Digital exposure control method and device

Abstract

A digital exposure control method includes: exposing different types of functional areas of a substrate to be exposed by one or more full-page scans, wherein the scanning speeds for different types of functional areas of the substrate to be exposed are different. The digital exposure control method provided by the present disclosure can improve the yield and production capacity of digital exposure products.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This article relates to but is not limited to the field of display technology, and in particular to a digital exposure control method and device. Background Art

[0002] Photolithography is often used in the preparation of display devices. The traditional photolithography process is to transform the design layout pattern into a physical mask plate, and then irradiate the precise mask plate with ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light that passes through the gaps in the mask plate pattern reacts optically with the photoresist, thereby completely transferring the pattern on the mask plate to the glass substrate. With the development of technology, digital photolithography can also be used. The digital photolithography process is to transform the design layout pattern into a virtual mask plate, and transfer the pattern on the virtual mask plate to the glass substrate through a digital exposure machine, which can greatly reduce production costs. Summary of the invention

[0003] The following is a summary of the subject matter described in detail herein. This summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

[0004] The present disclosure provides a digital exposure control method and device.

[0005] On the one hand, the present disclosure provides a digital exposure control method, comprising: exposing different types of functional areas of a substrate to be exposed by one or more full-page scans, wherein the scanning speeds for different types of functional areas of the substrate to be exposed are different.

[0006] On the other hand, the present disclosure provides a digital exposure control device, including: a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the digital exposure control method described above is implemented.

[0007] On the other hand, the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program implements the digital exposure control method as described above when executed.

[0008] The digital exposure control method and device provided by the present disclosure can improve the yield and production capacity of digital exposure products.

[0009] Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be described in the following description, and partly become apparent from the description, or be understood by implementing the present disclosure. Other advantages of the present disclosure can be realized and obtained by the schemes described in the description and the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings are used to provide an understanding of the technical solution of the present disclosure and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present disclosure, they are used to explain the technical solution of the present disclosure and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a DMD array of a digital exposure machine;

[0012] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an exposure path of a digital exposure machine;

[0013] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the data transmission duration for each scan during the exposure process;

[0014] Figure 4 is a flow chart of a digital exposure control method according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of rasterization processing according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the alignment of a substrate to be exposed and a stage of a digital exposure machine according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 7 include Figure 7 (a) to Figure 7 (c) is a schematic diagram of multiple full-page scanning of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] FIG8( a ) and FIG8( b ) are exemplary diagrams of a full-page scan according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Fig. 9 An example diagram of the uniformity of the intensity of reflected light from the DMD array;

[0020] Fig.10 An exemplary diagram of multiple scanning exposure according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Fig.11 An example diagram of a scan forced segmentation frame according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Fig.12 An example diagram of scanning boundary pixelation segmentation according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Fig.13 A schematic diagram of complementary exposure amounts of a scan boundary stitching area according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] Fig.14 is a schematic diagram of an exposure pattern;

[0025] Fig.15 include Fig.15 (a) and Fig.15 (b) is an example diagram of obtaining a pattern to be exposed according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] Fig.16 A schematic diagram of DMD micromirror multiplexing according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] Fig.17 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an exposure method of a frame jitter method according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The present disclosure describes multiple embodiments, but the description is exemplary rather than restrictive, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that there may be more embodiments and implementations within the scope of the embodiments described in the present disclosure. Although many possible feature combinations are shown in the drawings and discussed in the embodiments, many other combinations of the disclosed features are also possible. Unless specifically limited, any feature or element of any embodiment may be used in combination with any other feature or element in any other embodiment, or may replace any other feature or element in any other embodiment.

[0029] The present disclosure includes and contemplates combinations of features and elements known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiments, features, and elements disclosed in the present disclosure may also be combined with any conventional features or elements to form a unique solution defined by the claims. Any features or elements of any embodiment may also be combined with features or elements from other solutions to form another unique solution defined by the claims. Therefore, it should be understood that any feature shown or discussed in the present disclosure may be implemented individually or in any appropriate combination. Therefore, except for the limitations made according to the attached claims and their equivalents, the embodiments are not subject to other limitations. In addition, one or more modifications and changes may be made within the scope of protection of the attached claims.

[0030] In addition, when describing representative embodiments, the specification may have presented the method or process as a specific sequence of steps. However, to the extent that the method or process does not rely on the specific order of the steps described herein, the method or process should not be limited to the steps in the specific order described. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, other orders of steps are also possible. Therefore, the specific order of the steps set forth in the specification should not be interpreted as a limitation to the claims. In addition, the claims for the method or process should not be limited to the steps that are performed in the order written, and those skilled in the art can easily understand that these orders can be changed and still remain within the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments.

[0031] In the drawings, the size of the components, the thickness of the layers, or the regions are sometimes exaggerated for the sake of clarity. Therefore, one embodiment of the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to the dimensions, and the shape and size of each component in the drawings do not reflect the true proportions. In addition, the drawings schematically show ideal examples, and one embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to the shapes or values ​​shown in the drawings.

[0032] Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in this disclosure are the usual meanings understood by people with ordinary skills in the field to which this disclosure belongs. The "first", "second" and similar words used in this disclosure do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. In this disclosure, "plurality" can mean two or more numbers. "Include" or "comprising" and similar words mean that the elements or objects appearing before the word cover the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects.

[0033] In the present disclosure, words such as “connected”, “coupled” or “connected” and the like are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but may include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. “Electrical connection” includes situations where constituent elements are connected together through an element having some electrical function. There are no particular restrictions on “element having some electrical function” as long as it can transfer electrical signals between connected constituent elements. Examples of “element having some electrical function” include not only electrodes and wirings, but also switching elements such as transistors, resistors, inductors, capacitors, and other elements having one or more functions.

[0034] In the present disclosure, "parallel" means a state where the angle formed by two straight lines is greater than -10° and less than 10°, and therefore, also includes a state where the angle is greater than -5° and less than 5°. In addition, "perpendicular" means a state where the angle formed by two straight lines is greater than 80° and less than 100°, and therefore, also includes a state where the angle is greater than 85° and less than 95°.

[0035] In order to keep the following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure clear and concise, the present disclosure omits detailed descriptions of some known functions and known components. The drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure only relate to the structures related to the embodiments of the present disclosure, and other structures can refer to the general design.

[0036] The digital exposure machine may include: a stage for carrying a substrate to be exposed and a scanning unit. The scanning unit may include: multiple lenses (e.g., laser heads) and a digital micromirror device (DMD) array. The light emitted by the light source in the lens may be reflected to the micromirrors of the DMD array through a reflective lens. The reflection of the light may be modulated by turning on or off the multiple micromirrors to obtain a pattern to be exposed, and the substrate to be exposed set on the stage may be exposed.

