TWI762610B - Object holding device, processing device, manufacturing method of flat panel display, component manufacturing method, and object holding method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a substrate stage device capable of holding a substrate with high flatness. The substrate stage device 20 includes a fine movement stage 22 that holds the substrate P, and has an upper surface portion 104 parallel to a predetermined plane including the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and a lower surface facing the upper surface portion 104 in the Z-axis direction. part 102; and the X voice coil motor 70X to overlap the upper surface part 104 and the lower surface part 102 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and sandwiched by the upper surface part 104 and the lower surface part 102 in the Z-axis direction It is configured in such a way that the micro-movement stage 22 is driven.

Description

Object holding device, processing device, manufacturing method of flat panel display, component manufacturing method, and object holding method

The present invention relates to an object holding device, a processing device, a manufacturing method of a flat panel display, a component manufacturing method, and an object holding method, and more specifically, the present invention relates to an object holding layer device and method for holding an object, having all A processing device of the object holding device, and a manufacturing method of a flat panel display or a component using the same.

Hitherto, in the lithography step of manufacturing electronic components (microcomponents) such as liquid crystal display devices, semiconductor devices (integrated circuits, etc.), an exposure apparatus has been used which uses an energy beam to form a film on a mask. Or the pattern on the photomask (hereinafter collectively referred to as "mask") is transferred to a glass plate or wafer (hereinafter collectively referred to as "substrate").

Regarding such an exposure apparatus, an exposure apparatus including a substrate stage apparatus that suction-holds a substrate is known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

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

[Prior Art Literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 4136363

According to a first aspect, there is provided an object holding device including: a moving body that holds an object and has a first surface parallel to a predetermined plane including a first direction and a second direction, and a second surface intersecting with the predetermined plane A second surface facing the first surface in three directions; and a driving system to overlap with the first surface and the second surface in the first direction and the second direction, and in the first direction and the second direction The third direction is arranged so as to be sandwiched between the first surface and the second surface, and the movable body is driven.

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

According to a third aspect, there is provided a method of manufacturing a flat panel display, comprising: exposing the object using the processing device of the second aspect; and developing the exposed object.

According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a device manufacturing method comprising: exposing the object using the processing apparatus of the second aspect; and developing the exposed object.

According to a fifth aspect, there is provided an object holding method that holds an object, and the object holding method includes holding the object using a moving body having a plane parallel to a predetermined plane including a first direction and a second direction The first face of , and the second face opposite to the first face in the third direction intersecting with the predetermined plane; and overlapping with the first surface and the second surface in the first direction and the second direction, and sandwiched by the first surface and the second surface in the third direction The driving system is configured in a manner to drive the moving body.

9A, 10A, Q: Symbol

10: Liquid crystal exposure device

12: Lighting system

14: Screen stage device

16: Projection Optical System

18: stand

19: Optical platen

20, 920, 1020: Substrate stage device

22, 220, 320, 422, 522, 622, 922, 1022: Micro-motion table

26: Coarse motion table

28: Self-weight support device

32: Y coarse motion table

34:X coarse motion table

36: X beam

38, 50: Mechanical linear guide device

40, 52: Connecting components

42: Weight Elimination Device

44: Y step guide

46: Leveling device

48: Air bearing

54, 56, 58: Pillars

60: Substrate drive system

62: First drive system

64: Second drive system

66: Third drive system

70X:X voice coil motor

70Y:Y voice coil motor

70Z:Z voice coil motor

72X, 72Y, 72Z: mover

74X, 74Y, 74Z: Stator

76, 276: Storage Department

78, 278: Notch

80X, 80Y: Strip mirror

82X, 82Y: Mirror base

84: Z sensor

86: Probe

88: Target

90: Main control device

92: Curtain drive system

94: Curtain measurement system

96: Substrate measurement system

96A: Optical Interferometer System

96B:Z Inclination Measurement System

100, 450, 650: platen part

102, 452: lower surface

102a, 452a: Opening

104, 454: upper surface

106, 456: outer wall

108, 608: Ribs

110, 110P, 110Vc, 110Vp, 462, 462a~462d: Tube

112P, 112V, 564P, 564V: Hole

114: Center Block

120, 482, 720, 820: tiles

122, 126, 482a, 482c, 482d, 722: Pin

124, 128, 482b, 482e, 724: peripheral wall

130, 476, 822: convex part

132, 134, 468, 472b, 482f, 482g: through holes

136: Ring Member

138, 344, 492: Recess

140, 478: Fastening components

142, 494: Fillet

340: Voice coil motor unit

342: Plate member, flange part

346: Bolt

372: Opening

374: Spacer

458: Honeycomb Structure

460: Pipeline

464, 572: Plug

466, 568: Connector

470, 560: base

472, 562: Slate

472a: Joint material

480: Suction cup part

566, 574, 574P, 574Vc, 574Vp: Slot

570: Connecting Components

726: Step Division

930, 1030: Encoder system

932, 1034: Ruler Baseline

934: Ruler Up

940: Measuring Table

942: Y Linear Actuator

950x: X head down

950y: Y head down

952x: X head up

952y: Y head up

960: Ruler down

1032, 1040: head base

1036, 1038: Arm member

G: position of center of gravity

IL: Illuminating Light

M: curtain

MB: Length measuring beam

P: substrate

PG: pressurized gas

VF: Vacuum suction force

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a liquid crystal exposure apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 1A-1A of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 1B-1B of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a micro-movement stage included in the liquid crystal exposure apparatus of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the internal structure of the micro-movement stage.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an upper surface of a suction pad tile included in the micro-movement stage of FIG. 4 .

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the lower surface of the suction cup tile of FIG. 6 .

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the suction cup tile of FIG. 6 .

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the holding structure of the suction pad tiles in the micro-movement stage.

10 is a block diagram showing an input-output relationship of a main control device that constitutes the core of the control system of the liquid crystal exposure device.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a substrate stage apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line 2A-2A of FIG. 11 .

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line 2B-2B of FIG. 11 .

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a substrate stage apparatus according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an exploded view of the substrate stage apparatus of FIG. 14 .

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along line 3A-3A of FIG. 14 .

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along line 3B-3B of FIG. 15 .

18(A) is a view of the VCM unit included in the substrate stage apparatus of FIG. 14 viewed from above, FIG. 18(B) is a view of the VCM unit viewed from below, and FIG. 18(C) is a cross-sectional view of the VCM unit.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a micro-movement stage according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is an exploded perspective view of the micro-movement stage of FIG. 19 .

FIG. 21 is a plan view of the micro-movement stage of FIG. 19 .

FIG. 22 is a sectional view taken along line 4A-4A of FIG. 21 .

FIG. 23 is a sectional view taken along line 4B-4B of FIG. 21 .

FIG. 24 is a plan view of the micro-movement stage of FIG. 19 with some components removed.

FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining an assembly procedure of the micro-movement stage of FIG. 19 .

FIG. 26 is a plan view of a suction pad tile included in the micro-movement stage of FIG. 19 .

FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view of the micro-movement stage of FIG. 19 .

Fig. 28 is a plan view of the suction cup tile of Fig. 26 viewed from the back side.

FIG. 29 is a diagram for explaining the internal structure of the micro-movement table of FIG. 19 .

Fig. 30 is a perspective view showing a micro-movement stage according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 31 is an exploded perspective view of the micro-movement stage of FIG. 30 .

FIG. 32 is a plan view of a base portion included in the micro-movement stage of FIG. 30 .

FIG. 33 is an exploded perspective view of the micro-movement stage of FIG. 30 viewed from below.

Fig. 34(A) is a perspective view showing the vicinity of an end portion of the slate provided in the base of Fig. 30 , Fig. 34(B) is a perspective view showing the vicinity of a joint portion of a pair of adjacent slates, and Fig. 34(C) is a plate Side view of rock.

FIG. 35 is a diagram for explaining the internal structure of the micro-movement table of FIG. 30 .

Fig. 36 is an exploded perspective view of the micro-movement table according to the sixth embodiment.

Fig. 37(A) is a plan view of the suction cup tile of the seventh embodiment, and Fig. 37(B) is a sectional view taken along arrow 7A-7A of Fig. 37(A).

FIG. 38(A) is a perspective view of a suction cup tile according to the seventh embodiment, and FIG. 38(B) is a perspective view of a state in which a plurality of suction cup tiles are covered.

Fig. 39 is a plan view of the suction cup tile of the eighth embodiment.

FIG. 40 is a diagram showing a substrate stage apparatus according to a ninth embodiment.

FIG. 41 is an enlarged view of part 9A of FIG. 40 .

FIG. 42 is a plan view of a micro-movement stage included in the substrate stage apparatus of FIG. 40 .

Fig. 43 is a conceptual diagram of an encoder system according to the ninth embodiment.

Fig. 44 is a diagram showing a substrate stage apparatus according to a tenth embodiment.

FIG. 45 is an enlarged view of part 10A of FIG. 44 .

Fig. 46 is a plan view of the substrate stage apparatus according to the tenth embodiment.

Fig. 47 is a conceptual diagram of an encoder system according to the tenth embodiment.

"First Embodiment"

Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10 .

In FIG. 1, the structure of the exposure apparatus (here, the liquid crystal exposure apparatus 10) of 1st Embodiment is shown schematically. The liquid crystal exposure apparatus 10 is a projection exposure apparatus of a step-and-scan method using an object (here, the glass substrate P) as an exposure object, and is a so-called scanner. The glass substrate P (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrate P") is formed in a rectangular (square) shape in 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 on which a circuit pattern and the like are formed, a projection optical system 16, and a surface (the surface facing the +Z side in FIG. 1) is coated with a resist. A moving body device (here, the substrate stage device 20 ) that relatively moves the substrate P of the etchant (inductive agent) with respect to the projection optical system 16 , a control system of each of these parts, and the like. Hereinafter, the direction in which the mask M and the substrate P are respectively scanned relative to the projection optical system 16 during exposure is referred to as the X-axis direction, the direction orthogonal to the X-axis in the horizontal plane is referred to as the Y-axis direction, and the X-axis direction is referred to as the X-axis direction. The direction orthogonal to the axis and the Y axis is referred to as the Z axis direction, and the directions of rotation around the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis are referred to as the θx direction, the θy direction, and the θz direction, respectively, for description. In addition, the positions related to the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction will be described as the X position, the Y position, and the Z position, respectively.

The lighting system 12 is configured similarly to the lighting system disclosed in the specification of US Pat. No. 5,729,331, etc., and transmits light emitted from a light source (mercury lamp, a laser diode, etc.) not shown through a reflector (not shown), A dichroic mirror, a shutter, a wavelength selective filter, various lenses, and the like are irradiated on the mask M as multiple exposure illumination light (illumination light) IL. Illumination light IL can use i-ray (wave length 365nm), g-ray (wavelength 436nm), h-ray (wavelength 405nm) and other light (or the composite light of the i-ray, g-ray, h-ray).

As for the mask M held by the mask stage device 14 , a transmissive mask having a predetermined circuit pattern formed on the lower surface (the surface facing the −Z side in FIG. 1 ) can be used. The main control device 90 (refer to FIG. 10 ) passes through a mask drive system 92 (refer to FIG. 10 ) including a linear motor and the like, with respect to the illumination system 12 (illumination light IL) in the X-axis direction (scanning direction). The mask M is driven by a predetermined long stroke, and is appropriately driven finely in the Y-axis direction and the θz direction. The positional information in the horizontal plane of the mask M is obtained by a mask measurement system 94 (see FIG. 10 ) including an optical interferometer system, an encoder system, and the like.

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 US Pat. No. 6,552,775 and the like, and includes a plurality of lenses that form an erect image in a double telecentric equal magnification system. module.

In the liquid crystal exposure apparatus 10, when the illumination area on the mask M is illuminated by the plurality of illumination light beams IL from the illumination system 12, the illumination light IL passing through (penetrating) the mask M is used to pass 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 on the substrate P in the illumination area (exposure area) of the illumination light conjugated to the illumination area. Then, the mask M is relatively moved in the scanning direction with respect to the illumination area (illumination light IL), and the substrate P is relatively moved in the scanning direction with respect to the exposure area (illumination light IL), whereby one of the substrates P is moved relatively Scanning exposure of the projection exposure (shot) area, will be formed on the mask The pattern on the screen M is transferred into the projected exposure area.

The substrate stage device 20 is a device for precisely controlling the position of the substrate P with respect to the projection optical system 16 (illumination light IL). direction) drive the substrate P with a predetermined long stroke, and finely drive it in the six-degree-of-freedom directions (X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis, directions of θx, θy, and θz). The substrate stage device 20 is a stage device of a so-called coarse and fine movement structure configured in the same manner as the substrate stage device disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0057140, except for the fine movement stage 22 described later, and includes a fine movement stage that holds the substrate P 22. A gantry-type coarse motion stage 26, a self-weight support device 28, and a substrate drive system 60 (not shown in FIG. 1, refer to FIG. 10) for driving the elements constituting the substrate stage device 20, with A board measurement system 96 (not shown in FIG. 1 , see FIG. 10 ) and the like for obtaining the position information of the above-mentioned elements.

The micro-movement stage 22 is formed as a whole in a plate shape (or box shape) having a rectangular shape in plan view (see FIG. 3 ), and the substrate P is mounted on the upper surface (substrate mounting surface). The dimensions in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction of the upper surface of the fine movement stage 22 are set to be approximately the same as those of the substrate P (actually slightly shorter). The substrate P is vacuum-sucked and held by the micro-movement table 22 in a state of being placed on the upper surface of the micro-movement table 22 , whereby the substantially whole (entire surface) is flattened along the upper surface of the micro-movement table 22 . Therefore, the micro-movement stage 22 of the present embodiment can also be said to be a member having the same function as the substrate holder included in the conventional substrate stage apparatus. The detailed configuration of the micro-movement stage 22 will be described later.

The coarse movement stage 26 includes a Y coarse movement stage 32 and an X coarse movement stage 34 . The Y coarse motion table 32 is located below the fine motion table 22 (-Z side), and is placed in a clean room (clean room). room) on the floor of a base frame member (not shown). The Y coarse motion table 32 has a pair of X beams 36 arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval in the Y-axis direction. The pair of X beams 36 are placed on the base member in a state of being movable in the Y-axis direction.

The X coarse movement stage 34 is arranged above the Y coarse movement stage 32 (+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 motion table 34 is a member having an inverted U-shape in YZ cross section, and the Y coarse motion table 32 is inserted between a pair of opposing surfaces of the X coarse motion table 34 . The X coarse motion table 34 is placed on a pair of X beams 36 of the Y coarse motion table 32 via a plurality of mechanical linear guide devices 38 , and can be freely opposed to the Y coarse motion table 32 in the X-axis direction. The movement, on the other hand, moves integrally with the Y coarse motion stage 32 in the Y-axis direction.

The dead weight support device 28 includes a weight canceling device 42 that supports the dead weight of the micro-movement stage 22 from below, and a Y step guide 44 that supports the weight canceling device 42 from below. The weight removal device 42 (also referred to as a stem or the like) is inserted into an opening (not shown) formed in the X coarse motion table 34, and is connected to the X through a plurality of connecting members 40 called a flexure device. The coarse motion stage 34 is mechanically connected. The weight removing device 42 moves in the X-axis direction and/or the Y-axis direction integrally with the X-coarse-movement stage 34 by being pulled to the X-coarse-movement stage 34 .

