Pattern writing apparatus and pattern writing method

Abstract

A pattern writing apparatus for writing a pattern on a photosensitive material comprises a head provided with a DMD having a micromirror group which modulates reflected light, a stage holding a substrate, and mechanisms for moving the head and the stage relative to each other. Light from the micromirrors of the DMD are directed to irradiation regions (61) on the substrate, respectively. The irradiation regions (61) are moved over the substrate with movement of the substrate relative to the head. The DMD is provided within the head so that the direction of arrangement of the irradiation regions (61) is tilted relative to the main scanning direction, and a center-to-center distance (L1) along the sub-scanning direction between two adjacent irradiation regions (61) arranged in the main scanning direction is made equal to a pitch (P1) of writing cells (620) on the substrate with respect to the sub-scanning direction. This allows multiple exposures centered about each of the writing cells (620), thereby achieving high-speed pattern writing while permitting precise control of the pattern linewidth.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method of writing a pattern by light irradiation to a photosensitive material.

[0003] 2. Description of the Background Art

[0004] Conventionally well known are techniques for applying a light beam modulated by a spatial light modulator such as a digital micromirror device (DMD) onto a photoresist film formed on a substrate such as a semiconductor substrate or a printed circuit board.

[0005] Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 62-21220 discloses a technique for writing a fine pattern by applying a light beam which is spatially modulated by a micromirror group of a DMD onto a photosensitive material and by moving the photosensitive material and controlling a signal given to the DMD every time the photosensitive material passes a predetermined distance.

[0006] Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-133893 suggests a technique for writing a finer pattern by tilting an image formed by a DMD on a photosensitive material at 45 degrees relative to a main scanning direction. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the pattern writing suggested in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-133893. In an image 90 formed by a DMD on a photosensitive material in FIG. 1, an irradiation region group 91 arranged in a row in a direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction corresponds to a set of main scan mirrors of the DMD, and another irradiation region group 92 which is arranged in the direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction and each of whose regions is located between adjacent regions of the irradiation region group 91, corresponds to a set of interpolation main scan mirrors of the DMD. The image 90 is scanned on the photosensitive material in a direction indicated by arrow 94, i.e., the main scanning direction, and at some point in time, a space between adjacent regions on the photosensitive material which are exposed by the respective main scan mirrors is exposed by each of the interpolation main scan mirrors. This achieves fine pattern writing.

[0007] When changing an image (i.e., a pattern indicating spatial modulation of a light beam) formed on a photosensitive material, the spatial light modulator such as a DMD requires, for example, time to write data into memory cells each corresponding to one light modulating element and time between receiving a reset pulse and holding each light modulating element in position (i.e., fixing the position (orientation) of each micromirror of the DMD). However, there are technical limitations to what we can do to shorten such times. Thus, it is not easy to drive the spatial light modulator at higher speed and thereby to speed up pattern writing by exposure.

[0008] For example, in a DMD where 16 blocks of micromirrors, each block containing 48 rows and 1024 columns of micromirrors, are arranged in a column direction to form a matrix of 768 rows and 1024 columns, control is exercised block by block. However, addressing and writing data into the blocks is generally performed on line by line; therefore, when this DMD is employed in the technique shown in FIG. 1, data must be written into every block containing part of the main scan mirrors and the interpolation main scan mirrors, which makes it difficult to achieve high speed pattern writing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] An object of the present invention is to write a fine pattern at high speed.

[0010] The present invention is directed to a pattern writing apparatus for writing a pattern on a photosensitive material.

[0011] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pattern writing apparatus comprises a head applying light to an irradiation region group arrayed in a lattice arrangement, a scanning mechanism for scanning the irradiation region group over a photosensitive material in a scanning direction which is tilted relative to a direction of arrangement of the irradiation region group and passing a plurality of irradiation regions over a plurality of writing regions on the photosensitive material, and a controller controlling the amount of light applied to each of the writing regions on the photosensitive material by exercising individual ON/OFF control of light irradiation of the irradiation region group in synchronization with scanning of the irradiation region group.

[0012] The present invention allows multiple light irradiation on the photosensitive material with efficiency, thereby achieving high-speed pattern writing.

[0013] According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, each element of a light modulating element group is a micromirror that changes its position, and the irradiation regions are arranged at equal pitches in two directions perpendicular to each other.

