JP2012096920A - Glass substrate defect inspection device and glass substrate defect inspection method and glass substrate defect inspection system - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a glass substrate defect inspection apparatus, a glass substrate defect inspection method, or a glass substrate defect inspection system capable of ensuring flatness over the entire surface of a divided glass substrate and accurately inspecting.
A glass substrate defect inspection apparatus or glass substrate defect that floats by generating a levitation force with air, transports the glass substrate to an inspection area without the levitation force, images the glass substrate in the inspection area, and inspects the glass substrate. In the inspection method, a clamping force is generated to sandwich the glass substrate with air on a surface opposite to the glass substrate surface that generates the levitation force around the inspection region.
[Selection] Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a glass substrate defect inspection apparatus, a glass substrate defect inspection method, and a glass substrate defect inspection system, and relates to a glass substrate defect inspection apparatus, a glass substrate defect inspection method, and a glass substrate defect inspection system that can be inspected with high accuracy.

  Manufacture of a liquid crystal display panel and a solar cell panel is performed by forming a pattern on a glass substrate by a photolithography technique or the like. At that time, if there are defects such as scratches or foreign matter on the surface of the glass substrate, the pattern is not formed satisfactorily, causing a defect. For this reason, conventionally, a defect inspection apparatus has been used to inspect defects such as scratches and foreign matter on the surface of a glass substrate.

  In order to carry out the defect inspection, it is necessary to transport the glass substrate to a defect inspection apparatus for inspection. Conventionally, robots, roller conveyors, etc. are used, but the materials used for the robot's suction pads and rollers of the roller conveyor adhere to the glass substrate during transportation, or scratches due to adhesion of broken glass fragments. It becomes a factor of the defect of a foreign material. For this purpose, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which an end portion of a glass substrate is sucked and held and air-lifted to convey the glass substrate as a technique for conveying the glass substrate in a non-contact manner. Patent Document 2 describes a method for inspecting scratches or foreign matters on a glass substrate.

JP 2006-188313 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-257642

  In the above-described method of transporting a glass substrate by air levitation, the glass substrate edge may jump (up) or sag (down) depending on the state of transport, and the flatness of the glass substrate will be lost and the entire surface will be lost. Therefore, there is a problem that inspection cannot be performed with high accuracy. This problem has become more prominent with the recent increase in the size and thickness of glass substrates, and the effect of strain due to residual internal stress during substrate production has increased.

  Patent Document 1 discloses that a glass substrate is transported, stopped, and processed, but there is no recognition of the above problems when inspecting during transport, and there is no disclosure of solutions to the problems. . Also, Patent Document 2 discloses an optical inspection device, but there is no recognition of the above-mentioned problem of inspection during conveyance, and there is no disclosure of a solution.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. A glass substrate defect inspection apparatus or a glass substrate defect inspection capable of ensuring flatness over the entire surface of the glass substrate and accurately inspecting the entire surface of the substrate by one-way feeding. It is to provide a method or a glass substrate defect inspection system.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has at least the following features.
The present invention is a glass substrate defect inspection apparatus or glass substrate defect that floats by generating a levitation force with air, transports the glass substrate to an inspection area without the levitation force, images and inspects the glass substrate in the inspection area In the inspection method, a first feature is that a pinching force for sandwiching the glass substrate with air is generated on a surface opposite to the glass substrate surface that generates the levitation force around the inspection region.

Further, according to the present invention, the air levitation means for generating the levitation force includes an ejection port for ejecting the air around the periphery to float the glass substrate, and a suction port for sucking air and drawing the glass substrate to the stage side. The second feature is that they are alternately arranged in a matrix.
Further, according to the present invention, the air clamping means for generating the clamping force ejects the air and presses the glass substrate P against the stage side, and sucks the air to place the glass substrate on the stage. A third feature is that the suction ports that are separated from the side are alternately arranged in a matrix.

Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that the jet outlet and the suction port of the air levitation means are arranged so as not to be at the same positions as the jet outlet and the suction port of the air levitation means.
Further, according to the present invention, the air levitation means and the air clamping means have an inspection opening for performing the inspection, and the shape of the opening is a round shape, an oval shape, a rhombus shape, a square shape, or the like. It has a fifth feature.

