JP3025026B2 - Loading table moving device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microscope focusing device which can be used for a stage vertical movement mechanism of a microscope or a revolver vertical movement machine to which an objective lens is attached.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Application No. Hei.
There is a conventional example as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 99325, and examples of the configuration of a microscope provided with the conventional example are shown in FIGS. The stage vertical movement mechanism of this microscope is provided on one side of the mirror body 1 as shown in FIG.
The first and second upper and lower bases 3 and 4 are slidably mounted on the female guide 2 via rollers 5 as shown in FIG. The first upper and lower table 3 has a stage 6 mounted thereon, and this stage 6 is arranged on the optical axis of an objective lens 8 mounted on a revolver 7. Further, the second upper and lower base 4 is disposed below the first upper and lower base 3 and holds the first upper and lower base 3 via the hard sphere 9. Further, a rack 11 is formed on the mirror 1 side of the second upper and lower base 4. A pinion 12 is meshed with the rack 11, and the pinion 12 is connected to an operation knob 13 provided on the outer wall of the mirror body.

In the stage up / down movement mechanism constructed as described above, when the operation knob 13 is rotated, the rotation amount is converted into linear movement by the rack and pinion (11, 12), and the second up / down table 4 is It moves along the guide 2. Therefore, when the stage 6 is moved closer to the objective lens 8, the first upper and lower bases 3 are pushed up by the second upper and lower bases 4 and move along the female guide 2.

According to such a stage up-down movement mechanism, the first up-down table 3 on which the stage 6 is mounted can move up and down without being affected by the rack and pinion (11, 12). Even if there is a change in the contact angle between both gears of the pinion 12, pitching and yawing do not occur in the running of the stage, and positioning can be performed accurately. Further, in the above-described stage vertical movement mechanism, if a reduction gear is used as a transmission member that transmits the rotation amount of the operation knob 13 to the pinion 12,
The minimum step of the stage feed can be increased to an accuracy of about 1 to 3 μm. An apparatus using this reduction gear is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-4462.

In the field of precise measurement of the surface shape of a sample, an accuracy of about 0.01 to 0.1 μm is required, and a technique using a piezoelectric element to achieve such positioning accuracy is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-82390. No. 6,086,045.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the structure of a stage up-down movement mechanism using this piezoelectric element. A fine movement stage 24 is mounted on the upper surface of the coarse movement stage 20 movable vertically by this stage vertical movement mechanism via a fine movement portion including a piezoelectric element 21, a pole 22, a linear bearing 23, and the like.
In the fine moving section, a linear bearing 23 is provided on the lower surface of the fine moving stage 24, a pole 22 erected on the upper surface of the coarse moving stage 20 is inserted into the linear bearing 23, and the piezoelectric element 21 is provided between the stages 20 and 24. Is interposed.

On the other hand, in an IC exposure apparatus, a fine movement positioning mechanism using a piezoelectric element on a wafer mounting table is disclosed in
-82390. This positioning mechanism includes, for example, a cylindrical base 3 having an open upper end on a screw member 31 having a thread groove formed on the outer periphery as shown in FIG.
2 is screwed together, and the stage 33 is mounted on the stage holding member 34. The stage holding member 34 is
It is held via a bearing 36 by a bearing receiver 35 formed at the upper end of the base 32. The stage holding member 34 and the screw member 31 are connected via a ball bearing 37, and a piezoelectric element 38 is provided on the stage holding member 34 side. Then, by rotating the gear 40 whose rotating shaft is fixed to the screw member 31 by the motor 39, the stage 33 can be moved up and down while maintaining rigidity, and can be finely adjusted by the piezoelectric element 38.

[0008]

However, the above-described vertical movement mechanism shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 requires a long guide, and is not suitable for a microscope (the dimension L2 in FIG. 7 is large). In addition, since the same guide is shared by the two upper and lower bases, it is difficult to assemble, and furthermore, it is impossible to perform extremely fine movement (0.01 μm to 0.1 pm). The vertical movement mechanism shown in FIG. 9 has a fine movement stage 24 mounted on the coarse movement stage 20 and moves the fine movement stage 24 up and down along the guide 22 provided on the coarse movement stage 20. The guide for the coarse movement and the guide for the fine movement have become independent structures, which inevitably results in a two-story structure, which increases the size of the apparatus and that the running of the coarse moving section and the running of the fine moving section must be matched. , Advanced processing and assembly techniques were required. In addition, when the running accuracy of the coarse movement portion is not maintained, only the stroke of the fine movement portion must be used as the effective stroke of the precision movement, and there is a disadvantage that the effective stroke is shortened.