[0014] In one aspect of the present invention, a center-to-center distance along a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction between adjacent irradiation regions arranged in a direction which extends approximately along the scanning direction out of the two directions of arrangement of the irradiation region group, is equal to a center-to-center distance between adjacent writing regions arranged in the direction perpendicular to the scanning direction.

[0015] More preferably, the controller performs ON/OFF control of the light irradiation once while the irradiation region group is scanned by a distance that is twice the center-to-center distance between two adjacent writing regions arranged in the scanning direction.

[0016] This increases the speed of pattern writing.

[0017] The scanning mechanism accelerates high-speed pattern writing by continuously moving the irradiation region group.

[0018] More specifically, the pattern writing apparatus writes a pattern on a photoresist film on a substrate for a printed circuit board.

[0019] The present invention is also directed to a pattern writing method for writing a pattern on a photosensitive material.

[0020] These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an exposure operation by a conventional pattern writing apparatus;

[0022] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a general structure of a pattern writing apparatus according to the present invention;

[0023] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a DMD;

[0024] FIGS. 4, 6 and 7 are diagrams for explaining an exposure operation by the pattern writing apparatus;

[0025] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the exposure operation;

[0026] FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C are diagrams for explaining light irradiation of writing cells with respect to a main scanning direction;

[0027] FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C are diagrams for explaining light irradiation of writing cells with respect to a sub-scanning direction;

[0028] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining another example of the exposure operation by the pattern writing apparatus;

[0029] FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C and 11D are diagrams for explaining light irradiation of writing cells with respect to the main scanning direction in double-speed mode operation;

[0030] FIGS. 12A and 12B are diagrams for comparison between a comparative example and the pattern writing apparatus according to the present invention; and

[0031] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an image formed by the DMD on a substrate.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0032] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a pattern writing apparatus 1 according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, part of the apparatus is shown by dashed lines for illustration of the internal structure of the apparatus. The pattern writing apparatus 1 comprises a stage 2 holding a substrate 9 on which a resist film is formed, a stage moving mechanism 31 for moving the stage 2 in the Y direction in FIG. 2, a head 4 emitting a light beam toward the substrate 9, a head moving mechanism 32 for moving the head 4 in the X direction in FIG. 2, and a controller 5 connected to the stage moving mechanism 31, the head 4 and the head moving mechanism 32.

[0033] The head 4 includes a light source 41 which is a lamp for emitting light and a DMD 42 having a micromirror group arrayed in a lattice arrangement, wherein the micromirror group reflects a light beam from the light source 41 to provide a spatially modulated light beam.

[0034] More specifically, the light emitted from the light source 41 is directed through a mirror 431 and a lens 432 to a light control filter 44 in which the light beam is controlled to a desired amount of light. The light beam transmitted through the light control filter 44 is directed through a rod integrator 433, a lens 434 and a mirror 435 to a mirror 436 which then focuses and directs the light beam onto the DMD 42. The light beam incident on the DMD 42 is uniformly applied to the micromirror group of the DMD 42 at a predetermined angle of incidence (e.g., 24 degrees). Thus, the mirror 431, the lens 432, the rod integrator 433, the lens 434, the mirror 435 and the mirror 436 constitute an illumination optical system 43a for directing light from the light source 41 to the DMD 42.

[0035] A light beam (i.e., a spatially modulated light beam) generated from only reflected light from part of micromirrors of the DMD 42 which are set in a predetermined position (a position (or orientation) corresponding to an ON state later to be described in description of light irradiation by the DMD 42) enters a zoom lens 437 in which the light beam is controlled in magnification and directed through a mirror 438 to a projector lens 439. The light beam from the projector lens 439 is then applied to a region on the substrate 9 which is optically conjugate to the micromirror group. In the pattern writing apparatus 1, therefore, the zoom lens 437, the mirror 438 and the projector lens 439 constitute a projection optical system 43b for directing light from each of the micromirrors to a corresponding irradiation region on the substrate 9.

[0036] The stage 2 is fixed on a movable side of the stage moving mechanism 31 which is a linear motor, and the controller 5 controls the stage moving mechanism 31 so that the irradiation region group irradiated with light from the micromirror group (herein, one micromirror corresponds to one irradiation region) relatively moves in the Y direction in FIG. 2 over the photoresist film. That is, the irradiation region group is fixed relative to the head 4 and moves over the substrate 9 with movement of the substrate 9.

