JPH10125593A - Stage apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the generation of a natural vibration associated with a surface plate, by providing a first mobile body moving in a first direction and a second mobile body moving in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction on the reference surface of the surface plate, and by supporting the first mobile body in the second direction via a force compensating element. SOLUTION: Along a fixed guide 3 of a surface plate 1, an Y stage 4 moves in an Y direction in a non-contact way. To the Y stage 4, an X stage 10 for holding a wafer 12 moves in an X direction in a non-contact way. Right and left linear motors 7 are coupled to the Y stage 4 and an X linear motor 6 is coupled to the X stage 10. By a similar method to the linear motors, a force compensating element 100 generates a compensating force between a base and the Y stage 4 in the X direction in a non-contact way. When driving the X stage 10 in the X plus direction, the driving force generated from the X linear motor 6 so operates in the X direction that its reaction force acts on the Y stage 4 in the X minus direction. The force compensating element 100 generates from a frame to the Y stage 4 a compensating force having the same magnitude as the reactive force and operating in the X plus direction to cancel the reaction force.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stage apparatus for moving and positioning an object at high speed and with high accuracy in various measuring instruments and a projection exposure apparatus used in a semiconductor lithography process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional stage device. In the figure, reference numeral 51 denotes a stage base on which a Y stage 52 as a moving mechanism in a Y direction (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface) is mounted. 5
Reference numeral 3 denotes a DC servo motor that converts the rotation direction into a linear motion by a ball screw and drives the Y stage 52 in the Y direction, and is fixed to the stage base 51. An X stage 54 is mounted on the Y stage 52. Reference numeral 55 denotes a DC servo motor that converts the rotational motion into a linear motion by a ball screw 56 and drives the X stage 54 in the X direction.
It is fixed to the Y stage 52. Reference numeral 1 denotes a surface plate for holding a stage base.

[0003] Reference numerals 9a and 9b denote reflection mirrors for a laser measuring device, which are fixed to an X stage 54. Reference numeral 57 denotes an interferometer of a laser measuring device that detects the position of the X stage 54 in the X direction, and is fixed to the surface plate 1 via a mounting table 58. Reference numeral 13 denotes a mount member that supports the surface plate 1 and blocks vibration transmission from the floor on which the device is installed. In the above configuration, the Y stage 52 and the X stage 5
When 4 is driven, a reaction force accompanying acceleration / deceleration is transmitted to the base 1.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-77126 discloses a platen supported by a platen support having low rigidity, a guide provided on the platen, and a movable stage supported by the platen and the guide. In the moving stage including a driving means for applying a thrust to the movable stage, a configuration is shown in which the driving means is supported by a supporting means independent of a surface plate.

[0005]

However, in the conventional example shown in FIG. 6, when the reaction force accompanying the acceleration / deceleration of the moving body is transmitted to the surface plate 1, the surface plate 1 supported by the mount member 13
The natural vibration of the mechanical system related to
Disturbance vibration is transmitted to the Y stage 4, the Y stage 52, and the laser interferometer 57, and tends to hinder high-speed, high-precision positioning.

In the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-77126, the reaction force accompanying acceleration / deceleration of the moving body is not transmitted to the surface plate on which the moving body is mounted, but the stage structure is limited.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and is an improvement of the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-77126. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new stage device that is not transmitted to a board.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a surface plate having a reference surface on an upper surface, and a first surface moving in a first direction on the reference surface of the surface plate. A moving body, a first moving means for generating a driving force for driving the first moving body, and a second moving body orthogonal to a first direction with respect to the first moving body on a reference surface of the surface plate. A second moving body mounted movably in two directions and mounting a base; and a second moving means provided on the first moving body for generating a driving force for driving the second moving body. A base for supporting the first moving body in the second direction via a force compensating element; and a vibration removing means between the base and the surface plate. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the force compensating element generates a compensating force of the same magnitude as the driving force generated by the second moving means.

According to the present invention, high-speed, high-precision positioning of a moving body can be realized, without transmitting a reaction force accompanying acceleration / deceleration of the moving body to a surface plate, as compared with the conventional example.