[0037] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a DMD array of a digital exposure machine. Figure 1 As shown, the DMD array 10 may include a plurality of regularly arranged micromirrors 101. In some examples, the DMD array may include 2560×1600 micromirrors. Exposure of the substrate to be exposed can be achieved by controlling the opening or closing of the plurality of micromirrors. Usually, the size of the DMD array is smaller than the size of the substrate to be exposed, so the digital exposure machine needs to perform multiple scans to complete the exposure of the substrate to be exposed. During the exposure process, the position of the scanning unit can be fixed, and the stage for carrying the substrate to be exposed can move according to a preset rule so that the digital exposure machine scans the substrate to be exposed multiple times.

[0038] The digital exposure machine can expose the substrate to be exposed by using a line-by-line scanning method. Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the exposure path of a digital exposure machine. Figure 2 As shown, the substrate to be exposed can be divided into L areas along the first direction D1, such as areas S1 to SL, where L is an integer greater than 0. During the scanning process, the substrate to be exposed can start from the starting position and move along the second direction D2 first, so that the scanning unit scans the area extending along the second direction D2 line by line to achieve exposure; after the exposure of the area is completed, the substrate to be exposed can be translated along the first direction D1, translated to the next adjacent area and continue to move along the second direction D2 to complete the exposure of the adjacent area. According to the above rules, L areas can be scanned in sequence to complete the exposure of the entire substrate to be exposed. Among them, one area can be exposed by scanning line by line along the second direction D2, that is, one group of scans along the second direction D2 can complete the exposure of one area. For example, the first group of scans can correspond to the exposure of area S1, the second group of scans can correspond to the exposure of area S2, and the Lth group of scans can correspond to the exposure of area SL. Each group of scans may include multiple scans performed in sequence along the second direction D2. The multiple groups of scans required to completely scan the entire substrate to be exposed can be called a full-page scan. In some examples, a width of one scan along the first direction D1 may be about 2.6 micrometers (um), and a length of a group of scans along the second direction D2 may be 6500 millimeters (mm).

[0039] However, the stitching position of two adjacent scans and the stitching position of two adjacent groups of scans may appear in the pixel area, dividing the pixels, resulting in misalignment and position stitching differences in the pixel graphics after exposure, forming critical dimension (CD, Critical Dimension) differences, resulting in uneven display (Mura) of digital exposure products, and reducing the yield of exposure products. Moreover, when multi-lens parallel direct writing technology is used for exposure, slight differences in optical devices between lenses can also cause Mura. Mura comes from Japanese and mainly refers to a phenomenon of uneven brightness. Mura is a common phenomenon in the production process of display substrates, and the defects it produces have a great impact on the picture quality. In addition, the efficiency of current digital exposure machines is relatively low, and the tact time (TT, Tact Time) is too long, which affects the production capacity of exposure products.

[0040] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a digital exposure control method and device, which can improve the uneven display and long beat time problems existing in digital exposure, thereby improving the yield and production capacity of digital exposure products.

[0041] The disclosed embodiment provides a digital exposure control method, including: realizing exposure of different types of functional areas of a substrate to be exposed by one or more full-page scans, wherein the scanning speeds for different types of functional areas of the substrate to be exposed are different. In this embodiment, functional areas of the same type may have the same requirements for exposure uniformity, and functional areas of different types may have different requirements for exposure uniformity. This embodiment uses different scanning speeds to scan and expose functional areas with different exposure uniformity requirements, which can ensure display uniformity within the same type of functional areas and improve exposure efficiency.

[0042] In some examples, the substrate to be exposed may include one or more display substrates. The sizes of the multiple display substrates may be the same or different. Each display substrate may include two types of functional areas, namely: a display area and a non-display area located around the display area. Among them, array-arranged pixel units may be provided in the display area. The non-display area may include a fan-out area, a dummy area, etc. The display area may have a higher requirement for exposure uniformity than the non-display area. However, this embodiment is not limited to this.

[0043] In some exemplary embodiments, different types of functional areas may have different priorities. When the exposure of different types of functional areas of the substrate to be exposed is achieved through a full-page scan, the change in scanning speed may occur in the functional area with a lower priority. In some examples, taking the two types of functional areas, the display area and the non-display area, as examples, the priority of the display area may be higher than the priority of the non-display area. During a full-page scan, the scanning speed of the display area (for example, referred to as the first scanning speed) may be different from the scanning speed of the non-display area (for example, referred to as the second scanning speed). In the process of scanning from the display area to the non-display area, the scanning speed will change, and the change in scanning speed may occur during the scanning process of the non-display area. In other words, during the scanning process of the display area, the scanning speed may remain unchanged, and during the scanning process of the non-display area, the scanning speed may change from the first scanning speed to the second scanning speed.

[0044] In some exemplary embodiments, in any scan of a full-page scan, when the scanning areas of different lenses of the digital exposure machine correspond to different types of functional areas, the scanning speed corresponding to the functional area with a higher priority can be used for this scan. In some examples, taking the two types of functional areas, the display area and the non-display area, as examples, the priority of the display area can be higher than the priority of the non-display area. In one scan of a full-page scan, the scanning areas of some lenses of the digital exposure machine correspond to the display area, while the scanning areas of the remaining lenses correspond to the non-display area, and the scanning speed corresponding to the display area can be used for this scan. In this way, the exposure uniformity of the display area with a higher priority can be ensured.

[0045] In some exemplary embodiments, when exposure of different types of functional areas of the substrate to be exposed is achieved through multiple full-page scans, the same type of functional areas can be exposed through the same full-page scan. In this exemplary embodiment, the same type of functional areas can be exposed in the same full-page scan, and different types of functional areas can be exposed through different full-page scans. Taking the two types of functional areas, the display area and the non-display area, as an example, the display area can be exposed in the first full-page scan, and the non-display area can be exposed in the second full-page scan; or, the non-display area can be exposed in the first full-page scan, and the display area can be exposed in the second full-page scan. However, this embodiment is not limited to this.

[0046] In some exemplary embodiments, different types of functional areas may have different priorities. According to the priority order of different types of functional areas, multiple full-page scans may be used to achieve exposure of different types of functional areas of the substrate to be exposed. In this exemplary embodiment, the object of each full-page scan may be determined according to the priority of different types of functional areas. For example, exposure may be performed in order from high to low priority, or exposure may be performed in order from low to high priority. Taking the two types of functional areas, the display area and the non-display area, as examples, the priority of the display area may be higher than that of the non-display area. When exposure is performed in order from high to low priority, the display area may be exposed by the first full-page scan, and the non-display area may be exposed by the second full-page scan. However, this embodiment is not limited to this.

