TW201832014A - Exposure apparatus capable of rapidly attenuating minute vibrations of a stage base - Google Patents

Abstract

An exposure apparatus capable of rapidly attenuating minute vibrations of a stage base is provided. An aspect of the exposure apparatus includes a frame; a stage base in which the above-mentioned frame can be freely lifted and lowered and expanded in the in-plane direction intersecting with the lifting direction; a movable stage mounted on the stage base and movable freely in the in-plane direction; an exposure unit for irradiating light onto an object to be exposed placed on the movable stage to expose the object to light, a movable unit for moving the movable stage in the in-plane direction with respect to the stage base, a lift for lifting the stage base on which the movable stage is mounted relative to the frame, and a vibration damper which is connected to both the frame and the stage base and suppresses the vibration of the stage machine tool with respect to the frame, wherein the vibration damper is provided with a container that is fixed to one side of the frame and the stage base and that houses the viscous fluid therein, and an insertion body which is fixed to the other side and partially inserted into the viscous fluid in the container in a non-contact state with the inner wall of the container.

Description

Exposure device

[0001] The present invention relates to an exposure device. More specifically, the present invention relates to an exposure device capable of rapidly attenuating vibration of a stage machine tool when a movable stage is moved to the stage machine tool.

[0002] An exposure device is used to form patterns such as wiring in a manufacturing process of a printed circuit board, a liquid crystal panel, or the like that is also called a workpiece. A typical configuration example of such an exposure device mainly includes a light irradiation section, a mask for exposing (copying) a workpiece, forming a pattern, a mask stage holding the mask, and performing exposure processing. A work stage for holding a work such as a printed circuit board and a liquid crystal panel, and a projection lens that projects a pattern formed on a mask onto the work. [0003] Patent Document 1 discloses an exposure apparatus having the typical configuration described above. The workpiece stage generally includes a movable stage capable of placing and moving a workpiece, and a stage machine tool that limits the movable area of the movable stage. In addition, such a workpiece stage is generally provided in an optical frame (or an optical stage) of an exoskeleton that becomes the entire exposure device. A Z-axis drive mechanism is provided between the stage machine and the optical frame. The movable stage is movable in the XYZθ direction in accordance with the Z-direction movement and the plane movement on the stage machine by the Z-axis drive mechanism. [Habitual technical literature] [patent literature]] [0004] [patent literature 1] Japanese Patent No. 5557774

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] 000 [0005] However, the Z-axis drive mechanism has lower rigidity compared with a stage machine tool and an optical frame. With the miniaturization of the pattern, if the movement of the movable stage becomes rapid, the Fine vibration occurs on the machine. On the other hand, the positional accuracy of the movable stage is accompanied by the miniaturization of the pattern. If the vibration of the stage machine tool does not attenuate to a predetermined level during each movement of the movable stage, the exposure device will not perform exposure. As a result, the problem that the production cycle time cannot be shortened occurs. Although this problem is particularly noticeable in the exposure device of the step-and-repeat method, it is a problem that generally occurs in the exposure device. In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide an exposure apparatus capable of rapidly attenuating fine vibrations of a stage machine tool. [Means for Solving the Problems] [0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the exposure apparatus of the present invention includes a frame and an in-plane direction that can be raised and lowered freely with respect to the frame and that intersects with the ascending and descending directions. A stage machine tool, a movable stage that is mounted on the stage machine tool and is movable in the in-plane direction, an exposure unit that exposes light to an exposure object placed on the movable stage, and The stage machine tool is a mobile machine that moves the movable stage in the in-plane direction, a lifter that lifts and lowers the stage machine tool on which the stage is mounted, and both the frame and the stage machine tool. A vibration damping damper that is connected to and restrains the stage machine tool from vibrating the frame, and the vibration damping damper includes a container fixed to one of the frame and the stage machine tool and containing the viscous fluid inside. And are fixed to the other of the one and are partially inserted into the container without contacting the inner wall of the container. The viscous fluid insert. According to this exposure device, the fine vibration of the stage machine can be rapidly attenuated by the resistance of the viscous fluid and the insert. [0007] In the exposure apparatus, the moving machine is provided with a plurality of moving parts for independently moving the movable stage with respect to two direction components included in the in-plane direction crossing each other, and the insert body, The portion to be inserted into the viscous fluid is preferably a plate portion extending along one of the two directional components. According to such an exposure device, the plate portion can rapidly attenuate vibrations generated in the stage machine tool due to the movement of the movable stage among the above-mentioned directional components. [0008] Further, it is more preferable that the insert body having the plate portion extends along one of the two direction components and both sides of the elevating direction. By extending the plate portion in such a direction, a vibration damping buffer having sufficient vibration damping ability can be easily installed in the gap between the stage machine tool and the frame. Further, the insert having the plate portion, and the container having a plurality of receiving grooves for accommodating the viscous fluid and arranging in parallel to the other one of the two components along the two directions, and the insert has It is also preferable that the plurality of plate portions are individually inserted into the plurality of receiving grooves. With such a plurality of plate portions, space saving and high vibration damping ability can be realized. [0009] Further, in the exposure apparatus, the insert may be a plate portion extending in a direction in which the viscous fluid is inserted in a direction in which the vibration of the stage machine tool is suppressed by the vibration damping buffer. . Such a plate portion receives resistance from a viscous fluid from a side surface extending in a vibration direction, and rapidly attenuates vibration. In the above exposure device, the viscous fluid may have a viscosity of 1000 Pa · s or more. By using such a high viscosity viscous fluid, vibration is rapidly attenuated. [Effects of the Invention] [0010] According to the exposure apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to rapidly attenuate the fine vibration of the stage machine tool.