The weight elimination device 42 supports the self-weight of the micro-movement stage 22 from below via a support device called a leveling device 46 . The leveling device 46 supports the micro-movement stage 22 so as to be able to swing (tilt) with respect to the XY plane. The leveling device 46 supports the weight elimination device in a non-contact state from below via an air bearing (not shown) 42. As a result, the fine movement stage 22 is allowed to move relative to the weight canceling device 42 (and the X coarse movement stage 34 ) in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the θz direction, and to swing with respect to the horizontal plane (the θx direction and the θy direction). relative movement). The details of the configurations of the weight canceling device 42 , the leveling device 46 , the connecting member 40 , and the like have been disclosed in the specification of US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0018950 and the like, so the description is omitted.

The Y step guide 44 is composed of a member extending parallel to the X axis, and is disposed between the pair of X beams 36 included in the Y coarse motion stage 32 . The Y step guide 44 supports the weight removal device 42 from below in a non-contact state via the air bearing 48 , and functions as a platen when the weight removal device 42 moves in the X-axis direction. The Y step guide 44 is mounted on the gantry 18 disposed vibratingly separated from the Y coarse motion table 34 via the mechanical linear guide device 50 , and is movable relative to the gantry 18 in the Y-axis direction. The Y step guide 44 is mechanically connected to the pair of X beams 36 via a plurality of connecting members 52 (bending devices), and is moved in the Y-axis direction integrally with the Y coarse motion table 32 by being pulled to the Y coarse motion table 32 .

The substrate drive system 60 (not shown in FIG. 1 . See FIG. 10 ) includes a first drive system 62 (see FIG. 10) The second drive system 64 (refer to FIG. 10 ) for driving the Y coarse motion stage 32 with a long stroke in the Y-axis direction, and for driving the Y coarse motion stage 32 with a long stroke in the X-axis direction The third drive system 66 of the X coarse motion table 34 (see FIG. 10 ). The types of actuators constituting the second drive system 64 and the third drive system 66 are not particularly limited, and as an example, a linear motor, a ball screw drive device, or the like (a linear motor is shown in FIG. 1 ) can be used. About the second drive train The details of the configuration of the system 64 and the third drive system 66 have been described in the specification of US Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0057140 and the like, so the description is omitted.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the micro-movement stage 22 (a cross-sectional view taken along the line 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 motors) for imparting thrust in the X-axis direction to the fine movement stage 22 70X), and a pair of Y linear motors (here, Y voice coil motors 70Y) for imparting thrust in the Y-axis direction to the micro-movement stage 22 . The pair of X voice coil motors 70X are arranged at intervals in the Y-axis direction in the vicinity of the +X side end portion inside the fine motion stage 22 . In addition, the pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y are arranged at intervals in the X-axis direction in the vicinity of the +Y side end portion inside the fine motion table 22 . Returning to FIG. 1 , the pair of X voice coil motors 70X are arranged symmetrically with respect to the position G of the center of gravity of the fine movement table 22 (left-right symmetry in FIG. 1 ). Although not shown in FIG. 1 , similarly, the pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y are also arranged symmetrically with respect to the center of gravity position G (see FIG. 2 , which are vertically symmetrical in FIG. 2 ).

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

As shown in FIG. 1 , the mover 72X of the X voice coil motor 70X is fixed to the fine movement table 22 . The mover 72X is formed in a U-shape in a YZ cross section, and a magnet unit including a plurality of permanent magnets is fixed to a pair of opposing surfaces, respectively. The mover 72X is arrange|positioned so that a pair of opposing surfaces may become parallel to the XY plane (horizontal direction).

On the other hand, the stator 74X of the X voice coil motor 70X is fixed to the front end portion of the strut 54 protruding from the upper surface of the X coarse motion table 34 . The stator 74X is formed in a T-shape in a YZ cross-section, and is arranged laterally like the mover so that the front end can be inserted between a pair of opposing surfaces of the mover 72X through a predetermined gap. A coil unit (not shown) is accommodated in a front end portion of the stator 74X (a portion inserted between a pair of opposing surfaces of the mover 72X).

Furthermore, although not shown in FIG. 1 , as shown in FIG. 2 , the pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y is configured to rotate the pair of X voice coil motors 70X by 90 degrees around the Z axis. way to configure. 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 for the point in which the thrust force is generated in a different direction, so detailed description is omitted.

When the fine movement stage 22 is driven in the X-axis direction during the scanning exposure operation, the main controller 90 (see FIG. 10 ) drives the X coarse movement stage 34 in the X-axis direction via the third drive system 66 (see FIG. 10 ). (scanning direction) with a long stroke, and using the two X voice coil motors 70X included in the first drive system 62, from the X thick The moving table 34 applies a thrust in the X-axis direction (+X direction or -X direction) to the fine moving table 22 . In addition, during the scanning exposure operation, the main control device 90 appropriately uses the two X voice coil motors 70X (or the two Y voice coil motors 70Y) according to the alignment measurement results, etc., relative to the projection optical system 16 (refer to FIG. 1 ) The micro-movement stage 22 is finely driven in at least one of the three-degree-of-freedom directions (the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the θz direction) in the horizontal plane. In addition, when the main control device 90 performs a movement operation (Y step operation) between the projection exposure areas of the substrate P in the Y-axis direction, the Y coarse movement is driven in the Y-axis direction via the second drive system 64 (see FIG. 10 ). The stage 32 and the X coarse movement stage 34 are used, and the Y-axis direction (+Y direction or -Y direction) is given to the fine movement stage 22 from the X coarse movement stage 34 using the two Y voice coil motors 70Y provided in the first drive system 62 thrust.

Here, as shown in FIG. 1 , the position (height position) in the Z-axis direction of the stator 74X of the X voice coil motor 70X substantially matches the center of gravity position G in the Z-axis direction of the fine motion stage 22 . Although not shown in FIG. 1 , the position in the Z-axis direction of the stator 74Y (see FIG. 2 ) of the Y voice coil motor 70Y also substantially matches the center of gravity position G in the Z-axis direction of the fine motion stage 22 . Therefore, when the four voice coil motors 70X and 70Y are used to impart thrust forces in three degrees of freedom directions in the horizontal plane to the fine motion table 22 , a pitching moment is suppressed from acting on the fine motion table 22 .

FIG. 3 shows a view of the micro-movement stage 22 viewed from below (a cross-sectional view taken along the line 1B-1B in FIG. 1 ). As shown in FIG. 3 , notches (openings) 78 are formed at four places corresponding to the four voice coil motors 70X and 70Y on the lower surface of the micro-movement table 22 , through which the struts 54 can be inserted. Between the opening end where the notch 78 is formed and the support column 54, when the fine movement table 22 moves with a minute stroke relative to the X coarse movement table 34 (see FIG. 1 ) A clearance (minimum set in consideration of the maximum feed amount of the voice coil motor 70X and the voice coil motor 70Y) is formed so that the open end portion does not contact the strut 54 .

In addition, the first drive system 62 (see FIG. 10 ) includes a Z voice coil motor 70Z for at least one of the Z-axis direction, the θx direction, and the θy direction (hereinafter referred to as “Z tilt direction”). The micro-movement stage 22 is driven in the direction. In the present embodiment, the Z voice coil motors 70Z are arranged at three places in the XY plane that are not located on the same straight line. The Z voice coil motor 70Z is of the same moving magnet type as the X voice coil motor 70X, and its configuration is also the same as that of the X voice coil motor 70X except that the direction in which the thrust is generated is different. As shown in FIG. 1 , in each Z voice coil motor 70Z, a mover 72Z including a magnet unit is fixed to the lower surface of the fine motion table 22 via a strut 56 , and a stator 74Z including a coil unit is fixed to the X coarse motion table 34 via a strut 58 . upper surface. The main control device 90 (refer to FIG. 10 ) drives the fine movement stage 22 with a slight stroke in the Z tilt direction from the X coarse movement stage 34 by appropriately using three Z voice coil motors 70Z. Furthermore, the number of the Z voice coil motors 70Z is not limited to three, and may be four or more, and is preferably disposed at least at three places that are not located on the same straight line.

Next, the measurement system of the micro-movement stage 22 will be described. The substrate measurement system 96 (refer to FIG. 10 ) for obtaining position information in the six-degree-of-freedom direction of the micro-movement stage 22 includes an optical interferometer system 96A (refer to FIG. 10 ). The optical interferometer system 96A is a measurement system for obtaining positional information in three degrees of freedom directions (X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and θz direction) in the horizontal plane of the micro-movement stage 22, and includes an irradiation unit (optical interferometer) (not shown). count). As shown in FIG. 2 , an X bar mirror 80X and a mirror base 82Y are fixed on the micro-movement stage 22 via a mirror base 82X and a mirror base 82Y, respectively. The Y bar mirror 80Y, the X bar mirror 80X and the Y bar mirror 80Y, are used to reflect a plurality of length measuring beams MB (not shown in FIG. 2 ; refer to FIG. 1 ) irradiated from the irradiation unit. The X-strip mirror 80X for obtaining position information in the X-axis direction (and the θz direction) of the fine-moving stage 22 is fixed to the side surface on the -X side of the fine-moving stage 22 for obtaining the Y-axis direction (and the Y-axis direction of the fine-moving stage 22 ). The Y bar mirror 80Y of the position information in the θz direction) is fixed to the side surface on the -Y side of the micro-movement stage 22 (see FIG. 1 ). The details of the measurement system including the stage device of the optical interferometer system have been disclosed in the specification of US Pat. No. 8,059,260 and the like, so detailed descriptions are 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 on the −X side of the micro-movement stage 22 , and a pair of X voice coil motors 70X are arranged thereon. The opposite side is the vicinity of the end portion on the +X side of the fine movement stage 22 . In addition, although not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , various measurement devices such as an illuminance sensor are fixed to the side surface on the +X side of the micro-movement stage 22 . For the micro-movement stage 22, the 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 the various measurement devices not shown. In addition, 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 arranged It is fixed to the lower surface of the region on the +Y side (the side opposite to the Y bar mirror 80Y) of the fine movement stage 22 to adjust the dynamic balance in the Y-axis direction of the fine movement stage 22 . Through these balance adjustments, the weight canceling device 42 (see FIG. 3 ) can support the micro-movement stage 22 from below at the position of the center of gravity in the XY plane.

Returning to FIG. 1 , the position information of the Z tilt direction of the micro-movement stage 22 is obtained through The Z tilt measurement system 96B including the plurality of Z sensors 84 is obtained by the main controller 90 (refer to FIG. 10 , respectively). The Z sensor 84 includes a probe 86 (not shown in FIG. 3 ) fixed on the lower surface of the micro-movement stage 22 and a target 88 fixed on the frame of the weight elimination device 42 . Since the target 88 is fixed to the weight canceling device 42 , the Z sensor 84 can measure the displacement in the Z-axis direction of the micro-movement stage 22 with respect to the upper surface (horizontal plane) of the Y step guide 44 . The Z sensors 84 are arranged at three places in the XY plane that are not on the same straight line, and the main control device 90 obtains the position (displacement amount) of the micro-movement stage 22 in the Z tilt direction based on the outputs of the three Z sensors 84 News.

Next, the detailed configuration of the micro-movement stage 22 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 . FIG. 4 shows an exploded perspective view of the micro-movement stage 22 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the micro-movement stage 22 includes a platen unit 100 and a plurality of chucking tiles 120 (hereinafter simply referred to as “tiles 120 ”). The platen portion 100 is formed in a rectangular box shape in plan view. The micro-movement stage 22 has a two-layer structure as a whole by laying (stacking) a plurality of tiles 120 on the platen portion 100 . 4 , the X voice coil motor 70X and the Y voice coil motor 70Y, the accommodating portion 76 for accommodating the voice coil motors 70X and 70Y, and the struts for inserting the above-described X voice coil motor 70X and Y voice coil motor 70Y are arranged in FIG. 4 . The notch 78 of 54, the bar mirror 80X, the bar mirror 80Y, and the plurality of ribs 108 (refer to FIG. 2 , respectively), which will be described later, are omitted from illustration.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the platen portion 100 as a lower layer includes a lower surface portion 102, an upper surface portion 104, an outer wall portion 106, and a plurality of ribs 108 (not shown in FIG. 4 , see FIG. 2 ) as rigid reinforcing members. ). The lower surface portion 102 and the upper surface portion 104 are respectively formed of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) plate-like members having a rectangular plan view, and are arranged facing (parallel) in the Z-axis direction. The outer wall portion 106 is a frame-shaped member having a rectangular shape in plan view, and is formed 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 by an adhesive, respectively. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4 , the upper surface portion 104 of the present embodiment is formed by joining two plate-shaped members, but it is not limited to this, and may be formed by one plate-shaped member, or may be formed by three plates. It is formed by a plate-like member of more than one sheet. The lower surface part 102 and the outer wall part 106 can also be formed by joining a plurality of plate-shaped members in the same manner. In addition, in the present embodiment, the dimensions in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction 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.

As shown in FIG. 5 , inside the outer wall portion 106 , a plurality of ribs 108 are accommodated in a state of being spanned over the lower surface portion 102 and the upper surface portion 104 . Ribs 108 are formed of CFRP. The rib portion 108 is formed in a plate shape orthogonal to the XY plane, and the inside of the platen portion 100 is hollow except for the portion where the rib portion 108 is spanned and the portion where the leveling device 46 is accommodated. 5 is a diagram for explaining the internal structure of the fine movement table 22 (the +X side surface of the outer wall portion 106 and a part of the ribs 108 are not shown), and do not show a specific cross section of the fine movement table 22 .

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 , the plurality of ribs 108 are integrally adhered to the lower surface portion 102 , the upper surface portion 104 and the outer wall portion 106 by an adhesive, respectively. Thereby, the platen portion 100 is lightweight and highly rigid (especially, high rigidity in the thickness direction), and is also easy to manufacture. 2 , members extending in the X-axis direction, members extending in the Y-axis direction, and members extending radially (X-shaped) from the vicinity of the center of the fine movement table 22 are arranged as the plurality of ribs 108 . , but as long as the rigidity required for the platen portion 100 can be ensured, the arrangement, number and configuration of the ribs 108 are not particularly limited, and can be appropriately changed. Even. In addition, the material which forms each element which comprises the platen part 100 is not limited to the material (CFRP) demonstrated above, A metal material, such as an aluminum alloy, a synthetic resin material, etc. may be sufficient. In addition, the fastening structure of the lower surface part 102 , the upper surface part 104 , the outer wall part 106 , and the rib part 108 is not limited to adhesion, and a mechanical fastening structure such as a bolt may be used. The dimension in the thickness direction (Z-axis direction) of the platen portion 100 m is set to be thicker than the layer formed by the plurality of tiles 100 . In addition, the weight of the platen part 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 ) is sandwiched between the lower surface portion 102 and the upper surface portion 104 inside the platen portion 100 . It is arranged and fixed to at least one of the lower surface part 102 , the upper surface part 104 and the rib part 108 . As shown in FIG. 1 , the stator 74X of the X voice coil motor 70X is similarly disposed in the space sandwiched between the lower surface portion 102 and the upper surface portion 104 (except for the portion where the notch 78 is formed). In addition, although not shown in FIG. 1 , the mover 72Y and the stator 74Y (refer to FIG. 2 , respectively) of the pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y are also the same. In this way, the pair of X voice coil motors 70X and the pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y according to the present embodiment are positioned in the XY plane in the region overlapping the lower surface portion 102 and the upper surface portion 104 of the platen portion 100 . (see FIGS. 2 and 3 ), and the position in the Z-axis direction is within the area between the lower surface portion 102 and the upper surface portion 104 (where the upper surface portion 104 and the lower surface portion 102 do not overlap with the Z position) way to set. As described above, the notches 78 (refer to FIG. 5 ) formed in the lower surface portion 102 of the fine movement table 22 for inserting the pillars 54 are formed with the minimum necessary size, so the platen portion 100 (that is, the fine movement table 22 ) The decrease in rigidity is suppressed. in addition, The positions of the voice coil motor 70X and the voice coil motor 70Y in the Z-axis direction are set so as to overlap with the deformation center when an external force acts on the platen portion 100 to deform the upper surface portion 104 .

