A photomask alignment method for a manufacturing process of an integrated circuit in a semiconductor material wafer (20), the method envisaging: at a first level, defining, by means of a single photolithography process, at least one alignment structure (10; 10) on the wafer (20), the alignment structure (10; 10) having at least a first (4a) and a second (4b) reference mark; and, at an upper level, higher than the first one, aligning a first field mask (11a) relative to the at least one first reference mark (4a); and aligning a second field mask (11b), which is used, together with the first field mask (11a), for the photolithography formation of the integrated circuit inside a respective die (22) in the wafer (20), relative to the at least one second reference mark (4b), so that the first and second field masks (11a, 11b) are arranged on the wafer (20) adjacent to one another in a first coupling direction, without any mutual overlapping.

A lithographic apparatus comprising a substrate storage module having a controllable environment for protecting lithographically exposed substrates from ambient air. The substrate storage module is configured to store at least twenty substrates and the substrate storage module is an integral part of the lithographic apparatus. The substrate storage module may be used to protect substrates from ambient air during stitched lithographic exposures.

An exposure apparatus includes: a first light source that generates first exposure light, a diaphragm having plurality of openings positioned between the first light source and an exposure photomask, a plurality of first projection optical systems that individually project an optical image realized by the first exposure light transmitted through each of the plurality of openings on an exposure target, a second light source that generates second exposure light, and a correction stepper. The correction stepper irradiates a light amount correction region with the second exposure light so as to limit an irradiation range of the exposure target to be irradiated with the second exposure light transmitted through the exposure photomask, and the light amount correction region is a region extending in a first direction by a width of a multi-opening region in a second direction in a plan view.

A maskless exposure device includes an exposure head that includes a digital micro-mirror device configured to reflect a source beam received from an exposure source to a substrate to scan an exposure beam to the substrate, and a system control part configured to control the digital micro-mirror device using a graphic data system file. The graphic data system file includes data of an align-key. The align-key includes an X-align-key that extends in a direction parallel to a scan direction of the exposure head, and has a bar shape in a plan view, and a Y-align-key disposed adjacent to the X-align-key that has a frame shape in a plan view.

A fabrication method of a mask and a mask, a display panel and a touch panel are provided. The fabrication method of the mask includes: providing a substrate; forming a photoresist material layer on the substrate; and performing at least two scanning exposure processes on the photoresist material layer by using a scanning beam, wherein, each of the at least two scanning exposure processes is performed along a first direction parallel to a surface where the substrate is located, the scanning beam in each of the at least two scanning exposure processes scans the photoresist material layer in a scanning region having a preset width, at least one pair of adjacent scanning regions partially overlap with each other, and a partially overlapping region of the at least one pair of adjacent scanning regions is located in a first region of the mask.

A display device includes: a first substrate including a display area and a non-display area including a first non-display area and a second non-display area on respective sides of the display area with respect to a first direction; a color filter in the display area and including a first color filter, a second color filter, and a third color filter; and a color filter dam in the non-display area, wherein the color filter dam includes a first color filter dam in the first non-display area and a second color filter dam in the second non-display area, the first color filter dam includes a same material as the first color filter, and the second color filter dam includes a same material as the second color filter.

A display panel including: a display portion including a plurality of signal lines and a plurality of pixels connected to the signal lines; a peripheral portion provided around the display portion; an integrated circuit (IC) mounting unit provided on the peripheral portion, and including a plurality of driver ICs connected to a data driver; and a test pad portion provided on the peripheral portion and testing the signal lines. The test pad portion includes a gate driver test pad portion including a gate driver test pad unit and a data line test pad unit including a data line test pad unit, the data line test pad unit includes an outermost data line test pad unit provided on respective sides of the data line test pad portion and a plurality of intermediate data line test pad units provided between the outermost data line test pad units.

A mask, a stitching exposure method, a display panel, and a manufacturing method. The mask is used for manufacturing scan lines or data lines of a display panel by means of exposure; the mask plate is provided with a pattern area and a slit area located at the periphery of the pattern area; multiple exposure lines parallel to each other are provided in the pattern area; the multiple exposure lines are respectively continuous lines and used for manufacturing the scan lines or the data lines by means of exposure; the slit area is provided with a slit; the slit is used for disconnecting each scan line or data line at intermediate positions by means of exposure. The mask plate and the stitching exposure method can achieve disconnection of a scan line or a data line at intermediate positions in an exposure process.

An exposure mask includes an aligning portion and a boundary portion. The aligning portion may be aligned with pixel areas of a substrate and includes a first exposure member and a second exposure member. The boundary portion includes a first exposure element, a second exposure element, a third exposure element, and a fourth exposure element. The first exposure member, the first exposure element, and the second exposure element are positioned in a first row. The first exposure element is positioned between the first exposure member and the second exposure element and is larger than the second exposure element. The second exposure member, the third exposure element, and the fourth exposure element are positioned in a second row. The third exposure element is positioned between the second exposure member and the fourth exposure element and is smaller than the fourth exposure element. Each exposure member/element includes a light transmitter/blocker.

In an exposure apparatus, on a substrate holder (34), a plurality of grating areas (RG) is arranged mutually apart in the X-axis direction, and a plurality of heads (66a to 66d) that irradiates a measurement beam with respect to the grating area and can move in the Y-axis direction is arranged outside of the substrate holder. A control system controls movement of the substrate holder in at least directions of three degrees of freedom within an XY plane, based on measurement information of at least three heads of the plurality of heads facing the grating area and measurement information of a measurement device that measures position information of the plurality of heads. The measurement beam of each of the plurality of heads, during the movement of substrate holder in the X-axis direction, moves off of one of the plurality of grating areas and switches to another adjacent grating area.