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a structural view of an internal structure of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the side of the exposure apparatus. In this manual, to explain the orientation of the device, etc., common coordinate systems are used in each drawing. The direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1 is the X-axis direction of this common coordinate system, the left-right direction in FIG. 1 is the Y-axis direction, and the up-down direction in FIG.的 The exposure device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an exposure device that performs a step & reply process. The exposure device 1 is provided with an optical frame 10 for limiting the external shape of the exposure device 1 and supporting the exposure device 1 as a whole. This optical frame 10 is an example of a frame equivalent to the present invention. [0013] The exposure device 1 includes a light source unit 20 above the optical frame 10. The light source unit 20 includes a bulb 21, a mirror 22, and a baffle 23, and the bulb 21 is turned on by being supplied with power from the bulb lighting device 24. The light emitted from the bulb 21 is reflected by the mirror 22 downward toward the first figure. The shutter 23 switches the transmission and blocking of the light downward from the mirror 22 to turn the exposure on and off. The radon mask 30 and the projection lens 40 are provided inside the optical frame 10. An exposure pattern is formed in the mask 30, and light from the light source unit 20 is irradiated onto the mask 30. The exposure light that has passed through the mask 30 is projected onto the workpiece W by the projection lens 40. [0014] The combination of the light source section 20, the mask 30, and the projection lens 40 is an example of an exposure section corresponding to the present invention. In the optical frame 10, a work stage 50 is provided which holds the work W and moves it in the XYZθ direction. The exposure device 1 also includes a control unit that controls the lighting of the light bulb 21, the ON / OFF of the exposure by the shutter 23, and the movement in the XYZθ direction of the work stage 50. 60. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the structure around the workpiece stage 50 as viewed from above. The direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2 is the Z-axis direction in the above-mentioned common coordinate system, the left-right direction in FIG. 2 is the Y-axis direction, and the up-down direction in FIG. 2 is the X-axis direction. [0015] Hereinafter, the structure of the work stage 50 will be described with reference to both of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the workpiece stage 50 is an H-shaped stage. The workpiece stage 50 is provided with a stage machine tool 51 that expands along the XY plane, a Z-axis drive mechanism 52 that supports the stage machine tool 51 on the optical frame 10, and an XYθ on the stage machine tool 51. Directionally movable stage 53. The Z-axis driving mechanism 52 drives (elevates) the stage machine 51 in the Z-axis direction and supports it at an arbitrary height. The workpiece W held on the workpiece stage 50 is moved and held at the position where the exposure pattern generated by the projection lens 40 is focused by the Z-axis driving mechanism 52. [0016] The stage machine 51 is an example of a stage machine corresponding to the present invention, and the movable stage 53 is an example of a movable stage corresponding to the present invention. The Z-axis driving mechanism 52 is an elevator corresponding to the present invention. An example. 2 On the upper surface of the stage machine 51, two fixing guides 54 extending in the Y-axis direction are fixed. Between the two fixed guides 54, a mobile guide 55 is hung on a rack, and a movable stage 53 can be placed on the mobile guide 55. [0017] The moving guide 55 is driven to move in the Y-axis direction on the fixed guide 54 by, for example, an Y-axis driving mechanism 54a, which is an actuator composed of a linear motor. The movable stage 53 is driven to move in the X-axis direction on the moving guide 55 by an X-axis drive mechanism 55a, which is an actuator composed of a linear motor, for example. Accordingly, the movable stage 53 and the workpiece W in the XY plane direction can be moved. The combination of the fixed guide 54, the Y-axis driving mechanism 54a, the moving guide 55, and the X-axis driving mechanism 55a is an example of a mobile machine corresponding to the present invention. The Y-axis driving mechanism 54a and the X-axis driving mechanism 55a are This