The positioning mechanism shown in FIG.
Since it is an exposure apparatus stepper of C, it has been difficult to use it as a vertical movement mechanism of a microscope, for example. For example, FIG.
The stage 33 of the positioning mechanism shown in FIG.
It is very heavy, 〜20 kg, and the coarse movement inevitably requires the use of screws. However, when the stage is moved manually like a microscope, the required number of rotations increases and the workability is reduced. In addition, since the stage 33 is a stepper for an IC exposure apparatus, it needs to rotate in the θ direction (angle) in addition to the vertical movement, so that the stage 33 is a ball bearing. , Θ motion is an error amount.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is easy to process and assemble, can be reduced in size, enables accurate vertical movement over a long stroke from fine movement to coarse movement, and improves operability. It is an object of the present invention to provide a focusing device for a microscope .

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, a focusing apparatus for a microscope according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises:
An upper and lower base, a first guide means for slidably mounting the first upper and lower base, and a first guide means for vertically guiding the first upper and lower base with respect to the lens barrel; And a second upper and lower table which is held via a piezoelectric member, and the second upper and lower table is slidably attached to the second upper and lower table in the same direction as the guide direction by the second guide means with respect to the lens barrel. A second guiding means provided on the lens barrel, one end of which is fixed to the first upper and lower base so as to transmit the movement of the second upper and lower base to the first upper and lower base, and the other end of which is A piezoelectric member fixed to the second upper and lower bases, a power transmission means for converting an operation amount given from the outside into a vertical linear movement of the second upper and lower bases, and a finer for applying a required voltage to the piezoelectric members. An adjusting circuit;
Each of the guide means is constituted by a pair of ball races or roller races, and the first guide means and the second guide means are arranged in parallel so that the guide directions are parallel to each other. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a focusing apparatus for a microscope, wherein the first upper and lower bases are slidably mounted and guide the first upper and lower bases vertically with respect to the lens barrel. 1 guide means, a second upper and lower platform for holding a part of the first upper and lower platform from below under a piezoelectric member, and the second upper and lower platform is slidably attached to the second upper and lower platform. A second guide means provided on the first upper and lower table for guiding the first upper and lower table in a direction parallel to the guiding direction of the first guide means; A piezoelectric member having one end fixed to the first upper and lower bases and the other end fixed to the second upper and lower bases so as to be transmitted to the upper and lower bases;
A power transmission means for converting the vertical movement of the upper and lower tables into a linear motion; and a fine adjustment circuit for applying a required voltage to the piezoelectric member, wherein each of the first and second guide means is a pair of ball races. Alternatively, the first guide means and the second guide means are arranged in parallel so that the guide directions are parallel to each other. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the microscope focusing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the power transmission unit includes a reduction gear mechanism that receives an external operation amount, and a rotational force converted by the reduction gear mechanism. And a rack and pinion mechanism for converting the linear motion into a linear motion of the second upper and lower tables. The invention according to claim 4 is the focusing device for a microscope according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the piezoelectric member includes:
A plurality of piezoelectric elements that can be driven independently of each other and have different moving pitches are stacked. The invention according to claim 5 is the focusing device for a microscope according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the projections of the second upper and lower bases are provided between two projections provided on the first upper and lower bases, First
The piezoelectric member is arranged between one of the protrusions of the upper and lower bases and the protrusion of the second upper and lower bases, and between the other protrusion of the first upper and lower bases and the protrusion of the second upper and lower bases. It is characterized in that a spring is arranged.

