34 includes a film forming device for forming a photosensitive functional layer (for example, a photoresist layer) on the surface of the mask substrate MP, a developing device for developing the mask substrate MP subjected to exposure processing by the exposure device EX2, an etching device for etching the mask substrate after development, and the like, and is not particularly illustrated. The film forming apparatus, the exposure apparatus EX2, the developing apparatus, the etching apparatus, and the like perform processes on the mask substrate MP, thereby forming a cylindrical mask M in which a mask pattern corresponding to actual pattern information is formed. That is, the mask substrate MP is a cylindrical mask having a cylindrical shape on which the mask pattern is mounted. When the mask substrate MP is made of a flexible transparent resin sheet, a plate glass, or the like, the sheet-like mask substrate MP is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical rotary holding cylinder DR2 in the exposure apparatus EX. When the cylindrical mask is formed by directly forming the mask substrate MP on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical base material, the entire rotation holding cylinder DR2 is replaced.

When performing the overlay exposure for the first time on the substrate P conveyed from the supply roller mounted in the device manufacturing system 10, the controller 14 of the exposure apparatus EX does not know what state the substrate P has a tendency to deform, and thus performs the exposure of the pattern to be overlaid by the 1 st pattern exposure unit EXH1 capable of flexibly deforming the pattern to be drawn. That is, the position of the light spot SP projected onto the substrate P in accordance with the design information (drawing data) is finely adjusted based on the position information of the markers MK (MK1 to MK4) detected using the alignment microscopes ALG (ALG1 to ALG4) to draw the pattern. The control device 14 sequentially stores at least one of adjustment information related to the position adjustment of the spot SP and the position information of the detected markers MK (MK1 to MK 4).

Then, when it is found that the exposure field W has a constant deformation tendency based on the position information of the marks MK (MK1 to MK4), the control device 14 outputs at least one of the position information of the series of marks MK (MK1 to MK4) arranged in a constant deformation tendency and the adjustment information of the spot SP whose position is adjusted based on the position information, to the actual pattern information generation unit 32. When the positional information of the marks MK (MK 1-MK 4) in a plurality of exposure areas W arranged in the longitudinal direction reflects the fixing tendency of the exposure areas W, at least one of the positional information and the adjustment information of the marks MK in the plurality of exposure areas W is output to the actual pattern information generation unit 32. When a tendency of a fixed error is found in the positional information of the marks MK (MK 1-MK 4), the exposed area W also has a tendency of a fixed deformation.

Then, the actual pattern information generating unit 32 generates actual pattern information based on at least one of the position information and the adjustment information of the marker MK. The mask making device 34 generates a cylindrical mask M having a mask pattern corresponding to the actual pattern information. That is, when a fixed tendency (regularity) is found in the deformation (linear deformation, high-order deformation of about 2 to 3 times) of the exposure field W, the mask making device 34 generates a mask pattern reflecting the regularity in the cylindrical mask M. At this time, the 3 rd pattern exposure portion EXH3 of the mask making device 34 modulates the intensity of the spot SP scanned in the main scanning direction according to the actual pattern information, thereby exposing the mask substrate MP with a pattern corresponding to the actual pattern information.

The cylindrical mask M manufactured by the exposure system 30 as described above is attached to the 2 nd pattern exposure part EXH2, and the 2 nd pattern exposure part EXH2 performs pattern exposure on the substrate P using the manufactured cylindrical mask M under the control of the control device 14. That is, the mask pattern formed on the cylindrical mask M is projected onto the irradiated surface of the substrate P. The control device 14 suspends the exposure of the 1 st pattern exposure section EXH1 before starting the exposure of the 2 nd pattern exposure section EXH 2. Accordingly, after the cylindrical mask M is attached to the 2 nd pattern exposure part EXH2, exposure is performed only by the 2 nd pattern exposure part EXH2, so that the conveyance speed of the substrate P can be increased, and the pattern exposure processing time can be shortened (productivity can be improved). As a result, the formation time of the pattern layer becomes short.

The controller 14 also detects the positional information of the markers MK (MK1 to MK6) using the alignment microscope ALG (ALG1 to ALG4) while the pattern 2 exposure portion EXH2 is being exposed. When the scanning exposure apparatus shown in fig. 4 is used as the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2, the control device 14 may drive the correction optical system of the projection module PL (PL1 to PL6) provided in the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 based on the position information of the markers MK (MK1 to MK4) during the exposure of the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2, thereby correcting the image of the mask pattern projected onto the substrate P. At this stage, the two-dimensional deformation of the base pattern layer in the exposure area W on the substrate P, which is formed by the mask pattern of the cylindrical mask M attached to the 2 nd pattern exposure section EXH2, is corrected (corrected) in accordance with the design pattern so that the entire base pattern layer can be substantially overlapped. Therefore, the amount of drive of the correction optical system provided in each of the projection modules PL (PL1 to PL6) is only required to be small, which contributes to an increase in the conveyance speed of the substrate P.

Further, the controller 14 suspends the exposure of the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 when the tendency of deformation of the exposure field W estimated from the position information of the successively detected marks MK (MK1 to MK4) changes as if it were to go outside the allowable range (the correction limit of the correction optical system or the like of the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2) during the exposure operation of the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 (during the scanning exposure of the substrate P). Namely, the reason is that: in the case where the deformation of the exposure field W tends to exceed the allowable range, it is impossible to cope with the deformation by the mask pattern formed on the cylindrical mask M. Accordingly, the control device 14 starts the exposure of the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 again. Thereby, the pattern drawn according to the conveyance state of the substrate P or the deformation of the exposure region W can be flexibly deformed, and the exposure process of the substrate P can be continued. Further, when the exposure is performed by the 1 st pattern exposure unit EXH1, the control device 14 may reduce the conveyance speed of the substrate P to a speed at which the pattern can be drawn by the 1 st pattern exposure unit EXH 1.

However, when the exposure processing for 1 exposure field W by the 2 nd pattern exposure part EXH2 of the cylindrical mask M is completed and the exposure processing is started from the next exposure field W by the 1 st pattern exposure part EXH1, in the arrangement of the 1 st pattern exposure part EXH1 and the 2 nd pattern exposure part EXH2 shown in fig. 1, there is a possibility that the tip end of the next exposure field W passes through the exposure position of the 1 st pattern exposure part EXH1 (the positions of the drawing lines SL1 to SL6) excessively. Therefore, after the exposure process of the 2 nd pattern exposure section EXH2 is completed, the rotation of the rotary drum DR and the conveyance operation of the substrate conveyance mechanism 12 are suspended so that the substrate P does not slide on the rotary drum DR. Thereafter, the rotation of the rotary drum DR or the operation of the substrate conveyance mechanism 12 may be reversed so that the substrate P is conveyed in the reverse direction by a fixed distance, and then the substrate P may be conveyed in the forward direction again at a specific conveyance speed suitable for the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH 1.

Then, when the deformation of the exposure field W estimated from the position information of the markers MK (MK1 to MK4) detected using the alignment microscopes ALG (ALG1 to ALG4) has a fixed tendency, the control device 14 also outputs at least one of the position information and the adjustment information of the markers MK (MK1 to MK4) to the actual pattern information generating unit 32. Then, the actual pattern information generating unit 32 generates the actual pattern information again, and the mask making device 34 forms a mask pattern corresponding to the actual pattern information on the other mask substrate MP using the generated actual pattern information as design information. Then, the controller 14 suspends the exposure of the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 again, and causes the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 to start the exposure using the newly prepared mask substrate MP.

