JP2015222370A - Exposure equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a roll-to-roll system exposure apparatus which reduces the tact time without damaging long work and achieves good tying accuracy of formed patterns.SOLUTION: An exposure apparatus includes an exposure stage 31 for holding long work W, a stage movement part 32 which causes the exposure stage 31 to reciprocate, a supply side restraint roller 15 which is provided in the downstream of a supply reel 11 and the upstream of exposure means 51 and restricts the long work W and a take-up side restraint roller 25 which is provided in the downstream of the exposure means 51 and the upstream of a take-up reel 21 and restricts the long work W. At least one of the supply side restraint roller 15 and the take-up side restraint roller 25 is provided with roller driving means.

Description

  The present invention is a so-called roll-to-roll system in which a long workpiece (flexible substrate) is conveyed from the supply side to an exposure unit, a pattern is exposed on the long workpiece at the exposure unit, and the long workpiece is conveyed to the winding side. The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus.

  In general, an electric circuit base material of an electronic circuit board (printed circuit board) used in various small electric devices such as a mobile phone and a mobile device is thin, high-precision, and long and thin work pieces are used. .

The material of such a long workpiece has a tendency to be reduced in thickness from about 0.1 mm to 0.06 mm. Further, recently, a very long long work is used in the form of a long and thin work having a thickness of 0.05 mm or less, a width of 550 mm, and a length of 100 m. Long workpieces are usually handled by being wound into a roll.

  As an apparatus for forming an electronic circuit on such a long workpiece, the apparatus includes a supply reel, a take-up reel, and an exposure unit positioned between the supply reel and the take-up reel. A so-called roll-to-roll type is known in which a pattern is exposed on the surface of a long workpiece by an exposure unit while the long workpiece spanned between the two is conveyed in the longitudinal direction.

In addition, a roll-to-roll maskless exposure apparatus having a light modulation element array such as DMD (Digital Micro-mirror Device) in the exposure unit is also known. By sequentially switching the drive data of the light modulation element array in synchronization with the conveyance of the long workpiece by maskless exposure, a long pattern exceeding, for example, 1 m can be formed by exposure.

In the case of a maskless exposure apparatus, it is generally necessary to perform exposure while maintaining the plane of the workpiece using an exposure stage because of the depth of focus of the exposure optical system. In the roll-to-roll maskless exposure apparatus of Patent Document 1, a long work is adsorbed and fixed to an exposure stage, and the optical modulation element is maintained in a state where the distance between the exposure unit and the long work surface in the optical axis direction is kept constant. The pattern light is projected onto the photosensitive layer fixed to the surface of the long workpiece while relatively moving the long workpiece and the long workpiece.

JP 2006-102991 A

  In a roll-to-roll maskless exposure apparatus such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1, a single exposure distance with respect to the conveying direction of a long workpiece is limited by the stroke of the exposure stage. In order to form a pattern having a length exceeding the limit, it is necessary to individually move the long work and the exposure stage to the respective exposure start positions after finishing one exposure process.

  However, in the roll-to-roll type maskless exposure apparatus of Patent Document 1, since the long workpiece is moved on the exposure stage, when the exposure stage is returned to the exposure start position at a high speed, the unwinding unit and the winding unit are moved. The dancer roller provided in the take-up portion cannot follow the return speed of the substrate and slips, and the long workpiece is scratched.

  However, when the acceleration of the exposure stage is lowered so that the dancer roller can follow the return speed of the long workpiece, the tact time is greatly affected, and the productivity is adversely affected.

  In addition, the return amount of the long workpiece and the return amount of the exposure stage are different (the exposure stage returns approximately as much as the length of the exposure stage in the transport direction), so the exposure stage releases the suction fixation of the long workpiece, Although there is a process in which only the exposure stage moves, the weight of the dancer roller and the weight of the long work are not balanced, and the long work moves in the transport direction. For this reason, there has been a problem that the first end position of the formed pattern does not match the next start position.

  An exposure apparatus according to the present invention includes a conveying unit that conveys a long and flexible object to be exposed from a supply reel to a take-up reel, and a plurality of spatial light modulation units that are provided above the object to be exposed downstream of the supply reel. And an exposure stage for holding a part of the object to be exposed, and a moving means for reciprocating the exposure stage along the conveying direction of the object to be exposed by the conveying means.

