JP2008242066A - Positional information management device, drawing system and positional information management method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To unitarily manage pieces of positional information of the respective parts of a drawing device and to generate various control signals for compensation of drawing displacement. <P>SOLUTION: Positional information management 22 is provided to a lithography provided with a stage 252 and an exposure head 166 arranged to be relatively moved and which performs drawing to a recording medium supported by the stage 152 by the exposure head. pieces of the positional information about a plurality of parts are acquired by the lithography in operation of the lithography, a plurality of kinds of control signals for compensating the drawing displacement are generated using the acquired pieces of positional information and transmitted to a beam position control part 40, a DMD control part 32, an AF control part 26, a camera processing part 16 and a beam shifter driver 24, etc. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a position information management apparatus, a drawing system, and a position information management method, and in particular, a position information management apparatus and a drawing system that correct drawing position deviation of a drawing apparatus based on position information of a plurality of parts of the drawing apparatus. And a location information management method.

  Conventionally, various exposure apparatuses using photolithographic techniques have been proposed as apparatuses for recording a predetermined pattern such as a wiring pattern or a filter pattern on a printed wiring board (PWB) or flat panel display (FPD) substrate. ing.

  In such an exposure apparatus, for example, a spatial light modulation element such as a digital micromirror device (DMD) is used. Specifically, a substrate having a photoresist layer is placed on a stage that moves along a guide rail, a plurality of exposure units are arranged on the downstream side in the moving direction of the stage, and the stage of the exposure unit is moved while moving the stage. A predetermined pattern is formed on the substrate by modulating the DMD according to image data representing the predetermined pattern and irradiating the substrate with a laser beam.

  In recent years, the PWB wiring pattern formed by such an exposure apparatus has been increasingly refined. For example, when forming a multilayer printed wiring board, the wiring pattern of each layer must be aligned. It is necessary to carry out with high precision. In addition, the size of the FPD tends to increase more and more, but even if the size is large, it is necessary to align the filter pattern with high accuracy.

  However, an exposure position shift may occur due to an installation position shift when the substrate is set on the stage or a distortion of the substrate itself. In addition, the exposure position may be shifted due to a change in the relative position of the stage and the exposure unit due to disturbance or the like. Therefore, in order to align with high accuracy, it is possible to detect the displacement of the installation position of the substrate and the distortion of the substrate in advance, or position information indicating the position during the movement of the stage, position information indicating the position of the exposure unit, etc. It is necessary to correct positional deviation by detecting position information of each part during operation of the exposure apparatus.

In addition, as an exposure apparatus that is controlled using position information, the exposure apparatus includes a control unit that controls a total ground temperature operation based on position information of each stage on which a mask and a substrate are respectively mounted. An exposure apparatus comprising one or more storage means, input interface means for directly writing the position information to the storage means, and one or more processing means for executing processing based on the position information fallen in the storage means It has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-44104 A

  However, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, a storage unit and a processing unit are provided in each of driving devices that control each component constituting the exposure apparatus such as an illumination system driving device, a mask stage driving device, and a substrate stage driving device. This is a technology for dealing with harmful effects. In the apparatus of Patent Document 1, all position information is once written in a storage unit for processing. In Patent Document 1, the control device simply writes the position information to the storage unit, and the actual control signal is generated by each device.

  Actually, there are various types of signals for correcting misregistration, and the position information necessary for generating each signal may be different for each signal or may be common. Based on this situation, there is a strong demand for a technology for centrally managing location information.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and is a position information management apparatus capable of centrally managing position information of each part of the drawing apparatus and generating various control signals for correcting drawing position deviation. An object of the present invention is to provide a drawing system and a position information management method.

  In order to achieve the above object, a position information management apparatus according to the present invention comprises a stage and a drawing head arranged so as to be relatively movable, and during the operation of the drawing apparatus for drawing on a recording medium supported by the stage by the drawing head. An acquisition unit that acquires position information of a plurality of parts of the drawing apparatus; and a plurality of types of control signals for correcting a drawing position shift of the drawing apparatus using the position information acquired by the acquisition unit. Generating means for transmitting to the drawing apparatus.

  According to such a configuration, the position information of each part of the drawing apparatus can be centrally managed, and various control signals for correcting the drawing position deviation can be generated. Furthermore, since the position information is centrally managed, the position information can be shared, a plurality of different control signals can be generated from the common position information, and the wiring portion is complicated even if the number of generated control signals increases. The wiring part can be made simple without changing the structure.

  In the positional information management apparatus of the present invention, the generation unit generates the control signal in real time according to the acquisition of the position information by the acquisition unit for the control signal that requires real-time processing, and requires real-time processing. For a control signal that does not exist, the position information necessary for generating the control signal can be held in a predetermined storage unit, and the control signal can be generated in non-real time using the held position information. .

  In this way, control signals that require real-time processing are divided into control signals that do not require real-time processing, and control signals that require real-time processing are generated in real time according to the acquisition of position information, and real-time processing is required. For a control signal having no signal, necessary position information is held and a control signal is generated in non-real time using this, so that the conventional technique (for example, the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above) is used. As described above, it is possible to perform high-speed processing as compared with the case where the position information is temporarily written in the storage unit and processed.

  The drawing system of the present invention includes a stage and a drawing head arranged so as to be relatively movable, a drawing device for drawing on a recording medium supported by the drawing head, and the drawing during operation of the drawing device. An acquisition unit that acquires position information of a plurality of parts of the apparatus, and a plurality of types of control signals for correcting a drawing position shift of the drawing apparatus using the position information acquired by the acquisition unit to generate the drawing And a location information management device including a generation means for transmitting to the device.

  Also in this drawing system, similarly to the position information management apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to centrally manage the position information of each part of the drawing apparatus and generate various control signals for correcting the drawing position deviation. Furthermore, since the position information is centrally managed, the position information can be shared, a plurality of different control signals can be generated from the common position information, and the wiring portion is complicated even if the number of generated control signals increases. The wiring part can be made simple without changing the structure.

  In the drawing system of the present invention, the generation unit generates a control signal in real time in response to acquisition of position information by the acquisition unit for a control signal that requires real-time processing, and does not require real-time processing. As for the signal, the position information necessary for generating the control signal can be held in a predetermined storage means, and the control signal can be generated in non-real time using the held position information.

  In this way, control signals that require real-time processing are divided into control signals that do not require real-time processing, and control signals that require real-time processing are generated in real time according to the acquisition of position information, and real-time processing is required. For a control signal having no signal, necessary position information is held and a control signal is generated in non-real time using this, so that the conventional technique (for example, the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above) is used. As described above, it is possible to perform high-speed processing as compared with the case where the position information is temporarily written in the storage unit and processed.

  In the drawing system of the present invention, the drawing device is configured to include a plurality of types of control units that control operations of a plurality of types of constituent members constituting the drawing device, and each of the plurality of types of control units includes When the control signal connected to the network is received via the network, the operation of the corresponding component is controlled according to the received control signal, and the generating means is connected to the network, The generated control signal may be transmitted via the network.

  With this configuration, each control unit can be easily disconnected and connected, and unnecessary functions can be easily disconnected from the network or added to the network if there is a function to be added.

  The position information management method of the present invention includes a stage and a drawing head arranged so as to be relatively movable, and a plurality of the drawing apparatuses are operated during the operation of the drawing apparatus that draws on a recording medium supported by the drawing head. The position information of the part is acquired, and a plurality of types of control signals for correcting the drawing position shift of the drawing apparatus are generated using the acquired position information and transmitted to the drawing apparatus.

  Also in this position information management method, as with the position information management apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to centrally manage the position information of each part of the drawing apparatus and generate various control signals for correcting the drawing position deviation. . Furthermore, since the position information is centrally managed, the position information can be shared, a plurality of different control signals can be generated from the common position information, and the wiring portion is complicated even if the number of generated control signals increases. The wiring part can be made simple without changing the structure.

  As described above, the present invention has an excellent effect that the position information of each part of the drawing apparatus can be centrally managed and various control signals for correcting the drawing position deviation can be generated.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Configuration of exposure system]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the exposure system 100 includes a rectangular thick plate-shaped installation table 156 supported by four legs 154. Two guides 158 extend along the longitudinal direction on the upper surface of the installation table 156, and a rectangular flat plate-like stage 152 is provided on the two guides 158. The stage 152 is arranged so that the longitudinal direction thereof faces the extending direction of the guide 158, is supported by the guide 158 so as to be reciprocally movable on the installation table 156, and is reciprocated along the guide 158 by being driven by a driving device (not shown). Moving. On the upper surface of the stage 152, the photosensitive material 150 provided with the positioning holes 150A is adsorbed and held.

  The stage 152 is configured to be moved by a linear motor (not shown) at a relatively low constant speed, for example, a movement amount of 1000 mm such as 40 mm / second, and the stage controller 20 described later is connected to the linear motor. On the other hand, by supplying drive pulses, the stage 152 is moved by a distance corresponding to the number of drive pulses.

  U-shaped gates 160 and 161 are provided at the center of the installation table 156 so as to straddle the movement path of the stage 152. Each of the ends of the U-shaped gates 160 and 161 is fixed to both side surfaces of the installation table 156.