As described above, the exposure apparatus EX of embodiment 1 includes: alignment microscopes ALG (ALG1 to ALG4) for detecting positions of markers MK (MK1 to MK4) on a substrate P on which electronic elements are to be formed; a1 st pattern exposure section EXH1 that exposes a pattern in an exposure area (element formation area) W on a substrate P, and projects a beam LB spot SP corresponding to pattern data (design information) after adjusting the position thereof based on the detected position information of the marks MK (MK1 to MK 4); and a control device (output unit) 14 for generating a mask pattern corresponding to a pattern to be exposed to the exposure area W, and outputting at least one of adjustment information relating to position adjustment and position information of the marks MK (MK1 to MK 4). Accordingly, a mask pattern can be produced that reflects the pattern actually exposed by the 1 st pattern exposure section EXH1 (the drawing pattern adjusted to correspond to the deformation of the exposure area W on the substrate P).

The exposure apparatus EX includes a2 nd pattern exposure unit EXH2, and the 2 nd pattern exposure unit EXH2 projects an illumination beam EL corresponding to an image of a mask pattern onto the exposure area W using the mask pattern created based on at least one of the adjustment information output from the control device 14 and the position information of the marks MK (MK1 to MK 4). Thus, the pattern actually exposed by the unmasked 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 can be exposed by the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 exposed by using the cylindrical mask M. That is, even if the 1 st pattern exposure section EXH1 is not used, the 2 nd pattern exposure section EXH2 may perform the exposure process using a mask pattern adjusted (corrected) to be equivalent to the pattern actually exposed by the 1 st pattern exposure section EXH 1.

The 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 deforms the image of the mask pattern to be projected, based on the positional information of the detected mark MK (MK1 to MK 4). Thus, in the exposure of the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2, that is, when the exposure region W is deformed due to a change in the conveyance state of the substrate P, the pattern can be exposed in accordance with the deformed exposure region W as long as the deformation is within the allowable range (within the correction limit).

When the tendency of deformation of the exposure field W estimated from the position information of the detected mark MK (MK1 to MK4) during the exposure of the 2 nd pattern exposure part EXH2 is changed beyond a specific allowable range, the exposure operation of the 2 nd pattern exposure part EXH2 is suspended and the exposure operation of the 1 st pattern exposure part EXH1 is switched to, and the timing of this switching may be such that 1 exposure field W is being exposed by the 2 nd pattern exposure part EXH2 by the function of conveying the substrate P in the reverse direction.

The 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 and the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 are exposure patterns on the sheet-like substrate P supported on the outer peripheral surface of the 1 st rotary drum DR. Therefore, the conveyance state of the substrate P subjected to pattern exposure by the 1 st pattern exposure unit EXH1 and the 2 nd pattern exposure unit EXH2 (state of being closely supported by the rotary drum DR) is the same. Accordingly, the accuracy of the overlay of the pattern exposed by the 1 st pattern exposure unit EXH1 and the exposure area W (base pattern) on the substrate P and the accuracy of the overlay of the pattern exposed by the 2 nd pattern exposure unit EXH2 and the exposure area W (base pattern) on the substrate P are the same, and variations in the quality of the manufactured electronic components can be suppressed.

When the tendency of deformation of the exposure field W estimated from the position information of the detected marks MK (MK1 to MK4) is out of the allowable range, the actual pattern information generation unit 32 generates the actual pattern information again, and the mask making device 34 forms the mask pattern on the other mask substrate MP based on the generated actual pattern information. Thus, the pattern exposure of the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 is continued by using the newly manufactured mask substrate MP (cylindrical mask M). Therefore, even when the roller length (the entire length of the substrate P) reaches several Km, the exposure process can be continuously performed without substantially stopping the conveyance of the substrate P, and productivity is improved.

The 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 may be exposed without mask. Accordingly, the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 may be a portion that exposes a specific pattern corresponding to the drawing data using a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD).

[ modified examples ]

The above embodiment 1 may be modified as follows.

(modification 1) in the above-described embodiment 1, the pattern exposure unit EXH1 of the 1 st pattern and the pattern exposure unit EXH2 are exposure patterns for the substrate P supported by the same rotary drum DR, but the rotary drum DR supporting the substrate P exposed by the exposure unit EXH1 of the 1 st pattern may be different from the rotary drum DR supporting the substrate P exposed by the exposure unit EXH2 of the 2 nd pattern.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of an exposure apparatus EXa according to modification 1. The same components as those in embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted, and only portions different from those in the embodiment will be described. The substrate transport mechanism 12a of the exposure apparatus EXa includes an edge position controller EPC, a drive roller R1, a tension adjustment roller RT1, a rotary drum dr (dra), a tension adjustment roller RT2, a rotary drum dr (dra), a tension adjustment roller RT3, and a drive roller R3 in this order from the upstream side (the-X direction side) in the transport direction of the substrate P. The substrate P carried out from the edge position controller EPC is mounted on the drive roller R1, the tension adjustment roller RT1, the rotary drum DRa, the tension adjustment roller RT2, the rotary drum DRb, the tension adjustment roller RT3, and the drive roller R3, and then conveyed to the processing apparatus PR 2.

The 2 rotary drums DRa and DRb have the same configuration as the rotary drum DR described with reference to fig. 1 to 6. As shown in fig. 8, the rotary drum DRa is disposed on the upstream side (on the side in the (-X direction) in the conveyance direction of the substrate P, and its central axis AXo and axis Sft are indicated by AXo1 and Sft 1. The rotary drum DRb is disposed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the substrate P (+ X direction side), and its center axis AXo and axis Sft are indicated by AXo2 and Sft 2. The dancer roller RT3 is also energized in the-Z direction as is the dancer rollers RT1, RT 2. The tension adjusting rollers RT1 and RT2 apply a specific tension to the substrate P wound around the rotary drum DRa and supported in the longitudinal direction, and the tension adjusting rollers RT2 and RT3 apply a specific tension to the substrate P wound around the rotary drum DRb and supported in the longitudinal direction. Thereby, the tension in the longitudinal direction applied to the substrate P wound around the rotary drums DRa, DRb is stabilized within a specific range.

The 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 is provided above the rotary drum DRa (+ Z direction side), and the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 is provided above the rotary drum DRb (+ Z direction side). Thereby, the 1 st pattern exposure section EXH1 can expose the substrate P supported by the rotary drum DRa, and the 2 nd pattern exposure section EXH2 can expose the substrate P supported by the rotary drum DRb. In fig. 8, Poc1 is a plane passing through the central axis AXo1 of the rotary drum DRa and extending in the Z direction. The Poc2 is a plane passing through the central axis AXo2 of the rotary drum DRb and extending in the Z direction.

In this way, the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 and the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 is improved by making the rotary drum DR supporting the substrate P exposed by the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 different from the rotary drum DR supporting the substrate P exposed by the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH 2.