corresponds to an example of a plurality of moving parts of the present invention. [0018] The two Y-axis driving mechanisms 54a provided on the two fixed guides 54 can be driven in opposite directions to each other, and the moving guide 55 is rotated in the XY plane by this driving. By this rotation in the XY plane, the θ direction of the movable stage 53 and the workpiece W can be realized. The columnar mirror 53 a is fixed in the side surface of the movable stage 53, and the laser length gauge 11 is provided in the inner wall of the optical frame 10. The position of the movable stage 53 is precisely measured by the laser light emitted from the laser length gauge 11 and reflected by the lenticular lens 53a.精度 The positional accuracy of the movable stage 53 and the workpiece W is increasingly demanding high accuracy as the exposure pattern is miniaturized. [0019] However, when the movable stage 53 configured as described above is moved in the XY plane direction (direction on the surface of the workpiece W), a reaction force against the movement occurs and pushes the stage machine 51. The ballast stage machine 51 itself needs to be moved up and down for focusing or the like of the exposure pattern, and is not directly fixed to the optical frame 10 but is supported by the Z-axis drive mechanism 52. Therefore, compared with other members which are directly fixed to the optical frame 10, the rigidity is slightly worse. Therefore, the reaction force for driving the movable stage 53 causes fine vibrations in the XY plane direction of the stage machine 51. . [0020] Although this vibration is attenuated, at the time of the vibration, this vibration may cause disadvantages for high position accuracy exposure. Therefore, in the case where the exposure device 1 of this embodiment forms a pattern in each exposure area by a step & rewind method, after moving the movable stage 53 from a certain area to the next area, it is necessary to wait until the fine vibration is stored. Up to a certain time. Since this standby time is a loss of working time, in this embodiment, a vibration damping buffer 70 is provided to suppress vibration of the stage machine 51 of the optical frame 10 to achieve rapid attenuation of vibration. This vibration damping buffer 70 is an example of a vibration damping buffer corresponding to the present invention. [0021] In this embodiment, one example is provided with four vibration damping buffers 70. Further, in the case of this embodiment, the vibration in the Y-axis direction is suppressed by an anti-mass suppression mechanism having an illustration not shown. One example of each damper 70 is to suppress the vibration in the X-axis direction. . Hereinafter, the structure of the vibration damping buffer 70 will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a vibration damping buffer. The direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 3 is the X-axis direction of the above-mentioned common coordinate system, the left-right direction in FIG. 3 is the Y-axis direction, and the up-down direction in FIG. 3 is the Z-axis direction. The vibration damping buffer 70 includes a container 71 and an insert 72. For example, the container 71 is fixed to the optical frame 10, and the insert 72 is fixed to the stage machine 51. This container 71 is an example of a container corresponding to the present invention, and the insert 72 is an example of an insert corresponding to the present invention. The container 71 is provided with a receiving groove 73 which is opened on the upper side and has a bottom extending in the X-axis direction on the lower side, and a viscous fluid 74 is filled (accommodated) in the internal space of the receiving groove 73. [0022] A part of the insertion body 72 is a plate portion 75 extending in the X-axis direction. The plate portion 75 is inserted into the viscous fluid 74 through the opening on the upper surface side of the storage groove 73, and is held in a state separated from the inner wall of the storage groove 73. This plate portion 75 is an example of a plurality of plate portions corresponding to the present invention. Since the plate portion 75 is separated from the inner wall of the receiving groove 73, the vibration damping buffer 70 does not support the Z direction of the stage machine 51, but only attenuates the vibration in the workpiece surface direction (actually the X axis direction). Features. [0023] The viscous fluid 74 has a high viscosity at room temperature, for example, 6000 Pa · s (Pa second), and generates high resistance between the insert 72 and the container 71. The vibration damping buffer 70 having the structure in which the receiving groove 73 and the plate portion 75 extend in the X-axis direction is a limited space between the optical frame 10 and the stage machine 51, and can be installed along the stage machine 51 to help For device miniaturization. [0024] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the principle of viscous resistance.