JP7192841B2 - Object holding device, processing device, flat panel display manufacturing method, and device manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an object holding apparatus, a processing apparatus, a flat panel display manufacturing method, and a device manufacturing method, and more particularly, an object holding layer apparatus for holding an object, a processing apparatus including the object holding apparatus, and the processing. It relates to a method of manufacturing a flat panel display or device using the apparatus.

Conventionally, in the lithography process for manufacturing electronic devices (microdevices) such as liquid crystal display elements and semiconductor elements (integrated circuits, etc.), a pattern formed on a mask or reticle (hereinafter collectively referred to as "mask") is exposed to an energy beam. is used to transfer onto a glass plate or wafer (hereinafter collectively referred to as "substrate").

As this type of exposure apparatus, there is known an exposure apparatus that includes a substrate stage device that attracts and holds a substrate (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100002).

Here, the substrate stage device is required to hold the substrate with high flatness in order to ensure exposure accuracy.

Japanese Patent No. 4136363

According to the first aspect, the object is held and faces the first surface with respect to a first surface parallel to a predetermined plane including a first direction and a second direction and a third direction intersecting the predetermined plane. a moving body having a second surface; a structure provided between the first surface and the second surface in the third direction and having an upper surface connected to the first surface ; a support portion that supports the moving body from below via the support portion; a driving device that moves the moving body in the first direction and the second direction via the support portion; a part provided in the structure , which overlaps the first surface and the second surface in the direction and is sandwiched between the first surface and the second surface in the third direction; a driving system that relatively moves the moving body with respect to the supporting part by a thrust applied by other parts provided in the driving device, wherein the structure includes the upper surface connected to the first surface; and a lower surface connected to the second surface, sandwiching the portion of the drive system.

According to a second aspect, there is provided a processing device including the object holding device according to the first aspect and a processing section that performs a predetermined process on the object.

According to a third aspect, there is provided a method of manufacturing a flat panel display, including exposing the object using the processing apparatus according to the second aspect, and developing the exposed object. be.

According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a device manufacturing method including exposing the object using the processing apparatus according to the second aspect and developing the exposed object.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a liquid crystal exposure apparatus according to a first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 1A-1A of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 1B-1B of FIG. 1; 2 is an exploded view of a fine movement stage included in the liquid crystal exposure apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the internal structure of a fine movement stage. 5 is a plan view showing the upper surface of a chucking tile provided in the fine movement stage of FIG. 4; FIG. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the lower surface of the chucking tile of FIG. 6; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the chucking tile of FIG. 6; FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a chucking tile holding structure in the fine movement stage; 3 is a block diagram showing the input/output relationship of a main controller that centrally constitutes the control system of the liquid crystal exposure apparatus; FIG. It is a figure which shows the substrate stage apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2A-2A of FIG. 11; FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2B-2B of FIG. 11; It is a figure which shows the substrate stage apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. 15 is an exploded view of the substrate stage device of FIG. 14; FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3A-3A of FIG. 14; FIG. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3B-3B of FIG. 15; 18A is a top view of the VCM unit included in the substrate stage device of FIG. 14, FIG. 18B is a bottom view of the VCM unit, and FIG. 18C is a view of the VCM unit. It is a sectional view. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a fine movement stage according to a fourth embodiment; FIG. 20 is an exploded perspective view of the fine movement stage of FIG. 19; FIG. 20 is a plan view of the fine movement stage of FIG. 19; FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4A-4A of FIG. 21; FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4B-4B of FIG. 21; FIG. 20 is a plan view of the fine movement stage of FIG. 19 with some members removed; FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for assembling the fine movement stage of FIG. 19; FIG. 20 is a plan view of a chucking tile included in the fine movement stage of FIG. 19; FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the fine movement stage of FIG. 19; FIG. 27 is a plan view of the chucking tile of FIG. 26 as seen from the back side; FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining the internal structure of the fine movement stage of FIG. 19; FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a fine movement stage according to a fifth embodiment; 31 is an exploded perspective view of the fine movement stage of FIG. 30; FIG. FIG. 31 is a plan view of a base portion included in the fine movement stage of FIG. 30; 31 is an exploded perspective view of the fine movement stage of FIG. 30 as seen from below; FIG. FIG. 34(A) is a perspective view showing the vicinity of the end portion of the slate included in the base portion of FIG. 30, FIG. 34(B) is a perspective view showing the vicinity of the joint of a pair of adjacent slates, and FIG. 34(C). is a side view of a slate; 31 is a diagram for explaining the internal structure of the fine movement stage of FIG. 30; FIG. FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a fine movement stage according to a sixth embodiment; FIG. 37(A) is a plan view of a chucking tile according to the seventh embodiment, and FIG. 37(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7A-7A in FIG. 37(A). FIG. 38A is a perspective view of chucking tiles according to the seventh embodiment, and FIG. 38B is a perspective view of a plurality of chucking tiles laid out. FIG. 21 is a plan view of a chucking tile according to an eighth embodiment; It is a figure which shows the substrate stage apparatus which concerns on 9th Embodiment. 41 is an enlarged view of part 9A of FIG. 40; FIG. 41 is a plan view of a fine movement stage included in the substrate stage device of FIG. 40; FIG. FIG. 21 is a conceptual diagram of an encoder system according to a ninth embodiment; It is a figure which shows the substrate stage apparatus which concerns on 10th Embodiment. 45 is an enlarged view of the 10A section of FIG. 44; FIG. FIG. 21 is a plan view of a substrate stage device according to a tenth embodiment; FIG. 20 is a conceptual diagram of an encoder system according to a tenth embodiment;

<<1st Embodiment>>
A first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10. FIG.

FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of an exposure apparatus (here, a liquid crystal exposure apparatus 10) according to the first embodiment. The liquid crystal exposure apparatus 10 is a step-and-scan projection exposure apparatus, a so-called scanner, which uses an object (here, a glass substrate P) as an exposure target. A glass substrate P (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate P”) is formed into a rectangular shape (square shape) in a plan view, and is used for a liquid crystal display device (flat panel display) or the like.

The liquid crystal exposure apparatus 10 includes an illumination system 12, a mask stage device 14 that holds a mask M having a circuit pattern formed thereon, a projection optical system 16, and a resist (sensitizer) on the surface (the surface facing the +Z side in FIG. 1). It has a moving body device (substrate stage device 20 in this case) for moving the substrate P coated with is relatively to the projection optical system 16, a control system for these, and the like. Hereinafter, the direction in which the mask M and the substrate P are scanned relative to the projection optical system 16 during exposure is defined as the X-axis direction, and the direction orthogonal to the X-axis in the horizontal plane is defined as the Y-axis direction, the X-axis and the Y-axis. Description will be made by assuming that the orthogonal direction is the Z-axis direction, and the rotation directions about the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis are the θx, θy, and θz directions, respectively. Also, the positions in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions will be described as the X position, the Y position, and the Z position, respectively.

The illumination system 12 is configured in the same manner as the illumination system disclosed in U.S. Pat. A mask M is irradiated with a plurality of exposure illumination light (illumination light) IL via a reflecting mirror, a dichroic mirror, a shutter, a wavelength selection filter, and various lenses (not shown). As the illumination light IL, light such as i-line (wavelength 365 nm), g-line (wavelength 436 nm), h-line (wavelength 405 nm) (or combined light of the i-line, g-line, and h-line) is used.

As the mask M held by the mask stage device 14, a transmissive photomask having a predetermined circuit pattern formed on the lower surface (the surface facing the -Z side in FIG. 1) is used. Main controller 90 (see FIG. 10) moves mask M via mask driving system 92 (see FIG. 10) including a linear motor and the like with respect to illumination system 12 (illumination light IL) in the X-axis direction (scanning direction). is driven with a predetermined long stroke, and finely driven as appropriate in the Y-axis direction and the .theta.z direction. Positional information of the mask M in the horizontal plane is obtained by a mask measurement system 94 (see FIG. 10) including an optical interferometer system or an encoder system.

The projection optical system 16 is arranged below the mask stage device 14 . The projection optical system 16 is a so-called multi-lens projection optical system having the same configuration as the projection optical system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,552,775. It comprises a plurality of lens modules that form a

In the liquid crystal exposure apparatus 10, when the illumination area on the mask M is illuminated by a plurality of illumination light beams IL from the illumination system 12, the illumination light beams IL passing through the mask M are transmitted through the projection optical system 16. A projected image (partial erect image) of the circuit pattern of the mask M in the illumination area is formed in an illumination area (exposure area) on the substrate P that is conjugate to the illumination area. The mask M moves relative to the illumination area (illumination light IL) in the scanning direction, and the substrate P moves relative to the exposure area (illumination light IL) in the scanning direction. Scanning exposure of one shot area is performed, and the pattern formed on the mask M is transferred to the shot area.

The substrate stage device 20 is a device for controlling the position of the substrate P with respect to the projection optical system 16 (illumination light IL) with high accuracy. and the Y-axis direction) with a predetermined long stroke, and finely driven in six degrees of freedom directions (X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis, θx, θy, and θz directions). The substrate stage device 20 is a so-called coarse and fine movement stage device configured in the same manner as that disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0057140, etc., except for a fine movement stage 22, which will be described later. A fine movement stage 22 holding P, a gantry type coarse movement stage 26, a self-weight support device 28, and a substrate drive system 60 (not shown in FIG. 1, see FIG. 10) for driving each element constituting the substrate stage device 20. ), and a substrate measurement system 96 (not shown in FIG. 1, see FIG. 10) for obtaining the positional information of each element.

The fine movement stage 22 is generally formed in a plate shape (or box shape) that is rectangular in plan view (see FIG. 3), and the substrate P is mounted on its upper surface (substrate mounting surface). The dimensions of the upper surface of the fine movement stage 22 in the X-axis and Y-axis directions are set to be about the same as the substrate P (actually, somewhat shorter). The substrate P is placed on the upper surface of the fine movement stage 22 and held by vacuum suction on the fine movement stage 22 , so that almost the entire surface (entire surface) is flattened along the upper surface of the fine movement stage 22 . Therefore, it can be said that the fine movement stage 22 of this embodiment is a member having the same function as the substrate holder provided in the conventional substrate stage device. A detailed configuration of the fine movement stage 22 will be described later.

The coarse motion stage 26 includes a Y coarse motion stage 32 and an X coarse motion stage 34 . The Y coarse movement stage 32 is placed below (-Z side) the fine movement stage 22 on a base frame member (not shown) installed on the floor of the clean room. The Y coarse movement stage 32 has a pair of X beams 36 arranged parallel to each other at a predetermined interval in the Y-axis direction. A pair of X beams 36 are placed on the base frame member so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction.

The X coarse movement stage 34 is arranged above the Y coarse movement stage 32 (on the +Z side) and below the fine movement stage 22 (between the fine movement stage 22 and the Y coarse movement stage 32). The X coarse movement stage 34 is an inverted U-shaped member in the YZ cross section, and the Y coarse movement stage 32 is inserted between a pair of opposing surfaces of the X coarse movement stage 34 . The X coarse movement stage 34 is mounted on a pair of X beams 36 of the Y coarse movement stage 32 via a plurality of mechanical linear guide devices 38, and is arranged in the X-axis direction with respect to the Y coarse movement stage 32. , while it moves integrally with the Y coarse movement stage 32 in the Y-axis direction.

The self-weight support device 28 includes a weight cancellation device 42 that supports the self weight of the fine movement stage 22 from below, and a Y step guide 44 that supports the weight cancellation device 42 from below. A weight cancellation device 42 (also called a central pillar or the like) is inserted into an opening (not shown) formed in the X coarse movement stage 34, and is also called a flexure device with respect to the X coarse movement stage 34. They are mechanically connected via a plurality of connecting members 40 . By being pulled by the X coarse movement stage 34 , the weight cancellation device 42 moves integrally with the X coarse movement stage 34 in the X-axis and/or Y-axis direction.

The weight cancellation device 42 supports the weight of the fine movement stage 22 from below via a support device called a leveling device 46 . The leveling device 46 supports the fine movement stage 22 so that it can swing (tilt operation) with respect to the XY plane. The leveling device 46 is supported by the weight canceling device 42 from below in a non-contact state via air bearings (not shown). As a result, relative movement of the fine movement stage 22 with respect to the weight cancellation device 42 (and the X coarse movement stage 34) in the X-axis, Y-axis, and θz directions, and rocking with respect to the horizontal plane (relative movement in the θx and θy directions) Permissible. The details of the configuration of the weight canceling device 42, the leveling device 46, the connecting member 40, etc. are disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0018950, etc., so the description thereof is omitted.

The Y step guide 44 is composed of a member extending parallel to the X axis and arranged between the pair of X beams 36 of the Y coarse movement stage 32 . The Y step guide 44 supports the weight cancellation device 42 from below in a non-contact manner via an air bearing 48, and functions as a surface plate when the weight cancellation device 42 moves in the X-axis direction. The Y step guide 44 is mounted via a mechanical linear guide device 50 on a stand 18 that is vibrationally separated from the Y coarse movement stage 34 , and is moved relative to the stand 18 in the Y-axis direction. can be moved freely. The Y step guide 44 is mechanically connected to the pair of X beams 36 via a plurality of connecting members 52 (flexure devices), and is pulled by the Y coarse movement stage 32 to perform Y coarse movement. It moves together with the stage 32 in the Y-axis direction.

A substrate drive system 60 (not shown in FIG. 1, see FIG. 10) is a first drive system 62 (FIG. 10 ), a second drive system 64 (see FIG. 10) for driving the Y coarse movement stage 32 in the Y axis direction with a long stroke, and the X coarse movement stage 34 on the Y coarse movement stage 32 in the X axis direction. A third drive system 66 (see FIG. 10) for driving by stroke is provided. The types of actuators that constitute the second drive system 64 and the third drive system 66 are not particularly limited. motor is shown). The details of the configuration of the second and third drive systems 64, 66 are disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0057140, etc., and thus the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the fine movement stage 22 (a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow 1A-1A in FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 2, the first drive system 62 (not shown in FIG. 2; see FIG. 10) includes a pair of X linear motors (here, X voice coil motor 70X) and a pair of Y linear motors (here, Y voice coil motor 70Y) for applying thrust in the Y-axis direction to the fine movement stage 22. FIG. The pair of X voice coil motors 70X are arranged apart in the Y-axis direction near the +X side end inside the fine movement stage 22 . Also, the pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y are arranged apart from each other in the X-axis direction in the vicinity of the +Y side end inside the fine movement stage 22 . Returning to FIG. 1, the pair of X voice coil motors 70X are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center-of-gravity position G of the fine movement stage 22 (left-right symmetrical in FIG. 1). Although not shown in FIG. 1, the pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y are also arranged symmetrically with respect to the center of gravity position G (see FIG. 2, vertically symmetrical in FIG. 2).