  The gate 160 is provided with a camera unit 180 for detecting the front and rear ends of the photosensitive material 150 and the positions of a plurality of positioning holes 150 </ b> A having a circular shape in plan view provided in advance in the photosensitive material 150. . The camera unit 180 is provided with a plurality of (three in this embodiment) cameras 182 and a strobe (not shown). The gate 160 is provided with a camera unit 180. Both lens portions 186 of the camera 182 are directed downward.

  When the photosensitive material 150 passes under the camera 182 as the stage 152 moves, the positioning hole 150A is measured by the camera 182. That is, the camera unit 180 causes the strobe to emit light when the photosensitive material 150 reaches a predetermined photographing position, and each camera 182 transmits the reflected light of the strobe light applied to the photosensitive material 150 via the lens unit 186. The positioning hole 150A is photographed by inputting to the camera 182 main body. The shooting timing is controlled by a control signal described later.

  The gate 161 is provided with an exposure scanner 162. The exposure scanner 162 includes a scanner surface plate 240 (see FIG. 8) as a head holding member fixed to the gate 160, and a plurality of exposure heads 166 are positioned and fixed on the scanner surface plate 240.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing an arrangement state of the exposure heads 166 provided in the exposure scanner 162. FIG. 3A is a plan view showing an exposed region formed on the photosensitive material, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing an array of exposure areas by each exposure head.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3B, the exposure scanner 162 includes a plurality of exposure heads 166 arranged in a substantially matrix of m rows and n columns (for example, 2 rows and 5 columns).

  As shown in FIG. 2, an exposure area 168 that is an area exposed by the exposure head 166 has a rectangular shape and is inclined at a predetermined inclination angle with respect to the scanning direction. As the stage 152 moves, a strip-shaped exposed area 170 is formed for each exposure head 166 in the photosensitive material 150. As shown in FIG. 2, the scanning direction is opposite to the stage moving direction.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the exposure heads 166 in each row arranged in a line so that each of the strip-shaped exposed areas 170 partially overlaps the adjacent exposed areas 170. Are arranged with a predetermined interval (natural number times the long side of the image area, 1 time in this embodiment) shifted in the arrangement direction. For this reason, for example, an unexposed portion between the exposure area 168A located on the leftmost side of the first row and the exposure area 168C located on the right side of the exposure area 168A is the exposure located on the leftmost side of the second row. It is exposed by area 168B. Similarly, the part that cannot be exposed between the exposure area 168B and the exposure area 168D located on the right side of the exposure area 168B is exposed in the exposure area 168C.

  A light beam emitted from the laser array light source 66 by driving the LD module 64 (see FIG. 7) is incident on each of the exposure heads 166. The incident light beam is ON / OFF controlled in units of dots by a digital micromirror device (DMD) 50, which is a spatial light modulation element, and the photosensitive material 150 has a binarized dot pattern (black / black). White) is exposed, and the density of one pixel is expressed by the plurality of dot patterns.

  As shown in FIG. 4, on the light incident side of the DMD 50, a laser emitting portion 68 in which the emitting end portion (light emitting point) of the optical fiber is arranged in a line along the direction corresponding to the long side direction of the exposure area 168 is provided. A laser array light source 66 provided, a lens system 67 for correcting the laser light emitted from the laser array light source 66 and condensing it on the DMD, and a reflecting mirror 69 for reflecting the laser light transmitted through the lens system 67 toward the DMD 50. Arranged in this order.

  The lens system 67 includes a pair of combination lenses that convert the laser light emitted from the laser array light source 66 into parallel light, a pair of combination lenses that correct the light quantity distribution of the parallel laser light, and And a condensing lens that condenses the laser light with the corrected light quantity distribution on the DMD.

  The DMD 50 is configured such that micromirrors (micromirrors) are supported by support columns on SRAM cells (memory cells), and a large number of pixels (for example, a pitch of 13.68 μm, 1024) are formed. This is a mirror device configured by arranging (× 768) micromirrors in a lattice pattern. Each pixel is provided with a micromirror supported by a support at the top, and a material having high reflectance such as aluminum is deposited on the surface of the micromirror. In addition, a silicon gate CMOS SRAM cell manufactured in a normal semiconductor memory manufacturing line is arranged directly below the micromirror via a support including a hinge and a yoke, and the whole is monolithic (integrated). It is configured.

  When a digital signal indicating the tilt state (modulation state) of the micromirror is written to the SRAM cell of the DMD 50, and when the digital signal is further output from the SRAM cell to the micromirror, the micromirror supported by the support column is centered on the diagonal line. As shown in FIG. 1, the tilt angle is tilted within a range of ± α degrees (for example, ± 10 degrees) with respect to the substrate side on which the DMD 50 is disposed. By controlling the tilt of the micromirror in each pixel of the DMD 50 according to the image signal, the laser light B incident on the DMD 50 is reflected in the tilt direction of each micromirror.

  The on / off control of each micromirror is performed by a DMD driver 34 (see FIG. 7) connected to the DMD 50. Further, a light absorber (not shown) is arranged in the direction in which the laser beam B reflected by the off-state micromirror travels.

  Further, on the light reflection side of the DMD 50, coupling optical systems 54 and 58 for forming an image of the laser light reflected by the DMD 50 on the scanning surface (exposed surface) 56 of the photosensitive material 150 are arranged.

  The coupling optical systems 54 and 58 are arranged so that the DMD 50 and the exposed surface 56 of the photosensitive material 150 are in a conjugate relationship. In this embodiment, the laser light emitted from the laser array light source 66 is uniformized. Then, after entering the DMD 50, each pixel is set to be enlarged and condensed by the lens systems 54 and 58.

  Further, the exposure system 100 is provided with an AF (autofocus) sensor unit 184 (see FIGS. 7 and 8) formed integrally with the exposure scanner 162. The AF sensor unit 184 is an autofocus sensor configured to arrange a plurality of displacement sensors in the X direction and measure the distance (Z direction) from the exposed surface 56 of the photosensitive material 150. Since the photosensitive material 150 has waviness and variations in thickness (Z direction), the distance in the Z direction is measured in advance by the AF sensor unit 184, and during exposure, the laser light emission side of the exposure head 166 is in accordance with the measurement result. The autofocus control is performed so that the focus of the laser beam coincides with the surface to be exposed 56 by a focus mechanism (described later).

  Although not shown in FIG. 4, the AF unit 59 as the focus mechanism is disposed on the light emission side of the coupling optical systems 54 and 58 and adjusts the focal length of the laser light transmitted through the coupling optical systems 54 and 58. .

  FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the AF unit 59.

  The AF unit 59 includes a pair of glass members (pair wedge glass) 210 and 212 formed in a wedge shape (trapezoidal column shape) from a transparent glass material. In the present embodiment, the refractive index: n of the glass members 210 and 212 is set to n = 1.53, and the pair of glass members 210 and 212 are adjacent to each other along the optical axis of the laser beam in an inverted direction. Has been placed.

  Specifically, the glass member 210 provided on the laser beam incident side (DMD 50 side) has a bottom surface directed to one side (above FIG. 5A) and a top surface parallel to the bottom surface on the other side. The plane that is directed to the lower side of FIG. 5A and perpendicular to the bottom surface and the top surface is disposed on the laser light incident side to form a light incident surface 210A. The tilted inclined surface is arranged on the laser beam emission side to form a light emission surface 210B, and the light incident surface 210A is substantially orthogonal to the optical axis of the laser beam emitted from the DMD 50 side. The surface 210B is arranged in an inclined direction.

  Further, the glass member 212 provided on the laser beam emission side (exposed surface 56 side) has a bottom surface directed to the other side (downward in FIG. 5A) and a top surface parallel to the bottom surface on one side. And a plane perpendicular to the bottom surface and the top surface is disposed on the laser beam emission side to form a light emission surface 212B, and is directed to the light emission surface 212B. The inclined surface inclined in this manner is disposed on the laser light incident side to form a light incident surface 212A, and the light emitting surface 212B is substantially orthogonal to the optical axis of the laser light emitted from the DMD 50 side. The incident surface 212A is arranged in an inclined direction.

  Then, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the pair of glass members 210 and 212 has a slight gap between the light emitting surface 210B of the glass member 210 and the light incident surface 212A of the glass member 212. In a non-contact state, the light incident surface 210A of the glass member 210 and the light emitting surface 212B of the glass member 212 are made parallel to each other and substantially orthogonal to the optical axis of the laser light as described above. In the present embodiment, the distance between the light exit surface 210B of the glass member 210 and the light incident surface 212A of the glass member 212 is set to 0.1 mm.

  The AF unit 59 is configured as described above. In the adjustment of the focal length of the laser light by the AF unit 59, when an actuator (not shown) is driven and controlled by the AF driver 28 (see FIG. 7), the glass member 210 is driven. 5 moves from the reference position indicated by a two-dot chain line in the drawing in the direction of arrow SA shown in FIG. 5A or in the direction of arrow SB shown in FIG. 5B.

  Here, when the glass member 210 is at the reference position, the distance between the light incident surface 210A of the glass member 210 and the light emitting surface 212B of the glass member 212, that is, the glass member 210 including a slight gap provided therebetween. , 212, where t is the total thickness dimension, the thickness dimension: t decreases by Δt (−Δt) when the glass member 210 is moved from the reference position in the direction of the arrow SA by a predetermined distance (−Δt). When 210 moves from the reference position in the direction of arrow SB by a predetermined distance, it increases by Δt (+ Δt).

