Alignment Microscope Positioning Mechanism of a Contact-Type Double-Station Automatic Exposure Machine

Abstract

The present invention provides an alignment microscope positioning mechanism for a contact type double-station automatic exposure machine, which includes an exposure light source moving assembly, an exposure light source assembly, and an alignment microscope limiting assembly. The exposure light source moving assembly includes a light source moving ball screw, a light source moving motor, a sliding mechanism, and a mounting plate. The present invention ensures the repeated positioning accuracy of the first alignment microscope and the second alignment microscope under the conditions of high efficiency and low cost; this structure is stable and reliable. When using a set of light source moving ball screws with a lead of 20 mm and a C7 accuracy grade and a sliding mechanism, slide rails, a first slider, and a second slider with a P accuracy grade, the repeated positioning accuracy of the first alignment microscope and the second alignment microscope can be improved to 2 μm. At this position, its positioning accuracy is equivalent to that of a light source moving ball screw with a C2 grade. The movement time required is short, which improves production efficiency and reduces the use cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of contact type double-station automatic exposure machine equipment, and particularly relates to an alignment microscope positioning mechanism for a contact type double-station automatic exposure machine. Background Art

[0002] The proximity contact type full-automatic exposure machine is one of the key equipment for semiconductor device manufacturing; before exposure, the proximity contact type automatic exposure machine first captures the marked pattern on the mask plate, and then captures the marked pattern on the wafer. Through calculation, automatic alignment is achieved by moving the wafer while the mask plate remains stationary, and then exposure is carried out. In the step of automatic alignment, the position of the alignment microscope relative to the mask plate directly affects the alignment accuracy. Since the alignment microscope and the exposure light source need to be switched above the alignment workbench, the repeat positioning accuracy of the alignment microscope directly affects the exposure quality.

[0003] Generally, in a proximity contact type double-station automatic exposure machine, the exposure light source and the alignment microscope are installed together and move together, so that the second workbench can perform alignment while the first workbench is performing exposure to improve work efficiency; however, the stroke of the exposure light source is large. Although using a lead screw with a high precision grade and a small lead can meet the repeat positioning requirements of the alignment microscope, due to the small lead, the movement takes a long time, seriously affecting the production efficiency and having a high cost. Therefore, an alignment microscope positioning mechanism for a contact type double-station automatic exposure machine is proposed. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the embodiments of the present invention hope to provide an alignment microscope positioning mechanism for a contact type double-station automatic exposure machine to solve or alleviate the technical problems existing in the prior art and at least provide a beneficial option.

[0005] The technical solution of the embodiments of the present invention is realized as follows: An alignment microscope positioning mechanism for a contact type double-station automatic exposure machine includes an exposure light source moving assembly, an exposure light source assembly, and an alignment microscope limiting assembly. The exposure light source moving assembly includes a light source moving ball screw, a light source moving motor, a sliding mechanism, and a mounting plate;

[0006] The exposure light source assembly is mounted on the lower surface of the exposure light source moving assembly, and the alignment microscope limiting assembly is mounted on the lower surface of the exposure light source assembly;

[0007] The exposure light source assembly includes an exposure light source, a first workbench, and a second workbench;

[0008] The alignment microscope limiting assembly includes a first alignment microscope, a second alignment microscope, a slide rail, a first slider, a second slider, a first spring column, a second spring column, a fixed limiting block, a limiting plate, a connecting plate, and a bottom plate;

[0009] There are two connecting plates in total. The lower surfaces of the first alignment microscope and the second alignment microscope are symmetrically mounted on the upper surfaces of the two connecting plates. A slide rail is mounted on the upper surface of the bottom plate. The outer side walls of the slide rail are respectively slidably connected to the inner side walls of the first slider and the second slider. The lower surface of the connecting plate is mounted on the upper surfaces of the first slider and the second slider. The upper surface of the bottom plate is mounted on the lower surface of the exposure light source. Two fixed limit blocks are respectively mounted on the upper surfaces of the first workbench and the second workbench. Two limit plates are respectively mounted on the lower surface of the bottom plate.

[0010] Further preferably, the upper surface of the mounting plate is mounted on the rear surface of the light source moving motor. The output shaft of the light source moving motor is mounted on one end of the light source moving ball screw. The other end of the light source moving ball screw is rotationally connected to the upper surface of the mounting plate through a bearing disc. The screw nut of the light source moving ball screw is mounted on the lower surface of the exposure light source.

[0011] Further preferably, four first spring columns are symmetrically mounted on the upper surface of the bottom plate, and four second spring columns are symmetrically mounted on the lower surface of the connecting plate.

[0012] Further preferably, the upper surface of the mounting plate is mounted on the lower surface of the sliding mechanism, and the upper surface of the sliding mechanism is mounted on the lower surface of the exposure light source.

[0013] Further preferably, the lower surfaces of the first workbench and the second workbench are mounted on the workbench.