Further, according to the present invention, the air clamping means for generating the clamping force may be directed to the opening on the opposite side of the inspection opening for performing the inspection and the floating means of the glass substrate, or A sixth feature includes means for forming an air flow parallel to the glass substrate from the opening.
The seventh feature of the present invention is to inspect at least one of the scratch, dirt, foreign matter, crater shape on the surface of the glass substrate, and bubbles inside the glass substrate.

Furthermore, the present invention has an eighth feature that a plurality of inspection units to be inspected are provided by being shifted in the conveying direction.
In addition, the present invention includes a plurality of glass substrate defect inspection devices having any one of the first to eighth features, and a transport device that transports the glass substrate between the plurality of glass substrate defect inspection devices, Ninth feature is that the glass substrate defect inspection system, wherein at least two of the plurality of glass substrate defect inspection devices inspect the inspection area shifted in the transport direction in the glass. To do.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a glass substrate defect inspection apparatus, a glass substrate defect inspection method, or a glass substrate defect inspection system capable of ensuring flatness over the entire surface of the glass substrate and accurately inspecting the entire surface of the glass substrate by unidirectional feeding. .

It is a block diagram which shows the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed schematic structure which looked at the conveyance part of the glass substrate defect apparatus which is the 1st Embodiment of this invention from the upper part. It is AA sectional drawing in FIG. 2 including the test | inspection part shown in FIG. FIG. 4A shows the configuration of the precision levitation stage, and FIG. 4B shows the configuration of the high levitation stage in more detail. It is a figure which shows the 2nd Example of an upper precision floating stage. It is a figure which shows the Example which provided the several test | inspection part in one glass substrate defect apparatus. It is a figure which shows the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure and subject of the conventional glass substrate defect apparatus.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a glass substrate defect apparatus of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention. The first embodiment of the present invention includes a single glass substrate inspection apparatus 100. The glass substrate inspection apparatus 100 is broadly divided into an inspection unit 10 that inspects the glass substrate P, and a conveyance unit that includes an air levitation stage 20 and a drive unit 30 that conveys the air levitation stage 20 while holding and floating the glass substrate P. An air supply intake section 50 comprising a section 40, a compressed air supply source 51 that supplies compressed air to the transport section 40, and a vacuum supply source 52 that sucks air, and the whole that controls the state of each section And a control unit 60.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the transport unit 40 according to the first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2 including the inspection unit 10 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the inspection unit 10 inspects the first inspection unit 10 </ b> A that inspects scratches and dirt on the glass substrate P, foreign matter and dirt on the glass substrate P, crater shape on the glass substrate surface, and bubbles inside the glass substrate. Three sets of second inspection units 10B are provided in the Y direction, and the inspection in the Y direction is divided and performed by the three sets. Depending on the substrate size, it may be less than or more than three.

  The first inspection unit 10A is divided into a light source unit 16A and an imaging unit 11A. The light source unit 16A includes a laser light source 17A capable of forming a linear light source, a mirror 18A for obliquely irradiating laser light, and a cylindrical lens 19A for forming stable linear light in order to detect a scratch of about 10 μm. And have. On the other hand, the imaging unit 11A includes a light receiving lens 13A that receives scattered light from the front or back surface of the glass substrate P, and a polarization beam splitter 14A that separates the scattered light from the light receiving lens 13 into P-polarized light and S-polarized light, or non-polarized light. A half mirror and line CCDs 12A1 and 12A2 for imaging a predetermined width of the glass substrate as the glass substrate P is conveyed.

  On the other hand, the second inspection unit 10B detects a crater shape, a bubble, a foreign object, or dirt based on a luminance distribution or a crest value (pattern) of an imaging result obtained by the imaging unit 12B. For this purpose, transmitted light is detected from the glass substrate P using an LED or a fluorescent lamp that can irradiate a wide range as the light source 17B. The imaging unit 12B uses the line CCD 12B in the same manner as the first inspection unit 10A in order to efficiently image a predetermined width as the glass substrate P moves.

