An assembly tooling for the anode and cathode components of an excimer laser discharge cavity

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the field of laser technology and provides an assembly tooling for an anode and a cathode assembly of an excimer laser discharge cavity, which includes a bottom plate, an anode assembly device, and a cathode assembly device; the anode assembly device and the cathode assembly device are arranged on the same surface of the bottom plate; the anode assembly device is used to support the anode base; the cathode assembly device is used to support the cathode ceramic plate and the cathode, and assemble the cathode on the cathode ceramic plate. The assembly tooling for the anode and the cathode assembly of the excimer laser discharge cavity in this application can be applied to an assembly line to achieve automated assembly, greatly improving the assembly efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of laser technology, and more specifically relates to the field of excimer laser technology, and provides an assembly tooling for the anode and cathode assemblies of an excimer laser discharge chamber. Background Art

[0002] An excimer laser is a type of gas laser device that uses an excimer as the working medium. The excimer laser has a short laser wavelength and does not generate a thermal effect on the material, so it has a wide range of applications in the field of industrial processing. Especially in the field of high-end lithography, excimer lasers with the characteristics of high repetition rate, narrow linewidth, and large energy already exist. Excimer lasers have become the dominant light source in the current semiconductor lithography field.

[0003] During the assembly process of excimer laser products, the assembly of the cathode assembly and anode assembly of the discharge chamber is involved. The traditional assembly method uses manual assembly, which is time-consuming and laborious. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, an embodiment of the present invention provides an assembly tooling for the anode and cathode assemblies of an excimer laser discharge chamber, which solves the problem that the existing assembly method is time-consuming and laborious.

[0005] An embodiment of the present invention provides an assembly tooling for the anode and cathode assemblies of an excimer laser discharge chamber, including a bottom plate, an anode assembly device, and a cathode assembly device; the anode assembly device and the cathode assembly device are arranged on the same surface of the bottom plate;

[0006] The anode assembly device is used to support the anode base; during use, the anode can be installed on the supported anode base.

[0007] The cathode assembly device is used to support the cathode ceramic plate and the cathode, and assemble the cathode on the cathode ceramic plate.

[0008] Preferably, the anode assembly device is detachably connected to the bottom plate or integrally formed, and the cathode assembly device is fixedly connected to the bottom plate or detachably connected.

[0009] Preferably, the anode assembly device includes at least two support columns arranged diagonally, and the positions of the support columns correspond to the positions of the mounting holes opened at the edge of the anode base of the anode to be assembled.

[0010] Preferably, each support column includes a base column and a support pillar located at the top of the base column; the outer diameter of the support pillar is less than or equal to the inner diameter of the mounting hole opened at the edge of the anode base and less than the outer diameter of the base column.

[0011] Preferably, the support pillar is detachably connected to the base column or integrally formed.

[0012] Preferably, the cathode assembly device includes a vertical plate and at least one support block group;

[0013] The bottom end of the vertical plate is fixedly connected or slidably connected to the bottom plate, and a groove adapted to the shape and size of the cathode to be assembled is formed at the top end of the vertical plate;

[0014] The support block group includes two support blocks, and the two support blocks are respectively arranged on two opposite side surfaces of the vertical plate. The support block group is used to support the cathode ceramic plate to be assembled, so that the cathode to be assembled in the groove is assembled in the cathode ceramic plate to be assembled on the support block group.

[0015] Preferably, a limit protrusion is arranged at the edge of the support surface of each support block.

[0016] Preferably, each support block is slidably connected to the vertical plate.

[0017] Preferably, the material of each support block is plastic.

[0018] Preferably, one or more through holes are formed on the plate surface of the vertical plate.

[0019] The beneficial effects of the embodiment of the present invention compared with the prior art are as follows:

[0020] The assembly tooling for the anode and cathode components of the excimer laser discharge cavity of the present application can be applied to the assembly line to realize automatic assembly, greatly improving the assembly efficiency. At the same time, by using this assembly tooling, the bump damage of the cathode ceramic plate can be avoided, the assembly quality is guaranteed, and the cost is reduced.

[0021] For the assembly tooling of the present application, the cathode assembly device and the bottom plate are detachably connected. According to the assembly needs, the cathode assembly device can be separated from the bottom plate to realize structural reuse, that is, one set of tooling can be used to assemble both the cathode components and the anode components.

[0022] The anode assembly device of the present application includes at least two support columns arranged diagonally, preferably four support columns. During use, the anode base can be simply and conveniently installed on the support columns through the mounting holes formed at its edge.