The exposure apparatus of the present invention is provided on the downstream side of the supply reel and on the upstream side of the exposure means, provided on the supply side restraining roller for restraining the object to be exposed, and on the downstream side of the exposure means and on the upstream side of the take-up reel. And a winding-side restraining roller that restrains the object to be exposed, and at least one of the supply-side restraining roller and the winding-side restraining roller includes a roller driving unit.

  The supply-side restraining roller and the take-up-side restraining roller release the restraint of the object to be exposed when the exposure stage holds the object to be exposed, and the object to be exposed moves freely as the exposure stage moves. Does not prevent you from doing.

  Further, in the exposure apparatus of the present invention, the exposure unit exposes the pattern on the object to be exposed while the exposure stage moves while holding the object to be exposed from the transfer start position to the transfer end position. The exposure stage moves from the transfer end position to the transfer start position without holding the object to be exposed. At the same time, the supply side restraint roller moves the object to be exposed to the supply side.

  The exposure stage includes a clamp mechanism that presses the end surface in the width direction of the object to be exposed (end surface along the transport direction) against the exposure stage. By sandwiching both end faces in the width direction of the object to be exposed between the clamp mechanism and the exposure stage, the exposure surface of the object to be exposed is held flat.

  The exposure apparatus of the present invention includes an imaging unit and a display unit capable of displaying an image captured by the imaging unit, and the imaging unit is used for imaging a positioning mark provided on the object to be exposed in the positioning step. And also used for observing the pattern in the step of confirming the exposed pattern.

  According to the present invention, a tact time can be shortened without wrinkling a long work, and a roll-to-roll type exposure apparatus having a good pattern joining accuracy can be realized.

1 is a side perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which shows the work clamp part of an exposure stage. It is a 1st process figure which shows operation | movement of exposure apparatus. It is a 2nd process figure which shows operation | movement of exposure apparatus. It is a 3rd process figure which shows operation | movement of exposure apparatus. It is a 4th process figure which shows operation | movement of exposure apparatus. It is a 5th process figure which shows operation | movement of exposure apparatus. It is a 6th process figure showing operation of an exposure device. It is a 7th process figure showing operation of an exposure device. It is an 8th process figure which shows operation | movement of exposure apparatus. It is a 9th process figure showing operation of an exposure device. It is a 10th process figure which shows operation | movement of exposure apparatus.

<< First Embodiment >>
With reference to FIGS. 1-2, the exposure apparatus 1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. The exposure apparatus 1 is a so-called roll-to-roll type exposure apparatus, and a supply unit 10 that supplies the long work W in order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the long work W, and the long work W. An exposure unit 30 that exposes a pattern to form an electronic circuit and a winding unit 20 that collects the exposed long workpiece W.

<Configuration of long workpiece W>
The long workpiece W is, for example, a photosensitive long film (synthetic resin flexible film with a photoconductor coated on the surface) serving as a base material for an electronic circuit board (printed circuit board) used in a mobile phone or mobile device. It is a roll. The long workpiece W coated with a photosensitive material such as a photoresist is formed in a sheet shape by a copper clad laminate or the like and has a length of several tens to several hundreds of meters. Hereinafter, of the front and back surfaces of the long workpiece W, a surface facing upward in the drawing is referred to as “front surface”, and a surface facing downward in the drawing is referred to as “back surface”.

  In the following, the direction along the conveying direction M is “X”, the width direction of the long workpiece W perpendicular to the conveying direction M is “Y”, and the direction perpendicular to both X and Y (vertical direction) is “Z”. Represented by Further, when expressing the positional relationship of elements in the exposure apparatus 1, the side close to the supply reel is referred to as the upstream side, and the side close to the take-up reel is referred to as the downstream side.

<Configuration of Supply Unit 10 and Winding Unit 20>
The supply unit 10 includes a supply reel 11, a guide roller 12, a supply side dancer roller 13, a guide roller 14, a supply side braking roller 15, and an end face position in order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the long workpiece W. The sensor 16 is provided, and a work supply system for supplying the long work W to the exposure unit 30 is configured. The winding unit 20 is, in order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the long workpiece W, the winding side braking roller 25, the guide roller 24, the winding side dancer roller 23, the guide roller 22, and the winding reel. 21, a work winding system for winding the long work W exposed by the exposure unit 30 is configured.