Returning to FIG. 4 , an opening 102 a is formed in the central portion of the lower surface portion 102 . As shown in FIG. 5 , a concave portion (recess) is formed in a portion corresponding to the opening 102 a inside the platen portion 100 , and the leveling device 46 is fitted into the concave portion. Here, the configuration of the leveling device 46 is not particularly limited as long as it has a function of supporting the micro-stage 22 in a swingable manner with respect to the horizontal plane (in the θx direction and the θy direction). Therefore, although the spherical bearing device is shown in FIG. 1 , the leveling device 46 is not limited thereto, and may be an elastic hinge device, a simulated spherical bearing device disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0018950 and the like.

As shown in FIG. 4 , a plurality of pipes 110 are accommodated in the platen portion 100 . The tube 110 is a member extending in the Y-axis direction, and the XZ cross-section is formed in a U-shape (open to the +Z side). The tubes 110 are arranged in the X-axis direction at predetermined intervals, which will be described later. However, in FIG. 4 , the illustration of most of the tubes 110 is omitted from the viewpoint of avoiding complication of the drawing. In addition, in FIG. 2, FIG. 5, etc., the illustration of all the pipes 110 is abbreviate|omitted from a viewpoint of avoiding a complicated drawing.

The internal structure of the fine movement table 22 (and the platen unit 100 ) is shown in FIG. 9 . As shown in FIG. 9 , the plurality of tubes 110 (tube 110Vc, tube 110P, and tube 110Vp in FIG. 9 ) are adhered so that the upper end (open end) and the lower surface of the upper surface 104 are in contact with each other without a gap. the lower surface of the upper surface portion 104 . The tube 110 and the lower surface of the upper surface portion 104 form a flow for supplying a pressurized gas or for supplying a vacuum suction force to be described later. road. In the present embodiment, the intervals in the X-axis direction of the plurality of tubes 110 are set so that four tubes 110 are arranged on one tile 120 . In addition, although not shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 9, the rib part 108 (refer FIG. 2) in the platen part 100 is formed in the rib part 108 (refer FIG. 2) which is useful for avoiding contact with the tube 110. In addition, although not shown, similarly, the outer wall part 106 of the platen part 100 is also formed with a notch for exposing the end of the pipe 110 to the outside of the platen part 100 . A joint (not shown) is connected to one end of the tube 110 exposed from the outer wall portion 106 , and compressed air or vacuum suction force is supplied from the outside of the micro-movement stage 22 via the joint. The other end of the tube 110 is blocked by a plug (plug) not shown.

A pressurized gas is supplied to one of the four pipes 110 (the pipe 110Vc, the pipe 110P, and the pipe 110Vp in FIG. 9 ) corresponding to one tile 120 (the pipe 110P in FIG. 9 ) (refer to the upward arrow PG in FIG. 9 ). ). 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 via the pipe 110P to the upper surface side of the upper surface portion 104 . In addition, a vacuum suction force is supplied to three of the four pipes 110 corresponding to one tile 120 (one pipe 110Vp and two pipes 110Vc in FIG. 9 ) (see downward arrow VF in FIG. 9 ). In addition, the upper surface portion 104 is formed with a hole portion 112V for applying the vacuum suction force supplied from the outside of the fine movement stage 22 via the tubes 110Vp and 100Vc to the upper surface of the upper surface portion 104 . side. Two hole portions 112P and 112V are formed so as to be spaced apart in the Y-axis direction (depth direction of the paper surface) corresponding to one tile 120 , respectively.

Returning to FIG. 4 , a plurality of tiles 120 are spread on the upper surface of the platen portion 100 (on the upper surface portion 104 ) (a part of the illustration is omitted in FIG. 4 ). Multiple tiles 120 can be The platen unit 100 is held by the platen unit 100 so as to be attached and detached (replacement, separation), respectively. The structure for adsorbing and holding the tile 120 by the platen unit 100 (a structure for adsorbing and holding the tile 120 ) will be described later. The tile 120 is a thin plate-shaped member with a rectangular shape in plan view, and is formed of a hard material such as ceramics. By forming the tile 120 using ceramics, the generation of static electricity from the substrate P can be suppressed. Furthermore, the material of the tile 120 is not particularly limited, and it is preferably a material that is lightweight and easy to process with high precision, thereby suppressing deformation of the platen portion 100 .

Regarding the micro-movement stage 22 , the substrate P (see FIG. 1 ) is placed on a plane formed by spreading the plurality of tiles 120 . The plurality of tiles 120 cooperate with the platen unit 100 to suck and hold the substrate P. The structure for suction-holding the substrate P by the plurality of tiles 120 (the suction-holding structure for the substrate P) will be described later.

Here, for the micro-movement stage 22, the substrate placement surface is formed by the plurality of tiles 120, so in the state where the plurality of tiles 120 are covered on the platen portion 100, the plurality of tiles 120 are used for The faces formed by the tiles 120 require a high degree of flatness. Therefore, in this embodiment, the flatness of the upper surface of the platen portion 100 is processed in advance so that the flatness of the upper surface is equal to or less than the required flatness (for example, 20 μm), and after the platen portion 100 is covered with a plurality of tiles 120, the flatness of the upper surface of the platen portion 100 is Finishing is performed by hand lap processing so that the flatness of the surface formed by the plurality of tiles 120 becomes higher (eg, 10 μm or less). Furthermore, the planar processing of the upper surface of the platen portion 100 is preferably performed after the voice coil motor 70X, the mover 72X of the voice coil motor 70Y, and the mover 72Y (refer to FIG. 2 ) are fixed to the platen portion 100, However, it is not limited to this, and it can also be performed before the mover 72X and the mover 72Y are fixed.

Next, the configuration of the tile 120 will be described. The micro-movement table 22 is a so-called pin chuck type substrate holder, and as shown in FIG. 6 , a plurality of pins 122 and a peripheral wall portion 124 are formed protrudingly on the upper surface of each tile 120 . In FIGS. 6 and 8 , most of the pins 122 are arranged on the entire upper surface of the tile 120 at substantially equal intervals from the viewpoint of avoiding the complexity of the drawings. The diameter of the pin 122 in the pin suction cup type holder is very small (for example, about 1 mm in diameter), and the width of the peripheral wall portion 124 is also thin, so the possibility of holding garbage or foreign matter on the back surface of the substrate P can be reduced. It is also possible to reduce the possibility that the substrate P is deformed due to the insertion of the foreign matter. In addition, the number and arrangement of the pins 122 are not particularly limited, and can be appropriately changed. The peripheral wall portion 124 is formed so as to surround the outer periphery of the upper surface of the tile 120 . The height positions (Z positions) of the tips of the plurality of pins 122 and the peripheral wall portion 124 are set to be the same. In addition, various surface treatments such as coating treatment and ceramic spraying are performed on the upper surface of the tile 120 to suppress reflection of the illumination light IL (see FIG. 1 ) so that the surface becomes black.

In the micro-movement stage 22 (refer to FIG. 1 ), in a state where the substrate P (refer to FIG. 1 ) is placed on the plurality of pins 122 and the peripheral wall portion 124 , vacuum suction is supplied to the space surrounded by the peripheral wall portion 124 . force (vacuum suction of the air in the space), whereby the substrate P is adsorbed and held on the tile 120 . The plane of the substrate P is corrected in accordance with the tips of the plurality of pins 122 and the peripheral wall portion 124 . The structure for suction-holding the substrate P by the tile 120 (the suction-holding structure for the substrate P) will be described later.

In addition, regarding the fine movement stage 22 (refer to FIG. 1 ), in a state where the substrate P (refer to FIG. 1 ) is placed on the plurality of pins 122 and the peripheral wall portion 124 , the substrate P (refer to FIG. 1 ) is placed on the plurality of pins 122 and the peripheral wall portion 124 . By supplying pressurized gas (compressed air, etc.) to the enclosed space, the adsorption of the substrate P on the substrate placement surface can be released, and the substrate P can be floated on the substrate placement surface. The suction release of the board|substrate P on the board|substrate mounting surface, and the structure (floating support structure of the board|substrate P) for carrying out the floating support will be described later.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 7 , a plurality of pins 126 and a peripheral wall portion 128 are also formed protrudingly on the lower surface of the tile 120 . In FIGS. 7 and 8 , most of the pins 126 are not shown from the viewpoint of avoiding the complexity of the drawings, but the plurality of pins 126 are also arranged on the entire lower surface of the tile 120 at substantially equal intervals. That is, the lower surface of the tile 120 also has a pin suction cup structure. In addition, on the lower surface of the tile 120, a plurality of (eight in the present embodiment) protrusions 130 are formed to protrude independently of the pins 126. A through hole 132 and a through hole 134 are respectively formed in the approximate center of the convex portion 130 . In a state where the tile 120 is placed on the platen portion 100 (see FIG. 9 ), the plurality of pins 126 , the peripheral wall portion 128 and the front end portions of the plurality of convex portions 130 are in contact with the upper surface of the platen portion 100 , respectively. In this way, the height position (Z position) of the front end is set to be the same. The convex portion 130 is set to be larger (thicker) in the radial direction than the pin 126 , and has a wider contact area with the platen portion 100 than the pin 126 . In addition, 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).

As shown in FIG. 9 , the through hole 132 and the through hole 134 formed in the protruding portion 130 are respectively configured to pass through the tile 120 . It communicates with the hole portion 112V for suction or the hole portion 112P for exhaust formed in the upper surface portion 104 . The through hole 132 is a hole for sucking air, and through the through hole 132 , a plurality of holes formed on the upper surface of the tile 120 are connected The space (air) formed by the pin 122 and the board|substrate P (refer FIG. 1) is vacuum-sucked, and the board|substrate P is adsorbed and held. The through hole 134 is a pressurized exhaust hole for exhausting (blowing out) air, and the hole diameter (opening diameter) is smaller than that of the through hole 132 , and is used to release the adsorption of the substrate P adsorbed on the upper surface of the tile 120 . , air having a tendency to float the substrate P is blown onto the substrate P through the through holes 134 . A rubber-made ring member 136 (so-called O-ring) is inserted into the contact surface of the convex portion 130 and the platen portion 100 so as not to cause air leakage.

In addition, the number and arrangement of the pins 126 and the convex portions 130 are not particularly limited, and can be appropriately changed. In addition, the positions of the plurality of pins 122 and the plurality of pins 126 in the XY plane may be the same or different. In the micro-movement stage 22 , a vacuum suction force is supplied to the space surrounded by the peripheral wall portion 128 in a state where the tile 120 is placed on the platen portion 100 , whereby the tile 120 is adsorbed and held on the platen portion 100 . That is, on the lower surface (back surface) side of the tile 120, through the space (vacuum suctioned space) surrounded by the platen portion 100, the peripheral wall portion 128 of the tile 120, the pin 126, and the convex portion 130 The tile 120 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 hole portions 112P and 112V of the platen portion 100 , so they are not fixed to the pressure plate portion 100 . Disc portion 100 .

Here, in the present embodiment, the so-called fixation of the tile 120 to the platen portion 100 means that the following state can be maintained: a part (the space) of the lower surface of the platen portion 100 can be maintained by the suction force such as the vacuum suction. During the functioning period, there is no peeling from the platen unit 100 (no positional displacement in the Z direction), and no relative positional displacement with respect to the platen unit 100 (positional displacement in the X direction and the Y direction). Furthermore, if the true Air adsorption and the effect of the adsorption force on the tile 120 disappears, the tile 120 can also be detached (removed) from the platen portion 100 . In addition, the description has been given of placing the tile 120 in the manner of the upper surface of the platen unit 100, but it may not be flat. As long as the shapes of the upper surface of the platen portion 100 and the lower surface of the tile 120 are substantially the same, the upper surface of the platen portion 100 may also be a curved surface instead of a flat surface.

Here, the micro-movement stage 22 has various mechanisms for preventing the plurality of tiles 120 from floating up from the platen portion 100 . As shown in FIG. 8 , concave portions 138 are formed at the ends of the tile 120 on the +X side and the −X side, respectively. As shown in FIG. 9 , the tiles 120 arranged along the outer periphery of the micro-movement table 22 are mechanically fastened to the platen portion 100 by the fastening members 140 partially inserted into the recesses 138 . In addition, for a pair of adjacent tiles 120, a band 142 is inserted into a pair of concave portions 138 facing each other. The molding strip 142 is fastened to the platen portion 100 , thereby preventing the tile 120 from floating up from the platen portion 100 .

Next, the suction-holding structure of the tile 120 in the micro-movement stage 22 , the suction-holding structure of the substrate P, and the floating support structure of the substrate P are respectively described with reference to FIG. 9 . As described above, the platen portion 100 of the micro-movement table 22 has a plurality of tubes 110 as shown in FIG. 4 . As shown in FIG. 9 , the plurality of pipes 110 include a suction pipe 110Vc for supplying a vacuum suction force for sucking the tiles 120 , a suction pipe 110Vp for supplying a vacuum suction force for sucking the substrate P, and The exhaust pipe 110P for supplying the pressurized gas which floats the board|substrate P. 9 shows that a set of four tubes 110 are arranged corresponding to one tile 120 (two tubes 110Vc for suction of the suction cup part, one tube 110Vp for suction of the substrate, and one tube for exhaust air). The used pipe 110P is an example of one), but the number, combination, arrangement, etc. of each pipe are not limited to this, and can be appropriately changed. In addition, you can also set Tube for both suction and exhaust.

As described above, the upper surface portion 104 of the platen portion 100 is formed with the hole portion 112V that communicates with the inside of the tube 110Vp. In addition, in the tile 120 , a through hole 132 is formed at a position in the XY plane that is substantially the same as the hole portion 112V in a state where the tile 120 is placed on the platen portion 100 . The hole portion 112V and the through hole 132 communicate with each other, and if a vacuum suction force is supplied to the inside of the pipe 110V, through the hole portion 112V and the through hole 132 , vacuum suction is supplied to the space surrounded by the peripheral wall portion 124 on the upper surface of the tile 120 . Force VF. Thereby, the micro-movement stage 22 attracts and holds the substrate P (refer to FIG. 1 ) placed on the tile 120 .

In addition, the strength of the vacuum suction force supplied to the through-hole 132 may be changed according to the position in the micro-movement table 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 micro-movement stage 22, the accumulation of air in the central portion of the substrate P can be eliminated. In addition, when the air accumulation disappears, the strength of the vacuum suction force can also be weakened. In addition, the vacuum suction force supplied to the through hole 132 arranged in the central portion of the fine movement stage 22 may be earlier than the vacuum suction force supplied to the through hole 132 arranged at the peripheral portion of the fine movement stage 22, that is, a time difference may be added. Provides vacuum suction. Here, the through hole 132 is formed so as to penetrate the convex portion 130 (thick pin), and the ring member 136 is inserted, so that the vacuum suction force from the pipe 110Vp is not supplied to the lower surface side of the tile 120 .