[0012]

According to the present invention, the first upper and lower bases and the second upper and lower bases are configured to move in the vertical direction of the lens barrel or the first upper and lower bases by the first guide means and the second guide means. Since the guide means and the second guide means are arranged between the first upper and lower bases and the lens barrel or between the first upper and lower bases and the second upper and lower bases, when an external force is applied to the power transmission means, the power transmission means As a result, the second upper and lower tables move, and the first upper and lower tables provided on the second upper and lower tables via the piezoelectric member are moved. Further, by applying a voltage to the piezoelectric member by the fine adjustment circuit, the first upper and lower bases can be extremely finely moved by the piezoelectric members without or through the power transmission means and the second upper and lower bases. In the above description, when the lens barrel as the fixed body is viewed from the first upper and lower bases as the movable body on which the sample and the like are mounted, the first upper and lower bases, the second upper and lower bases, and the body are the first guide means and the second guide means Is supported by the lens barrel through
In addition, since the first and second guide means each have a pair of ball races or roller races, a cantilever structure is provided, so that pitching and yawing of the first upper and lower bases can be prevented. In this case, the piezoelectric member is disposed so as to support a part of the first upper and lower bases from the lower side by the second upper and lower bases, and this serves to support the connection as the cantilever structure described above. is there. Further, since the two guide means are arranged in parallel, the space around the lens barrel can be effectively utilized, so that the enlargement of the microscope can be prevented.

[0013]

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show a microscope focusing system according to the present invention.
1 shows an embodiment of the apparatus . In this microscope focusing device , a window lens 52 is provided on a base 51, a lens barrel 53 is fixed on the base 51, and a revolver 7 is mounted on an arm 54 formed at the distal end of the lens barrel 53. Have been.
A first upper and lower table 5 having a mount 55 attached to the lens barrel 53.
6, a second upper and lower table 57 and the like guided independently of the first upper and lower table 56 are provided.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a moving mechanism of the first and second upper and lower bases 56 and 57. FIG.

The first upper and lower bases 56 are slidably mounted on a first guide 58 formed on the lens barrel 53 and formed of a pair of ball races or roller races extending in the vertical direction. The second upper and lower bases 57 are connected to the first upper and lower bases 56 and the lens barrel 5.
3 and is slidably mounted on a second guide 59 formed in the lens barrel 53 in parallel with the first guide. As shown in FIG. 2, the piezoelectric element 6 is placed on a convex portion 57 a protruding from the side surface of the second upper and lower base 57 toward the first upper and lower base 56.
0 is planted, and the tip of the piezoelectric element 60 is in contact with the lower surface of the convex portion 56 a protruding from the side surface of the first upper and lower base 56. A retaining portion 56b protrudes below the same side surface of the first upper and lower bases 56. The spring 61 interposed between the convex portion 57a and the retaining portion 56b extends the piezoelectric element 60 downward. Is regulated. Note that a desired voltage can be applied to the piezoelectric element 60 from outside the microscope via a fine adjustment circuit (not shown). Piezoelectric element 6
0 is 0.01 to 0.1 μm depending on the voltage applied from the fine adjustment circuit.
An ultra-fine movement step feed of about m is possible.

A rack 62 is formed on the other side surface of the second upper and lower base 57 in a vertical direction.
The pinion 63 is meshed. The pinion 63
The operating knob 64 of the microscope provides a rotational force. Although not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pinion 6
Numeral 3 is connected to a generally used fine / coarse movement mechanism using a reduction gear. This fine-coarse movement mechanism is described in, for example,
This is described in JP-A-2-4462, in which the rotation amount given from the operation knob 64 is reduced and transmitted to the pinion 63.

In the embodiment constructed as described above, the amount of rotation of the operation knob 64 is transmitted to the pinion 63 via the fine coarse movement mechanism, and the rack 62 is formed by the rotation of the pinion 63. The upper and lower bases 57 receive an upward or downward force. Here, according to the fine coarse movement mechanism, the rotation of the second upper and lower table 57 to about 5 to 35 mm by one rotation of the operation knob 64, and 1 to 3 μm by the operation knob 65 according to the fine movement mechanism.
It can be moved up and down in steps. Rack 62
Receives an upward force, the second upper and lower table 57 moves along the second guide 59, and the first upper and lower table 56 held via the piezoelectric element 60 moves upward along the first guide 58. As a result, the stage 55 moves upward at a pitch of about 5 to 35 mm for one rotation of the operation knob 64. When the rack 62 receives a downward force, the second upper and lower table 5
7 moves down along the second guide 59, and the first
The first guide 58 receives a downward force via the spring 61.
Move down along.