As shown in FIG. 2, moving magnet type motors are used as the pair of X voice coil motors 70X and the pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y. The X voice coil motor 70X is housed in a housing portion 76, which is a space formed in the vicinity of the side surface of the fine movement stage 22 on the +X side. A pair of housing portions 76 are formed inside the fine movement stage 22 so as to be spaced apart in the Y-axis direction, and individually house the pair of X voice coil motors 70X. Similarly, in the vicinity of the +Y side of the fine movement stage 22, a pair of housing portions 76 for individually housing the pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y are formed spaced apart in the X-axis direction. In this manner, a total of four housing portions 76 are formed on the side surface of the fine movement stage 22 of this embodiment, corresponding to a total of four voice coil motors 70X and 70Y. Each housing portion 76 is opened on the side surface of the fine movement stage 22 (the side surface on the +X side or the +Y side), and the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y are exposed on the side surface of the fine movement stage 22 (see FIG. 1). ).

The mover 72X of the X voice coil motor 70X is fixed to the fine movement stage 22 as shown in FIG. The mover 72X has a U-shaped YZ cross section, and a magnet unit including a plurality of permanent magnets is fixed to each of a pair of opposing surfaces. The mover 72X is arranged (horizontally) such that a pair of opposing surfaces are parallel to the XY plane.

On the other hand, the stator 74X of the X voice coil motor 70X is fixed to the tip of the support 54 projecting from the upper surface of the X coarse movement stage 34. As shown in FIG. The stator 74X is formed in a T-shape in the YZ section, and is arranged sideways in the same manner as the mover 72X so that the tip thereof can be inserted between the pair of facing surfaces of the mover 72X with a predetermined gap. are placed. A coil unit (not shown) is housed in the tip of the stator 74X (the portion inserted between the pair of opposing surfaces of the mover 72X).

Although not shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 2, the pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y are arranged so as to rotate the pair of X voice coil motors 70X around Z by 90°. . The configuration of the Y voice coil motor 70Y (including the mover 72Y and the stator 74Y) is the same as that of the X voice coil motor 70X except that the direction of thrust generation is different, so detailed description is omitted.

Main controller 90 (see FIG. 10) moves X coarse movement stage 34 to X through third drive system 66 (see FIG. 10) when fine movement stage 22 is driven in the X-axis direction, such as during scanning exposure operation. While moving in the axial direction (scanning direction) with a long stroke, two X voice coil motors 70X provided in the first drive system 62 are used to move from the X coarse movement stage 34 to the fine movement stage 22 in the X axis direction (+X direction or -X direction). direction). Further, during the scanning exposure operation, the main controller 90 appropriately uses the two X voice coil motors 70X (or the two Y voice coil motors 70Y) based on the results of alignment measurement and the like to move the fine movement stage 22 to the projection optical system. 16 (see FIG. 1) is finely driven in at least one of the directions of three degrees of freedom in the horizontal plane (X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and θz direction). Further, main controller 90 moves Y coarse movement stage 32 and X coarse movement stage 32 through second drive system 64 (see FIG. 10) during a movement operation between shot areas of substrate P in the Y-axis direction (Y step operation). While driving the stage 34 in the Y-axis direction, two Y voice coil motors 70Y provided in the first drive system 62 are used to move the X coarse movement stage 34 to the fine movement stage 22 in the Y-axis direction (+Y direction or -Y direction). Give thrust.

Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the position (height position) of the stator 74X of the X voice coil motor 70X in the Z-axis direction approximately coincides with the center-of-gravity position G of the fine movement stage 22 in the Z-axis direction. . Although not shown in FIG. 1, the position of the stator 74Y (see FIG. 2) of the Y voice coil motor 70Y in the Z-axis direction also roughly matches the center-of-gravity position G of the fine movement stage 22 in the Z-axis direction. . Therefore, when the four voice coil motors 70X and 70Y are used to apply thrust forces in the directions of the three degrees of freedom in the horizontal plane to the fine movement stage 22, the fine movement stage 22 is prevented from being subjected to a pitching moment.

FIG. 3 shows a view of the fine movement stage 22 as seen from below (sectional view taken along the arrow 1B-1B in FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 3, on the lower surface of the fine movement stage 22, cutouts (openings) 78 are formed at four locations corresponding to the four voice coil motors 70X and 70YY so that the supports 54 are inserted. formed. Between the opening end forming the notch 78 and the support 54, when the fine movement stage 22 moves with a minute stroke relative to the X coarse movement stage 34 (see FIG. 1), the opening end and the support 54 A gap (a minimum gap set in consideration of the maximum feed amount of the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y) is formed so that they do not come into contact with each other.

The first drive system 62 (see FIG. 10) includes a Z voice coil motor for driving the fine movement stage 22 in at least one of the Z-axis, θx, and θy directions (hereinafter referred to as “Z tilt direction”). I have a 70Z. In this embodiment, the Z voice coil motors 70Z are arranged at three locations that are not on the same straight line in the XY plane. The Z voice coil motor 70Z is of the same moving magnet type as the X voice coil motor 70X described above, and its configuration is also the same as that of the X voice coil motor 70X except that the direction of thrust generation is different. Each Z voice coil motor 70 has, as shown in FIG. is fixed to the upper surface of the X coarse movement stage 34 . The main controller 90 (see FIG. 10) appropriately uses the three Z voice coil motors 70Z to drive the X coarse movement stage 34 to the fine movement stage 22 in the Z tilt direction with minute strokes. The number of Z voice coil motors 70Z is not limited to three, and may be four or more.

Next, the measurement system of fine movement stage 22 will be described. A substrate measurement system 96 (see FIG. 10) for obtaining position information of the fine movement stage 22 in directions of six degrees of freedom includes an optical interferometer system 96A (see FIG. 10). The optical interferometer system 96A is a measurement system used to obtain position information of the fine movement stage 22 in three degrees of freedom directions (X-axis, Y-axis, and θz directions) in the horizontal plane. total). As shown in FIG. 2, the fine movement stage 22 includes an X bar mirror 80X and a Y bar mirror 80Y for reflecting a plurality of measuring beams MB (not shown in FIG. 2, see FIG. 1) emitted from the irradiation unit. are fixed via mirror bases 82X and 82Y, respectively. An X-bar mirror 80X for obtaining positional information of the fine movement stage 22 in the X-axis direction (and the θz direction) is fixed to the side surface of the fine movement stage 22 on the −X side, and the Y-axis direction (and the θz direction) of the fine movement stage 22 ) is fixed to the -Y side of the fine movement stage 22 (see FIG. 1). Details of the measurement system for the stage device including the optical interferometer system are disclosed in US Pat. No. 8,059,260, etc., and detailed description thereof is omitted here.

Here, as can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the X bar mirror 80X (including the mirror base 82X) is fixed to the side surface of the fine movement stage 22 on the -X side, while the pair of X voice coil motors 70X is arranged in the vicinity of the +X side end of the fine movement stage 22 on the opposite side. Although not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, various measurement devices such as an illuminance sensor are fixed to the +X side surface of the fine movement stage 22 . In the fine movement stage 22, dynamic balance in the X-axis direction is adjusted by the X bar mirror 80X, the mover 72X of the X voice coil motor 70X, and various measuring devices (not shown). Also, in the Y-axis direction, a pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y are arranged on the opposite side of the Y bar mirror 80Y, and two of the movers 72Z (see FIG. 3) of the three Z voice coil motors 70Z are It is fixed to the lower surface of the +Y side (the side opposite to the Y bar mirror 80Y) area of the fine movement stage 22, and the dynamic balance of the fine movement stage 22 in the Y-axis direction is adjusted. With these balance adjustments, the weight canceling device 42 (see FIG. 3) can support the vicinity of the center of gravity of the fine movement stage 22 in the XY plane from below.

Returning to FIG. 1, positional information of the fine movement stage 22 in the Z tilt direction is obtained by the main controller 90 (see FIG. 10) via a Z tilt measurement system 96B including a plurality of Z sensors 84. FIG. The Z sensor 84 includes a probe 86 (not shown in FIG. 3) fixed to the lower surface of the fine movement stage 22 and a target 88 fixed to the housing of the weight cancellation device 42 . Since the target 88 is fixed to the weight cancellation device 42 , the Z sensor 84 can measure the displacement of the fine movement stage 22 in the Z-axis direction with the upper surface (horizontal plane) of the Y step guide 44 as a reference. The Z sensors 84 are arranged at three locations that are not on the same straight line in the XY plane. Ask for

Next, details of the configuration of the fine movement stage 22 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. FIG. 4 shows an exploded perspective view of the fine movement stage 22. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the fine movement stage 22 includes a surface plate section 100 and a plurality of chucking tiles 120 (hereinafter simply referred to as "tiles 120"). The surface plate portion 100 is formed in a rectangular box shape in plan view. The fine movement stage 22 has a two-layer structure as a whole by laying (stacking) a plurality of tiles 120 on the surface plate section 100 . In FIG. 4, from the viewpoint of avoiding complication of the drawing, the X voice coil motor 70X and the Y voice coil motor 70Y described above, the housing portion 76 for housing the respective voice coil motors 70X and 70Y, and the strut 54 are inserted. The cutouts 78 for aligning, bar mirrors 80X and 80Y, and a plurality of ribs 108 (see FIG. 2, respectively) described later are not shown.

As shown in FIG. 4, the surface plate portion 100, which is the lower layer, includes a lower surface portion 102, an upper surface portion 104, an outer wall portion 106, and a plurality of ribs 108 as stiffening members (not shown in FIG. 4, see FIG. 2). It has The lower surface portion 102 and the upper surface portion 104 are plate-shaped members each formed of CFRP (carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic) and rectangular in plan view, and are arranged facing each other (parallel) in the Z-axis direction. The outer wall portion 106 is a rectangular frame-shaped member in a plan view, and is made of CFRP. The lower surface portion 102 and the upper surface portion 104 are integrally adhered to the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the outer wall portion 106 with an adhesive, respectively. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper surface portion 104 of the present embodiment is formed by joining two plate-like members, but is not limited to this, and is formed by one plate-like member. It may be formed by three or more plate-like members. Similarly, the lower surface portion 102 and the outer wall portion 106 may be formed by joining together a plurality of plate-like members. Also, in the present embodiment, the dimensions in the X-axis and Y-axis directions of the lower surface portion 102 and the upper surface portion 104 are set to be the same, but the dimensions are not limited to this and may be different.

Inside the outer wall portion 106 , as shown in FIG. 5 , a plurality of ribs 108 are accommodated in a state of being bridged between the lower surface portion 102 and the upper surface portion 104 . Ribs 108 are made of CFRP. The ribs 108 are formed in a plate-like shape perpendicular to the XY plane, and the inside of the surface plate portion 100 is hollow except for the portion where the ribs 108 are installed and the portion where the leveling device 46 is accommodated. there is 5 is a diagram for explaining the internal structure of the fine movement stage 22 (the +X side surface portion of the outer wall portion 106 and some of the ribs 108 are not shown). It does not show a specific cross section.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the plurality of ribs 108 are integrally adhered to each of the lower surface portion 102, the upper surface portion 104, and the outer wall portion 106 with an adhesive. As a result, the surface plate portion 100 is lightweight and highly rigid (especially highly rigid in the thickness direction), and is easy to manufacture. In FIG. 2, as the plurality of ribs 108, a member extending in the X-axis direction, a member extending in the Y-axis direction, and a member extending radially (X-shaped) from the vicinity of the center of the fine movement stage 22 are arranged. The arrangement, number, and configuration of the ribs 108 are not particularly limited as long as the desired rigidity of the board portion 100 can be secured, and can be changed as appropriate. Further, the material forming each element constituting the platen portion 100 is not limited to the one described above (CFRP), and may be a metal material such as an aluminum alloy, a synthetic resin material, or the like. Further, the fastening structure of the lower surface portion 102, the upper surface portion 104, the outer wall portion 106, and the ribs 108 is not limited to adhesion, and a mechanical fastening structure such as bolts may be used. The dimension in the thickness direction (Z-axis direction) of the surface plate portion 100m is set to be thicker than the layer formed by the plurality of tiles 100 . Moreover, the weight of the surface plate portion 100 is heavier than the total weight of all the tiles 100, for example, about 2.5 times the weight.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the mover 72X of the X voice coil motor 70X (see FIG. 2) described above is sandwiched between the lower surface portion 102 and the upper surface portion 104 inside the surface plate portion 100. and is secured to at least one of the bottom portion 102 , top portion 104 and ribs 108 . As shown in FIG. 1, the stator 74X of the X voice coil motor 70X is also arranged in the space sandwiched between the lower surface portion 102 and the upper surface portion 104 (however, the notch 78 is formed). part). Although not shown in FIG. 1, the same applies to the movable element 72Y and the stator 74Y (see FIG. 2, respectively) of the pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y. In this way, the pair of X voice coil motors 70X and the pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y of the present embodiment are positioned within the XY plane and within the region where the lower surface portion 102 and the upper surface portion 104 of the surface plate portion 100 overlap. (see FIGS. 2 and 3), and the position in the Z-axis direction is a region between the lower surface portion 102 and the upper surface portion 104 (the upper surface portion 104 and the lower surface portion 102 do not overlap the Z position) is set to be within As described above, the notch 78 (see FIG. 5) for inserting the support 54 formed in the lower surface portion 102 of the fine movement stage 22 is formed with the minimum necessary size, and the surface plate portion 100 ( That is, the decrease in rigidity of the fine movement stage 22) is suppressed. Further, the positions of the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y in the Z-axis direction are set to overlap the center of deformation when the upper surface portion 104 is deformed by an external force acting on the surface plate portion 100 .

