Laser direct writing data processing method and system

Abstract

The invention discloses a laser direct writing data processing method and system in the technical field of laser direct writing. The system comprises a host, a slave, a data processing module and a spatial light modulator, the data processing module is composed of a data receiving unit, a data processing unit, a data storage unit and a digital light processing chip set. The digital light processing chip set comprises a digital light processing chip, a program storage chip and an image transmission chip; the host and the slave are connected through a data transmission line, and the slave and the data processing module are connected through a data transmission line. The laser direct writing data processing method and system are reasonable in structural design, compared with an existing laser direct writing data processing system, the data processing system simplifies an optical fiber transmission board, reduces data transmission nodes, shortens data links, and is high in system integration degree, simple in processing process, convenient to maintain, small in data transmission amount between assemblies and low in cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of laser direct writing, and in particular to a data processing method and system for laser direct writing. Background Art

[0002] Laser direct imaging (LDI), also known as laser direct writing, is a technology developed in recent years for the exposure process of printed circuit boards (PCBs). The traditional exposure process is to transfer the image to the PCB by irradiating the film with a mercury lamp, while LDI is a maskless exposure system that converts vector graphics into a bitmap with the required resolution for production and then projects it onto the PCB through the DMD. Compared with traditional exposure technology, the LDI exposure process does not require film, which effectively reduces costs, and has a simple process and high image accuracy. It can adapt to more sophisticated graphic exposure and is also conducive to improving the yield of PCB production;

[0003] In a typical LDI system, the spatial light modulator (SLM) is driven by the data processing board (DPB). Under the irradiation of the light source, different patterns are projected on the substrate. The SLM reflects or refracts the light. According to the graphic position in the layout and the current position of the motion system, the DPB generates the optical pattern required for exposure in real time based on the layout data sent by the host and drives the SLM to complete the exposure task.

[0004] Among them, the main core component of LDI is the spatial light modulator (SLM), and the digital micromirror device (DMD) is a commonly used one in SLM. The image refresh rate of DMD can be as high as 32KHZ per second, and even higher can reach 48KHZ, that is, DPB needs to provide 32,000 monochrome images or 48,000 monochrome images per second. Such huge data is achieved through effective data communication and processing of the host in conjunction with other reasonable system components. Calculated based on the image refresh rate of 32KHZ per second and the image size of 1920X672 lines, the amount of data provided by DPB to DMD per second is about 5.16GB. The huge amount of data puts very high demands on every link involved in data processing, and a reasonable system structure is crucial.

[0005] In existing LDI systems, slaves and optical fiber transmission boards are usually installed between the host and DPB. The data transmission volume between components of this system structure is extremely large, and the data link is long, there are many failure points, and the cost is high. Therefore, we propose a laser direct writing data processing method and system. Summary of the invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a data processing method and system for laser direct writing to solve the problems raised in the above background technology.

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides the following technical solutions: a laser direct writing data processing method and system, comprising the system including a host, a slave, a data processing module and a spatial light modulator; the data processing module is composed of a data receiving unit, a data processing unit, a data storage unit and a digital light processing chipset; the digital light processing chipset includes a digital light processing chip, a program storage chip and an image transmission chip; the host and the slave and the slave and the data processing module are connected through a data transmission line; the data processing module and the spatial light modulator are connected through a data cable.

[0008] Preferably, the spatial light modulator is a digital micromirror device.

[0009] Preferably, the data receiving unit is a Gigabit network port or a 10 Gigabit network port.

[0010] Preferably, the data processing unit is a field programmable gate array.

[0011] Preferably, the data storage unit is a double rate synchronous dynamic random access memory.

[0012] Preferably, the program storage chip is a flash memory chip.

[0013] Preferably, the image transmission chip is a field programmable gate array.

[0014] Preferably, the data transmission line is a Gigabit network cable or a 10 Gigabit network cable.