[0047] In some exemplary embodiments, in any full-page scanning process, for any pattern to be exposed in any functional area, N exposures can be achieved through N scans. In the direction perpendicular to the scanning direction, the n+1th scan and the nth scan can be offset by (1 / N)×d, and the exposure amount of each scan in the N scans can be M / N. In the N scans, d is the scanning width of each scan, M is the set exposure amount, N is a positive integer, and n is a positive integer less than N. In this exemplary embodiment, by exposing the same pattern to be exposed in a multi-scanning manner, the display uniformity of the scan splicing boundary can be improved.

[0048] In some exemplary embodiments, during any one of the N scans, each lens of the digital exposure machine may perform P scans, where P is a positive integer. The scanning areas of two adjacent lenses may overlap P-1 times; or, the exposure amount of each lens in each scan may be M / (N×P), and the scanning width of each lens in the i-th scan may be (i / P)×d, or ((P+1-i) / P)×d, where i is a positive integer less than or equal to P. In this exemplary embodiment, in a multiple scanning method for a pattern to be exposed, the splicing position of different lenses of the digital exposure machine may be used as a scanning area within the lens, that is, the scanning areas of adjacent lenses overlap; or, the scanning area of ​​each lens does not overlap, but the scanning area of ​​the lens is sequentially expanded through multiple scanning. This exemplary embodiment can improve the exposure uniformity of the splicing position of different lenses by setting multiple scanning of the lens.

[0049] In some exemplary embodiments, in any scan in a full-page scan, any lens of the digital exposure machine can call multiple continuous micromirrors in the DMD array for exposure according to the reflection uniformity of the DMD. The multiple continuous micromirrors can be located in the middle area of ​​the DMD array, or close to the middle area of ​​the DMD array. In this exemplary embodiment, the scanning width of a scan can be determined according to the number of selected micromirrors. The more micromirrors are selected for a scan, the larger the scanning width of this scan, and the shorter the time to complete the full-page scan. Since the reflection uniformity of the middle area of ​​the DMD array is better, the exposure uniformity can be improved by selecting multiple continuous micromirrors in the middle area of ​​the DMD array or close to the middle area for scanning exposure.

[0050] In some exemplary embodiments, when multiple lenses of a digital exposure machine are started for parallel exposure, different lenses may call for the same number of consecutive micromirrors.

[0051] In some examples, the scanning speed may be set directly in the digital exposure machine, or the parameters affecting the scanning speed may be set to achieve different scanning speeds. However, this embodiment is not limited to this.

[0052] The maximum scanning speed of the digital exposure machine during exposure can be expressed by the following formula:

[0053]

[0054] Among them, scan speed indicates the maximum scanning speed of the digital exposure machine. DMD exposure length indicates the exposure length of the DMD. Taking the DMD array composed of 2560×1600 micromirrors as an example, after optical scaling, the exposure length of the DMD can be about 2 millimeters (mm). Multiplicity indicates the number of times the micromirror is turned on at the same exposure position, which can generally be set to 80 times. Max rast cnt indicates the maximum data transmission time. Shot time is the time the micromirror is turned on, which is related to the setting of the exposure dose (dose), which can generally be 2 microseconds (us). DMD reset time is the time required for the micromirror to receive a signal from the end of receiving the signal to receiving the signal again, which can generally be 10.4us.

[0055] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the data transmission time for each scan during the exposure process. Figure 3 In the figure, the horizontal axis represents the number of scans, and the vertical axis represents the data transmission duration. Figure 3It can be seen that the data transmission time of most scans is less than 95us, and only a few scans have a data transmission time of about 125us, which is equivalent to a data transmission time increase of more than 30%. It can be seen that the main limiting factor of the scanning speed of the digital exposure machine is the data transmission and processing process.

[0056] In some exemplary embodiments, the digital exposure control method provided in this embodiment may further include: obtaining an original design pattern of a substrate to be exposed; and rasterizing the original design pattern using a basic unit having a regular shape to obtain a pattern to be exposed. In some examples, the regular shape may be a square. However, this embodiment is not limited to this. In some examples, the regular shape may be a rectangle. In this exemplary embodiment, rasterizing the original design pattern using a basic unit having a regular shape as a repeating unit can reduce the data transmission and processing time of the pattern, thereby increasing the scanning speed and improving the exposure efficiency.

[0057] In some exemplary embodiments, the digital exposure control method provided in this embodiment may further include: obtaining an original design pattern of a substrate to be exposed; performing a rasterization process on the original design pattern using a basic unit having a regular shape to obtain a rasterized pattern, performing a scaling process on the rasterized pattern to obtain a scaled pattern, and performing a rasterization process on the scaled pattern using a basic unit to obtain a pattern to be exposed. This exemplary embodiment obtains a pattern to be exposed by adjusting the size of the rasterized pattern obtained by the first rasterization, which can improve the rough edge of the exposure pattern during the digital exposure process, thereby improving the exposure effect.

[0058] In some exemplary embodiments, different graphic units in the original design graphic can be rasterized using basic units of different sizes. This exemplary embodiment can increase the data processing speed, thereby shortening the exposure time.

[0059] In some exemplary embodiments, the digital exposure control method of this embodiment may further include: assigning the to-be-exposed pattern of the to-be-exposed substrate to each lens of the digital exposure machine according to the alignment result between the to-be-exposed substrate and the digital exposure machine, and generating data required for each scan. The data required for each scan may include: the scan boundary and the to-be-exposed pattern corresponding to the scan area.

[0060] In some exemplary embodiments, the exposure pattern of the substrate to be exposed is assigned to each lens of the digital exposure machine according to the alignment result between the substrate to be exposed and the digital exposure machine, and the data required for each scan is generated, which may include at least one of the following:

[0061] Determine the scanning boundary of each scan according to the scanning forced segmentation frame in the pattern to be exposed; wherein the scanning forced segmentation frame is used to limit the area where scanning splicing cannot occur;

[0062] The scanning boundary of each scanning is determined according to the divisible unit, wherein the divisible unit includes one or more pixel units.

[0063] In some examples, the width of the scan-enforced segmentation box may be less than or equal to the maximum scan width.

[0064] In some examples, the exposed pattern of the substrate to be exposed can be divided into divisible sub-units including one or more pixel units according to the alignment results of the substrate to be exposed and the digital exposure machine, and the boundaries of the divisible sub-units are used for splicing scanning, thereby breaking the regularity of the scanning boundaries and improving the display unevenness.

[0065] In some exemplary embodiments, for the pattern to be exposed at the border stitching position of two scans, the total exposure amount of the two scans may be the same as the exposure amount of the non-stitching position. Since the difference in the critical dimension of the scan stitching position is mainly caused by the uneven distribution of the exposure amount, in this exemplary embodiment, the exposure amount of the pattern to be exposed at the border stitching position of the two scans is set complementary to improve the uneven display of the scan stitching position.