Returning to FIG. 4, an opening 102a is formed in the central portion of the lower surface portion 102. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, a recess (recess) is formed in a portion corresponding to the opening 102a inside the surface plate portion 100, and the above-described leveling device 46 is fitted into the recess. Here, the structure of the leveling device 46 is not particularly limited as long as it has a function of supporting the fine movement stage 22 so as to be swingable with respect to the horizontal plane (in the θx and θy directions). Therefore, although a spherical bearing device is illustrated in FIG. 1, the leveling device 46 is not limited to this. A spherical bearing device or the like may be used.

As shown in FIG. 4 , a plurality of pipes 110 are housed inside the surface plate portion 100 . The pipe 110 is a member extending in the Y-axis direction, and has a U-shaped XZ cross section (opening on the +Z side). The pipes 110 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the X-axis direction, but most of the pipes 110 are omitted in FIG. 4 to avoid complication of the drawing. Moreover, in FIGS. 2, 5, etc., illustration of all the pipes 110 is omitted from the viewpoint of avoiding complication of the drawings.

FIG. 9 shows the internal structure of the fine movement stage 22 (and the platen section 100). As shown in FIG. 9, the plurality of pipes 110 (pipes 110Vc, 110P, and 110Vp in FIG. 9) are adhered so that their upper ends (open ends) are in contact with the lower surface of the upper surface portion 104 without gaps. The pipe 110 and the lower surface of the upper surface portion 104 form a passage for supplying pressurized gas or for supplying a vacuum suction force, which will be described later. In this embodiment, the intervals between the plurality of pipes 110 in the X-axis direction are set such that four pipes 110 are arranged for one tile 120 . Although not shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, the ribs 108 (see FIG. 2) in the surface plate portion 100 are formed with cutouts to avoid contact with the pipes 110. As shown in FIG. Similarly, although not shown, the outer wall portion 106 of the surface plate portion 100 is also formed with a notch for exposing the end portion of the pipe 110 to the outside of the surface plate portion 100 . A joint (not shown) is connected to one end of the pipe 110 exposed from the outer wall 106, and compressed air or vacuum suction force is supplied from the outside of the fine movement stage 22 through the joint. The other end of the pipe 110 is closed with a plug (not shown).

One of the four pipes 110 (pipes 110Vc, 110P, 110Vp in FIG. 9) corresponding to one tile 120 (pipe 110P in FIG. 9) is pressurized gas (see upward arrow PG in FIG. 9). ) is supplied. Further, the upper surface portion 104 is formed with a hole portion 112P for discharging the pressurized gas supplied from the outside of the fine movement stage 22 through the pipe 110P to the upper surface side of the upper surface portion 104. Also, three of the four pipes 110 corresponding to one tile 120 (one pipe 110Vp and two pipes 110Vc in FIG. 9) have a vacuum suction force (downward arrow in FIG. 9). VF) is supplied. Further, the upper surface portion 104 is formed with a hole portion 112V for causing the vacuum suction force supplied from the outside of the fine movement stage 22 through the pipes 110Vp and 100Vc to act on the upper surface side of the upper surface portion 104 . Two holes 112P and 112V are formed, each corresponding to one tile 120 and spaced apart in the Y-axis direction (the depth direction of the paper surface).

Returning to FIG. 4, a plurality of tiles 120 are spread over the upper surface of the surface plate portion 100 (on the upper surface portion 104) (partially not shown in FIG. 4). The plurality of tiles 120 are suction-held on the surface plate section 100 so that they can be individually attached/detached (replaced/separated). A structure for attracting and holding the tiles 120 to the surface plate portion 100 (a structure for attracting and holding the tiles 120) will be described later. The tile 120 is a rectangular thin plate member in plan view, and is made of a hard material such as ceramics. The generation of static electricity from the substrate P can be suppressed by forming the tiles 120 from ceramics. Although the material of the tiles 120 is not particularly limited, it is preferable to use a material that is lightweight and can be easily processed with high accuracy.

On the fine movement stage 22, the substrate P (see FIG. 1) is placed on a plane formed by laying a plurality of tiles 120 on the surface. The plurality of tiles 120 hold the substrate P by suction in cooperation with the surface plate section 100 . A structure for attracting and holding the substrate P to the plurality of tiles 120 (a structure for attracting and holding the substrate P) will be described later.

Here, in the fine movement stage 22, since the substrate mounting surface is formed by the plurality of tiles 120, the plurality of tiles 120 are formed in a state where the plurality of tiles 120 are laid on the surface plate section 100. A high degree of flatness is required for the surface. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the flatness of the upper surface of the surface plate portion 100 is processed in advance so as to have a desired flatness (for example, 20 μm) or less, and a plurality of tiles 120 are spread over the surface plate portion 100. After that, hand lapping is performed so that the surface formed by the plurality of tiles 120 has a higher flatness (for example, 10 μm or less). The planarization of the upper surface of the surface plate portion 100 is preferably performed after the movers 72X and 72Y (see FIG. 2, respectively) of the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y are fixed to the surface plate portion 100, but is not limited thereto. , before the movers 72X and 72Y are fixed.

Next, the configuration of the tile 120 will be described. The fine movement stage 22 is a so-called pin chuck type substrate holder, and as shown in FIG. Although most of them are not shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 in order to avoid complication of the drawings, the plurality of pins 122 are arranged on the entire top surface of the tile 120 at substantially even intervals. Since the diameter of the pin 122 in the pin chuck type holder is very small (for example, about 1 mm in diameter) and the width of the peripheral wall portion 124 is also narrow, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the back surface of the substrate P is supported by dust or foreign matter. It is also possible to reduce the possibility of deformation of the substrate P due to the pinching of foreign matter. Note that the number and arrangement of the pins 122 are not particularly limited, and can be changed as appropriate. The peripheral wall portion 124 is formed to surround the outer periphery of the upper surface of the tile 120 . The plurality of pins 122 and the peripheral wall portion 124 are set to have the same height position (Z position) of the tip. In order to suppress reflection of the illumination light IL (see FIG. 1), the upper surface of the tile 120 is subjected to various surface treatments such as coating treatment and ceramic thermal spraying so that the surface becomes black.

In the fine movement stage 22 (see FIG. 1), the substrate P (see FIG. 1) is placed on the plurality of pins 122 and the peripheral wall portion 124, and a vacuum suction force is supplied to the space surrounded by the peripheral wall portion 124. The substrate P is held by the tile 120 by suction (air in the space is vacuum-sucked). The substrate P is flattened following the tips of the plurality of pins 122 and the peripheral wall portion 124 . A structure for attracting and holding the substrate P to the tile 120 (a structure for attracting and holding the substrate P) will be described later.

Further, the fine movement stage 22 (see FIG. 1) is configured such that the substrate P (see FIG. 1) is placed on the plurality of pins 122 and the peripheral wall portion 124, and pressurized gas is supplied to the space surrounded by the peripheral wall portion 124. By supplying (compressed air or the like), the suction of the substrate P on the substrate mounting surface can be released and the substrate P can be floated on the substrate mounting surface. The structure for releasing the adsorption of the substrate P on the substrate mounting surface and for floating support (floating support structure for the substrate P) will be described later.

Also, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of pins 126 and a peripheral wall portion 128 protrude from the lower surface of the tile 120 . Although most of the pins 126 are not shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 in order to avoid complication of the drawings, a plurality of pins 126 are also arranged at approximately equal intervals over the entire lower surface of the tile 120 . That is, the lower surface of the tile 120 also has a pin-chuck structure. In addition to the pins 126, a plurality of (eight in this embodiment) projections 130 are formed on the lower surface of the tile 120 so as to protrude. Through holes 132 and 134 are formed approximately in the center of the projection 130, respectively. The tiles 120 are placed on the surface plate portion 100 (see FIG. 9), and the tips of the plurality of pins 126, the peripheral wall portion 128, and the plurality of protrusions 130 are in contact with the upper surface of the surface plate portion 100. The height position (Z position) of the tip is set to be the same. The convex portion 130 has a larger (thicker) radial dimension than the pin 126 , and has a wider contact area with the surface plate portion 100 than the pin 126 . Further, in the tile 120, the pins 126 on the back side are formed thicker than the pins 122 on the front side (see FIG. 6).

The through holes 132 and 134 formed in the convex portion 130 described above are configured to pass through the tiles 120, respectively, as shown in FIG. In this state, it communicates with the suction hole 112V or the exhaust hole 112P formed in the upper surface portion 104 . The through-hole 132 is a hole for sucking air, and the space (air) formed by the plurality of pins 122 formed on the upper surface of the tile 120 and the substrate P (see FIG. 1) is drawn through the through-hole 132. is vacuum-sucked to hold the substrate P by suction. The through hole 134 is a compressed air exhaust hole for exhausting (blowing out) air, and is configured to have a diameter (opening diameter) smaller than that of the through hole 132 , so that the substrate P adsorbed on the upper surface of the tile 120 can be adsorbed. At the time of releasing, air is blown through the through-hole 134 to the substrate P with enough momentum to float the substrate P. - 特許庁A ring member 136 (so-called O-ring) made of rubber is interposed between the contact surfaces of the convex portion 130 and the platen portion 100 so that air does not leak.

The number and arrangement of the pins 126 and the protrusions 130 are not particularly limited, and can be changed as appropriate. Also, the positions in the XY plane of the plurality of pins 122 and the plurality of pins 126 may be the same or different. In the fine movement stage 22, the tile 120 is held by suction on the surface plate portion 100 by applying a vacuum suction force to the space surrounded by the peripheral wall portion 128 while the tile 120 is placed on the surface plate portion 100. be. That is, on the lower surface (rear surface) side of the tile 120, the tile 120 is drawn through a space (vacuum sucked space) surrounded by the surface plate portion 100, the peripheral wall portion 128 of the tile 120, the pins 126, and the convex portion 130. is fixed to the platen portion 100 . On the other hand, as described above, the through-holes 132 and 134 on the lower surface of the tile 120 are arranged so as to communicate with the through-holes 112P and 112V of the surface plate portion 100, so that they are fixed to the surface plate portion 100. never be done.

Here, the fixation of the tiles 120 to the surface plate portion 100 in this embodiment means that, like the above-described vacuum suction, an adsorption force is acting on a part of the lower surface of the surface plate portion 100 (the space described above). is to maintain a state in which it does not peel off from the surface plate 100 (no positional displacement in the Z direction) and does not cause relative positional displacement with respect to the surface plate 100 (positional displacement in the X and Y directions). . Furthermore, when the vacuum suction is released and the action of the suction force on the tiles 120 is eliminated, the tiles 120 can be detached (removed) from the surface plate section 100 . Although it has been described that the tiles 120 are placed along the upper surface of the surface plate portion 100, the surface may not be flat. As long as the top surface of the surface plate portion 100 and the bottom surface of the tile 120 have substantially the same shape, the top surface of the surface plate portion 100 may be curved rather than flat.

Here, the fine movement stage 22 has various mechanisms for preventing the plurality of tiles 120 from floating from the surface plate portion 100 . As shown in FIG. 8, recesses 138 are formed at the +X side and -X side ends of the tile 120, respectively. As shown in FIG. 9 , the tiles 120 arranged along the outer periphery of the fine movement stage 22 are mechanically fastened to the surface plate portion 100 by fastening members 140 partially inserted into the recesses 138 . Also, a pair of adjacent tiles 120 has a band 142 inserted into a pair of opposed recesses 138 . The band 142 is fastened to the surface plate portion 100 to prevent the tiles 120 from rising from the surface plate portion 100 .

Next, the sucking and holding structure of the tile 120, the sucking and holding structure of the substrate P, and the floating support structure of the substrate P in the fine movement stage 22 described above will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the surface plate portion 100 of the fine movement stage 22 has a plurality of pipes 110 as shown in FIG. The plurality of pipes 110 include, as shown in FIG. , and an exhaust pipe 110P for supplying pressurized gas for floating the substrate P. In FIG. 9, a set of four pipes 110 (two chuck suction pipes 110Vc, one substrate suction pipe 110Vp, and one exhaust pipe 110P) is one tile 120. , but the number, combination, arrangement, etc. of each pipe are not limited to this, and can be changed as appropriate. Also, a pipe for both suction and exhaust may be provided.

As described above, the upper surface portion 104 of the surface plate portion 100 is formed with the hole portion 112V that communicates with the inside of the pipe 110Vp. Further, the tile 120 is formed with a through hole 132 at a position that is substantially the same as the hole 112V in the XY plane when placed on the surface plate 100 . The hole 112V and the through hole 132 communicate with each other, and when a vacuum suction force is supplied to the inside of the pipe 110V, it is surrounded by the peripheral wall 124 of the upper surface of the tile 120 via the hole 112V and the through hole 132. A vacuum suction force VF is supplied to the space. Thereby, the fine movement stage 22 attracts and holds the substrate P (see FIG. 1) placed on the tile 120 .

Note that the strength of the vacuum suction force supplied to the through hole 132 may be changed depending on the position within the fine movement stage 22 . For example, by increasing the strength of the vacuum suction force supplied to the through-hole 132 arranged in the central portion of the fine movement stage 22, the air pool generated in the central portion of the substrate P can be eliminated. Also, the strength of the vacuum suction force may be weakened when the air pool disappears. Also, the vacuum suction force supplied to the through-hole 132 arranged in the central portion of the fine movement stage 22 is supplied earlier than the through-hole 132 arranged in the peripheral portion of the fine movement stage 22, that is, with a time lag. can be Here, the through hole 132 is formed so as to penetrate the convex portion 130 (thick pin), and since the ring member 136 is interposed, the vacuum suction force from the pipe 110Vp is applied to the lower surface side of the tile 120. is not supplied to

Note that the number and arrangement of the through holes 132 (the corresponding holes 112V and 112P are also the same) are not limited to this, and can be changed as appropriate. Also, the diameters of the hole portion 112V and the through hole 132 may be different. By increasing the diameter of the hole positioned lower, that is, by making the diameter of the hole 112V larger than the diameter of the through hole 132, or conversely, by increasing the diameter of the hole positioned higher, That is, the diameter of the through hole 132 may be made larger than the diameter of the hole portion 112V. This facilitates alignment when stacking (placing) the tiles 120 on the surface plate section 100 . Further, the diameters of the hole portion 112V and the through hole 132 may be increased as the hole portion 112V and the through hole 132 are located closer to the center of the fine movement stage 22 . Also, the diameters of the hole portion 112V and the through hole 132 may be increased in the Y-axis direction as they are closer to the closed end.

