Vacuum chamber assembly for supporting a workpiece
AssigneeNikon Research Corporation of America
InventorsFardad Hashemi, Douglas C. Watson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A chamber assembly (26) for providing a sealed chamber (40) adjacent to a workpiece (28) to counteract the influence of gravity on the workpiece (28) includes a chamber housing (244), and a seal assembly (33) that expands and/or contracts to better seal against the workpiece (28). Further, the chamber assembly (26) can include one or more transducer assemblies (34) that expand or contract to quickly respond to leaks or injections of fluid in chamber assembly (26) to maintain a constant and stable chamber pressure in the chamber assembly (26). Moreover, the chamber assembly (26) can utilize a pressure source (35) that directs a lager amount of fluid (374) through a fluid passageway (368) to accurately maintain the pressure within the chamber assembly (26).
Claims19
A chamber assembly for providing a sealed chamber adjacent to a workpiece, the chamber assembly comprising:
- a chamber housing positioned adjacent to and spaced apart a chamber gap from the workpiece;
- a seal assembly that seals the chamber housing to the workpiece to create the sealed chamber between the chamber housing the workpiece, the seal assembly including a flexible barrier that is secured to the chamber housing, and a compliant seal that is secured to the flexible barrier, wherein the flexible barrier expands or contracts to adjust for changes in the chamber gap, wherein the compliant seal directly contacts the workpiece to seal against the workpiece conforming to non-uniformities in the workpiece, and wherein the flexible barrier and the compliant seal cooperate to seal the chamber gap;
- and
- a transducer assembly in fluid communication with the sealed chamber, the transducer assembly expanding or contracting as needed to compensate for pressure variations in the sealed chamber due to leaks or injections, thereby stabilizing the pressure in the sealed chamber, the transducer assembly including a variable chamber that alternatively expands and contracts.
A chamber assembly for providing a sealed chamber adjacent to a workpiece, the chamber assembly comprising:
- a chamber housing positioned adjacent to the workpiece;
- a seal assembly that seals the chamber housing to the workpiece to create the sealed chamber between the chamber housing and the workpiece;
- and
- a transducer assembly in fluid communication with the sealed chamber, the transducer assembly expanding or contracting as needed to compensate for pressure variations in the sealed chamber due to leaks or injections, thereby stabilizing the pressure in the sealed chamber, the transducer assembly including a flexible barrier comprising a plurality of alternating concave and convex folds with components in both vertical and tangential circumferential directions that forms at least a portion of a variable chamber that alternatively expands and contracts, and an actuator that is coupled to and selectively moves a portion of the flexible barrier to selectively expand and contract the variable chamber.
A chamber assembly for providing a sealed chamber adjacent to a workpiece, the chamber assembly comprising:
- a chamber housing positioned adjacent to the workpiece;
- a seal assembly that seals the chamber housing to the workpiece to create the sealed chamber between the chamber housing and the workpiece;
- and
- a transducer assembly in fluid communication with the sealed chamber, the transducer assembly expanding or contracting as needed to compensate for pressure variations in the sealed chamber due to leaks or injections, thereby stabilizing the pressure in the sealed chamber, the transducer assembly including a variable chamber that alternatively expands and contracts, and an actuator that is coupled to and selectively moves a portion of the variable chamber to selectively expand and contract the variable chamber.
An exposure apparatus for transferring a pattern onto a substrate, the exposure apparatus comprising:
- a mask that includes the pattern;
- an illumination system that directs an illumination beam at the mask;
- and
- a stage assembly that moves the mask relative to the illumination system, the stage assembly including (i) a stage that retains the mask, and (ii) a chamber assembly for providing a sealed chamber adjacent to the mask to maintain the shape of the mask, the chamber assembly including:
- a chamber housing positioned adjacent to the mask;
- a seal assembly that seals the chamber housing to the mask to create the sealed chamber between the chamber housing and the mask;
- and
- a transducer assembly in fluid communication with the sealed chamber, the transducer assembly expanding or contracting as needed to compensate for pressure variations in the sealed chamber due to leaks or injections, thereby stabilizing the pressure in the sealed chamber to maintain the shape of the mask, the transducer assembly including a variable chamber that alternatively expands and contracts.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.