In addition, the number and arrangement of the through-holes 132 (the corresponding hole portion 112V and the hole portion 112P are also the same) are not limited to this, and can be appropriately changed. In addition, the diameters of the hole portion 112V and the through hole 132 may be different from each other. The diameter of the hole located further down can be increased That is, the diameter of the hole portion 112V may be made larger than the diameter of the through hole 132, or conversely, the diameter of the hole located further above may be increased, that is, the diameter of the through hole 132 may be made larger than the diameter of the hole portion 112V. . As a result, alignment when the tiles 120 are stacked (placed) on the platen portion 100 is facilitated. In addition, regarding the diameters of the hole portion 112V and the through hole 132 , the diameter may be increased as the hole portion 112V and the through hole 132 are located near the center of the fine movement table 22 . In addition, the diameters of the hole portion 112V and the through hole 132 may increase as they approach the blocking end in the Y-axis direction.

The suction-holding structure of the tile 120 is 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 suction tube 110Vc for the suction cup portion. A hole portion 112V is formed in the upper surface portion 104 of the platen portion 100 so as to communicate with the inside of the tube 110Vc, and through the hole portion 112V, the lower surface of the tile 120 passes through the peripheral wall portion 128 (see FIG. 7 ). The enclosed space supplies the vacuum suction force. The hole portion 112V is formed at a position that does not overlap with the pin 126 and the convex portion 130 (refer to FIG. 7 ) when the tile 120 is placed on the platen portion 100 , so that the vacuum suction force does not act on the pin 126 and the convex portion 130 (refer to FIG. 7 ). convex portion 130 .

The floating support of the substrate P is performed by supplying the pressurized gas PG to the tube 110P for floating the substrate. When the pressurized gas PG is supplied into the pipe 110P, the peripheral wall portion 124 on the upper surface side of the tile 120 passes through the hole portion 112P formed in the upper surface portion 104 of the platen portion 100 and the through hole 134 of the tile 120 . Pressurized gas is supplied inside. Thereby, the micro-movement stage 22 can float the substrate P (refer to FIG. 1 ) placed on the tile 120 from below. As described above, the micro-movement stage 22 sucks and holds the substrate P by the platen portion 100 and the tile 120 , and performs plane correction along the substrate placement face. That is, it can also be said The function of the substrate holder is provided by the double-layer structure of the platen portion 100 and the plurality of tiles 120 .

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

In the liquid crystal exposure apparatus 10 (refer to FIG. 1 ) configured as above, under the management of the main control device 90 (refer to FIG. 10 ), a plate loader (not shown in the figure) is used to perform the movement to the micro-movement stage. 22 is loaded on the substrate P, and alignment measurement is performed using an alignment detection system (not shown), and after the alignment measurement is completed, a plurality of projection exposure areas set on the substrate P are sequentially performed in a step-and-scan manner. Exposure action. This exposure operation is the same as the exposure operation of the step-and-scan method performed in the past, so the detailed description thereof is omitted.

During the alignment measurement and scanning exposure, the micro-movement stage 22 moves at a predetermined speed in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction by the thrusts given by the two X voice coil motors 70X and the two Y voice coil motors 70Y. A long stroke is moved, and by the thrust force, a minute stroke of submicron order is moved relative to the projection optical system 16 (refer to FIG. 1 ) in the directions of three degrees of freedom in the XY plane.

According to the present embodiment described above, the voice coil motor 70X and the voice coil motor 70Y (the mover 72X, the mover 72Y and the stator 74X, and the stator 74Y) are arranged inside the fine movement table 22 and the platen portion 100 faces each other. Between the upper surface portion 104 and the lower surface portion 102, the voice coil motor 70X and the voice coil motor 70Y are arranged Compared with the case of the outer side of the platen portion 100 (in this case, the movers 72X and 72Y are fixed to the side surface of the platen portion 100 ), the rigidity of the platen portion 100 can be suppressed from being lowered (the platen portion 100 not easy to flex). Therefore, the flatness of the substrate placement surface of the micro-movement stage 22 can be ensured with high accuracy, and the exposure accuracy to the substrate P can be improved.

In addition, in the micro-movement stage 22, the accommodating part 76 (space) for accommodating the voice coil motor 70X and the voice coil motor 70Y is opened on the side surface of the platen part 100, so that the voice coil motor 70X and the voice coil motor 70Y can be easily Maintenance (repair or replacement, etc.). In addition, although the voice coil motor 70X and the voice coil motor 70Y generate heat due to energization, the accommodating portion 76 is open, so that heat is easily dissipated to the outside of the fine motion stage 22 .

"Second Embodiment"

Next, the substrate stage apparatus of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13 . The substrate stage apparatus of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment except that the configuration of the micro-movement stage 220 is different, so only the differences will be described below. Elements of functions are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and the description and illustration thereof are omitted.

A cross-sectional view of the micro-movement stage 220 is shown in FIG. 12 (arrow view taken along line 2A-2A of FIG. 11 ). In the above-described first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , a total of four voice coil motors 70X and 70Y are respectively accommodated in the accommodation openings on the side surface of the fine motion table 22 (formed in the vicinity of the end of the fine motion table 22 ). On the other hand, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12 , the four voice coil motors 70X and 70Y are respectively accommodated in the accommodating parts formed in the position near the central part of the fine motion table 22 in the inner part 76 . 276, this aspect is different.

As shown in FIG. 11 , the micro-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 formed as a light-weight and highly rigid hollow box as a whole. shape. In addition, a rectangular parallelepiped (or cube-shaped) center block 114 is arranged in the vicinity of 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 ). Below the center block 114 , a recess is formed into which a part of the leveling device 46 is inserted. In the micro-movement table 220 , the center block 114 is supported by the weight elimination device 42 via the leveling device 46 from below. The center of gravity position G of the micro-movement stage 220 is located within the center block 114 .

Returning to FIG. 12 , similarly to the first embodiment, the micro-movement stage 220 of the second embodiment is provided with three freedoms in the horizontal plane by a pair of X voice coil motors 70X and a pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y Although the thrust in the direction of degrees is different, the arrangement of the voice coil motors 70X and the voice coil motors 70Y is different from that of the first embodiment. The pair of X voice coil motors 70X are symmetrically arranged on the +Y side and the −Y side of the center block 114 with the center block 114 (the position of the center of gravity of the fine movement stage 22 ) interposed therebetween. In addition, the pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y are symmetrically arranged on the +X side and the −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 so as to face each other in opposite directions (back faces face each other), and are respectively fixed to the center block 114 . The point that the stator 74Y is fixed to the upper surface of the X coarse motion table 34 via the support|pillar 54 is the same as that of the said 1st Embodiment. The aspect of inserting the front end portion of the support column 54 into the inside of the fine motion table 220 through the notch (opening portion) 278 formed in the lower surface portion 102 of the fine motion table 22 It is also the same as the above-mentioned first embodiment. The pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y rotates the pair of X voice coil motors 70X by 90 degrees around the Z axis. The aspect of the arrangement in the same manner is also the same as that of the first embodiment. Therefore, the mover of the Y voice coil motor 70Y is also fixed to the center block 114 .

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 motor 70X and the voice coil motor 70Y (see FIG. 3 ). In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13 , the notch 278 is formed larger than that in the first embodiment in consideration of the workability and maintainability of the voice coil motor 70X and the voice coil motor 70Y during installation. 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 table 22 , as in the first embodiment. The same applies to the pair of Y voice coil motors 70Y.

The configurations and functions 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 the description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the suction and holding structure for the substrate P by the plurality of tiles 120 (see FIG. 11 ), the floating support structure for the substrate P, and the suction and holding structure for the tiles 120 by the platen unit 100 are also the same as those in the first embodiment. are the same, so the description is omitted.

According to the second embodiment described above, in addition to the effects obtained in the first embodiment, the respective voice coil motors 70X and 70Y are arranged in the vicinity of the support point of the weight canceling device 42, so that the thrust force can be suppressed The deflection of the platen portion 100 at the time of occurrence is small, and the moment of inertia is small, so that the controllability of the fine movement table 220 can be improved.

Furthermore, in the micro-movement stage 220 of the second embodiment, it is also possible to block a part of the notch 278 (so that the minimum limit is formed around the support column 54 ). The cover is detachably attached to the lower surface portion 102 . Thereby, the rigidity of the platen portion 100 can be improved. In addition, a cooling mechanism for cooling the inside of the housing portion 276 whose temperature rises due to the heat generation of the voice coil motors 70X and the voice coil motors 70Y may be arranged. Regarding the cooling mechanism, the temperature-regulated (cooled) gas may be supplied into the housing portion 76 from the front end portion (the portion inserted into the platen portion 100 ) of the strut 54 .

"Third Embodiment"

Next, the substrate stage apparatus of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 18(C). The substrate stage apparatus of the third embodiment is the same as the second embodiment except that the configuration of the micro-movement stage 320 is different, so only the differences will be described below. Functional elements are assigned the same reference numerals as those in the second embodiment, and their description and illustration are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 14 , in the fine motion table 320 of the third embodiment, as in the second embodiment, a pair of X voice coil motors 70X are arranged near the center of the fine motion table 320 , and the mover 72X is fixed to the Center block 114 . 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 voice coil motors 70Y (refer to FIG. 16 for the Y voice coil motor 70Y) are combined with the center block 114 and the leveling device 46 The voice coil motor unit 340 (hereinafter referred to as "VCM unit 340") is unitized, and the voice coil motor unit 340 (hereinafter referred to as "VCM unit 340") can be attached to and detached from the platen portion 100 of the micro-movement table 320, which is different from the second embodiment.

It is known from FIG. 18(A) and FIG. 18(B) that the VCM unit 340 has a The plate-shaped member 342 in the "+" shape is seen. 18(B) and FIG. 18(C) , a concave portion 344 is formed in the center portion of the plate-like member 342 so as to protrude toward the +Z side in a cup shape, and the leveling device 46 is inserted into the concave portion 344 . 18(C) , the center block 114 is integrally connected to the upper side of the recessed portion 344 . The plate-shaped member 342 is formed in the shape of a flange extending in the ±X direction and the ±Y direction when viewed from the center block 114 . Therefore, the plate-shaped member 342 will be referred to as the flange portion 342 and described below. As shown in FIG. 16 , in the VCM unit 340 , the flange portion 342 is detachably fastened to the lower surface portion 102 of the platen portion 100 via a plurality of bolts 346 . As described above, the flange portion 342 is a part of the lower surface portion 102 of the platen portion 100. As can be seen from FIGS. 14 and 16, the voice coil motors 70X and the voice coil motors 70Y (refer to FIG. 16 for the voice coil motor 70Y) are arranged on the pressure plate. In the space between the upper surface part 104 of the disk part 100 and the lower surface part 102 (actually, the flange part 342).

As shown in FIG. 17 , in the lower surface portion 102 of the platen portion 100 , a “+”-shaped opening (notch) 372 for inserting the VCM unit 340 (see FIG. 16 ) is formed in a plan view. Inside the platen portion 100 , a plurality of ribs 108 are arranged at positions that do not interfere with the VCM unit 340 , which is the same as the second embodiment. 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 platen portion 100 ). As shown in FIG. 14 , the VCM unit 340 is mounted on the In the state of the platen portion 100 , the front end of the center block 114 is in contact with the spacer 374 .

In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14 , the stator 74X of the X voice coil motor 70X is supported from below by the upper end portion of the strut 54 . It can be seen from Figure 16 that the In the state where the VCM unit 340 is mounted on the platen portion 100, only the support column 54 (not shown in FIG. 16 . See FIG. 14 ) is formed between the opening end portion where the opening portion 372 is formed and the flange portion 342. The minimum necessary openings for insertion can suppress the decrease in rigidity of the fine movement table 320 .

The configurations 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 in the first embodiment, so the description is omitted. In addition, the suction and holding structure for the substrate P by the plurality of tiles 120 (see FIG. 14 ), the floating support structure for the substrate P, and the suction and holding structure for the tiles 120 by the platen unit 100 are also the same as those in the first embodiment. are the same, so the description is omitted. Here, the surface finishing process of the upper surface portion 104 of the platen portion 100 is preferably performed after the VCM unit 340 is assembled to the platen portion 100 , thereby ensuring that the plurality of tiles 120 are assembled on the platen portion 100 . The flatness of the substrate placement surface formed by covering the upper surface of the substrate.

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

"Fourth Embodiment"

Next, the substrate stage apparatus of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 29 . The substrate stage apparatus of the fourth embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the configuration of the micro-movement stage 422 is different, so only the differences will be described below. Feature labeling and The same reference numerals are used in the first embodiment, and their description and illustration are omitted.

In the first embodiment (refer to FIG. 4 ), the micro-movement table 22 has a two-layer structure in which a plurality of tiles 120 are spread on the platen portion 100 . On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 19 , the first The micro-movement stage 422 of the fourth embodiment has four layers including a platen part 450 , a pipe part 460 laminated on the platen part 450 , a base part 470 laminated on the pipe part 460 , and a suction pad part 480 laminated on the base part 470 The structure is different in this respect.

Furthermore, although not shown in FIG. 19 and the like, in the fourth embodiment, the micro-movement stage is also connected to the micro-movement stage via a plurality of voice coil motors 70X and 70Y (refer to FIG. 10 , respectively) included in the first drive system 62 . 422 imparts thrust in three degrees of freedom directions in the horizontal plane, which is the same as the first to third embodiments described above. In addition, the arrangement of each voice coil motor 70X and voice coil motor 70Y not shown is not particularly limited, and the voice coil motor 70X and voice coil motor 70Y of the first to third embodiments can be selectively used. any configuration.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the micro-movement stage 422 of the fourth embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 19 , the fine movement stage 422 includes a platen portion 450 , a pipe portion 460 , a base portion 470 , and a suction pad portion 480 . The platen portion 450 is formed in a rectangular box shape in plan view, and the pipe portion 460 , the base portion 470 , and the suction pad portion 480 are each formed in a rectangular plate shape in plan view. The micro-movement table 422 is formed by arranging (stacking) the pipe portion 460 on the platen portion 450, arranging (stacking) the base portion 470 on the pipe portion 460, and further arranging (stacking) the suction pad portion 480 on the base portion 470. layer structure.

The dimensions of the platen portion 450 , the pipe portion 460 , the base portion 470 , and the suction pad portion 480 in the longitudinal direction and the width direction (X-axis direction and Y-axis direction) of each are set to be While substantially the same, the dimension in the thickness direction (Z-axis direction) of the platen portion 450 is set to be larger (thicker) than the pipe portion 460 , the base portion 470 , and the suction pad portion 480 . The dimension in the thickness direction (Z-axis direction) of the total of the platen portion 450 , the duct portion 460 and the base portion 470 is set to be larger (thicker) than the suction pad portion 480 . In addition, the total weight of the platen part 450 , the pipe part 460 and the base part 470 is heavier than the suction cup part 480 , for example, about 2.5 times the weight.

The platen portion 450 , which is the lowermost layer, is a portion serving as the base of the fine movement table 422 . As shown in FIG. 20 , 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 . The lower surface portion 452 and the upper surface portion 454 are respectively formed of CFRP (carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic) plate-shaped members having a rectangular shape in plan view. The outer wall portion 456 is a frame-shaped member having a rectangular shape in plan view, and is formed of aluminum alloy or CFRP. The inside of the outer wall portion 456 is filled with the honeycomb structure 458 . The honeycomb structure 458 is formed of an aluminum alloy. In addition, in FIG. 20, only a part of the honeycomb structure is shown from the viewpoint of avoiding complication of the drawing, but the honeycomb structure 458 is actually arranged inside the outer wall portion 456 without a gap (see FIGS. 22 and 23 ). ).

