JP-2026075231-A - Workpiece holding mechanism, exposure apparatus, and workpiece holding method

JP2026075231AJP 2026075231 AJP2026075231 AJP 2026075231AJP-2026075231-A

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a workpiece holding mechanism, exposure apparatus, and workpiece holding method that can reliably hold a workpiece relative to a stage. [Solution] A workpiece holding mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a stage, a pressing mechanism, and a clamping mechanism. A plate-shaped workpiece is placed on the stage. The pressing mechanism is provided independently of the stage and has a plurality of protrusions arranged to contact the peripheral edge of the workpiece from the front side of the workpiece opposite to the stage, and the plurality of protrusions press the peripheral edge of the workpiece against the stage. The clamping mechanism is provided on the stage and has a clamping portion configured to contact the peripheral edge of the workpiece from the front side of the workpiece between the protrusions without interfering with the plurality of protrusions, and the clamping portion presses the peripheral edge of the workpiece against the stage. [Selection Diagram] Figure 9

Inventors

美濃部猛
パクチャンファン

Assignees

ウシオ電機株式会社

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20241022

Claims (16)

A stage on which a plate-shaped workpiece is placed, A pressing mechanism is provided which is independent of the stage and has a plurality of protrusions that are arranged to contact the peripheral edge of the workpiece from the front side of the workpiece opposite to the stage, and the plurality of protrusions press the peripheral edge of the workpiece against the stage, A workpiece holding mechanism comprising: a clamping mechanism having a clamp portion provided on the stage and configured to contact the peripheral edge of the workpiece from the front side of the workpiece between the multiple protrusions without interfering with the multiple protrusions, wherein the clamping portion presses the peripheral edge of the workpiece against the stage.
A workpiece holding mechanism according to claim 1, The workpiece holding mechanism wherein the plurality of protrusions are either columnar members having a tip surface that contacts the front side of the workpiece, or suction pads that attract the workpiece from the front side.
A workpiece holding mechanism according to claim 2, The plurality of protrusions are the columnar members, The columnar member is a workpiece holding mechanism having a recessed structure provided on its tip surface.
A workpiece holding mechanism according to claim 2, The aforementioned multiple protrusions are the suction pads, The pressing mechanism is a workpiece holding mechanism, which is a handler that uses the suction pad to pick up and transport the workpiece.
A workpiece holding mechanism according to claim 1, The clamp portion is either a plate-shaped member with notches formed to surround the plurality of protrusions, or a comb-shaped member that holds the peripheral edge of the workpiece between the plurality of protrusions using a rod, in a workpiece holding mechanism.
A workpiece holding mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The aforementioned stage is a workpiece holding mechanism that vacuum-suctions the workpiece.
A workpiece holding mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The stage includes a sealing member positioned to overlap with the peripheral edge of the workpiece. The plurality of protrusions are a workpiece holding mechanism that presses the peripheral edge of the workpiece against the stage directly above the sealing member.
A workpiece holding mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The pressing mechanism performs a first holding operation in which the multiple protrusions press the peripheral edge of the workpiece against the stage. The clamping mechanism is a workpiece holding mechanism that, while the first holding operation is being performed, performs a second holding operation in which the clamping portion presses the peripheral edge of the workpiece against the stage.
A workpiece holding mechanism according to claim 8, The pressing mechanism is a workpiece holding mechanism that separates the plurality of protrusions from the workpiece while the second holding operation is being performed.
A workpiece holding mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The clamping mechanism is a workpiece holding mechanism comprising: a contact component that constitutes at least a portion of the clamping portion that contacts the workpiece; a mounting portion to which the contact component is detachably attached; and a temporary fixing portion for clamping that temporarily fixes the contact component and the mounting portion by a magnet.
A workpiece holding mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The pressing mechanism is a workpiece holding mechanism having a support frame that supports the plurality of protrusions and a frame drive unit that drives the support frame so that the plurality of protrusions press against the workpiece.
A workpiece holding mechanism according to claim 11, The frame drive unit has a leaf spring portion that acts as a restoring force in a direction perpendicular to the workpiece, and is connected to the support frame via the leaf spring portion, forming a workpiece holding mechanism.
A workpiece holding mechanism according to claim 11, The support frame is a workpiece holding mechanism comprising a plurality of unit frames that support the protrusions in a row along the periphery of the workpiece, and a mounting frame on which the plurality of unit frames are detachably attached.
A workpiece holding mechanism according to claim 13, The support frame is a workpiece holding mechanism having a temporary fixing portion for a protrusion that temporarily fixes the plurality of unit frames and the mounting frame by magnets.
A stage on which a plate-shaped workpiece is placed, A pressing mechanism is provided which is independent of the stage and has a plurality of protrusions that are arranged to contact the peripheral edge of the workpiece from the front side of the workpiece opposite to the stage, and the plurality of protrusions press the peripheral edge of the workpiece against the stage, A workpiece holding mechanism having a clamping mechanism that has a clamping portion provided on the stage and configured to contact the peripheral edge of the workpiece from the front side of the workpiece between the multiple protrusions without interfering with the multiple protrusions, and the clamping portion presses the peripheral edge of the workpiece against the stage, An exposure apparatus comprising: an exposure unit for exposing a pattern onto the workpiece held on the stage.
A method for holding a workpiece, wherein the plate-shaped workpiece is placed on a stage on which the workpiece is held, A first holding operation is performed by pressing the peripheral edge of the workpiece against the stage using a plurality of protrusions that are provided independently of the stage and are arranged to contact the peripheral edge of the workpiece from the front side of the workpiece opposite to the stage. A method for holding a workpiece, wherein, while the first holding operation described above is being performed, a second holding operation is performed, wherein a clamp portion provided on the stage is configured to contact the peripheral edge of the workpiece from the front side of the workpiece between the multiple protrusions without interfering with the protrusions, and presses the peripheral edge of the workpiece against the stage.