  In the above example, the first inspection unit 10A and the second inspection unit 10B are provided at different positions in the transport (X) direction. However, the first inspection unit and the second inspection unit are provided adjacent to each other in the Y direction. The first inspection unit 10A and the second inspection unit 10B may be provided alternately in the X direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the drive unit 30 includes a linear guide 31 provided along the conveyance (X) direction of the air levitation stage 20, a linear actuator 32 that travels along the linear guide 31, and a linear actuator 32. It has a gripper 33 that is fixed and holds the glass substrate P, and a linear scale 34 that detects the position of the linear actuator 32 on the linear guide 31 (conveyance (X) direction).
The overall control unit 60 shown in FIG. 1 reads the position information of the linear scale 34 and controls the conveyance speed and the gripper 33.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the air levitation stage 20, which is a feature of this embodiment, will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the air levitation stage 20 includes rectangular divided stages 21 arranged in a plurality in the Y direction perpendicular to the transport (X) direction. The split stage 21 has a precision levitation stage portion 21S provided on both sides of the inspection regions R1 and R2 (see also FIG. 3), and a high levitation stage 21H provided on both sides of the precision levitation stage portion 21S. . Note that the widths of the inspection regions R1 and R are smaller than the width of the division stage 21.

  As shown in FIG. 4 (b), the high floating stage 21H has only a spout PA that ejects compressed air that floats the glass substrate P, stably floats the glass substrate P, and lowers the conveyance speed. I try not to become a load. In addition, when the division | segmentation stage 21 has length with respect to a conveyance (X) direction, it shall be divided | segmented by predetermined length.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the precision levitation stage unit 21S is placed above the lower precision levitation stage 21Sd with the lower precision levitation stage 21Sd provided on the air levitation stage 20 and the transported glass substrate P interposed therebetween. And an upper precision levitation stage 21Su provided.

  FIG. 4A shows the configuration of the precision levitation stage 21S, and FIG. 4B shows the configuration of the high levitation upper stage 21H in more detail. The lower precision levitation stage 21Sd has inspection openings K1d and K2d corresponding to the inspection areas R1 and R2, and a jet outlet that blows out compressed air and floats the glass substrate P in areas other than the inspection openings K1d and K2d. PA and suction ports PV for sucking air and drawing the glass substrate P toward the floating stage 20 are alternately arranged in a matrix. The lower precision levitating stage 21Sd generates a levitating force that levitates the glass substrate P from the levitating stage 20 as a whole.

  On the other hand, the upper precision levitation stage 21Su has inspection openings K1u and K2u corresponding to the inspection areas R1 and R2, and squeezes air in areas other than the inspection openings K1u and Kud to float the glass substrate P to air. Jet ports PA that are pressed against the stage 20 side and suction ports PV that suck air and separate the glass substrate P from the floating stage 20 side are alternately arranged in a matrix. The upper precision levitation stage 21Su as a whole presses the glass substrate P toward the levitation stage 20, and generates a clamping force that sandwiches the glass substrate with the lower precision levitation stage 21Sd.

By balancing this levitation force and clamping force, the glass substrate correction force that prevents the glass shown in FIG. 2 from jumping (raising) or drooping (falling) at the front end portion Pt or the rear end portion Pb of the plate P. Can bring.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, the jet outlet PA and the suction port PV of the lower precision levitation stage 21Sd are arranged so as not to be at the same position as the jet outlet PA and the suction port PV of the upper precision levitation stage 21Su. Has been. Furthermore, the shape of the inspection openings K1d, K2d, K1u, and K2u is round, oval, or rhombus that does not become an obstacle to inspection and that can reduce the inspection opening and prevent a rapid decrease in the correction force of the glass substrate. Or it may be square.

  According to such a configuration, when the glass substrate P is present on the precision levitation stage 21S, an air flow parallel to the glass substrate is generated on the upper surface and the lower surface of the glass substrate P from the outlet term PA toward the suction port PV. Flatness (flatness) can be maintained in the entire region including the front end portion Pt and the rear end portion Pb of the substrate P.

Further, in the present embodiment, the jet outlet PA and the suction port PV of the lower precision levitation stage 21Sd and the upper precision levitation stage 21Su are shifted from each other, that is, the jet outlet PA and the suction port PV are arranged on the upper surface of the glass substrate P. Since it does not overlap on the lower surface, it is carried out uniformly without being unevenly distributed at a place where injection or suction is present, and the flatness of the glass substrate can be realized more.
Further, in order to smoothly transfer the glass substrate P from the high floating stage 21H to the precision floating stage 21S, it is desirable that the lower precision floating stage 21Sd is longer than the upper precision floating stage 21Su.

  FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the upper precision levitation stage 21Su. In FIG. 5, the glass substrate is conveyed from right to left. In the second embodiment, a jet outlet PA ′ that ejects compressed air so as to form a lateral air flow between the glass substrate P and the upper precision levitation stage 21Su ′ on the upstream side of conveyance of the upper precision levitation stage 21Su ′. Are provided in the Y direction perpendicular to the transport (X) direction. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Since the air flow can generate a sandwiching force for sandwiching the glass substrate P, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. In FIG. 5, one jet port PA ′ is provided in the transport (X) direction, but a plurality of jet ports PA ′ may be provided.

In the above embodiment, one inspection unit 10 is provided in one glass substrate defect device. However, according to the width of the glass substrate in the Y direction, a plurality of inspection units 10 are provided as shown in FIG. In this case, the entire surface of the glass substrate P may be inspected by shifting the inspection regions R1 and R2 in the Y direction. In FIG. 6, the inspection unit 10-I inspects the upper side of the paper from each broken line, and the inspection unit 10-II inspects the lower side of the paper from each broken line.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, 3 sets of test | inspection parts which perform the same test | inspection of the Y direction in one test | inspection part 10 were provided. Therefore, it is also possible to select an inspection unit according to the width of the glass substrate in the Y direction, and select and inspect the range in which the glass substrate P floats, for example, in units of the division stage 21.
Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the air levitation | floating stage 20 was divided | segmented into the three division stages 21 in the Y direction, you may comprise by one stage.

In order to better understand the effects of the above embodiment, the conventional configuration and the problem of the present invention will be described in detail again.
FIG. 8A is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2 in the first embodiment, and is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the conventional transport unit 40 as viewed from above. FIG. 8B is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4A of the first embodiment, and is a schematic configuration diagram of a portion corresponding to the lower precision levitation stage 21Sd of the present embodiment. In FIG. 8, components having basically the same function or configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 or FIG.

  First, the major difference is that, conventionally, there is no upper precision levitation stage 21Su and only the lower precision levitation stage 21Sd is configured. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the distortion of the glass substrate is emphasized or weakened at the end of the lower precision levitation stage 21Sd by receiving a frequency force due to compression and suction on the lower precision levitation stage 21Sd. In other words, the glass substrate is likely to jump (rise) or sag (fall) at the front end portion Pt or the rear end portion PB. However, a glass substrate with less distortion may be configured with only the lower precision levitation stage 21Sd.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4B, even if the inspection regions R1 and R2 are reached by the correction force for pressing the glass substrate P from above and below, the front end portion Pt and the rear end portion Pb of the glass substrate P jump up ( The glass substrate P can be transported stably and in parallel to the air levitation stage 20 without causing any rise or sag (fall). Particularly, since the jet outlet PA and the suction port PV of the partial precision levitation stage 21Sd and the upper precision levitation stage 21Su are shifted from each other, they are parallel to the glass substrate P generated above and below the glass substrate P, which is the main cause of the correction force. By generating a stable flow more stably, the glass substrate P can be transported more stably.

  The second difference is that the inspection areas R1 and R2 are conventionally rectangular with both ends open, whereas in the present embodiment, the inspection areas have an inspection opening that widens the correction range, and the correction power is particularly high. The glass substrate P can be more stably transported in parallel by using a round shape, an ellipse shape, a rhombus shape, a square shape, or the like.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the glass substrate P is not subjected to jumping (raising) or sagging (falling) at the end of the glass substrate at the inspection openings K1 and K2, and at least air bubbles and Flatness required for inspection of scratches, for example, within ± 50 μm can be achieved. Further, even in the central portion of the glass substrate P, the flatness can be reliably maintained by the balance between the lateral flow of air and the weight or rigidity of the glass substrate P shown in FIG. As a result, it is possible to ensure flatness over the entire surface of the glass substrate and to inspect with high accuracy.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment constitutes a glass substrate defect system 200 in which a plurality of glass substrate defect devices 100 described in the first embodiment (two units 100A and 100B in FIG. 7) are provided in series. The glass substrate defect system 200 includes a plurality of glass substrate defect devices 100A and 100B and a transport unit 40 that connects them, and shifts inspection regions R1 and R2 of the respective glass substrate defect devices in the Y direction. The entire surface of the glass substrate P is inspected by the two glass substrate defect devices 100A and 100B.

