KR102110689B1 - Goniometer stage - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a goniometer stage comprising: a base stage fixated at a lower side and having a curved guide to form a concave curved path on an upper surface thereof; a moving stage coupled on the upper side of the base stage to perform a curved motion along the curved guide; a slider installed on the base stage to perform a linear reciprocating motion in parallel with the curved guide; a ball screw connected to the slider so that the slider can perform the linear reciprocating motion; a driver applying a rotational force to the ball screw; a hooking member positioned at the upper part of the slider and transferring a force, in accordance with the linear reciprocating motion of the slider, to the moving stage; and a ball rotating body rotatable and having a rotating center fixated at a preset position by a support member installed at the lower part of the moving stage, wherein the hooking member transfers the force to the moving stage through the ball rotating body, thereby enabling the moving stage to receive the force due to the linear reciprocating motion of the slider to perform the curved motion along the curved guide. The goniometer stage can very precisely control the angle of the moving stage.

Description

GONIOMETER STAGE}

The present invention relates to a gonio stage, and more particularly to a gonio stage for application to the measurement of microstructures.

In general, the Gonio stage refers to an arc-driven stage having a center of rotation on a center vertical line of the table surface.

In recent years, research in all fields such as semiconductor devices has been progressed in the direction of pursuing high integration and high performance of semiconductor substrates in order to process more data in a short period of time. The gap between the fields is continuously decreasing, and when it is impossible to form a microstructure including a pattern with an accurate dimension on a semiconductor substrate, not only the defect of the microstructure itself but also the subsequent process is affected, thereby increasing the overall defect rate of the semiconductor device. Since a problem arises, it is very important to form a microstructure with accurate dimensions on a semiconductor substrate.

Furthermore, in accordance with the miniaturization of optical devices such as a mobile phone camera, a plurality of very small lenses are used in combination, and it is also a very important problem to align them in an accurate position.

For this reason, it is necessary to measure the microstructure to determine whether the microstructure is formed with accurate dimensions before and after the process for forming each microstructure, and accordingly, the Gonio stage for applying to the microstructure measurement process is required. It has been developed and used.

 The Gonio stage is formed separately from the base stage and the moving stage, and the moving stage is configured to move in a curved motion constituting an arc on the upper surface of the base stage. An optical component such as a camera or laser is mounted on the top surface of the moving stage and is precisely moved along a curved path.

At this time, the worm gear is generally used as the operating structure for the curved movement of the moving stage. Since this type of drive system has less precision when controlling, it is not easy to perform an accurate inspection as intended, and to increase precision, When manufacturing a worm gear, it is difficult to manufacture and the production cost increases. In addition, due to the nature of the worm gear, there is a problem that a backlash occurs and the rotation angle is limited to about 10 °.

In order to solve this problem, the Gonio stage of various configurations has been studied, but the structure is complicated, so manufacturing cost cannot be lowered, and the problem that the rotation angle is limited is not solved.

Republic of Korea Registered Patent 10-1901822

The present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art described above, and has a purpose to provide a gonio stage having a simple structure and excellent precision.

Gonio stage according to the present invention for achieving the above object is fixed to the bottom, the base stage is formed with a curved guide to have a concave curved path on the upper surface; A moving stage coupled to move curved along the curved guide from above the base stage; A slider installed on the base stage to perform a linear reciprocating motion in a direction parallel to the curved guide; A ball screw connected to the slider so that the slider can perform a linear reciprocating motion; A driver that provides rotational force to the ball screw; It is located on the upper portion of the slider, the locking member for transmitting a force according to the linear reciprocating motion of the slider to the moving stage; And a center of rotation fixed at a predetermined position by a support member installed at a lower portion of the moving stage, and including a rotatable ball rotating body, wherein the engaging member transmits force to the moving stage through the ball rotating body, thereby moving The stage is characterized by receiving a force by the linear reciprocating motion of the slider and moving the curve along the curved guide.

The present invention does not drive the moving stage using a worm gear, and transmits the reciprocating linear motion of the slider to the moving stage through a locking member and a ball rotating body, so that the structure is simple and can be manufactured in a smaller size than the conventional one using the worm gear. .

In addition to preventing a backlash phenomenon that occurs when a worm gear is applied, there is an effect that can be configured such that the rotation angle at which the moving stage can be driven is 12 ° or more.

At this time, the support member is installed on a removable plate on a movable stage, so it is convenient to separately assemble the ball rotating body, and is easy to replace and repair.