In the outer wall part 456 filled with the honeycomb structure 458, the upper surface part 454 is adhered to the upper surface, and the lower surface part 452 is adhered to the lower surface. As a result, the platen portion 450 has a so-called sandwich structure, is lightweight, has high rigidity (especially, has high rigidity in the thickness direction), and is easy to manufacture. In addition, the material which forms each element which comprises the platen part 450 is not limited to the material demonstrated above, It can change suitably. In addition, the fastening structure of the lower surface part 452, the upper surface part 454, and the outer wall part 456 is not limited to adhesion either.

The opening 452a is formed in the center part of the lower surface part 452. As shown in FIG. In the honeycomb structure 458, a recess (recess) (refer to FIGS. 22 and 23) is formed in a portion corresponding to the opening 452a, and the leveling device 46 (refer to FIG. 25) is fitted into the recess. Here, the configuration of the leveling device 46 is not particularly limited as long as it has a function of supporting the micro-movement stage 422 in a swingable manner with respect to the horizontal plane (in the θx direction and the θy direction). Therefore, although the spherical bearing device is shown in FIG. 1 , the leveling device 46 is not limited to this, and may be an elastic hinge device as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23 .

As shown in FIG. 20 , the duct portion 460 includes a plurality of pipes 462 extending in the Y-axis direction. The plurality of tubes 462 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the X-axis direction. The dimension in the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction) of the tube 462 is set to be substantially the same as the dimension in the Y-axis direction of the platen portion 450 . In addition, the number of the tubes 462 is not particularly limited, and can be appropriately changed according to the required performance required by the micro-movement stage 422 . In FIG. 23 etc., in order to understand the structure and function of the micro-movement stage 422 easily, the number of the tubes 462 is shown to be smaller than the actual number. In addition, 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 tube having a rectangular XZ cross section is used as the tube 462, but it is not limited to this, and a so-called round tube as shown in FIG. 29 may be used. When a round tube is used, it may be processed so that the upper surface and the lower surface of the outer peripheral surface of the round tube are parallel to each other (so that the cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction becomes a barrel shape). In this embodiment, the tube 462 is formed of CFRP, but the material of the tube 462 is not particularly limited, and can be appropriately changed. When CFRP is not used as the material of the tube 462, it is preferable to use a member whose expansion coefficient is similar to that of CFRP. In addition, the plurality of tubes 462 extending in the Y-axis direction and being arranged side by side in the X-axis direction have been described, but are not limited to In this case, it may extend in the X-axis direction and may be arranged in a row in the Y-axis direction.

As shown in FIG. 20 , the base 470 is formed by a plurality of pieces of a member called slate 472 . The slate 472 is a thin plate-shaped member having a rectangular shape in plan view, and is formed of stone material, ceramics, or the like. In addition, the material of the slate 472 is not particularly limited, but a material excellent in hardness and easy to be processed with high precision is preferable. In the fine movement table 422 , the plurality of slates 472 are placed on the plurality of pipes 462 constituting the duct portion 460 . The respective slates 472 are in close contact with each other (contact to an extent that the gaps are negligible) in a tile-like manner on the pipe portion 460, and are fixed to the plurality of pipes 462 by an adhesive.

Each of the slates 472 is processed (lapped, etc.) so that the flatness of the surface (the surface on the opposite side to the adhesion surface to the pipe 462 ) becomes very high. In addition, the surface height positions of the plurality of slates 472 are adjusted so that the level difference between the slates 472 becomes substantially negligible in a state in which the pipe portion 460 is fully covered. Furthermore, as long as a plane having the same area as the substrate P (refer to FIG. 1 ) can be formed above the pipe portion 460 , the size (area) of each slate 472 can have the same size as shown in FIG. 20 . As shown in FIG. 24 , slates 472 of different sizes may be mixed. In addition, the total number of sheets of the slate 472 is not particularly limited, and may be constituted by one sheet of the slate 472 . In addition, although the slate 472 was processed so that the flatness may become very high, it demonstrated, but it is not limited to this. It may also be the case that one or a portion of the slate 472 is lower than the other slate 472, or that a portion of the slate 472 is missing or recessed. When the suction cup portion 480 is placed on the slate 472 , the flatness of the surface of the suction cup portion 480 is preferably high (described below), so the slate 472 may also have smaller defects or depressions than the size of the suction cup portion 480 .

The surface height position adjustment between the slates 472 can be performed by polishing or the like. In this case, it is preferable for the polishing process to consider deflection so as to achieve the required accuracy in a state where various attachments (bar mirror 80X, bar mirror 80Y (see FIG. 2 , etc.) are attached to the fine movement table 422 . and proceed. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 27, the edge part vicinity of the upper surface of the slate 472 is chamfered, and a V-shaped groove is formed between the adjacent slates 472 in the state which covered the several slates 472. The V-shaped groove is filled with the joint material 472a, so that moisture and the like at the time of polishing can be prevented from infiltrating between the adjacent slates 472 .

Returning to FIG. 20 , the suction pad portion 480 is a portion on which the substrate P (see FIG. 1 ) is placed. The suction cup portion 480 cooperates with the pipe portion 460 and the slate 472 to adsorb and hold the substrate P. The suction cup portion 480 is formed by a plurality of tiles 482 . The tile 482 is a thin plate-shaped member having a rectangular shape in plan view, and is formed of ceramics or the like. By forming the tiles 482 using ceramics, the generation of static electricity from the substrate P can be suppressed. In addition, the material of the tile 482 is not particularly limited, and it is preferably a material that is lightweight and can be easily processed with high precision. By using a lightweight material as the material of the tile 482, deformation of the base portion 470 and/or the conduit portion 460 can be prevented. The thickness of the tile 482 (eg, 8 mm) is set thinner relative to the thickness of the slate 472 (eg, 12 mm). In the micro-movement stage 422, a plurality of tiles 482 are spread on a plane formed by laying a plurality of slates 472 (a part of illustration is omitted in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20). The tile 482 is held by the corresponding slate 472 (under the tile 482) by adsorption. The structure for adsorbing and holding the tile 482 by the slate 472 (the structure for adsorbing and holding the tile 482 ) will be described later.

One (one) tile 482 is set to be larger in area than one (one) board Rock 472 is smaller. In the example shown in FIG. 20 , the case where two tiles 482 are placed on one piece of slate 472 is shown, but the number of tiles 482 placed on one piece of slate 472 is not particularly limited. In addition, the area of a piece of tile 482 is not limited to the above-mentioned area, and may have the same area as a piece of slate 472 , or may have an area larger than that of a piece of slate 472 . Moreover, when the area is the same, it can be constructed by placing one tile 482 on one piece of slate 472, or when the area of the tile 482 is larger, one tile can also be supported by multiple pieces of slate 472 482. Furthermore, the base portion 470 and the suction cup portion 480 may be combined to be called a holder portion. In this case, the holder part has a two-layer structure of a plurality of slates 472 (lower layer) and a plurality of tiles 482 (upper layer). As described above, the micro-movement table 422 has a four-layer structure of the platen part 450, the pipeline part 460, the base part 470, and the suction part 480, but the micro-movement table 422 can also be said to be composed of the platen part 450, the pipeline part 460 and the holder. Three-layer structure composed of parts.

In the micro-movement stage 422 , a substrate placement surface is formed by a plurality of tiles 482 placed (covered) on a plurality of slates 472 . Each tile 482 is machined with high precision in a manner that is substantially the same thickness. Therefore, the substrate mounting surface of the micro-movement stage 422 formed by the plurality of tiles 482 is formed with a high flatness by imitating the plane formed by the plurality of slates 472 . The tiles 482 are placed on the slate 472 in a replaceable and separable manner. In addition, the tile 482 is mounted on the platen portion 450 and/or the pipe portion 460 in a replaceable and separable manner.

Next, the configuration of the tile 482 will be described. The fine movement table 422 is a so-called pin chuck type holder, and as shown in FIG. 26 , a plurality of pins 482 a and a peripheral wall portion 482 b are formed on the upper surface of each tile 482 . The plurality of pins 482a are at approximately equal intervals configuration. The diameter of the pin 482a of the pin suction cup type holder is very small (for example, about 1 mm in diameter), and the width of the peripheral wall portion 482b is also thin, so that the possibility of holding garbage or foreign matter on the back surface of the substrate P can be reduced. It is possible to reduce the possibility that the substrate P is deformed due to the insertion of the foreign matter. In addition, the number and arrangement of the pins 482a are not particularly limited, and can be appropriately changed. The peripheral wall portion 482b is formed so as 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 addition, various surface processes such as coating treatment and ceramic spraying are performed on the upper surface of the tile 482 to suppress reflection of the illumination light IL (see FIG. 1 ) so that the surface becomes black.

Regarding the fine movement stage 422 (see FIG. 19 ), in a state where the substrate P (see FIG. 1 ) is placed on the plurality of pins 482 a and the peripheral wall portion 482 b , a vacuum suction force is supplied to the space surrounded by the peripheral wall portion 482 b ( The air in the space is vacuum suctioned), whereby the substrate P is adsorbed and held on the tile 482 . The board|substrate P is flat-rectified according to the front-end|tip part of the some pins 482a and the peripheral wall part 482b. The structure for adsorbing and holding the substrate P by the tiles 482 (the structure for adsorbing and holding the substrate P) will be described later.

In addition, in the fine movement stage 422, in a state where the substrate P (see FIG. 1 ) is placed on the plurality of pins 482a and the peripheral wall portion 482b, a pressurized gas (compressed air or the like) is supplied to the space surrounded by the peripheral wall portion 482b. ), whereby the adsorption of the substrate P on the substrate placement surface can be released. The structure for releasing the suction of the substrate P on the substrate placement surface, in other words, for floating the substrate P on the substrate placement surface (the floating support structure for the substrate P) will be described later.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 28 , the lower surface of the tile 482 is also formed with multiple Each of the pins 482c, the pins 482d, and the peripheral wall portion 482e. That is, the lower surface of the tile 482 also has a pin suction cup structure. In a state where the tile 482 is placed on the slate 472 (see FIG. 19 ), the plurality of pins 482c , the pins 482d , and the front ends of the peripheral wall portions 482e are in contact with the upper surface of the slate 472 . The plurality of pins 482c and 482d are arranged at substantially equal intervals. The pin 482d is set larger (thicker) in the radial direction than the pin 482c, and has a wider contact area with the slate 472 (see FIG. 27 ) than the pin 482c. A through hole 482f and a through hole 482g are respectively provided in the approximate center of the pin 482d. These through holes 482f and 482g are respectively configured to pass through the tiles 482, and are connected to the through holes 472b (see FIG. 27 ), which are provided in the slate 472 and communicate with the suction pipe 462b (see FIG. 27 ). It communicates with the through hole of the slate 472 that communicates with the exhaust pipe 462c (see FIG. 24 ). The through hole 482f is a hole for sucking air, and the space (air) formed by the pin suction pad formed on the upper surface of the tile 482 and the substrate P is vacuum-sucked through the through hole 482f, and the substrate P is sucked and held. The through-hole 482g is a pressurized exhaust hole for exhausting (blowing out) air, and is configured to have a smaller diameter (opening diameter) than the through-hole 482f. , air having a tendency to float the substrate P is blown onto the substrate P through the through hole 482g.

In addition, the number and arrangement|positioning of the pins 482c and 482d are not specifically limited, It can change suitably. The positions of the plurality of pins 482a, the plurality of pins 482c, and the pins 482d in the XY direction may be the same, or may be arranged at different positions. The peripheral wall portion 482e is formed so as to surround the outer periphery of the lower surface of the tile 482 . The height positions (Z positions) of the tips of the plurality of pins 482c, 482d, and the peripheral wall portion 482e are set to be the same. In the micro-movement table 422, in a state where the tile 482 is placed on the slate 472, the surface of the micro-movement table 422 passes through the peripheral wall portion 482e. The enclosed space provides a vacuum suction force, whereby the tiles 482 are adsorbed and held to the slate 472 . That is, on the lower surface (back surface) side of the tile 482, through the space (space where vacuum suction is performed) surrounded by the slate 472, the peripheral wall portion 482e of the tile 482, the pin 482c, and the pin 482d 482 is anchored to slate 472. On the other hand, as described above, the through-holes 482f and 482g on the lower surface of the tile 482 are arranged so as to communicate with the through-holes of the slate 472 , and therefore are not fixed to the slate 472 .

Here, the anchoring of the tile 482 to the slate 472 in the present embodiment refers to a state in which the suction force acts on a part (the space) of the lower surface of the tile 482 as in the vacuum suction. During the period, no peeling from the slate 472 (no positional displacement in the Z direction) and no relative positional displacement with respect to the slate 472 (positional displacement in the X direction and the Y direction). Furthermore, if the vacuum adsorption is released and the effect of the adsorption force on the tiles 482 disappears, the tiles 482 can also be detached (removed) from the slate 472 . In addition, although it was demonstrated that the tiles 482 are placed on a plane formed by a plurality of slates 472, it may not be a plane. As long as the surface formed by the plurality of slates 472 has substantially the same shape as the lower surface of the tile 482, the plurality of slates 472 may also be curved rather than flat.

Here, the micro-movement table 422 has various mechanisms for preventing the plurality of tiles 482 from floating up from the slate 472 . In the example shown in FIGS. 21 to 23 , a flat plate-shaped convex portion 476 is formed on the +Y side end of the tile 482 , and a concave portion corresponding to the convex portion 476 is formed on the −Y side end (due to the The portion 476 overlaps and is not shown). Adjacent tiles 482 are mechanically fastened by engaging the protrusions 476 with corresponding recesses. In addition, the tiles 482 arranged along the outer periphery of the micro-movement table 422 are mechanically fastened to the Slate 472. Furthermore, each tile 482 can also be fastened to the platen portion 450 or the pipe portion 460 (refer to FIG. 29 ). Fastening members 478 may be provided at corners such as the +X side and the +Y side of the slate 472, the platen portion 450, or the piping portion 460, or other members may also be used to attach the tiles from the -X side and the -Y side. 482 is pressed against the fastening member 478 and fastened.

In addition, in the example of the fastening structure shown in FIG. 29 , the concave portions 492 are formed at the end portions on the +Y side and the −Y side of the tile 482, respectively, and a belt-shaped member is inserted into a pair of opposing concave portions 492. 494 (fillet 494). The fillets 494 are fastened to the platen portion 450 (which may also be the slate 472 or the pipe portion 460 ), thereby preventing the tiles 482 from floating up from the slate 472 . Furthermore, the fastening structure and the anti-floating structure of the tiles 482 can be appropriately changed. The convex portion 476 and the concave portion corresponding to the convex portion 476 are provided on the Y-side end of the tile 482 , but may also be provided on the X-side end, or may also be provided on the Y-side and X-side both ends.

Next, the suction-holding structure of the tile 482 in the micro-movement stage 422 , the suction-holding structure of the substrate P, and the floating support structure of the substrate P are respectively described with reference to FIG. 24 and the like. As described above, the pipeline portion 460 of the micro-movement stage 422 is constituted by a plurality of tubes 462 . As shown in FIG. 24 , the plurality of pipes 462 include a suction pipe 462a for supplying a vacuum suction force for the suction tile 482, a suction pipe 462b for supplying a vacuum suction force for suctioning the substrate P, and a suction pipe 462b for supplying a vacuum suction force for sucking the substrate P. The exhaust pipe 462c which supplies the pressurized gas which floats the board|substrate P, and the pipe 462d arrange|positioned in the clearance gap between the said pipe 462a - the pipe 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 each of the pipes 462a to 462c. 24 shows a set of five pipes 462 (two pipes 462a, one pipe 462b, and two pipes 462c) on which tiles 482 are placed with slate 472 interposed therebetween. (an example in which a set of five pipes 462 is arranged corresponding to one tile 482 ), the number, combination, arrangement, etc. of the pipes 462 a to 462 c are not limited to this, and can be appropriately changed. In addition, instead of separately providing the suction pipe 462b and the exhaust pipe 462c, a dual-purpose pipe having both functions may be provided.