The suction holding structure of the tile 120 is configured substantially the same as the suction holding structure of the substrate P described above. That is, the vacuum suction force VF is supplied from the outside of the fine movement stage 22 to the inside of the chuck portion suction pipe 110Vc. A hole portion 112V is formed in the upper surface portion 104 of the surface plate portion 100 so as to communicate with the inside of the pipe 110Vc. Vacuum suction is supplied to the enclosed space. The holes 112V are formed at positions that do not overlap the pins 126 and the projections 130 (see FIG. 7) when the tiles 120 are placed on the surface plate 100. The vacuum suction force is prevented from acting.

The floating support of the substrate P is performed by supplying the pressurized gas PG to the pipe 110P for substrate floating. When the pressurized gas PG is supplied into the pipe 110P, it passes through the hole portion 112P formed in the upper surface portion 104 of the surface plate portion 100 and the through hole 134 of the tile 120 and into the peripheral wall portion 124 on the upper surface side of the tile 120. is supplied with pressurized gas. As a result, the fine movement stage 22 can lift the substrate P (see FIG. 1) placed on the tile 120 from below. As described above, the fine movement stage 22 holds the substrate P by suction by the surface plate portion 100 and the tiles 120, and corrects the plane along the substrate mounting surface. In other words, it can be said that the two-layer structure of the surface plate portion 100 and the plurality of tiles 120 has the function of a substrate holder.

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram showing the input/output relationship of a main controller 90 that centrally constitutes the control system of the liquid crystal exposure apparatus 10 (see FIG. 1) and controls the components. The main controller 90 includes a work station (or microcomputer) or the like, and controls all components of the liquid crystal exposure apparatus 10 .

In the liquid crystal exposure apparatus 10 (see FIG. 1) configured as described above, the substrate P is loaded onto the fine movement stage 22 by a plate loader (not shown) under the control of the main controller 90 (see FIG. 10). is performed, alignment measurement is performed using an alignment detection system (not shown), and after completion of the alignment measurement, a plurality of shot areas set on the substrate P are sequentially subjected to a step-and-scan exposure operation. done. Since this exposure operation is the same as the conventional step-and-scan exposure operation, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

During the alignment measurement and scanning exposure, the fine movement stage 22 is moved by a predetermined length in the X-axis and Y-axis directions by the thrust applied from the two X voice coil motors 70X and the two Y voice coil motors 70Y. While moving in strokes, the thrust force also moves in directions of three degrees of freedom in the XY plane with minute strokes on the order of submicrons with respect to the projection optical system 16 (see FIG. 1).

According to the present embodiment described above, the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y (movers 72X and 72Y and stators 74X and 74Y) are located inside the fine movement stage 22 and on the upper surface of the surface plate section 100 facing each other. 104 and the bottom surface 102, so if the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y are arranged outside the surface plate portion 100 (in this case, the movers 72X and 72Y are located on the surface plate portion 100). It is possible to suppress a decrease in the rigidity of the surface plate portion 100 (the surface plate portion 100 is less likely to bend) compared to the case where the surface plate portion 100 is fixed to the side surface. Therefore, the flatness of the substrate mounting surface of the fine movement stage 22 can be ensured with high accuracy, and the exposure accuracy with respect to the substrate P is improved.

In addition, in the fine movement stage 22, the storage section 76 (space) for storing the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y is opened on the side surface of the surface plate section 100, and the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y are maintained (repaired or repaired). exchange, etc.) can be easily performed. Also, the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y generate heat when energized, but the heat can be easily dissipated to the outside of the fine movement stage 22 because the housing portion 76 is open.

<<Second embodiment>>
Next, a substrate stage device according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13. FIG. The substrate stage device according to the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the configuration of the fine movement stage 220 is different. Elements having the same configurations or functions as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment, and the description and illustration thereof are omitted.

FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of fine movement stage 220 (a view taken along line 2A-2A in FIG. 11). In the first embodiment, each of the four voice coil motors 70X and 70Y in total opens to the side surface of the fine movement stage 22 (formed near the end of the fine movement stage 22), as shown in FIG. 12, the four voice coil motors 70X and 70Y are formed in positions near the center of the fine movement stage 22, as shown in FIG. The difference is that they are respectively stored in the storage section 276 .

As shown in FIG. 11, the fine movement stage 220 includes a lower surface portion 102, an upper surface portion 104, an outer wall portion 106, and a plurality of ribs 108 as in the first embodiment, and is generally lightweight and It is formed in a highly rigid hollow box shape. A rectangular parallelepiped (or cubic) center block 114 is arranged near the central portion inside the fine movement stage 220 . The center block 114 is integrally connected to the upper surface portion 104 and the plurality of ribs 108 (see FIG. 12). A recess into which part of the leveling device 46 is inserted is formed below the center block 114, and the fine movement stage 220 is supported by the weight canceling device 42 from below the center block 114 via the leveling device 46. . A center-of-gravity position G of the fine movement stage 220 is located within the center block 114 .

Returning to FIG. 12, the fine movement stage 220 of the second embodiment also operates in three free directions in the horizontal plane by a pair of X voice coil motors 70X and a pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y, as in the first embodiment. A thrust force is applied, but the arrangement of the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y is different from that of the first embodiment. A pair of X voice coil motors 70X are arranged symmetrically on the +Y side and -Y side of the center block 114 with the center block 114 (center of gravity of the fine movement stage 22) interposed therebetween. A pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y are arranged symmetrically on the +X side and -X side of the center block 114 with the center block 114 interposed therebetween.

Returning to FIG. 11, the mover 72X of the X voice coil motor 70 is arranged horizontally as in the first embodiment (see FIG. 1). The pair of movers 72X are arranged in opposite directions (back to back) and fixed to the center block 114, respectively. The point that the stator 74Y is fixed to the upper surface of the X coarse movement stage 34 via the support 54 is the same as in the first embodiment. Similar to the first embodiment, the tip of the post 54 is inserted into the fine movement stage 220 through a notch (opening) 278 formed in the lower surface 102 of the fine movement stage 22 . A pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y are arranged such that a pair of X voice coil motors 70X are rotated around Z by 90°, which is also the same as in the first embodiment. Accordingly, the mover of the Y voice coil motor 70Y is also fixed to the center block 114. As shown in FIG.

Here, in the first embodiment, the notch 78 is formed with a minimum size in consideration of the maximum feed amount of the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y (see FIG. 3). In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, in consideration of the workability and maintainability when installing the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y, the cutout 278 has a formed large. However, as can be seen from FIG. 11, the pair of X voice coil motors 70X are accommodated in the space sandwiched between the lower surface portion 102 and the upper surface portion 104 of the fine movement stage 22, as in the first embodiment. It is The same applies to the pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y.

The configuration or function of the plurality of Z voice coil motors 70Z, the measurement system of the fine movement stage 220, and the like are the same as those of the first embodiment, and thus descriptions thereof will be omitted. Further, the structure for sucking and holding the substrate P by a plurality of tiles 120 (see FIG. 11), the floating support structure for the substrate P, and the structure for sucking and holding the tile 120 by the surface plate portion 100 are the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the explanation is omitted.

According to the second embodiment described above, in addition to the effects obtained in the first embodiment, since the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y are arranged in the vicinity of the support points by the weight canceling device 42, the thrust is The controllability of the fine movement stage 220 can be improved because the deflection of the surface plate portion 100 at the time of occurrence can be suppressed and the moment of inertia is small.

Note that in the fine movement stage 220 according to the second embodiment, the lid body is placed so as to block a part of the notch 278 (so that a minimum gap is formed around the support 54). You may attach it to the lower surface part 102 so that attachment or detachment is possible. Thereby, the rigidity of the surface plate portion 100 can be improved. Further, a cooling mechanism may be arranged to cool the inside of the housing portion 276 whose temperature has increased due to the heat generated by the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y. As a cooling mechanism, it is preferable to supply temperature-controlled (cooled) gas into the storage section 76 from the tip of the column 54 (the portion inserted into the platen section 100).

<<Third Embodiment>>
Next, a substrate stage device according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 18C. The substrate stage device according to the third embodiment is the same as the second embodiment except that the fine movement stage 320 has a different configuration. Elements having the same configuration or function as in the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as in the second embodiment, and the description and illustration thereof are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 14, in fine movement stage 320 according to the third embodiment, a pair of X voice coil motors 70X are arranged near the center of fine movement stage 320, as in the second embodiment. , the mover 72X is fixed to the center block 114. As shown in FIG. Although not shown in FIG. 14, the Y voice coil motor 70Y (see FIG. 16) is also arranged in the same manner as in the second embodiment. Here, in the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, a plurality of voice coil motors 70X and 70Y (see FIG. 16 for the Y voice coil motor 70Y) are united together with the center block 114 and the leveling device 46. This voice coil motor unit 340 (hereinafter referred to as "VCM unit 340") is detachable from the surface plate portion 100 of the fine movement stage 320, which is different from the second embodiment. .

As can be seen from FIGS. 18A and 18B, the VCM unit 340 includes a +-shaped plate member 342 in plan view. As can be seen from FIGS. 18(B) and 18(C), the central portion of the plate-like member 342 is formed with a cup-shaped recess 344 projecting toward the +Z side. A leveling device 46 is inserted. As can be seen from FIG. 18(C), the center block 114 is integrally connected above the recess 344 . Since the plate member 342 is formed in a flange shape extending in the ±X direction and the ±Y direction when viewed from the center block 114, the plate member 342 will be referred to as a flange portion 342 in the following description. As shown in FIG. 16, the VCM unit 340 has a flange portion 342 detachably fastened to the lower surface portion 102 of the platen portion 100 via a plurality of bolts 346 . Thus, the flange portion 342 is a part of the lower surface portion 104 of the surface plate portion 100, and as can be seen from FIGS. ) is arranged in the space between the upper surface portion 104 and the lower surface portion 104 (actually the flange portion 342) of the platen portion 100. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 17, the lower surface portion 102 of the surface plate portion 100 is formed with an opening (notch) 372 having a cross shape in plan view for inserting the VCM unit 340 (see FIG. 16). . A plurality of ribs 108 are arranged at positions that do not interfere with the VCM unit 340 inside the surface plate portion 100, as in the second embodiment. As can be seen from FIGS. 15 and 17, a spacer 374 is fixed to the central portion of the lower surface of the upper surface portion 104 (the inner surface of the surface plate portion 100), and as shown in FIG. The tip of the center block 114 comes into contact with the spacer 374 while the platen 340 is attached to the platen section 100 .

In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, the stator 74X of the X voice coil motor 70X is supported by the upper end of the support 54 from below. As can be seen from FIG. 16, when the VCM unit 340 is attached to the surface plate portion 100, a post 54 (not shown in FIG. 16) is provided between the opening end forming the opening 372 and the flange portion 342. (see FIG. 14) is formed, and a decrease in rigidity of the fine movement stage 320 is suppressed.

The configuration and functions of the plurality of Z voice coil motors 70Z, the measurement system of the fine movement stage 320, and the like are the same as those of the first embodiment, so description thereof will be omitted. Further, the structure for sucking and holding the substrate P by a plurality of tiles 120 (see FIG. 14), the floating support structure for the substrate P, and the structure for sucking and holding the tile 120 by the surface plate portion 100 are the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the explanation is omitted. Here, the surface finish processing of the upper surface portion 104 of the surface plate portion 100 is preferably performed after the VCM unit 340 is assembled to the surface plate portion 100, so that the plurality of tiles 120 can be laid on the upper surface of the surface plate portion 100. The flatness of the substrate mounting surface formed by the above can be ensured.

According to the third embodiment described above, in addition to the effects obtained in the second embodiment, since the plurality of voice coil motors 70X and 70Y are unitized, workability when assembling the fine movement stage 320 is improved. improves. In addition, since the VCM unit 340 has the flange portion 342 integrally fastened to the surface plate portion 100, rigidity equivalent to that of the fine movement stage 220 (see FIG. 11) of the second embodiment is ensured.

<<Fourth Embodiment>>
Next, a substrate stage device according to a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 29. FIG. The substrate stage apparatus according to the fourth embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the configuration of the fine movement stage 422 is different. Elements having the same configurations or functions as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment, and the description and illustration thereof are omitted.

In the first embodiment (see FIG. 4), the fine movement stage 22 has a two-layer structure in which a plurality of tiles 120 are spread over the surface plate portion 100. However, as shown in FIG. A fine movement stage 422 according to the fourth embodiment includes a surface plate portion 450, a pipeline portion 460 stacked on the surface plate portion 450, a base portion 470 stacked on the pipeline portion 460, and a It is different in that it has a four-layer structure including laminated chuck portions 480 .

Although not shown in FIG. 19 and the like, in the fourth embodiment as well, the fine movement stage 422 is driven via a plurality of voice coil motors 70X and 70Y (see FIG. 10) provided in the first drive system 62. It is the same as the above-described first to third embodiments in that thrust forces are applied in directions of three degrees of freedom in the horizontal plane. Also, the arrangement of the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y (not shown) is not particularly limited, and any of the arrangements of the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y according to the first to third embodiments can be selectively used. can be done.

The configuration of the fine movement stage 422 according to the fourth embodiment will be described below. As shown in FIG. 19 , the fine movement stage 422 includes a surface plate section 450 , a pipeline section 460 , a base section 470 and a chuck section 480 . The surface plate portion 450 is formed in a rectangular box shape in plan view, and the pipeline portion 460, the base portion 470, and the chuck portion 480 are each formed in a plate shape in a plan view rectangular shape. The fine movement stage 422 has a pipeline section 460 arranged (stacked) on a surface plate section 450, a base section 470 arranged (stacked) on the pipeline section 460, and a chuck section 480 arranged on the base section 470 (stacked). By stacking), it has a four-layer structure as a whole.

The length and width direction (X-axis and Y-axis directions) of the surface plate portion 450, the pipeline portion 460, the base portion 470, and the chuck portion 480 are substantially the same. The dimension in the thickness direction (Z-axis direction) of the portion 450 is set larger (thick) than the conduit portion 460 , the base portion 470 and the chuck portion 480 . The dimension in the thickness direction (Z-axis direction) of the surface plate portion 450 , the pipeline portion 460 , and the base portion 470 is set larger (thick) than the chuck portion 480 . Moreover, the total weight of the surface plate portion 450, the pipeline portion 460, and the base portion 470 is heavier than the chuck portion 480, for example, about 2.5 times as heavy.