The alignment microscopes ALGa (ALGa1 to ALGa4) image the marks MK (MK1 to MK4) supported on the substrate P of the rotary drum DRa, and the alignment microscopes ALGb (ALGb1 to ALGb4) image the marks MK (MK1 to MK4) supported on the substrate P of the rotary drum DRb. The alignment microscopes ALGa and ALGb have the same configuration as the alignment microscope ALG of embodiment 1. The 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 performs pattern drawing by a raster scanning method by adjusting the position of the spot SP corresponding to the design information based on the position information of the markers MK (MK1 to MK4) detected using the alignment microscope ALGa (ALGa1 to ALGa 4). When the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 is the scanning exposure apparatus using the cylindrical mask M shown in fig. 4, the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 corrects the position of the projected image of the projected mask pattern and the shape (magnification, rotation) of the projected image when the deformation tendency of the exposure area W estimated from the position information of the marks MK (MK1 to MK4) detected using the alignment microscopes ALGb (ALGb1 to ALGb4) varies. Whether or not the tendency of deformation of the exposure region W on the substrate P is out of the allowable range is determined by at least one of the position information of the marks MK (MK1 to MK4) detected using the alignment microscope ALGa (ALGa1 to ALGa4) and the position information of the marks MK (MK1 to MK4) detected using the alignment microscopes ALGb (ALGb1 to ALGb 4).

(modification 2) in the above-described embodiment 1 and modification 1, the 1 st pattern exposure unit EXH1 is disposed on the upstream side (on the (-X direction side) in the conveyance direction of the substrate P, and the 2 nd pattern exposure unit EXH2 is disposed on the downstream side (on the (+ X direction side) in the conveyance direction of the substrate P, but the arrangement relationship may be reversed. That is, the 1 st pattern exposure unit EXH1 and the 2 nd pattern exposure unit EXH2 may be disposed so that the 1 st pattern exposure unit EXH1 is located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the substrate P relative to the 2 nd pattern exposure unit EXH 2.

(modification 3) in the above-described embodiment 1 and the above-described modifications, the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 and the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 perform pattern exposure on the substrate P which is curved and supported along the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the rotary drum DR (DRa, DRb), but pattern exposure may be performed on a substrate P which is supported in a planar shape. The pattern exposure portion EXH2 of modification example 3 may be a scanning exposure apparatus (scanning stepper) using a flat mask or a projection exposure apparatus (stepper) using a step-and-repeat method. The scanning stepper moves the flat mask and the substrate P in synchronization with each other in the X direction to scan and expose the image forming light beam EL2 corresponding to the image of the mask pattern of the flat mask to the substrate P. The stepper keeps the flat mask and the substrate P stationary, and then keeps the exposure mask pattern in the exposure area W, and then moves the substrate P step by step and keeps the exposure mask pattern in the stationary state again. In the case of using the pattern 2 exposure portion EXH2 on which the flat mask is mounted, the mask substrate (mask substrate) MP formed by the mask forming apparatus 34 is a parallel flat plate made of quartz or the like on which the mask pattern is mounted in a flat shape.

(modification 4) in the above-described embodiment 1 and the above-described modifications, the scanning position of spot SP projected onto substrate P is finely adjusted by tilting the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) of pattern-1 exposure portion EXH1 with respect to the Y axis, changing the scanning lengths (magnifications) of the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6), or shifting the drawing lines SL (SL1 to SL6) in the main scanning direction so as to correspond to the deformation of exposure area W (or substrate P) estimated from the position information of marks MK (MK1 to MK 4). In modification 4, in addition to or instead of these methods, pattern data (corrected design information) obtained by correcting the original design information (original data of the pattern) may be generated in accordance with the deformation of the exposure area W (or the substrate P) estimated from the position information of the marks MK (MK1 to MK 4). The 1 st pattern exposure section EXH1 modulates the intensity of the spot SP during scanning using the generated calibration design information (bitmap data). By correcting the original design information (original pattern data) itself, the position of the pattern drawn on the substrate P by the scanning of the spot SP is finally finely corrected. In this case, the generated corrected design information is also transmitted to the actual pattern information generating unit 32, and the actual pattern information generating unit 32 generates the actual pattern information using only the transmitted corrected design information or using the corrected design information and at least one of the position information and the adjustment information of the markers MK (MK1 to MK 4). At this time, the actual pattern information generating unit 32 may generate the actual pattern information by correcting the calibration design information again using at least one of the position information and the adjustment information of the markers MK (MK1 to MK 4).

[ embodiment 2 ]

Fig. 9 and 10 are plan views of the configuration of the exposure apparatus EXb according to embodiment 2 as viewed from the Z direction. The same components as those in embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted, and portions different from those in the embodiment will be described. The exposure apparatus EXb includes a transfer device that transfers the substrate P in a specific tension state in the X direction, and the substrate P is supported in a curved state by the rotary drum DR or in a flat state by a stage (e.g., a flat surface holder that supports the substrate P by a liquid bearing layer) at the exposure position. As shown in fig. 9, an exposure apparatus EXb of the present embodiment includes: a maskless 1 st pattern exposure part EXH1 in which 6 projection modules U1 'to U6' using DMD are arranged in a staggered manner; and a2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 which is a passing-through cylindrical mask M (the same as fig. 6) for forming a mask pattern on the outer peripheral surface of the rotation holding cylinder DR2 rotating around the central axis AX 1. The 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 and the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 are arranged on the exposure portion support frame 200 in the Y direction (width direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the substrate P), and are movable in the Y direction under the guidance of linear guide portions 200a and 200b of the exposure portion support frame 200 extending in the Y direction, respectively. As a structure for supporting the substrate P in a planar manner by the stage, for example, a structure disclosed in pamphlet of international publication No. 2013/150677 can be used.

Accordingly, in the present embodiment, the maskless exposure process and the masking exposure process can be selected by sliding either the 1 st pattern exposure section EXH1 or the 2 nd pattern exposure section EXH2 in the Y direction so as to face the substrate P. Fig. 9 shows a state in the maskless exposure in which the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 is opposed to the substrate P, and fig. 10 shows a state in the maskless exposure in which the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 is opposed to the substrate P. As in embodiment 1, the 4 alignment microscopes ALG1 to ALG4 are arranged upstream of the exposure position on the substrate P in the conveyance direction of the substrate P, and detect the markers MK (MK1 to MK4) on the substrate P, respectively. As the unmasked 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 using DMD, for example, a structure disclosed in the pamphlet of international publication No. 2008/090942 can be used, and as the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 using the passage-type cylindrical mask M, for example, a proximity type exposure mechanism disclosed in the pamphlet of international publication No. 2013/136834 can be used.

The pattern exposure portion EXH1 of the present embodiment dynamically modulates the two-dimensional distribution of the local projected light corresponding to the pattern to be drawn by the DMD during the conveyance of the substrate P in the X direction (sub-scanning direction) at a constant speed. At this time, a signal for driving each of the plurality of micromirrors of the DMD is generated by correcting the original design information (CAD information) according to the amount of deformation caused by the estimated deformation of the exposure field W or the like. Therefore, by precisely associating and storing the state change of the signal for driving each micromirror of the DMD with the moving position of the substrate P in the sub-scanning direction (or the moving position of the mark MK), information (corrected design information) of the actual pattern actually superimposed and exposed on the exposure area W of the substrate P can be generated by the actual pattern information generating unit 32 of fig. 7. Thus, as in embodiment 1, the cylindrical mask M to be attached to the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 can be immediately produced by the mask producing apparatus 34 of fig. 7.