  As described above, when the thickness dimension t of the glass members 210 and 212 changes (± Δt), the transmission distance through which the laser light passes through the glass members 210 and 212 changes, and the focal distance FD of the laser light changes. (± ΔFD). Note that PS shown in FIG. 5 represents an imaging plane.

  Further, although not shown in FIG. 4, a beam shifter mechanism 220 is also arranged for each exposure head 166 on the light exit side of the lens systems 54 and 58 of each exposure head 166. The beam shifter mechanism 220 has a function of shifting (shifting) the exposure position with respect to the photosensitive material 150.

  FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the beam shifter mechanism 220.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the beam shifter mechanism 220 is provided with a parallel plate 222 made of glass or the like. The parallel plate 222 is supported so as to be rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the optical axis of the exposure head 166 and parallel to the Y direction. A plate spring 224 is provided at one end of the parallel flat plate 222 in the X direction, and one end of the plate spring 224 is fixed to a part of the casing of the exposure apparatus. Further, a strain gauge 226 is provided on the leaf spring 224, and a piezo actuator 228 is provided on the other end of the parallel plate 222.

  The piezo actuator 228 expands and contracts in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. 6B based on the input control signal and the output result from the strain gauge 226. As the piezo actuator 228 expands and contracts in the arrow A direction, the parallel plate 222 rotates in the arrow B direction. Thereby, the irradiation position on the photosensitive material 150 in the X direction of the laser light emitted from the exposure head 166 can be moved along the X direction. The beam shifter mechanism 220 may be provided as part of the imaging optical systems 54 and 58.

  In addition, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the beam position measurement unit 44 is integrated with the stage 152 at the upstream edge in the transport direction (scanning direction) of the stage 152 of the exposure system 100 of the present embodiment. Is attached. The beam position measurement unit 44 is provided to detect the position of the laser light emitted from each exposure head 166 (hereinafter referred to as a beam position). The detailed configuration will be described later.

  During the exposure operation of the exposure system 100, the stage 152 is controlled to move at a predetermined speed, the camera unit 180 and the AF sensor unit 184 are controlled to detect the photosensitive material 150 at a predetermined timing, and the exposure head 166 has a predetermined value. Control is performed so that the photosensitive material 150 is exposed at the timing.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 7, the electrical configuration of the exposure system 100 of this example will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the exposure system 100 is provided with networks 46 and 47 such as Ethernet (registered trademark), and various apparatuses are connected to the networks 46 and 47.

  The exposure system 100 includes an overall control unit 12, an image processing unit 14, and a camera processing unit 16. The overall control unit 12, the image processing unit 14, and the camera processing unit 16 are connected to a network 47.

  The overall control unit 12 is composed of a microcomputer including a CPU, RAM, and ROM. The CPU of the overall control unit 12 controls the entire exposure system 100 by executing a program stored in the ROM. The overall control unit 12 is connected not only to the network 47 but also to the network 46.

  The image processing unit 14 performs predetermined image processing on image data acquired from a host controller (not shown). Then, the image data is transmitted to the DMD control unit 32 described later via the overall control unit 12 so that exposure is performed based on the image data after the image processing.

  The camera processing unit 16 emits a strobe of the camera unit 180 when receiving a timing signal (hereinafter referred to as a Strobe Trg signal) that triggers a strobe from a position information management unit 22 described later via the overall control unit 12. Let In addition, when a timing signal (Camera Trg signal) serving as a trigger for imaging the photosensitive material 150 by the camera 182 from the position information management unit 22 is received, the shutters of the plurality of cameras 182 are turned off and the captured photosensitive material 150 is captured. Get image data. The camera processing unit 16 acquires detection position information indicating the positions of the front and rear ends of the photosensitive material 150 and the positioning holes 150A of the photosensitive material 150 based on the acquired captured image data. The acquired detected position information is output to the overall control unit 12. The overall control unit 12 performs alignment correction based on the detected position information. The alignment correction will be described later. The overall control unit 12 receives a signal (hereinafter referred to as a camera Pos signal) indicating a parameter for correcting the detected position information of the photosensitive material 150 photographed and detected by the camera unit from the position information management unit 22. Sometimes, the detected position information received from the camera processing unit 16 is corrected in accordance with the signal, and alignment correction is performed using this.

  The exposure system 100 also includes a position information detection unit 18, a stage control unit 20, and a position information management unit 22. FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration and measurement position of each displacement sensor constituting the position information detection unit 18.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the position information detection unit 18 includes a plurality of displacement sensors 250, 252, 254, 256, 258, 260, 262, 264, and 268 for detecting disturbance vibration.

  The displacement sensor 250 measures the position of the stage 152 in the X direction at the scanner surface plate position. Here, the X direction refers to a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the stage 152.

  Specifically, the displacement sensor 250 emits laser light to a bar-shaped side mirror (not shown) installed on the side surface of the stage 152 extending in the moving direction and detects the reflected light to reach the side mirror. Measure the distance and measure the position in the X direction. The position information in the X direction obtained by the displacement sensor 250 is referred to as position information X1.

  The displacement sensors 252 and 254 measure the position of the stage 152 in the Y direction. Here, the Y direction refers to the moving direction of the stage 152.

  Specifically, the displacement sensors 252 and 254 emit laser light to the corresponding cube mirror among the two cube mirrors (not shown) installed on the side surface of the stage 152 extending in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction thereof. The reflected light is detected and the distance to the corresponding cube mirror is measured. The two pieces of position information in the Y direction obtained by the displacement sensors 252 and 254 are referred to as position information Y1 and Y2.

  The displacement sensors 256 and 258 measure the position in the X direction of the exposure head 166 fixed to the scanner surface plate 240. Here, as with the displacement sensor 250, position measurement is performed using reflection by two mirrors provided in the vicinity of both ends of a side parallel to the Y direction of the scanner base plate 240 that fixes the exposure head 166. Two pieces of positional information in the X direction obtained by the displacement sensors 256 and 258 are referred to as positional information XH1 and XH2.

  The displacement sensors 260 and 262 measure the position in the Y direction of the exposure head 166 fixed to the scanner surface plate 240. Here, as with the displacement sensor 250, position measurement is performed using reflection by two mirrors provided in the vicinity of both ends of the side surface parallel to the X direction of the scanner base plate 240 to which the exposure head 166 is fixed. The two pieces of position information in the Y direction obtained by the displacement sensors 260 and 262 are referred to as position information YH1 and YH2.

  The displacement sensor 264 measures the position in the X direction of the gate 160 as a camera surface plate for fixing the position of the camera 182 of the camera unit 180. Here, as with the displacement sensor 250, position measurement is performed using reflection by a mirror provided on each side surface of the gate 160 parallel to the Y direction. The position information in the X direction obtained by the displacement sensor 264 is referred to as position information XC1.

  The displacement sensors 266 and 268 measure the position in the Y direction of the gate 160 as a camera surface plate for fixing the position of the camera 182 of the camera unit 180. Here, as with the displacement sensor 250, position measurement is performed using reflection by mirrors provided near both ends of the side surface of the gate 160 parallel to the X direction. Position information in the Y direction obtained by the displacement sensors 266 and 268 is referred to as position information YC1 and YC2.

  Each position information measured by the displacement sensors 250 to 268 (position information detection unit 18) is output to the stage control unit 20.

  As described above, the stage control unit 20 controls the movement of the stage 152 by supplying a drive pulse to a linear motor (not shown), and the position information management unit detects the position information detected by the position information detection unit 18. 22 to output.

  The position information management unit 22 is composed of a microcomputer including a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM. An area for temporarily storing position information input via the stage control unit 20 is secured in the RAM. The ROM stores a program and various parameters for executing processing for generating and outputting various control signals. The CPU of the position information management unit 22 executes a program stored in the ROM, and based on the position information input via the stage control unit 20, signals for exposure timing control during exposure of the exposure system 100, Various control signals such as a signal for timing control when measuring position information and a signal for correcting the relative positional deviation between the camera and the stage are generated and output. That is, the position information management unit 22 centrally manages the detected position information and uses it to generate various signals.

  Further, the position information management unit 22 divides various control signals into control signals that require real-time processing and control signals that do not require real-time processing. The control signal is generated in real time according to the position information acquired through the control, and for the control signal that does not require real-time processing, the position information necessary for generating the control signal is held in a predetermined memory (for example, RAM). In addition, the control signal is generated in non-real time using the stored position information.

  The location information management unit 22 is connected to a network 46. In addition to the overall control unit 12 described above, a beam position control unit 40, an AF (autofocus) control unit 26, a DMD control unit 32, and an LD control unit 36 are connected to the network 46. The location information management unit 22 outputs a control signal to each control unit connected to the network 46.

  That is, the position information management unit 22 centrally manages the position information, shares the input signal (position information), and generates a plurality of different output signals (control signals) from the input signal. Even if the number increases, the wiring portion is not complicated, and the wiring portion can be simplified.

  The beam position control unit 40 is connected to a beam position measurement driver 42 that operates a beam position measurement unit 44 that measures the position (beam position) of laser light emitted from the exposure head 166.

  Each time the beam position control unit 40 receives a timing signal (hereinafter referred to as a Bps Trg signal) serving as a trigger when measuring the beam position from the position information management unit 22 via the overall control unit 12, the beam position measurement driver 42. And the detection result of the beam position measuring unit 44 is sampled.