[0023] To define the relative position between the anode base and the support columns, the support columns of the present application are divided into a base column and a support column, and it is defined that the outer diameter of the support column is smaller than that of the base column. During use, the anode base is installed on the support column through the mounting holes formed at its edge. At this time, the position of the anode base will be restricted on the support column.

[0024] According to the aperture size of the mounting holes opened on the edge of the anode base, select support columns of appropriate sizes. In this application, the base column and the support column of the support column are detachably connected, or can be integrally formed.

[0025] In this application, the vertical plate in the cathode assembly device is slidably connected to the bottom plate. According to the assembly needs, the vertical plate can be removed to facilitate the installation of the anode and the anode base. The support block group in this application is used to support the cathode ceramic plate. During assembly, first place the cathode in the groove at the top of the vertical plate, and then place the cathode ceramic plate on the support block group, and the cathode can be assembled on the cathode ceramic plate, and the operation is simple and convenient.

[0026] To ensure that the position of the cathode ceramic plate is relatively fixed during the assembly process, this application sets a limit protrusion on the edge of the support surface of the support block, and uses the limit protrusion to limit the assembly position of the cathode ceramic plate.

[0027] To make the cathode assembly device of this application applicable to the installation of cathode ceramic plates of different sizes, this application sets that the support block can be slidably connected to the vertical plate. During use, just slide the support block along the vertical plate to a position where it can stably support the cathode ceramic plate.

[0028] To avoid knocking on the cathode ceramic plate during the cathode assembly process, this application sets the material of the support block to be a plastic material, such as: polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, etc., and preferably polytetrafluoroethylene.

[0029] To make the vertical plate slide stably in the chute opened on the bottom plate, this application opens one or more through holes on the plate surface of the vertical plate, thereby reducing the weight of the vertical plate itself, avoiding the situation of tipping over due to its excessive weight, and at the same time facilitating the operation of the gripper. Description of the Drawings

[0030] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0031] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of an anode and cathode component assembly tool for an excimer laser discharge cavity provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 2 is Figure 1 exploded view of;

[0033] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the assembly process of the cathode component of the excimer laser discharge cavity;

[0034] Figure 4 is Figure 3 a side view of;

[0035] Figure 5 a schematic diagram of the assembly process of the anode assembly of the excimer laser discharge cavity;

[0036] Figure 6 is Figure 5 a side view of;

[0037] Figure 7 a schematic diagram of the structure of the excimer laser discharge cavity.

[0038] Components and reference numerals:

[0039] 1. Bottom plate; 2. Anode base; 2-1. Mounting hole; 3. Anode; 4. Cathode ceramic plate; 5. Cathode; 6. Support column; 6-1. Base column; 6-2. Strut; 7. Vertical plate; 7-1. Groove; 8. Support block; 8-1. Limit projection; 9. Through hole; 10. Cavity; 11. Heat dissipator; 12. Fan. Specific implementation manners

[0040] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer and more understandable, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0041] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or there may be an intermediate element at the same time. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or there may be an intermediate element at the same time.

[0042] In addition, it should also be noted that the terms of orientation such as left, right, up, and down in the embodiments of the present invention are only relative concepts to each other or are referenced based on the normal use state of the product, and should not be considered as restrictive. The implementation of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments.

[0043] The structure of the excimer laser discharge cavity to which the anode and cathode assembly tooling of the excimer laser discharge cavity of the present application is applied is shown in Figure 7 . The excimer laser discharge cavity includes a cavity 10, a heat dissipator 11, a fan 12, an anode base 2, an anode 3, a cathode ceramic plate 4, and a cathode 5. Among them, the cathode assembly includes but is not limited to the cathode ceramic plate and the cathode, and the anode assembly includes but is not limited to the anode base and the anode.

[0044] Next, the anode and cathode assembly tooling in the above-mentioned excimer laser discharge cavity will be described in detail.

[0045] As shown Figures 1 - 7 in the figure, the assembly tooling for the anode and cathode components of the excimer laser discharge chamber of the present invention includes a bottom plate 1, an anode assembly device, and a cathode assembly device; the anode assembly device and the cathode assembly device are arranged on the same surface of the bottom plate 1. The anode assembly device is used to support the anode base 2; during use, the anode 3 can be installed on the supported anode base 2. The cathode assembly device is used to support the cathode ceramic plate 4 and the cathode 5, so that the cathode 5 is assembled on the cathode ceramic plate 4. The assembly tooling for the anode and cathode components of the excimer laser discharge chamber of the present application can be applied to the assembly line to realize automatic assembly, greatly improving the assembly efficiency.

[0046] To realize the assembly of the anode component and the cathode component of the excimer laser discharge chamber and make reasonable use of the space of the bottom plate, the present application arranges the anode assembly device at the outer edge of the bottom plate 1 and the cathode assembly device in the middle of the bottom plate 1. At the same time, the anode assembly device is arranged to be detachably connected or integrally formed with the bottom plate 1, and the cathode assembly device is detachably connected or fixedly connected to the bottom plate 1. When assembling the anode component, the cathode assembly device can be removed to avoid affecting the assembly of the anode component. When assembling the cathode component, it is determined whether the anode assembly device needs to be removed according to the difficulty of the operation.

[0047] As shown Figures 5 - 6 in the figure, the anode assembly device in the present application includes at least two support columns 6 arranged diagonally. The positions of the support columns 6 are adapted to the positions of the mounting holes 2-1 opened at the edge of the anode base 2 of the anode component to be assembled. When assembling the anode component, the anode base 2 is arranged on the support columns 6. Arranging the anode base 2 on the support columns 6 facilitates the installation of the anode 3 thereon. The number of the support columns 6 is preferably four, and the positions of the four support columns 6 correspond to the positions of the mounting holes 2-1 opened at the edge of the anode base 2. The four support columns 6 can ensure the stability of the anode base thereon.

[0048] To define the relative positions of the anode base 2 and the support columns 6, the present application sets that each support column 6 includes a base column 6-1 and a column 6-2 located at the top of the base column; the outer diameter of the column 6-2 is equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the mounting hole 2-1 opened at the edge of the anode base 2 and smaller than the outer diameter of the base column 6-1. During use, the anode base 2 is installed on the column 6-2 through the mounting hole 2-1 opened at its edge. At this time, the position of the anode base 2 will be restricted on the column 6-2.

[0049] To select a support column 6 with a suitable size according to the aperture size of the mounting hole 2-1 opened at the edge of the anode base 2, the present application sets that the column 6-2 is detachably connected or fixedly connected to the base column 6-1. When the anode bases 2 to be assembled are of the same model, the column 6-2 and the base column 6-1 can also be set to be integrally formed.

[0050] As shown Figures 1 - 4 in the figure, the cathode assembly device of the present application includes a vertical plate 7 and at least one support block group; the bottom end of the vertical plate 7 is fixedly connected or slidably connected to the bottom plate 1, and a groove 7-1 adapted to the shape and size of the cathode 5 to be assembled is provided at the top end of the vertical plate 7; the support block group includes two support blocks 8, and the two support blocks 8 are respectively arranged on two opposite side surfaces of the vertical plate 7. The support block group is used to support the cathode ceramic plate 4 to be assembled, so that the cathode 5 in the groove 7-1 is assembled into the cathode ceramic plate 4 to be assembled on the support block group.

[0051] To ensure that the position of the cathode ceramic plate 4 is relatively fixed during the assembly process, limit protrusions 8-1 are provided at the edges of the support surfaces of each support block 8; the cathode ceramic plate 4 to be assembled is arranged between the two limit protrusions 8-1 in a support block group. In the present application, it is preferably to use two support block groups simultaneously for better stability.

[0052] To make the cathode assembly device of the present application applicable to the installation of cathode ceramic plates 4 of different sizes, each support block 8 is arranged to be slidably connected to the vertical plate 7. The support block 8 can slide along the length direction of the vertical plate 7 or along the width direction of the vertical plate 7. During use, only need to slide the support block 8 along the vertical plate 7 to a position where it can stably support the cathode ceramic plate 4. At the same time, the support blocks 8 within each support block group can also be arranged in a staggered manner.

[0053] To avoid knocking the cathode ceramic plate 4 during the assembly process of the cathode assembly, the material of the support block 8 is set as a plastic material, such as: polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, etc., and preferably polytetrafluoroethylene.

[0054] When the vertical plate 7 and the bottom plate 1 provided in the present application are slidably connected, the specific structure can adopt that the vertical plate 7 slides in the chute opened on the bottom plate 1. Since the two are only connected by the chute, the weight of the vertical plate 7 needs to be strictly controlled. To make the vertical plate 7 slide stably in the chute opened on the bottom plate 1, one or more through holes 9 are opened on the plate surface of the vertical plate 7, so as to reduce the weight of the vertical plate 7 itself and avoid the situation of tipping due to its excessive weight. It can also be used as a handle for easy installation, sliding and disassembly.

[0055] The assembly process of the cathode assembly (cathode and cathode ceramic plate) using the anode and cathode assembly tooling for the discharge chamber of the excimer laser of the present application is as follows: First, place the cathode 5 to be assembled in the groove 7-1 opened at the top of the vertical plate 7. Then, place the cathode ceramic plate 4 on the support block 8. During the placement process, the cathode 5 to be assembled enters the cathode mounting groove on the cathode ceramic plate 4. The cathode ceramic plate 4 and the cathode 5 are connected by threaded holes. There are threaded holes on the cathode 5 and through holes on the cathode ceramic plate 4. After placing the cathode 5, place the cathode ceramic plate 4. The position of the cathode ceramic plate 4 can be adjusted and observed from above. When the hole positions of the two are aligned, they can be fixedly connected. When the cathode ceramic plate 4 touches the support surface of the support block 8, the assembly of the cathode 5 and the cathode ceramic plate 4 can be carried out. The schematic diagram of the assembly process of the cathode assembly is shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4 。

[0056] The assembly process of the anode assembly (anode and anode base) using the anode and cathode assembly tooling for the discharge chamber of the excimer laser of the present application is as follows: Slide the vertical plate 7 and the support block group provided thereon out of the bottom plate 1 completely. Only the support columns 6 are provided on the bottom plate 1. Then, sleev the 4 mounting holes 2-1 at the corners of the anode base 2 to be assembled on the support columns 6, and use the support columns 6 to effectively support the anode base 2, thus facilitating the assembly operation. The schematic diagram of the assembly process of the anode assembly is shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6 。

[0057] In addition, if the height of the support columns 6 is high enough, during the assembly process of the anode assembly (anode and anode base), the vertical plate 7 and the support block group thereon do not need to be removed, as long as the vertical plate 7 and the support block group thereon do not interfere with the assembly of the anode assembly.

[0058] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements on some of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and should all be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An assembly tooling for the anode and cathode components of an excimer laser discharge cavity, characterized in that, it includes a bottom plate, an anode assembly device and a cathode assembly device; the anode assembly device and the cathode assembly device are arranged on the same surface of the bottom plate; the anode assembly device is used to support the anode base, and the anode assembly device at least includes two support columns arranged diagonally, and the positions of the support columns correspond to the positions of the mounting holes opened at the edge of the anode base of the anode to be assembled; the cathode assembly device includes a vertical plate and at least one support block group; the bottom end of the vertical plate is fixedly connected or slidably connected to the bottom plate, and a groove adapted to the shape and size of the cathode to be assembled is opened at the top end of the vertical plate; the support block group includes two support blocks, and the two support blocks are respectively arranged on the opposite two sides of the vertical plate. The support block group is used to support the cathode ceramic plate to be assembled, so that the cathode to be assembled in the groove is assembled in the cathode ceramic plate to be assembled on the support block group.

2. The assembly tooling for the anode and cathode components of an excimer laser discharge cavity according to claim 1, characterized in that, the anode assembly device is detachably connected or integrally formed with the bottom plate, and the cathode assembly device is fixedly connected or detachably connected to the bottom plate.

3. The assembly tooling for the anode and cathode components of an excimer laser discharge cavity according to claim 2, characterized in that, each of the support columns includes a base column and a support pillar located at the top end of the base column; the outer diameter of the support pillar is less than or equal to the inner diameter of the mounting hole opened at the edge of the anode base and less than the outer diameter of the base column.

4. The assembly tooling for the anode and cathode components of an excimer laser discharge cavity according to claim 3, characterized in that, the support pillar is detachably connected or integrally formed with the base column.

5. The assembly tooling for the anode and cathode components of an excimer laser discharge cavity according to claim 1, characterized in that, limit protrusions are arranged at the edges of the support surfaces of each of the support blocks.

6. The assembly tooling for the anode and cathode components of an excimer laser discharge cavity according to claim 1, characterized in that, each of the support blocks is slidably connected to the vertical plate.

7. The assembly tooling for the anode and cathode components of an excimer laser discharge cavity according to claim 1, characterized in that, the material of each of the support blocks is plastic material.

8. The assembly tooling for the anode and cathode components of an excimer laser discharge cavity according to claim 1, characterized in that, one or more through holes are opened on the plate surface of the vertical plate.

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