[0037] The head 4 is fixed on a movable side of the head moving mechanism 32 and intermittently moves in a sub-scanning direction (X direction) perpendicular to the main scanning direction (the Y direction in FIG. 2) of the irradiation region group. That is, every time a main scan is completed, the head moving mechanism 32 moves the head 4 in the X direction to a start position for the next main scan.

[0038] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the DMD 42. The DMD 42 is a spatial light modulator having a micromirror group 422 in which a number of micromirrors are arrayed at equal pitches in a lattice arrangement on a silicon substrate 421 (hereinafter, they are described as an array of M rows and N columns in two directions perpendicular to each other). Each of the micromirrors is tilted at a predetermined angle by the action of the static electric field, according to data written into its corresponding memory cell.

[0039] When a reset pulse is applied from the controller 5 shown in FIG. 2 to the DMD 42, each of the micromirrors is tilted in unison in a predetermined position about a diagonal line of its reflecting surface according to data written in its corresponding memory cell. Thereby, the light beam applied to the DMD 42 is reflected in directions of the tilting of the respective micromirrors and light irradiation of the irradiation regions is ON/OFF controlled. That is, when micromirrors whose memory cells are written with data indicating the ON state receive a reset pulse, light incident on those micromirrors is reflected onto the zoom lens 437 and applied to corresponding irradiation regions. On the other hand, micromirrors in the OFF reflect incident light to a predetermined position other than that of the zoom lens 437; thus, no light is directed to their corresponding irradiation regions.

[0040] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating irradiation regions 61 and writing cells 620 on the substrate 9 in the pattern writing apparatus 1. The irradiation regions 61 are regions fixed relative to the head 4, and the writing cells 620 are regions fixed on the substrate 9 and corresponding to the smallest unit of writing. With movement of the head 4 relative to the substrate 9, the irradiation regions 61 move over the writing cells 620. The writing cells 620 are exposure regions obtained by dividing the region on the substrate 9 with reference to central positions of the irradiation regions 61 (more precisely, central positions of the continuously moving irradiation regions 61) during one cycle of exposure control by the DMD 42. In FIG. 4, the lattice irradiation region group irradiated with light from the respective micromirrors of the DMD 42 is indicated by dash-double-dot lines and the writing cell group on the substrate 9 is indicated by solid lines. It is noted that only parts of the writing cells 620 and the irradiation regions 61 are shown in FIG. 4.

[0041] The writing cells 620 are rectangular exposure regions arranged at pitches P1 in the X direction (sub-scanning direction) and at pitches P2 in the Y direction (main scanning direction) in FIG. 4, and light irradiation centered about the writing cells 620 is performed according to corresponding writing cell data (data written in the DMD 42). The irradiation regions 61 irradiated with reflected light from the respective micromirrors of the DMD 42 are approximately square regions which correspond in shape to the micromirrors. The irradiation regions 61 are arranged at equal pitches in two directions perpendicular to each other, and the DMD 42 is provided in a tilted (or inclined) position within the head 4 so that the directions of arrangement of the irradiation regions 61 are tilted (or inclined) relative to the main scanning direction.

[0042] The tilt angle of the irradiation region group relative to the main scanning direction is determined so that a center-to-center distance L1 along the sub-scanning direction (X direction) between two adjacent irradiation regions 61 arranged in a direction which extends approximately along the main scanning direction (i.e., in a direction which forms a smaller angle with the main scanning direction) out of the two directions of arrangement of the irradiation region group, is equal to the pitch P1 of the writing cells 620 in the X direction (a center-to-center distance between adjacent writing cells 620 in the sub-scanning direction). In the following description, a direction approximately along the Y direction is referred to as a “column direction” of the DMD 42 and another direction approximately along the X direction is referred to as a “row direction”.

[0043] Next, the operation of the pattern writing apparatus 1 for writing a pattern on a photoresist film on the substrate 9 is described with reference to FIG. 5. In the following description of the operation of the pattern writing apparatus 1, the irradiation region group moves relative to the writing cell group in both the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction (step S1).

[0044] At the start of exposure, writing cell data to be written into writing cells 621 which correspond to first locations of the irradiation regions 61, out of the writing cells 620 in FIG. 4, (i.e., the writing cells 621 located at the centers of the respective irradiation regions 61) is transmitted from the controller 5 to corresponding memory cells of the respective micromirrors of the DMD 42 (step S2). The controller 5 then transmits a reset pulse to the DMD 42, whereby each of the micromirrors is tilted in a position (orientation) responsive to the memory cell data and a first exposure (i.e., ON/OFF control of light irradiation) of the writing cells 621 is performed (step S3).