[0015] The steps include:

[0016] A file reading step, wherein the host reads the layout file to obtain a vector diagram of the complete layout;

[0017] a strip cutting step, wherein the host performs strip cutting on the vector diagram of the complete layout according to the strip parameters to obtain a strip vector diagram, and then outputs the strip vector diagram to the slave;

[0018] A polygon optimization processing step, wherein the slave performs polygon optimization processing on the strip vector diagram transmitted by the host to obtain an optimized strip vector diagram, and then outputs the optimized strip vector diagram to the data processing module;

[0019] A rasterization step, wherein the data processing module performs rasterization processing on the received optimized strip vector map to obtain a horizontal strip bitmap;

[0020] A bitmap shearing processing step, wherein the data processing module performs bitmap shearing processing on the horizontal stripe bitmap to obtain an inclined stripe bitmap;

[0021] A framing processing step, wherein the data processing module performs framing processing on the inclined strip bitmap to obtain a frame image that can be directly used by a spatial light modulator;

[0022] A frame image transmission step, wherein the data processing module transmits the frame image to the spatial light modulator;

[0023] In the image display step, the spatial light modulator outputs and displays the received frame image.

[0024] There is also an alignment processing step between the file reading step and the strip cutting step, and the alignment processing step is that the host rotates, scales and translates the vector diagram of the complete layout.

[0025] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: the laser direct writing data processing method and system, the data processing system of the present invention simplifies the optical fiber transmission board component relative to the existing laser direct writing data processing system, reduces the nodes of data transmission, shortens the data link, improves the system integration, and makes the processing process simpler; streamlining the optical fiber transmission board also eliminates a possible failure point, reduces the workload of troubleshooting after a failure occurs, and facilitates maintenance; streamlining the optical fiber transmission board is also conducive to reducing costs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 It is a system structure diagram of an existing laser direct writing data processing system, wherein the direction of the arrow indicates the direction of data transmission;

[0027] Figure 2 A flow chart for data processing using an existing laser direct writing data processing system;

[0028] Figure 3 A flowchart (sub-components) for data processing using the existing laser direct writing data processing system is provided, and the processing flows undertaken by different hardware are grouped and displayed;

[0029] Figure 4 A system structure diagram of a laser direct writing data processing system provided by an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the direction of the arrow indicates the direction of data transmission;

[0030] Figure 5 A structural diagram of a data processing module in a laser direct writing data processing system provided by an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the direction of the arrow indicates the direction of data transmission;

[0031] Figure 6 A diagram showing the composition of a DLP chipset in a data processing module of a laser direct writing data processing system provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 7A flow chart of data processing using the laser direct writing data processing system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 8 The flowchart (subassembly) of data processing by the laser direct writing data processing system provided by the embodiment of the present invention is presented in groups for displaying the processing flows undertaken by different hardware. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Attached Figure 1 The system structure diagram of the existing laser direct writing data processing system is given. Figure 1 As shown in the figure, the existing laser direct writing data processing system generally includes a host, a slave, an optical fiber transmission board, a data processing module and a DMD. The processing process is: reading files - alignment processing - strip cutting - rasterization - strip bitmap transmission - strip bitmap reception - bitmap miscut processing - frame processing - frame image transmission - image display, as shown in the attached figure. Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the host performs the steps of reading files, aligning and cutting strips, the slave performs the step of rasterization, the optical fiber transmission board performs the step of strip bitmap transmission, the data processing module performs the step of bitmap miscutting, framing and transmitting frame images, and the DMD performs the step of image display, as shown in the figure. Figure 3 As shown;

[0035] The existing laser direct writing data processing system has the following disadvantages: the amount of data transmitted between the components of the system is extremely large, and the data link is long, with many failure points and high cost;

[0036] The present invention provides a laser direct writing data processing system, wherein the system simplifies an optical fiber transmission board and is composed of a host, a slave, a data processing module and an SLM; the data processing module is composed of a data receiving unit, a data processing unit, a data storage unit and a DLP chipset; the DLP chipset includes a DLP chip, a program storage chip and an image transmission chip; the host and the slave, and the slave and the data processing module are connected via a data transmission line; the data processing module and the SLM are connected via a data cable.

