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US 6,327,024 B1Granted
Vibration isolation apparatus for stage
AssigneeNikon Corporation
InventorsYutaka Hayashi, Hideaki Sakamoto
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vibration isolation apparatus for preventing shaking and vibration of a stage of an exposure apparatus or the like uses a vibration isolation mount formed of a spring buffer system employing a spring member and a fluid buffer system employing a viscous fluid as a vibration isolation base which is disposed between a base member on which an exposure unit is mounted and an installation surface on which the base member is installed so as to support the base member. The coefficient of viscous drag of the viscous fluid is varied to vary a damping coefficient which depends on the coefficient of viscous drag thereby to vary rigidity of the vibration isolation mount, whereby vibration transmitted from an external source and vibration associated with a stage movement are damped.
Claims55
A vibration isolation apparatus, comprising:
- a base member that mounts an object to be processed;
- a plurality of vibration damping devices which are disposed on an installation surface for said base member, the plurality of vibration damping device supporting said base member and damping vibrations between the installation surface and said base member;
- and
- a damping characteristic varying device that is connected with one or more vibration damping devices among said plurality of vibration damping devices, and varies at least either one of a spring constant and a damping coefficient of predetermined one or more vibration damping devices in accordance with a state of movement of the object to be processed,
- wherein said predetermined one or more vibration damping devices have an electrical actuator that applies a force to said base member from the installation surface in response to a position sensor signal, and
- said damping characteristic varying device varies again applied to the position sensor signal before input to the electrical actuator.
3 more elements
A stage apparatus, comprising;
- a base member;
- a substrate state that is mounted on said base member and moves a substrate two-dimensionally;
- three or more vibration damping devices which are disposed on an installation surface for said base member, the three or more vibration damping devices supporting said base member and damping vibrations between the installation surface and said base member;
- a damping characteristic varying device that is connected with one or more vibration damping devices among said three or more vibration damping devices, and varies at least either one of a spring constant and a damping coefficient of predetermined one or more vibration damping devices in accordance with a state of movement of said substrate stage,
- wherein said predetermined one or more vibration damping devices have an electrical actuator that applies a force to said base member from the installation surface in response to a position sensor signal, and
- said damping characteristic varying device varies a gain applied to the position sensor signal before input to the electrical actuator.
3 more elements
A scanning exposure apparatus which moves a mask with respect to an optical system while illuminating the mask on which a transfer pattern is formed and synchronously moves a substrate with respect to the optical system, thereby exposing the pattern on the mask onto the substrate using the optical system, comprising:
- a movable substrate stage that holds said substrate;
- a base member on which a frame that supports said projection optical system and said substrate stage are mounted;
- three or more vibration damping devices that are connected with said base member and support said base member;
- and
- a controller connected with at least one of said three or more vibration damping devices, the controller varying at least either one of a spring constant and a damping coefficient of the vibration damping devices so that a rigidity of the vibration damping devices in a first period when the mask and the substrate are moving at the fixed scanning velocity for the scanning exposure differs from a rigidity of the vibration damping devices in a second period when the mask and the substrate are accelerating or decelerating toward the fixed scanning velocity.
2 more elements
A vibration isolation apparatus, comprising:
- a base member on which an object to be processed is mounted;
- a plurality of vibration damping devices which are disposed between said base member and an installation surface in different positions;
- a level sensor connected to said base member to detect a level of said base member;
- a plurality of load sensors that detect a load which is placed by said base member on each of said plurality of vibration damping devices;
- and
- a plurality of height adjusting devices that are connected with each of said plurality of vibration damping devices, and adjust a height of each of said plurality of vibration damping devices in accordance with the result of detection by said plurality of load sensors and said level sensor.
3 more elements
A vibration isolation apparatus, comprising:
- a base member on which a movable stage is mounted, the movable stage positioning an object to be processed in first and second directions intersecting each other;
- a level sensor connected to said base member to detect a level of said base member;
- four vibration damping devices which are disposed between said base member and an installation surface in different positions;
- four load sensors that detect a load which is placed by said base member on each of said plurality of vibration damping devices;
- four height adjusting devices that are connected with each of said four vibration damping devices and adjusting a height of each of said four vibration damping devices in accordance with the result of detection by said four load sensors and said level sensor;
- four first vibration controlling devices that are disposed in parallel with said four height adjusting devices and that control vibration of said base member in a direction of height;
- two or more second vibration controlling devices that control vibration of said base member in the first direction;
- one or more third vibration controlling devices that control vibration of said base member in the second direction;
- and
- a controller connected with said four first vibration controlling devices, said two or more second vibration controlling devices, and said one or more third vibration controlling devices, the controller controlling each of said first, second and third vibration controlling devices.