  Further, when the beam position control unit 40 receives a signal (hereinafter referred to as a beam Pos signal) indicating a parameter for correcting the measurement result of the beam position from the position information management unit 22 via the overall control unit 12, A corrected beam position is calculated from the measurement result of the beam position measuring unit 44 in accordance with the beam Pos signal.

  The detailed configuration of the beam position measurement unit 44 and details of the beam position measurement and measurement result correction will be described later.

  The AF control unit 26 is provided for each exposure head 166, is connected to an AF driver 28 that operates the AF unit 59, and is connected to an AF displacement measurement unit 30 that operates the AF sensor unit 184.

  The AF control unit 26 measures the distance (focus measurement) between the exposure head 166 and the exposed surface 56 of the photosensitive material 150 before starting exposure, and acquires distance data for focus control. In the focus measurement, the position information management unit 22 transmits a timing signal (hereinafter referred to as an AF Trg signal) serving as a trigger when performing focus measurement to the AF control unit 26. The AF control unit 26 performs focus measurement by the AF sensor unit 184 every time an AF Trg signal is received from the position information management unit 22 via the network 46. This measurement result is held by the AF control unit 26.

  The AF control unit 26 performs focus control based on the measurement result of the focus measurement during exposure. The AF control unit 26 receives an AF Trg signal that takes the timing of focus control from the position information management unit 22 via the network 46 (note that focus control is performed at the same cycle timing as the focus measurement. The AF driver 28 is controlled to operate the AF unit 59 every time a signal having the same cycle as that of the timing signal is received, and focus control is performed.

  The DMD control unit 32 is provided for each exposure head 166 and is connected to a DMD driver 34 that controls on / off of the DMD 50. The DMD control unit 32 drives the DMD driver 34 when receiving a timing signal (hereinafter referred to as an EXP Trg signal) serving as a trigger when performing exposure on the photosensitive material 150 from the position information management unit 22 via the network 46. The DMD 50 is turned on / off according to the image data received from the image processing unit 14.

  The LD control unit 36 is provided for each exposure head 166 and is connected to an LD driver 38 that drives an LD module 64 that emits a light beam from the laser array light source 66. The LD control unit 36 controls the LD driver 38 from the start of exposure to the end of exposure to drive the LD module 64 to emit a light beam from the laser array light source 66.

  The position information management unit 22 is connected to a beam shifter driver 24 that drives the beam shifter mechanism 220. When the beam shifter driver 24 receives a signal (X data signal) indicating the shift amount in the X direction from the position information management unit 22, the exposure position of the exposure head 166 is shifted in the X direction by the shift amount indicated by the X data signal. The beam shifter mechanism 220 is driven as described above.

  In the present embodiment, among the control signals generated by the position information management unit 22, the control signals that require real-time processing are the Bps Trg signal, the AF Trg signal, the EXP Trg signal, the X data signal, and the Strobe Trg signal. Control signals that are Camera Trg signals and do not require real-time processing are a camera Pos signal and a beam Pos signal.

[Signal generation processing by location information management unit]
When the photosensitive material 150 is set on the stage 152 and the movement of the photosensitive material 150 from the predetermined initial position to the downstream side in the Y direction is started, real-time position information is obtained from the position information detection unit 18 as the stage 152 moves. Is output.

  The position information management unit 22 receives each position information from the position information detection unit 18 via the stage control unit 20, and generates and outputs various control signals.

<Generation of exposure trigger signal (EXP Trg signal)>
First, a process for generating an EXP Trg signal, which is a timing signal serving as a trigger when the photosensitive material 150 is exposed, will be described.

  Even when the stage control unit 20 supplies a drive pulse to a linear motor (not shown) and moves the stage 152 at a constant speed, the position of the stage fluctuates due to disturbance or the position of the exposure head 166 fluctuates. There is.

  Therefore, the position information management unit 22 performs real-time Y-direction position information Y1 and Y2 of the stage 152 measured by the displacement sensors 252 and 254, and real-time Y-direction of the exposure head 166 measured by the displacement sensors 260 and 262. Based on the positional information YH1 and YH2, the relative inclination between the stage 152 and the exposure head 166 is detected in real time. Then, the positional deviation in the Y direction is corrected by increasing or decreasing the exposure timing according to this inclination. The exposure timing is adjusted by adjusting the generation (output) timing of the exposure trigger signal EXP Trg in real time.

  Here, the difference between the Y-direction position information Y1 and Y2 of the stage 152 measured at the same timing (hereinafter referred to as difference 1), and the Y-direction position information YH1 of the Y-direction exposure head 166 measured at the same timing, Difference information D indicating a difference (that is, a difference between difference 1 and difference 2) with a difference between YH2 (hereinafter, difference 2) is calculated. In the present embodiment, the difference information D is calculated in increments of 0.5 μm according to the movement of the stage 152 in the Y direction in the Y direction. Here, the average value of the position information Y1 and Y2 of the stage 152 is defined as the movement distance of the stage 152 in the Y direction. The difference information D is calculated when the movement distance in the Y direction changes by 0.5 μm.

  FIG. 9 is a timing chart for explaining the generation process of the EXP Trg signal.

  A method for calculating the difference information D will be described with reference to FIG. The measurement results of the position information Y1 of the stage 152 are represented as n10, n11, n12, n13..., And the measurement results of the position information Y2 are represented as n20, n21, n22, n23. In addition, the measurement result of the position information YH1 of the exposure head 166 is represented as nh10, nh11, nh12, nh13..., And the measurement result of the position information YH2 is represented as nh20, nh21, nh22, nh23. . Position information having the same number at the end is position information measured at the same timing.

  For example, the difference 1 of the measurement result n20 of the position information Y2 measured at the same timing as the measurement result n10 of the position information Y1 of the stage 152 is (n10−n20). Further, the difference 2 of the measurement result nh20 of the position information YH2 measured at the same timing as the measurement result nh10 of the position information YH1 of the exposure head 166 is (nh10−nh20). Therefore, the difference information D at this timing is calculated as {(n10−n20) − (nh10−nh20)}. This difference information D is calculated in increments of 0.5um.

  The position information management unit 22 uses the difference information D as a relative displacement (tilt) between the stage 152 and the exposure head 166, and the time obtained by dividing the difference information D by the feed speed of the stage 152 is the X direction of the exposure head 166. Divide by the number of arrays. The division result d is reflected in the exposure trigger signals EXP Trg1 to 38 for the exposure heads 166 in the order in which the exposure heads 166 are arranged. That is, the division result d is corrected by adding it to the reference period of each exposure trigger signal EXP Trg, and the RXP Trg signal is output with this corrected period. FIG. 9 illustrates a case where 38 exposure heads 166 are arranged on the exposure scanner 162, and in this case, 38 exposure trigger signals EXP Trg1 to EXP Trg38 are generated.

  As described above, the exposure trigger signal EXP Trg is corrected at a predetermined interval (here, 0.5 um increments) and output, and exposure is performed at this output timing, so that the positional deviation in the Y direction is corrected.

  In addition, the distance of the exposure area shown in FIG. 9 is an illustration, Comprising: It is not limited to this.

<Generation of X data signal to shift exposure position in X direction>
Next, generation processing of an X data signal that specifies a shift amount for shifting the exposure position in the X direction in order to correct a positional deviation in the X direction during exposure will be described.

  The position information management unit 22 has real-time X-direction position information X1 of the stage 152 measured by the displacement sensor 250 and real-time X-direction position information of the scanner surface plate 140 measured by the displacement sensors 256 and 258 (or Position information in the X direction of the exposure head 166) Based on XH1 and XH2, the relative positional deviation amount between the stage 152 and the exposure head 166 in the X direction is detected in real time. Then, the exposure position in the X direction is shifted in real time in accordance with the relative positional deviation amount, and the positional deviation in the X direction is corrected. The exposure position in the X direction is shifted by operating the beam shifter mechanism 220.

  The position information management unit 22 calculates the shift amount for each exposure head 166 as follows.

First, the position information management unit 22 detects the tilt of the exposure head 166 in the X direction from the position information XH1 and XH2. From this inclination, position information xh _k in the X direction is calculated in accordance with the arrangement position of each exposure head 166 in the Y direction (k is a subscript indicating the arrangement position of the exposure head in the Y direction, and 1 to Y Values up to the number m of exposure head arrays in the direction). Then, a difference between each position information xh _k and the position information X1 of the stage 152 is obtained, and this is set as a relative displacement amount (shift amount) S in the X direction between the stage 152 and the exposure head 166.

  The position information management unit 22 generates an X data signal for each exposure head 166 so that the exposure position in the X direction is shifted by the calculated shift amount S, and transmits it to the corresponding beam shifter driver 24. When the X data signal is received by the beam shifter driver 24, the beam shifter driver 24 drives the beam shifter mechanism 220 so that the exposure position of the exposure head 166 is shifted in the X direction by the shift amount S indicated by the received X data signal. . Thereby, the positional deviation in the X direction is corrected.