Description

This invention relates to a workpiece holding mechanism, an exposure apparatus, and a method for holding a workpiece. Conventionally, technologies for holding workpieces on a stage have been developed. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a workpiece placement device that transports and fixes a workpiece to a vacuum-suction placement platform. In this device, both ends in the width direction are clamped to grip the workpiece during transport, and the workpiece is then placed on the placement platform. Once the workpiece is placed on the platform, all four sides of the workpiece are clamped by clamps provided on the platform. This makes it possible to transport the workpiece while maintaining its flatness and to fix the workpiece to the placement platform while maintaining its flatness. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2013-210432 This is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an exposure apparatus equipped with a workpiece holding mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.This is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a workpiece holding mechanism.This is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a workpiece holding mechanism.This is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a warp correction mechanism.Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the warping correction mechanism.This is a perspective view showing an example of a pusher configuration.This is a plan view showing an example configuration of a work stage equipped with a clamping mechanism.This is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of a clamping mechanism.This flowchart shows an example of the operation of the workpiece holding mechanism.This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the workpiece holding mechanism.This is a partial perspective view showing the workpiece holding mechanism during the holding operation.This is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a workpiece holding mechanism according to the second embodiment. The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. <First Embodiment> [Configuration of the exposure system] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an exposure apparatus equipped with a workpiece holding mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The exposure apparatus 100 is an apparatus for exposing a plate-shaped workpiece W. The exposure apparatus 100 includes an exposure unit 10, a workpiece handler 20, a workpiece stage 30, and a workpiece holding mechanism 40. The workpiece W is, for example, an organic substrate or a glass substrate, and is placed on the workpiece stage 30. Hereinafter, the side of the workpiece W facing the workpiece stage 30 will be referred to as the back side of the workpiece W, and the side opposite the workpiece stage 30 will be referred to as the front side of the workpiece W. The main surface of the front side of the workpiece W is the exposure surface where exposure takes place. The workpiece W, when loaded into the exposure apparatus 100, has a photosensitive material such as photoresist coated on its exposure surface. As the workpiece W, for example, a rectangular substrate with a side length of approximately 500 mm can be used. Alternatively, a relatively thin workpiece W with a thickness of approximately 0.2 mm can also be used. Of course, the shape, planar size, and thickness of the workpiece W are not limited to the above examples. In this embodiment, the case where the planar shape of the workpiece W is rectangular is mainly described as an example, but the present invention is also applicable to circular and polygonal workpiece W. In the following, directions that are orthogonal to each other on the plane (adsorption surface 34, described later) along the work stage 30 on which the plate-shaped workpiece W is placed are referred to as the X direction and the Y direction. The direction perpendicular to the XY plane is referred to as the Z direction. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the exposure apparatus 100 viewed from the Y direction. The XY plane is set as, for example, the horizontal plane, and the Z direction is set as the vertical direction. Note that the orientation in which the exposure apparatus 100 is used is not limited and can be set arbitrarily. The exposure unit 10 exposes a pattern onto the workpiece W held on the workpiece stage 30. As shown in Figure 1, the exposure unit 10 includes a light irradiation unit 11, a mask M, a mask stage 12, and a projection optical system 13. The light irradiation unit 11 emits exposure light. The light irradiation unit 11 includes a lamp 15, a mirror 16, and a lamp housing 17. The lamp 15 is an exposure light source that emits exposure light including ultraviolet light. The mirror 16 reflects the exposure light emitted from the lam