[0045] After the transmission of the reset pulse, writing cell data corresponding to the next writing cells 622 (i.e., the writing cells 622 located adjacent to the writing cells 621 on the (−Y) side) is transmitted and written into memory cells of the respective micromirrors. The transmission of a reset pulse to the DMD 42 is performed in synchronization with the operation of the stage moving mechanism 31 for continuously moving the stage 2 in the main scanning direction. More specifically, when the irradiation regions 61 move the pitch P2 in the main scanning direction (the (−Y) direction in FIG. 4) after the application of the first reset pulse, the next reset pulse is transmitted to the DMD 42 and each of the micromirrors is tilted in a position responsive to the writing cell data. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 6, the exposure of the writing cells 622 is performed with the second reset pulse.

[0046] When the controller 5 repeats the above exposure operation in synchronization with control of the stage moving mechanism 31 and the DMD 42, a second exposure centered about the writing cells 621 which were exposed by the first exposure is performed with the eighteenth reset pulse. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the exposure with the eighteenth reset pulse. In FIG. 7, writing cells 623 exposed only once and writing cells 624 exposed twice are distinguished by the direction of cross-hatching.

[0047] Looking at, for example, a writing cell 621a corresponding to an irradiation region 61a at the first reset pulse shown in FIG. 4. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the irradiation region 61b (located on the (+Y) side of the irradiation region 61a) performs an exposure centered about the writing cell 621a with the eighteenth reset pulse. That is, the irradiation region 61b which is spaced four irradiation regions in the column (+Y) direction of the DMD 42 and one irradiation region in the row (−X) direction from the irradiation region 61a, passes over and exposes again the writing cell 621a which was irradiated with light by the irradiation region 61a.

[0048] By repeating the above operation, the pattern writing apparatus 1, when employing the DMD 42 comprised of M rows of micromirrors, repeats exposures on the substrate 9 (M/4) times, thereby permitting exposures centered about each of the writing cells 620 with a (M/4)-step gradation.

[0049] Next, the relationship between ON/OFF control of light irradiation of the irradiation regions 61 and photosensitivity of the writing cells 620 is described. Since exposure of a single writing cell 620 actually causes light irradiation of approximately the whole area of a single irradiation region 61, light is applied also to writing cells 620 located around a writing cell 620 concerned (see FIGS. 4, 6 and 7).

[0050] FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating a pattern written on the writing cells 620 arranged in the main scanning direction, when ON/OFF control of light irradiation of a single irradiation region 61 is carried out for every five writing cells 620. FIG. 8B illustrates the path of movement of a single irradiation region 61 relative to the writing cells 620 in a direction indicated by arrow 71 (main scanning direction). FIG. 8C is a chart indicating the variation of the amount of light applied from the irradiation region 61 in FIG. 8B with respect to the Y direction (main scanning direction). FIG. 8C is drawn on the presumption that exposure control of the irradiation regions 61 passing over positions displaced in the sub-scanning direction is also done in the same way.

[0051] Since the irradiation region 61 in either the ON state (indicated by solid lines) or in the OFF state (indicated by dashed lines) moves continuously relative to the writing cells 620 as illustrated in FIG. 8B, the cumulative amount of light applied to the writing cells 620 has an angular distribution as indicated by line 72 in FIG. 8C. Thus, the pattern writing as illustrated in FIG. 8A can be achieved by, for example, controlling the angular shaped cumulative amount of light indicated by the line 72 such that a distance in the main scanning direction that the irradiation region 61 remains in the ON state (a distance five times the pitch P2 of the writing cells 620 in FIG. 8A) is equal to a length L2 that the photoresist film is exposed with an amount of light Q1 (per unit area) in FIG. 8C. (More precisely, the cumulative amount of light is controlled by controlling the intensity of a light beam applied from the light control filter 44 shown in FIG. 2 to the DMD 42.)

[0052] FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C are diagrams for explaining the cumulative amount of light with respect to the sub-scanning direction when the ON/OFF control of the irradiation regions 61 is carried out for every five writing cells 620. FIG. 9A illustrates a pattern written on the writing cells 620 with respect to the sub-scanning direction, and FIG. 9B illustrates that a plurality of irradiation regions 61 move in the direction indicated by arrow 71 (main scanning direction) relative to the writing cells 620 and pass over a predetermined position in the main scanning direction. FIG. 9C is a chart indicating the variation of the cumulative amount of light applied from the plurality of irradiation regions 61 in FIG. 9B with respect to the X direction (sub-scanning direction). FIG. 9C is drawn on the presumption that the ON/OFF control of light irradiation of the irradiation regions 61 is not carried out during one main scan.

[0053] In FIG. 9B, five irradiation regions 61 in their ON states (indicated by solid lines) are arranged with the center-to-center distances L1 (i.e., at pitches P1) and next to those regions, five irradiation regions 61 in their OFF states (indicated by dashed lines) are arranged similarly with the center-to-center distances L1. Since each of the irradiation regions 61, as a general rule, moves only in the main scanning direction during the exposure operation, the cumulative amount of light with respect to the sub-scanning direction essentially varies discontinuously. However, because each of the irradiation regions 61 continuously moves in the main scanning direction in a tilted position, in practice the cumulative amount of light with respect to the X direction continuously varies in an angular shape as indicated by line 74 in FIG. 9C. Thus, as is the case of FIG. 8C, the pattern writing as illustrated in FIG. 9A can be achieved by controlling the intensity of light applied to the DMD 42 such that a distance five times the pitch P1 is equal to a length L3 that the photoresist film is exposed with an amount of light Q2 as indicated by the line 74.

[0054] As above described, when looked at with respect to only the main scanning direction or the sub-scanning direction, the amount of light applied onto the substrate 9 can be varied in an angular shape with respect to those directions. Further in the pattern writing apparatus 1, as previously described, the controller 5 performs individual ON/OFF control of light irradiation of the irradiation region group in synchronization with the scanning of the irradiation region group; therefore, when the DMD 42 comprised of M rows of micromirrors is employed, the amount of light irradiation centered about each of the writing cells 620 can be controlled with a (M/4)-step gradation. The pattern writing apparatus 1 can, therefore, achieve pattern writing while permitting highly precise control of the pattern linewidths with respect to both the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. Furthermore, multiple exposures result in a reduction in the influence of variations in the intensity of reflected light from the DMD 42.

[0055] In general, the pitches P1 and P2 are made equal and the irradiation regions 61 are square in shape; thus, the smallest controllable units of linewidths in the main scanning direction and in the sub-scanning direction can be made equal.

[0056] Next, another example of the operation of the pattern writing apparatus 1 for writing a pattern onto a photoresist film on the substrate 9 by exposure is described with reference to FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, the irradiation regions 61 and the writing cells 620 are arranged in the same form as shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, and ON/OFF control of the irradiation regions 61 is performed once while the irradiation regions 61 move through a distance that is twice the pitch P2 in the (−Y) direction relative to the writing cells 620 (hereinafter, this operation is referred to as a “double-speed mode operation”).

[0057] More specifically, looking at a column of writing cells 620 on the (−X) side. With a first reset pulse, exposures centered about a writing cell 621c on the (+Y) side, about a writing cell 621d spaced a distance that is 17 times the pitch P2 from the writing cell 621c in the (−Y) direction, and about a writing cell 621e spaced a distance that is 34 times the pitch P2 from the writing cell 621c in the (−Y) direction are performed respectively by the irradiation regions 61c, 61d and 61e.

[0058] Subsequently, when the irradiation region group moves a distance that is twice the pitch P2 relative to the writing cell group in the (−Y) direction, a second reset pulse is applied to the DMD 42 and exposures of a writing cell 621f spaced a distance that is 2 times the pitch P2 from the writing cell 621c in the (−Y) direction, of a writing cell 621g spaced a distance that is 19 times the pitch P2 from the writing cell 621c in the (−Y) direction, and of a writing cell 621h spaced a distance that is 36 times the pitch P2 from the writing cell 621c in the (−Y) direction are performed respectively by the irradiation regions 61c, 61d and 61e.