[0010]

【Example】

(First Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of a stage device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. In FIG. 1, the horizontal direction on the paper is the X direction, and the vertical direction on the paper is the Y direction. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a guide surface if
It is a surface plate having Reference numeral 3 denotes a fixed guide having a guide surface 3f in a direction orthogonal to the guide surface 1f of the surface plate 1.
It is fixed to. Reference numeral 4 denotes a Y stage having guide surfaces g1 and g2 in a direction orthogonal to the guide surface 1f of the base 1, and a hydrostatic bearing provided for the guide surface 3f of the fixed guide 3 and the guide surface 1f of the base 1. It is supported and guided by the pads 5a, 5b, 5c in a non-contact manner and can move smoothly in the Y direction. An X stage 10 holds a base (for example, a semiconductor wafer) 12 via a base holder 10h.
A static pressure bearing pad 11 provided on the surface plate 1 and a static pressure bearing pad (not shown) provided facing the guide surfaces g1 and g2 of the Y stage 4 so as to be in non-contact with the Y stage 4. It can move smoothly in the X direction.
9a and 9b are reflection mirrors for a laser length measuring device, which are fixed to the X stage 10. An interferometer corresponding to the laser reflection mirror is not shown, but is fixed to the surface plate 1, so that the position of the X stage 10 in the X direction and the Y direction can be accurately measured based on the surface plate 1. Reference numeral 2 denotes a base that supports the surface plate 1 via a mount member 13 that blocks vibration transmission.

Reference numeral 7 (7y, 7f) denotes two left and right Y linear motors for driving the Y stage in the Y direction without contact.
The mover 7y is connected to both ends of the Y stage 4 via mounting plates 8a and 8b, and the Y stator 7f is fixed to the base 2 via the frame 102. 6 (6y, 6m, 6
f, 6c) is an X that drives the X stage in the X direction without contact.
An X mover constituted by a permanent magnet 6m and a yoke 6y shown in FIG. The X stator includes a coil 6c and a connecting frame 6f that supports the coil 6c, and is fixed to the Y stage 4. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the X linear motor 6, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. The X yoke 6y is made of a magnetic material, and a plurality of sets of permanent magnets 6m whose N and S poles face each other are attached by means such as bonding, thereby forming a magnetic circuit in which a magnetic flux indicated by an arrow H is formed. ing. The X stator has a plurality of coils 6c fixed thereto, and is arranged such that the coil 6c is located in a space facing the permanent magnet 6m. The Y linear motor 7 has a similar configuration. The above linear motor is disclosed in
57 and JP-A-1-185158.

1 and 2, a force compensating element is constituted by a force compensating coil 100c, a force compensating permanent magnet 100m, and a force compensating yoke 100y. The force compensating coil 100c is supported by the connecting frame 6f, and includes a force compensating permanent magnet 100m and a yoke 100y.
Is fixed to the base 2 via the support member 101 and the frame 102. The force compensating element can generate a compensating force in the X direction without contact between the base and the Y stage in the same manner as the above-described linear motor. The force compensating yoke 100y has one open end, so that the force compensating coil 100c can freely move in the Y direction.
The stage is extended in the Y direction so as to sufficiently cover the entire stroke of the stage in the Y direction.

Next, the mechanism of operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. For simplicity, a description will be given using only the mass elements of the base 1, the Y stage 4, the X stage 10, the frame 102 and the base 2, and the spring elements of the static pressure bearing pad 5a and the mount member 13.

When the X stage 10 is driven in the X plus direction (right side in the drawing), the driving force fx generated by the X linear motor acts in the X direction, and the reaction force fy at that time acts in the X minus direction of the Y stage 4. In the apparatus shown in FIG. 6, the reaction force fy is transmitted to the surface plate 1 via the static pressure bearing pad 5a, and as a result, the surface plate 1 is vibrated so as to adversely affect the positioning accuracy of the stage. In this embodiment,
The force compensating element 100 (100c, 100m, 100y) generates a compensating force fc in the opposite direction (X plus direction) with the same magnitude as the reaction force fy on the stage 4 from the frame 102, thereby canceling the reaction force fy. As a result, the reaction force is not transmitted to the base 1, and does not adversely affect the positioning accuracy of the stage.