In addition, by applying the locking member to the slider in a detachable structure, it is easy to assemble, and it is possible to separate the locking member to adjust the tolerance or perform a separate heat treatment.

The locking member may be composed of a single part including two protrusions contacting the ball rotating body, and at least, it is preferable that at least the surface contacting the ball rotating body is hard-treated. The entire ball rotating body and the locking member may be made of a wear-resistant material, and it is also possible to improve the wear resistance by hardening the surface of the ball rotating body and the locking member.

The present invention configured as described above does not drive the moving stage using a worm gear, and the ball rotating body transmits the reciprocating linear motion of the slider to the moving stage, so that the structure is simple and smaller in size than the conventional one using the worm gear. There is an effect that can be produced.

In addition, it is possible to prevent not only a backlash phenomenon that occurs when a worm gear is applied, but also an effect that can be configured such that the rotation angle at which the moving stage can be driven is 12 ° or more.

Furthermore, since the frictional force is small due to the shape of the ball rotating body and the rotating characteristics, it is possible to operate at a high speed, and the angle of the moving stage can be very precisely controlled.

1 is a front view showing the appearance of a Gonio stage according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the internal structure of the Gonio stage according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the coupling structure of the ball rotating body in the gonio stage according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 and 5 are diagrams for explaining the movement of the gonio stage according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a schematic view for explaining the advantages of the Gonio stage according to an embodiment of the present invention.

An embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Since the description of the disclosed technology is only an example for structural or functional description, the scope of rights of the disclosed technology should not be interpreted as being limited by the embodiments described in the text. That is, since the embodiments can be variously modified and have various forms, it should be understood that the scope of rights of the disclosed technology includes equivalents capable of realizing technical ideas.

Meanwhile, the meaning of terms described in the present application should be understood as follows.

Terms such as 'first' and 'second' are for distinguishing one component from other components, and the scope of rights should not be limited by these terms. For example, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component.

When a component is said to be "connected" to another component, it should be understood that other components may exist in the middle, although they may be directly connected to the other component. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that no other component exists in the middle. On the other hand, other expressions describing the relationship between the components, that is, "between" and "immediately between" or "neighboring to" and "directly neighboring to" should be interpreted similarly.

Singular expressions are to be understood as including plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, and terms such as “comprises” or “have” are used features, numbers, steps, actions, elements, parts or the like. It is to be understood that the combination is intended to indicate the existence, and does not preclude the existence or addition possibility of one or more other features or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof.

All terms used herein have the same meaning as generally understood by a person skilled in the art to which the disclosed technology belongs, unless otherwise defined. The terms defined in the commonly used dictionary should be interpreted as being consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art, and cannot be interpreted as having ideal or excessively formal meanings unless explicitly defined in the present application.

1 is a front view showing the appearance of a Gonio stage according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional front view for explaining the internal structure.

The gonio stage of this embodiment includes a base stage 100 and a moving stage 200.

The base stage 100 is a fixed stage located at the bottom, and a curved guide (not shown) is formed to have a concave curved path on the upper surface.

The curved guide formed on the base stage 100 may be applied to all techniques applied to a general gonio stage, and is not particularly limited. The most representative rail type curved guide can be applied.

The moving stage 200 is coupled to the upper portion of the base stage 100, and since it has a configuration corresponding to the curved guide, it moves curvedly along the curved guide.

In order to make the moving stage 200 move in a curved manner, in this embodiment, a slider 300 that performs a linear reciprocating motion is installed on the base stage 100.

The slider 300 is connected to a ball screw 400 that converts rotational motion into a linear motion, and a driver 700 that provides rotational force to the ball screw 400 is located outside. In the slider 300, the rotation of the driver 700 is converted into a linear reciprocating motion by the ball screw 400, thereby performing a linear reciprocating motion within the base stage 100.

The gonio stage of the present embodiment is configured such that the slider 300 that linearly reciprocates left and right on the illustrated drawing exerts a force on the moving stage 200, and thus moves the moving stage 200 according to the movement of the slider 300. Is configured to perform curved motion along the curved guide.

To this end, the ball rotating body 500 for receiving the force of the linear motion is installed on the moving stage 200, the locking member 600 for transmitting the force is installed on the slider 300, the ball rotating body 500 It is positioned to contact both sides.

Before explaining the movement of the linear reciprocating motion of the slider 300 to move the moving stage 200, the coupling relationship of the ball rotating body 500 will be described in detail.