According to the present embodiment, while one of the 1 st pattern exposure unit EXH1 and the 2 nd pattern exposure unit EXH2 is used to perform exposure processing on the substrate P, the other is disposed in a state of being retracted to the outside (lateral side) of the conveyance path of the substrate P. Therefore, maintenance of the pattern exposure portions EXH1 and EXH2 is facilitated. Further, in the 2 nd pattern exposure section EXH2, the mounting (replacement) work of the cylindrical mask M is facilitated, and a mask replacement mechanism for performing automatic replacement of the mask can be easily assembled. In the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1, a correction unit portion for measuring the mutual positional relationship of the light distributions projected from each of the 6 projection modules U1 'to U6' using the DMD and performing calibration may be disposed directly below (on the (-Z direction side) the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 at the position shown in fig. 10.

[ modified examples ]

The above embodiment 2 can be modified as follows.

(modification 1) fig. 11 is a view showing a planar arrangement of an exposure apparatus EXb according to modification 1 of embodiment 2. In modification 1, the 1 st pattern exposure section EXH1 and the 2 nd pattern exposure section EXH2 are integrally provided in the exposure section support turret 210 which is rotatable about the axis 210 a. When the 1 st pattern exposure section EXH1 and the 2 nd pattern exposure section EXH2 are switched, the exposure section support turret 210 is raised in the + Z direction by a predetermined distance (for example, about 1 cm), and then rotated 180 degrees in the clockwise direction or the counterclockwise direction about the axis 210 a. In this way, when the switching is performed by the rotation of the exposure unit support turret 210, the 1 st pattern exposure unit EXH1 and the 2 nd pattern exposure unit EXH2 can be mechanically set to specific positions with the accuracy (± several μm) of the bearing that supports the shaft 210 a. In the case of modification 1, the maintenance work of the pattern exposure portions EXH1 and EXH2 and the mounting (replacement) work of the cylindrical mask M are also easily performed, and the mask replacement mechanism or the correction unit portion can also be easily assembled.

(modification 2) fig. 12 is a view of a schematic configuration of an exposure apparatus EXb according to modification 2 of embodiment 2, as viewed from the front. In modification 2, the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 and the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 are supported by the guide portion 220a of the exposure portion support frame 220 linearly extending in the X direction. The guide 220a functions as a guide formed linearly in the X direction, and each of the 1 st pattern exposure portion EXH1 and the 2 nd pattern exposure portion EXH2 is provided movably in the X direction along the guide 220 a. In the case of modification 2, the pattern exposure portions EXH1 and EXH2 are moved in the conveyance direction of the substrate P (the moving direction of the substrate P when crossing the center plane Poc 2), and the mask exposure mode and the maskless exposure mode are switched. Accordingly, as in fig. 9 to 11, it is not possible to dispose either the 1 st pattern exposure unit EXH1 or the 2 nd pattern exposure unit EXH2 outside the conveyance path of the substrate P when viewed in the XY plane, but the occupation area (installation area) of the entire exposure apparatus EXb can be reduced.

[ embodiment 3 ]

Fig. 13 shows the entire configuration of the device manufacturing apparatus according to embodiment 3, and fig. 14 shows the configuration of an exposure unit incorporated in the device manufacturing apparatus of fig. 13. As shown in fig. 13, the device manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment is constituted by: a supply unit SU that draws out the flexible long substrate P wound around the supply roller FR1 and supplies the flexible long substrate P to a processing device (processing unit) PR1 in the preceding step; an exposure apparatus EXC that performs exposure processing on the substrate P processed by the processing apparatus PR 1; a processing apparatus (processing section) PR2 for performing the subsequent steps on the exposed substrate P; and a recovery unit PU that winds the post-processed substrate P around a recovery roller FR 2. As shown in fig. 14, the exposure apparatus EXC includes, for example, 3 exposure units EXc1, EXc2, and EXc3, and an exposure control unit ECT for collectively controlling these units.

The processing apparatus PR1 is composed of: a rotary cylinder RS1 for supporting the substrate P conveyed from the supply unit SU by its outer peripheral surface and moving the substrate P in the longitudinal direction; a nozzle coating head DH for coating a liquid photosensitive material (such as a photoresist and a photosensitive silane coupling material) on the surface of the substrate P supported by the rotary cylinder RS 1; a solvent removing portion HS1 that removes the solvent from the coated photosensitive material; and a drying section HS2 for heating and drying the substrate P by a heater, hot air, or the like. The substrate P on which the photosensitive functional layer made of a photosensitive material is formed by the processing apparatus PR1 is subjected to exposure processing by the exposure apparatus EXC, and then wet processing for the photosensitive functional layer is performed by the processing apparatus PR 2. The processing apparatus PR2 includes a liquid bath WB1 for wet-chemically processing the photosensitive functional layer, a liquid bath WB2 for cleaning the substrate P subjected to the chemical processing with pure water, and a drying section HS3 for heating and drying the cleaned substrate P.

As shown in fig. 14, the exposure apparatus EXC of the present embodiment is composed of an exposure section EXc1 of the proximity method similar to fig. 6 using a passage-type cylindrical mask M1, an exposure section EXc2 of the maskless method realized by scanning a beam similar to fig. 2, an exposure section EXc3 of the projection method similar to fig. 4 using a reflection-type cylindrical mask M2, and a conveyance section including a plurality of rollers R11, R12, R13, R14, R15, R16, R17, and R18 for conveying the substrate P from the processing apparatus PR1 in the order of the exposure sections EXc1, EXc2, and EXc 3. The exposure unit EXc1 includes: a drive mechanism, not shown, for rotating the cylindrical shade M1 around the central axis AX 1; a light source device (illumination system) 24 (see fig. 6) disposed inside the cylindrical mask M1 for irradiating the substrate P with exposure light; a rotary drum (substrate support member) DRA which is rotatable about a central axis AXa while supporting a substrate P via an outer peripheral surface (support surface); a drive mechanism, not shown, for rotating the rotary drum DRA to move the substrate P in the longitudinal direction; a scale disk SD of the encoder system for measuring a rotational angle position of the rotary drum DRA (a movement amount of the substrate P); and an alignment system ALGA including alignment microscopes ALG1 to ALG4 shown in fig. 1 and 3. Such an exposed portion EXc1 is disclosed in, for example, international publication No. 2013/136834 pamphlet and international publication No. 2013/146184 pamphlet, and therefore, detailed description thereof is omitted.

The exposure unit EXc2 includes, as in fig. 2: a rotary drum (substrate support member) DRB capable of rotating around the central axis AXb while supporting the substrate P conveyed from the exposure section EXc1 by the rollers R13 and R14 of the conveying section via the outer peripheral surface (support surface); a drive mechanism, not shown, for rotating the rotary drum DRB to move the substrate P in the longitudinal direction; a scale disk SD of the encoder system for measuring a rotational angle position of the rotary drum DRB (a movement amount of the substrate P); an alignment system ALGB including alignment microscopes ALG1 to ALG4 shown in fig. 1 and 3; and a plurality of scanning units U1 to U6 of a beam scanning system for condensing a drawing beam (exposure light) whose intensity is modulated according to CAD data into a spot SP and scanning the spot SP on the substrate P to draw a pattern. Such an exposure unit EXc2 is described in detail in, for example, international publication No. 2015/152217 pamphlet and international publication No. 2015/152218 pamphlet, and thus, detailed description thereof is omitted here, and the scanning units U1 to U6 correct the drawing position, inclination (slight rotation), drawing magnification, and the like of the pattern drawn by the respective scanning units U1 to U6 in accordance with the arrangement state of the markers MK1 to MK4 (see fig. 3) measured by the alignment system ALGB, whereby highly accurate patterning (overlay exposure and the like) corresponding to the deformation and expansion of the substrate P itself supported by the rotary drum DRB or the two-dimensional deformation (deformation) of the exposure region W on the substrate P can be realized.