具有 There is a gap h between the wall 101 of the container and the moving object 102, and the gap is a viscous fluid 103 filled with a viscosity μ. The moving object 102 is mainly in contact with the viscous fluid 103 by a surface 102a on the lower side of the figure, and this surface 102a is hereinafter referred to as a resistance surface 102a. The moving object 102 is a case where the wall 101 moves in parallel. The viscous fluid 103 filled in the gap between the moving object 102 and the wall 101 causes viscous resistance that is opposite to the moving direction of the moving object 102. . When the area of the resistance surface 102a is A and the speed of the moving object 102 is V, the resistance F of the viscous resistance occurring at the resistance surface 102a can be obtained by F = μAv / h. [0025] Since the vibration of the stage machine tool 51 of the exposure device 1 can hinder the shortening of the operation time even if the attenuation time is only sub-millisecond, it is preferable that the vibration can be attenuated more quickly. In the realization of such rapid decay, since higher viscous resistance is necessary, an increase in the area A and a decrease in the interval h are expected. In addition, the resistance surface 102a and the moving body 102 are extended along the direction of the suppressed vibration (the X-axis direction in the example in FIG. 3) so that the damping efficiency of the vibration is efficiently operated by the viscous resistance. good. However, the increase in the area A and the decrease in the interval h have an upper limit by securing the rigidity of the vibration damping buffer 70 itself, limiting the installation space, and the like. [0026] There is no particular upper limit for the viscosity μ of the viscous fluid 103, and it is preferable to use the viscous fluid 103 having a higher viscosity μ. If the viscosity μ with sufficient resistance can be obtained even in a realistic device size, room temperature and 5000 Pa · s or more are more preferable. In addition, if the installation space can be secured, a viscous fluid of 1000 Pa · s or more can be optimally used. Such an optimal viscous fluid, such as, for example, high viscosity silicone oil. Return to Figure 3 for continued explanation. The plate portion 75 of the cymbal insert 72 extends in the X-axis direction and also extends in the Z-axis direction. The resistance surface 75 a of the plate portion 75 that mainly receives viscous resistance from the viscous fluid 74 is expanded in the XZ plane. In addition, the front and back sides of the plate portion 75 are the resistance surfaces 75 a, and the surface having the largest area among the surfaces of the plate portion 75 is the resistance surface 75 a. [0027] The vibration generated in the stage machine tool 51 by the reaction force of the movable stage 53 generated by the X-axis drive mechanism 55a is the X-axis direction vibration. The viscous resistance generated by the plate portion 75 extending in the X-axis direction damps such vibration in the X-axis direction with high efficiency. In addition, the vibration plate portion 75 and the resistance surface 75a generated in the stage machine 51 due to the reaction force of the drive are highly viscous to the viscous fluid 74 and the receiving groove 73 at a sufficiently high speed in the X-axis direction. resistance. With such high viscous resistance, the vibration in the X-axis direction is rapidly attenuated. The structure in which the cymbal plate portion 75 expands in the XZ plane direction is a structure that saves space, can obtain a wide resistance surface 75a, and has a large rigidity for the movement in the X-axis direction. Therefore, even if a large resistance is generated, the vibration of the stage machine 51 can be reliably transmitted to the resistance surface 75a, and it can be reliably attenuated by the viscous resistance. [0028] On the other hand, if the drive of the stage machine 51 by the Z-axis drive mechanism 52 is sufficiently smaller than the vibration of the stage machine 51, the viscosity resistance is also small because it is sufficiently small, and is generated by the Z-axis drive mechanism 52. The driving of the stage machine 51 cannot interfere with the vibration damping buffer 