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the coupling structure of the ball rotating body of the Gonio stage according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The upper portion of the slider 300 is provided with a locking member 600 for transmitting the force of the linear motion. In the locking member 600, the protruding portion protruding upward from the slider contacts both sides of the ball rotating body 500, and when the moving member 600 moves by the movement of the slider, the protruding portion pushes the ball rotating body 500. . At this time, the locking member 600 is installed in a structure that can be detachably attached to the slider, separating the locking member 600 to perform an adjustment to reduce the tolerance with the ball rotating body 500 or to perform a hard surface treatment. In the illustrated drawing, although the locking member 600 composed of a single part including two protrusions in contact with the ball rotating body is not limited thereto, it is also possible to configure the structure to separate the two protrusions.

The bracket 220, which is a support member for fixing the center of rotation of the ball rotating body 500, is installed to be detachably attached to the moving stage 200, and is specifically fixed to a plate 210 that is detachably attached to the moving stage. In the front and rear of the drawing, the bracket 220 fixes the position of the center of rotation of the ball rotator 500, and the ball rotator 500 is free to rotate because only the position of the center of rotation is fixed.

Hereinafter, the motion of the gonio stage according to the present embodiment will be described.

4 and 5 are diagrams for explaining the movement of the gonio stage according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, in this embodiment, the slider 300 is connected to the ball screw 400, and when the ball screw 400 rotates by the rotational force of the driver 700, the slider 300 performs a linear reciprocating motion.

When the slider 300 moves in one direction from the center of the base stage 100, the locking member 600 installed on the slider 300 also moves with the slider 300. In addition, as the locking member 600 moves, a moving stage is provided with a bracket 220 that moves while pushing the ball rotating body 500 by applying a force to the ball rotating body 500 that is in contact with it, and fixes the rotation center of the ball rotating body 500. Go with (200).

In FIG. 4, as the slider 300 and the locking member 600 move to the left in the drawing, the right protrusion of the locking member 600 moves while applying a force to the right side of the ball rotating body 500, and the ball rotating body 500 As it moves, the moving stage 200 moves together to the left. At this time, since the moving stage 200 moves along the curved guide formed in the base stage 100, the moving stage 200 curves to the left, so that the ball rotating body 500 moves upwards as it moves to the left. do.

In FIG. 5, as the slider 300 and the locking member 600 move to the right in the drawing, the left protrusion of the locking member 600 moves while applying a force to the left side of the ball rotating body 500, and the ball rotating body 500 As it moves, the moving stage 200 moves to the right together. At this time, since the moving stage 200 moves along the curved guide formed in the base stage 100, the moving stage 200 curves to the right, so that the ball rotating body 500 moves upwards as it moves to the right. do.

On the other hand, in the Gonio stage of the present invention, since the slider 300 performs a linear motion while the moving stage 200 performs a curved motion, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the locking member 600 The portion in contact with the ball rotating body 500 is continuously changed, and friction may occur in the contact portion between the locking member 600 and the ball rotating body 500.

Due to this friction, an overload may be applied to the driver 700 for operating the Gonio stage, and when the contact surface is worn out due to continued friction, a problem occurs that the accuracy of the Gonio stage is lowered. It becomes worse when the Gonio stage is operated at high speed.

However, the Gonio stage of the present invention applies the ball revolving body 500, so the contact surface between the locking member 600 and the ball revolving body 500 has a very narrow point contact. It can operate at high speed.

Furthermore, in the Gonio stage of the present invention, since the ball rotating body 500 rotates, friction is minimized while the ball rotating body 500 rotates according to the vertical movement of the locking member 600 contacting the ball rotating body 500 It has the effect.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the locking member 600 moves to the left, the ball rotating body 500 gradually moving upward while coming in contact with the right protrusion of the locking member 600 rotates clockwise While moving. At this time, if the ball rotating body 500 does not rotate, the locking member 600 will move upward while rubbing against the contact surface, in this embodiment, the ball rotating body 500 rotates with the movement of the locking member 600 Therefore, it is possible to operate at high speed with minimal friction, and accordingly, it has an effect of reducing surface wear.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the locking member 600 moves linearly to the right, the ball rotating body 500 moving in an upward direction while receiving force by contacting the left protrusion of the locking member 600 is counterclockwise. Moves while rotating. At this time, since the ball rotating body 500 rotates with the movement of the locking member 600, the frictional force is minimized to operate at high speed, and accordingly, the surface wear is reduced.