[0066] In some exemplary embodiments, the pattern to be exposed can be divided into at least two frames of sub-patterns, and there is a misalignment between the sub-patterns of different frames, and each frame of sub-patterns is exposed multiple times. In this exemplary embodiment, by exposing multiple frames of sub-patterns in a frame jittering manner, the jagged edge of the exposure pattern can be improved, thereby improving the exposure effect.

[0067] In some exemplary embodiments, in each exposure, a plurality of continuous micromirrors can be used as a calling unit. In this exemplary embodiment, by multiplexing the micromirrors in the DMD array for exposure, the jagged edge of the exposure pattern can be improved, thereby improving the exposure effect.

[0068] The digital exposure control method provided by this embodiment is described below by way of example.

[0069] Figure 4The present invention discloses a flowchart of a digital exposure control method of at least one embodiment of the present invention. The digital exposure control method provided by the present exemplary embodiment can be used to expose a substrate to be exposed having a plurality of different types of functional areas. In some examples, the substrate to be exposed may include one or more display substrates, and the sizes of the plurality of display substrates may be the same or different. Each display substrate may include: a display area and a non-display area located around the display area. In this example, the substrate to be exposed may include two types of functional areas, namely a display area and a non-display area. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this.

[0070] like Figure 4 As shown, the digital exposure control method of this exemplary embodiment may include steps S01 to S07.

[0071] Step S01, determining the exposure design file.

[0072] In this exemplary embodiment, the exposure design file may include: layer data of each display substrate on the substrate to be exposed. The layer data of each display substrate may include: information of one or more layers. The information of each layer may include, for example: original design graphics, names, positions, ranges of different functional areas, and scanning parameters (e.g., scanning priority, scanning speed, exposure mode, etc.). However, this embodiment is not limited to this.

[0073] In this exemplary embodiment, the exposure of each layer in the exposure design file may be sequentially implemented on the substrate to be exposed according to the following process.

[0074] Step S02: rasterize the original design graphic.

[0075] In this exemplary embodiment, a basic unit with a regular shape can be used as a repeating unit to perform rasterization processing on the original design pattern to obtain a pattern to be exposed. The regular shape of the basic unit can be a square. However, this embodiment is not limited to this. In some examples, the basic unit can be a rectangle. The shape of the basic unit can be determined according to the shape of the micromirror in the DMD array, for example, the same as the shape of the micromirror, or it can be a segmented shape of the micromirror shape.

[0076] In some examples, the basic unit may be a square unit, and the side length of the basic unit may be 0.1 micrometer (um), 0.2um, 0.3um, or 0.5um. That is, the basic unit may have a variety of different sizes.

[0077] In some examples, the size of the basic unit can be determined according to the quality requirements of the pattern exposure. For example, when exposing a simple and highly repeatable pattern, a larger basic unit can be selected, for example, a basic unit with a side length of 0.3 or 0.5um can be selected. When exposing a film layer with a high requirement for the uniformity of key dimensions such as the anode layer pattern and the source-drain electrode (SD) layer pattern, a smaller basic unit can be selected, for example, a basic unit with a side length of 0.1um can be selected to achieve finer gridding, so that the original design pattern can be restored more accurately.

[0078] Figure 5 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a rasterization process according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5 As shown, the original design graphic 20 can be rasterized using a basic unit 200. In this example, the basic unit 200 can be a square. The graphic after the original design graphic 20 is rasterized is Figure 5 The shaded area in .

[0079] In this exemplary embodiment, the original design graphic is rasterized using basic units to be processed into a pattern to be exposed that is more easily formed into repeating units. This can reduce the data transmission time of the pattern to be exposed, thereby increasing the scanning speed and reducing the exposure cycle time, which is beneficial to improving the production capacity of digital exposure products.

[0080] In some examples, the original design graphic may include multiple graphic units (cells) (for example, one graphic unit may represent one functional area), and the rasterization process may be performed on the graphic unit as an object. A graphic unit may contain nested sub-graphic units, or may not contain nested sub-graphic units. The same graphic unit may be rasterized using basic units of the same size.

[0081] In some examples, different graphic units in the original design graphic can be rasterized using basic units of different sizes as needed. For example, the first graphic unit represents a functional area with a higher requirement for exposure uniformity, and the second graphic unit represents a functional area with a lower requirement for exposure uniformity. The first graphic unit can be rasterized using a basic unit of a first size, and the second graphic unit can be rasterized using a basic unit of a second size, and the second size can be larger than the first size, so that the first graphic unit can be more accurately rasterized than the second graphic unit. In this exemplary embodiment, different graphic units can be rasterized using basic units of different sizes, so that rasterization with different degrees of accuracy can be achieved, which can improve the data processing speed and help shorten the exposure cycle time.

[0082] Step S03: determining whether the overlap rate between the pattern to be exposed obtained by the rasterization process and the original design pattern is maximized.

[0083] In this exemplary embodiment, the overlap ratio between the exposed pattern obtained by the rasterization process and the original design pattern can be used to judge the effect of the rasterization process. Taking the graphic unit as the object, the higher the overlap ratio, the higher the degree of restoration of the original design pattern by the rasterization process, and the better the effect of the rasterization process.

[0084] In some examples, the calculation formula for the overlap ratio between the pattern to be exposed and the original design pattern may be:

[0085]

[0086] Wherein, A represents the original design graphic, and B represents the graphic to be exposed after rasterization processing.

[0087] In this exemplary embodiment, when the overlap ratio between the rasterized pattern to be exposed and the original design pattern is maximized (for example, the overlap ratio is greater than or equal to the maximum threshold), step S04 may be executed. When the overlap ratio between the rasterized pattern to be exposed and the original design pattern is not maximized (for example, the overlap ratio is less than the maximum threshold), the process may return to step S01 or step S02. In some examples, when the overlap ratio is not maximized, the process may return to step S01, that is, the original design pattern may be optimized. In some examples, when the overlap ratio is not maximized, the process may return to step S02, that is, the rasterization process may be optimized, for example, by adjusting the shape or size of the basic unit.

[0088] Step S04: aligning the substrate to be exposed and the stage of the digital exposure machine.

[0089] In some examples, since the position of each substrate to be exposed on the stage is slightly different, the alignment mark on the substrate to be exposed can be grabbed to confirm the exact position of the substrate to be exposed on the stage. Subsequently, the data required for each scan can be allocated according to the exact position of each substrate to be exposed.

[0090] Figure 6 FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram of the alignment of a substrate to be exposed and a stage of a digital exposure machine according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6 As shown, a positioning mark 301 is set on each of the four corners of the substrate 30 to be exposed. The digital exposure machine can determine the exact position of the substrate 30 to be exposed on the stage 12 based on the positioning marks 301 on the substrate 30 to be exposed. For example, the digital exposure machine can determine the angle between the setting position of the substrate 30 to be exposed and the first direction D1 and the second direction D2 based on the four positioning marks 301 identified on the substrate 30 to be exposed. In this example, Figure 6 The area between adjacent dotted lines may be a scanning area corresponding to each group of scans of the digital exposure machine along the second direction D2.