[0059] From the above operation, it is seen that, for example when the writing cell 621e is exposed by the irradiation region 61e in a first half of the duration between the first and second reset pulses, a multiple exposure of the writing cell 621e is performed by the irradiation region 61d in a second half of the duration between the ninth and tenth reset pulses. Further, in a first half of the duration between the eighteenth and nineteenth reset pulses, another multiple exposure of the writing cell 621e is performed by the irradiation region 61c. Thus, in the double-speed mode operation, multiple exposures of each of the writing cells 620 are performed at the same time as exposures of its adjacent writing cells 620 arranged in the main scanning direction.

[0060] Next, we describe the relationship between light irradiation of the irradiation regions 61 and the amount of light applied to the writing cells 620 in the double-speed mode operation. FIG. 11A illustrates a pattern written on the writing cells 620 with respect to the main scanning direction in the double-speed mode operation, and FIG. 11B illustrates the path of movement of an antecedent irradiation region 61e relative to the writing cells 620 in the direction indicated by arrow 71 (main scanning direction). FIG. 11C illustrates the path of movement of a subsequent irradiation region 61d relative to the writing cells 620 in the direction indicated by arrow 71, and FIG. 11D is a chart illustrating the variation of the cumulative amount of light applied from the irradiation regions 61e and 61d in FIGS. 11B and 11C with respect to the Y direction (main scanning direction).

[0061] In FIG. 11B, ON/OFF control is performed every time the irradiation region 61e moves through a distance that is twice the pitch P2, wherein the irradiation region 61e remains in the ON state during three cycles of the ON/OFF control and then remains in the OFF state during two cycles of the ON/OFF control. In FIG. 11C, ON/OFF control is performed also every time the irradiation region 61d moves through a distance that is twice the pitch P2, wherein the irradiation region 61d remains in the ON state during two cycles of the ON/OFF control and then remains in the OFF state during three cycles of the ON/OFF control. In this exposure operation, the cumulative amount of light applied onto the writing cells 620 arranged in the Y direction has an angular distribution with respect to the Y direction as indicated by line 76 in FIG. 11D (more precisely, multiple exposures are performed also by other irradiation regions 61 arranged in the main scanning direction). Further, when the photoresist film is exposed with an the amount of light Q3 shown in FIG. 11D, the pattern writing as illustrated in FIG. 11A can be achieved.

[0062] Since, as previously described, multiple exposures allow the amount of light irradiation to be controlled with a multiple-step gradation, the angular distribution of the light amount illustrated in FIG. 11D can be varied in shape, and even in the double-speed mode operation, the width of a pattern written on the photoresist film in the main scanning direction (the pattern linewidth in the sub-scanning direction) can be controlled with high precision. It is noted that the pattern width in the sub-scanning direction can also be controlled with high precision because the cumulative amount of light applied from a plurality of irradiation regions 61 arranged in the sub-scanning direction can also has an angular distribution as described with reference to FIG. 9.

[0063] As above described, in the double-speed mode operation of the pattern writing apparatus 1, the controller 5 performs ON/OFF control of light irradiation of the irradiation regions 61 by transmitting a reset pulse once while the irradiation regions 61 are scanned by a distance that is twice the pitch P2. The pattern writing apparatus 1 can thus achieve high-speed exposures while permitting control of the pattern linewidth.

[0064] In the double-speed mode operation, light amount control of each of the writing cells 620 is not so flexible as in the operation illustrated in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7 in which light amount control with a (M/4)-step gradation is achieved. However, since the minimum pattern linewidth to be written (i.e., pattern resolution) is usually set to be about several times greater than the smallest controllable unit of linewidth (i.e., linewidth accuracy), there is no problem in practice in the double-speed mode operation. For example, in the pattern writing apparatus 1, the linewidth or the width of a space between adjacent lines is 15 &mgr;m and the smallest controllable unit of the linewidth or the width of the space is 2 &mgr;m.

[0065] In the example of the operation shown in FIG. 10, multiple exposures can also reduce the influence of variations in the amount of light applied from each of the irradiation regions 61.

[0066] FIGS. 12A and 12B are diagrams for comparison between pattern writing by the pattern writing apparatus 1 and pattern writing when the direction of arrangement of the irradiation regions is not tilted relative to the main scanning direction (hereinafter, the latter is referred to as a “comparative example”). FIG. 12A illustrates the pattern writing in the comparative example, and FIG. 12B illustrates the pattern writing in the double-speed mode operation of the pattern writing apparatus 1. In the comparative example, each of the irradiation regions needs to be set equal in size to the writing cells and thus, an image 42a formed by the DMD 42 in FIG. 12A is smaller than an image 42b in FIG. 12B.