Further, when the required voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 60 in a state where the second upper and lower bases 57 are stopped, the voltage is reduced to 0.1.
The first up-and-down table 56 moves up and down in an extremely fine step of about 01 to 0.1 μm.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the first upper and lower bases 5
6 and the second upper and lower bases 57 are separated from each other by first and second
Slidably held by guides 58 and 59 of the piezoelectric element 60.
The first upper and lower bases 56 are moved along the first guide 58 from the fine movement to the coarse movement because the same guide (first guide 58) is used to perform both the fine movement by the movement and the coarse movement by the operation knob 64. Accurate movement can be performed over a long stroke, and even if the parallelism between the first and second guides 58 and 59 is slightly deviated or there is play, the effect on the movement accuracy is small and the accuracy is improved. 8, assembling and processing of the male guide are easier than holding the first and second upper and lower bases with the same guide as in the conventional example shown in FIG. Further, since the first upper and lower bases 56 to which the mounting table 55 is attached are moved by the second upper and lower bases 57, it is possible to prevent occurrence of pitching and yawing. Further, two parallel guide mechanisms are suitable in a microscope because the L1 dimension has a margin.

[0021] The piezoelectric element 60 is used to produce
The operation can be switched between an extremely fine movement step, a medium-to-fine movement step of about 1 to 3 μm, and a coarse movement step of about 5 to 35 mm by the operation knob 64, so that the operability is greatly improved as compared with the vertical movement by a screw. be able to.

Next, a modification of the above-described embodiment will be described.

The modification shown in FIG. 4 is an example in which the second guide for guiding the second upper and lower bases 57 is modified. A first guide 58 for guiding the first upper and lower tables 56 to which the mounting table is attached.
Is formed by forming a pair of parallel rails on the side surface of the lens barrel 53 in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment.
The pair of parallel rails are formed on the side surfaces of the upper and lower tables 56 on the second upper and lower table sides in parallel with the first guide 58.

By deforming the guide in this manner, there is an advantage that space efficiency can be improved.

Another modified example shown in FIG. 5 is an example in which the piezoelectric element 60 is modified. In this example, a plurality of piezoelectric elements (two cases are shown in the figure) 60-1 to 60-2 are stuck in the direction of expansion and contraction, and each is independently driven by a parallel circuit. In this parallel circuit, one terminal of the power supply 70 is connected to the piezoelectric elements 60-1 and 60-2 via the main switch SW1 and the volume 74, respectively, and the other terminal of the power supply 70 is directly connected to the piezoelectric element 60-1. And connected to the other piezoelectric element 60-2 via the changeover switch SW2.

With this configuration, if the changeover switch SW2 is opened and the main switch SW1 is closed, the same piezoelectric element 60-1 moves up and down as in the first embodiment, and the changeover switch SW2 is turned on. By closing, the two piezoelectric elements 60-1 and 60-2 can move up and down.

According to such another modification, more steps can be selected as compared with fine adjustment by a single piezoelectric element, and fine vertical movement can be easily performed. For example, when one piezoelectric element is driven, a distance of 10 μm is 0.00
It can be moved in 5 μm steps, but if two piezoelectric elements with the same drive distance are used, the distance of 20 μm can be reduced by 0.01.
It can be moved in μ steps.

It should be noted that a plurality of piezoelectric elements having different driving distances can be combined. For example, if the driving distance is 100 μm and 50 μm, the changeover switch SW2 is operated to reduce the driving distance to 15 μm.
Can be switched to 0 μm, 100 μm, 50 μm,
The steps at that time are 0.15 μm, 0.1 μm, 0.0
5 μm. FIG. 11 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
Have been. The same functions as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
The same reference numerals are given to the same parts. In this embodiment,
The first up-down table 56 and the second up-down table 5 described in the first embodiment.
First and second upper and lower tables 5 each having the same function as 7
6 'and 57' are accommodated in the guide outer frame 73. First
The revolver table 74 is replaced by a revolver table 74 'instead of the stage.
Is attached. This revolver table 74 is
A revolver 7 is attached to the end. In this embodiment,
Is epi-illumination on the optical path between the revolver 7 and the eyepiece
Half mirror 75 is disposed. That half-mi
The illumination light from the epi-illumination light source
And the observation light from the objective lens 8
It functions to transmit light to the lens side. In this embodiment,
The coarse movement, the fine movement, and the fine movement described in the first embodiment are recorded.
It can be implemented with respect to the volver 7. Also stage
With respect to 55, roughing by rotating the handle 13
Action can be performed. Therefore, the stage and the objective
It is possible to move the lens 8 at that time. Further
In the present embodiment, in addition to the transmitted illumination,
Illumination can be implemented. In the second embodiment,
Is between the lower surface A of the arm 54 and the upper surface B of the guide outer frame 73.
Although there is space in the lower surface A of the arm 54 and the outer frame of the guide
73 so as to match the upper surface B of the
You can also. Also, the stage 55 and the base 51 are
And the stage 55 is fixed to the base 51
You may.