A surface plate portion 450 , which is the bottom layer, is a portion that serves as the base of the fine movement stage 422 . The platen portion 450 includes a lower surface portion 452, an upper surface portion 454, an outer wall portion 456, and a honeycomb structure 458, as shown in FIG. Each of the lower surface portion 452 and the upper surface portion 454 is a plate-shaped member that is rectangular in plan view and made of CFRP (carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic). The outer wall portion 456 is a rectangular frame-shaped member in plan view, and is made of an aluminum alloy or CFRP. The inside of the outer wall portion 456 is filled with a honeycomb structure 458 . The honeycomb structure 458 is made of aluminum alloy. In FIG. 20, only a part of the honeycomb structure is shown in order to avoid complication of the drawing. (See FIGS. 22 and 23).

An outer wall portion 456 filled with a honeycomb structure 458 has an upper surface portion 454 bonded to its upper surface and a lower surface portion 452 bonded to its lower surface. As a result, the surface plate portion 450 has a so-called sandwich structure, is lightweight and highly rigid (especially highly rigid in the thickness direction), and is easy to manufacture. It should be noted that the materials for forming the respective elements that constitute the surface plate portion 450 are not limited to those described above, and can be changed as appropriate. Moreover, the fastening structure of the lower surface portion 452, the upper surface portion 454, and the outer wall portion 456 is not limited to adhesion.

An opening 452 a is formed in the central portion of the lower surface portion 452 . In the honeycomb structure 458, recesses (depressions) are formed in portions corresponding to the openings 452a (see FIGS. 22 and 23), and the above-described leveling device 46 is fitted into the recesses (see FIG. 23). 25). Here, the structure of the leveling device 46 is not particularly limited as long as it has a function of supporting the fine movement stage 422 so as to be swingable with respect to the horizontal plane (in the θx and θy directions). Therefore, although a spherical bearing device is illustrated in FIG. 1, the leveling device 46 is not limited to this, and may be an elastic hinge device as shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 20, the pipeline section 460 includes a plurality of pipes 462 extending in the Y-axis direction. A plurality of pipes 462 are arranged side by side at predetermined intervals in the X-axis direction. The longitudinal dimension (Y-axis direction) of the pipe 462 is set to be substantially the same as the Y-axis dimension of the surface plate portion 450 . The number of pipes 462 is not particularly limited, and can be changed as appropriate according to desired performance required of fine movement stage 422 . In FIG. 23 and the like, the number of pipes 462 is shown to be smaller than the actual number in order to facilitate understanding of the configuration or function of fine movement stage 422 . Also, the cross-sectional shape of the XZ cross section of the pipe 462 is not particularly limited. In FIG. 23 and the like, a so-called square pipe having a rectangular XZ cross section is used as the pipe 462, but it is not limited to this, and a so-called round pipe as shown in FIG. 29 may be used. When a round pipe is used, it is preferable to process the round pipe so that the upper surface and the lower surface of the outer peripheral surface of the round pipe are parallel to each other (so that the cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is barrel-shaped). In this embodiment, the pipe 462 is made of CFRP, but the material of the pipe 462 is also not particularly limited and can be changed as appropriate. If CFRP is not used as the material for the pipe 462, it is preferable to use a member whose coefficient of expansion is similar to that of CFRP. In addition, although it has been described that the plurality of pipes 462 extend in the Y-axis direction and are arranged side by side in the X-axis direction, the present invention is not limited to this, and the plurality of pipes 462 extend in the X-axis direction and are arranged side by side in the Y-axis direction. Also good.

The base portion 470 is formed of a plurality of members called slates 472, as shown in FIG. The slate 472 is a thin plate-like member that is rectangular in plan view, and is made of stone, ceramics, or the like. The material of the slate 472 is not particularly limited, but a material that is excellent in hardness and can be easily processed with high accuracy is preferable. In the fine movement stage 422 , a plurality of slates 472 are mounted on a plurality of pipes 462 forming a conduit section 460 . The slates 472 are tiled on the pipeline section 460 in close contact with each other (contact with negligible gaps), and are fixed to the plurality of pipes 462 with an adhesive.

Each slate 472 is processed (lapped, etc.) so that the surface (the surface on the side opposite to the surface to be bonded to the pipe 462) has a very high degree of flatness. Further, the surface height position of each of the plurality of slates 472 is adjusted so that the level difference between the slates 472 is substantially negligible in a state of being spread over the pipeline section 460 . Incidentally, if a plane having an area equivalent to that of the substrate P (see FIG. 1) can be formed above the conduit portion 460, the size (area) of each slate 472 is as shown in FIG. They may have a common size, or, as shown in FIG. 24, slates 472 of different sizes may be mixed. Also, the total number of slates 472 is not particularly limited, and may be composed of one slate 472 . Although it has been described that the slate 472 is processed so as to have a very high degree of flatness, the present invention is not limited to this. One or a portion of the slates 472 may be lower than the other slates 472, or the slates 472 may be partially missing or hollow. As will be described later, the flatness of the surface of the chuck portion 480 should be high when the chuck portion 480 is placed on the slate 472 , so the slate 472 may have a chip or recess smaller than the size of the chuck portion 480 . .

The surface height position adjustment between the slates 472 described above is preferably performed by lapping or the like. In this case, it is desirable that the lapping process be performed with various accessories (bar mirrors 80X, 80Y (see FIG. 2), etc.) attached to the fine movement stage 422, taking into consideration the deflection so as to achieve the desired accuracy. Further, as shown in FIG. 27, the vicinity of the end portion of the upper surface of the slate 472 is chamfered, and a V-shaped groove is formed between adjacent slates 472 in a state in which a plurality of slates 472 are laid out. It is formed. The V-shaped groove is filled with a joint material 472a to prevent moisture from entering between adjacent slates 472 during lapping.

Returning to FIG. 20, the chuck portion 480 is a portion on which the substrate P (see FIG. 1) is placed. The chuck portion 480 sucks and holds the substrate P in cooperation with the pipeline portion 460 and the slate 472 . The chuck part 480 is formed of a plurality of tiles 482 . The tile 482 is a thin plate-like member that is rectangular in plan view, and is made of ceramics or the like. The generation of static electricity from the substrate P can be suppressed by forming the tiles 482 from ceramics. Although the material of the tiles 482 is not particularly limited, it is preferable to use a lightweight material that can be easily processed with high accuracy. By using a lightweight material as the material of the tile 482, deformation of the base portion 470 and/or the pipe portion 460 can be prevented. The thickness of the tile 482 (eg 8 mm) is set thinner than the thickness of the slate 472 (eg 12 mm). In the fine movement stage 422, a plurality of tiles 482 are laid on a plane formed by laying a plurality of slates 472 (partially not shown in FIGS. 19 and 20). The tiles 482 are held by suction to the corresponding slates 472 (below the tiles 482). A structure for attracting and holding the tile 482 to the slate 472 (a structure for attracting and holding the tile 482) will be described later.

One (one) tile 482 is set smaller in area than one (one) slate 472 . In the example shown in FIG. 20, two tiles 482 are placed on one slate 472, but the number of tiles 482 placed on one slate 472 is It is not particularly limited. Also, the area of one tile 482 is not limited to the above. In the case of the same area, one tile 482 may be placed on one slate 472, or if the tile 482 has a larger area, a plurality of one tile 482 may be placed. may be supported by a slate 472 of . Note that the base portion 470 and the chuck portion 480 may be collectively referred to as a holder portion. In this case, the holder section has a two-layer structure consisting of a plurality of slates 472 (lower layer) and a plurality of tiles 482 (upper layer). As described above, the fine movement stage 422 has a four-layer structure including the surface plate portion 450, the pipeline portion 460, the base portion 470, and the chuck portion 480. The surface plate portion 450, the pipeline portion 460, and the holder portion It can also be said that it is a three-layer structure consisting of

In the fine movement stage 422 , a substrate mounting surface is formed by a plurality of tiles 482 mounted (spread) on a plurality of slates 472 . Each tile 482 is precision machined to have substantially the same thickness. Therefore, the substrate mounting surface of the fine movement stage 422 formed by the plurality of tiles 482 follows the plane formed by the plurality of slates 472 and has a high degree of flatness. The tiles 482 are placed on the slate 472 so as to be replaceable and separable. Also, the tiles 482 are placed on the surface plate section 450 and/or the pipeline section 460 so as to be replaceable and separable.

Next, the configuration of the tile 482 will be described. The fine movement stage 422 is a so-called pin chuck type holder, and on the upper surface of each tile 482, as shown in FIG. 26, a plurality of pins 482a and a peripheral wall portion 482b are formed. The multiple pins 482a are arranged at substantially equal intervals. Since the diameter of the pin 482a in the pin chuck type holder is very small (for example, about 1 mm in diameter) and the width of the peripheral wall portion 482b is also narrow, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the back surface of the substrate P is supported by dust or foreign matter. It is also possible to reduce the possibility of deformation of the substrate P due to the pinching of foreign matter. Note that the number and arrangement of the pins 482a are not particularly limited, and can be changed as appropriate. The peripheral wall portion 482 b is formed to surround the outer periphery of the upper surface of the tile 482 . The height positions (Z positions) of the tips of the plurality of pins 482a and the peripheral wall portion 482b are set to be the same. In order to suppress the reflection of the illumination light IL (see FIG. 1), the upper surface of the tile 482 is subjected to various surface treatments such as coating treatment and ceramic thermal spraying so that the surface becomes black.

In the fine movement stage 422 (see FIG. 19), a vacuum suction force is supplied to the space surrounded by the peripheral wall portion 482b while the substrate P (see FIG. 1) is placed on the plurality of pins 482a and the peripheral wall portion 482b. The substrate P is adsorbed and held on the tile 482 by being vacuum-sucked (air in the space is vacuum-sucked). The substrate P is flattened along the tips of the plurality of pins 482a and the peripheral wall portion 482b. A structure for attracting and holding the substrate P to the tile 482 (a structure for attracting and holding the substrate P) will be described later.

Further, the fine movement stage 422 is configured such that a substrate P (see FIG. 1) is placed on the plurality of pins 482a and the peripheral wall portion 482b, and a pressurized gas (such as compressed air) is supplied to the space surrounded by the peripheral wall portion 482b. , the adsorption of the substrate P on the substrate mounting surface can be released. A structure for releasing the adsorption of the substrate P on the substrate mounting surface, in other words, for floating the substrate P on the substrate mounting surface (floating support structure for the substrate P) will be described later.

28, a plurality of pins 482c and 482d and a peripheral wall portion 482e are also formed on the lower surface of the tile 482. As shown in FIG. That is, the lower surface of the tile 482 also has a pin-chuck structure. When the tile 482 is placed on the slate 472 (see FIG. 19), the tips of the plurality of pins 482c and 482d and the peripheral wall 482e contact the upper surface of the slate 472. As shown in FIG. The plurality of pins 482c, 482d are arranged at substantially equal intervals. The pin 482d has a larger (thicker) radial dimension than the pin 482c, and has a wider contact area with the slate 472 (see FIG. 27) than the pin 482c. Through-holes 482f and 482g are provided approximately in the center of the pin 482d. These through-holes 482f and 482g are configured to pass through the tile 482, respectively, and through-holes 472b (see FIG. 27) communicating with suction pipes 462b (see FIG. 27) provided in the slate 472, exhaust It communicates with the through hole of the slate 472 that communicates with the through hole of the pipe 462c (see FIG. 24). The through-hole 482f is a hole for sucking air, and the space (air) formed by the pin chuck formed on the upper surface of the tile 482 and the substrate P is vacuum-sucked through the through-hole 482f. Adsorb and hold. The through hole 482g is a compressed air exhaust hole for exhausting (blowing out) air, and is configured to have a diameter (opening diameter) smaller than that of the through hole 482f. At this time, air having a force sufficient to float the substrate P is blown to the substrate P through the through hole 482g.

The number and arrangement of the pins 482c and 482d are not particularly limited and can be changed as appropriate. The positions in the XY directions of the plurality of pins 482a and the plurality of pins 482c and 482d may be the same, or may be arranged at different positions. The peripheral wall portion 482 e is formed so as to surround the outer circumference of the lower surface of the tile 482 . The plurality of pins 482c, 482d and the peripheral wall portion 482e are set to have the same height position (Z position) of the tip. In the fine movement stage 422, the tile 482 is held by suction on the slate 472 by applying a vacuum suction force to the space surrounded by the peripheral wall portion 482e while the tile 482 is placed on the slate 472. FIG. That is, on the lower surface (back surface) side of the slate 472 and the tile 482, the tile 482 is formed via a space (vacuum sucked space) surrounded by the slate 472, the peripheral wall portion 482e of the tile 482, and the pins 482c and 482d. Affixed to slate 472 . On the other hand, as described above, the through holes 482 f and 482 g on the lower surface of the tile 482 are arranged so as to communicate with the through holes of the slate 472 and are not fixed to the slate 472 .

Adherence of the tiles 482 to the slate 472 in this embodiment means that the slate 472 is fixed to the slate 472 while the suction force is acting on a portion of the lower surface of the tiles 482 (the space described above) like the vacuum suction described above. It is to maintain a state in which it does not separate from the slate 472 (no positional deviation in the Z direction) and does not cause relative positional deviation with respect to the slate 472 (positional deviation in the X and Y directions). Furthermore, when this vacuum adsorption is released and the action of the aforementioned adsorption force on the tiles 482 disappears, the tiles 482 can be detached (removed) from the slate 472 . Although it has been described that the tiles 482 are placed along the plane formed by the plurality of slates 472, the tiles 482 may not be placed on the plane. If the surface formed by the plurality of slates 472 and the bottom surface of the tile 482 have substantially the same shape, the plurality of slates 472 may be curved rather than flat.

Here, the fine movement stage 422 has various mechanisms for preventing the tiles 482 from floating from the slate 472 . In the example shown in FIGS. 21 to 23, a flat plate-shaped protrusion 476 is formed on the +Y side end of the tile 482, and a recess corresponding to the protrusion 476 (the protrusion 476 (not shown because they are overlapped with each other) are formed. Adjacent tiles 482 are mechanically fastened by mating protrusions 476 with corresponding recesses. Also, the tiles 482 arranged along the outer periphery of the fine movement stage 422 are mechanically fastened to the slate 472 by fastening members 478 . Note that each tile 482 may be fastened to the surface plate portion 450 or the pipeline portion 460 (see FIG. 29). The fastening members 478 are provided at the +X and +Y side corners of the slate 472, the platen section 450, or the pipeline section 460, for example, and separate members are used to attach the tiles 482 from the -X and -Y sides. The fastening member 478 may be pressed to fasten.

In addition, in the example of the fastening structure shown in FIG. 29, concave portions 492 are formed at the ends of the tile 482 on the +Y side and the −Y side, respectively, and belt-shaped members 494 (bands 494) are formed in the pair of opposing concave portions 492. inserted. The band 494 is fastened to the surface plate portion 450 (which may be the slate 472 or the pipeline portion 460 ), thereby preventing the tiles 482 from lifting from the slate 472 . Note that the fastening structure of the tile 482 and the lifting prevention structure can be changed as appropriate. Although the protrusion 476 and the recess corresponding to the protrusion 476 are provided at the Y-side end of the tile 482, they may be provided at the X-side end, or at both the Y-side and the X-side. may be provided in the department

Next, the sucking and holding structure of the tile 482, the sucking and holding structure of the substrate P, and the floating support structure of the substrate P in the fine movement stage 422 described above will be described with reference to FIG. 24 and the like. As described above, the conduit section 460 of the fine movement stage 422 is composed of a plurality of pipes 462 . As shown in FIG. 24, the plurality of pipes 462 include a suction pipe 462a for supplying a vacuum suction force for sucking the tile 482, and a suction pipe 462b for supplying a vacuum suction force for sucking the substrate P. , an exhaust pipe 462c for supplying pressurized gas for floating the substrate P, and a pipe 462d arranged in the gap between the pipes 462a to 462c. The pipe 462d is not supplied with vacuum suction force or pressurized gas, and functions exclusively as a member for supporting the plurality of slates 472 together with the pipes 462a to 462c. Note that FIG. 24 shows an example in which a tile 482 is placed on a set of five pipes 462 (two pipes 462a, one pipe 462b, and two pipes 462c) via a slate 472 (one tile 482). An example in which a set of five pipes 462 are arranged corresponding to the tiles 482 of ) is shown, but the number, combination, arrangement, etc. of each pipe 462a to 462c are not limited to this, and can be changed as appropriate. is. Moreover, instead of providing the suction pipe 462b and the exhaust pipe 462c separately, it is also possible to provide dual-purpose pipes that share the respective functions.

As shown in FIG. 27, a plug 464 is fitted to one longitudinal end of the substrate suction pipe 462b (the end on the -Y side in this embodiment). A plug 466 with a joint (hereinafter simply referred to as "joint 466") is fitted to the other longitudinal end of the pipe 462b. A vacuum suction force (see the black arrow in FIG. 27) is supplied to the joint 466 from the outside of the fine movement stage 422 via a conduit member (tube, etc.) not shown (the inside of the pipe 462b is brought into a vacuum state). When a dual-purpose pipe is provided, the vacuum suction force and the pressurized gas are switchably supplied.

A plurality of through holes 468 are formed in the upper surface of the pipe 462b. Further, the slate 472 of the base portion 470 is formed with a through hole 472b at a position in the XY plane that is substantially the same as the through hole 468 when placed on the pipe 462b. Further, in the tile 482 of the chuck part 480, a through hole 482f is formed at a position where the through holes 468, 472b and the through holes 468, 472b are substantially the same in the XY plane when placed on the slate 472. The through holes 468, 472b, and 482f communicate with each other, and when a vacuum suction force is supplied to the inside of the pipe 462b, the peripheral wall portion 482b (Fig. ) is supplied to the space enclosed by the vacuum suction force. Thereby, the fine movement stage 422 sucks and holds the substrate P (see FIG. 1) placed on the tile 482 .

The strength of the vacuum suction force supplied to the through holes 468, 472b, and 482f may be changed according to the position within the fine movement stage. By increasing the strength of the vacuum suction force supplied to the through holes 468, 472b, and 482f arranged in the central portion of the fine movement stage 422, the air pool generated in the central portion of the substrate P can be eliminated. Also, the strength of the vacuum suction force may be weakened when the air pool disappears. In addition, the vacuum suction force supplied to the through holes 468, 472b, and 482f arranged in the central portion of the fine movement stage 422 is supplied earlier than the through holes 468, 472b, and 482f arranged in the peripheral portion of the fine movement stage 422, that is, the time difference It is also possible to supply the Here, as shown in FIG. 28, the through hole 482f is formed so as to penetrate the pin 482d (thick pin), and the vacuum suction force from the pipe 462b is supplied to the lower surface side of the tile 482. There is no

Although FIG. 26 shows an example in which two through holes 482f are formed in the tile 482, the number and arrangement of the through holes 482f (the corresponding through holes 468 and 472b are the same) are limited to this. can be changed as appropriate. Note that the diameters of the through holes 468, 472b, and 482f may be different. The diameter of the lower through-holes may be increased, that is, the diameter of the through-holes 468 may be made larger than the diameter of the through-holes 482f, or conversely, the diameter of the through-holes located higher may be increased. Alternatively, the diameter of the through hole 482 f may be made larger than the diameter of the through hole 468 . This facilitates alignment when stacking (placing) the tiles 482, slates 472, and pipes 462b. Also, the diameters of the through holes 468, 472b, and 482f may be made larger as the through holes 468, 72b, and 482f located near the center of the fine movement stage. Also, the diameters of the through holes 468, 472b, and 482f may be increased as they are closer to the plug 464 in the Y-axis direction.

The suction holding structure of the tile 482 is configured substantially the same as the suction holding structure of the substrate P described above. That is, a plug 464 and a joint 466 are fitted to both ends of the pipe 462a for sucking the chuck portion, and a vacuum suction force is supplied from the outside of the fine movement stage 422 to the inside of the pipe 462a via the joint 466. A through-hole is formed in the upper surface of the pipe 462a (see FIG. 24), and through the through-hole and the through-hole formed in the slate 472 (see FIG. 28) is supplied with a vacuum suction force. Reference character Q in FIG. 28 indicates a region corresponding to the through hole formed in the slate 472, and it can be seen that the vacuum suction force is supplied to a position that does not overlap the pins 482c and 482d.

In the above description, as a method (configuration) of fixing the tiles 482 to the slate 472, a method (configuration) of vacuum suction has been described, but the method (configuration) of fixing the tiles 482 is not limited to suction. For example, the tiles 482 may be secured to the slate 472 by bonding a portion of the back surface of the tiles 482 to the slate 472 with an adhesive. In this case, the performance required for the adhesive that adheres the tile 482 and the slate 472 is that the two are easy to separate and difficult to shift. It is desired that when the adhesive cures, it becomes so hard that it expands and does not cause the tile 482 to lift from the slate 472, i.e., does not create a step. Since the flatness of the upper surface of the tile 482 is determined by the close contact between the back surface of the tile 482 and the slate 472, the adhesive is pasty before hardening and enters the grooves on the back surface of the tile 482, but after hardening, it becomes elastic rubber-like. For example, it is preferable to use a moisture-curing peelable deformed silicone sealant.

As a method of fixing the tiles 482 to the slate 472, the above-described vacuum suction method and adhesion method may be used together.

Since air cannot be taken in and out from the place where the adhesive is applied to the tile 482, when the adhesive is applied to the back surface of the tile 482, an air flow path and a suction hole for holding the substrate P by suction are required. Apply to a position that does not block the

Alternatively, a magnet may be built in the tile 482 and the slate 472 may be made of a magnetic material so that the tile 482 is fixed to the slate 472 by the magnetic force of the magnet.

It is also conceivable to reverse the relationship between the magnet and the magnetic material so that the tiles 482 are made of a magnetic material and the slate 472 is provided with the magnet. Since static electricity is likely to be generated on the surface of the tile 482, it is necessary to take countermeasures against static electricity (use of a static eliminator). It is also necessary to take countermeasures against heat generated by the exposure light and heat transferred from the stage, and temperature control (use of cooling gas).

When the tiles 482 cannot be sucked and held (vacuum sucked) on the slate 472, such as during transportation or assembly of the device, the adhesive, magnet, or the like is used to prevent the tiles 482 from slipping (not coming off) from the slate 472. You can do it.

The floating support structure for the substrate P is also constructed substantially in the same manner as the suction holding structure for the substrate P described above. That is, when the pressurized gas is supplied to the pipe 462c for floating the substrate, the through holes formed in the vibrator 462c, the through holes of the slate 472 communicating with the through holes, and the through holes 482g of the tile 482 ( 26), pressurized gas is supplied into the peripheral wall portion 482b. Thereby, the fine movement stage 422 can lift the substrate P (see FIG. 1) placed on the tile 482 from below. As described above, the substrate P is sucked and held by the pipeline portion 460, the slate 472, and the tiles 482, and is flattened along the substrate mounting surface. In other words, it can be said that the three-layer structure of the conduit section 460, the base section 470 (slate 472), and the chuck section 480 (tile 482) functions as a substrate holder.

Note that the fine movement stage 422 may have floating pins for floating the substrate P from the tiles 482 using a mechanical member. The levitation pin has a surface that abuts on the substrate P, and is composed of a rod-shaped member that supports the surface. The surface of the floating pins and the top surface of the tile 482 form a substrate mounting surface. In addition, the floating pins function as a structure for preventing the tiles 482 from floating by being arranged between the tiles 482 . Note that the number and arrangement of floating pins are not particularly limited.

Although the pipeline section 460 has been described as having a plurality of pipes 462, it is also possible to provide grooves in one or more plate-like members and cover the grooves with the surface plate section 450 and/or the slate 472. , a flow path through which pressurized gas (compressed air, etc.) flows, or a flow path to which vacuum suction force is supplied (air in the space is vacuum-sucked) may be formed.

In addition, in the fourth embodiment, the surface plate portion 450 has a structure in which the honeycomb structure 458 is filled as a stiffening member inside. The rib 108 (see FIG. 2, etc.) may be arranged inside the surface plate portion 450 as a stiffening member. Similarly, in the first to third embodiments described above, instead of the ribs 108 inside the surface plate portion 100, the honeycomb structure 458 may be filled as in the fourth embodiment. Further, in the fourth embodiment, the honeycomb structure 458 and the ribs 108 may be used together as stiffening members. In this case, the movers of the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y may be fixed to the rib 108.

<<Fifth Embodiment>>
Next, a substrate stage device according to the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 30 to 35. FIG. The substrate stage device according to the fifth embodiment is the same as the fourth embodiment except that the fine movement stage 522 has a different configuration. Elements having the same configurations or functions as those in the fourth embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the fourth embodiment, and descriptions and illustrations thereof are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 20, the fine movement stage 422 of the fourth embodiment has a four-layer structure in which a pipeline portion 460, a base portion 470, and a chuck portion 480 are laminated on a surface plate portion 450. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 31, a fine movement stage 522 according to the fifth embodiment has a base portion 560 laminated on a surface plate portion 450, and a chuck portion 480 laminated on the base portion 560. It differs in that it has a three-layer structure.

Although not shown in FIG. 30 and the like, in the fifth embodiment as well, the fine movement stage 522 is driven by a plurality of voice coil motors 70X and 70Y (see FIG. 10) provided in the first drive system 62. It is the same as the above-described first to third embodiments in that thrust forces are applied in directions of three degrees of freedom in the horizontal plane. Also, the arrangement of the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y (not shown) is not particularly limited, and any of the arrangements of the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y according to the first to third embodiments can be selectively used. can be done.

The configuration of the fine movement stage 522 according to the fifth embodiment will be described below. As shown in FIG. 30 , the fine movement stage 522 includes a surface plate section 450 , a base section 560 and a chuck section 480 . Thus, the fine movement stage 522 according to the fifth embodiment does not have elements corresponding to the pipeline section 460 (see FIG. 20, etc.) in the fourth embodiment. In contrast, in the fifth embodiment, the base portion 560 also functions as the conduit portion. Note that the configurations of the surface plate portion 450 and the chuck portion 480 are the same as those of the fourth embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted. Also, here, a case where the same tiles 120 as in the first embodiment are used as the plurality of tiles constituting the chuck part 480 will be described, but the tiles are the same as in the fourth embodiment. 482 (see FIG. 26, etc.) may be used.

As shown in FIG. 31, the base portion 560 is formed of a plurality of members called slates 562, similar to the base portion 470 (see FIG. 20) of the fine movement stage 422 according to the fourth embodiment. It is The slate 562 is a thin plate-like member that is rectangular in plan view and is made of stone or ceramics similar to the slate 472 of the fourth embodiment (see FIG. 20). As shown in FIG. 32, the plurality of slates 562 are spread over a surface plate portion 450 (not shown in FIG. 32, see FIG. 31) in a tiled manner and fixed to the surface plate portion 450 with an adhesive. ing.

Holes 564P and 564V are opened in the upper surface of each slate 562, as shown in FIG. The arrangement of the holes 564P and 564V is similar to the plurality of holes 112P and 112V (see FIG. 9) formed in the upper surface portion 104 of the surface plate portion 100 in the fine movement stage 22 according to the first embodiment (see FIG. 4). It is the same.

Here, in the first embodiment, the pipelines (pipes 110Vc, 110Vp) for supplying the vacuum suction force and the pipelines (pipe 110P) for supplying the pressurized gas are the surface plate section 100 (each 9), in the fifth embodiment, a plurality of grooves 566 are formed on the lower surface of the slate 562 as shown in FIG. formed. The groove 566 extends in the Y-axis direction and opens at the end on the slate 562±Y side. The plurality of holes 564P and 564V are formed in the bottom of the groove 566, and the plurality of holes 564P and 564V communicate with the corresponding grooves 566. As shown in FIG.

In the base portion 560 (see FIG. 33), a joint 568 is connected to the open end of the groove 566 on the slate 562 arranged near the end on the -Y side. Pressurized gas or vacuum suction force is supplied from the outside of the fine movement stage 522 (see FIG. 33) into the groove 566 via a joint 568 . Between a pair of slates 562 adjacent in the Y-axis direction, a channel connecting member 570 is inserted as shown in FIG. 34(B). Thereby, the grooves 566 formed in the plurality of slates 562 adjacent in the Y-axis direction function as one groove. A plug 572 (see FIG. 32) is attached to the open end of the groove 566 formed in the slate 562 located near the +Y side end.