[0014] Due to the adoption of the above technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, it has the following advantages:

[0015] The present invention ensures the repeat positioning accuracy of the first alignment microscope and the second alignment microscope with high efficiency and low cost. This structure is stable and reliable. The repeat positioning accuracy of the first alignment microscope and the second alignment microscope can be improved to 2μm by using a set of light source moving ball screws with a lead of 20mm and a C7 accuracy grade and a sliding mechanism, a slide rail, a first slider and a second slider with a P accuracy grade. At this position, its positioning accuracy is equivalent to that of a C2 grade light source moving ball screw. The movement takes a short time, improving production efficiency and reducing usage costs.

[0016] The above summary is only for the purpose of the specification and is not intended to be limiting in any way. In addition to the above-described illustrative aspects, embodiments and features, further aspects, embodiments and features of the present invention will be readily apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0018] Figure 1 Front view structure diagram of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 For the present invention Figure 1 Magnified structure diagram of area A of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 Top view structure diagram of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 Structure diagram of the present invention.

[0022] Reference numerals: 1, exposure light source; 2, light source moving ball screw; 3, light source moving motor; 4, first alignment microscope; 5, first workbench; 6, second alignment microscope; 7, second workbench; 8, slide rail; 9, first slider; 10, second slider; 11, first spring column; 12, second spring column; 13, fixed limit block; 14, limit plate; 15, sliding mechanism; 16, connecting plate; 17, bottom plate; 18, mounting plate; 20, exposure light source moving assembly; 30, exposure light source assembly; 40, alignment microscope limit assembly. Detailed implementation manners

[0023] In the following, only some exemplary embodiments are briefly described. As those skilled in the art can recognize, the described embodiments can be modified in various different ways without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the drawings and the description are considered to be exemplary in nature rather than restrictive.

[0024] The following will detail the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

[0025] As Figures 1-4 shown, the embodiment of the present invention provides an alignment microscope positioning mechanism for a contact type double-station automatic exposure machine, including an exposure light source moving assembly 20, an exposure light source assembly 30, and an alignment microscope limit assembly 40. The exposure light source moving assembly 20 includes a light source moving ball screw 2, a light source moving motor 3, a sliding mechanism 15, and a mounting plate 18;

[0026] The exposure light source assembly 30 is mounted on the lower surface of the exposure light source moving assembly 20, and the alignment microscope limit assembly 40 is mounted on the lower surface of the exposure light source assembly 30;

[0027] The exposure light source assembly 30 includes an exposure light source 1, a first workbench 5, and a second workbench 7;

[0028] The alignment microscope limiting assembly 40 includes a first alignment microscope 4, a second alignment microscope 6, a slide rail 8, a first slider 9, a second slider 10, a first spring post 11, a second spring post 12, a fixed limiting block 13, a limiting plate 14, a connecting plate 16, and a bottom plate 17;

[0029] There are two connecting plates 16 in total. The lower surfaces of the first alignment microscope 4 and the second alignment microscope 6 are symmetrically installed on the upper surfaces of the two connecting plates 16. The upper surface of the bottom plate 17 is installed with a slide rail 8, and the outer side walls of the slide rail 8 are respectively slidably connected to the inner side walls of the first slider 9 and the second slider 10. The lower surface of the connecting plate 16 is installed on the upper surfaces of the first slider 9 and the second slider 10. The upper surface of the bottom plate 17 is installed on the lower surface of the exposure light source 1. Two fixed limiting blocks 13 are respectively installed on the upper surfaces of the first workbench 5 and the second workbench 7, and two limiting plates 14 are respectively installed on the lower surface of the bottom plate 17.

[0030] In one embodiment, the upper surface of the mounting plate 18 is installed on the rear surface of the light source moving motor 3. The output shaft of the light source moving motor 3 is installed at one end of the light source moving ball screw 2. The other end of the light source moving ball screw 2 is rotationally connected to the upper surface of the mounting plate 18 through a bearing disc. The screw nut of the light source moving ball screw 2 is installed on the lower surface of the exposure light source 1. By selecting a light source moving ball screw 2 with a large lead and a relatively low precision grade, it is ensured that the movement time of the exposure light source 1 is short.

[0031] In one embodiment, four first spring posts 11 are symmetrically installed on the upper surface of the bottom plate 17, and four second spring posts 12 are symmetrically installed on the lower surface of the connecting plate 16. Through the setting of the first spring posts 11 and the second spring posts 12, it is convenient to stabilize the positions of the first slider 9 and the second slider 10 sliding on the slide rail 8.

[0032] In one embodiment, the upper surface of the mounting plate 18 is installed on the lower surface of the sliding mechanism 15, and the upper surface of the sliding mechanism 15 is installed on the lower surface of the exposure light source 1. Through the setting of the sliding mechanism 15, it is convenient to stabilize the movement stability of the exposure light source 1.

