Injection device, micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment and inspection and repairing method

Micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment including a carrying stage, an optical inspection module and an injection device is provided. The optical inspection module is arranged corresponding to the carrying stage to capture image information and obtain a position coordinate from the image information. The injection device is adapted to move to a target position of the carrying stage according to the position coordinate. The injection device includes a tube and a nozzle. The tube includes a first portion and a second portion connected to the first portion. The extending direction of the first portion is different from the extending direction of the second portion. A fluid blows to the target position after passing through the tube and the nozzle. An inspection and repairing method adopting the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment is also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 108128874, filed on Aug. 14, 2019. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The disclosure relates to a micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing technology, and in particular, to an injection device as well as micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment and a micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing method.

2. Description of Related Art

In recent years, in the case that the manufacturing cost of an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display panel is relatively high, and the lifetime and the reliability of the OLED display panel cannot compete with an existing mainstream display, a micro LED display gradually attracts various scientific and technical manufacturers to make an investment. In addition to the advantages of low energy consumption and long material service life, the micro LED display also has excellent optical performance, such as high color saturation, high response speed and high contrast.

On the other hand, in order to achieve lower production cost and larger product design margin, a manufacturing technique of the micro LED display adopts a chip transfer mode, that is, a mass transfer technique, to directly transfer fabricated micro LED chips to a driving circuit backplane. Specifically, a chip manufacturer needs to firstly make (or place) micro LED chips on a temporary substrate, and then to transfer the micro LED chips stored on the temporary substrate to driving circuit boards of different products according to different application requirements.

However, in the processes of producing the micro LED chips, it is inevitable to have a certain number of abnormal micro LED chips. Therefore, how to remove these abnormal micro LED chips to improve the yield of end products has become an important issue for related manufacturers.

SUMMARY

The disclosure provides an injection device with a high repair rate.

The disclosure provides micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment with high repairing yield.

The disclosure provides a micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing method with a high repair rate.

The micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment of the disclosure includes: a carrying stage, an optical inspection module and an injection device. The optical inspection module is arranged corresponding to the carrying stage so as to capture image information and obtain a position coordinate from the image information. The injection device is adapted to move to a target position of the carrying stage according to the position coordinate. The injection device includes a tube and a nozzle. The tube includes a first portion and a second portion connected to the first portion. The extending direction of the first portion is different from the extending direction of the second portion, and an extension axis of the second portion passes through the target position. The nozzle is connected to the second portion of the tube. A fluid blows to the target position after passing through the tube and the nozzle.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment further includes a suction device arranged on the carrying stage and adapted to move to the target position according to the position coordinate.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the optical inspection module of the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment includes an image capturing element and an image processing device. The image capturing element is configured to capture image information. The image processing device is coupled to the image capturing element and configured to analyze the image information to obtain the position coordinate.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment further includes at least one moving mechanism, and the image capturing element and the injection device are arranged on the moving mechanism. The moving mechanism is adapted to drive the image capturing element and the injection device to move relative to the carrying stage.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the image capturing element of the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment includes a lens module and an image sensor. The image sensor is coupled to the image processing device. The lens module is located between the carrying stage and the image sensor.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the optical inspection module of the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment includes a thickness detector configured to measure height information of the target position of the carrying stage.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the nozzle and the tube of the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment are integrally formed.

A micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing method of the disclosure includes: providing micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment, placing an object under test on the carrying stage of the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment, performing an optical inspection on multiple micro light emitting diodes on the object under test using an optical inspection module to verify whether the object under test has at least one defect, acquiring a position coordinate of the defect by using the optical inspection module after the defect is verified, and removing the defect. The micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment includes a carrying stage, an optical inspection module and an injection device. The optical inspection module is arranged corresponding to the carrying stage to capture image information and obtain the position coordinate from the image information. The injection device includes a tube and a nozzle connected to an end of the tube. The tube includes a first portion and a second portion connected to first portion, and the extending direction of the first portion is different from the extending direction of the second portion. The object under test has a plurality of micro light emitting diodes. The injection device moves to the target position of the carrying stage corresponding to the position coordinate of the defect, and an extension axis of the second portion passes through the target position so that a fluid flows to the defect after passing through the tube and the nozzle to remove the defect from the object under test.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the step of removing the at least one defect in the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing method further includes: collecting the at least one defect removed from the object under test by a suction device.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing method further includes: performing another optical inspection on the object under test after the removal of the at least one defect.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, according to the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing method, an angle is included between the extension axis of the second portion and a normal direction of a top surface of the defect, and the angle is between 10 degrees and 90 degrees.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, according to the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing method, the extension axis of the second portion is perpendicular to the top surface of the defect and does not pass through a symmetrical axis of the defect.