  The beam shifter mechanism 220 has a difference in individual characteristics, and it is necessary to correct the X data signal generated uniformly as described above according to the difference in the characteristics.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing an example of the correction amount when the shift amount S is corrected according to the characteristics of the actual machine. As shown in FIG. 10, if the exposure head 166 has ideal characteristics, the positional deviation in the X direction can be corrected without any problem if the shift amount S is calculated as S = X1-xh _k. If it is different from the ideal, the shift amount is adjusted in consideration of the characteristics. For example, the shift amount is corrected and calculated as S = G × (X1−xh _k ) + β. Here, G is an inclination (gain), and β represents an offset amount. G and β are obtained in advance for each characteristic of the beam shifter mechanism 220 of each exposure head 166 by experiments or the like, and the obtained shift amount S is corrected. The characteristics of each exposure head 166 are stored in advance in a predetermined storage means (for example, a ROM of a microcomputer constituting the position information management unit 22), and the position information management unit 22 reads this and reads the shift amount. Is calculated.

  As described above, the shift amount S is obtained, and the X data signal is generated and output so that the exposure position in the X direction is shifted by the shift amount S, whereby the positional deviation in the X direction is corrected.

<Generation of auto focus control timing signal (AF Trg signal)>
As described above, in the exposure system 100, after the photosensitive material 150 is set on the stage 152, focus measurement is performed before the photosensitive material 150 is actually exposed. Focus control is performed based on the measurement result. The timing signals for focus measurement and focus control are generated and output by the position information management unit 22 based on the real-time Y-direction position information Y1 and Y2 of the stage 152 measured by the displacement sensors 252 and 254.

  First, focus measurement will be described.

  When the photosensitive material 150 is set on the stage 152 and the operator performs an exposure start input operation from an operation unit (not shown), the stage control unit 20 causes the stage 152 to move downstream from the initial position along the guide 158 at a constant speed. Start moving.

  As the stage 152 moves, focus measurement is performed when the photosensitive material 150 passes below the AF sensor unit 184.

  The AF sensor unit 184 measures the distance between the exposed surface 56 including detection (edge detection processing) of the front end and the rear end of the photosensitive material 150, and outputs the measured distance data to the AF control unit 26.

  The AF control unit 26 recognizes the leading edge and the trailing edge of the photosensitive material 150 based on the input distance data, and executes arithmetic processing for grasping the waviness and thickness dimension error of the photosensitive material 150.

  The distance data is obtained by calculating the average of the measurement results measured a plurality of times. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11A, data is acquired every 5 times with a measurement interval of 200 μm, and the average value is calculated as distance data.

  The position information management unit 22 generates and outputs an AF Trg signal to the AF control unit 26 every time the stage 152 moves 1 mm in the Y direction. Specifically, the position information management unit 22 calculates the average value Yav obtained by adding the position information Y1 and Y2 and dividing by 2 as the movement position in the Y direction of the stage 152, and every time the movement position is displaced by 1 mm. Then, an AF Trg signal is generated.

  Each time the AF control unit 26 receives the AF Trg signal, the AF control unit 26 calculates the average value of the data for five measurement results and obtains the distance data as described above. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11B, every time the photosensitive material 150 moves 1 mm from the measurement start position in the Y direction (stage movement direction) after the start of the measurement operation, this is referred to as distance data. Average value data of five measurements is calculated. The AF control unit 26 sequentially stores the distance data in a predetermined memory. As described above, since the AF sensor unit 184 includes a plurality of displacement sensors arranged in the X direction, the distance data is stored corresponding to each of the plurality of displacement sensors. It is stored at every measurement calculation interval from the measurement start position to the measurement end position.

  As shown in FIG. 11B, in order to remove noise data, data that exceeds a preset measurement range is treated as not subject to averaging calculation processing, and this data is processed a predetermined number of times (for example, 15 times). If it continues above, it is handled as clear data (invalid data). For example, when a through hole is formed in the substrate of a printed wiring board serving as a photosensitive material and the through hole is detected, clear data is obtained. Clear data is also stored before the photosensitive material 150 reaches the measurement start position (before detection of the leading edge of the photosensitive material 150) and after passing through the measurement end position (after detection of the trailing edge of the photosensitive material 150). However, it is possible to specify in advance that the formation position of the corresponding region, such as a through hole, cannot be measured, or cancel the data of the corresponding region.

  After the focus measurement is completed, the stage control unit 20 moves the stage 152 and conveys the photosensitive material 150 to the exposure start position. Each exposure head 166 of the exposure scanner 162 irradiates a light beam and starts image exposure on the exposed surface 56 of the photosensitive material 150. During exposure, focus control based on the measured distance data is performed.

  Here, focus control during exposure will be described.

  The AF control unit 26 generates a control signal for focus control. Specifically, the coordinate value indicating the position in the Y direction of each distance data is shifted in the measurement start direction by 1/2 of the measurement calculation interval (1 mm × 1/2 = 0.5 mm). That is, a value obtained by subtracting 0.5 mm from the Y coordinate value corresponding to each distance data is newly set as the Y coordinate value of each distance data. Each distance data is set as a Z coordinate value corresponding to the XY coordinate value of the intermediate point of each calculation measurement section.

  Further, the Z coordinate value is mapped to each Y coordinate value and the X coordinate value that is the installation position of the plurality of displacement sensors constituting the AF sensor unit 184 to create mapping data as shown in FIG. A control signal for driving and controlling the AF unit 59 of each exposure head 166 is generated so that the focus of the light beam emitted from each exposure head 166 follows the approximate curve obtained from the mapping data.

  The approximate curve in the X direction is obtained by the following calculation process.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the central portion of the photosensitive material 150 rises with respect to both end portions in the X-direction cross section at a specific Y-direction position (Y-coordinate value shifted by ½ of the measurement calculation interval). When warped, three (X, Y, Z) coordinate values of the exposed surface 56 are determined from the distance between the exposed surface and the displacement sensor measured by the AF sensor unit 184 including three displacement sensors. The radius of curvature R that is acquired and applied to the following equation (1) is derived from the coordinate value.

(X−X0) ² + (Z−Z0) ² = R ² (1)
A curve (curvature circle) drawn by R calculated from the equation (1) becomes an approximate curve in the X-direction cross section of the exposed surface 56.

  Further, the distance in the X direction from the center of curvature (X0, Y0, Z0) of the approximate curve drawn by R to the optical axis L of the exposure head 166: HX, Z at the optical axis position of the exposure head 166 from the center of curvature to the approximate curve. When the directional distance is Z, the following equation (2) is established for R, HX, and Z.

R ² = HX ² + Z ² (2)
A Z coordinate value (Zn) at the optical axis position (Xn, Yn) of the exposure head 166 is obtained from Z calculated by the equation (2). Therefore, at (Xn, Yn), a control signal for driving and controlling the AF unit 59 of the exposure head 166 is generated so that the focal point of the light beam coincides with (Zn).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11C, the Z coordinate value (Zn) at the optical axis position (Xn, Yn) of the exposure head 166 is connected with each Y coordinate value shifted by ½ of the measurement calculation interval. The curve is an approximate curve in the Y direction. In the focus control accompanying the movement of the photosensitive material 150 in the Y direction, the AF unit 59 is driven and controlled by generating a control signal so that the focal point of the light beam follows the approximate curve. The above is the contents of arithmetic processing and focus control.

  During the exposure, the AF control unit 26 outputs the control signal according to the AF Trg signal received from the position information management unit 22. The position information management unit 22 adds an average value Yav obtained by adding the position information Y1 and Y2 and dividing the result by 2 as in the AF Trg signal used as the trigger signal in the focus measurement, for the AF Trg signal at the time of focus control. The stage 152 is calculated as a movement position in the Y direction, and an AF Trg signal is generated and output every time the movement position is displaced by 1 mm.

  Thus, as shown in FIG. 11A, focus control (focus correction) is performed at the Y coordinate value shifted by ½ of the measurement calculation interval.

<Generation of timing signals (Camera Trg signal, Strobe Trg signal) during alignment measurement>
In the exposure system 100 in the present embodiment, not only focus measurement for focus control but also alignment measurement for alignment correction is performed before actual exposure of the photosensitive material 150 is started.

  The alignment correction is a function for correcting an exposure position shift (X and Y directions) with respect to the photosensitive material 150 caused by the alignment error. For example, if an alignment error such as a positional deviation when the photosensitive material 150 is disposed, a position error when the positioning hole 150A is processed in the photosensitive material 150, or an alignment error such as deformation of the photosensitive material 150 occurs, exposure to the photosensitive material 150 is performed. Misalignment occurs. In the exposure system 100 of the present embodiment, the position (X, Y direction) of the photosensitive material 150 set on the stage 152 is measured (alignment measurement) before the exposure is started, and alignment correction is performed based on the measurement result. .

  The alignment measurement is performed by photographing the photosensitive material 150 with the camera unit 180 before exposure. Specifically, first, the stage control unit 20 supplies a predetermined number of drive pulses to a linear motor (not shown), moves the stage 152 positioned at the initial position by a predetermined amount, and moves the stage 152 to the camera unit 180. Position it at the shooting position. The camera unit 180 photographs the photosensitive material 150 when the tip of the stage 152 reaches the photographing position at the photographing position. Accordingly, the camera processing unit 16 acquires detection position information indicating the positions of the front and rear ends of the photosensitive material 150 and the positioning holes 150A of the photosensitive material 150 based on the input captured image data.

  As for the acquisition method of the detection position information of the front and rear ends and the positioning hole 150A, for example, it may be acquired by extracting a linear edge image or a circular image, but other known acquisition methods may be used. May be adopted. In addition, the detected position information of the front and rear ends and the positioning hole 150A is specifically acquired as a coordinate value, and the origin of the coordinate value is, for example, of the four corners of the photographed image data of the photosensitive material 150 Only one corner may be set, a predetermined position in the captured image data may be set, or one positioning hole 150A of the plurality of positioning holes 150A may be set.

