초록 ▼

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 pan

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.

대표청구항 ▼

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 me

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.