70. In addition, since the plate portion 75 also extends in the Z-axis direction, even if the stage machine 51 is driven in the Z-axis direction, the distance between the resistance surface 75a and the inner wall of the receiving groove 73 does not change, and the basic of the damping buffer 70 Performance is maintained. The storage tank 73 has a certain depth, and the filled viscous fluid 74 also has a certain weight. Therefore, even if the plate portion 75 moves up and down as the stage machine 51 moves up and down, the plate portion 75 does not move from The receiving groove 73 and the viscous fluid 74 are separated. [0029] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a plurality of (one example is two) storage grooves 73 are provided in the container 71 of the vibration damping buffer 70. The plurality of receiving grooves 73 are space-saving structures because they are juxtaposed in a direction (one example of the Y-axis direction) that intersects the resistance surface 75a. These storage tanks 73 are examples of a plurality of storage tanks corresponding to the present invention. The plurality of plate portions 75 are individually inserted into the plurality of receiving grooves 73. As a result, the number of resistance surfaces 75a increases, the total area also increases, and the resistance also increases. [0030] Next, experimental results verifying the performance of the vibration damping buffer 70 will be described. Fig. 5 is a graph showing vibration attenuation in a comparative example in which the vibration damping buffer is removed. Fig. 6 is a graph showing vibration attenuation in the embodiment provided with the vibration damping buffer.图 The vertical axis of Figs. 5 and 6 shows the displacement of vibration by an arbitrary unit, and the horizontal axis shows the time. The thin-line graphs G1 and G2 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are actual measured values showing vibrations, and the thick-line graphs G3 and G4 are three-point moving averages. Further, in FIGS. 5 and 6, the attenuation curves T1 and T2 obtained by extracting the envelope curves from the graphs G3 and G4 of the 3-point moving average are shown. The attenuation curves T1 and T2 are displayed. The attenuation state of the amplitude. [0031] In this experiment, similar to the structure of the above-mentioned embodiment, four vibration damping buffers 70 are used around the stage machine 51, and two storage grooves 73 and plates are provided in each vibration damping buffer 70. Device of section 75. The area of the resistance surface is about 70 hundreds square cm per damping buffer, and the gap between the receiving groove 73 and the plate portion 75 is 1 cm or less. (2) If an impact force is applied to the stage machine tool 51 to vibrate, the stage machine tool 51 vibrates at approximately 70 Hz. This vibration is attenuated by the attenuation rate of ζ = 0.03 in the comparative example, and in this embodiment, it is attenuated by the attenuation rate of ζ = 0.065. After 200ms, for example, the vibration wave becomes almost zero. In addition, although the above-mentioned embodiment shows the example which has an H-type stage, the stage machine tool and movable stage of this invention may be a plane stage. Moreover, in the case of an H-shaped stage, the stage machine tool of the present invention does not necessarily have a flat upper surface, and the fixed guide may have a skeleton structure that gradually widens in the plane direction. [0032] In the above embodiment, although the container 71 is fixed to the optical frame 10 and the insert 72 is an example of being fixed to the stage machine 51, the insert and container of the present invention are fixed. In the optical frame 10, the container may be fixed to the stage machine 51. Also, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the vibration damping damper that attenuates vibration by viscous resistance is exemplified, the vibration damping damper of the present invention may attenuate vibration by pressure resistance. In the above-mentioned embodiment, the vibration damping buffer 70 that suppresses vibration in the X-axis direction is exemplified. However, the vibration damping buffer of the present invention may suppress vibration in the Y-axis direction and may suppress the vibration in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction Vibration in the direction where both sides intersect is also possible. Further, the exposure apparatus of the present invention may be provided with a plurality of vibration damping buffers having different directions for suppressing vibration.