[0037] Embodiment 1:

[0038] The present invention provides a technical solution: a data processing method and system for laser direct writing, as shown in the attached Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 1 , the system includes a host, a slave, a data processing module and a DMD. The data processing module is composed of a data receiving unit, FPGAV6, DDR and a DLP chipset (see Appendix Figure 5 ); the DLP chipset includes two DLP chips, a FLASH chip and a FPGA V5 chip (see Appendix Figure 6 );

[0039] The host and slave can generally be PCs, various servers or various industrial computers. By installing software systems, the host and slave can perform corresponding data processing;

[0040] The data processing module is mainly responsible for converting the vector graphics into frame images that can be directly used by the DMD. The data receiving unit in this embodiment is a gigabit network port, which transmits the received data to the DDR storage. The FPGA V6 calls the data in the DDR and performs necessary processing on the data, and then transmits it to the DLP chipset, which transmits the data to the DMD. In the DLP chipset, the DLP chip performs logic processing, the FLASH chip stores the execution program of the DLP chip, and the FPGA V5 chip is responsible for transmitting the processed frame image to the DMD.

[0041] DMD is used for image display. Under the action of light source, DMD projects the received frame image onto the substrate. The DMD in this embodiment is produced by Texas Instruments (TI);

[0042] The host and the slave, as well as the slave and the data processing module are connected via data transmission lines, which are generally gigabit or 10 gigabit network cables, with a transmission rate of up to 1 Gbps or 10 Gbps.

[0043] Among them, the data processing module and DMD are connected by data cables. Figure 1 and 4 It can be seen that the laser direct writing data processing system of this embodiment has simplified the optical fiber transmission board compared with the existing laser direct writing data processing system, and the system structure is simplified; simplifying the optical fiber transmission board is also beneficial to reducing costs. At the same time, the optical fiber transmission board and the slave machine of the existing laser direct writing data processing system mostly use PCI-E interface, and the system components in the present invention are mostly connected by network cables, which is beneficial to improving the compatibility of the system.

[0044] Embodiment 2:

[0045] The present invention provides a technical solution: a laser direct writing data processing method and system, such as Figure 7 As shown, the data processing method includes the following steps:

[0046] In the file reading step S1, the host reads the layout file through the software system to obtain a vector diagram of the complete layout; the layout format can be PDF, GDSII, GERBER, ODB++, DWG or DPF, etc.;

[0047] In the alignment processing step S2, the host rotates, scales and translates the vector diagram of the complete layout obtained in step S1 through the software system. The purpose of the alignment processing is to ensure that the movement of the layout controlled by the motion mechanism used to move the layout can be well matched with the pattern already existing on the substrate. If there is no existing pattern on the substrate, the alignment processing step can be omitted;

[0048] In the strip cutting step S3, the host uses the software system to strip the vector diagram of the complete layout processed in step S2 according to the strip parameters to obtain a strip vector diagram, and then outputs the strip vector diagram to the slave. The necessity of strip cutting lies in that: for the system after accurate calculation, each DMD scanning area is known relative to the entire layout, but only the rasterized bitmap can be used during scanning, so the vector diagram that has completed the alignment processing must be striped to extract the vector diagram of each strip;

[0049] In the polygon optimization processing step S4, the slave performs polygon optimization processing on the strip vector diagram transmitted by the host to obtain an optimized strip vector diagram, and then outputs the optimized strip vector diagram to the data processing module. The purpose of the polygon optimization processing is to transform the polygon that is difficult to fill in the FPGA into a form that is easy to fill. The result of the polygon optimization may be a convex polygon, a triangle in extreme cases, or a unidirectional convex polygon (such as convex in the scan line filling direction);

[0050] In the rasterization step S5, the FPGA V6 performs rasterization processing on the received optimized strip vector map to obtain a horizontal strip bitmap;

[0051] In the bitmap shearing processing step S6, FPGA V6 performs bitmap shearing processing on the horizontal stripe bitmap to obtain an inclined stripe bitmap. The purpose of the bitmap shearing is to meet the needs of inclined scanning and transform the non-inclined bitmap into an inclined bitmap to facilitate frame data generation.

[0052] In the framing step S7, FPGA V6 performs framing on the inclined stripe bitmap to obtain a frame image that can be directly applied by the DMD, and transmits it to the DLP chipset. The stripe bitmap itself is continuous and cannot be directly applied by the DMD, so it needs to be converted into several frame images.