  The supply reel 11 holds the long workpiece W wound in a roll shape, and rotates (rotates) the long workpiece W toward the downstream side by rotating about its own rotation axis. Is. The take-up reel 21 rotates around its own rotation axis to take up and hold the long workpiece W supplied from the upstream side in a roll shape. The supply reel 11 and the take-up reel 21 are provided with a rotation driving means (not shown) for driving the supply reel 11 and the take-up reel 21 to rotate intermittently. The supply reel 11 and the take-up reel 21 change their outer diameters when the supply amount and take-up amount of the long work W change as the long work W is conveyed.

  The guide rollers 12, 14, 22, 24, the supply-side braking roller 15 and the take-up-side brake roller 25 span a long workpiece W between the supply reel 11 and the take-up reel 21, and have their own rotation shafts. By rotating around the center, the long workpiece W from the supply reel 11 is conveyed toward the take-up reel 21.

The supply-side braking roller 15 and the take-up-side braking roller 25 are arranged so that their rotation shafts are aligned in a substantially straight line in the horizontal direction. The supply-side braking roller 15 and the take-up-side braking roller 25 are constituted by nip rollers composed of two rollers disposed so as to face each other with the long workpiece W interposed therebetween. These two rollers are movable in the vertical direction (Z direction) by a mechanism (not shown) so as to sandwich or release the long workpiece W.

The supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 can brake the long workpiece W by applying a brake so that the nip roller holds the long workpiece W and the nip roller does not rotate. On the other hand, when the long work W is opened, the nip roller is separated from the front and back surfaces of the long work W so as not to hinder the movement of the long work W.

Further, the supply-side braking roller 15 and the take-up-side braking roller 25 are each provided with a rotation driving means (not shown) that rotationally drives the rollers. In a state where the long workpiece W is sandwiched, the rotation driving means intermittently drives the supply-side braking roller 15 and the take-up-side braking roller 25 with the substantially same rotation drive amount, so that the supply reel 11 and the take-up brake roller 25 are wound. The long workpiece W spanned between the reels 21 can be conveyed (frame-fed) by a predetermined length. For example, a stepping motor is used as the rotation driving means, and the feed amount and acceleration of the long workpiece W are controlled with high accuracy.

  The supply-side braking roller 15 and the take-up-side braking roller 25 may be suction rollers provided with suction means for sucking the back surface of the long workpiece W in place of the nip rollers that sandwich the long workpiece W. The long work W can be transported by the rotation driving means being driven to rotate while the supply side braking roller 15 and the winding side braking roller 25 suck the back surface of the long work W.

Further, the case where both the supply-side braking roller 15 and the take-up-side braking roller 25 have rotation driving means has been illustrated, but when the braking roller conveys the long workpiece W only in one direction, the pull-in side (supply side) Only the braking roller may be provided with a rotational driving means, and the other braking roller may be provided with only a brake. In this case, when the brake roller on the retracting side is driven to rotate, the other brake roller may release the brake while holding the long workpiece W, and the nip roller may be rotated along with the movement of the long workpiece W.

The guide rollers 12, 14, 22, and 24 are auxiliary rollers that guide the long work W supplied (drawn) from the supply reel 11 to the downstream side. Among the guide rollers, at least the guide rollers 14 and 24 are arranged so that their respective rotation axes are arranged in a substantially straight line in the horizontal direction. The supply guide rollers 12, 14, 22, and 24 are flanges (not shown) that prevent the long workpiece W from shifting in the width direction (perpendicular to the paper surface in FIGS. 1 and 3 and left and right in FIG. 2). You may have.

The supply-side dancer roller 13 and the winding-side dancer roller 23 are lifted and lowered according to the conveyance of the long workpiece W, and the long workpiece W is prevented from being loosened or wrinkled by applying tension to the long workpiece W. In addition, it has a function as a buffer for moving the long workpiece W in the exposure unit 30 for scanning exposure in the exposure unit described later.

