JPH0812418B2 - Pellicle manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a pellicle used as a protective cover for a photomask or a reticle (hereinafter simply referred to as a mask).

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a pellicle has been attached to a mask for the purpose of protecting the mask pattern surface and preventing foreign matter such as dust from adhering to the mask. The pellicle is usually obtained by spin-coating a film on a substrate, peeling it off and sticking it to one side of the pellicle frame, and then cutting the film protruding from the pellicle frame. For pasting, conventionally, an adhesive tape part was attached in a cross-shaped pattern on the peripheral edge of the film to peel off the film from the substrate (peeling is done manually by grasping the adhesive tape from one side). I carry it with both hands and cover it with the adhesive-coated side facing up on the pellicle frame, but just by putting it on and sticking it, the film surface can be loosened, and it can be evenly applied to the entire frame-side end surface. It cannot be worn, and it is easy for air bubbles to enter the joints and unevenness. Therefore, it is desirable to apply tension more lightly and evenly than the four enclosures, and to attach the film to the frame with the film pulled, but it is not easy to stretch it flat so that the film surface does not get dragged or loosened. The adhesive that is pressed against the inside of the frame is pushed out to the outside of the frame, and the protruding adhesive may cause the film to bulge near the frame. If there is any bulge, the pellicle is attached to the mask. When holding with, there is a risk of being caught and broken. It is not preferable to apply a strong tension so that the protruding adhesive does not swell because the film is easily broken.

The pellicle is also cleaned by air blow when it is manufactured or used (when attached to the mask), and the film surface vibrates at that time, but since the pellicle film is very thin, it is more than the corner of the pellicle frame. It easily cracks and tears.

As another method for manufacturing the pellicle, after forming a film on the substrate, the pellicle frame coated with an adhesive is pressed and bonded, and after adhesion, the pellicle frame is separated from the substrate together with the film, or the whole is immersed in water and the film is removed from the substrate. Method for separating
No. 0) is also known. According to these methods, when the pellicle frame is pressed and bonded onto the substrate, the problem that the film swells due to the protruding adhesive is solved, but on the other hand, when the frame is pressed onto the substrate, the substrate may be damaged. In addition to the above, the film may be broken as described above during cleaning by air blow, and in the case of the former method, it is necessary to lift the film from the place where the inner frame of the substrate end face is bonded, and peel it off. A strong vacuum force is required for peeling because a vacuum is created between the film and the substrate, and therefore the film may be broken or the frame may be deformed due to strong local force. Even in the latter method, there is a problem that the pellicle is easily contaminated by soaking it in water.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, that is, when the film is pressed against the pellicle frame with a slight tension applied, the adhesive sticking out causes the frame edge to swell, or the frame edge during cleaning by air blow. It is an object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method for obtaining a pellicle that can solve the problem of more breakage.

According to the present invention, therefore, a pellicle frame formed by chamfering an angle that intersects with an inner surface and an outer surface among corners where a side end surface to which a pellicle film is attached and an inner surface or an outer end surface intersect A method for manufacturing a pellicle is provided, in which an adhesive is applied to the chamfered frame-side end surface of the frame, a pellicle film is stretched, and then cut along the frame outer surface.

The pellicle film can be stretched manually by grasping the adhesive tape attached to peel off the film, as before, but be careful not to cause dragging or waviness on the film surface. It is not easy to press and stretch the pellicle frame with the tension evenly applied. This problem can be solved by once taking a film formed on the substrate in a temporary frame and then stretching it on the pellicle frame. That is, it is solved by applying an adhesive to a ring-shaped temporary frame and adhering it to the film on the substrate, grasping the temporary frame and peeling it off, and then pressing one on the other on the pellicle frame, or by pressing the two together. be able to. Since the film on the substrate is transferred to the temporary frame, it is possible to hold the film surface in a flat state by simply holding the temporary frame, pressing one of the temporary frame and the pellicle frame to the other, Alternatively, the membrane can be stretched on the pellicle frame while tension is applied by simply pressing the two together (see FIG. 1).

Chamfering is performed by adding a beveled or rounded corner.
It is about 0.4C.

If the chamfer is smaller than 0.1, it may bulge as shown in Fig. 3 and the film may be broken when the pellicle is attached to the mask, and if it is larger than 0.7, the adhesive surface becomes small and the adhesive force becomes weak, so that the air blows. It may come off.

Action As shown in FIG. 2, after the adhesive 2 is applied to the side end faces of the pellicle frame 1 excluding the chamfered portion 1a, the pellicle film 3 is covered and pressed to apply the adhesive 2 to the outside of the frame. Then, the chamfered portions 1a on both sides protrude (FIG. 1). Here, the tension is applied so that the film thickness of the pellicle film becomes about 1 to 10%, preferably 3 to 7%.

When the film is attached by applying tension such that the film thickness of the pellicle film is reduced to less than 1%, the film is wrinkled. Also, when the film is attached by applying tension so that the film thickness of the pellicle film becomes thinner than 10%, the film thickness in the portion close to the end face on the inner side of the frame becomes thin and the film is easily broken by air blow.

Example An adhesive 2 is applied to the side end surface of a pellicle frame 1 having a beveled surface, except for the chamfered portion 1a, by chamfering the corner where the side end surface to which the pellicle film is attached and the inner surface and the outer surface intersect. To do. Before and after this, the film formed on the substrate is transferred to the temporary frame 3 as described above, and the temporary frame 3 is gripped to form the pellicle film 3 on the pellicle frame 1 on the side where the adhesive 2 is applied. The pellicle film 3 is put on the pellicle frame 1 by covering the pellicle frame 1 by pushing down the temporary frame 3 or lifting the pellicle frame 1 or pressing them together. After that, the film 3 protruding from the pellicle frame 1 is cut off from the frame edge.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, the adhesive applied to the end surface of the pellicle frame is extruded to the inside and outside of the frame when the pellicle film is stretched.
The extruded adhesive will stick to the chamfer and be absorbed, so the film will not bulge at the frame, and the problem of being caught by the bulge and breaking during handling when mounting it on the mask is resolved. Sometimes, even if the pellicle film vibrates, the pellicle film does not break at the frame or the breakage can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a state after attachment of a pellicle film, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of essential portions showing a state before attachment, and FIG. 1 ... Pellicle frame, 2 ... Adhesive 3 ... Pellicle film, 4 ... Temporary frame

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pellicle frame formed by chamfering a corner intersecting an inner surface and an outer surface among corners where a side end surface to which a pellicle film is attached and an inner surface or an outer surface intersect.
A method for producing a pellicle, which comprises applying an adhesive to a chamfered frame-side end surface, stretching a pellicle film, and then cutting the pellicle film along an outer surface of the frame. 2. The method of manufacturing a pellicle according to claim 1, wherein the pellicle film is peeled off and held by a temporary frame having a film formed on a substrate adhered to the film.