The exposure unit EXc3 includes, as in fig. 4: a drive mechanism, not shown, for rotating the reflective cylindrical mask M2 around the central axis AX 1; a rotary drum (substrate support member) DRC which can rotate around the central axis AXc while supporting the substrate P conveyed from the exposure section EXc2 by the rollers R15 and R16 of the conveying section via the outer peripheral surface (support surface); a driving mechanism, not shown, for rotating the rotary drum DRC to move the substrate P in the longitudinal direction; a scale disk SD of the encoder system for measuring a rotational angle position of the rotary drum DRC (a movement amount of the substrate P); an alignment system ALGC configured by alignment microscopes ALG1 to ALG4 shown in fig. 1 and 3; and a plurality of projection modules (projection systems) PL1 to PL6, which project and expose the imaging light (exposure light) reflected by the pattern formed on the cylindrical mask M2 onto the substrate P. Such an exposure unit EXc3 of the multi-lens projection system is disclosed in, for example, wo 2014/073535 pamphlet, and therefore, detailed description thereof is omitted, and a two-dimensional distortion of the substrate P (or the exposure area W) is estimated from the arrangement state of the plurality of marks MK1 to MK4 on the substrate P measured by the alignment system ALGC, and an offset correction system, a slight rotation correction system, and a magnification correction system for the projected image provided in each of the projection modules PL1 to PL6 are adjusted so as to match the distortion. Such a correction system is also disclosed in the pamphlet of international publication No. 2014/073535.

In the above configuration, the rotary cylinders DRA, DRB, DRC provided in the exposure portions EXc1, EXc2, EXc3 are each formed to have the same size, and the optical reflection characteristics of the outer peripheral surface, which is the surface characteristics, and the frictional characteristics with the substrate P are matched. Any one of the shape property, optical property and frictional property as the surface property may be uniform. Here, the shape characteristics include curvature (diameter), roughness, hardness, and material of the outer peripheral surface, and the friction characteristics include a friction coefficient of the outer peripheral surface. The optical characteristics include reflectance to exposure light (beam, illumination beam, imaging beam, and the like). The distance from the position where the substrate P starts to be supported by the rotary drums DRA, DRB, and DRC (contact start position) to the substrate P in the detection regions (Vw1 to Vw4 in fig. 3) of the alignment systems ALGA, ALGB, and ALGC is set to be substantially the same. Further, the same encoder system (scale disk SD) for measuring the rotation angle of each of the rotary cylinders DRA, DRB, DRC is used. The rollers R12, R14, R16 and the like are configured as tension rollers for setting the tensions applied to the substrates P on the upstream side of the rotating cylinders DRA, DRB, DRC to be substantially the same. However, the tension applied to the substrate P in the exposure portions EXc1, EXc2, and EXc3 in which the exposure process for the substrate P is not performed may not be set to be the same as the tension in the other exposure portions.

The exposure apparatus EXC of the present embodiment performs exposure processing of the substrate P using at least one of a plurality of (here, 3) exposure sections EXc1, EXc2, and EXc3 having different exposure methods, so as to perform good pattern exposure using an optimal exposure method selected in consideration of the conveyance state of the substrate P, the deformation state of the substrate P or the exposure area W of the pattern for electronic components set on the substrate P, productivity, and the like. For example, in the case of a substrate for exposure (rapid exposure) of the 1 st layer, in which a PET film of a copper foil or an aluminum foil is deposited on the substrate P conveyed from the processing apparatus PR1 and no pattern is formed, since the substrate P is not substantially deformed, either the exposure section EXc1 of the proximity method or the exposure section EXc3 of the projection method is used in consideration of productivity. Further, when the base pattern layer is formed in the exposure region W of the substrate P conveyed from the processing apparatus PR1, since the overlay exposure (secondary exposure) is performed, the maskless exposure section EXc2 and the projection exposure section EXc3 are selected to improve the overlay accuracy. However, in the case of the rapid exposure or the second exposure, the substrate P may be exposed by using both of the exposure portions EXc1, EXc2, and EXc 3.

The proximity type exposure processing performed by the exposure section EXc1 using the cylinder mask M1 has the following advantages: the minimum size (minimum line width) of the pattern to be exposed is relatively large, several tens μm or more, and high productivity (yield) can be obtained when high overlay accuracy is not required. On the other hand, the exposure process performed by the exposure portion EXc3 of the multi-lens projection system using the cylindrical mask M2 has the following advantages: a high resolution can be obtained in which the minimum size (minimum line width) of the pattern to be exposed is about several μm, and a high overlay accuracy can be obtained by correcting the projected image for each multi-lens (projection module PL), and a relatively high productivity (yield) can be obtained. In contrast, the exposure process performed by the maskless exposure unit EXc2 tends to be as follows: a high resolution with a minimum dimension (minimum line width) of about several μm can be obtained, and a high overlay accuracy can be obtained by a high correction capability against a large deformation of the substrate P (or the exposure region W) as compared with the exposure section EXc3 of the projection system, but productivity (pitch) is low as compared with the exposure sections EXc1 and EXc 3.

In the present embodiment, the exposure control unit ECT shown in fig. 13 selects an exposure mode suitable for the substrate P transported from the processing apparatus PR1 and performs exposure in consideration of the characteristics of the exposure units EXc1, EXc2, and EXc 3. The 1 st exposure mode uses only one of the 3 exposure portions EXc1, EXc2, EXc3, the 2 nd exposure mode uses 2 exposure portions EXc1 and EXc2 in combination, and the 3 rd exposure mode uses 2 exposure portions EXc2 and EXc3 in combination. In the 1 st exposure mode, when the substrate P is subjected to the quick exposure, when the fineness of the pattern to be exposed by the quick exposure is high (the minimum size is small), either the exposure portion EXc2 or the exposure portion EXc3 is used. When the fineness of a pattern to be exposed by the quick exposure is low (the minimum size is large), either one of the exposed portion EXc1 and the exposed portion EXc3 is used. However, when the exposure portion EXc1 or the exposure portion EXc3 is used, a cylindrical mask M1 or M2 on which a pattern for quick exposure is formed is prepared. In the 1 st exposure mode, when the substrate P is subjected to the second exposure, one of the exposure portions EXc2 and EXc3 is used when the overlay accuracy is prioritized. When the requirement for the overlay accuracy is not strict, either the exposure portion EXc1 or the exposure portion EXc3 is used in the case of the second exposure. However, when the exposure portion EXc1 or the exposure portion EXc3 is used, a cylindrical mask M1 or M2 on which a pattern for secondary exposure is formed is prepared. The cylindrical mask M1 or M2 for the second exposure can be manufactured as described in embodiment 1 (fig. 7) above.