The supply unit 10 includes an end surface position sensor 16 for detecting the end surface position of the long workpiece W. According to the output of the end face position sensor 16, the supply unit 10 performs end face position control for correcting the meandering of the long workpiece W by a mechanism (not shown). End face position control is performed by, for example, providing a frame (not shown) that integrally supports the supply reel 11 to the supply-side braking roller 15 and moving the frame in the width direction (Y direction) of the long workpiece W. The end face position control is a known technique and can be generally realized by using a known controller.

<Configuration of exposure unit 30>
The exposure unit 30 is disposed between the supply-side braking roller 15 and the take-up-side braking roller 25. The exposure unit 30 includes an exposure stage 31, an alignment camera 41, and an exposure unit 51.

The exposure unit 51 includes a plurality of exposure heads (not shown), and is regularly arranged at a position away from the long workpiece W by a predetermined distance vertically upward. A light source and an illumination optical system (not shown) are arranged for each exposure head, and light emitted from the light source is guided to the corresponding exposure head via the corresponding illumination optical system. Each exposure head includes a DMD (Digital Micro-mirror Device) in which a plurality of micromirrors are two-dimensionally arranged, and an imaging optical system that forms an image of the DMD on a long work.

The DMD micromirror is selectively positioned in one of a first posture for guiding light onto the long workpiece W and a second posture for guiding light out of the long workpiece W, and each micromirror is controlled independently. The

Each exposure head is assigned an exposure area defined by dividing the long workpiece W along the transport direction M, and a scanning band is defined for each exposure head. An exposure area, which is an irradiation area of light from each exposure head, is formed according to the width of the scanning band, and light is irradiated to the long work W by the exposure area.

  The exposure stage 31 holds the back surface of the long workpiece W while holding it flat. The exposure stage 31 can be moved up and down between the upper end position where the exposure stage 31 contacts the back surface of the long workpiece W and the lower end position where the exposure stage 31 separates from the back surface of the long workpiece W by the lift drive means 34. It has become. Further, the exposure stage 31 includes a stage moving unit 32 for scanning or step-and-repeat.

As shown in FIG. 2, the exposure stage 31 includes a work clamp mechanism 35 that holds an end surface along the conveyance direction (X direction) of the long work W. The work clamp mechanism 35 includes a clamp 35a and a clamp 35b that hold an end face in the conveyance direction (X direction) of the long work W between the work clamp mechanism 35 and the stage. The clamp 35a and the clamp 35b are attached to a Y-direction moving mechanism (not shown), and the clamping position can be adjusted according to the width of the long workpiece W.

Since the long workpiece W is a thin film, warping occurs in the width direction (Y direction). By clamping the long work W so that the long work W is pressed against the exposure stage by the work clamp mechanism 35, the exposed area of the long work W can be flattened and held.

The alignment camera 41 is installed on the upstream side of the exposure unit 51, and acquires position information of the long work W by imaging the alignment mark provided on the long work W. The alignment mark is imaged while moving the long workpiece W in the X direction.

<Exposure Transport Operation by Exposure Apparatus 1>
With reference to the process diagrams of FIGS. 3A to 3J, the exposure transport operation by the exposure apparatus 1 will be described in detail. In addition, the arrow in the vicinity of the long work W in the drawing represents the movement of the long work W. A point A on the long workpiece W indicates a head position at the time of the first exposure, and a point B indicates a terminal position at the time of the first exposure and a head position at the time of the second exposure. It is shown.

Step S1: A roll-shaped long workpiece W, which is a new material before processing, is set on the supply reel 11, and the leading end of the long workpiece W is fed out to guide the roller 12, supply side dancer roller 13, guide roller 13, and supply. It is stretched over the side braking roller 15, the winding side braking roller 25, the guide roller 24, the winding side dancer roller 23, and the guide roller 22, and is fixed to the winding reel 21. In this initial set state, the long workpiece W is not buffered by the supply-side dancer roller 13 and the winding-side dancer roller 23. (Fig. 3a)

  Step S2: The automatic operation mode of the exposure apparatus is started. The exposure stage 31 waiting at the alignment start position moves up to the upper end position and holds the back surface of the long work W for one frame while holding it back. Further, the work clamp mechanism 35 of the exposure stage 31 holds the long work W between the stage. (Fig. 3b)

