JPH01635A - Sample setting device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical field to which the invention pertains] The present invention relates to a device for setting a sample onto a sample holder in an electron beam drawing apparatus.

[Prior Art] An example of a conventional sample holder will be described with reference to FIG. The sample 13 is pressed upward by the clamp spring 12 that is in contact with the bottom surface of the sample holder 11 on one side, and the top surface of the sample holder 11 is pressed upward.
By contacting the reference piece 14 fixed to the sample 13
The height direction position of the drawing surface does not change even if the thickness changes.

In such a method, when the sample 13 becomes large, it is necessary to increase the pressing force of the clamp spring 12 in order to press it against the reference piece 14 and prevent it from shifting in the lateral direction. Therefore, the sample holder 11 became large and the weight of the sample 13 also increased, making its operation difficult. Further, the sample holder is set at a position *h' from the electron beam lithography apparatus and loaded into the electron beam lithography apparatus, but this requires careful transportation, making the work difficult.

[Object of the Invention] Since the present invention has eliminated such drawbacks, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an electron beam lithography apparatus with a sample setting device to facilitate transportation even in the case of large samples, and to make it possible to easily transfer the sample to the sample holder. An object of the present invention is to provide a sample setting device that facilitates sample setting.

[Summary of the Invention] The sample setting device of the present invention is an electron beam lithography device that uses a sample holder that adjusts the height of a reference bin of the sample holder according to the thickness of the sample.
It is characterized by comprising means for measuring the thickness of the sample and means for adjusting the height of the reference pin.

[Embodiment of the Invention] A diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a top view showing the overall arrangement of the electron beam lithography apparatus of the present invention, in which the lithography chamber 21 is connected by a gate valve 22 to an air chamber 23 that maintains a vacuum during sample exchange. 23 is connected to a setting device 25 of the present invention through a gate valve 24.

In FIG. 2, the sample holder 31 is connected to the main body bracket 32.
A holder body 34 that is supported at the end of the holder body 34 and on which the sample 33 is placed.
, a clamp mechanism 35 that clamps the sample 33 to the holder body 34; a reference bottle 36 that can be moved up and down to make the height the same with respect to the top surface of the sample 33; It is composed of an eccentric pin 37 and the like that prevents the main body 34 from moving downward. In order to rotate the eccentric pin 37, there is a rotation knob 39 supported by the main body bracket 32 and normally pressed to the left in the figure by a spring 38. When the eccentric pin 37 is rotated, the rotation knob 39 is pressed against the spring 38. The eccentric pin 37 is rotated by pressing it to engage its tip with the eccentric pin 37 and then rotating the knob 39 once.

FIG. 3 shows the clamping mechanism of the reference bottle 36, which is in contact with the flat part of 36, and the other end is a lever 4 that rotates around a fulcrum 42.
3 and the other end of the lever 43 is in contact with the spring 44, so that the reference bottle 36 is always clamped by the clamp pin 41. In order to unlamp the reference bin 36 when adjusting its height, the lever 43 is
When the clamp release cylinder 46 attached to the main body bracket 32 presses the spring 45, the clamp pin 41 moves to the left in the figure and releases the clamp on the reference bottle 36.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the lower end of the reference bin 36 is opposed to the convex portion of a lever 52 whose one end rotates around a fulcrum 51 to the main body bracket 32, and the other end of the lever 52 is rotated through a bearing 53. and is in contact with the upper surface of the lift 54. The lift 54 is supported by the main body bracket 32 by a linear motion bearing 55, and its lower end is connected to the fulcrum 5.
It is in contact with one end of a link 57 that rotates around 6. The other end of the link 57 engages with one end of a shaft 59 supported by the main body bracket 32 through a helical motion bearing 58, and the other end of the shaft 59 is connected to a micrometer that serves as an actuator and makes it possible to read the rotational position. It is close to 60.

Therefore, when the micrometer head 60 is rotated, the lever 5
2 is connected to the fulcrum 51 via the shaft 59, link 56, and lift 54.
As a result, the reference pin 36 in the unlamped state is raised. Note that the lever 52 is constantly receiving downward force from the spring 62, so that the bearing 5
There should be no gaps between the contacts from 3 to 60 micrometers.

In this device, when replacing the sample 33, there is no gap between the sample 33 and the holder body 34, making it difficult to hold the sample 33. Therefore, holes 66 are formed at multiple locations in the holder body 34, and multiple holes 66 are inserted into and out of the holes 66. A support stand 67Φ68 or the like in the shape of a book shaft is provided so that when the support stand 67 or the like is pushed back from the hole 66, the sample 33 can be lifted up a little so that it can be easily held by hand. Support stand 67
etc. are fixed to a bracket 69, and the bracket 69 is in contact with the upper end of a shaft 71 supported by a linear motion bearing 70 on the main body bracket 32, and the lower end of the shaft 71 is connected to the fulcrum 7.
Since it is in contact with the lever 73 that is swingably supported from the support base 6, if the E end of the lever 73 is moved diagonally downward, the support base 6
7th mag will rise. The support stand 67 kg is made of a metal shaft with a plastic material attached to the upper surface to prevent the sample 33 from being scratched, and the bracket 69 is always urged downward by a spring 74.