In the 2 nd exposure mode, after a part of the pattern to be transferred to the exposure area W on the substrate P is proximity-exposed by the exposure section EXc1, another part of the pattern to be transferred to the exposure area W is maskless-exposed by the exposure section EXc 2. The 2 nd exposure mode may be applied to rapid exposure or secondary exposure, in which a part of the pattern exposed by the exposure portion EXc1 is set to a portion with a low fineness (a large minimum size), and another part of the pattern exposed by the exposure portion EXc2 is set to a portion with a high fineness (a small minimum size) or a portion requiring high overlay accuracy. That is, the pattern for the quick exposure or the second exposure is decomposed into a portion with a low fineness (or overlay accuracy) and a portion with a high fineness (or overlay accuracy), the cylindrical mask M1 on which the pattern with the low fineness (or overlay accuracy) is formed is prepared, and the pattern with the portion with the high fineness (or overlay accuracy) is prepared as the drawing data of the exposure section EXc 2. Accordingly, in the 2 nd exposure mode, exposure region W of substrate P is exposed 2 times at intervals, and the pattern first exposed by exposure section EXc1 and the pattern 2 exposed by exposure section EXc2 are aligned with a required accuracy based on the positional information of marks MK1 to MK4 on substrate P detected by each of alignment systems ALGA and ALGB. In the case of performing the second exposure in the 2 nd exposure mode, the cylindrical mask M1 attached to the exposure portion EXc1 is patterned for the second exposure, and the cylindrical mask M1 can be produced as described in the above embodiment 1 (fig. 7).

In the 3 rd exposure mode, after a part of the pattern to be transferred to the exposure region W of the substrate P is exposed maskless by the exposure section EXc2, another part of the pattern to be transferred to the exposure region W is exposed projectably by the exposure section EXc 3. The 3 rd exposure mode can be applied to both the quick exposure and the second exposure, but is particularly suitable for the second exposure. A part of the exposure field W exposed by the exposure section EXc2 is set to be a portion with a large deformation, and another part of the exposure field W exposed by the exposure section EXc3 is set to be a portion with a small deformation. That is, the tendency of deformation of the exposure field W on the substrate P is estimated or measured in advance, and a pattern corresponding to a portion (region) with a large degree of deformation is exposed in a maskless manner, and a pattern corresponding to a portion (region) with a small degree of deformation is formed on the cylindrical mask M2 and exposed in a projection manner. In the 3 rd exposure mode, the pattern for the second exposure (or the quick exposure) may be divided into a portion with a lower fineness and a portion with a higher fineness, the pattern of the portion with the lower fineness may be formed on the cylindrical mask M2, and the pattern of the portion with the higher fineness may be prepared as drawing data of the exposure section EXc 2. The cylindrical mask M2 attached to the exposure section EXc3 in the exposure mode 3 can be produced as described in embodiment 1 (fig. 7).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the plurality of exposure portions EXc1, EXc2, and EXc3 having different exposure forms can be selected and continuously subjected to the exposure processing in accordance with the fineness, productivity, or overlay accuracy of the pattern when transferred to the continuously transported long substrate P (exposure region W), the quality of the electronic component manufactured on the substrate P can be ensured, and the productivity can be ensured. In particular, when the maskless exposure unit EXc2 is used as in the 2 nd exposure mode or the 3 rd exposure mode, a part of the pattern formed in the exposure area W of the cylindrical masks M1 and M2 is set so that the part exposed by the exposure unit EXc2 is not exposed on the substrate P. Therefore, when the portion of the substrate P exposed by the exposure section EXc2 is limited to the front end portion or the terminal end portion in the conveyance direction in the exposure area W, the conveyance speed of the substrate P can be reduced to a speed suitable for the exposure section EXc2 only during the period when the front end portion or the terminal end portion is exposed by the exposure section EXc 2. That is, the conveyance speed of the substrate P in the exposure section EXc2 can be intermittently switched between a speed suitable for the exposure section EXc2 and a speed suitable for the other exposure section EXc1 (or EXc 3). In this way, when the conveyance speed of the substrate P in the exposure section EXc2 is intermittently changed, a buffer mechanism (accumulator) capable of accumulating the substrate P over a specific length can be provided between the roller R13 and the roller R14 or between the roller R15 and the roller R16 shown in fig. 14. In this way, even when the maskless exposure unit EXc2 is used in combination, productivity can be improved as compared with a case where the substrate P is subjected to exposure processing while the conveyance speed of the substrate P is constant at a speed uniformly low enough for the exposure unit EXc 2.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the configurations and surface characteristics of the rotary drums DRA, DRB, DRC that support and convey the substrate P at the exposure position and the conveyance conditions of the substrate P (such as the tension of the substrate P) are the same, each of the exposure portions EXc1, EXc2, EXc3 can perform exposure processing while supporting the substrate P in the same state. Therefore, the substrate P (or the exposure area W) can be supported by the respective rotary drums DRA, DRB, DRC in a state in which a slight deformation or displacement may occur, and variations in quality of the electronic components formed in the exposure area W can be suppressed.

[ modified examples ]

The above-described embodiment 3 may be modified as follows.

In the above embodiment, for example, in the exposure process of the exposure unit EXc2(EXc3), the correction in the pattern exposure of the substrate P by the 2 nd (3 rd) exposure unit EXc2(EXc3) is performed based on only the deformation information of the substrate P (or the exposure area W) measured by the alignment system algb (algc). However, in the configuration of fig. 14, for example, the deformation information of the substrate P (exposure area W) obtained from the arrangement state of the marks MK1 to MK4 of the substrate P detected by the alignment system ALGA of the 1 st exposure unit EXc1 may be added to the deformation information of the substrate P (exposure area W) obtained from the arrangement state of the marks MK1 to MK4 of the substrate P detected by the alignment system ALGB of the 2 nd exposure unit EXc2, and when the substrate P is patterned by the 2 nd exposure unit EXc2, the relative positional relationship between the drawing beam (exposure light) and the substrate P may be corrected. Accordingly, the 2 nd exposure unit EXc2 can measure the deformation of the palm grip substrate P (exposure area W) by the alignment system ALGB immediately before exposure, and can secure a time margin for precisely setting the correction amount and precisely correcting the drawing data during drawing, thereby reducing the overlay error.

Further, the deformation information of the substrate P (exposure area W) obtained from the positional relationship of the marks MK1 to MK4 of the substrate P detected by the alignment system ALGB of the 2 nd exposure unit EXc2 may be added to the deformation information of the substrate P (exposure area W) obtained from the positional relationship of the marks MK1 to MK4 of the substrate P detected by the alignment system ALGC of the 3 rd exposure unit EXc3, and the relative positional relationship between the projected image (exposure light) and the substrate P may be corrected when the pattern is projected onto the substrate P by the 3 rd exposure unit EXc 3. In this case, the 3 rd exposure unit EXc3 may measure the deformation of the palm grip substrate P (exposure area W) by the alignment system ALGC immediately before exposure, so that a margin in time for precisely setting the correction amount of the projection image can be secured, and the overlay error can be further reduced. The management and correction control of the deformation information described above is instructed by the exposure control unit ECT shown in fig. 13.

In fig. 14, exposure sections EXc1, EXc2, and EXc3 constituting exposure apparatus EXC are arranged in the order of proximity method, maskless method, and projection method along the conveyance path of substrate P, but the order may be arbitrary. The cylindrical mask M1 or M2 attached to the proximity type exposure portion EXc1 or the projection type exposure portion EXc3 may be manufactured as described in embodiment 1 (fig. 7). Further, as in embodiment 1 above, only 2 exposure portions EXc1 and EXc2 having different exposure methods, or only 2 exposure portions EXc2 and EXc3 having different exposure methods may be arranged along the conveyance direction of the substrate P. Further, when the quality of the pattern of the electronic component formed on the sheet-like substrate P by the roll-to-roll method (overlay accuracy, reproducibility of the pattern size, and the like) is stable in the production line (manufacturing method) shown in fig. 13, the 4 th exposure mode in which the proximity exposure unit EXc1 and the projection exposure unit EXc3 are used in combination can be applied. In this case, a pattern portion with a low fineness may be formed in the cylindrical mask M1 attached to the exposure portion EXc1 of the proximity type, a pattern portion with a high fineness may be formed in the cylindrical mask M2 attached to the exposure portion EXc3 of the projection type, and both may be overlapped to expose the exposure region W. The unmasked exposure unit EXc2 may be a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) that controls the posture and position of each of a plurality of micromirrors arranged two-dimensionally based on design information (CAD data or the like) of a pattern, and may be a so-called unmasked DMD system that generates exposure light having intensity distribution modulated according to the pattern and projects the exposure light onto the substrate P by a projection system.