Step S3: When the rotation driving means (not shown) of the supply reel 11 rotates by a predetermined rotation driving amount, the supply reel 11 feeds the long workpiece W by one exposure stage stroke (about two frames). The drawn long work W enters the supply-side dancer roller 13 via the supply guide roller 12. Here, since the long work W is attracted by the exposure stage 31 on the downstream side, the long work W is buffered on the dancer roller 13 while maintaining an appropriate tension. (Fig. 3c)

Step S4: The exposure stage 31 is driven in the X direction and passes below the alignment camera 41 while holding the long workpiece W by suction. At that time, as the exposure stage 31 moves, the long workpiece W buffered on the supply-side dancer roller 13 is pulled out, and at the same time, the U-shape of the long workpiece W becomes deep at the winding-side dancer roller 23 portion. The long workpiece W is buffered. (FIG. 3c → FIG. 3d)

When the inner layer pattern exists in the long workpiece W (after the second layer of the build-up substrate, etc.), an alignment mark for alignment between the pattern to be exposed and the inner layer pattern is provided on the long workpiece W. The alignment camera 41 captures an image of the alignment mark formed on the long workpiece W in accordance with the movement of the exposure stage 31. When the long workpiece W has no inner layer pattern (such as the first layer of the build-up substrate), the alignment mark may not be provided. Therefore, the alignment mark is not imaged.

  Step S5: Based on the position information of the long workpiece W obtained by imaging the alignment mark, alignment between the long workpiece and the pattern to be exposed is performed. Specifically, the position information of the long workpiece W is transmitted to an exposure control unit (not shown) of the exposure unit 51, and the exposure unit 51 corrects the coordinates of the exposure data for exposing the pattern to the long workpiece W. Processing is performed. While the exposure data correction process is being performed, the exposure stage 31 temporarily stops at the exposure start position while holding the long workpiece W. (Fig. 3d)

Step S6: The exposure stage 31 starts moving in the downstream direction, and in the exposure unit 30, the exposure unit 75 uses the known multiple exposure technique to apply electrons to the photosensitive material layer on the surface of the long workpiece W that is held by the exposure stage 31 by suction. The circuit pattern is scanned and exposed (FIG. 3d → FIG. 3e). When the exposure of the long work W for one frame from the point A to the point B is completed, the exposure stage 31 finishes moving in the downstream direction and stops at the exposure end position. (Fig. 3e)

  Step S7: The supply-side braking roller 15 and the take-up-side braking roller 25 sandwich the long workpiece W and fix the long workpiece W (FIG. 3f). Thereafter, the suction of the long work W by the exposure stage 31 is released, the work clamp mechanism 35 releases the fixation of the long work W, and the elevating drive means 34 lowers the exposure stage 31 to the lower end position (FIG. 3g). . Since the long workpiece W is clamped by the rollers 15 and 25, when the stage 31 is separated from the long workpiece W, the long workpiece W is braked without moving in the X direction or the Y direction, and kept in a predetermined position. Can do.

Step S8: When the rotation driving means (not shown) of the supply side braking roller 15 and the winding side braking roller 25 is rotated by a predetermined rotation driving amount, the feeding side braking roller 15 and the winding side braking roller 25 are long. The scale work W is rewound by a predetermined amount so that the next one frame after the exposure of the long work W is positioned at the alignment start position (that is, the point B is positioned at the position of the point A in step S2). ), The long workpiece W is moved. At that time, the long workpiece W is moved while correcting the meandering of the long workpiece W using the output of the end face position sensor 16 (FIG. 3g → FIG. 3h).

When the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 move the long workpiece W in the return direction, the long workpiece W becomes deeper in the U shape in the supply-side dancer roller 13 and at the same time, the winding-side dancer In the roller 23, the U-shape becomes shallower. At this time, if the acceleration for driving the long workpiece W is steep, the dancer roller may slip on the long workpiece, and the long workpiece W may be wrinkled, resulting in a defective product. 15 and the winding-side brake roller 25 are rotationally driven so as to perform appropriate acceleration / deceleration.