The injection device of the disclosure is adapted to remove a micro element. The injection device includes a tube and a nozzle. The tube includes a first portion and a second portion connected to the first portion. The extending direction of the first portion is different from the extending direction of the second portion. The nozzle is connected to an end of the tube. A fluid is injected after passing through the tube and the nozzle.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the aperture diameter of the nozzle of the injection device is less than 50 μm.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the nozzle and the tube of the injection device are integrally formed.

Based on the above, in the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment and method according to an embodiment of the disclosure, the optical inspection of the object under test is performed by utilizing the optical inspection module to obtain the position coordinate of the defect, which helps to ensure a positioning relationship between the injection device and the defect, thereby improving the removal accuracy of the defect. On the other hand, the extension axis of the second portion of the tube passes through the defect so that the fluid passing through the nozzle can efficiently blow to the defect to remove the defect from the substrate of the object under test. In this way, it helps to improve the overall yield of a post process.

In order to make the aforementioned and other objectives and advantages of the disclosure comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG.1is a block diagram of micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment according to an embodiment of the disclosure.FIG.2is a flowchart of a micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing method according to an embodiment of the disclosure.FIG.3AtoFIG.3Dare diagrams of a micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing flow according to an embodiment of the disclosure.FIG.4AandFIG.4Bare diagrams of an injection device in two operation states according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Specifically, for clear presentation and explanation,FIG.3AtoFIG.3Domit an image processing device220and a storage device230ofFIG.1,FIG.3AandFIG.3Bomit a suction device70ofFIG.3C,FIG.3BtoFIG.3Domit a lens module211and an image sensor212ofFIG.3A, andFIG.4AandFIG.4Bomit a carrying stage50, a carrier101, an image capturing element210and a control device250ofFIG.3C.

Referring toFIG.1andFIG.3A, the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment10includes a carrying stage50and an optical inspection module60. An object under test300is placed on the carrying stage50. The optical inspection module60is arranged on the carrying stage50, and the object under test300is arranged between the optical inspection module60and the carrying stage50. In the present embodiment, the object under test300is, for example, a micro LED wafer, which includes a substrate310and a plurality of micro elements320, and these micro elements320are arranged on the substrate310. For example, the micro element320may be a micro light emitting diode (Micro LED). It should be understood that the embodiments of the disclosure are limited thereto. Some embodiments may also be applied to other micro elements, like micro IC, micro transistor unit and so on.

Following the above, the optical inspection module60is configured to capture image information about the object under test300and obtain a position coordinate of a defect320D therefrom. In the present embodiment, the defect320D may be one of the plurality of micro elements320which cannot be enabled or has a surface defect, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the defect320D may also be a particle or dust that come from environment. It should be noted that the defect320D in the present embodiment is illustrated by taking the quantity of one as an example, and does not mean that the disclosure is limited by the content of the schematic disclosure. According to other embodiments, there may be multiple defects320D.

In the present embodiment, the optical inspection module60includes an image capturing element210and an image processing device220. The image capturing element210is configured to capture the image information about the object under test. For example, the image capturing element210may include a lens module211and an image sensor212, and the lens module211is located between the carrying stage50and the image sensor212. The image sensor212, for example, includes a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) element. The image processing device220is coupled to the image sensor212of the image capturing element210, and configured to analyze the image information to obtain the position coordinate of the defect320. In the present embodiment, the optical inspection module60may also include a storage device320configured to store image information photographed by the image capturing element210or analysis results (for example, the opposition coordinate of the defect320D) of the above image information made by the image processing device220.

In order to remove the defect320D from the object under test300, the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment10is also provided with an injection device100, and the object under test300is arranged between the injection device100and the carrying stage50. Particularly, the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment10injects a fluid FD through the injection device100, and the fluid FD blows to the defect320D to remove the defect320D from the object under test300(as shown inFIG.3CandFIG.3D). In the present embodiment, in order to verify the removal condition of the defect320D through the image capturing element210in real time, the image capturing element210may be moved together with the injection device100, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the injection device100and the image capturing element210may also be individually actuated.

Further, the injection device100includes a tube110and a nozzle120. The tube110includes a first portion110aand a second portion110bconnected to the first portion110a, and the extending direction of the first portion110ais different from the extending direction of the second portion110b. That is to say, the extending direction of the first portion110aintersects the extending direction of the second portion110b. In the present embodiment, an extension axis AX of the second portion110bof the tube110may be perpendicular to a top surface320sof the micro element320(or defect320D), but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

The nozzle120is connected to the end of the second portion110bof the tube110. More particularly, the nozzle120and the first portion110aare respectively arranged at two opposite ends of the second portion110b. In the present embodiment, the material of the nozzle120is the same as that of the tube110. That is to say, the nozzle120and the tube110may be integrally formed, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, one end of the tube110may also be sleeved with a sprayer, and one end of the sprayer far away from a sleeved position may be provided with the nozzle. For example, the sprayer is a plastic tip for a pipette.

