Movable body apparatus, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method
AssigneeNikon Corporation
InventorYuichi Shibazaki
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A stage device is equipped with a surface plate and a wafer stage which is mounted on the surface plate and has an exhausting port formed on a surface facing the surface plate. In a state where the wafer stage lands on the surface plate, an air chamber is formed in between the surface plate and the wafer stage. Pressurized gas blows out from the exhausting port provided at a stage main section into the air chamber, and self-weight of the wafer stage is cancelled by an inner pressure of the air chamber. This allows to the wafer stage which has stopped on the surface plate to be moved manually.
Claims13
A movable body apparatus, comprising:
- a base member;
- a movable body that is movable on the base member;
- a planar motor of a magnetic levitation method that moves the movable body on the base member, the planar motor having a stator provided at the base member and a mover provided at the movable body, and supporting in a non-contact manner the movable body above the base member by a magnetic levitation force generated by electromagnetic interaction between the stator and the mover;
- and
- a support apparatus different from the planar motor, and capable of supporting the movable body above the base member, the support apparatus being capable of generating a support force with respect to the movable body at least at a non-generating time of the magnetic levitation force.
A moving method, comprising:
- placing a movable body on a base member so that the movable body is movable on the base member by a planar motor of a magnetic levitation method that moves the movable body on the base member, the planar motor having a stator provided at the base member and a mover provided at the movable body, and supporting in a non-contact manner the movable body above the base member by a magnetic levitation force generated by electromagnetic interaction between the stator and the mover;
- and
- supporting the movable body above the base member with a support force generated by a support apparatus different from the planar motor, the support apparatus being capable of generating the support force at least at a non-generating time of the magnetic levitation force.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.