Simultaneously with the rewinding of the long workpiece W by the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25, the exposure stage 31 moves from the exposure end position to the alignment start position. (FIG. 3g → FIG. 3h) It should be noted that the return amount for one frame after the exposure of the long workpiece W is different from the return amount of the stage 31, and the latter is larger. While the movement of the long workpiece W is performed with gentle acceleration / deceleration, the movement of the exposure stage 31 having a large return amount is performed at high acceleration and high speed. For this reason, both end the return movement almost simultaneously.

Step S9: After the movement of the long workpiece W and the movement of the exposure stage 31 by the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 are completed, the exposure stage 31 rises to the upper end position, and the one frame exposed earlier Next, the back surface of the long work W for one frame located next to the suction surface is adsorbed and held flat (FIG. 3i). Further, the work clamp mechanism 35 of the exposure stage 31 holds the long work W between the stage. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3i, it can be seen that the point B is at the position of the point A in step S2.

Step S10: The supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 release the long workpiece W from being clamped. When the rotation driving means (not shown) of the supply reel 11 and the take-up reel 21 rotate by a predetermined rotation drive amount, the supply reel 11 feeds the long work W to the dancer roller 13 by one frame and winds it. The take-up reel 21 winds up the long work W for one frame from the dancer roller 23. (FIG. 3i → FIG. 3j)

Thereafter, step S4 to step S10 are sequentially repeated until the production ends. When the exposure of the last frame of the long work W is completed, the long work W wound up in a roll shape on the take-up reel 21 is collected.

As described above, the exposure apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment always includes a plurality of pieces while maintaining the state in which the long workpiece W is braked by being held by the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 or held by the exposure stage 31. The number of frames is exposed. Accordingly, it is possible to perform exposure by connecting the front and back frames with high accuracy, and it is particularly suitable for a long workpiece W having no alignment mark.

In addition, since the exposure stage 31 and the long work W are separated and moved separately when the exposure stage 31 and the long work W are moved back after one frame exposure, the exposure stage 31 having a long moving distance is moved to a high acceleration. The long workpiece W having a short moving distance can be moved while suppressing the acceleration so as not to be rubbed by the dancer roller. Thereby, the productivity of the exposure apparatus 1 is improved.

<< Second Embodiment >>
In the second embodiment, the configuration of the exposure apparatus 1 is the same as that of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, after step S6 of the operation by the exposure apparatus 1, the process branches to the following steps.

Step S11: The exposure stage 31 moves to below the alignment camera 41 while holding the long workpiece W by suction. At this time, the exposure stage 31 may be moved automatically to a predetermined position or may be manually moved to an arbitrary position by the operator.

Step S12: The operator of the exposure apparatus 1 observes the latent image formed on the photosensitive material of the long workpiece W by the exposure in step S6 using the alignment camera 41 and the monitor 42 connected to the alignment camera 41. . As a result of the observation, when it is recognized that the exposure position, exposure amount, etc. need to be corrected, the operator of the exposure apparatus 1 corrects those parameters according to the observation result.

  Step S13: The supply-side braking roller 15 and the take-up-side braking roller 25 pinch the long work W and fix the long work W. Thereafter, the suction of the long work W by the exposure stage 31 is released, the work clamp mechanism 35 releases the fixation of the long work W, and the elevating drive means 34 lowers the exposure stage 31 to the lower end position.

Step S14: Based on the current position of the long workpiece W obtained from the movement amount of the exposure stage in Step 11, the feed side braking roller 15 and the winding side braking roller 25 follow the one frame after the exposure of the long workpiece W is completed. The long workpiece W is moved to the downstream side so that one frame is at the alignment start position (that is, the point B is at the position of the point A in step S2).

Simultaneously with the movement of the long workpiece W by the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25, the exposure stage 31 is driven in the upstream direction and moved to the alignment start position. As described above, when the long workpiece W is moved by the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25, the long workpiece W and the exposure stage 31 can be easily moved in different directions.

Step S15: After the movement of the long workpiece W by the supply side braking roller 15 and the winding side braking roller 25 and the movement of the exposure stage 31 by the stage moving unit 32 are finished, the exposure stage 31 is raised to the upper end position, While adsorbing the back surface of the long work W for one frame located next to the one frame exposed earlier, this is held flat. Further, the work clamp mechanism 35 of the exposure stage 31 clamps the end surface of the long work W in the conveyance direction (X direction) with the stage.