However, since friction occurs even when the frictional force is minimized by point contact and rotation, it is preferable to reduce wear by using a wear-resistant hard material or performing a hard treatment. In this embodiment, since the locking member 600 is detachable from the slider 300, an expensive abrasion-resistant hard material can be applied only to the locking member 600, and surface hardening is performed separately only on the locking member 600 There is an advantage to do. Furthermore, since the locking member 600 can be separated, the distance between the protrusions of the locking member 600 can be easily adjusted, and the gonio stage can be adjusted by adjusting the locking member 600 to the exact size of the ball rotating body 500. Precision can be further increased.

And since the goniometer of this embodiment is fixed to the plate 210 of the moving stage 200, the rotational center of the ball rotating body 500 receiving the force by the locking member 600, as shown in FIG. Likewise, the center of rotation of the ball rotating body 500 moves along an arc corresponding to the curved motion of the moving stage 200, and in the end, it is possible to precisely control the goniometer.

The important value in the Gonio stage is not the linear motion value of the slider 300 but the rotation angle of the moving stage 200. Around the center point where the movement of the moving stage 200 is very close to the linear movement of the slider 300, the movement of the moving stage 200 and the linear movement of the slider 300 are similar, but as the distance from the center point increases, A difference occurs in the angular change value of the moving stage 200 according to the linear motion. Therefore, although the linear motion distance of the slider 300 can be accurately known by the input pulse applied to the motor of the driver 700, a separate numerical conversion is required to convert it to the rotation angle of the moving stage 200. At this time, the present invention, since the center of rotation of the ball rotating body 500 moves along an arc corresponding to a curved motion, it is possible to apply a resolution formula previously used in a gonier stage in controlling the angle of the moving stage. There is an advantage that versatility can be secured.

As described above, since the Gonio stage of the present invention transmits the force by linear motion using a ball rotating body, the structure is simpler and can be manufactured in a smaller size compared to the conventional method in which rotation is provided using a worm gear. There is an advantage.

In addition, there is an excellent effect of preventing a backlash phenomenon that occurs when driving a gonio stage to which a worm gear is applied, and an effect that can be configured such that the rotation angle at which the moving stage can be driven is 12 ° or more.

Furthermore, since the frictional force is small due to the shape of the ball rotating body and the rotating characteristics, it is possible to operate at a high speed, and the angle of the moving stage can be very precisely controlled.

The present invention has been described through preferred embodiments, but the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and various changes are possible within the scope of the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge will understand. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the matters described in the claims, not by specific embodiments, and all technical ideas within the equivalent range should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

100: base stage
200: moving stage
210: plate
220: bracket
300: slider
400: Ball screw
500: ball rotating body
600: locking member
700: actuator

Claims (6)

A base stage fixed to the bottom and having a curved guide formed to have a concave curved path on an upper surface;
A moving stage coupled to move curved along the curved guide from above the base stage;
A slider installed on the base stage to perform a linear reciprocating motion in a direction parallel to the curved guide;
A ball screw connected to the slider so that the slider can perform a linear reciprocating motion;
A driver that provides rotational force to the ball screw;
It is located on the upper portion of the slider, the locking member for transmitting a force according to the linear reciprocating motion of the slider to the moving stage; And
By the support member installed on the lower portion of the moving stage, the rotation center is fixed to a predetermined position below the moving stage, and includes a ball rotating body that can be rotated,
When the engaging member transmits the force to the moving stage through the ball rotating body, the moving stage receives the force by the linear reciprocating motion of the slider and moves the curve along the curved guide,
Since the rotation center of the ball rotating body is fixed to a predetermined position below the moving stage, the ball rotating body is also curved along with the moving stage so that the rotation center of the ball rotating body moves in an arc shape. .
The method according to claim 1,
The support member is a gonio stage, characterized in that installed on a removable plate to the movable stage.
The method according to claim 1,
The catching member is a gonio stage, characterized in that the structure is detachable to the slider.
The method according to claim 3,
The locking member, the gonio stage, characterized in that it consists of a single part comprising two projections in contact with the ball rotating body.
The method according to claim 4,
The catching member, at least the Gonio stage, characterized in that the surface in contact with the ball rotating body is hardened.
The method according to claim 1,
Gonio stage, characterized in that the angle at which the moving stage is driven is 12 ° or more.

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