  The overall control unit 12 calculates a correction amount for alignment correction based on the detected position information. For example, how much the exposure position is corrected may be calculated by comparing the detected position information of the photosensitive material 150 with a known standard value. Then, the overall control unit 12 controls the image processing unit 14 to deform the original image data exposed on the photosensitive material 150 so that the exposure position is corrected by the calculated correction amount. As a result, the DMD 50 can be controlled based on the alignment-corrected image data, and the exposure position deviation can be corrected. The alignment correction method is not limited to the deformation of the original image data. For example, the correction is performed by adjusting the exposure timing as described above, or by shifting the exposure position with the beam shifter mechanism 220 or the like. It may be.

  In the present embodiment, the photographing timing (timing to release the shutter of the camera 182 and strobe light emission timing) at the time of alignment measurement is controlled according to the timing signal from the position information management unit 22.

  A timing signal (Camera Trg signal) for releasing the shutter of the camera is generated in real time by the position information management unit 22 based on the position information Y1 and Y2 of the stage 152 in real-time Y direction measured by the displacement sensors 252 and 254, Is output.

  Specifically, the position information management unit 22 calculates an average value Yav obtained by adding the position information Y1 and Y2 and dividing by 2 as a moving position in the Y direction of the stage 152, and the calculated moving position is the camera 182. When the predetermined shooting position is reached, generation of a Camera Trg signal is started. Then, Camera Trg signals are generated and output at predetermined intervals based on the calculated movement position until the rear end of the photosensitive material 150 passes through the photographing position of the camera 182.

  Also, the strobe emission timing signal (Strobe Trg signal) is generated and output in real time based on the real-time Y-direction position information Y1 and Y2 of the stage 152 measured by the displacement sensors 252 and 254, similarly to the Camera Trg signal. Is done. The camera processing section 16 controls the camera unit 180 to emit light and release the shutter of the camera 182 using the input of the Strobe Trg signal and Camera Trg signal as a trigger.

<Generation of alignment measurement error correction signal (camera Pos signal)>
The overall control unit 12 performs alignment correction based on the alignment measurement result. However, during alignment measurement, the relative position of the stage 152 and the camera 182 may fluctuate due to disturbance or the like, resulting in a measurement error.

  As described above, in addition to the positional deviation when the photosensitive material 150 is arranged, the original positional error when the positioning hole 150A is processed in the photosensitive material 150, or the alignment error such as deformation of the photosensitive material 150, the measurement is performed. If the relative position shift between the stage 152 and the camera 182 occurs due to the generated temporary disturbance or the like, it may not be accurately corrected even if the above-described alignment correction is performed.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, this measurement error is corrected before alignment correction. This measurement error correction is performed using the position information Y1, Y2, X1, YC1, YC2, and XC1 detected by the position information detection unit 18 during the alignment measurement. Further, in order to correct this measurement error, the position information management unit 22 stores the position information YY1, Y2, X1, YC1, YC2, and XC1 during the alignment measurement operation in a memory included in the position information management unit 22 in chronological order. In addition, the amount of misalignment is obtained and corrected using this.

  For example, if the relative positional deviation amount in the X direction is to be calculated, it may be calculated from the variation in the difference between the positional information X1 and the positional information XC1, and if the relative positional deviation amount in the Y direction is to be calculated, the positional information Y1, Y2 And the difference between the average value of the position information YC1 and YC2 may be calculated. Further, if the positional deviation amount in the rotation direction θ around the Z axis is to be obtained, the positional information Y1, Y2, X1, YC1, YC2, and XC1 are used to obtain the X direction fluctuation amount and the Y direction fluctuation amount. Thus, the calculation can be performed separately for the X component and the Y component.

  Here, a case will be described as an example where the positional deviation is corrected when the positional deviation in the rotation direction θ around the Z axis occurs due to disturbance.

  FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a correction method for correcting a positional shift in the rotation direction θ around the Z axis. Here, the position fluctuation amount in the X-axis direction and the position fluctuation amount in the Y-axis direction are not considered.

  A rectangular body 90 </ b> A indicated by a broken line indicates an ideal position of the stage 152 having no position variation. The actual stage 152 is positioned at the position of the rectangular body 90B indicated by the solid line rotated by δθ by the rotation in the θ direction.

  A mark 91 indicated by a broken line indicates an ideal position (design position) of the positioning hole 150A when there is no position variation. Note that the position information of the design position is (Xd, Yd).

  A mark 92 indicated by a solid line is a photographing position of the positioning hole 150A actually photographed. The position information of this photographing position is (Xm, Ym). In this way, the shooting position is different from the ideal position. This includes an alignment error such as a temporary misalignment due to a disturbance or the like and a misalignment when the photosensitive material 150 is disposed.

  The overall control unit 12 performs a correction process for correcting only the positional deviation amount due to the disturbance to the position information (Xm, Ym) of the photographing position.

  When the stage 152 is photographed in a state where the stage 152 is rotated by δθ due to a disturbance or the like generated during the measurement, the correction amount in the X-axis direction and the correction amount in the Y-axis direction enough to cancel the rotation by δθ are calculated. . When the position fluctuation (correction amount) in the rotational direction by δθ is calculated for the design position (Xd, Yd) of the positioning hole 150A (the correction amount is obtained by a relational expression of a known trigonometric function), the correction amount is shown in the figure. The correction amount indicated by (Δx, Δy) is used, and if the correction amount as it is is used for correction of the mark 92, it is corrected to the position indicated by the mark 93. Therefore, the position fluctuation (correction amount) in the rotational direction by δθ is calculated based on the position of the imaging position (mark 92) of the positioning hole 150A actually captured. The correction amount is a correction amount indicated by (Δx ′, Δy ′) in the drawing, and the correction position of the positioning hole 150A is corrected to the position indicated by the mark 94. As a result, the rotation of the stage 152 by δθ can be corrected correctly. Therefore, the alignment correction when actually performing exposure can also be performed correctly.

  As described above, by obtaining the correction amount based on the actually captured position information, the correction error can be reduced even when the position of the reference mark greatly deviates from the design value (ideal value). it can.

<Generation of timing signal (Bps Trg signal) during beam position measurement>
Due to the distortion of the lens system (for example, the imaging optical systems 54, 58, etc.) provided in each exposure head 166 and the distortion of drawing caused by various factors during exposure processing due to the change of the exposure head 166 over time, The position (beam position) of the laser light emitted from the exposure head 166 may shift.

  In the exposure system 100 of the present embodiment, the beam position deviation unit 44 is used to measure the beam position deviation amount in advance (for example, during the alignment measurement), and the beam being exposed based on the measurement result. Correct the misalignment.

  In the present embodiment, the position information management unit 22 generates and outputs a timing signal at the time of beam position measurement, and takes the timing of beam position measurement by the beam position measurement unit 44.

  FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram of the beam position measurement unit 44.

  The beam position measuring unit 44 is a slit plate 70 that is integrally attached to an upstream end edge in the transport direction (scanning direction) of the stage 152, and light detection means (detector) that is disposed on the back side of the slit plate 70. Photosensor 72.

  The slit plate 70 forms a light-shielding thin chromium film (chrome mask, emulsion mask) on a rectangular long quartz glass plate having the entire length in the width direction of the stage 152, and a plurality of predetermined positions of the chromium film. In addition, the chrome film of the “<” shape that opens perpendicularly in the X-axis direction so as to pass (transmit) each laser beam (light beam) is etched (for example, the slit is patterned by masking the chrome film) And a slit for detection 74 (A, B, C, D, E, etc.) formed by removing the slit portion of the chromium film with an etching solution).

  Since the slit plate 70 configured in this manner is made of quartz glass, an error due to temperature change is unlikely to occur, and the beam position can be detected with high accuracy by using a thin light shielding chrome film.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 and 18, the “<”-shaped detection slit 74 has a linear first slit portion 74 a having a predetermined length located on the upstream side in the transport direction and a downstream side in the transport direction. It is formed by connecting a straight second slit portion 74b having a predetermined length and positioned at one end at a right angle. That is, the first slit portion 74a and the second slit portion 74b are orthogonal to each other, and the first slit portion 74a has an angle of 135 degrees and the second slit portion 74b has an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the Y axis. Has been.

  In addition, the 1st slit part 74a and the 2nd slit part 74b should just be arrange | positioned so that a predetermined angle may mutually be made, The structure arrange | positioned separately apart from the structure which both cross | intersect It may be.

  Here, the first slit portion 74a and the second slit portion 74b are formed so as to form an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the scanning direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the first slit portion 74a and the second slit portion 74b are inclined with respect to the pixel arrangement of the exposure head 166 and at the same time inclined with respect to the scanning direction, that is, the stage moving direction (so that they are not parallel to each other). If it can be in the (positioned state), an angle with respect to the scanning direction may be arbitrarily set, or it may be configured in a square shape.

  A photo sensor 72 (which may be a CCD, a CMOS, a photodetector, or the like) that detects light from the exposure head 166 is disposed at each predetermined position directly below each detection slit 74.

  Next, the measurement operation when measuring the beam position in advance will be described.