[0053] In the frame image transmission step S8, the DLP chipset is processed, and finally the frame image is transmitted to the DMD by the FPGA V5;

[0054] In the image display step S9, the DMD outputs and displays the received frame image. The output display process is that under the action of the incident light, the DMD projects onto the substrate;

[0055] By the attached Figure 8 It can be seen that in the data processing method of this embodiment, the host performs the steps of reading files, alignment processing and strip cutting, and the slave performs the step of polygon optimization processing. Several key steps of the processing process - rasterization, bitmap miscutting processing, framing processing and frame image transmission are all performed by the data processing module;

[0056] Table 1 is a summary of the above processing methods, which gives the information of input, output, processing unit, output object and output method of each processing step;

[0057] Table 1 Characteristic parameters of each step of the laser direct writing data processing method in Example 2;

[0058]

[0059] Compare with Figure 3 and 8 , due to the simplification of the optical fiber transmission board component, the data processing system of the present invention reduces the data transmission nodes and shortens the data link compared with the existing laser direct writing data processing system, improves the system integration, and makes the processing process more concise; the simplification of the optical fiber transmission board eliminates a possible failure point, reduces the workload of troubleshooting after a failure occurs, and is more convenient for maintenance;

[0060] In addition, in the existing laser direct writing data processing system, the data processing function is relatively evenly borne by each component, and the host, slave, and data processing board respectively perform several more critical data processing steps, and the amount of data transmission between components is large. However, most of the data processing functions in the present invention are centrally borne by the data processing board. For example, the rasterization step was originally completed by the slave, but in the present invention it is completed by the data processing module, and the amount of data transmission between components is greatly reduced.

Claims

1. A laser direct writing data processing system, characterized in that: The system includes a host, a slave, a data processing module and a spatial light modulator; the data processing module is composed of a data receiving unit, a data processing unit, a data storage unit and a digital light processing chipset; the digital light processing chipset includes a digital light processing chip, a program storage chip and an image transmission chip; the host and the slave and the slave and the data processing module are connected through a data transmission line; the data processing module and the spatial light modulator are connected through a data bus line.

2. A laser direct writing data processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The spatial light modulator is a digital micromirror device.

3. A laser direct writing data processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The data receiving unit is a Gigabit network port or a 10 Gigabit network port.

4. A laser direct writing data processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The data processing unit is a field programmable gate array.

5. The laser direct writing data processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The data storage unit is a double rate synchronous dynamic random access memory.

6. A laser direct writing data processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The program storage chip is a flash memory chip.

7. The laser direct writing data processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The image transmission chip is a field programmable gate array.

8. The laser direct writing data processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The data transmission line is a Gigabit network cable or a 10 Gigabit network cable.

9. A laser direct writing data processing method, characterized in that: The steps include: A file reading step, wherein the host reads the layout file to obtain a vector diagram of the complete layout; a strip cutting step, wherein the host performs strip cutting on the vector diagram of the complete layout according to the strip parameters to obtain a strip vector diagram, and then outputs the strip vector diagram to the slave; A polygon optimization processing step, wherein the slave performs polygon optimization processing on the strip vector diagram transmitted by the host to obtain an optimized strip vector diagram, and then outputs the optimized strip vector diagram to the data processing module; A rasterization step, wherein the data processing module performs rasterization processing on the received optimized strip vector map to obtain a horizontal strip bitmap; A bitmap shearing processing step, wherein the data processing module performs bitmap shearing processing on the horizontal stripe bitmap to obtain an inclined stripe bitmap; A framing processing step, wherein the data processing module performs framing processing on the inclined strip bitmap to obtain a frame image that can be directly used by a spatial light modulator; A frame image transmission step, wherein the data processing module transmits the frame image to the spatial light modulator; In the image display step, the spatial light modulator outputs and displays the received frame image.

10. A laser direct writing data processing method, characterized in that: There is also an alignment processing step between the file reading step and the strip cutting step, and the alignment processing step is that the host rotates, scales and translates the vector diagram of the complete layout.

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