In this embodiment, the force compensating element 100
And the characteristics and dimensions of the magnets and the current flowing through the coils of the X linear motor 6 are substantially equal, so that the force compensating element 100 achieves substantially the same magnitude and the same frequency characteristics as the driving force generated by the X linear motor 6. doing. Therefore, the controller that drives the stage and controls the positioning can easily cancel the reaction force by giving the same value as the command value given to the X linear motor to the force compensating element.

Second Embodiment In the first embodiment, the same value as the command value given to the X linear motor 6 is also given to the force compensating element 100 to easily control the compensating force. Actually, even if the controller issues the same command value, the driving force of the X linear motor 6 fluctuates depending on the position of the X stage 4 in the X direction due to the influence of variations in coil characteristics and ripples. Therefore, the controller may store the fluctuation value of the driving force for each position and control the compensating force generated by the force compensating element accordingly.

(Third Embodiment) When the compensating force and the driving force cannot be matched due to the fluctuation of the driving force when the X stage is accelerated or decelerated, the surface plate 1 receives the force. The controller may include a feedback control system that detects the acceleration in the X direction and uses it as a feedback signal to control the compensation force generated by the force compensation element so that the acceleration becomes zero.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, Y
The linear motor stator for directional drive is fixedly supported on a frame and base separated by a surface plate and a mount member supporting the X and Y stages and the laser interferometer, and is further generated by a linear motor for X-directional drive. The Y stage is supported on a frame basis through a force compensating element that generates the same force as the driving force to be applied, so that the reaction force accompanying the acceleration and deceleration of the X and Y stages is not transmitted to the surface plate. High-speed, high-precision feed can be achieved without exciting various natural vibrations related to the platen.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a stage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an AA cross-sectional view of the stage device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of a linear motor in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a conventional stage device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Surface plate, 1f: Guide surface, 2: Base, 3: Fixed guide,
3f: guide surface, 4: Y stage, g1, g2: guide surface,
5a, 5b, 5c: hydrostatic bearing pad, 6 (6y, 6
m, 6f, 6c): X linear motor, 7 (7y, 7
f): Y linear motor, 8a, 8b: mounting plate, 9
a, 9b: reflection mirror, 10: X stage, 10h: base holder, 11: static pressure bearing pad, 12: base, 1
3: Mount member, 51: Stage base, 52: Y stage, 53: DC servo motor, 54: X stage, 5
5: DC servo motor, 56: ball screw, 57: laser interferometer, 58: mounting table, 100 (100c, 10)
0m, 100y): force compensating element, 101: support member, 1
02: frame.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI B23Q 1/18 A

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A surface plate having a reference surface on an upper surface, a first moving body moving in a first direction on a reference surface of the surface plate, and a driving force for driving the first moving body. A first moving means, and a second moving means mounted on the reference surface of the surface plate so as to be movable with respect to the first moving body in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and mounting the base. A second moving means provided on the first moving body for generating a driving force for driving the second moving body, and the first moving body in a second direction via a force compensating element. A stage device comprising: a base for supporting the base; and a vibration removing unit disposed between the base and the surface plate. 2. The stage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said force compensating element generates a compensating force having the same magnitude as a driving force generated by said second moving means. 3. The stage apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the force compensating element is a non-contact electromagnetic joint. 4. The stage apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the non-contact electromagnetic joint includes a permanent magnet fixed to the base and a coil fixed to the first moving body. 5. The stage device according to claim 4, wherein the permanent magnet is arranged so as to extend in the first direction. 6. A controller for controlling a compensation force generated by the force compensation element.
A stage device according to item 1. 7. The stage apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the controller includes a control system that controls so as to generate a compensating force according to a change in the driving force generated by the second moving unit. 8. The stage apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the controller includes a control system that controls the compensation force by using the acceleration of the surface plate in the second direction as a feedback signal. 9. The stage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second moving body is mounted on the first moving body.