Digital exposure device using GLV and digital exposure device using DMD

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9671700-B2
Application number	US-201314017921-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 4, 2013
Priority date	Apr 4, 2013
Publication date	Jun 6, 2017
Grant date	Jun 6, 2017

Abstract

A digital exposure device including a GLV or a DMD. The digital exposure device also includes: a stage to support and move a substrate in a scan direction; an optical system disposed between the stage and the GLV or the DMD, to form a pattern on the substrate by modulating light received from the GLV or the DMD; and a control unit to control the a width of the pattern by a unit, the unit being obtained by dividing the width of the pattern by a natural number m, in the second direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A digital exposure device comprising:
a stage configured to support a substrate;
a grating light valve (GLV) comprising a first ribbon and a second ribbon that are spaced apart from the stage in a first direction and extend in a scan direction, the first ribbon and the second ribbon together as a pair are configured to diffract light;
an optical system disposed between the stage and the GLV in the first direction, and configured to filter and focus the diffracted light, so as to form a pattern on the substrate; and
a control unit configured to:
control a width of the pattern, taken in a second direction orthogonal to the scan direction, by a unit obtained by dividing the second direction width of the pattern by a natural number m;
control a width of the pattern, taken in the scan direction, by a unit obtained by dividing the scan direction width of the pattern by a natural number i;
operate the GLV in a bright state by applying the same voltage to the first ribbon and the second ribbon;
operate the GLV in a dark state by applying different voltages to the first ribbon and the second ribbon; and
operate the GLV in a gradation state by applying a gradation voltage to the second ribbon, the gradation voltage corresponding to a gradation value produced by dividing a gradation range between the dark state and the bright state by m,

wherein:
the second direction width of the pattern is associated with a sum of a width of the first ribbon and the second ribbon in the second direction;
the second direction width of the pattern and the scan direction width of the pattern are determined by an exposure amount of the diffracted light during a first time, the first time is constant in each of the bright state and the gradation state, and the first time is determined by dividing an operating period of the GLV by i and delaying an operating timing of the GLV; and
the diffracted light diffracted by the first ribbon and the second ribbon is configured to be incident onto a first lens of the optical system in the bright state, the gradation state, and the dark state.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein:
the GLV further comprises a metallic substrate; and
at least a portion of the first ribbon and at least a portion of the second ribbon is spaced apart from the metallic substrate in the first direction.

3. The device of claim 2 , wherein the control unit is further configured such that:
a first voltage is applied to the first ribbon and the second ribbon in the bright state;
the first voltage is applied to the first ribbon and a second voltage different from the first voltage is applied to the second ribbon, in the dark state; and
the first voltage is applied to the first ribbon and the gradation voltage is applied to the second ribbon, in the gradation state.

4. The device of claim 3 , wherein:
the second ribbon is spaced apart from the metallic substrate in the first direction by a first distance, in the bright state;
the second ribbon is spaced apart from the metallic substrate in the first direction by a second distance different from the first distance, in the dark state; and
the second ribbon is spaced apart from the metallic substrate in the first direction by a third distance between the first distance and the second distance, in the gradation state.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the optical system comprises:
the first lens to focus the diffracted light;
a Fourier filter to selectively filter or block the light focused by the first lens; and
a second lens configured to focus the filtered light into the pattern formed on substrate.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein m and j are 5.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further configured to provide delay signals to the GLV to delay the operating timing of the GLV.

8. The device of claim 1 , further comprising a data modulation unit configured to convert received design data into modulation data provided to the GLV.

9. The device of claim 8 , wherein the data modulation unit is configured to insert or delete at least one of column line data and row line data into or from the design data to obtain the modulation data.

10. The device of claim 9 , wherein the data modulation unit is configured to divide the second direction width of the pattern by a natural number m, to obtain the second direction width of the column line data.

11. The device of claim 9 , wherein the data modulation unit is configured to divide the scan direction width of the pattern by a natural number j, during the operating period of the GLV, to obtain the scan direction width of the row line data.

12. The device of claim 9 , wherein the data modulation unit is configured to generate the column line data based on data adjacent in the second direction, and generate the row line data based on data adjacent in the scan direction.

Assignees

• Samsung Display Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Changhoon
• Chang Jaehyuk
• Sim Su-Yeon
• Lee Kibeom
• Lee Hikuk
• Lee Sanghyun

Classifications

• G03F7/70275

  Multiple projection paths, e.g. array of projection systems, microlens projection systems or tandem projection systems · CPC title

• G02B26/0808

  by means of one or more diffracting elements · CPC title

• G03F7/70291 Primary

  Addressable masks, e.g. spatial light modulators [SLMs], digital micro-mirror devices [DMDs] or liquid crystal display [LCD] patterning devices · CPC title

• G03F7/20

  Exposure; Apparatus therefor (photographic printing apparatus for making copies G03B27/00) · CPC title

• G02F1/13 Primary

  based on liquid crystals, e.g. single liquid crystal display cells · CPC title