On the other hand, the injection device100may also selectively include an base130, and the first portion110aof the tube110is connected to the base130. For example, the base130may be connected to the carrier101in a sliding manner, and drives the tube110to move along the extending direction of the first portion110a. Based on this, when the image capturing element210is scanning the object under test (the micro LED wafer)300for detecting defect position, the base130may bring the tube110to close the carrier101, so as to make the tube110be outside the field of view of the image capturing element210(as shown inFIG.3B). On the contrary, when the injection device100is actuated, the base130may bring the tube110to move toward the carrying stage50and to approach the defect320D (as shown inFIG.3C).

The micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment10may also include a moving mechanism240and a control device250. In the present embodiment, the injection device100and the image capturing element210are arranged on the same moving mechanism240, and the moving mechanism240is adapted to drive the injection device100(or image capturing element210) to move to the defect320D (or the target position on the carrying stage50corresponding to the defect320D) according to the position coordinate of the defect320D. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto. According to other embodiments, the injection device100and the image capturing element210may also be respectively arranged on different moving mechanisms240.

In the present embodiment, the control device250, for example, is a microcontroller unit (MCU). For example, the control device250is configured to receive a setting instruction through a man-machine interface, and drives the optical inspection module60, the injection device100and the moving mechanism240according to process parameters or real-time feedback. Namely, the control device250may integrate the functions of the image capturing element210, the image processing device220, the storage device230and the moving mechanism240. The optical inspection and repairing method suitable for the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment10will be exemplarily illustrated below.

Referring toFIG.2andFIG.3A, firstly, the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment10is provided (step S401), and the object under test300(for example, micro LED wafer) is placed on the carrying stage50of the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment10(step S402). For example, the object under test300may be transported onto the carrying stage50by using a mechanical arm. After the object under test300is stably placed on the carrying stage50, the object under test300is subjected to optical inspection with the optical inspection module60to verify whether the object under test300has at least one defect320D (step S403). If no defects320D are detected, the object under test300may be treated in the post-process or be directly delivered to a client. On the contrary, if a defect320D is detected, the corresponding position coordinate may be obtained by the optical inspection module60(step S404), as shown inFIG.2andFIG.3B. It is appreciated that if multiple defects320D are detected, all position coordinates of these defects320D may be obtained.

Referring toFIG.2,FIG.3CandFIG.3D, next, the injection device100is moved to the target position of the carrying stage50corresponding to the defect320D according to the obtained position coordinate. At this moment, the extension axis AX of the second portion110bof the tube110passes through the defect320D. After the injection device100is positioned at the defect320D, the injection device100is driven to inject the fluid FD from the nozzle120to remove the defect320D from the object under test300(step S405). Accordingly, it may be ensured that the fluid FD passing through the nozzle120can efficiently blow to the defect320and improve the defect removal rate of the injection device100, and then increase the repairing yield of the object under test300. In the present embodiment, the fluid FD, for example, is compressed air, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. According to other embodiments, the fluid FD may also be volatile high-pressure liquid.

For example, the extension axis AX of the second portion110bmay pass through one side edge of the defect320D, so that the defect320D is caused to generate a rotation torque under the impact of the fluid FD, and leaves the substrate310in an overturning manner. That is to say, the extension axis AX of the second portion110bdoes not intersect a part of surface of the defect320D where the symmetrical axis SA passes through. The defect320D presents mirror symmetry according to the symmetrical axis SA. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto. According to other embodiments, a positioning relationship between the extension axis AX of the second portion110band the defect320D may also be adjusted according to the actual condition (for example, the construction and configuration of the micro element) of the object under test300. In the present embodiment, the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment may also include a suction device70. The suction device70is adapted to move to the defect320D according to the position coordinate and configured to suck the defect320D removed by the fluid FD from the substrate310. Particularly, when the suction device70acts, an intake airflow may be generated, the defect320D removed from the substrate310may enter a discharge pipe connected with the suction device70through drive of the intake airflow (as shown inFIG.3D).

Specifically, in the present embodiment, the inspection and repairing method as shown inFIG.2(namely, a manner of inspection and then repairing) is adopted by the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment10, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. According to other embodiments, the image capturing element210and the injection device100of the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment10are arranged on the same moving mechanism240, so that the defect320D may be immediately removed from the substrate310through the injection device100. That is to say, the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment10may also operate in a manner that inspection and repairing are synchronous. Accordingly, the removal accuracy (or repairing yield) of the defect may be promoted, and then the overall yield of the post process is improved. After the removal step of the defect320D is completed, another optical inspection (step S403) may be performed on the object under test300to verify whether the object under test300has another defect320D. If a defect320D still exists, the above step S405and step S404may be repeated.