On the lower surface of the slate 562, apart from the plurality of grooves 566, as shown in FIG. 34(C), grooves 574 for bonding the slate 562 and the surface plate portion 450 (see FIG. 33) are formed for adhesive. formed. The groove 574 cooperates with the upper surface portion 454 (see FIG. 33) of the platen portion 450 by bonding the slate 562 to the platen portion 450 to form a gas flow path.

A structure for sucking and holding the tile 120 by using the pressurized gas supplied to the groove 566 or a vacuum suction force, a structure for sucking and holding the substrate P (see FIG. 1) placed on the tile 120, and the tile 120 The structure for floating the substrate P placed thereon is substantially the same as in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 35, with the tile 120 resting on the slate 562, the groove (groove 574Vc in FIG. 35) to which the vacuum suction force (see arrow VF) is supplied through the hole 564V. The tile 120 is held by vacuum suction. Another groove (groove 574Vp in FIG. 35) to which a vacuum suction force is supplied is used to vacuum the substrate P (see FIG. 1) placed on the tile 120 through the hole 564V and the through hole 132. Adsorption hold. Further, the groove (the groove 574P in FIG. 35) to which the pressurized gas (see arrow PG) is supplied pressurizes the lower surface of the substrate P placed on the tile 120 through the hole 564P and the through hole 134. Eject gas.

In the fifth embodiment described above, since the fine movement stage 522 has a three-layer structure, the configuration is simpler than that of the fourth embodiment.

Also in the fifth embodiment, a plurality of ribs 108 (see FIG. 2 and the like) may be arranged inside the surface plate portion 450 as stiffening members. Moreover, the honeycomb structure 458 (see FIG. 20) and the ribs 108 may be used together as stiffening members. In this case, the movers of the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y may be fixed to the rib 108.

<<Sixth embodiment>>
Next, a substrate stage device according to a sixth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The substrate stage device according to the sixth embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the fine movement stage 622 has a different configuration. Elements having the same configurations or functions as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment, and the description and illustration thereof are omitted.

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of ribs 108 are arranged inside the fine movement stage 22 as stiffening members. These ribs 108 were arranged so as to extend in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, or radially (X-shaped) from the center. Therefore, the number of radially extending ribs 108 was four in total. In contrast, in the sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 36, all of the plurality of ribs 608 housed in the outer wall portion 106 are arranged so as to radially extend from the central portion of the surface plate portion 650. It is Note that the number of ribs 608 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 36, and can be changed as appropriate. A plurality of pipes 110 are housed inside the surface plate portion 650, and cooperate with the lower surface of the upper surface portion 104 to form flow paths for supplying pressurized gas and vacuum suction force, which is the same as in the first embodiment. is similar to Although not shown in FIG. 36, a plurality of tiles 120 (see FIG. 4) are spread over the upper surface portion 104 of the surface plate portion 650 to form the substrate mounting surface. It is similar to the embodiment.

Although not shown in FIG. 36, in the sixth embodiment as well, the fine movement stage 622 is moved to the horizontal plane via a plurality of voice coil motors 70X and 70Y (see FIG. 10, respectively) provided in the first drive system 62. It is the same as the above-described first to third embodiments in that the thrust is applied in the directions of the inner three degrees of freedom. Also, the arrangement of the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y (not shown) is not particularly limited, and any of the arrangements of the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y according to the first to third embodiments can be selectively used. can be done.

As the stiffening member, the honeycomb structure, which is the stiffening member according to the fourth embodiment, and the ribs 608 may be used together. Also, ribs for fixing the movers of the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y may be arranged separately from the ribs 608 extending radially.

<<Seventh embodiment>>
Next, a substrate stage device according to the seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 37(A) to 38(B). The substrate stage apparatus according to the seventh embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment except that the configuration of the plurality of tiles 720 forming the substrate mounting surface is different, so only the points of difference will be described below. However, elements having the same configurations or functions as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and descriptions and illustrations thereof are omitted.

While the peripheral wall portion 124 (see FIG. 6) of the tile 120 of the first embodiment is formed along the outer peripheral edge portion of the tile 120, the tile 720 according to the present seventh embodiment 37(A), the difference is that a peripheral wall portion 724 is formed in a region somewhat inside the outer peripheral edge portion. As shown in FIG. 37B, in the tile 720 , the height position of the tip of the peripheral wall portion 724 is set to be the same as the height position of the pin 722 , whereas the height position of the tip of the peripheral wall portion 724 is set to be the same as that of the pin 722 . The height position of the region is the same as that of the top surface where the pin 122 is not formed. Hereinafter, a region of the tile 720 outside the peripheral wall portion 724 will be referred to as a stepped portion 726 and will be described. As can be seen from FIGS. 38A and 38B, the tile 720 of the seventh embodiment has chamfered corners. The structure of the back surface of the tile 720 is the same as that of the tile 120 of the first embodiment, so the explanation is omitted.

When a plurality of tiles 720 according to the seventh embodiment are arranged side by side, as shown in FIG. Adjacent portions 726 form grooves in the joints of the pair of tiles 720 .

According to the seventh embodiment, as shown in FIG. 37B, adjacent peripheral wall portions 724 are separated from each other, so even if the adjacent tiles 720 have a difference in thickness, , the formation of steep steps between adjacent tiles 720 can be avoided.

Note that the tile 720 according to the seventh embodiment includes the fine movement stage 220 (see FIG. 11), the fine movement stage 320 (see FIG. 14), and the fine movement stage 422 (see FIG. 19) according to the second to sixth embodiments. ), a fine movement stage 522 (see FIG. 30), and the like.

<<Eighth embodiment>>
Next, a substrate stage device according to the eighth embodiment will be explained using FIG. The substrate stage apparatus according to the eighth embodiment is the same as that of the seventh embodiment except that the configuration of the plurality of tiles 820 forming the substrate mounting surface is different, so only the differences will be described below. However, elements having the same configurations or functions as those of the seventh embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the seventh embodiment, and descriptions and illustrations thereof are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 39, a peripheral wall portion 724 having the same height as each pin 722 is formed on the outer peripheral edge portion of the tile 820 as in the seventh embodiment. Further, the point that a stepped portion 726 is formed in a region outside the peripheral wall portion 724 is also the same as in the seventh embodiment.

In the tile 820 according to the eighth embodiment, a plurality of protrusions 822 are formed on the stepped portion 726 from the outer surface of the peripheral wall portion 724 at predetermined intervals in a comb shape. The height position of the convex portion 822 is set to be the same as that of the peripheral wall portion 724 and the pin 722 . Each of the plurality of protrusions 822 is arranged so that when the plurality of tiles 820 are arranged side by side, the tips of the protrusions 822 of a pair of adjacent tiles 820 do not come into contact with each other (the protrusion of one tile 820 822 faces the stepped portion 726 of the other tile 820).

According to the eighth embodiment, in addition to the effects of the seventh embodiment, a plurality of protrusions 822 are arranged in grooves formed between a pair of opposing peripheral wall portions 724, so that the substrate P ( (see FIG. 1) is improved in flatness of the substrate P when it is sucked and held. In addition, since the convex portions 822 are arranged to be shifted from each other, it is possible to avoid forming a sharp step between adjacent tiles 820 . The tile 820 according to the present eighth embodiment includes the fine movement stage 220 (see FIG. 11), the fine movement stage 320 (see FIG. 14), and the fine movement stage 422 (see FIG. 19) according to the second to sixth embodiments. ), a fine movement stage 522 (see FIG. 30), and the like.

<<Ninth Embodiment>>
Next, a substrate stage device according to the ninth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 40-43. A substrate stage device 920 according to the ninth embodiment is the same as that of the second embodiment except that the configuration of the measurement system for measuring the horizontal position of the fine movement stage 922 is different. Only differences will be described, and elements having the same configurations or functions as those of the second embodiment will be assigned the same reference numerals as those of the second embodiment, and their description and illustration will be omitted.

As a measurement system for measuring the horizontal position of the fine movement stage 220 (see FIG. 11) according to the second embodiment, an optical interferometer system 96A (FIG. 10) having the same configuration as that of the first embodiment is used. ) is used, whereas in the substrate stage device 920 according to the ninth embodiment, the encoder system 930 is used to measure the position of the fine movement stage 922 in the horizontal plane. The configuration of the substrate stage device 920 is the same as that of the second embodiment except that the components of the encoder system described below are arranged instead of the bar mirrors 80X and 80Y (see FIG. 12, respectively) on the fine movement stage 922. Similar to morphology. The drive system (substrate drive system 60, see FIG. 10) including a plurality of voice coil motors 70X and 70Y (see FIG. 13) and for driving each element of the substrate stage device 920 has a configuration similar to that of the second embodiment. Since it is the same as the embodiment, the description is omitted here.

FIG. 41 is an enlarged view of the portion indicated by reference numeral 9A in FIG. 40. FIG. As can be seen from FIGS. 40 and 41, a scale base 932 is attached to each of the +Y side and -Y side surfaces of the surface plate portion 100 of the fine movement stage 922 . As shown in FIG. 42, the scale base 932 consists of a member extending in the X-axis direction, and its length in the X-axis direction is set slightly longer than the dimension of the substrate P in the X-axis direction. The scale base 932 is preferably made of a material such as ceramics that is resistant to thermal deformation.

An upward scale 934 is fixed to the upper surface of each of the pair of scale bases 932 . The upward scale 932 is a plate-like (strip-like) member extending in the X-axis direction, and its upper surface (the surface facing the +Z side (upper side)) has two axes perpendicular to each other (the X-axis in this embodiment). and Y-axis direction) are formed as a reflective two-dimensional diffraction grating (so-called grating).

Returning to FIG. 40, encoder system 930 has a pair of measurement tables 940 . One measurement table 940 is arranged on the +Y side of the projection optical system 16 and the other measurement table 940 is arranged on the -Y side of the projection optical system 16 . The measurement table 940 is moved by a Y linear actuator 942 suspended from the lower surface of a support member 19 that supports the projection optical system 16 (hereinafter referred to as "optical surface plate 19"). It is driven with a stroke equivalent to the movable distance of the stage 922 in the Y-axis direction. The type of Y linear actuator 942 is not particularly limited, and a linear motor, ball screw device, or the like can be used.

A pair of downward scales 960 extending in the Y-axis direction are fixed to the lower surface of the optical surface plate 19 so as to correspond to each measurement table 940 (see FIG. 40). On the lower surface of the downward scale 960 (the surface facing the -Z side (lower side)), a reflective two-dimensional diffraction pattern whose periodic directions are two mutually perpendicular axial directions (X-axis and Y-axis directions in this embodiment) is provided. A grid (so-called grating) is formed.

Two downward X heads 950x and two downward Y heads 950y are attached to the lower surface of the measurement table 940 so as to face the upward scale 932 (they overlap in the depth direction of the paper; one is not shown). ). In addition, on the upper surface of the measurement table 940, two upward X heads 952x and two downward Y heads 952y (overlapping with the two X heads 952x in the depth direction of the paper surface and not shown; see FIG. 43) are arranged. It is attached so as to face the downward scale 960 . The positional relationship of each head 950x, 950y, 952x, 952y is known. Moreover, it is preferable that the measurement table 940 is made of a material such as ceramics that is not easily deformed by heat so that the positional relationship of the heads 950x, 950y, 952x, and 952y does not easily change.

A conceptual diagram of the encoder system 930 is shown in FIG. In the encoder system 930, an upward X head 952x, an upward Y head 952y, and a corresponding downward scale 960 are used to set the XY of the measurement table 940 (downward X head 950x and downward Y head 950y) with the optical surface plate 19 as a reference. A first encoder system is configured for in-plane position measurements. In the encoder system 930, a downward X head 950x, a downward Y head 950y, and a corresponding upward scale 934 are used to measure the position of the fine movement stage 922 in the XY plane with the measurement table 940 as a reference. An encoder system is configured. As described above, in the encoder system 930 according to the ninth embodiment, position measurement of the fine movement stage 922 with the optical surface plate 19 as a reference is performed via the two-stage encoder system of the first and second encoder systems. done.

When the fine movement stage 922 is moved only in the X-axis direction with a long stroke, the main controller 90 (see FIG. 10) controls the measurement table 940 (downward X head 950x and downward Y head 950y) and the corresponding upward scale 934. While positioning the measurement table 940 in the Y-axis direction, the fine movement stage 922 is relatively moved in the X-axis direction with respect to the measurement table 940 in a stationary state. Accordingly, position measurement of the fine movement stage 922 with the optical surface plate 19 as a reference can be performed based on the combined value of the first and second encoder systems.

On the other hand, when moving the fine movement stage 922 in the Y-axis direction with a long stroke, the main controller 90 (see FIG. 10) moves the measurement table 940 together with the fine movement stage 922 in the Y-axis direction with a long stroke. . At this time, since the position measurement of the measurement table 940 is always performed by the first encoder system, it is not necessary to move the fine movement stage 922 and the measurement table 940 strictly synchronously. The main controller 90 controls the output of the first encoder system (position information of the measurement table 940 with reference to the optical surface plate 19) and the output of the second encoder system (position information of the fine movement stage 922 with reference to the measurement table 940). ), the position of the fine movement stage 922 is measured with the optical surface plate 19 as a reference.

According to the ninth embodiment, positional information of the fine movement stage 922 in the XY plane can be determined with high accuracy by the encoder system 930 which is less affected by air fluctuations than an optical interferometer system.

Note that the encoder system 930 according to the ninth embodiment described above is the fine movement stage 22 (see FIG. 1) and the fine movement stage 320 (see FIG. 14) according to the first and third to eighth embodiments. , fine movement stage 422 (see FIG. 19), fine movement stage 522 (see FIG. 30), and the like.

Also, in the above description, a scale whose dimension in the X-axis direction is slightly longer than that of the substrate P is used as the upward scale 934, but shorter scales may be arranged side by side in the X-axis direction at predetermined intervals. . In this case, it is preferable to set the interval between the adjacent scales (and the heads) so that the head always faces at least one of the adjacent scales, and connect the outputs of the respective heads. In addition, although the case where the two-dimensional gratings are formed on the scales 934 and 960 has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. may be formed in

<<Tenth Embodiment>>
Next, a substrate stage device according to a tenth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 44-47. A substrate stage device 1020 according to the tenth embodiment is the same as that of the ninth embodiment except that the configuration of the encoder system for measuring the horizontal position of the fine movement stage 1022 is different. Only differences will be described, and elements having the same configurations or functions as those of the ninth embodiment will be assigned the same reference numerals as those of the ninth embodiment, and their description and illustration will be omitted.