As shown in FIG. 27 , a plug 464 is fitted into one end in the longitudinal direction of the substrate suction tube 462b (the end on the -Y side in this embodiment). In addition, a plug 466 with a joint (hereinafter simply referred to as "joint 466") is fitted into the other end in the longitudinal direction of the pipe 462b. The joint 466 is supplied with a vacuum suction force (refer to the black arrow in FIG. 27 ) from the outside of the micro-movement table 422 via a piping member (pipe etc.) not shown (the inside of the pipe 462b is in a vacuum state). When a dual-purpose tube is provided, the supply of vacuum suction force and pressurized gas can be switched.

A plurality of through holes 468 are formed on the upper surface of the tube 462b. In addition, in the slate 472 of the base portion 470, a through hole 472b is formed at a position in the XY plane that is substantially the same as the through hole 468 in a state where the slate 472 is placed on the pipe 462b. Further, in the tile 482 of the suction cup portion 480, a through hole is formed at a position in the XY plane in a state where the tile 482 is placed on the slate 472 at substantially the same position as the through hole 468 and the through hole 472b. 482f. The through-hole 468, the through-hole 472b, and the through-hole 482f communicate with each other. If a vacuum suction force is supplied to the inside of the pipe 462b, the through-hole 468, the through-hole 472b, and the through-hole 482f will pass through the upper surface of the tile 482 through the peripheral wall. The space surrounded by 482b (refer to FIG. 26 ) supplies the vacuum suction force. Thereby, the micro-movement stage 422 attracts and holds the substrate P (refer to FIG. 1 ) placed on the tile 482 .

Furthermore, the alignment of the through holes 468, 468, The strength of the vacuum suction force supplied by the through hole 472b and the through hole 482f. By increasing the strength of the vacuum suction force supplied to the through-hole 468 , the through-hole 472b , and the through-hole 482f arranged in the center of the micro-movement stage 422 , the accumulation of air in the center of the substrate P can be eliminated. In addition, when the air accumulation disappears, the strength of the vacuum suction force can also be weakened. In addition, the vacuum suction force supplied to the through hole 468 , the through hole 472 b , and the through hole 482 f arranged in the central portion of the fine movement table 422 may be higher than that of the through hole 468 , the through hole 472 b , and the through hole arranged in the peripheral portion of the fine movement table 422 . The vacuum suction force supplied by the hole 482f is earlier, that is, the vacuum suction force may be supplied with a time difference. Here, as shown in FIG. 28 , since the through-hole 482f is formed as a through-pin 482d (thick pin), the vacuum suction force from the pipe 462b is not supplied to the lower surface side of the tile 482 .

26 shows an example in which two through holes 482f are formed in the tile 482, but the number and arrangement of the through holes 482f (the corresponding through holes 468 and 472b are also the same) are not limited to this. Appropriate changes can be made. In addition, the diameters of the through-hole 468, the through-hole 472b, and the through-hole 482f may be different from each other. The diameter of the through hole located further down can be increased, that is, the diameter of the through hole 468 can be made larger than the diameter of the through hole 482f, or conversely, the diameter of the through hole located further above can be increased, that is, , the diameter of the through hole 482f is made larger than the diameter of the through hole 468 . Thereby, the alignment when the tile 482, the slate 472, and the pipe 462b are stacked (placed) is facilitated. In addition, the diameter of the through hole 468, the through hole 472b, and the through hole 482f may be increased as the diameter of the through hole 468, the through hole 472b, and the through hole 482f located near the center of the fine motion stage. In addition, the diameters of the through-hole 468 , the through-hole 472b , and the through-hole 482f may increase as they approach the plug 464 in the Y-axis direction.

The suction-holding structure of the tile 482 is substantially the same as the suction-holding structure of the substrate P described above. That is, a plug 464 and a joint 466 are inserted into both ends of the tube 462a for suction by the suction cup part, and a vacuum suction force is supplied to the tube 462a from the outside of the micro-movement stage 422 via the joint 466 . A through hole (see FIG. 24 ) is formed on the upper surface of the pipe 462 a, and through the through hole and the through hole (see FIG. 24 ) formed in the slate 472 , the lower surface of the tile 482 passes through the peripheral wall portion 482 e (see FIG. 24 ). 28) The enclosed space supplies the vacuum suction force. Symbol Q in FIG. 28 represents a region corresponding to the through hole formed in the slate 472, and it is understood that the vacuum suction force is supplied to a position not overlapping with the pins 482c and 482d.

Furthermore, in the above description, the method (configuration) of vacuum adsorption has been described with respect to the method (configuration) of fixing the tiles 482 to the slate 472 , but the method (configuration) of fixing the tiles 482 is not limited to adsorption. For example, the tile 482 may be fixed to the slate 472 by adhering a part of the back surface of the tile 482 to the slate 472 using an adhesive material. In this case, the required properties of the adhesive for adhering the tile 482 to the slate 472 are that the two are easily peeled off and not easily offset. It is required not to produce the following situation: the adhesive becomes very hard and expands when it hardens, and the adhesive lifts the tile 482 from the slate 472, that is, it is required that no level difference be produced. Because the flatness of the upper surface of the tile 482 is determined by the close contact between the back of the tile 482 and the slate 472, the adhesive preferably enters the groove on the back of the tile 482 in paste form before hardening, but after hardening it has The elastic rubber-like, for example, a moisture-curable peelable modified silicone-based sealing material or the like is preferably used.

In addition, regarding the method of fixing the tile 482 to the slate 472, the above-mentioned method using vacuum adsorption and the method using adhesion may be used in combination.

Furthermore, air cannot enter or exit from the portion of the tile 482 coated with the adhesive material, so when the adhesive is applied to the back of the tile 482, the air that is not used for adsorbing and holding the substrate P is applied. The flow path and suction hole are blocked.

In addition, a magnet may be built in the tile 482, and the slate 472 may be formed by using a magnetic material in advance, and the tile 482 may be fixed to the slate 472 by the magnetic force of the magnet.

In addition, it is also conceivable to invert the relationship between the magnets and the magnetic material, to form the tiles 482 with a magnetic material and to arrange the magnets in the slate 472, but in this case, in the case where the magnetic material is, for example, a metal At this time, static electricity is easily generated on the surface of the tile 482, so a countermeasure against static electricity (using an antistatic device) is required. In addition, thermal measures and temperature management (using a cooling gas) such as the irradiation heat of the exposure light and the heat transferred from the stage are also required.

In addition, when the tile 482 cannot be adsorbed and held (vacuum adsorption) on the slate 472 during transportation or assembly of the device, the adhesive or magnet can also be used to prevent the tile 482 from sticking to the slate. 472 offset (not falling off).

The floating support structure of the board|substrate P is also comprised substantially the same as the adsorption|suction holding structure of the said board|substrate P. That is, when the pressurized gas is supplied to the tube 462c for floating the substrate, the gas passes through the through-hole formed in the tube 462c, the through-hole of the slate 472 and the through-hole 482g of the tile 482 respectively communicating with the through-hole (refer to Fig. 26) The pressurized gas is supplied into the peripheral wall portion 482b. Thereby, the micro-movement stage 422 can float the substrate P (refer to FIG. 1 ) placed on the tile 482 from below. As described above, the substrate P is adsorbed and held by the pipe portion 460, the slate 472, and the tile 482, and the plane is straightened along the substrate placement surface. just. That is, it can be said that it has the function of a board|substrate holder by the three-layer structure of the piping part 460, the base part 470 (slate 472), and the suction part 480 (tile 482).

Furthermore, the micro-movement stage 422 may also have a floating pin for floating the substrate P from the tile 482 using a mechanical member. The floating pin has a surface in contact with the substrate P, and is constituted by a rod-shaped member that supports the surface. The substrate placement surface is formed by the surface of the floating pin and the upper surface of the tile 482 . In addition, the floating pins also function as anti-floating structures of the tiles 482 by being arranged between the tiles 482 . Furthermore, the number and arrangement of the floating pins are not particularly limited.

Furthermore, the piping portion 460 has been described in the form of a configuration including a plurality of pipes 462, but a groove may be provided in one or a plurality of plate-like members, and the platen portion 450 and/or the slate may be provided with grooves. 472 covers this groove, thereby forming a flow path for flowing pressurized gas (compressed air, etc.), or forming a flow path for supplying a vacuum suction force (vacuum suction of air in the space).

In addition, in the fourth embodiment, the platen portion 450 has a structure in which the honeycomb structure 458 is filled as a rigidity reinforcing member, but as in the first to third embodiments described above, a plurality of ribs may be formed. The portion 108 (see FIG. 2 and the like) is disposed inside the platen portion 450 as a rigidity reinforcing member. Similarly, in the above-described first to third embodiments, as in the fourth embodiment, the inside of the platen portion 100 may be filled with the honeycomb structure 458 instead of the rib portion 108 . In addition, in this fourth embodiment, the honeycomb structure 458 and the rib 108 may be used together as a rigidity reinforcing member. In this case, the movers of the voice coil motor 70X and the voice coil motor 70Y are fixed to the ribs 108 .

"Fifth Embodiment"

Next, the substrate stage apparatus of the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 30 to 35 . The substrate stage apparatus of the fifth embodiment is the same as the fourth embodiment except that the configuration of the micro-movement stage 522 is different, so only the differences will be described below. Functional elements are assigned the same reference numerals as those in the fourth embodiment, and their description and illustration are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 20 , the micro-movement table 422 of the fourth embodiment has a four-layer structure in which a pipe part 460 , a base part 470 and a suction pad part 480 are laminated on the platen part 450 , respectively. In contrast to this, as shown in FIG. 31 As shown, the micro-movement table 522 of the fifth embodiment has a three-layer structure in which the base portion 560 is laminated on the platen portion 450 and the suction pad portion 480 is laminated on the base portion 560, and is different in this respect.

In addition, although not shown in FIG. 30 and the like, in the fifth embodiment, the micro-movement stage is also connected to the micro-movement stage via a plurality of voice coil motors 70X and 70Y (refer to FIG. 10 , respectively) included in the first drive system 62 . 522 imparts thrust in three degrees of freedom directions in the horizontal plane, which is the same as the first to third embodiments described above. In addition, the arrangement of each voice coil motor 70X and voice coil motor 70Y not shown is not particularly limited, and the voice coil motor 70X and voice coil motor 70Y of the first to third embodiments can be selectively used. any configuration.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the fine movement stage 522 of the fifth embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 30 , the fine movement stage 522 includes a platen portion 450 , a base portion 560 , and a suction pad portion 480 . As described above, the micro-movement stage 522 of the fifth embodiment does not include elements corresponding to the conduit portion 460 (see FIG. 20 and the like) in the fourth embodiment. In contrast to this, the In the fifth embodiment, the base portion 560 also functions as a conduit portion. In addition, since the structure of the platen part 450 and the suction-cup part 480 is the same as that of the said 4th Embodiment, description is abbreviate|omitted. In addition, the case where the same tiles 120 as in the first embodiment are used as the plurality of tiles constituting the suction cup portion 480 will be described, but the same tiles 482 ( 26 etc.) as a tile.

As shown in FIG. 31 , like the base 470 (refer to FIG. 20 , respectively) of the fine movement table 422 of the fourth embodiment, the base 560 is formed of a plurality of members called slate 562 . The slate 562 is the same as the slate 472 (see FIG. 20 ) of the fourth embodiment described above, and is a thin plate-like member formed of stone material, ceramics, or the like and having a rectangular shape in plan view. As shown in FIG. 32 , a plurality of pieces of slate 562 are spread on the platen part 450 (not shown in FIG. 32 , see FIG. 31 ) in a tile-like manner, and are fixed to the platen part 450 by an adhesive.

As shown in FIG. 35, on the upper surface of each slate 562, a hole portion 564P and a hole portion 564V are opened. The arrangement of the hole portion 564P and the hole portion 564V and the plurality of hole portions 112P and the hole portion 112V (see 9) Same.

Here, in the first embodiment, the piping for supplying the vacuum suction force (the pipe 110Vc, the pipe 110Vp) and the piping for supplying the pressurized gas (the pipe 110P) are formed in the platen portion 100 (refer to FIG. 9 ) inside, in contrast to this, in the fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 34(A) instead, a plurality of grooves 566 are formed on the lower surface of the slate 562 . The grooves 566 extend in the Y-axis direction and are open to the ends on the ±Y side of the slate 562 . The plurality of holes 564P and 564V are formed in the grooves At the bottom of 566 , the plurality of holes 564P and 564V communicate with the corresponding grooves 566 .

A joint 568 is connected to the opening end of the groove 566 for the slate 562 arranged in the vicinity of the end portion on the -Y side in the base portion 560 (see FIG. 33 ). A pressurized gas or a vacuum suction force is supplied into the groove 566 from the outside of the micro-movement stage 522 (see FIG. 33 ) via the joint 568 . Moreover, as shown in FIG.34(B), the flow-path connection member 570 is inserted between a pair of slate 562 which adjoins in the Y-axis direction. 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 opening end of the groove 566 formed in the slate 562 arranged in the vicinity of the +Y side end.

As shown in FIG. 34(C) , on the lower surface of the slate 562, independent of the plurality of grooves 566, grooves for an adhesive for adhering the slate 562 to the platen portion 450 (see FIG. 33 ) are separately formed 574. By adhering the slate 562 to the platen portion 450 , the grooves 574 cooperate with the upper surface portion 454 (see FIG. 33 ) of the platen portion 450 to form a gas flow path.

About the structure for adsorbing and holding the tile 120 using the pressurized gas or vacuum suction force supplied to the groove 566 , the structure for adsorbing and holding the substrate P (see FIG. 1 ) placed on the tile 120 , and the The structure in which the substrate P on the tile 120 floats is substantially the same as that in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 35 , in a state where the tile 120 is placed on the slate 562, the groove (groove 574Vc in FIG. 35 ) to which the vacuum suction force (refer to arrow VF) is supplied is evacuated through the hole 564V Adsorption holding tile 120 . In addition, the other groove (groove 574Vp in FIG. 35 ) to which the vacuum suction force is supplied is vacuum-absorbed and held by the substrate placed on the tile 120 through the hole portion 564V and the through hole 132 . Plate P (see Figure 1). In addition, the groove (groove 574P in FIG. 35 ) to which the pressurized gas (refer to arrow PG) is supplied ejects the pressurized gas to the lower surface of the substrate P placed on the tile 120 through the hole portion 564P and the through hole 134 . .

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

Furthermore, in this fifth embodiment, a plurality of ribs 108 (see FIG. 2 and the like) may be arranged inside the platen portion 450 as a rigidity reinforcing member. In addition, the honeycomb structure 458 (see FIG. 20 ) may be used in combination with the ribs 108 as the rigidity reinforcing member. In this case, the movers of the voice coil motor 70X and the voice coil motor 70Y may be fixed to the ribs 108 .

