Precision positioning apparatus

A positioning apparatus comprising:

• a table;
• supporting means for dampingly supporting said table;
• a coarse movement stage moving on said table;
• guiding means provided on said table for guiding motion of, without touching, said coarse movement stage on said table;
• driving means, comprising a linear motor provided on said table, for causing said coarse movement stage to move on said table according to a drive signal;
• positions measuring means, comprising a laser interferometer provided on said table, for measuring a displacement of said coarse movement stage on said table and for producing a position measurement signal;
• signal outputting means for outputting a target signal corresponding to a target position for positioning said coarse movement stage on said table;
• a fine movement stage supported on said coarse movement stage;
• posture measurement means for measuring a posture of said fine movement stage on said coarse stage and for producing a posture measurement signal;
• posture adjusting means for adjusting a posture of said fine movement stage on said coarse movement stage based on the posture adjustment signal;
• first controlling means for outputting a first command signal for positioning said coarse movement stage at the target position based on the target signal and the position measurement signal;
• and
• second controlling means for estimating a disturbance disturbing said coarse movement stage being moved on said table by said driving means, based on the drive signal and the position measurement signal, and for outputting a second command signal for cancelling an affect of the estimated disturbance, wherein the second command signal is added to the first command signal when the first command signal is output as the drive signal, in which the second command signal is corrected based on at least one of the posture measurement signal and the posture adjustment signal.