US 5,652,645 AGranted

High-throughput, high-resolution, projection patterning system for large, flexible, roll-fed, electronic-module substrates

AssigneeAnvik Corporation

InventorKanti Jain

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Abstract

A projection imaging system is described for patterning large, flexible substrates at high exposure speeds and desired resolution, the substrates being in the form of a continuous band fed from a roller for cost-effective electronic module manufacturing. From the continuous band, segments of one panel size are sequentially exposed one at a time. The segment being exposed is held rigidly on a scanning stage, on which is also mounted a mask containing the pattern to be formed on the substrate. The imaging subsystem is stationary and situated above the scanning stage. The mask is illuminated with a hexagonal illumination beam and a region of similar shape is imaged on the substrate. The stage is programmed to scan the mask and substrate simultaneously across the hexagonal regions so as to pattern one whole panel. Provision is made for suitable overlap between the complementary intensity profiles produced by the hexagonal illumination, which ensures seamless joining of the scans and uniform patterning of an entire panel without image stitching errors. For handling the roll substrate so that the substrate segment being exposed remains held rigidly to the scanning stage while the stage moves it in two dimensions without damaging the integrity of the substrate band, mechanisms are provided in the projection system which include provision of managed slack lengths in the substrate band, controlled rotary motions of the supply and take-up substrate rollers, and synchronized, laterally sliding assemblies for the rollers.

Claims37

Dependent claims

A large-area, high-throughput, high-resolution, scan-and-repeat projection imaging system for replicating patterns present on a mask onto each of a sequence of segments (16) of a substrate band (10) characterized by

(a) a stage subsystem (18) comprising locking means for the mask (20) and locking means for a segment (16) of the substrate band (10) providing fixed juxtaposition of the mask (20) relative to the substrate band segment (16), said stage subsystem (18) being capable of scanning in one dimension, and when not scanning in that dimension, capable of moving laterally in a direction perpendicular to the scan direction so as to position itself for another scan;
said stage subsystem (18) thus being capable of exposing a full segment (16) of the substrate band (10) by breaking up the substrate band segment (16) area into a certain number of parallel strips, and exposing each of said strips by scanning the length of the strip across a fixed illumination region;
(b) an illumination subsystem (28-34) having the wavelength and intensity distribution characteristics suited for exposure of said substrate band (10), having an effective source plane of a predetermined shape, and capable of illuminating on said mask (20) a region of said predetermined shape;
(c) a projection subsystem (22-26) for imaging said illuminated region of said predetermined shape through the mask onto the substrate, having an object-to-image magnification ratio of substantially unity, having the desired imaging resolution, having means (26) to render the image in the same orientation as the object, and having an image field of said predetermined shape and of an area smaller than the substrate band (10) segment (16) area;
(d) means for sequentially presenting and affixing segments (16) of such substrate band (10) to said stage subsystem (18);
and
(e) control means to operatively interrelate said stage subsystem (18), said substrate segment presenting means, said illumination subsystem (28-34) and said projection subsystem (22-26) to provide additive illumination in certain overlap regions of areas exposed by adjacent scans such that the effect of the exposure dose delivered in said overlap regions is seamless and the effect of the exposure dose delivered across the entire substrate band segment (16) is uniform.

4 more elements

The method of providing a high-throughput, high-resolution, projection patterning system for a large, flexible substrate, in the of a long band, for exposure of a series of panel-segments of such substrate, comprising the following steps:

(a) Providing a stage for holding in fixed juxtaposition both a panel-size segment of the substrate band and a mask, and capable of scanning longitudinally in one direction, and also capable of moving laterally in a direction perpendicular to the scan direction;
(b) Providing an illumination system having the wavelength and intensity distribution characteristics suited for exposure of said substrate, having an effective source plane of a predetermined shape, and capable of uniformly illuminating on said mask a region of said predetermined shape:
(c) Providing a projection assembly having an image field of said predetermined shape on said mask, which image field may be substantially smaller than the size of said panel-segment of the substrate band, and capable of producing a 1:1 magnification image of said illuminated region of said predetermined shape of the mask onto the substrate segment with the required resolution;
(d) Providing an optical reversing unit which, in conjunction with the projection assembly of step (c), helps produce an image on the substrate segment that is in the same orientation as the object pattern on the mask;
(e) Providing rollers to supply and take up the flexible substrate band material and providing mechanisms to affix a panel-segment of the substrate on the stage so as to enable the stage to move both longitudinally and laterally without damaging any portion of the substrate band;
(f) Scanning the stage (a) so that the length of the mask traverses across the illumination region described in step (b);
(g) Stopping the stage momentarily after completion of a scan across the length of the mask, moving the stage by a certain distance in a direction perpendicular to the scan direction, and resuming the scanning of the stage in a direction opposite to the scan direction in step (f);
(h) Providing additive, complementary illumination in certain overlap regions of areas exposed by adjacent scans such that the effect of the exposure dose delivered in said overlap regions is seamless and the effect of the exposure dose delivered across the entire substrate is uniform;
(i) Repeating steps (f-h) until exposure of one entire panel-segment of the substrate is completed;
(j) Releasing the exposed panel-segment of the substrate from the stage, releasing an equal length of substrate from the supply roller, affixing another panel-segment of the substrate on the stage, winding up an equal length of substrate on the take-up roller, and repeating steps (f-i) above until exposure of the entire new panel-segment of the substrate is completed;
and
(k) Repeating steps (f-j) above until exposure of the entire roll of substrate band material is completed.

9 more elements

A high-throughput, projection patterning system for a roller-to-roller transported substrate band (10) of semi-flexible substrate material for imaging of a longitudinally arranged sequence of substrate band segments (16), comprising:

(a) substrate segment imaging means comprising an x-y stage subsystem (18) and locking means to hold such a segment (16) of said semi-flexible substrate band (10) in a fixed imaging position with respect to a mask (20) and in a precisely and controllably variable position with respect to stationary imaging means;
(b) substrate supply means (12/40) for presenting such semi-flexible substrate band (10) to said imaging means;
(c) substrate take-up means (14/43) for accepting such semi-flexible substrate band (10) from said imaging means;
and
(d) supply stress-relieving means intermediate said substrate supply means and said imaging means;
and
(e) take-up stress-relieving means intermediate said imaging means and said substrate take-up means.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/506,232Filed 24 Jul 1995
Granted: 29 Jul 1997
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

G03F 7/70791
Handling of masks or workpieces: large workpieces, e.g. glass substrates for flat panel displays or solar panels
G03F 7/2002
Exposure; Apparatus therefor: with visible light or UV light, through an original having an opaque pattern on a transparent support, e.g. film…
G03F 7/70358
Mask projection systems: scanning exposure, i.e. relative movement of patterned beam and workpiece during imaging
G03F 7/70716
Handling of masks or workpieces: stages