"Sixth Embodiment"

Next, the substrate stage apparatus of the sixth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 36 . The substrate stage apparatus of the sixth embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment except that the configuration of the micro-movement stage 622 is different, so only the differences will be described below. Elements of functions are denoted by the same reference numerals as those 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 micro-movement table 22 as a rigidity reinforcing member. These ribs 108 are arranged to extend radially (X-shape) in the X-axis direction, in the Y-axis direction, or from the center. Therefore, the total number of ribs 108 extending radially is four. On the other hand, in the sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 36 , all the plurality of ribs 608 accommodated in the outer wall portion 106 are radiated from the center portion of the platen portion 650 . configured in an extended manner. In addition, the number of the ribs 608 is not limited to the number shown in FIG. 36 , and can be appropriately changed. A plurality of pipes 110 are accommodated in the platen portion 650 and cooperate with the lower surface of the upper surface portion 104 to form a flow path for supplying pressurized gas and vacuum suction force, which is the same as the first embodiment. In addition, although not shown in FIG. 36 , the upper surface portion 104 of the platen portion 650 is covered with a plurality of tiles 120 (see FIG. 4 ) to form a substrate placement surface, which is also the same as that of the first embodiment. same.

In addition, although not shown in FIG. 36 , in the sixth embodiment, the fine movement stage 622 is also driven by a plurality of voice coil motors 70X and 70Y (refer to FIG. 10 , respectively) included in the first drive system 62 . The thrust forces in the three-degree-of-freedom directions in the horizontal plane are given, which is the same as the above-mentioned first to third embodiments. In addition, the arrangement of each voice coil motor 70X and voice coil motor 70Y not shown is not particularly limited, and the voice coil motor 70X and voice coil motor 70Y of the first to third embodiments can be selectively used. any configuration.

Furthermore, the honeycomb structure, which is the rigidity reinforcing member of the fourth embodiment, may be used together with the ribs 608 as the rigidity reinforcing member. In addition, independently of the radially extending rib 608, a rib for fixing the movers of the voice coil motor 70X and the voice coil motor 70Y may be separately arranged.

"Seventh Embodiment"

Next, the substrate stage apparatus of the seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 37(A) to 38(B). The substrate stage apparatus of the seventh embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the configuration of the plurality of tiles 720 forming the substrate placement surface is different. Therefore, only the differences will be described below. The first embodiment is the same Elements of the configuration or function of the above are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and the description and illustration thereof are omitted.

The peripheral wall portion 124 (refer to FIG. 6 ) of the tile 120 of the first embodiment is formed along the outer peripheral edge of the tile 120 . In contrast, as shown in FIG. 37(A) , the seventh embodiment The tile 720 of the form differs in that a peripheral wall portion 724 is formed in a region slightly more inward than the outer peripheral edge portion. As shown in FIG. 37(B) , in the tile 720 , the height position of the front end 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 region outside the peripheral wall portion 724 is set to be the same. It is the same as the part of the upper surface where the pin 722 is not formed. Hereinafter, a region of the tile 720 that is further outside than the peripheral wall portion 724 is referred to as a step portion 726 for description. 38(A) and FIG. 38(B) , the four corners of the tile 720 of the seventh embodiment are chamfered. Furthermore, 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 description is omitted.

When a plurality of tiles 720 according to the seventh embodiment are arranged in a row, as shown in FIG. 37(A), between a pair of tiles 720 adjacent to each other, the peripheral wall portions 724 are separated from each other, and the level difference portion is 726 abut, whereby a groove is formed in the joint portion of the pair of tiles 720 .

According to the seventh embodiment, as shown in FIG. 37(B), the adjacent peripheral wall portions 724 are spaced apart from each other, so even when the adjacent tiles 720 are assumed to have a difference in thickness, the adjacent tiles 720 can be avoided. There is an abrupt step difference between them.

Furthermore, the tile 720 of the seventh embodiment can also be applied to the micro-movement stage 220 (refer to FIG. 11 ) and the micro-movement stage 320 of the second to sixth embodiments. (refer to FIG. 14 ), fine movement stage 422 (refer to FIG. 19 ), fine movement stage 522 (refer to FIG. 30 ) Wait.

"Eighth Embodiment"

Furthermore, the substrate stage apparatus of the eighth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 39 . The substrate stage apparatus of the eighth embodiment is the same as the seventh embodiment except that the configuration of the plurality of tiles 820 forming the substrate placement surface is different. Therefore, only the differences will be described below. Elements having the same configuration or function in the seventh embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the seventh embodiment, and the description and illustration thereof are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 39 , similarly to the seventh embodiment, 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 . In addition, the point in which the level difference part 726 is formed in the area|region outside the peripheral wall part 724 is also the same as that of the said 7th Embodiment.

In the tile 820 of the eighth embodiment, a plurality of convex portions 822 are formed on the stepped portion 726 by protruding in a comb-like shape from the outer surface of the peripheral wall portion 724 at predetermined intervals. 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 convex portions 822 is set such that when a plurality of tiles 820 are arranged in a row, the front ends of the convex portions 822 of a pair of adjacent tiles 820 do not contact (displace) each other (one tile The convex portion 822 of the 820 is opposite to the stepped portion 726 of the other tile 820).

According to the eighth embodiment, in addition to the effects of the seventh embodiment, the plurality of protrusions 822 are arranged in the grooves formed between the pair of peripheral wall portions 724 facing each other, so that the substrate P is adsorbed and held (see FIG. 1 ). ), the flatness of the substrate P improves. In addition, since the protruding portions 822 are arranged at a distance from each other, it is possible to avoid a sudden step difference between the adjacent tiles 820 . Furthermore, the tile 820 of the eighth embodiment can also be applied to the micro-movement stage 220 (refer to FIG. 11 ), the micro-movement stage 320 (refer to FIG. 14 ), and the micro-movement stage 422 (refer to FIG. 14 ) of the second to sixth embodiments. 19 ), the micro-movement stage 522 (see FIG. 30 ), and the like.

"Ninth Embodiment"

Next, the substrate stage apparatus of the ninth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 40 to 43 . The substrate stage apparatus 920 of the ninth embodiment is the same as the second embodiment except that the configuration of the measurement system for measuring the position in the horizontal plane of the micro-movement stage 922 is different. Elements having the same configuration or function as those of the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the second embodiment, and their description and illustration are omitted.

As a measuring system for measuring the position in the horizontal plane of the micro-movement stage 220 (see FIG. 11 ) of the second embodiment, an optical interferometer system 96A (see FIG. 10 ) having the same configuration as that of the first embodiment is used. Here, in the substrate stage apparatus 920 of the ninth embodiment, the encoder system 930 is used to measure the position in the horizontal plane of the micro-movement stage 922 . In addition, the structure of the substrate stage device 920 is the same as the above except that the constituent elements of the encoder system to be described below are arranged on the micro-movement stage 922 in place of the bar mirror 80X and the bar mirror 80Y (refer to FIG. 12 , respectively). The second embodiment is the same. Furthermore, the configuration of the drive system (substrate drive system 60; refer to FIG. 10 ) that includes a plurality of voice coil motors 70X and voice coil motors 70Y (see FIG. 13 ) and drives each element of the substrate stage device 920 is the same as the above-mentioned first The two embodiments are the same, so the description is omitted here. Bright.

FIG. 41 is an enlarged view of a portion denoted by reference numeral 9A in FIG. 40 . 40 and 41 , scale bases 932 are attached to the side surface on the +Y side and the side surface on the −Y side of the platen portion 100 of the fine movement table 922 , respectively. As shown in FIG. 42 , the scale base line 932 is formed of a member extending in the X-axis direction, and the length in the X-axis direction is set to be slightly longer than the dimension of the substrate P in the X-axis direction. The scale base line 932 is preferably formed of a material that is not easily thermally deformed, such as ceramics.

An upward scale 934 is fixed to each upper surface of the pair of scale base lines 932 . The upward scale 934 is a plate-like (belt-like) member extending in the X-axis direction, and on its upper surface (the surface facing the +Z side (upper side)), two-axis directions (the present embodiment) that are orthogonal to each other are formed. In the form, the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are used as the periodic direction of the reflective two-dimensional diffraction grating (so-called grating).

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

In addition, a pair of downward scales 960 (see FIG. 40 ) extending in the Y-axis direction is fixed to the lower surface of the optical platen 19 corresponding to each measurement table 940 . On the lower surface of the downward scale 960 (the surface facing the -Z side (lower side)), there are formed reflections whose periodic directions are two-axis directions (the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction in this embodiment) that are orthogonal to each other. Two-dimensional diffraction grating (so-called grating).

On the lower surface of the measuring table 940, two downward X heads 950x and two downward Y heads 950y (respectively overlapping with the depth direction of the paper, one of which is not shown) are installed facing the upward scale 934. In addition, on the upper surface of the measuring table 940, two upward X heads 952x and two upward Y heads 952y (overlapped with the two X heads 952x in the depth direction of the paper surface, not shown) are installed so as to face the downward scale 960. Fig. 43). The positional relationship of each head 950x, head 950y, head 952x, and head 952y is known. In addition, in order to prevent the positional relationship between the heads 950x, 950y, 952x, and 952y from changing easily, the measuring table 940 is preferably formed of a material that is not easily thermally deformed, such as ceramics.

A conceptual diagram of an encoder system 930 is shown in FIG. 43 . In the encoder system 930, the upward X head 952x and the upward Y head 952y and the downward scale 960 corresponding to the upward X head 952x and the upward Y head 952y are constituted for performing the optical platen 19 as a reference. A first encoder system for position measurement in the XY plane of the measurement table 940 (downward X head 950x and downward Y head 950y). In addition, in the encoder system 930, the downward X head 950x and the downward Y head 950y and the upward scale 934 corresponding to the downward X head 950x and the downward Y head 950y are constituted for measuring the table. 940 is a second encoder system for measuring the position in the XY plane of the micro-movement stage 922 as a reference. In this way, the encoder system 930 of the ninth embodiment passes through the two-stage encoder system of the first encoder system and the second encoder system Then, the position measurement of the micro-movement stage 922 with the optical platen 19 as a reference is performed.

The main control device 90 (refer to FIG. 10 ) maintains the measurement table 940 (the downward X head 950x and the downward Y head 950y) and the corresponding upward scale when the micro-movement stage 922 is moved only in the X-axis direction with a long stroke 934 in the facing state, while positioning the measurement table 940 in the Y-axis direction, the fine movement stage 922 is moved relative to the measurement table 940 in the stationary state in the X-axis direction. Thereby, the position measurement of the micro-movement stage 922 based on the optical platen 19 can be performed based on the accumulated values of the first encoder system and the second encoder system.

On the other hand, when moving the fine movement stage 922 with a long stroke in the Y-axis direction, the main controller 90 (see FIG. 10 ) moves the measurement table 940 together with the fine movement stage 922 with a long stroke in the Y-axis direction. 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 strictly synchronize the movement of the micro-movement table 922 and the measurement table 940 . The main control device 90 is based on the output of the first encoder system (the position information of the measuring table 940 based on the optical platen 19) and the output of the second encoder system (the micro-movement table 922 based on the measuring table 940). The accumulated value of the position information) is used to measure the position of the micro-movement stage 922 with the optical platen 19 as a reference.

According to the ninth embodiment, the position information in the XY plane of the micro-movement stage 922 can be obtained with high accuracy by the encoder system 930 which is less affected by air turbulence and the like than the optical interferometer system.

Furthermore, the encoder system 930 of the ninth embodiment described above can also be applied to the above-described first embodiment and the third to eighth embodiments. Measurement of the fine movement stage 22 (see FIG. 1 ), the fine movement stage 320 (see FIG. 14 ), the fine movement stage 422 (see FIG. 19 ), and the fine movement stage 522 (see FIG. 30 ).

In the above description, the case where a scale slightly longer than the substrate P in the X-axis direction is used as the upward scale 934 has been described, but shorter scales may be arranged at predetermined intervals in the X-axis direction. In this case, the interval between the adjacent scales (and the heads) can be set so that the head always faces at least one of the adjacent scales, and the connection processing of the outputs of the respective heads can be performed. In addition, the case where the two-dimensional grating is formed on the scale 934 and the scale 960 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an X scale with the X-axis direction as the periodic direction and the Y-axis direction as the periodic direction may be respectively formed. the Y scale.

"Tenth Embodiment"

Next, the substrate stage apparatus of the tenth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 44 to 47 . The substrate stage apparatus 1020 of the tenth embodiment is the same as the ninth embodiment except that the configuration of the encoder system for measuring the position in the horizontal plane of the micro-movement stage 1022 is different. Therefore, only the differences will be described below. Elements having the same configuration or function as those of the ninth embodiment are given the same reference numerals as those of the ninth embodiment, and their description and illustration are omitted.

The encoder system 930 of the ninth embodiment (see FIG. 40 ) measures the position in the horizontal plane of the fine movement table 922 with the optical platen 19 as a reference via the measurement table table 940 arranged above the fine movement table 922 . The encoder system 1030 of the tenth embodiment measures the movement of the fine movement stage 1022 with the optical platen 19 as a reference via the Y coarse movement stage 32 for moving the fine movement stage 922 in the Y-axis direction with a long stroke. The position in the horizontal plane is different in this respect. Furthermore, the configuration of the drive system (substrate drive system 60; refer to FIG. 10 ) that includes a plurality of voice coil motors 70X and voice coil motors 70Y (see FIG. 13 ) and drives each element of the substrate stage apparatus 1020 is the same as the above-mentioned first The two embodiments are the same, so the description is omitted here.

FIG. 45 is an enlarged view of a portion denoted by reference numeral 10A in FIG. 44 . 44 and 45 , the head base 1032 is attached to the side surface on the +Y side and the side surface on the −Y side of the platen portion 100 of the fine movement table 922 , respectively. Two downward X heads 950x and two downward Y heads 950y are mounted on the lower surface of the head base 1032 in the same arrangement as the lower surface of the measurement table 940 (see FIG. 41 ) of the ninth embodiment. (See Fig. 47).

A pair of scale base lines 1034 are attached to the Y coarse motion table 32 via L-shaped arm members 1036, respectively. Furthermore, the pair of scale base lines 1034 may be attached to the Y step guide 44 that operates integrally with the Y coarse motion stage 32 in the Y-axis direction. The scale base line 1034 is substantially the same as the scale base line 932 (see FIG. 42 ) of the ninth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 46, the scale base line 1034 is constituted by a member extending in the X-axis direction, and the upward scale 934 similar to that of the ninth embodiment is fixed to the upper surface thereof. The heads 950x and 950y attached to the head base 1032 are arranged so as to face the upward scale 934 (see FIG. 47 ).

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

A pair of downward scales 960 (refer to FIG. 44 ) extending in the Y-axis direction is fixed to the lower surface of the optical platen 19 corresponding to the pair of head bases 1040 , which is the same as that of the ninth embodiment. The heads 952x and 952y attached to the head base 1040 are arranged so as to face the downward scale 960 .

A conceptual diagram of an encoder system 1030 is shown in FIG. 46 . In the encoder system 1030, the upward X head 952x and the upward Y head 952y and the downward scale 960 corresponding to the upward X head 952x and the upward Y head 952y are constituted for performing the optical platen 19 as a reference. A first encoder system for position measurement in the XY plane of the Y coarse motion stage 32 . In addition, in the encoder system 1030, the downward X head 950x and the downward Y head 950y and the upward scale 934 corresponding to the downward X head 950x and the downward Y head 950y are constituted to perform Y thickening. The second encoder system for measuring the position in the XY plane of the micro-movement stage 1022 with the moving stage 32 as a reference. In this way, the encoder system 1030 of the tenth embodiment performs position measurement of the micro-movement stage 1022 with respect to the optical platen 19 via the two-stage encoder system of the first encoder system and the second encoder system.