  First, in this exposure system 100, the operation when measuring the position of the beam actually irradiated on the exposure surface when one specific pixel P1 that is a pixel to be measured is turned on will be described with reference to FIGS. To do.

  The stage controller 20 supplies a predetermined number of drive pulses to a linear motor (not shown), moves the stage 152 by a predetermined amount, and places a detection slit 74 for a predetermined exposure head 166 below the exposure head 166. Position.

  Next, the overall control unit 12 controls the DMD control unit 32 so that only the specific pixel P1 in the DMD 50 of the exposure head 166 is turned on (lighted state).

  Further, the stage control unit 20 supplies a drive pulse to the linear motor to control the movement of the stage 152, so that the detection slit 74 is positioned on the exposure area 168 at the required position (as shown by the solid line in FIG. 16A). For example, it is moved so as to be located at the position to be the origin).

At this time, the beam position control unit 40 recognizes the intersection of the first slit portion 74a and the second slit portion 74b as (x ₀ , y ₀ ) and stores it in a predetermined memory. In FIG. 16A, the direction rotating counterclockwise from the Y axis is a positive angle. Further, the beam position control unit 40 controls the beam position measurement driver 42 to operate the photo sensor 72 of the beam position measurement unit 44, and starts measuring light from the specific pixel P1 that is lit.

Thereafter, the stage controller 20 controls the movement of the stage 152 to move the detection slit 74 to the right in FIG. 16A along the Y axis. Then, the beam position control unit 40 transmits the light from the specific pixel P1 that is lit through the first slit portion 74b at the position indicated by the imaginary line on the right side in FIG. When the detection at 72 is detected, the photosensor 72 detects the specific pixel P1 from the relationship between the transition of the output signal of the photosensor 72 and the movement position of the stage 152 as illustrated in FIG. The position information (x ₀ , y ₁₁ ) of the intersection between the first slit portion 74a and the second slit portion 74b when detected is calculated, and this position information is stored in the memory.

  In this beam position measurement unit 44, the slit width of the detection slit 74 is formed to be sufficiently wider than the beam spot BS diameter, so that the detection value of the photosensor 72 is maximum as shown in FIG. The position of the Y axis spreads over a certain range, and the position of the Y axis when the detection value of the photosensor 72 becomes maximum cannot be set as the position of the Y axis when the specific pixel P1 is detected.

  Therefore, the beam position control unit 40 calculates a half value that is a half value of the maximum value detected by the photosensor 72. Then, two positions (moving positions of the stage 152) when the output of the photosensor 72 becomes half value are obtained while moving the stage 152 continuously. Then, a central position between the first position and the second position when the output of the photosensor 72 becomes half value is calculated. The beam position control unit 40 stores the calculated center position in the memory as Y axis position information when the specific pixel P1 is detected. Note that the X-axis position information is the same as the X-axis position information at the position to be the origin.

  In addition, you may make it obtain | require more correctly by taking what is called a moving average (what is called filter processing), when the output of the photosensor 72 becomes a half value. Thereby, the noise suppression component can be removed and more accurate position information can be obtained.

Next, the stage control unit 20 moves the stage 152 by supplying a drive pulse to the linear motor to control the movement of the stage 152, and moves the detection slit 74 along the Y axis in the direction of FIG. To start moving to the left. Then, the beam position control unit 40 receives the light from the specific pixel P1 that is lit as illustrated in FIG. 16B at the position indicated by the left imaginary line in FIG. The relationship between the transition of the output signal of the photo sensor 72 and the movement position of the stage 152 as illustrated in FIG. From this, the position information (x ₀ , y ₁₂ ) of the intersection point between the first slit portion 74a and the second slit portion 74b when the photosensor 72 detects the specific pixel P1 is calculated, and this position information is stored in the memory. To do.

Next, the beam position control unit 40 reads the coordinates (x ₀ , y ₁₁ ) and (x ₀ , y ₁₂ ) stored in the memory, obtains the coordinates of the specific pixel P1, and specifies the actual position. Therefore, the calculation is performed using the following formula. Here, assuming that the coordinates of the specific pixel P1 are (x ₁ , y ₁ ), the coordinate value x ₁ of the specific pixel P1 is represented by x ₁ = x ₀ + (y ₁₁ −y ₁₂ ) / 2, and the coordinate value y _{1 is} expressed by _{y 1 = (y 11 + y} 12) / 2.

  An output signal accompanying the movement of the stage of the photosensor 72 in the Y direction is obtained by sampling the detection value of the photosensor 72 at a predetermined sampling interval. The sampling at this time is performed according to the timing signal (Bps Trg signal) generated by the position information management unit 22.

  The Bps Trg signal is generated and output in real time by the position information management unit 22 based on the position information Y1 and Y2 of the stage 152 in the Y direction in real time measured by the displacement sensors 252 and 254.

  Specifically, the position information management unit 22 calculates the average value Yav obtained by adding the position information Y1 and Y2 and dividing by 2 as the movement position in the Y direction of the stage 152, and at a predetermined interval (that is, Yav A Bps Trg signal is generated every time the value increases by a predetermined distance.

  When receiving the Bps Trg signal, the beam position control unit 40 samples the detection value of the photosensor 72 of the beam position measurement unit 44 via the beam position measurement driver 42 and measures the beam position as described above. .

<Generation of beam position measurement error correction signal (beam Pos signal)>
Next, in this exposure system 100, by measuring the beam position as described above, the drawing distortion amount (position) of the exposure area (entire exposure area) 168 in which an image can be projected onto the exposure surface by one exposure head 166. A correction method when detecting and correcting the (deviation amount) will be described.

  In the exposure system 100 according to the present embodiment, in order to detect the distortion amount of the exposure area 168 as the entire exposure area, a plurality of beam position measuring units 44 are provided for one exposure area 168 as shown in FIG. For example, five detection slits 74 can simultaneously detect the position.

  For this reason, in the exposure area 168 by one exposure head 166, a plurality of pixels to be measured which are scattered in an average manner in the exposure area to be measured are set. In this embodiment, five sets of pixels to be measured are set. The plurality of pixels to be measured are set at target positions with respect to the center of the exposure area 168. In the exposure area 168 shown in FIG. 18, two sets are set symmetrically with respect to a set of pixels to be measured Pc1, Pc2, and Pc3 arranged at the center position in the longitudinal direction (here, a set of three pixels to be measured). A pair of pixels to be measured Pa1, Pa2, Pa3, Pb1, Pb2, and Pb3, and a pair of Pd1, Pd2, Pd3, Pe1, Pe2, and Pe3 are set.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the slit plate 70 is provided with five detection slits 74A, 74B, 74C, 74D and 74E at positions corresponding to the respective sets of pixels to be measured so that they can be detected.

Further, the first slit portion 74a and the second slit portion are provided in order to facilitate calculation when adjusting a processing error between the five detection slits 74A, 74B, 74C, 74D and 74E formed in the slit plate 70 in advance. The relationship of the relative coordinate position of the intersection with 74b is obtained. For example, in the slit plate 70 shown in FIG. 19, the coordinates of the second detection slit 74B are (x ₁ + l ₁ , y ₁ ) based on the coordinates (x ₁ , y ₁ ) of the first detection slit 74A. , The coordinates of the third detection slit 74C are (x ₁ + l ₁ + l ₂ , y ₁ ), the coordinates of the fourth detection slit 74D are (x ₁ + l ₁ + l ₂ + l ₃ , y ₁ + j ₁ ), 5 detection slits 74E (x ₁ + l ₁ + l ₂ + l ₃ + l ₄ , y ₁ ).

  Next, when the beam position control unit 40 detects the amount of distortion in the exposure area 168 based on the above-described conditions, the overall control unit 12 outputs a control signal to the DMD control unit 32 to control the DMD 36, A predetermined group of pixels to be measured (Pa1, Pa2, Pa3, Pb1, Pb2, Pb3, Pc1, Pc2, Pc3, Pd1, Pd2, Pd3, Pe1, Pe2, Pe3) are turned on. In this state, the stage controller 20 The stage 152 on which the slit plate 70 is installed is moved directly below each exposure head 166. The beam position controller 40 obtains coordinates for each of the pixels under measurement using the corresponding detection slits 74A, 74B, 74C, 74D, and 74E. At that time, the predetermined group of pixels to be measured may be individually turned on, or all of them may be detected as being turned on.

  Next, the beam position control unit 40 detects each micromirror detected by using the position information of the reflection surface of each micromirror corresponding to each pixel to be measured in the DMD 36 and the movement position information of the detection slit 74 and the stage. By calculating these relative positional shifts from the exposure point position information of the laser light projected onto the exposure surface (exposure area 168), the drawing in the exposure area 168 as illustrated in FIG. The amount of distortion (distortion state) is obtained.

  The overall control unit 12 controls the image processing unit 14 so that the exposure position is corrected (so that the distortion is canceled) based on the distortion amount obtained by the beam position control unit 40, and the photosensitive material 150. The original image data to be exposed is deformed. As a result, the DMD 50 can be controlled based on the corrected image data, and image distortion due to beam position deviation can be corrected. Note that the correction method of the beam position deviation is not limited to the deformation of the original image data. For example, the correction is performed by adjusting the exposure timing as described above or by shifting the exposure position by the beam shifter mechanism 220 or the like. You may make it do.