[0033] In one embodiment, the lower surfaces of the first workbench 5 and the second workbench 7 are installed on the workbench. Through the setting of the first workbench 5 and the second workbench 7, it is convenient for personnel to operate.

[0034] When the present invention is in operation: The first alignment microscope 4 and the second alignment microscope 6 are mounted on the connecting plate 16. A first slider 9 and a second slider 10 are mounted on the connecting plate 16, enabling the first slider 9 and the second slider 10 to slide on the slide rail 8 on the bottom plate 17 for stabilizing the movement of the connecting plate 16. A sliding mechanism 15 is mounted on the exposure light source 1 for assisting in moving the position of the exposure light source 1, and is connected by a tension spring to the first tension spring post 11 and the second tension spring post 12, pulling the first alignment microscope 4 and the second alignment microscope 6 towards the exposure light source 1. The light source moving motor 3 is started, and the output shaft of the light source moving motor 3 drives the light source moving ball screw 2 to rotate within the screw nut of the light source moving ball screw 2, and the screw nut drives the exposure light source 1 to move, thus facilitating the switching of the exposure light source 1 between the first workbench 5 and the second workbench 7. When switching to the alignment position of the second workbench 7, during the process of the second alignment microscope 6 moving to directly above the second workbench 7, the fixed limit block 13 first contacts the limit plate 14 connected to the second alignment microscope 6. At this time, the exposure light source 1 continues to move in this direction. Since the fixed limit block 13 contacts the limit plate 14 on the second alignment microscope 6, the second alignment microscope 6 no longer moves with the exposure light source 1, but rather the relative movement occurs between the slide rail 8 and the first slider 9 and the second slider 10. The tension spring between the first tension spring post 11 and the second tension spring post 12 is stretched, causing the second alignment microscope 6 to be in close contact with the fixed limit block 13 and the limit plate 14 on the connecting plate 16, achieving the positioning effect. When the second alignment microscope 6 moves, the connecting plate 16 synchronously drives the first alignment microscope 4 to move. When reverse operation is required, it is convenient to position the first alignment microscope 4 to the working position of the first workbench 5.

[0035] As described above, it is only the specific implementation manner of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention can easily think of various changes or substitutions, and these should all be covered within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be subject to the protection scope of the claimed rights.

Claims

1. An alignment microscope positioning mechanism for a contact type double-station automatic exposure machine, comprising an exposure light source moving assembly (20), an exposure light source assembly (30), and an alignment microscope limiting assembly (40), characterized in that: The lower surfaces of the first workbench (5) and the second workbench (7) are mounted on the workbench; The exposure light source moving assembly (20) includes a light source moving ball screw (2), a light source moving motor (3), a sliding mechanism (15), and a mounting plate (18); an exposure light source assembly (30) is mounted on the upper surface of the exposure light source moving assembly (20), and an alignment microscope limiting assembly (40) is mounted on the lower surface of the exposure light source assembly (30); the exposure light source assembly (30) includes an exposure light source (1); The alignment microscope limiting assembly (40) includes a first alignment microscope (4), a second alignment microscope (6), a slide rail (8), a first slider (9), a second slider (10), a first spring post (11), a second spring post (12), a fixed limiting block (13), a limiting plate (14), a connecting plate (16), and a bottom plate (17); Two connecting plates (16) are provided in total, and the lower surfaces of the first alignment microscope (4) and the second alignment microscope (6) are symmetrically mounted on the upper surfaces of the two connecting plates (16); The slide rail (8) is fixedly mounted on the upper surface of the bottom plate (17), and both sides of the slide rail (8) are slidably connected to the inner side walls of the first slider (9) and the second slider (10); The lower surface of the connecting plate (16) is fixedly mounted on the upper surfaces of the first slider (9) and the second slider (10); The upper surface of the bottom plate (17) is fixedly mounted on the lower surface of the exposure light source (1); Two fixed limiting blocks (13) are respectively mounted on the upper surfaces of the first workbench (5) and the second workbench (7), a limiting plate (14) is connected at both the first alignment microscope (4) and the second alignment microscope (6), and the limiting plate (14) is arranged corresponding to the position of the fixed limiting block (13); The output shaft of the light source moving motor (3) is connected to one end of the light source moving ball screw (2), the other end of the light source moving ball screw (2) is rotatably connected to the mounting plate (18) through a bearing disc, and the screw nut of the light source moving ball screw (2) is mounted on the lower surface of the exposure light source (1); Four first spring posts (11) are symmetrically mounted on the upper surface of the bottom plate (17), four second spring posts (12) are symmetrically mounted on the lower surface of the connecting plate (16), and a spring is connected between the first spring post (11) and the second spring post (12); The upper surface of the mounting plate (18) is mounted on the lower surface of the sliding mechanism (15), and the upper surface of the sliding mechanism (15) is mounted on the lower surface of the exposure light source (1).

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