[0067] The DMD employed herein has 16 blocks, each block containing 14-&mgr;m-square micromirrors arranged in 48 rows and 1024 columns at equal pitches in two directions perpendicular to each other (row and column directions), and those 16 blocks are arranged in a column direction to form a matrix of 768 rows and 1024 columns of micromirrors. A group of micromirrors in one block are tilted in unison at either (+12) degrees or at (−12) degrees relative to a base plane about diagonal lines of their reflecting surfaces.

[0068] The pitches P1 and P2 of the writing cells in the sub-scanning direction and in the main scanning direction are set to 2 &mgr;m. In the pattern writing apparatus 1, the zoom lens 437 and the projector lens 439 make reducing projection so that bidirectional pitches between irradiation regions 61 (pitches with respect to the row and column directions of the DMD 42) are about 8.25 &mgr;m.

[0069] In the comparison of FIGS. 12A and 12B, only one block of micromirrors, out of 768 rows and 1024 columns of micromirrors, is used in order to speed up the DMD (i.e., to speed up data writing or to simplify the operation). FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically illustrating the image 42b formed by the DMD 42 on the substrate 9, in which an irradiation region group 423 corresponding to one block to be used is cross-hatched (in practice, there exist 16 blocks, each block containing a number of micromirrors.)

[0070] Under the above condition, since the data transfer rate is 7.6 Gigabits per second, the shortest possible time to write data into memory cells is about 6.5 micro seconds. However, in consideration of time to hold the micromirrors after reset (i.e., time required to fix the positions of the micromirrors; about 15 micro seconds), the shortest exposure time of a single writing cell 620 (i.e., the shortest time until the next reset pulse is applied) is set to 24 micro seconds. It is noted here that the writing cells on the substrate 9 are all arranged within a 100-mm-square area.

[0071] In the comparative example shown in FIG. 12A, since in the image 42a formed by the DMD on the substrate 9, the two directions of arrangement of the irradiation regions corresponding to the micromirrors coincide with the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction, the time required for the image 42a of the DMD to move a distance of 2 &mgr;m which is the pitch of the writing cells in the main scanning direction is 24 micro seconds, i.e., the shortest time between reset pulses and thus, the travel speed of the substrate 9 is 83.3 mm per second. Accordingly, it takes about 1.2 seconds to expose an area having a length of 100 mm in the main scanning direction. Further, since the length of the image 42a of the DMD in the X direction is about 2 mm, approximately 50 main scans are necessary to expose the whole substrate 9 and it takes about 60 seconds.

[0072] In the pattern writing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 12B, on the other hand, since the image 42b formed by the DMD 42 moves a distance of 4 &mgr;m which is twice the pitch P2 of the writing cells 620 in the main scanning direction during the shortest exposure time of 24 micro seconds and thus, the travel speed of the substrate 9 is 166.7 mm per second. From this, the time required to expose an area with a scanning distance of 100 mm is about 0.6 second. Also, since the pitch between the irradiation regions 61 in the X direction is 8 &mgr;m, the X direction width of an area that can be exposed by one scan is about 8 mm and thus, 13 main scans are necessary to expose the whole substrate 9. Accordingly, the time required for the pattern writing apparatus 1 to write a pattern on the whole substrate 9 is 7.8 seconds.

[0073] As above described, by tilting a two-dimensional array of irradiation regions relative to the main scanning direction, the pattern writing apparatus 1 can achieve high-precision pattern writing by exposure at extremely high speed.

[0074] The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, but it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned preferred embodiments and various modifications are possible.

[0075] The spatial light modulator employed in the pattern writing apparatus 1 is not limited to the DMD 42 employed in the aforementioned preferred embodiments; in fact, it may be a liquid crystal shutter, for example. Also, pattern writing may be achieved by arranging, for example, a plurality of light emitting diodes in two dimensions as a light source, tilting the direction of arrangement of an irradiation region group corresponding to the light emitting diode group relative to the main scanning direction, and exercising ON/OFF control of each of the light emitting diodes in synchronization with relative movement of the irradiation regions.

[0076] The relative movement of the stage 2 and the head 4 in the main scanning direction and in the sub-scanning direction (i.e., relative movement of the writing cell group and the irradiation region group on the substrate 9) may be substituted by movement of only either one of the stage 2 and head 4.