When the main control device 90 (see FIG. 10 ) moves the micro-movement stage 1022 by a long stroke only in the X-axis direction, the state in which the downward X head 950x and the downward Y head 950y and the upward scale 934 face each other is maintained ( When 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 the stationary state. Thereby, the position measurement of the micro-movement stage 1022 based on the optical platen 19 can be performed based on the accumulated values of the first encoder system and the second encoder system.

On the other hand, when the fine movement stage 1022 is moved by a long stroke in the Y-axis direction, the position measurement of the Y coarse movement stage 32 is performed by the first encoder system. Because the Y coarse motion stage 32 and the fine motion stage 1022 move together with a long stroke in the Y-axis direction, the position information of the fine motion stage 1022 that moves with a long stroke in the Y-axis direction can be based on the output of the first encoder system (with It is obtained by the cumulative value of the position information of the Y coarse motion stage 32 based on the optical platen 19 ) and the output of the second encoder system (the position information of the fine motion stage 1022 based on the Y coarse motion stage 32 ).

According to the tenth embodiment, in addition to the effects of the ninth embodiment, since the encoder head is mounted on the micro-movement stage 1022 instead of the scale, it is lighter than the ninth embodiment, and the position of the substrate P can be controlled. Sexual enhancement.

Furthermore, the encoder system 1030 of the tenth embodiment described above can also be applied to the fine movement stage 22 (refer to FIG. 1 ) and the fine movement stage 320 of the first embodiment and the third embodiment to the eighth embodiment. (see FIG. 14 ), measurement of the fine movement stage 422 (see FIG. 19 ), the fine movement stage 522 (see FIG. 30 ), and the like.

In addition, the configuration of each element of the first to tenth embodiments described above is not limited to the above description, and can be appropriately changed. As an example, the first drive system 62 of the above-described 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), but the number of voice coil motors is not limited to this. The number of voice coil motors for the X axis and the number of the voice coil motors for the Y axis may be one, respectively, or three or more. In addition, the numbers of the X voice coil motors 70X and the Y voice coil motors 70Y may be different from each other. In addition, the voice coil motor 70X and the voice coil motor 70Y may be of a moving coil type. In addition, the case where a voice coil motor is used as the linear motor has been described, but it is not Limited to this, other types of actuators may also be used, and in this case, a mixture of multiple types of actuators may be used. In addition, the case where a linear motor in a uniaxial direction is used as the actuator has been described, but a biaxial actuator capable of generating thrust in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, or a biaxial actuator capable of generating thrust in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction may also be used. An actuator that generates thrust in three degrees of freedom in the axial direction and the θz direction.

In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, one voice coil motor is housed in one housing portion 76 (space formed in the micro-movement table), but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of voice coils may be housed in one housing portion (space). motor (actuator). In this case, regarding a plurality of voice coil motors, voice coil motors having different thrust generating directions may be mixed.

In addition, the fine movement stage (the fine movement stage 22 and the like) is an actuator (voice coil motor 70X and voice coil motor 70Y in the above-described embodiments) that only accommodates therein a thrust force in the horizontal plane (X-axis or Y-axis). However, at least a part of the actuator (the Z voice coil motor 70Z of the above-described embodiments, etc.) that generates thrust in the direction intersecting the horizontal plane (the Z-axis direction, etc.) may be housed inside.

In addition, in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the lowermost layer of the micro-movement table and the platen portion (the platen portion 100 and the like) that accommodates the plurality of voice coil motors has a structure in which the rigidity reinforcing member is accommodated in a hollow box, but the present invention is not limited to this. , can also be formed by a solid member. In addition, although the fine movement stage (fine movement stage 22 etc.) of each embodiment is constituted by a plurality of layers (two to four layers) with the platen portion (platen portion 100 etc.) as the lowermost layer, it is not limited to this, and may be A single-layer structure in which a substrate is directly placed on the upper surface of the platen portion 100 and the like may be a structure of five or more layers (in this case, the platen portion 100 and the like may not be the lowermost layer). make.

In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, in the micro-movement stage (the fine-movement stage 22 and the like), the uppermost layer forming the substrate placement surface is formed by a plurality of plate-shaped members (tiles 120 and the like) as rigid members. The member of the uppermost layer (substrate placement surface) is not limited to this, and may be a member having flexibility. As the member having flexibility, a sheet-like (or film-like) member formed of a synthetic resin-based or rubber-based material can be used. In this case, the sheet-like member becomes the uppermost layer, so the sheet-like member is plane-corrected along (similar to) the surface of the second layer (the second layer from top to bottom) directly below the sheet-like member , and the substrate P placed on the sheet-like member is also flattened by imitating the upper surface of the second layer. Therefore, it is preferable to form the flatness of the surface (upper surface) of this 2nd layer high. In this case, it is preferable that a plurality of pin-shaped protrusions supporting the lower surface of the substrate P are formed on the sheet-like member similarly to the tiles (tiles 120 and the like). The size of the sheet-like member is not particularly limited, and the uppermost layer may be formed by arranging a plurality of sheet-like members, or the uppermost layer may be formed with one sheet-like member so as to cover the entire surface of the second layer. Furthermore, the sheet-like member may be held on the second layer by vacuum suction similarly to the tile, but it is not limited to this, and may be fixed by adhesion or the like.

In addition, the configuration of the substrate stage apparatus (substrate stage apparatus 20 and the like) in each of the above-described embodiments is not limited to the configuration described in the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed, and the above-described embodiment can also be applied to these modified examples. The same substrate drive system 60 . That is, the substrate stage device may be a coarse movement stage of the type in which the Y coarse movement stage is arranged on the X coarse movement stage as disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0018950 (in this case, the self-Y coarse movement The stage imparts thrust to the micro-movement stage 22 and the like by each voice coil motor). Other In addition, the substrate stage device may not necessarily have the self-weight support device 28 . In addition, the substrate stage apparatus may drive the substrate P for a long stroke only in the scanning direction.

In addition, the illumination light may also 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). In addition, the illumination light can also use high-order harmonics, which are self-distributed feedback (DFB) semiconductor lasers using fiber amplifiers doped with erbium (or both erbium and ytterbium). It is formed by amplifying the laser light of a single wavelength in the infrared range or visible light range oscillated by a radio or fiber laser, and converting the wavelength into ultraviolet light using a nonlinear optical crystal. In addition, a solid-state laser (wavelength: 355 nm, 266 nm) or the like can also be used.

In addition, the case where the projection optical system 16 is a multi-lens type projection optical system including 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. In addition, it is not limited to the projection optical system of a multi-lens system, The projection optical system etc. which use an Offner type large mirror may be sufficient. In addition, 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 crystal for transferring the liquid crystal display device pattern to the square glass plate, and it can also be widely used in the production of organic electroluminescence (Electro-Luminescence, EL) panels. Exposure equipment, exposure equipment for semiconductor manufacturing, and exposure equipment for manufacturing thin-film magnetic heads, micromachines, and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) wafers, etc. In addition, it can be applied not only to micro-elements such as semiconductor devices, but also to manufacturing photoexposure apparatuses, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure apparatuses, X-ray exposure apparatuses, etc. An exposure device that transfers a circuit pattern on a glass substrate, a silicon wafer, or the like using a mask or a photomask used in an exposure device, an electron beam exposure device, or the like. In addition, the substrate stage apparatuses (substrate stage apparatuses 20 etc.) of the above-described embodiments can also be used for apparatuses other than exposure apparatuses, such as a substrate inspection apparatus or a processing apparatus for performing predetermined processing on a substrate.

In addition, 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 a mask blank. Moreover, when an exposure target object is a board|substrate for flat panel displays, the thickness of this board|substrate is not specifically limited, The board|substrate of a film shape (sheet-shaped member which has flexibility) is also included. In addition, the exposure apparatus of this embodiment is effective especially when the board|substrate whose side length or diagonal length is 500 mm or more is an exposure object.

Electronic components such as liquid crystal display devices (or semiconductor devices) are manufactured through the following steps: a step of designing the function and performance of the element; a step of making a mask (or a mask) based on the design step; a step of making a glass substrate (or wafer); the lithography step of transferring the pattern of the mask (mask) to the glass substrate by the exposure device and the exposure method of each embodiment; the development of developing the exposed glass substrate steps; an etching step of removing exposed members other than the portion where the resist remains by etching; a resist removal step of removing the resist that has become unnecessary after etching; an element assembly step; and an inspection step, etc. . In this case, since the exposure method described above is performed in the lithography step using the exposure apparatus of the above-described embodiment, and the element pattern is formed on the glass substrate, a highly integrated element can be produced with good productivity.

[Industrial Availability]

As described above, the object holding device and the object holding method of the present invention are suitable for holding an object. In addition, the processing apparatus of the present invention is suitable for performing predetermined processing on an object. Moreover, the manufacturing method of the flat panel display of this invention is suitable for producing a flat panel display. In addition, the element manufacturing method of the present invention is suitable for producing microelements.

10‧‧‧LCD Exposure Device

12‧‧‧Lighting system

14‧‧‧Screening table installation

16‧‧‧Projection Optical System

18‧‧‧Frame

20‧‧‧Substrate stage device

22‧‧‧Micro-motion table

26‧‧‧Coarse motion table

28‧‧‧Self-weight support device

32‧‧‧Y Coarse motion table

34‧‧‧X Coarse motion table

36‧‧‧X Beam

38. 50‧‧‧Mechanical linear guide device

40, 52‧‧‧Connecting components

42‧‧‧Weight Elimination Device

44‧‧‧Y step guide

46‧‧‧Leveling device

48‧‧‧Air bearing

54, 56, 58‧‧‧pillars

70X‧‧‧X voice coil motor

70Z‧‧‧Z voice coil motor

72X, 72Z‧‧‧Movers

74X, 74Z‧‧‧ stator

76‧‧‧Storage Department

78‧‧‧Gap

80Y‧‧‧Strip Mirror

82Y‧‧‧Mirror base

84‧‧‧Z Sensor

86‧‧‧Probe

88‧‧‧Target

100‧‧‧Platen Section

102‧‧‧Lower surface

104‧‧‧Top surface

106‧‧‧Outer wall

120‧‧‧Tiles

G‧‧‧Centre of Gravity

IL‧‧‧Lighting

M‧‧‧Curtain

MB‧‧‧Length measuring beam

P‧‧‧Substrate

Claims (29)

An object holding device, comprising: a moving body, holding an object, and having a first surface parallel to a predetermined plane including a first direction and a second direction, and a third direction intersecting with the predetermined plane and the first surface a second surface facing each other; and a drive system arranged to be sandwiched between the first surface and the second surface in the third direction to drive the moving body, and a part of the drive system is fixed to The moving body, the other part of the drive system, is fixed to the platform through the opening of the second surface through which the other part can pass, and the platform and the second surface are relative to the second surface in the third direction. The other side of the first surface faces each other, the part and the other part are sandwiched by the first surface and the second surface, and the drive system is connected to the drive system by the part of the drive system. The other part of the drive system relatively moves the moving body having the first surface and the second surface with respect to the platform. The object holding device according to claim 1, wherein the drive system is provided on at least any one of the first surface or the second surface. The object holding device according to claim 2, wherein the moving body has an intermediate member that connects at least one of the first surface or the second surface and the drive system. The object holding device according to any one of items 1 to 3 of the claimed scope, wherein the other part of the drive system is provided in a position not connected to the first A position where one side and the second side overlap. The object holding device according to claim 1, further comprising a cover part, the cover part is provided in the moving body, and the openings are formed in the first direction and the second direction area is narrowed. The object holding device according to claim 5, wherein the cover is detachably provided in the moving body. The object holding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the drive system has a plurality of first drive systems that drive the moving body in the first direction, the The plurality of first drive systems are arranged in the second direction so as to interpose a first predetermined line extending in the first direction from a predetermined point of the movable body. The object holding device according to claim 7, wherein the driving system has a plurality of second driving systems for driving the moving body in the second direction, and the plurality of second driving systems are They are arranged in the first direction so as to interpose a second predetermined line extending from the predetermined point in the second direction. The object holding device according to claim 8, wherein the first drive system and the second drive system are provided at the center of gravity of the moving body as the predetermined point in the third direction overlapping position. The object holding device according to claim 9, further comprising a supporting device for supporting the moving body from the third direction at the position of the center of gravity, The drive system is arranged around the support device in the first direction and the second direction. The object holding device according to claim 9, wherein the drive system is provided at a position symmetrical to a position from the center of gravity in the first direction and the second direction. The object holding device according to claim 7, wherein the driving system is provided in the third direction at a position overlapping the deformation center of the deformation of the first surface. The object holding device according to claim 9, further comprising a drive part for moving the moving body relative to the first drive system in the third direction, the drive part being connected to the first drive system. At least one of the first direction and the second direction is provided in the moving body at a position farther from the center of gravity than the drive system. The object holding device according to claim 13, wherein the driving portion is disposed in the moving body at a position farther from the center of gravity than the second driving system in the third direction. The object holding device according to claim 13, wherein the driving portion is provided at a position not sandwiched by the first surface and the second surface. The object holding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an acquisition unit that acquires the first direction and the second direction of the moving body based on the Information about location information. The object holding device as described in claim 16, wherein the A part of the said acquisition part is provided in the said 3rd direction on the 1st surface side. The object holding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a replacement member, the replacement member being provided on the first surface in the third direction for the moving body On the side, the object is placed and is replaceable with respect to the moving body. The object holding device according to claim 18, wherein the replacement member has a supply hole for supplying gas between the replacement member and the object. The object holding device of claim 18, wherein the replacement member has a suction hole for suctioning gas between the replacement member and the object. The object holding device according to claim 18, further comprising an intermediate member provided between the replacement member and the moving body in the third direction and on which the replacement member is placed. member. A processing device comprising: the object holding device according to any one of Claims 1 to 21; and a processing unit that performs predetermined processing on the object. The processing device of claim 22, wherein the processing device exposes the object by means of an energy beam. The processing device according to claim 22 or claim 23, wherein the length of one side of the object or its diagonal length is at least 500 mm or more. A method of manufacturing a flat panel display, comprising: exposing the object by using the processing device according to any one of the claims 22 to 24; and developing the exposed object. A device manufacturing method, comprising: exposing the object using the processing apparatus according to any one of claims 22 to 24; and developing the exposed object. An object holding method for holding an object, the object holding method comprising: using a moving body to hold the object, the moving body having a first surface parallel to a predetermined plane including a first direction and a second direction, and a second face opposite to the first face in a third direction intersecting with the predetermined plane; and a drive system is arranged to be sandwiched between the first face and the second face in the third direction, The moving body is driven, a part of the driving system is fixed to the moving body, the other part of the driving system is fixed to the platform through the opening of the second surface through which the other part can pass, and the platform is connected to the platform. The second surface is opposite to the other side of the first surface in the third direction, and the part and the other part are sandwiched by the first surface and the second surface, so The drive system enables the movement of the first surface and the second surface by the part of the drive system and the other part of the drive system The body moves relatively with respect to the platform. The object holding method according to claim 27, wherein by performing the driving, the moving body is driven using the drive system provided in the moving body. The object holding method according to claim 27 or claim 28, wherein the driving is performed using the first surface or the second surface provided on at least any one of the surfaces. A drive system drives the moving body.

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