[0091] In some examples, the stage 12 of the digital exposure machine can drive the substrate 30 to be exposed to move along the second direction D2 first, perform multiple scans in sequence, and then translate along the first direction D1 and then perform multiple scans in sequence along the second direction D2. The above process is repeated until the substrate 30 to be exposed is completely scanned, that is, a full-page scan is completed.

[0092] Step S05: Determine the exposure mode of the digital exposure machine.

[0093] In some examples, the exposure mode corresponding to each layer can be obtained from the exposure design file. However, this embodiment is not limited to this. In some examples, the digital exposure machine can determine the exposure mode according to the instruction received on the human-computer interaction interface.

[0094] In this exemplary embodiment, different functional areas may have different requirements for exposure uniformity. In some examples, the first type of functional area (e.g., display area) has a higher requirement for exposure uniformity, while the second type of functional area (e.g., non-display area around the display area, which may include fan-out area, invalid (Dummy) area, etc.) has a slightly lower requirement for exposure uniformity. Therefore, different functional areas may be scanned and exposed at different scanning speeds to ensure the exposure uniformity requirements of different functional areas, and to improve production efficiency.

[0095] In some exemplary embodiments, exposure of different types of functional areas of the substrate to be exposed can be achieved through multiple full-page scans. The same type of functional areas can be exposed through the same full-page scan, and different types of functional areas can be exposed through different full-page scans. Multiple full-page scans can only perform one alignment on the substrate to be exposed, and no sheet exchange action is performed before the substrate to be exposed completes multiple full-page scans, that is, the next substrate to be exposed is not replaced for scanning and exposure.

[0096] Figure 7 include Figure 7 (a) to Figure 7 (c) is a schematic diagram of multiple full-page scanning of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 7 As shown in (a), in this exemplary embodiment, the substrate 30 to be exposed may include a plurality of first-type functional areas (e.g., display areas) 301 and a plurality of second-type functional areas (e.g., non-display areas) 302. The first-type functional areas 301 and the second-type functional areas 302 may be arranged at intervals. Figure 7 As shown in (b), the first full-page scan can realize the exposure of the second type functional area 302 of the substrate 30 to be exposed. Figure 7As shown in (c), the second full-page scan can realize the exposure of the first type of functional area 301 of the substrate 30 to be exposed. After two full-page scans, the complete exposure of the substrate 30 to be exposed can be completed. The scanning speed in the first full-page scan is different from the scanning speed in the second full-page scan. For example, the scanning speed in the first full-page scan can be greater than the scanning speed of the second full-page scan. In this example, since different types of functional areas are exposed separately in different full-page scans, during a full-page scan, when there is no graphic that needs to be exposed within the range of all lenses of a certain scan, it can be directly shifted to the next scanning area that needs to be exposed, thereby reducing the number of scans and improving production efficiency. This embodiment does not limit the exposure order of different types of functional areas. In some examples, the priorities of different types of functional areas can be set, and the exposure of different types of functional areas can be realized by performing full-page scans in batches according to the priority order. For example, functional areas with high priorities are preferentially exposed through full-page scanning.

[0097] In some examples, when exposure of different functional areas is achieved through multiple full-page scans, exposure parameters of different functional areas (for example, exposure amount, focal length, scanning width, etc. for each scan) can be set separately without affecting each other.

[0098] In some exemplary embodiments, exposure of different types of functional areas of the substrate to be exposed can be achieved by a single full-page scan. Figures 8(a) and 8(b) are exemplary diagrams of a single full-page scan of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. In Figure 8(a), a and b respectively represent a group of scans of a lens along the scanning direction. The scanning range of the first group of scans a may include functional areas of the same type (e.g., the second type of functional area 302), or the functional areas may not be distinguished. The scanning range of the second group of scans b may include functional areas of different types, such as the first type of functional area 301 and the second type of functional area 302 arranged at intervals. In Figure 8(b), the horizontal axis represents the scanning area, corresponding to Figure 8(a); the vertical axis represents the scanning speed. As shown by the dotted line in Figure 8(b), the scanning speed Va of the lens in the first group of scans a remains consistent. As shown by the solid line in Figure 8(b), the scanning speed Vb of the lens in the second group of scans b may be different. In this example, since the exposure uniformity requirement of the first type functional area 301 is higher than that of the second type functional area 302, the scanning speed corresponding to the first type functional area 301 may be lower than the scanning speed corresponding to the second type functional area 302. In some examples, different types of functional areas may have different priorities. As shown in the scanning speed Vb of FIG8(b), the scanning speed change of the lens may occur in the second type functional area 302 with a lower priority.

[0099] In some examples, in any scan of a whole page scan, the scanning areas of different lenses of the digital exposure machine correspond to different types of functional areas, and the scanning speed corresponding to the functional area with a high priority can be used for this scan. In other words, the scanning speeds of different types of functional areas can be the same in one scan, and the functional area with a low priority can be subject to the scanning of the functional area with a high priority, that is, the scanning is performed at the scanning speed corresponding to the functional area with a high priority.

[0100] In this example, when the exposure of different types of functional areas of the substrate to be exposed is achieved through one full-page scan, the exposure parameter settings between different types of functional areas will affect each other, and the number of parameters that can be changed is limited, such as scanning speed (Speed) and focus (Focus).

[0101] In some exemplary embodiments, based on the scanning by functional area, the scanning width of each scan can also be determined according to the DMD width. In any scan in a full-page scan, any lens can call multiple continuous micromirrors in the DMD array for exposure according to the reflection uniformity of the DMD array.

[0102] Fig. 9 This is an example of the uniformity of the reflected light intensity of the DMD array. Fig. 9 As shown in FIG. 1 , the reflection uniformity of the edge area of ​​the DMD array is worse, and the reflection uniformity of the middle area is better. Therefore, any lens can call multiple continuous micromirrors for exposure according to the reflection uniformity of the DMD array, and the multiple continuous micromirrors can be located in the middle area of ​​the DMD array, or can be close to the middle area of ​​the DMD array. In some examples, the selected continuous micromirrors can be Figure 1 The continuous micromirrors may be the 3rd to M-3rd continuous micromirrors along the row direction, or may be the 2nd to M-4th continuous micromirrors. However, this embodiment is not limited to this.

[0103] In some examples, when multiple lenses are started for parallel exposure, different lenses of the digital exposure machine can call the same number of continuous micromirrors. At the splicing position of different lenses, there will be a situation where the width of the unexposed position is less than the scanning width. In this case, the digital exposure machine can automatically adjust the number of micromirrors called according to the data transmission, thereby ensuring the completion of the whole page scanning exposure.