[0077] The pitches of the irradiation regions and the writing cells are not limited to those described in the aforementioned preferred embodiments, and they may be changed as appropriate according to specifications. That is, the tilt angle of the irradiation region group relative to the main scanning direction can be changed as appropriate according to the sizes of the irradiation regions 61 and the writing cells 620 and according to the number of multiple exposures.

[0078] Although the above preferred embodiments do not refer to control of light irradiation of the irradiation regions 61 located at the ends of the sub-scanning direction in the irradiation region group (e.g., part of the irradiation regions 61 on the (−X) and (−Y) portion in FIG. 4), light irradiation of those irradiation regions 61 is not performed in terms of simplicity of control.

[0079] While the invention has been shown and described in detail, the foregoing description is in all aspects illustrative and not restrictive. It is therefore understood that numerous modifications and variations can be devised without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A pattern writing apparatus for writing a pattern on a photosensitive material, comprising:

a head applying light to an irradiation region group arrayed in a lattice arrangement;

a scanning mechanism for scanning said irradiation region group over a photosensitive material in a scanning direction which is tilted relative to a direction of arrangement of said irradiation region group, and passing a plurality of irradiation regions over a plurality of writing regions on said photosensitive material; and

a controller controlling an amount of light applied to each of said writing regions on said photosensitive material by exercising individual ON/OFF control of light irradiation of said irradiation region group in synchronization with scanning of said irradiation region group.

2. The pattern writing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said head comprises:

a spatial light modulator having a lattice arrangement of a light modulating element group which spatially modulates reflected light;

a light source emitting light applied to said spatial light modulator; and

an optical system directing light from said light modulating element group to said irradiation region group, respectively.

3. The pattern writing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

each element of said light modulating element group is a micromirror that changes its position.

4. The pattern writing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

irradiation regions in said irradiation region group are arranged at equal pitches in two directions perpendicular to each other.

5. The pattern writing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

a center-to-center distance along a direction perpendicular to said scanning direction between adjacent irradiation regions arranged in a direction which extends approximately along said scanning direction out of two directions of arrangement of said irradiation region group, is equal to a center-to-center distance between adjacent writing regions arranged in said direction perpendicular to said scanning direction.

6. The pattern writing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said controller performs ON/OFF control of said light irradiation once while said irradiation region group is scanned by a distance that is twice a center-to-center distance between two adjacent writing regions arranged in said scanning direction.

7. The pattern writing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

a pattern is written on a photoresist film on a substrate for a printed circuit board.

8. The pattern writing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said scanning mechanism continuously moves said irradiation region group.

9. A pattern writing method for writing a pattern on a photosensitive material, comprising the steps of:

applying light to an irradiation region group arrayed in a lattice arrangement and, by scanning said irradiation region group over a photosensitive material in a scanning direction which is tilted relative to a direction of arrangement of said irradiation region group, passing a plurality of irradiation regions over a plurality of writing regions on said photosensitive material; and

controlling an amount of light applied to each of said writing regions on said photosensitive material by exercising individual ON/OFF control of light irradiation of said irradiation region group in synchronization with scanning of said irradiation region group.

10. The pattern writing method according to claim 9, wherein

light is applied to said irradiation region group through a spatial light modulator having a lattice arrangement of a light modulating element group which spacially modulates reflected light.

11. The pattern writing method according to claim 10, wherein

each element of said light modulating element group is a micromirror that changes its position.

12. The pattern writing method according to claim 9, wherein

irradiation regions in said irradiation region group are arranged at equal pitches in two directions perpendicular to each other.

13. The pattern writing method according to claim 9, wherein

a center-to-center distance along a direction perpendicular to said scanning direction between adjacent irradiation regions arranged in a direction which extends approximately along said scanning direction out of two directions of arrangement of said irradiation region group, is equal to a center-to-center distance between adjacent writing regions arranged in said direction perpendicular to said scanning direction.

14. The pattern writing method according to claim 9, wherein

in said step of controlling an amount of light, ON/OFF control of said light irradiation is performed once while said irradiation region group is scanned by a distance that is twice a center-to-center distance between two adjacent writing regions arranged in said scanning direction.

15. The pattern writing method according to claim 9, wherein

a pattern is written on a photoresist film on a substrate for a printed circuit board.

16. The pattern writing method according to claim 9, wherein

said irradiation region group moves continuously.