Step S16: The supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 release the long workpiece W from being clamped. When the rotation driving means (not shown) of the supply reel 11 and the take-up reel 21 rotate by a predetermined rotation drive amount, the supply reel 11 feeds the long work W to the dancer roller 13 by one frame and winds it. The take-up reel 21 winds up the long work W for one frame from the dancer roller 23.

Thereafter, step S4 and subsequent steps are repeatedly executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Note that the branching of the operation to step S11 may be executed not only after the exposure of the first frame of the long workpiece W but also at an arbitrary timing.

As described above, the exposure apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes the step of observing the exposure result (step S12) when the continuous operation is executed. By observing the first exposure result of the long work W and adjusting the exposure parameters, it is possible to prevent the formation failure of the pattern of many frames of the long work W, so that the productivity of the exposure apparatus 1 is improved. The exposure result observation process may be executed not only at the time of the first exposure of the long workpiece W but also at an arbitrary timing (for example, every time a predetermined time elapses).

Even when the step of observing the exposure result is performed during continuous operation, the long workpiece W is braked by being clamped by the supply-side braking roller 15 and the winding-side braking roller 25 or by being held by the exposure stage 31. The Accordingly, it is possible to perform exposure by connecting the front and back frames with high accuracy, and it is particularly suitable for a long workpiece W having no alignment mark.

Note that the observation of the exposure result and the setting of the exposure parameters are described as being manually performed by the operator using the monitor 42 connected to the alignment camera 41. However, the exposure apparatus is connected to the alignment camera 41 by connecting an image processing device (not shown). 1 may be automatically performed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Exposure apparatus 2 Base 10 Input part 11 Supply reel 12, 14 Guide roller 13 Supply side dancer roller 15 Supply side brake roller 16 End surface position sensor 21 Take-up reel 22, 24 Guide roller 23 Take-up dancer roller 25 Take-up side brake Roller 30 Exposure unit 31 Exposure stage 32 Stage moving unit 33 Guide rail 34 Lifting drive means 35 Work clamp mechanism 40 Alignment unit 41 Alignment camera 42 Monitor 50 Exposure processing unit 51 Exposure unit W Long workpiece (photosensitive substrate)
A First exposure start position on long workpiece W (point A)
B Second exposure start position on long workpiece W (point B)

Claims (5)

Transport means for transporting a long and plastic object to be exposed from a supply reel to a take-up reel;
Exposure means provided between the supply reel and the take-up reel;
An exposure stage for holding a part of the object to be exposed;
Moving means for reciprocating the exposure stage along the transfer direction of the object to be exposed of the transfer means;
An exposure apparatus that exposes a pattern on the object to be exposed by relative movement between the exposure unit and the exposure stage,
The conveying means is
A supply-side restraining roller provided on the downstream side of the supply reel and on the upstream side of the exposure unit, and restrains the object to be exposed;
A winding side restraining roller that is provided on the downstream side of the exposure means and the upstream side of the winding reel, and restrains the object to be exposed;
An exposure apparatus, wherein a roller driving means is provided on at least the supply side restriction roller of the supply side restriction roller and the winding side restriction roller.   2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the exposure stage holds the object to be exposed, the supply side restraining roller and the winding side restraining roller release the restraint of the object to be exposed. . While the exposure stage moves from the transfer start position to the transfer end position while holding the object to be exposed,
The exposure means exposes a pattern to the object to be exposed;
When the exposure stage moves from the transfer end position to the transfer start position without holding the object to be exposed after the exposure of the exposure unit is completed,
The exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the supply side restraint roller moves the object to be exposed to the supply side.   4. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exposure stage includes a clamp mechanism that presses an end surface of the object to be exposed against the exposure stage. An exposure position correction unit including an imaging unit provided above the object to be exposed between the supply side restraining roller and the exposure unit;
Display means capable of displaying an image taken by the imaging means,
An imaging step in which the imaging unit images a positioning mark provided on the object to be exposed; an exposure position correcting step in which the exposure unit corrects exposure data based on an image captured by the imaging unit;
An exposure step of exposing a pattern to the object to be exposed according to the exposure data corrected by the exposure means;
The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a confirmation step of confirming a pattern exposed to the object to be exposed using the imaging unit after the exposure step. .