[0104] In this exemplary embodiment, the digital exposure machine can be displaced in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction according to the number of selected micromirrors. That is, the number of selected micromirrors determines the scanning width of each scan. Among them, the more the number of selected micromirrors, the larger the scanning width of a scan, and the shorter the time to complete a full-page scan. In this exemplary embodiment, the scanning width is adjusted by adjusting the continuous number of micromirrors, which is conducive to improving exposure uniformity.

[0105] In some exemplary embodiments, during one full-page scanning process, any pattern to be exposed in any functional area can be exposed N times by scanning N times, where N is a positive integer, i.e., multiple scanning exposures are performed. Multiple scanning exposures can improve the exposure uniformity of the scanned splicing boundary.

[0106] In this exemplary embodiment, in the direction perpendicular to the scanning direction, the n+1th scan in N scans is offset from the nth scan by (1 / N)×d, d is the scanning width of each scan, and the exposure amount of each scan is M / N, M is the set exposure amount, and n is a positive integer less than N.

[0107] Fig.10 FIG. 1 is an example diagram of multiple scanning exposure according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.10 As shown, in this example, four scans are performed on the same pattern to be exposed, that is, N=4. In this example, the digital exposure machine will perform four exposures on the same pattern to be exposed. For example, if the exposure amount M is set to 30 megajoules (MJ), the exposure amount of each scan is 30 / 4MJ. The scan width d of each scan can be the same. Fig.10 As shown, in the vertical direction of the scanning direction, the two adjacent scans are offset by 0.25d, and the directions of the two adjacent scans can be in the same direction, or can be in opposite directions. Among them, after the first scan Scan1, the second scan Scan2 is performed after the vertical direction of the scanning direction is translated by 0.25d, after the second scan Scan2 is translated by 0.25d in the vertical direction of the scanning direction, the third scan Scan3 is performed after the vertical direction of the scanning direction is translated by 0.25d, and after the third scan Scan3 is translated by 0.25d in the vertical direction of the scanning direction, the fourth scan Scan4 is performed after the vertical direction of the scanning direction is translated by 0.25d. In other words, in the vertical direction of the scanning direction, the second scan Scan2 is offset by 0.25d from the first scan Scan1, the third scan Scan3 is offset by 0.25d from the second scan Scan2, and the fourth scan Scan4 is offset by 0.25d from the third scan Scan3. The exposure amount can be set in the scanning area where the four scans are superimposed.

[0108] In this exemplary embodiment, in any one of the N scans, each lens of the digital exposure machine can perform P scans, where P is a positive integer. The scanning areas of two adjacent lenses overlap P-1 times; or, the exposure amount of each lens in each scan is M / (N×P), and the scanning width of the lens in the i-th scan can be (i / P)×d, or ((P+1-i) / P)×d, where i is a positive integer less than or equal to P.

[0109] In this exemplary embodiment, the stitching position of different lenses can be realized by any of the following processing methods. Method 1: The stitching position is used as the scanning area within the lens. There are P-1 scan overlaps between two adjacent lenses, and P is the number of multiple scans performed by the lens. Method 2: The scanning areas of each lens are independent of each other. Taking the start scan as an example, the exposure amount of each scan can be 1 / P. During the P scans, the digital exposure machine does not perform a vertical translation in the scanning direction. The scanning width of the first scan can be (1 / P)×d, and then expand to the scanning area responsible for the lens. The scanning width of the second scan can be (2 / P)×d, and so on. The scanning width of the Pth scan can be d. After the lens completes P scans, the stage of the digital exposure machine can be translated in the vertical direction of the scanning direction by (1 / N)×d for the next scan. At the end of scanning, the exposure amount of each scan can be 1 / P. During the P scanning process, the digital exposure machine does not perform translation in the vertical direction of the scanning direction. The scanning width of the first scan can be d, and then it is reduced to the scanning area responsible for the lens. The scanning width of the second scan can be ((P-1) / P)×d, and so on. The scanning width of the Pth scan can be (1 / P)×d. In this example, the set exposure amount can be achieved at the splicing position of different lenses through multiple scanning, thereby improving the exposure uniformity of the splicing position.

[0110] In some exemplary embodiments, scanning exposure may be performed in combination with scanning by functional area and multiple scanning exposure, or scanning exposure may be performed in combination with scanning by functional area, multiple scanning exposure, and determining the scanning width of each scan according to the DMD width to improve exposure uniformity and maximize production efficiency. However, this embodiment is not limited to this.

[0111] Step S06: Allocate data required for each scan.

[0112] In this exemplary embodiment, the exposure pattern of the substrate to be exposed can be allocated to each lens of the digital exposure machine according to the alignment result between the substrate to be exposed and the digital exposure machine, so as to generate data required for each scan.

[0113] In some exemplary embodiments, the original design graphic of the substrate to be exposed has a scanning mandatory segmentation frame (Guidance Box), and in the original design graphic, the scanning mandatory segmentation frame can be implemented by a special layer or a special graphic unit. However, this embodiment is not limited to this. In this example, the position of the scanning mandatory segmentation frame in the graphic to be exposed can be determined according to the position of the scanning mandatory segmentation frame in the original design graphic. The scanning mandatory segmentation frame can be used to limit the area where scanning splicing cannot occur.

[0114] Fig.11FIG. 1 is an example diagram of a scan forced segmentation frame according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.11 As shown, there may be scanning forced segmentation frames 401a, 401b and 401c in the graphics to be exposed in the display area, and there is no scanning forced segmentation frame in area 402. Fig.11 As shown on the right side of , the dotted line indicated by 405 represents the boundary of the scan stitching. The scan forced segmentation boxes 401a and 401b correspond to the exposure areas 403a and 403b, and no scan stitching boundary appears in the area. The boundary of the exposure areas 403a and 403b is represented by a dotted line, indicating that the forced segmentation box also introduces a new scan stitching boundary. The scan forced segmentation box 401c corresponds to the exposure area 404, indicating that the width of the scan forced segmentation box cannot exceed the maximum scan width. In some examples, the width of the scan forced segmentation box is limited by the DMD array and the lens optical system, and the maximum width can be less than or equal to the maximum scan width.

[0115] In this exemplary embodiment, by setting a scan forced segmentation frame to limit the positions where scanning and stitching cannot be performed, the positions sensitive to key dimensions can be protected from scanning and stitching, thereby improving display uniformity.

[0116] In some exemplary embodiments, the pixel units may be grouped into divisible units, and the boundaries of the divisible units may be used for scanning and splicing, thereby breaking the regularity of the scanning boundaries and improving display uniformity. Figure 6 As shown, there may be a certain angle between the substrate to be exposed and the scanning direction. If the angle is not considered during the scanning data allocation process, the boundary of each scan will cut the pixel unit of the display area, thereby causing uneven pixel display.