[0033]

W‧‧‧ Workpiece

1‧‧‧Exposure device

10‧‧‧ Optical Frame

11‧‧‧laser length measuring device

20‧‧‧Light source department

21‧‧‧ bulb

22‧‧‧Mirror

23‧‧‧ bezel

24‧‧‧ Bulb lighting device

30‧‧‧Mask

40‧‧‧ projection lens

50‧‧‧ Workpiece stage

51‧‧‧stage machine

52‧‧‧Z-axis drive mechanism

53‧‧‧ movable carrier

53a‧‧‧Column lens

54‧‧‧Fixed guide

54a‧‧‧Y-axis drive mechanism

55‧‧‧moving guide

55a‧‧‧X-axis drive mechanism

60‧‧‧Control Department

70‧‧‧ vibration damping buffer

71‧‧‧container

72‧‧‧ Insert

73‧‧‧container

74‧‧‧Viscous fluid

75‧‧‧ Board

75a‧‧‧ resistance surface

101‧‧‧wall

102‧‧‧moving objects

102a‧‧‧ resistance surface

103‧‧‧Viscous fluid

[0011] [FIG. 1] A structural view in which the internal structure in one embodiment of the exposure apparatus of the present invention is seen from the side of the exposure apparatus.第 [Fig. 2] A plan view showing the structure around the workpiece stage from above.第 [Fig. 3] A cross-sectional view showing the structure of a vibration damper [Fig. 4] A diagram showing the principle of viscous resistance. [Fig. 5] A graph showing vibration attenuation in a comparative example in which a vibration damping buffer is removed. [Fig. 6] A graph showing vibration attenuation in an embodiment provided with a vibration damping buffer.

Claims (6)

An exposure device comprising: a frame, a stage machine tool capable of being raised and lowered freely with respect to the frame, and expanding in an in-plane direction intersecting with the raising and lowering direction, and a movable device mounted on the stage machine tool and freely movable in the plane direction. A stage, an exposure unit that exposes light to an exposure object placed on the movable stage, and a mobile machine that moves the movable stage in the plane direction with respect to the stage machine tool, and A lifter for lifting and lowering the frame by the platform machine tool of the movable platform and a vibration damping buffer connected to both the frame and the platform machine tool and suppressing the vibration of the platform machine to the frame, and the vibration damping buffer It includes: a container fixed to one of the frame and the stage machine and containing a viscous fluid inside, and fixed to the other of the one, part of which is not in contact with the inner wall of the container The insert of the viscous fluid is inserted in a state. For example, the exposure device according to item 1 of the patent application, wherein the moving machine has a plurality of moving sections for moving the movable stage independently of each other with respect to two directional components crossing each other included in the in-plane direction. The insert is a plate portion extending along one of the two directional components into which the viscous fluid is inserted. For example, the exposure device according to item 2 of the patent application, wherein: the insert, the plate portion thereof extends along one of the two directional components and both sides of the elevating direction. For example, the exposure device according to item 2 of the patent application, wherein: the container has a plurality of storage grooves for accommodating the viscous fluid, and is arranged in parallel with the other of the one of the two components along the two directions, 插入 the insertion The body includes a plurality of the plate portions which are individually inserted into the plurality of receiving grooves. The exposure device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in which: (i) the aforementioned insert, the part inserted into the viscous fluid, is along the aforementioned stage machine tool which is suppressed by the aforementioned damping buffer; The direction of the plate extends in the direction of vibration. For example, the exposure device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the aforementioned viscous fluid has a viscosity of 1,000 Pa · s or more.