7 more elements
An exposure apparatus, comprising:
- an exposure system which exposes a substrate with an image of a pattern on a mask, said exposure system including a substrate stage that moves the substrate in first and second directions perpendicularly intersecting each other and a mask stage that moves the mask;
- a base member on which said exposure system is mounted and which is supported on three or more vibration damping devices;
- a plurality of first vibration controlling members which are connected to said base member with said vibration controlling members being separated from said three or more vibration damping devices and which control vibration of said base member in a direction of height;
- and
- at least three second vibration controlling members which arc connected to said exposure system and which control vibration of said exposure system on a plane including the first and second directions.
2 more elements
An exposure apparatus comprising:
- an exposure unit which is disposed on a vibration isolation unit so that vibration from a floor is substantially isolated, said exposure unit including a projection optical system disposed between a mask and a substrate, a first frame which supports at least a part of said projection optical system, a mask stage which moves said mask, a substrate stage which moves said substrate, and a base member which movably supports said stage moves;
- a first vibration damping system disposed between said base member and said floor with said system being separated from said vibration isolation unit so that vibration of said stage along an optical axis of said projection optical system is damped;
- and
- a second vibration damping system disposed between said exposure unit and said floor being separated from said first vibration damping system and said vibration isolation unit so that vibration of said mask stage and said substrate stage on a plane perpendicular to said optical axis of said projection optical system is damped.
1 more element
An exposure apparatus comprising:
- an exposure unit which includes a projection optical system disposed between a mask and a substrate, a first frame which supports at least a part of said projection optical system, a stage which supports said substrate, and a base member on which said stage moves;
- a leveling sensor that detects a level of said base member;
- a first vibration damping system disposed between said base member and said floor, said first vibration damping system having a fluid actuator and an electrical actuator to suppress vibration of said stage along an optical axis of said projection optical system based on an output of said leveling sensor;
- and
- a second vibration damping system disposed between said exposure unit and said floor so that vibration of said stage along an optical axis of said projection optical system is damped,
- wherein said first vibration damping system includes a plurality of first actuators connected to said base member;
- and
- wherein each of said first actuators are a non-contacting type actuator which isolates vibration from said floor.
5 more elements
An exposure apparatus comprising:
- an exposure unit which is disposed on a vibration isolation unit so that vibration from a floor is substantially isolated, said exposure unit including a projection optical system disposed between a mask and a substrate, a first frame which supports at least a part of said projection optical system, a stage which supports said substrate, and a base member on which said stage moves;
- a leveling sensor that detects a level of said base member;
- a first vibration damping system disposed between said base member and said floor with said system, said first vibration damping system having a fluid actuator and an electrical actuator to suppress vibration of said stage along an optical axis of said projection optical system based on an output of said leveling sensor;
- and
- a second vibration damping system disposed between said exposure unit and said floor so that vibration of said stage on a plane perpendicular to said optical axis of said projection optical system is damped,
- wherein said second vibration damping system includes a third frame mounted on said floor and a second actuator which connects said third frame and a part of said exposure unit.
3 more elements
A scanning type exposure apparatus which synchronously moves a mask and a substrate and expose said substrate with a pattern on said mask by exposure light, comprising:
- an exposure optical system disposed on a light path of said exposure light between said mask and said substrate;
- a base member;
- a mask stage that holds said mask;
- movable stage that holds said substrate, said movable stage synchronizing said substrate with said mask held by said mask stage which is movably supported by said base member when scanning exposure is performed;
- an actuator disposed between said base member and an installation surface on said base member, said actuator applying a force to said base member in a direction perpendicular to a plane along which said movable stage moves;
- and
- a controller connected with said actuator, said controller controlling said actuator so that vibration of said base member which is caused by synchronized movement of said movable stage with said mask held by said mask stage while performing a scanning exposure is compensated.
4 more elements
A scanning type exposure apparatus which synchronously moves a mask and a substrate to exposes a pattern of the mask onto the substrate, comprising:
- a movable mask stage that holds the mask;
- a movable substrate stage that holds the substrate;
- a main frame that movably supports the movable mask stage and the movable substrate stage;
- a projection system located between the movable mask stage and the movable substrate stage to project the pattern onto the substrate;
- an actuator system that actuates the main frame in a direction along an optical axis of the projection optical axis of the projection optical system;
- and
- a controller connected with the actuator system to suppress a variation of the main frame which is caused by a movement of the mask and the substrate.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.