In the step of exposing the sheet-like substrate P to a pattern by a roll-to-roll method (rapid exposure or secondary exposure), a substrate P having a photosensitive layer formed on the surface thereof by applying a solution (a photoresist solution, an ultraviolet curable resin solution, a photosensitive plating reducing solution, a photosensitive silane coupling solution, or the like) as a photosensitive material and drying the applied solution is used, and a sheet-like film having a dry film photoresist layer formed thereon and the substrate P are passed through a laminating machine (a laminator) or the like to transfer the dry film photoresist layer to the surface thereof may be used. Since the dry film resist layer (hereinafter, also referred to as a DFR layer) has a property that when irradiated with exposure light in an ultraviolet wavelength region of about 400nm to 300nm, transparency decreases and discoloration occurs, the exposed pattern or alignment mark can be detected as a latent image by the alignment systems ALGB and ALGC shown in fig. 14 without performing a development process. In the case of the configuration of fig. 14, for example, a part of the pattern of the DRF layer or the alignment mark exposed to the substrate P by the exposure section EXc1 provided on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the substrate P can be detected by the alignment system ALGB of the exposure section EXc2 on the downstream side or the alignment system ALGC of EXc 3. Accordingly, by detecting the position of the image of a part of the pattern (or the image of the mark) in the exposure region W on the substrate P actually exposed by the exposure section EXc1 by the alignment system ALGB (or ALGC), the pattern portion with a low degree of fineness exposed to the substrate P by the exposure section EXc1 and the pattern portion with a high degree of fineness exposed to the substrate P by the exposure section EXc2 (or EXc3) can be precisely combined (connected).

The light source devices 20, 22, and 24 provided for the exposure portions EXc1 to EXc3 described in the embodiment 3 of fig. 14 and the respective modifications may be different types of light sources such as a gas or solid laser light source, a mercury discharge lamp, and a high-luminance LED, or may be the same type of light source. When the same kind of light source device or the completely same light source device can be used, the adjustment operation, the maintenance operation, or the replacement (replacement) operation of the light source device are common, so that the operation cost can be suppressed. Further, each of the alignment system ALGA of the exposure section EXc1, the alignment system ALGB of the exposure section EXc2, and the alignment system ALGC of the exposure section EXc3 shown in fig. 14 is composed of a plurality of alignment microscopes ALG1 to ALG4 arranged at a specific interval in the short dimension direction (Y direction) of the substrate P as shown in fig. 3. In this case, the arrangement relationship in the Y direction of the observation regions (detection regions) Vw1 to Vw4 of the alignment microscopes ALG1 to ALG4 is the same among the alignment systems ALGA, ALGB, and ALGC, but may be different. The number of positions of the alignment microscope ALG in the Y direction is not limited to 4 positions as shown in fig. 3, and may be different (at least 2 positions or more) between the alignment systems ALGA, ALGB, and ALGC.

(modification 4) as one of electronic components suitable for roll-to-roll manufacturing, there is a long flexible sheet sensor. Fig. 15 shows an example of the configuration of 4 sheet sensors RSS1, RSS2, RSS3, and RSS4 formed in a strip shape extending over a length of several to several tens of meters in the X direction on a sheet-shaped substrate P (PET or PEN) having a length in the X direction. Each of the 4 sheet sensors RSS1 to RSS4 is cut in the Y direction (the width direction of the substrate P) by a cutting device called a slitter when a plurality of power supply lines Vdd, Vss (GND) and signal lines CBL are formed on the substrate P, and elements such as various sensors, microcomputer chips, TFTs (thin film transistors), capacitors and resistors are formed in the fine pattern area FPA indicated by a broken line. Since the sheet sensors RSS1 to RSS4 have the same configuration, the sheet sensor RSS1 will be described in detail as a representative example.

The sheet sensor RSS1 is buried in soil (farm) for growing crops, for example, and measures the moisture content, ph value, temperature, nutrient content (nitrogen component, phosphorus component, etc.) and the like at regular intervals Lsp in the soil by various sensors, converts the measured values into digital data by electronic elements (microcomputer chips and the like) formed in the fine pattern area FPA, and serially communicates the digital data to an information collecting device (data relay device) attached to the end of the sheet sensor RSS1 through a signal line CBL. The sheet sensors RSS1 to RSS4 can be used not only in soil for agricultural crops but also as sensors for measuring the temperature, the flow rate of seawater, the seawater composition, and the like at intervals Lsp in the depth direction in seawater in a fishery farm as well as in soil for agricultural crops by changing the type of the sensors formed in the fine pattern area FPA or the measurement algorithm (measurement software) of a microcomputer chip.

In the strip-shaped sheet sensor RSS1 shown in fig. 15, a copper foil layer having a thickness of several μm to several tens of μm is etched to form a positive power supply line Vdd or a negative (ground) power supply line Vss (gnd) or a signal line CBL, but in some cases, the distance from the information collecting device connected to one end of the sheet sensor RSS1 to the other end is as large as several tens of m or more, and the widths of the power supply lines Vdd, Vss and the signal line CBL are made as large as possible in order to reduce voltage drop (signal loss). On the other hand, the thickness of the wiring pattern for the electronic circuit formed in the fine pattern region FPA varies depending on the shape, density, and the like of the electronic component to be mounted, but is about several tens μm to several hundreds μm at the minimum. Further, when a plurality of TFTs are to be directly formed in the fine pattern area FPA, the line width of the gate line and the source/drain line of the TFT is several tens μm or less, preferably 20 μm or less, and the overlapping patterning (secondary exposure) is also required.

Therefore, in the present modification, when the sheet sensors RSS1 to RSS4 shown in fig. 15 are formed on the substrate P, for example, they are divided as follows: the fine pattern in the fine pattern regions FPA having a length Lfa (Lfa < Lsp) in the X direction, which are arranged at intervals Lsp, is exposed by the exposure unit EXc2 (or EXc3) in fig. 14, and a coarse pattern (coarse pattern) such as the signal lines CBL and the power supply lines Vdd and Vss between the fine pattern regions FPA is exposed by the exposure unit EXc1 in fig. 14. In this case, a buffer mechanism (accumulator) is provided between the roller R13 and the roller R14 in fig. 14. When the substrate P conveyance speed when the exposure unit EXc1 exposes the rough pattern is set to V1 and the substrate P conveyance speed when the exposure unit EXc2 exposes the pattern in the fine pattern region FPA is set to V2 (V2 < V1 is set), the rotation speed of the rotary drum DRB of the exposure unit EXc2 may be increased after the exposure of the pattern in 1 fine pattern region FPA by the exposure unit EXc2 is completed, the substrate P may be conveyed at a speed V3 faster than the conveyance speed V1, and then the speed may be decreased to the original conveyance speed V2 before the pattern exposure in the next fine pattern region FPA is started. By changing the conveyance speed of the substrate P (the rotation speed of the rotary drum DRB) in this manner, the accumulation length of the substrate P accumulated in the buffer mechanism is suppressed from increasing (or decreasing) with the lapse of time. The interval Lsp is about 1m to several m on the substrate P, and the length Lfa of the fine pattern region FPA is about several cm to ten-several cm.