[0029]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, in each of vertical movements from fine movement to coarse movement, it is possible to perform different movements of three stages of feed steps from precise fine movement to coarse movement over a long stroke. Even if the degree of parallelism between the first and second guides is slightly deviated or there is a play, the influence on the movement accuracy is small, the accuracy is improved, and assembly and processing of the guides are facilitated. Further, since the first upper and lower bases to which the mounting base is attached are moved by the second upper and lower bases, pitching and yawing can be prevented from occurring. In addition, remote control can be used for slight movements, which is convenient.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a focusing device for a microscope according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a vertical movement mechanism according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line XX shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a main part of a modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a main part of another modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional example of a microscope to which a stage moving mechanism is applied.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a conventional stage moving mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a top view of a conventional stage moving mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of a fine movement stage.

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view showing a fine movement positioning mechanism of the exposure apparatus stepper.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

55: mounting table, 56: first vertical table, 57: second vertical table,
58: first guide, 59: second guide, 60: piezoelectric element, 62: rack, 63: pinion, 64: operation knob.

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] And 1. A first vertical slider, a first guide means for guiding the up and down direction first vertical slider the first vertical slider is slidably mounted with respect to the lens body, said first vertical A second upper and lower table for holding a part of the table from below through a piezoelectric member, and the second upper and lower table is slidably mounted, and the second upper and lower table is mounted on the second guide with respect to the lens barrel. Second guide means provided in the lens barrel for guiding in the same direction as the guide direction of the means, and one end of the first upper and lower tables so as to transmit the movement of the second upper and lower tables to the first upper and lower tables. A piezoelectric member fixed to the second upper and lower base and fixed to the second upper and lower base, a power transmission means for converting an externally applied operation amount into a vertical linear movement of the second upper and lower base, anda fine adjustment circuit for applying a predetermined voltage, the first, second Ido means respectively the addition pair of ball race
Is a roller race, and the first guide means and
The guide directions of the second guide means are parallel to each other.
A focusing device for a microscope, wherein the focusing device is arranged in parallel . 2. A first up-down table, and the first up-down table slides on its own.
And the first upper and lower bases are vertically moved with respect to the lens barrel.
First guide means for guiding the first and the upper and lower bases
Second upper and lower bases for holding the lower side from below via a piezoelectric member
And the second upper and lower bases are slidably mounted on the second upper and lower bases.
The table is moved with respect to the first upper and lower tables by the first guide means.
Guides in the same direction as the guide direction, and
A second guide means provided on one of the upper and lower bases;
One end is connected to the first upper and lower table so as to transmit the movement of the table to the first upper and lower table.
The other end is fixed to the first upper and lower bases and the other end is fixed to the second upper and lower bases.
And the operation amount given from the outside,
Power transmission means that converts the vertical motion of the upper and lower bases into linear motion
And a fine adjustment circuit for applying a required voltage to the piezoelectric member.
Road, and each of the first and second guide means is provided with a pair of ball races or
Is a roller race, and the first guide means and
The guide directions of the second guide means are parallel to each other.
Focusing device for a microscope characterized by being arranged in parallel
Place. 3. The power transmission means includes: a reduction gear mechanism for receiving an external operation amount; and a rack and pinion mechanism for converting a rotational force converted by the reduction gear mechanism into a linear motion of the second upper and lower bases. The focusing device for a microscope according to claim 1, wherein the focusing device is a fine coarse moving device. 4. The focusing device for a microscope according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric member is formed by stacking a plurality of piezoelectric elements that can be driven independently of each other and have different moving pitches . 5. Two projections provided on the first upper and lower bases.
The projections of the second upper and lower bases are provided between the first and the upper and lower bases.
The piezoelectric portion is provided between one convex portion and the convex portion of the second upper and lower bases.
Material, and the other convex part of the first upper and lower bases and the second upper part
A spring arranged between the lower base and the convex portion.
3. A focusing device for a microscope according to claim 1 or 2.