1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and apparatuses for exposing a workpiece and/or the formation of patterns thereon using, for example, laser lithography on substrates such as boards (e.g., printed circuit boards (PCBs) or flexible PCBs), artworks, masks for liquid crystal displays (LCD), plasma display panels (PDP), thin film transistor displays (TFT), etc.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
In conventional methods for manufacturing masks, a pattern may be exposed in a photo resist, for example, an opaque film (e.g., chromium) on a transparent substrate (e.g., quartz). In a conventional develop and etch process the resist in the exposed areas may be removed and the unprotected film may be dissolved by an etchant (e.g., chromium etchant). As a result, a glass plate with an opaque pattern (e.g., opaque chromium) may be used as an optical contact and/or projection mask for production of, for example, a conductor pattern on glass plates of an LCD, PDP, TFT and/or any other suitable display. The glass plates may be coated with a photo resist or emulsion and exposed through the optical mask (e.g., optical chromium mask). In conventional methods of manufacturing a mask, patterns of increasing complexity may be written on the mask and the glass plates may be reproduced.
Active matrix displays may require writing of elements of, for example, 600 nm, which may require a geometrical error on the order of about 0.03 parts per million (pap) or, for example, about 40 nm in the smaller direction of a 1900×1200 mm plate.
Conventional exposure tools for creating larger displays (e.g., “flat panel” displays), for example, as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,279, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, may have a stage moving in an x and/or y-direction under a fixed or a moving writing head, and may be operated in an environment (e.g., a particle free environment) where the floor space may be increasingly expensive.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds