Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
  • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
  • G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
  • G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
  • G03F7/70691—Handling of masks or workpieces
  • G03F7/70716—Stages
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/68—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for positioning, orientation or alignment
  • H01L21/682—Mask-wafer alignment
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
  • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
  • G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
  • G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
  • G03F7/70691—Handling of masks or workpieces
  • G03F7/70758—Drive means, e.g. actuators, motors for long- or short-stroke modules or fine or coarse driving
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/683—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping
  • H01L21/687—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches
  • H01L21/68714—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a stage apparatus, and more particularly to a stage apparatus configured to stably perform fine movement control when a holding member that holds an object is raised and lowered in the Z-axis direction.
• stage apparatuses are used in the field of semiconductor device manufacturing.
• a stage device for mounting a wafer used in an electron beam exposure apparatus includes coarse motion control that operates during wafer transfer and chip-to-chip movement, and several ⁇ !
• a control method combined with fine movement control that performs positioning on the order of ⁇ lOnm is employed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
• stage apparatus when a wafer as an object is transferred and held on a wafer holding member (having a vacuum chuck or electrostatic chuck), the position of the wafer relative to the optical system of the exposure apparatus is set. In order to position with high accuracy, the wafer holding member is moved in the Z axis direction and the ⁇ z direction around the Z axis to perform positioning control to adjust the wafer position.
• a wafer holding member having a vacuum chuck or electrostatic chuck
• a pair of Z-axis actuators that finely adjust the height position of the wafer according to the focal length (depth of focus) of the CCD camera for imaging the wafer are arranged at intervals of 180 degrees in the circumferential direction.
• the wafer holding member is supported by a rotating support member mounted on the XY stage, and an elevating support member supported by a bearing so as to be rotatable in the ⁇ z direction is provided on the rotating support member.
• a pair of Z-axis actuators are provided on the periphery of the lifting support member, and a Z-axis guide portion for guiding the wafer holding member so as to be liftable in the Z-axis direction is provided at the center of the lifting support member. You will be struck.
• Patent Document 1 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-28974
• the present invention can stably perform fine movement control in the Z-axis direction by suppressing vibration due to reaction force from the Z-axis actuator when the holding member holding the object is moved up and down in the Z-axis direction. This is an issue.
• the present invention has the following means.
• the present invention includes a holding member that holds an object, an elevating support member that supports the elevating member, and a rotation support member that supports the elevating support member so as to be rotatable about the Z axis. And a Z-axis driving means for moving the holding member up and down in the Z-axis direction, wherein the Z-axis driving means is provided on the rotating support member, and the holding member is attached to the rotating support member.
• the rotation support member is mounted on an XY stage that moves in a horizontal direction.
• the Z-axis driving means may be provided to drive a plurality of locations of the holding member. desirable.
• the Z-axis drive means includes a stator fixed to the upper surface of the rotation support member and a mover that is coupled to the holding member and moves up and down with respect to the stator.
• the elevating support member is supported by a bearing on the rotation support member so as to be rotatable about the Z axis.
• the holding member has a Z-axis member that is fitted in a non-circular guide hole formed in the elevating support member at the center of the lower surface so as to be elevable.
• the Z-axis driving means is provided on the rotation support member, and the holding member is moved up and down relative to the rotation support member. Since the force is received by the rotating support member whose mass is higher than the lifting support member, vibration is less likely to occur, and the occurrence of vibration due to the reaction force of the Z-axis drive means is prevented, and coarse motion control in the Z-axis direction Even when a large driving force is generated sometimes, the reaction force does not act on the lifting support member, so the vibration of the lifting support member is suppressed and the settling time after coarse motion is shortened to achieve fine movement control in the Z-axis direction. The influence can be reduced.
• FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of a stage apparatus according to the present invention.
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the stage apparatus shown in FIG.
• FIG. 3 is a side view of the Z-axis actuator 36.
• FIG. 4 is a plan view of the Z-axis actuator 36.
• FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of a stage apparatus according to the present invention.
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the stage apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, for convenience of explanation, the wafer holding member 14 on which the wafer 12 is placed is omitted.
• the stage apparatus 10 supports the wafer holding member (holding member) 14 on which the wafer 12 is placed and the Z-axis member 16 of the wafer holding member 14 so as to be movable up and down.
• Z Z-axis support base (lifting support member) 18 and Z-axis support base 18 are supported rotatably via bearing 20 ⁇ z-support base (rotation support member) 22 and ⁇ via strut 40 z
• the XY table 24 is provided so as to move in the extending direction of the Y stage 26 threaded therein.
• the Y stage 26 includes an X direction linear scale 42 and an X direction linear actuator 44. Is installed.
• a static pressure pad 38 in the Y direction with respect to the XY table 24 is provided on the left and right outer walls of the Y stage 26.
• static pressure pads 48 in the Z direction for floating on the stone surface plate 46 are provided at the lower ends of the left and right legs of the XY table 24.
• Wafer holding member 14 has a suction part 14a made of a vacuum chuck or electrostatic chuck (not shown) that sucks wafer 12 on the upper surface, and a horizontal member 14b on which suction part 14a is mounted. .
• a Z-axis member 16 that protrudes downward is provided at the center of the lower surface of the horizontal member 14b.
• the Z-axis member 16 has a non-circular cross-sectional shape (for example, a square) so as not to rotate in the ⁇ z direction.
• the Z-axis support base 18 includes a Z-axis guide portion 18a into which the Z-axis member 16 is slidably fitted, and a disc-shaped flange portion that extends horizontally from the side surface of the Z-axis guide portion 18a. 18b.
• the Z-axis guide portion 18a is provided with a guide hole 18c into which the Z-axis member 16 is fitted.
• the cross-sectional shape of the guide hole 18c is the same as that of the Z-axis member 16 (for example, square) Is formed. Therefore, the rotation of the wafer holding member 14 in the ⁇ z direction is restricted when the Z-axis member 16 is fitted into the guide hole 18c.
• the Z-axis support base 18 is provided with a Z-axis direction encoder 28 that detects the lift position of the wafer holding member 14.
• the Z-axis direction encoder 28 is configured to optically or magnetically detect the ascending / descending position of the detected portion 14c that protrudes laterally from the wafer holding member 14.
• the Z-axis support base 18 is supported by a bearing 20 so as to be rotatable in the ⁇ z direction, and is driven in the ⁇ z direction by a ⁇ z drive actuator 32.
• the bearing 20 also has a cross roller bearing force having high rigidity and rotational accuracy, and is held in a circular recess 30 formed in the center of the ⁇ z support base 22.
• the ⁇ z drive actuator 32 is composed of a voice coil motor combining a coil and a magnet, and finely adjusts the position of the wafer 12 placed on the wafer holding member 14 so that the position in the ⁇ z direction becomes a specified position.
• Drive means. Since the driving force of the ⁇ z drive actuator 32 is applied to the Z-axis support base 18, the wafer holding member 14 rotates integrally with the Z-axis support base 18 to finely adjust the position in the ⁇ z direction.
• the ⁇ z support base 22 is provided with a ⁇ z direction encoder 33 for detecting a rotation angle in the ⁇ z direction when the Z axis support base 18 is rotated by the ⁇ z drive actuator 32.
• the ⁇ z direction encoder 33 counts the number of pulses proportional to the rotation position of the detected portion 18d protruding in the horizontal direction from the Z-axis support base 18 and outputs the rotation angle in the ⁇ z direction.
• the ⁇ z support base 22 is provided with a pair of Z-axis actuators 36 on a flat portion 34 formed outside the circular recess 30.
• the Z-axis actuator 36 has a voice coil motor force in the same manner as the ⁇ z drive actuator 32 described above, and includes a stator 36a mounted on the flat portion 34 and a mover 36b driven with respect to the stator 36a. Have.
• the stator 36a has a magnet, and the mover 36b has a coil.
• the stator 36a of the Z-axis actuator 36 is fixed on the flat surface portion 34 of the ⁇ z support base 22, and the mover 36b is connected to both the horizontal members 14b of the wafer holding member 14. It is fixed at the end.
• the pair of Z-axis actuators 36 are arranged at intervals of 180 degrees in the circumferential direction in the ⁇ z direction so as to raise and lower both ends of the horizontal member 14b in the Z-axis direction.
• the pair of Z-axis actuators 36 are controlled so as to simultaneously apply a driving force to the horizontal member 14b of the wafer holding member 14, and are moved up and down so that the upper surface of the Z-axis support base 18 is not tilted.
• the reaction force of the driving force of the Z-axis actuator 36 is received by the ⁇ z support base 22. Since the ⁇ z support base 22 is fixed to the XY table 24, it can be handled as an integral part of the XY table 24. For example, when the wafer holding member 14 is raised, the ⁇ z support base 22 The reaction force can be supported by the entire ⁇ z support base 22 and the XY table 24 even when a reaction force that presses downward on the flat surface portion 34 is applied.
• vibration due to the reaction force of the driving force of the Z-axis actuator 36 can be prevented.
• the Z-axis actuator 36 is coarsely controlled to move the wafer holding member 14 up and down
• the Z-axis Even when the actuator 36 is finely controlled, it is not necessary to wait for the vibration generated by the coarse motion control to converge, and the start of fine motion control in the Z-axis direction can be made earlier than the conventional one.
• FIG. 3 is a side view of the Z-axis actuator 36.
• FIG. 4 is a plan view of the Z-axis actuator 36.
• the stator 36a of the Z-axis actuator 36 has a plate-shaped magnet 52 attached to the inner wall of a U-shaped magnet yoke 50. It is. Between the magnets 52, plate-like coils 54 constituting the mover 36b are inserted.
• the Z-axis actuator 36 is also formed in a U shape when the magnet yoke 50 is viewed from above, and the opening side force is combined so that the coil 54 can be inserted. Therefore, the Z-axis actuator 36 can be moved up and down in the direction of the force of the coil 54 with respect to the magnet 52, and is also attached so as to be rotatable in the ⁇ z direction.
• the magnet 52 and the coil 54 of the Z-axis actuator 36 are formed in a plate shape to increase the facing area between the magnet 52 and the coil 54, so that a larger driving force can be obtained.
• the gap S can be set larger than the inclination of the coil 54 accompanying the rotation in the 0 z direction.
• the configuration in which the wafer holding member 14 is moved up and down by the driving force of the pair of Z-axis actuators 36 has been described as an example.
• the wafer holding member 14 may be moved up and down by driving.
• the force described in the case where the Z-axis actuator 36 is constituted by a voice coil motor is not limited to this, and other actuators (for example, a pneumatic cylinder) may be used.
• the ⁇ z support base 22 is supported by the XY table 24 as an example.
• the ⁇ z support base 22 is directly mounted on the Y stage that moves only in the Y direction.
• the present invention can be applied to a configuration.

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• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
• Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
• Power Engineering (AREA)
• Container, Conveyance, Adherence, Positioning, Of Wafer (AREA)
• Exposure Of Semiconductors, Excluding Electron Or Ion Beam Exposure (AREA)
• Details Of Measuring And Other Instruments (AREA)
• Exposure And Positioning Against Photoresist Photosensitive Materials (AREA)
• Machine Tool Units (AREA)

Priority Applications (3)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Related Child Applications (1)

Publications (1)

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Cited By (1)

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Citations (2)

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• 2005
  • 2005-07-21 JP JP2005211724A patent/JP4664142B2/ja not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 2006
  • 2006-07-06 TW TW095124692A patent/TW200715357A/zh not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2006-07-20 KR KR1020077028483A patent/KR100909585B1/ko active Active
  • 2006-07-20 CN CN2006800204661A patent/CN101194214B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2006-07-20 WO PCT/JP2006/314356 patent/WO2007010971A1/ja not_active Ceased
• 2007
  • 2007-11-14 US US11/984,170 patent/US7997567B2/en active Active

Patent Citations (2)

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