Even when the sheet sensors RSS1 to RSS4 formed on the substrate P have a multilayer wiring structure having 2 or more layers and expose a pattern in which a portion having high overlay accuracy between layers and a portion having low overlay accuracy are mixed, at least 2 (exposure portions EXc1 and EXc2, exposure portions EXc2 and EXc3, and exposure portions EXc1 and EXc3) of the 3 exposure portions EXc1 to EXc3 shown in fig. 14 can be subjected to continuous exposure processing, and efficient production can be achieved. In a production line in which exposure section EXc1 and exposure section EXc3 of 3 exposure sections EXc1 to EXc3 shown in fig. 14 are arranged in parallel, cylindrical masks M1 and M2 must be prepared separately, and the cost for producing the masks increases, so that the running cost (the original price in production) may increase. However, since the cylindrical masks M1 and M2 are used, the transport speed of the substrate P can be increased, and since the fine pattern portions and the pattern portions having a large line width, or the pattern portions requiring high overlay accuracy and the pattern portions having low overlay accuracy can be sequentially exposed in the exposure region W in one transport of the substrate P, the productivity (pitch) can be increased, and the total production cost can be suppressed.

Claims (17)

1. A substrate processing method is characterized in that a flexible long strip-shaped sheet substrate is conveyed along the long side direction, and a pattern for an electronic component is exposed on the sheet substrate; and comprises the following steps:

a detection step of detecting mark position information of a plurality of marks formed on the sheet substrate;

a1 st exposure step of performing position adjustment of an energy ray corresponding to design information of the pattern according to the mark position information and then performing projection on an element formation region on the sheet substrate on which the electronic element is to be formed, by a1 st pattern exposure section that projects the energy ray corresponding to the design information; and

a generation step of generating actual pattern information for production of a mask pattern to be exposed within the element forming region, based on the design information and at least one of adjustment information relating to the position adjustment of the energy ray to be projected to the element forming region and the mark position information.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising a mask making step,

in the mask making step, the mask pattern corresponding to the actual pattern information is formed on the mask substrate by projecting an energy ray corresponding to the actual pattern information onto the mask substrate held in a2 nd pattern exposure section different from the 1 st pattern exposure section.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising a2 nd exposure step,

in the 2 nd exposure step, the 2 nd pattern exposure section projects the energy ray corresponding to the mask pattern to the element formation region using the mask substrate on which the mask pattern is formed.

4. The substrate processing method according to claim 3,

the 2 nd exposure step is started after the mask substrate on which the mask pattern is formed is mounted on the 2 nd pattern exposure section; and is

The 1 st exposure step suspends exposure of the pattern by the 1 st pattern exposure section before the exposure of the mask pattern in the 2 nd exposure step is started.

5. The substrate processing method according to claim 4,

restarting the 1 st exposure step when the tendency of the mark position information detected in the detection step changes beyond an allowable range; and is

Pausing the 2 nd exposure step before resuming exposure of the pattern of the 1 st exposure step.

6. The substrate processing method according to claim 5,

the generating step generates the actual pattern information again when the tendency of the mark position information detected in the detecting step changes beyond an allowable range; and is

The mask making step makes the mask pattern corresponding to the actual pattern information on the other mask substrate according to the regenerated actual pattern information.

7. The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 2 to 6,

the substrate for a mask is configured in at least one of a flat mask for carrying the mask pattern in a flat shape and a cylindrical mask for carrying the mask pattern in a cylindrical shape.

8. A device manufacturing apparatus is characterized in that a flexible long-strip-shaped substrate is conveyed along the long dimension direction, and a plurality of exposure parts which irradiate exposure light corresponding to the pattern of an electronic device to a sheet substrate are used, so that the electronic device is formed on the substrate; and is

The plurality of exposure portions are arranged along the conveying direction of the substrate,

each of the plurality of exposure sections includes a substrate support member having a support surface for supporting the substrate by bending the substrate in the transport direction, the substrate being irradiated with exposure light in accordance with a pattern of the electronic component;

the plurality of exposure portions are configured to expose the pattern to the substrate in different exposure manners.

9. The device for manufacturing a component according to claim 8,

the surface characteristics of the support surface of the substrate support member of each of the plurality of exposure portions are uniform.

10. The device for manufacturing a component according to claim 9,

the surface property includes at least one of a shape property, an optical property, and a friction property of the support surface of the substrate support member.

11. The device for manufacturing a component according to claim 10,

the shape characteristics include curvature and roughness of the support surface, the optical characteristics include reflectance with respect to the exposure light, and the friction characteristics include a friction coefficient of the support surface.

12. The element manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 11,

the plurality of exposure portions of different exposure modes are at least two of the following exposure portions: the exposure apparatus includes an exposure section for exposing a pattern formed on a mask to the substrate in a proximity manner, an exposure section for exposing the pattern formed on the mask to the substrate in a projection manner by a projection optical system, and a maskless exposure section for exposing the pattern to the substrate by exposure light modulated according to pattern data.

13. The device for manufacturing a component according to claim 12,

each of the plurality of exposure parts is provided with an alignment system for detecting position information of a plurality of marks formed on the substrate along the long dimension direction, and

the 1 st exposure unit of the plurality of exposure units, which is located on the downstream side in the transport direction of the sheet substrate, corrects the relative positional relationship between the exposure light and the substrate according to the pattern of the electronic component, based on the positional information detected by the alignment system of the 2 nd exposure unit located on the upstream side and the positional information detected by the alignment system of the 1 st exposure unit.

14. The device for manufacturing a component according to claim 13,

the 1 st exposure part exposes a part of the pattern of the electronic component on the substrate, and the 2 nd exposure part exposes another part of the pattern of the electronic component in alignment with the pattern exposed on the substrate by the 1 st exposure part.

15. The device for manufacturing a component according to claim 12,

a pass-through or reflection-type cylindrical mask which rotates in synchronization with the movement of the substrate in the longitudinal direction, and

the maskless exposure unit projects exposure light modulated by the digital micromirror device according to the data of the pattern onto the substrate, or projects the exposure light onto the substrate while scanning a beam modulated according to the data of the pattern by a rotary polygon mirror.

16. The device for manufacturing a component according to claim 13,

a pass-through or reflection-type cylindrical mask which rotates in synchronization with the movement of the substrate in the longitudinal direction, and

the maskless exposure unit projects exposure light modulated by the digital micromirror device according to the data of the pattern onto the substrate, or projects the exposure light onto the substrate while scanning a beam modulated according to the data of the pattern by a rotary polygon mirror.

17. The device for manufacturing a component according to claim 14,

a pass-through or reflection-type cylindrical mask which rotates in synchronization with the movement of the substrate in the longitudinal direction, and

the maskless exposure unit projects exposure light modulated by the digital micromirror device according to the data of the pattern onto the substrate, or projects the exposure light onto the substrate while scanning a beam modulated according to the data of the pattern by a rotary polygon mirror.