  Furthermore, as a modification of the second embodiment in FIG. 7, an even number of glass substrate defect devices are provided, the glass substrate defect device 100A has a first inspection unit 10A, and the glass substrate defect device has a second inspection unit 10B. Thus, the inspection contents may be different for each apparatus.

  Also in the second embodiment described above, by sharing the inspection with a plurality of glass substrate defect devices, the flatness can be ensured over the entire surface of the glass substrate and the inspection can be performed with high accuracy as in the first embodiment. .

10, 10-I, 10-II: Inspection unit 10A: First inspection unit 10B: Second inspection unit 11A, 11B; Imaging units 12A1, 12A2, 12B: Line CCD (imaging means)
13A, 13B; Light receiving lens 14A: Polarizing beam splitter 16A, 16B: Light source unit 17A; Laser light source 18A: Mirror 19A: Cylindrical lens 20: Air levitation stage 21: Split stage 21S: Precision levitation stage 21Sd: Lower precision levitation stage 21Su, 21Su ': Upper precision levitation stage 21H: High levitation upper stage 30: Drive unit 31: Linear guide 32: Linear actuator 33: Gripper 34: Linear scale 40: Conveying unit 50: Air supply intake unit 51: Compressed air supply source 52: Vacuum supply source 60: Overall control unit 100, 100A, 100B: Glass substrate defect device K1d, K2d, K1u, K2u: Inspection opening P: Glass substrate PA, PA ′: Pressurized air outlet PV: Air suction port Pb : Rear end of glass substrate Pt: tip portion of glass substrate R1, R2: inspection region.

Claims (11)

In the inspection area, an air levitation apparatus having an air levitation means for levitating the glass substrate with air on a stage for holding and conveying the glass substrate, a conveyance apparatus for conveying the glass substrate to an inspection area without the air levitation means, and In a glass substrate defect inspection apparatus having an optical inspection apparatus that images and inspects the glass substrate,
The air levitation device has air nip means for sandwiching the glass substrate with air from the opposite side of the air levitation means across the glass substrate around the inspection area. .   The air levitation means alternately arranges a jet port for blowing out the air around the inspection area and floating the glass substrate and a suction port for sucking air and drawing the glass substrate to the stage side in a matrix. The glass substrate defect inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:   The air sandwiching means alternately arranges jets for ejecting the air and pressing the glass substrate P against the stage side, and suction ports for sucking the air and pulling the glass substrate away from the stage side in a matrix. The glass substrate defect inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:   The glass substrate defect inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the air outlet and the suction port of the air levitation means are arranged so as not to be at the same position as the air outlet and the suction port of the air levitation means. .   The air levitation means and the air sandwiching means have an inspection opening for performing the inspection, and the shape of the opening has a round shape, an oval shape, a rhombus shape, or a square shape. The glass substrate defect inspection apparatus according to claim 1.   The air sandwiching means has an inspection opening for performing the inspection and an air flow parallel to the glass substrate toward or from the opening on the opposite side of the floating means of the glass substrate. 2. A glass substrate defect inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for forming a flow.   The optical inspection apparatus includes an inspection unit that inspects at least one of scratches, dirt, foreign matter, a crater shape on the surface of the glass substrate, and bubbles inside the glass substrate. The glass substrate defect inspection apparatus according to 1 or 2.   The glass substrate defect inspection apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a plurality of the inspection units are provided while being shifted in the conveying direction. In the glass substrate defect inspection method in which the glass substrate is lifted by generating a levitation force with air, transported to the inspection area without the levitation force, and imaging and inspecting the glass substrate in the inspection area.
A glass substrate defect inspection method characterized by generating a pinching force that sandwiches the glass substrate with air on a surface opposite to the glass substrate surface that generates the levitation force around the inspection region.   10. The glass substrate defect inspection method according to claim 9, wherein the inspection is performed by inspecting at least one of a scratch, a dirt, a foreign matter, a crater shape on the surface of the glass substrate, and a bubble inside the glass substrate. .   A plurality of glass substrate defect inspection apparatuses according to any one of claims 1 to 8, and a transfer device that conveys the glass substrate between the plurality of glass substrate defect inspection apparatuses, and the plurality of glass substrate defect inspections. At least two of the apparatuses inspect the inspection areas shifted from each other in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction in the glass substrate.

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