The encoder system 930 of the ninth embodiment (see FIG. 40) measures the horizontal position of the fine movement stage 922 with the optical surface plate 19 as a reference via a measurement table 940 arranged above the fine movement stage 922. On the other hand, in the encoder system 1030 of the tenth embodiment, the fine movement stage 1022 is moved with the optical surface plate 19 as a reference through the Y coarse movement stage 32 for moving the fine movement stage 922 in the Y-axis direction with a long stroke. The difference is that the position in the horizontal plane of is measured. The drive system (substrate drive system 60, see FIG. 10) including a plurality of voice coil motors 70X and 70Y (see FIG. 13) and for driving each element of the substrate stage device 1020 has a configuration similar to that of the second embodiment. Since it is the same as the embodiment, the description is omitted here.

FIG. 45 is an enlarged view of the portion indicated by reference numeral 10A in FIG. 44. FIG. As can be seen from FIGS. 44 and 45, a head base 1032 is attached to each of the +Y side and -Y side surfaces of the surface plate portion 100 of the fine movement stage 922 . Two downward X heads 950x and two downward Y heads 950y are attached to the lower surface of the head base 1032 in the same arrangement as the lower surface of the measurement table 940 (see FIG. 41) in the ninth embodiment. (See Figure 47).

A pair of scale bases 1034 are attached to the Y coarse movement stage 32 via L-shaped arm members 1036 . Note that the pair of scale bases 1034 may be attached to the Y step guide 44 that moves integrally with the Y coarse movement stage 32 in the Y-axis direction. The scale base 1034 is substantially the same member as the scale base 932 (see FIG. 42) according to the ninth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 46, the scale base 1034 consists of a member extending in the X-axis direction, and an upward scale 934 similar to that of the ninth embodiment is fixed on the upper surface thereof. The heads 950x and 950y attached to the head base 1032 are arranged to face the upward scale 934 (see FIG. 47).

Returning to FIG. 45, in encoder system 1030 , head base 1040 is attached to scale base 1034 (that is, Y coarse movement stage 32 ) via L-shaped arm member 1038 . Two upward X heads 952x and two downward Y heads 952y are fixed to the upper surface of the head base 1040 in the same arrangement as the upper surface of the measurement table 940 (see FIG. 41) in the ninth embodiment. (See Figure 47).

Similar to the ninth embodiment, a pair of downward scales 960 extending in the Y-axis direction are fixed to the lower surface of the optical surface plate 19 corresponding to the pair of head bases 1040 (see FIG. 44). . Each of the heads 952x and 952y attached to the head base 1040 is arranged to face the downward scale 960. As shown in FIG.

A conceptual diagram of the encoder system 1030 is shown in FIG. In the encoder system 1030, an upward X head 952x, an upward Y head 952y, and a corresponding downward scale 960 are used to measure the position of the Y coarse movement stage 32 in the XY plane with the optical surface plate 19 as a reference. A first encoder system is configured. In the encoder system 1030, a downward X head 950x, a downward Y head 950y, and a corresponding upward scale 934 are used to measure the position of the fine movement stage 1022 in the XY plane with the Y coarse movement stage 32 as a reference. A second encoder system is configured. As described above, in the encoder system 1030 according to the tenth embodiment, position measurement of the fine movement stage 1022 with the optical surface plate 19 as a reference is performed via the two-stage encoder system of the first and second encoder systems. done.

When the main controller 90 (see FIG. 10) moves the fine movement stage 1022 with a long stroke only in the X-axis direction, the downward X head 950x and the downward Y head 950y always maintain the facing state of the upward scale 934. In this state (the Y coarse movement stage 32 is in a stationary state), the fine movement stage 922 is relatively moved in the X-axis direction with respect to the Y coarse movement stage 32 in a stationary state. Accordingly, position measurement of the fine movement stage 1022 with the optical surface plate 19 as a reference can be performed based on the combined value of the first and second encoder systems.

On the other hand, when the fine movement stage 1022 is moved in the Y-axis direction with a long stroke, the position measurement of the Y coarse movement stage 32 is performed by the first encoder system. Since the Y coarse movement stage 32 moves with the fine movement stage 1022 in the Y-axis direction with a long stroke, the position information of the fine movement stage 1022 moving in the Y-axis direction with a long stroke is the output of the first encoder system (optical surface plate 19 position information of the Y coarse movement stage 32 with reference to) and the output of the second encoder system (position information of the fine movement stage 1022 with the Y coarse movement stage 32 as a reference).

According to the tenth embodiment, in addition to the effects of the ninth embodiment, an encoder head is attached to the fine movement stage 1022 instead of the scale, so the weight is lighter than that of the ninth embodiment. Position controllability of the substrate P is improved.

The encoder system 1030 according to the tenth embodiment described above is the fine movement stage 22 (see FIG. 1) and the fine movement stage 320 (see FIG. 14) according to the first and third to eighth embodiments. , fine movement stage 422 (see FIG. 19), fine movement stage 522 (see FIG. 30), and the like.

It should be noted that the configuration of each element of the first to tenth embodiments described above is not limited to that described above, and can be changed as appropriate. As an example, the first drive system 62 in each of the above embodiments includes a total of four voice coil motors (a pair of X voice coil motors 70X and a pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y). The number is not limited to this, and the number of voice coil motors for the X-axis and the number of the Y-axis may be one each, or three or more for each. Also, the number of X voice coil motors 70X and the number of Y voice coil motors 70Y may be different. Also, the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y may be of moving coil type. Also, the case of using a voice coil motor as a linear motor has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other types of actuators may be used. In this case, multiple types of actuators may be mixed. Also, although a case where a uniaxial linear motor is used as an actuator has been described, a 2-axis actuator capable of generating thrust in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, or a 3-degrees of freedom in the X-axis, Y-axis, and θz directions may be used. An actuator capable of generating thrust in a direction may be used.

In each of the above-described embodiments, one voice coil motor is housed in one housing portion 76 (the space formed in the fine movement stage). A plurality of voice coil motors (actuators) may be accommodated in the space). In this case, a plurality of voice coil motors that generate thrust in different directions may be mixed.

Further, the fine movement stage (such as the fine movement stage 22) accommodates only the actuators (the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y in each of the above embodiments) that generate thrust in the horizontal plane (X-axis or Y-axis). However, at least part of the actuator (such as the Z voice coil motor 70Z in each of the above embodiments) that generates a thrust in the direction intersecting the horizontal plane (such as the Z-axis direction) may be housed inside.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the bottom layer of the fine movement stage and the surface plate portion (such as the surface plate portion 100) that houses a plurality of voice coil motors has a structure in which a stiffening member is housed in a hollow box. However, it is not limited to this, and may be formed of a solid member. In addition, the fine movement stage (fine movement stage 22, etc.) of each embodiment is composed of a plurality of layers (2 to 4 layers) with the surface plate portion (surface plate portion 100, etc.) as the bottom layer, but is not limited to this, A one-layer structure in which the substrate is placed directly on the upper surface of the platen portion 100 or the like may be used, or a structure of five or more layers (in this case, the platen portion 100 may not be the bottom layer). .

In each of the above-described embodiments, the fine movement stage (such as the fine movement stage 22) has the uppermost layer forming the substrate mounting surface formed of a plurality of hard plate-like members (such as the tiles 120). The member forming the uppermost layer (substrate mounting surface) is not limited to this, and may be a flexible member. As the flexible member, a sheet-like (or film-like) member made of a synthetic resin-based or rubber-based material can be used. In this case, since this sheet-like member is the uppermost layer, the sheet-like member is flattened along (following) the surface of the second layer (the second layer from the top) immediately below this sheet-like member. Further, the substrate P placed on the sheet member is also flattened following the upper surface of the second layer. Therefore, it is preferable to form the surface (upper surface) of the second layer with high flatness. In this case, it is preferable that a plurality of pin-like protrusions for supporting the lower surface of the substrate P are formed on the sheet-like member, like the tiles (the tiles 120, etc.). The size of the sheet-shaped member is not particularly limited, and the uppermost layer may be formed by arranging a plurality of sheet-shaped members. An upper layer may be formed. The sheet member may be held on the second layer by vacuum suction in the same manner as the tiles, but is not limited to this, and may be fixed by adhesion or the like.

Also, the configuration of the substrate stage device (substrate stage device 20, etc.) of each of the above embodiments is not limited to that described in the above embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate. A similar substrate drive system 60 can be applied. That is, the substrate stage device may be a coarse motion stage of a type in which a Y coarse motion stage is arranged on an X coarse motion stage, as disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0018950. (In this case, the fine movement stage 22 and the like are given thrust by each voice coil motor from the Y coarse movement stage). Further, the substrate stage device does not necessarily have to have the self-weight support device 28 . Further, the substrate stage device may drive the substrate P only in the scanning direction by a long stroke.

The illumination light may be ultraviolet light such as ArF excimer laser light (wavelength 193 nm), KrF excimer laser light (wavelength 248 nm), or vacuum ultraviolet light such as F2 laser light ₍ wavelength 157 nm). As the illumination light, infrared or visible single-wavelength laser light emitted from a DFB semiconductor laser or fiber laser is amplified by a fiber amplifier doped with erbium (or both erbium and ytterbium), A harmonic wavelength-converted into ultraviolet light using a nonlinear optical crystal may also be used. Alternatively, a solid-state laser (wavelength: 355 nm, 266 nm) or the like may be used.

Also, the case where the projection optical system 16 is a multi-lens type projection optical system having a plurality of optical systems has been described, but the number of projection optical systems is not limited to this, and may be one or more. Further, the projection optical system is not limited to the multi-lens type projection optical system, and may be a projection optical system using a large Offner-type mirror. Also, the projection optical system 16 may be an enlargement system or a reduction system.

In addition, the application of the exposure apparatus is not limited to the exposure apparatus for liquid crystals that transfers the liquid crystal display element pattern onto a rectangular glass plate, but the exposure apparatus for manufacturing organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) panels, and for manufacturing semiconductors. exposure equipment, thin-film magnetic heads, micromachines, and exposure equipment for manufacturing DNA chips. In addition to microdevices such as semiconductor elements, glass substrates, silicon wafers, etc. are also used for manufacturing masks or reticles used in optical exposure apparatuses, EUV exposure apparatuses, X-ray exposure apparatuses, electron beam exposure apparatuses, and the like. It can also be applied to an exposure apparatus that transfers a circuit pattern to a substrate. Further, the substrate stage device (substrate stage device 20, etc.) according to each of the above-described embodiments may be used in devices other than the exposure device, such as a substrate inspection device, or a processing device for performing predetermined processing on a substrate.

Also, the object to be exposed is not limited to a glass plate, and may be other objects such as a wafer, a ceramic substrate, a film member, or mask blanks. Moreover, when the exposure target is a substrate for a flat panel display, the thickness of the substrate is not particularly limited, and includes a film-like (flexible sheet-like member). Note that the exposure apparatus of the present embodiment is particularly effective when the exposure target is a substrate having a side length or a diagonal length of 500 mm or more.

For electronic devices such as liquid crystal display elements (or semiconductor elements), a step of designing the function and performance of the device, a step of manufacturing a mask (or reticle) based on this design step, and a step of manufacturing a glass substrate (or wafer) , a lithography step of transferring the pattern of the mask (reticle) to the glass substrate by the exposure apparatus and exposure method of each embodiment described above, a development step of developing the exposed glass substrate, and a portion other than the portion where the resist remains. It is manufactured through an etching step for removing exposed members by etching, a resist removal step for removing unnecessary resist after etching, a device assembly step, an inspection step, and the like. In this case, in the lithography step, the above-described exposure method is executed using the exposure apparatus of the above-described embodiment, and the device pattern is formed on the glass substrate, so highly integrated devices can be manufactured with high productivity. .

As explained above, the object holding device of the present invention is suitable for holding an object. Also, the processing apparatus of the present invention is suitable for performing predetermined processing on an object. Also, the method of manufacturing a flat panel display of the present invention is suitable for the production of flat panel displays. Also, the device manufacturing method of the present invention is suitable for the production of microdevices.

The disclosures of all publications, US patent application publication specifications, US patent specifications, etc. relating to the exposure apparatus and the like cited in the above embodiments are incorporated into the description of this specification.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Liquid-crystal exposure apparatus, 20... Substrate stage apparatus, 22... Fine movement stage, 70X... X voice coil motor, 70Y... Y voice coil motor, 76... Storage part, 100... Surface plate part, 102... Lower surface part, 104... Upper surface Part, 120... Tile, P... Substrate.

Claims (9)

A movement that holds an object and has a first surface that is parallel to a predetermined plane including a first direction and a second direction, and a second surface that faces the first surface with respect to a third direction that intersects the predetermined plane. body and
a structure provided between the first surface and the second surface in the third direction and having an upper surface connected to the first surface;
a support section that supports the moving body from below through the structure;
a driving device for moving the movable body in the first direction and the second direction via the support;
overlapping the first surface and the second surface in the first direction and the second direction and sandwiched between the first surface and the second surface in the third direction ; a driving system that relatively moves the moving body with respect to the supporting part by a thrust applied by the provided part and the other part provided in the driving device,
The object holding device, wherein the structure sandwiches the upper surface connected to the first surface and the part of the drive system, and has a lower surface connected to the second surface. 2. The object holding system according to claim 1, further comprising a post that passes through an opening formed between said lower surface and said second surface and supports said other portion from said driving device provided below said movable body. Device. further comprising an acquisition unit that acquires information based on position information regarding the first and second directions of the moving body,
The object holding device according to claim 2, wherein the drive system and the drive device move the moving body based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit. 4. The object holding device according to claim 3, wherein a part of said acquisition part is provided on said first surface side with respect to said third direction. an object holding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4;
and a processing unit that performs a predetermined process on the object. 6. The processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the processing section exposes the object with an energy beam. 7. The processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said object has one side or a diagonal length of at least 500 mm or more. exposing the object using a processing apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7;
and developing the exposed object. exposing the object using a processing apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7;
and developing the exposed object.

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