  In the exposure system 100 described above, a plurality of detection slits 74A, 74B, 74C, 74D, and 74E are formed on the slit plate 70, and a photosensor 72 is provided for each of them. A combination of the detection slit 74 and the single photosensor 72 may be configured to move in the X-axis direction with respect to the stage 152 to detect the position of each set of pixels to be measured. .

  In this case, the movement position information with respect to the X-axis direction of the combination of the single detection slit 74 and the single photosensor 72 and the exposure surface when the pixel under measurement is turned on are actually irradiated. The exposure point position information is calculated to determine the drawing distortion amount (distortion state).

  When measuring the beam position as described above, the relative position between the stage 152 and the exposure head 166 may fluctuate due to disturbance or the like, resulting in a measurement error.

  In the exposure system 100 of the present embodiment, this measurement error is corrected by the position information management unit 22.

  As described above, when calculating the position information of the Y axis when the specific pixel P1 is detected, the beam position control unit 40 has two locations when the output of the photosensor 72 becomes half value during the movement of the stage 152. The position information management unit 22 is caused to calculate the Y-axis position information (hereinafter referred to as Pma and Pmb) at the two positions at this time. Therefore, the beam position control unit 40 transmits parameters necessary for calculation to the position information management unit 22. Further, the position information management unit 22 calculates the position information Pma and Pmb at the two positions corresponding to the positional deviation of each beam position, so that the position information Y1, Y2, YH1, YH2, X1, XH1, and XH2 are stored in a memory included in the position information management unit 22 in chronological order.

  When the position information management unit 22 receives necessary parameters from the beam position control unit 40, the position information Y1, Y2, YH1 detected and stored by the position information detection unit 18 during measurement of the parameters and the beam position. , YH2, X1, XH1, and XH2 are used to calculate position information Pma and Pmb of the two Y axes and return them to the beam position control unit 40.

  FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a measurement error correction method when the relative position fluctuates due to disturbance or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 21A, the relative position in the X direction of the exposure head 166 that is the beam position measurement target with respect to the laser light irradiation position in the X direction of the displacement sensors 260 and 262 when YH1 and YH2 are measured. The ratios shown are r and s. Further, the total number of detection slits 74 is n, and the detection slit 74 used for measuring the beam position of the exposure head 166 that is the beam position measurement target is the mth detection slit 74 from the left in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 21B, the angle of the detection slit with respect to the X axis is θ.

  The position information management unit 22 calculates the position information Pma and Pmb using the above parameters and the position information detected by the position information detection unit 18 as follows.

Pma = Y1_Pma + (Y2_Pma-Y1_Pma) * m / n
+ (X1_Pma-XH_Pma) / tanθ- (YH1_Pma * s + Yh2_Pma * r) / (r + s)
Pmb = Y1_Pmb + (Y2_Pmb-Y1_Pmb) * m / n
+ (X1_Pmb-XH_Pmb) / tanθ- (YH1_Pmb * s + Yh2_Pmb * r) / (r + s)
In the above formula, for the position information Y1, Y2, YH1, YH2, X1, XH1, and XH2 detected by the position information detection unit 18, the position information corresponding to Pma is appended with the symbol Pma at the end. The position information corresponding to Pmb is indicated with a Pmb symbol at the end. In the above formula, XH represents the average value of the position information XH1 and XH2.

  The position information management unit 22 generates a signal (beam Pos signal) indicating the calculated position information Pma and Pmb as a signal indicating a parameter for correcting the measurement result of the beam position, and returns the signal to the beam position control unit 40. .

  The beam position control unit 40 calculates the beam position as described above from the position information Pma and Pmb indicated by the received beam Pos signal.

  As a result, the corrected beam position is calculated, and the beam position control unit 40 can detect an accurate beam position without being affected by a positional shift such as a disturbance.

[Modification]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various design changes may be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the signals generated by the position information management unit 22 are the beam shifter driver 24, the beam position control unit 40, the AF control unit 26, the DMD control unit 32, the LD control unit 36, and the camera processing unit 16. However, all of them are connected to the network 46 or 47 except for the beam shifter driver 24, so that they can be easily disconnected and connected. Therefore, unnecessary functions may be separated from the network or added to the network if there is a function to be added. In the above description, the beam shifter driver 24 is configured not to be connected to the network in the above description, but may be configured to be connected to the network.

  For example, the configuration of the exposure system 100 is not limited to the above-described configuration. For example, a system in which a device that actually performs exposure, such as a stage and an exposure scanning unit, and a control system device are separately provided. Alternatively, each device may be provided in one place.

  In the above embodiment, the exposure apparatus has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to various drawing apparatuses such as an inkjet image forming apparatus.

  In the above-described embodiment, the position information in the Z direction is excluded from the central management target of the position information management unit 22. However, the positional information in the Z direction may be the target of central management.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the exposure apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows typically the arrangement | sequence state of the exposure head provided in the exposure scanner. (A) is a top view which shows the exposed area | region formed in a photosensitive material, (B) is a figure which shows the arrangement | sequence of the exposure area by each exposure head. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of an exposure head. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of AF unit. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of a beam shifter mechanism. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical structure in the exposure apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is the figure which showed typically the structure and measurement position of each displacement sensor which comprise a position information detection part. It is a timing chart explaining the production | generation process of an exposure trigger signal (EXP Trg signal). It is the graph which showed an example of the correction amount in the case of correcting the shift amount S according to the characteristic of an actual machine. (A)-(C) is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the content of the arithmetic processing in the focus measurement and control by exposure apparatus. It is a figure which shows the mapping data produced in the arithmetic processing in the focus measurement and control by exposure apparatus. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the content which calculates | requires the approximate curve in the X direction cross section of the to-be-exposed surface of a photosensitive material in the focus measurement and control by exposure apparatus. It is explanatory drawing explaining the correction method which correct | amends the position shift of rotation direction (theta) around a Z-axis. It is a block diagram of a beam position measurement unit. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the state which detects the position of the specific pixel currently lighted using the slit for a detection of the exposure apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (B) is the specific lighted. It is explanatory drawing which shows a signal when a photo sensor detects a pixel. It is explanatory drawing explaining the method to detect the specific pixel currently lighted using the slit for a detection. It is explanatory drawing explaining the method to detect the specific pixel which is carrying out predetermined multiple lighting using the some slit for a detection. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the relative positional relationship of the some slit for a detection formed on the slit board. It is a figure which shows an example of the distortion amount (distortion state) of drawing in an exposure area. It is explanatory drawing explaining the correction method of the measurement error when a relative position fluctuates by disturbance etc.

Explanation of symbols

12 overall control unit 14 image processing unit 16 camera processing unit 18 position information detection unit 20 stage control unit 22 position information management unit 22 control unit 24 beam shifter driver 26 AF control unit 28 AF driver 30 AF displacement measurement unit 32 DMD control unit 34 DMD driver 36 LD control unit 38 LD driver 40 Beam position control unit 42 Beam position measurement driver 44 Beam position measurement unit 46, 47 Network 100 Exposure system 140 Scanner surface plate 150 Photosensitive material 150A Positioning hole 152 Stage 162 Exposure scanner 166 Exposure head 180 Camera unit 182 Camera 184 AF sensor unit 220 Beam shifter mechanism

Claims (6)

An acquisition means comprising a stage and a drawing head arranged so as to be relatively movable, and acquiring position information of a plurality of parts of the drawing apparatus during operation of the drawing apparatus for drawing on a recording medium supported by the drawing head. When,
Generating means for generating a plurality of types of control signals for correcting a drawing position shift of the drawing apparatus using the position information acquired by the acquiring means, and transmitting the control signal to the drawing apparatus;
Location information management device including The generation means generates the control signal in real time according to acquisition of position information by the acquisition means for a control signal that requires real-time processing, and generates the control signal for a control signal that does not require real-time processing. The position information management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein position information necessary for the information is stored in a predetermined storage unit, and the control signal is generated in non-real time using the stored position information. A drawing apparatus comprising a stage and a drawing head arranged so as to be relatively movable, and drawing on a recording medium supported by the drawing head;
Acquisition means for acquiring position information of a plurality of parts of the drawing apparatus during operation of the drawing apparatus, and a plurality of types for correcting drawing position deviation of the drawing apparatus using the position information acquired by the acquisition means A position information management device comprising: a generating means for generating a control signal and transmitting the control signal to the drawing device;
Drawing system equipped with. The generation means generates the control signal in real time according to acquisition of position information by the acquisition means for a control signal that requires real-time processing, and generates the control signal for a control signal that does not require real-time processing. The drawing system according to claim 3, wherein position information necessary for the recording is stored in a predetermined storage unit, and the control signal is generated in non-real time using the stored position information. The drawing device is configured to include a plurality of types of control units that control operations of a plurality of types of constituent members that constitute the drawing device, and each of the plurality of types of control units is connected to a network and is connected to the network. When the corresponding control signal is received via the control of the operation of the corresponding component according to the received control signal,
The drawing system according to claim 3, wherein the generation unit is connected to the network and transmits the generated control signal via the network. Including a stage and a drawing head arranged so as to be relatively movable, and during operation of the drawing apparatus for drawing on a recording medium supported by the stage by the drawing head, acquires positional information of a plurality of parts of the drawing apparatus;
A position information management method of generating a plurality of types of control signals for correcting a drawing position shift of the drawing apparatus using the acquired position information and transmitting the control signal to the drawing apparatus.

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