Referring toFIG.4A, an area occupied by the nozzle120of the injection device100has a width W1(namely the aperture diameter of the nozzle120) in a direction D1, and the micro element320has a width W2in the direction D1. In the present embodiment, a ratio of the width W1to the width W2may be between 0.1 and 0.5. On the other hand, in a direction perpendicular to the direction D1, the micro element320has a height H, and a space S is formed between the nozzle120and the micro element320. In the present embodiment, a ratio of the space S to the height H is larger than 0.2 and less than or equal to 2. If a distance from the nozzle120to the micro element320D (defect) is too far (for example, the ratio of the space S to the height H is larger than 2), airflow easily influences an adjacent good micro element320. If the distance from the nozzle120to the defect320D is too close (for example, the ratio of the space S to the height H is less than or equal to 0.2), the defect320D is not easily removed. For example, the aperture diameter (or width W1) of the nozzle120may be less than 50 μm. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto. According to other embodiments, the size and configuration of the nozzle120of the injection device100may also be regulated according to the size and distribution density of the micro element320.

From another point of view, the flow velocity of the fluid (for example, a fluid FD1) may also be adjusted according to the size of the micro element (for example, the micro element320). For example, as shown inFIG.4A, the injection device100generates fluid FD1substantially with a flow velocity v1to remove the defect320D of the object under test300. On the other hand, as shown inFIG.4B, the injection device100generates fluid FD2substantially with a flow velocity v2to remove the defect320AD (namely, the micro element320A) of the object under test300, wherein the size of the defect320AD is larger than that of the defect320D, the flow velocity v2of the fluid FD2may be larger than the flow velocity v1of the fluid FD1, so as to improve the removal success rate of the defect320AD.

FIG.5is an operation diagram of an injection device according to another embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG.5, the injection device100A of the present embodiment is different from the injection device100A ofFIG.4Ain that the sizes of the tube and the nozzle are different. In the present embodiment, a nozzle120A of the injection device100A has a width W3in the direction D1, and the width W3is larger than the width W1of the nozzle120ofFIG.4A. The flow velocity v1of the fluid FD3produced by the injection device100A is enabled to have a flow velocity v1approximately same as that of the fluid FD1ofFIG.4A, and the size of the defect320AD (or micro element320A) of the object under test300A is larger than that of the defect320D (or micro element320) of the object under test300ofFIG.4A, the contact area of the fluid FD3and the defect320AD is increased through the enlargement of the width of the nozzle120A, so that the defect320AD generates enough rotation torque to be removed from the object under test300A. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the diameter of the tube110A may essentially be equal to the width W3of the nozzle120A, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the diameter of the tube may also be smaller than the width of the nozzle.

FIG.6is an operation diagram of an injection device according to another embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG.6, the injection device100B of the present embodiment is different from the injection device100A ofFIG.4Ain that the extension axis AX of the second portion110bof a tube110C of the present embodiment is inclined toward the top surface320sof the micro element320. That is to say, the extension axis AX of the second portion110bis neither perpendicular nor parallel to the top surface320sof the micro element320. For example, an angle θ is included between the extension axis AX of the second portion110band the normal direction of the top surface320sof the micro element320, and the angle θ may be less than 90 degrees and greater than or equal to 10 degrees. More preferably, the angle θ may be less than 80 degrees and greater than 45 degrees. Accordingly, the removal success rate of the defect320D by the injection device100B may be improved, and the adjacent good micro element320may be ensured not to be unaffected in the removal process of the defect320D, so as to increase the removal accuracy of the defect320D, thereby improving the repairing yield of the object under test300.

FIG.7is a block diagram of micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment according to another embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG.7, the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment11of the present embodiment is different from the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment10ofFIG.1in that the compositions of the optical inspection modules are different. In the present embodiment, the optical inspection module60A may also include a thickness detector260. Here, the thickness detector260, for example, is a white light interferometer, may be used to obtain the thickness information of the object under test at the target position of the carrying stage, or even thickness distribution information (for example, film thickness uniformity or surface roughness) of the object under test in a target area.

In summary, in the micro light emitting diode inspection and repairing equipment and method according to an embodiment of the disclosure, the optical inspection module is used to carry out the optical inspection of the object under test to obtain the position coordinate of the defect, which helps to ensure the positioning relationship between the injection device and the defect, thereby improving the removal accuracy of the defect. On the other hand, the extension axis of the second portion of the tube passes through the defect, so that the fluid passing through the nozzle can efficiently blow to the defect to remove the defect from the substrate of the object under test. In this way, it helps to improve the overall yield of the post process.

Although the disclosure is described with reference to the above embodiments, the embodiments are not intended to limit the disclosure. A person of ordinary skill in the art may make variations and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the disclosure should be subject to the appended claims.