As an example, three reference pins 36 are provided as shown in FIG.
Since the third side is in contact with one lift 54, the three reference pins 36 rise simultaneously when the micrometer head 60 is rotated. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, two sets of four supporting stands 67 and the like are provided so that each set supports the sample 33.

As shown in FIG. 2, the outer support stand 67 is a large-sized test piece.

It supports the sample, and as it moves towards the inside, it supports smaller and smaller samples.

On the other hand, a pair of arms 83 with a collar 82 placed in the middle
A proximity sensor or magnetic sensor 84 is attached to one end, and the other end is attached to the main body bracket 32 by a bolt 85.
It is fixed to a rotating shaft 87 that is rotatably inserted into a bracket 86 that is fixed to the bracket 86 . Therefore, the thickness measuring mechanism 81 is rotatable around the rotating shaft 87.

The proximity sensor 84 is used after being calibrated in advance using a material whose thickness is known. If the thickness of the sample changes significantly, the distance between the two proximity sensors 84 can be adjusted by replacing the collar 82.

The thickness measuring mechanism 81 is rotated by a rotating shaft 87 except when measuring the thickness, so that it does not interfere with sample exchange, etc. In the above description, a proximity sensor or the like is used as the sensor, but an air micro sensor may also be used.

Next, the operation of the embodiment described above will be explained. First, the thickness of the sample reference character is measured by the thickness measuring mechanism 81 shown in FIG.
Next, the clamp on the reference pin 36 was released by advancing the piston rod 46A of the clamp release cylinder 46 shown in FIG. Eccentric pin 37 in condition
By rotating the large diameter part to the lowest position.

In this state, the micrometer head 60 is rotated to match the height of the three reference pins 36 to the thickness of the sample 33, and then the eccentric pin 37 is rotated to connect the large diameter portion to the holder body 33. During transportation to the sample chamber 21 from the position shown in contact with the bottom surface of the sample chamber 21, or when the sample is placed in the sample chamber 21, it is FIPed. At this time, the reference pin 36 and the holder body 34 are connected to the spring 44 as shown in FIG.
Although the clamping force is applied by the clamp pin 41 to a certain extent, the holder main body 34 does not fall down relative to the reference pin 36 due to vibrations for some reason, so the eccentric pin 37 is provided.

After the height of the substrate pin 36 is set and clamped in this way, the sample holder 31 is transported to the drawing chamber 21 by a transport mechanism (not shown), where it is held in a certain relationship with the lens barrel of the drawing mechanism (not shown). When the sample returns by contacting the upper surface of the reference pin 36, the clamp release cylinder 46 releases the clamp on the reference pin 36 and the lever 73
When the support stand 67 is raised, the sample 33 also rises and can be easily replaced by holding it by hand. At this time, the support stand 67 supports the outer circumference of the sample 33 from below, but when the sample becomes small, the support stand 67, which is lower than the support stand 67, supports the outer circumference of the sample 33 from below.
to support the sample.

In the above description, the eccentric pin 37, the micrometer head 60, the lever 73, etc. were operated manually, but automation is possible by using a stepping motor, cylinder, etc. for these operations.

[Effects of the Invention] Since the sample sensor device of the present invention is equipped with the mechanism described above, it becomes easy to set a large sample in the sample holder and also to easily transport the sample holder to the drawing room. This has the advantage of increasing productivity.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a layout diagram of the entire electron beam drawing device, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of main parts of the sample setting device, Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the clamp am of the reference pin, FIG. 4 is a plan view of a sample setting device, FIG. 5 is a partially sectional side view of a sample thickness measuring mechanism, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a conventional sample holder. 31... Sample holder, 33... Sample, 33... Holder body, 36... Reference pin, 60... Micrometer head, 67, 68... Support stand, 81... Thickness Measuring mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) In an electron beam lithography apparatus using a sample holder that adjusts the height of a reference pin of a sample holder according to the thickness of the sample, a means for measuring the thickness of the sample and a height of a reference pin of the sample holder are provided. A sample setting device equipped with a means for adjusting the height. 2) As a means for adjusting the height of the reference pin, the heights of the reference pins at a plurality of locations are adjusted simultaneously by one actuator. Claim 1
Sample setting device as described in section. 3) The sample setting device according to claim 2, characterized in that a micrometer head is used as the actuator. 4) As a means for measuring the thickness of the sample, the thickness is measured by measuring the gap between the sample and the sample using a non-contact gap sensor fixed to a rotatably supported actuator. Claim 1
, 2 or 3. The sample setting device according to item 2 or 3. 5) In an electron beam lithography apparatus using a sample holder that adjusts the height of a reference pin of a sample holder according to the thickness of the sample, a means for measuring the thickness of the sample and a means for adjusting the height of the reference pin. and a sample separating means, which includes one or more sets of support stands that move in and out of one or more sets of holes drilled in the sample holder, and separates the sample from the sample holder by raising the support stands. A device for setting samples. 6) A plurality of sets of support stands arranged to support the outer circumference of the sample according to the size of the sample are provided as the support stand, and the height of the support stand is lowered as the sample becomes smaller. A sample setting device according to claim 5.