[0117] Fig.12 FIG. 1 is an example diagram of scanning boundary pixel segmentation according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.12 As shown, in this exemplary embodiment, the size of the pixel unit 501 and the size of the demarcable unit 50 can be defined. The demarcable unit 50 can be composed of w×h pixel units 501, w and h are both positive integers, and the minimum value is 1, that is, the demarcable unit 50 can include at least one pixel unit 501. In this example, the scanning boundary is, for example, Fig.12 As shown by the dotted line in . Based on the alignment results of the substrate to be exposed and the stage, the number of pixel units K offset between the start position and the end position of the scan in the vertical direction of the scan direction can be calculated. The number of sawtooth at the scan boundary can be controlled by adjusting the size of the demarcable unit, where the number of sawtooth m = K / h. Since the number of sawtooth at the scan boundary affects the uniformity of data transmission and critical dimensions, the uniformity of exposure can be improved by adjusting the size of the demarcable unit to control the number of sawtooth at the scan boundary.

[0118] In some exemplary embodiments, for the pattern to be exposed at the boundary stitching position of two scans, the total exposure amount of the two scans may be the same as the exposure amount of the pattern to be exposed at the non-stitching position. Fig.13 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the complementary exposure amount of the scanning boundary stitching area in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.13 As shown, the exposure fading area (Fading Area) is set at the boundary stitching position of the two scans Scan1 and Scan2. The total exposure of the two scans Scan1 and Scan2 in the exposure fading area can be consistent with the exposure of the area outside the exposure fading area, thereby improving the display uniformity of the scan stitching position. Assume that the exposure of the scan area in the vertical scanning direction is A1A2A3···A n-1 A n , the exposure amount allocated in Scan1 is A1A2A3···A i-1 (A i -T), then the exposure allocated for Scan2 can be (T)A i+1 ···A n-1 A n This embodiment does not limit the size of the exposure attenuation area.

[0119] In some exemplary embodiments, at least one of the scanning forced segmentation frame, the demarcable unit, and the scanning boundary exposure attenuation area complementary manner may be used to distribute the scanning data to reduce the display unevenness of the scanning splicing position, thereby improving the uniformity of the key dimension. However, this embodiment is not limited to this.

[0120] Step S07: the digital exposure machine performs exposure.

[0121] In this step, the digital exposure machine can perform scanning exposure according to the data required for each scan.

[0122] The digital exposure control method provided by this exemplary embodiment can use different scanning speeds to scan and expose functional areas with different exposure uniformity requirements, which can ensure the display uniformity in the same type of functional areas and improve the exposure efficiency. Moreover, the original design pattern can be rasterized using a square basic unit to obtain a pattern to be exposed, which can reduce the data processing and transmission time, thereby improving the scanning efficiency. In addition, the exposure uniformity can be improved by determining the scanning width of each scan according to the DMD width, a multiple scanning exposure method, a scanning forced segmentation frame, a demarcable unit, a scanning boundary exposure attenuation area complementary method, and a combination of the foregoing, thereby improving the display uniformity.

[0123] Since the DMD array, the core device of digital exposure, is composed of pixelated micromirrors that can be controlled individually, coupling effects between different pixels are likely to occur during the exposure process, making the edges of the generated patterns rough. Fig.14 The edge R shown is in a jagged state.

[0124] In some exemplary embodiments, the pattern to be exposed can be obtained by: using basic units with regular shapes to rasterize the original design pattern to obtain a rasterized pattern, scaling the rasterized pattern to obtain a scaled pattern, and using the basic units to rasterize the scaled pattern to obtain the pattern to be exposed.

[0125] Fig.15 include Fig.15 (a) and Fig.15 (b) is an example diagram of obtaining a pattern to be exposed according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.15 As shown in (a), for the original design graphic 60, a square basic unit is used for rasterization processing, and a rasterized graphic 61 can be obtained, that is, Fig.15 The shaded figure in (a). Fig.15 As shown in (b), the outermost basic unit 601 of the rasterized graphic 61 can be distinguished and marked from the remaining basic units. At least two sides of the outermost basic unit 601 do not touch other basic units. In some examples, the scaling of the rasterized graphic 61 has the following three methods. Method 1: Take the outermost vertices of the outermost basic units and connect them to obtain the enlarged boundary 62 (represented by solid lines), and the rasterized graphic 61 can be enlarged according to the enlarged boundary 62. Method 2: Take the outermost vertices of the sub-outer basic units and connect them to obtain the reduced boundary 63 (represented by dotted lines), and the rasterized graphic 61 can be reduced according to the reduced boundary 63. Method 3: Use the middle boundary between the enlarged boundary 62 and the reduced boundary 63 as the scaling boundary to adjust the rasterized graphic. In some examples, the scaling adjustment range of the rasterized graphic does not exceed two basic units on a single side. If a larger range of adjustment is required, the original design graphic needs to be changed. However, this embodiment is not limited to this.

[0126] This exemplary embodiment can adjust the rasterized pattern according to the exposure requirements of the product to obtain an adjusted pattern to be exposed, which can achieve flexible regulation of design and process, and can improve the exposure quality and improve the edge roughness of the exposure pattern.

[0127] In some exemplary embodiments, exposure quality may be improved by multiplexing micromirrors of a DMD array. Fig.16FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the multiplexing of micromirrors of a DMD array of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. In this exemplary embodiment, during the exposure process, multiple micromirrors can be used as a calling unit. Fig.16 As shown, the position of the micromirrors in the DMD array can be represented by a combination of row numbers (expressed by numbers) and column numbers (expressed by letters). In some examples, the calling unit including multiple consecutive micromirrors can be a square, for example, four micromirrors A1:B2 can be used as a calling unit. Alternatively, the calling unit can be a rectangle, for example, twelve micromirrors A1:D3 can be used as a calling unit. In some examples, the position of the calling unit is not restricted when the micromirrors are multiplexed. For example, at time t1, four micromirrors A1:B2 can be called, and at time t2, four micromirrors B2:C3 can be called.

[0128] In some exemplary embodiments, the pattern to be exposed can be divided into at least two frames of sub-patterns, and each frame of sub-patterns is exposed separately, wherein there is a slight misalignment (frame jitter) between sub-patterns of different frames. The size and direction of the misalignment (frame jitter) can be set through the parameters of the digital exposure machine, and the size of the jitter or misalignment can generally be smaller than the size of a DMD micromirror spot. Fig.17 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exposure method of a frame jittering method according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.17 As shown, the figure to be exposed obtained after rasterization can be divided into two frames of sub-figures, such as sub-figure 1 and sub-figure 2, and there is frame jitter between the two frames of sub-figures. At time T1, sub-figure 1 can be exposed, sub-figure 2 can be uploaded at time T2, sub-figure 2 can be exposed at time T3, and sub-figure 1 can be uploaded at time T4, and so on. In this example, the figure to be exposed can be obtained after superimposing multiple exposure figures. In some examples, the sub-figure of each frame can include all the patterns in the figure to be exposed, or can include part of the pattern. In some examples, the exposure amount of the superposition of different frame graphics exposure can be a set exposure amount. In this example, the more frames of the sub-figure, the higher the degree of restoration of the exposure result to the figure to be exposed, and the better the imaging quality. In this exemplary embodiment, the image edge jitter can be reduced by exposure through frame jitter, and the original design figure can be better restored, thereby improving the exposure quality.

[0129] In some exemplary embodiments, at least one of rasterized pattern scaling, DMD micromirror multiplexing, and frame jitter exposure may be used to improve exposure quality. However, this embodiment is not limited to this.

[0130] The digital exposure control method provided in this embodiment can not only improve display uniformity and increase product yield, but also shorten the exposure cycle time, which is beneficial to improving the yield and production capacity of digital exposure products and supporting the application of digital exposure in mass production.

[0131] The embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a digital exposure control device, comprising: a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the digital exposure control method described in the above embodiment is implemented.

[0132] The disclosed embodiment may also provide a digital exposure machine, which may include the digital exposure control device as described above, a stage for carrying a substrate to be exposed, and a scanning unit. The stage and the scanning unit may refer to the above description, so they will not be described here.

[0133] In addition, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, which implements the digital exposure control method as described above when executed.

[0134] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that all or some of the steps, systems, and functional modules / units in the methods disclosed above may be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, and appropriate combinations thereof. In hardware implementations, the division between the functional modules / units mentioned in the above description does not necessarily correspond to the division of physical components; for example, a physical component may have multiple functions, or a function or step may be performed by several physical components in cooperation. Some or all components may be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a digital signal processor or a microprocessor, or implemented as hardware, or implemented as an integrated circuit, such as an application-specific integrated circuit. Such software may be distributed on a computer-readable medium, which may include a computer storage medium (or non-transitory medium) and a communication medium (or temporary medium). As known to those skilled in the art, the term computer storage medium includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing information (such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data). Computer storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and can be accessed by a computer. In addition, it is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art that communication media typically contain computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media.

[0135] Although the embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure are as above, the contents described are only embodiments adopted to facilitate understanding of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Any technician in the field to which the present disclosure belongs can make any modifications and changes in the form and details of implementation without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed in the present disclosure, but the scope of patent protection of the present disclosure shall still be subject to the scope defined in the attached claims.

Claims

1. A digital exposure control method, characterized in that: include: Exposure of different types of functional areas of the substrate to be exposed is achieved by one or more full-page scans, wherein the scanning speeds for different types of functional areas of the substrate to be exposed are different; In which, during any full-page scanning process, for any pattern to be exposed in any functional area, N exposures are achieved through N scans; wherein, in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction, the n+1th scan is offset from the nth scan by (1 / N)×d, d is the scanning width of each scan, and the exposure amount of each scan is M / N, M is the set exposure amount; N is a positive integer, and n is a positive integer less than N.

2. The digital exposure control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Different types of functional areas have different priorities; when exposure of different types of functional areas of the substrate to be exposed is achieved through one full-sheet scan, the scanning speed change occurs in the functional area with a lower priority.

3. The digital exposure control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: In any scan of a full-page scan, when the scanning areas of different lenses of the digital exposure machine correspond to different types of functional areas, the scanning is performed at a scanning speed corresponding to the functional area with a high priority.

4. The digital exposure control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: When exposure of different types of functional areas of the substrate to be exposed is achieved through multiple full-page scans, functional areas of the same type are exposed through the same full-page scan.

5. The digital exposure control method according to claim 4, characterized in that: Different types of functional areas have different priorities; according to the priority order of different types of functional areas, multiple full-sheet scans are used to achieve exposure of different types of functional areas of the substrate to be exposed.

6. The digital exposure control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: During any one of the N scans, each lens of the digital exposure machine performs P scans, where P is a positive integer; Among them, the scanning areas of two adjacent lenses overlap P-1 times; or, the exposure amount of each lens in each scan is M / (N×P), and the scanning width of the lens in the i-th scan is (i / P)×d, or ((P+1-i) / P)×d; i is a positive integer less than or equal to P.

7. The digital exposure control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In any scan of a full-page scan, any lens of the digital exposure machine calls a plurality of continuous micromirrors in the digital micromirror device (DMD) array for exposure according to the reflection uniformity of the DMD array.

8. The digital exposure control method according to claim 7, characterized in that: When multiple lenses are started for parallel exposure, different lenses of the digital exposure machine call the same number of consecutive micromirrors.

9. The digital exposure control method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The digital exposure control method further comprises: Acquiring the original design pattern of the substrate to be exposed; The original design graphic is rasterized using basic units with regular shapes to obtain a graphic to be exposed; or, the original design graphic is rasterized using basic units with regular shapes to obtain a rasterized graphic, the rasterized graphic is scaled to obtain a scaled graphic, and the scaled graphic is rasterized using the basic units to obtain a graphic to be exposed.

10. The digital exposure control method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The regular shape is a square.

11. The digital exposure control method according to claim 9, characterized in that: Different graphic units in the original design graphic are rasterized using basic units of different sizes.

12. The digital exposure control method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The digital exposure control method further comprises: The exposed pattern of the substrate to be exposed is distributed to each lens of the digital exposure machine according to the alignment result between the substrate to be exposed and the digital exposure machine, so as to generate data required for each scan.

13. The digital exposure control method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The step of allocating the exposed pattern of the substrate to be exposed to each lens of the digital exposure machine according to the alignment result between the substrate to be exposed and the digital exposure machine, and generating data required for each scan, includes at least one of the following: Determine the scanning boundary of each scan according to the scanning forced segmentation frame in the pattern to be exposed; wherein the scanning forced segmentation frame is used to limit the area where scanning splicing cannot occur; The scanning boundary of each scanning is determined according to the divisible unit, wherein the divisible unit includes one or more pixel units.

14. The digital exposure control method according to claim 12, characterized in that: For the pattern to be exposed at the border stitching position of two scans, the total exposure amount of the two scans is the same as the exposure amount of the pattern to be exposed at the non-stitching position.

15. The digital exposure control method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The pattern to be exposed is divided into at least two frames of sub-patterns, and there is a misalignment between the sub-patterns of different frames, and each frame of sub-patterns is exposed multiple times.

16. The digital exposure control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: During each exposure, multiple consecutive micromirrors are used as a calling unit.

17. A digital exposure control device, characterized in that: include: A memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the digital exposure control method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 is implemented.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: A computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed, the digital exposure control method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 is implemented.

Images