Lens adjustment device, tunable optical system, and lithographic apparatus

Abstract

This invention provides a lens adjustment device, an adjustable optical system, and a photolithography device, applicable to the semiconductor manufacturing field. The lens adjustment device includes: a movable lens assembly module comprising: a lens barrel, a lens mount, and a centering unit; the lens mount is mounted on the lens barrel via the centering unit; and several position adjustment modules, all arranged circumferentially along the lens barrel. Each position adjustment module includes a drive unit and a transmission structure. The transmission structure includes a flexible transmission rod, a flexible transmission block, and a cantilever structure. The cantilever structure is mounted on the sidewall of the flexible transmission block, and its upper surface is connected to the lens mount. This invention eliminates point-to-surface friction by connecting the lens mount to the upper surface of the cantilever structure, and integrates the drive unit, transmission structure, and lens mount into a single unit. This improves the modal characteristics of the lens adjustment device and solves the problem of difficult maintenance of the drive unit when the drive unit and transmission structure are fixedly connected.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor equipment manufacturing technology, and in particular to a lens adjustment device, an adjustable optical system, and a photolithography device. Background Technology

[0002] In photolithography projection lenses, the image quality deteriorates due to manufacturing and assembly errors of the lenses. To solve this problem, movable lens groups are generally used to compensate for the manufacturing and assembly errors of the lenses.

[0003] like Figures 1-3 As shown, in the prior art, the movable lens assembly adjusts the lens using a flexible block 50. This flexible block 50 is a multi-hinge flexible linkage structure manufactured by wire cutting. One end of the flexible block 50 is connected to the lens mount 20 by screws, and the other end contacts the drive motor 60. The drive motor 60 drives the linkage walls 5a-5c of the flexible block, causing the lens mount to move in the Z-direction. Since the drive motor 60 and the transmission components are not directly connected, a relative displacement will inevitably occur between the drive shaft of the drive motor 60 and the flexible block 50 during movement. Because the contact point between the motor shaft and the flexible block is a point-to-surface contact, significant contact stress will be generated, leading to considerable friction. This friction will generate wear particles, posing a risk of contamination. Furthermore, the friction will cause tangential force on the motor shaft, causing continuous damage. In the reverse movement, the recovery of the flexible block 50 lags behind the retraction of the drive motor 60, resulting in motion lag and affecting the structural steady-state time.

[0004] On the other hand, the drive motor 60 is separated from the transmission element. The modality of the entire mechanism is determined by the stiffness of the spring and the contact stiffness between the motor drive shaft and the transmission element, resulting in a low modality. When the adjusting element moves in the DZ direction, the radial displacement at the drive point is very small due to the centering effect of the centering spring. However, the contact point between the transmission element and the lens mount tends to move in a certain radial direction during the DZ direction. Due to the very high radial stiffness of the transmission element, it will be subjected to a large radial force, resulting in extreme stress at the hinge of the transmission element. The transmission element is very prone to failure due to insufficient strength. Furthermore, if the radial stiffness of the transmission element is too high, and the machining of several circumferentially arranged transmission elements is inconsistent, it will lead to inconsistent stiffness, resulting in inconsistent radial forces during the DZ direction movement of the entire mechanism, which in turn causes crosstalk in the DX / DY directions of the lens. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application aims to provide a lens adjusting device, an adjustable optical system and a lithographic apparatus, by connecting a lens seat to the upper surface of a cantilever structure, the friction of point-surface contact can be eliminated, and the driving unit, transmission structure and lens seat are fixedly connected as a whole, the modal of the lens adjusting device can be improved, and the problem that the driving unit is not easy to maintain when the driving unit and transmission structure are fixedly connected can be solved.

[0006] To solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a lens adjusting device, comprising:

[0007] A movable lens group module, comprising a lens barrel, a lens seat and a centering unit, the lens seat is arranged on the lens barrel through the centering unit;

[0008] A plurality of position adjusting modules are arranged circumferentially along the lens barrel, and each position adjusting module comprises a driving unit and a transmission structure, the transmission structure is provided with a flexible transmission rod, a flexible transmission block and a cantilever structure, the cantilever structure is arranged on the side wall of the flexible transmission block, and the upper surface of the cantilever structure is connected with the lens seat;

[0009] The driving unit drives the flexible transmission rod to move forward and backward, and drives the cantilever structure arranged on the side wall of the flexible transmission block to move along the optical axis direction, so as to adjust the position of the lens seat.

[0010] Optionally, one end of the flexible transmission rod is fixedly connected with the driving unit, so that the driving unit and the transmission structure form an integrated structure; the other end of the flexible transmission rod is fixedly connected with the flexible transmission block, or movably connected with the flexible transmission block; when the other end of the flexible transmission rod is fixedly connected with the flexible transmission block, the flexible transmission rod and the flexible transmission block form an integrated structure.

[0011] Optionally, the transmission structure further comprises a fixing device, the fixing device is fixedly arranged on the flexible transmission block, and the flexible transmission rod and the flexible transmission block form an integrated structure through the fixing device.

[0012] Optionally, a first tapered hole is formed in the side edge of the flexible transmission block, the transmission structure further comprises a driving ball arranged in the first tapered hole, and the driving ball is abutted on the inner wall of the first tapered hole of the flexible transmission block through the flexible transmission rod, so that the other end of the flexible transmission rod is movably connected with the flexible transmission block.

[0013] Optionally, the transmission structure further comprises a first locking device and / or a second locking device, the first locking device is arranged on the flexible transmission block and located at one side of the drive ball to apply pressure to the drive ball from one side of the drive ball to lock the drive ball in the tapered hole; the second locking device is arranged on the flexible transmission block in at least two pairs to apply pressure to the drive ball from at least two opposite sides of the drive ball to lock the drive ball in the tapered hole.

[0014] Optionally, the first locking device comprises a locking rod and a ball head plunger, the locking rod is limited in the waist hole of the flexible transmission block by a limiting rod; a spring is sleeved outside the locking rod, one end of the spring is connected with the flexible transmission block and the other end is connected with the locking rod; the ball head plunger is connected with the flexible transmission block.

[0015] The drive unit drives the flexible transmission rod to move forward and backward, the drive ball vibrates upward, the locking rod compresses the spring, the spring is subjected to elastic force in the vertical direction to lock the drive ball, and the locking rod locks the drive ball in the horizontal direction by rotating the ball head plunger.

[0016] Optionally, the second locking device comprises a pair of arc-shaped locking rings, the arc-shaped locking rings of the second locking device are fixed on the outer wall of the flexible transmission block by bolts and symmetrically arranged on the upper and lower sides of the drive ball to lock the drive ball.

[0017] Optionally, the transmission structure further comprises a guide block located on the lower side of the flexible transmission rod, the guide block is arranged on the outer wall of the flexible transmission block to support the drive ball.

[0018] Optionally, the middle part of the flexible transmission rod has two mutually perpendicular thin wall structures processed by wire cutting to absorb the stress caused by the slight displacement of the drive ball in the vertical direction.

[0019] Optionally, a second tapered hole is formed in the side wall of the flexible transmission block, the cantilever structure is arranged in the second tapered hole to absorb the stress caused by the displacement of the cantilever structure in the horizontal direction through the second tapered hole to reduce the horizontal and vertical crosstalk caused by the movement of the cantilever structure along the optical axis.

[0020] Optionally, the position adjusting module has at least three, and the at least three position adjusting modules are uniformly arranged along the circumference of the lens barrel.

[0021] Optionally, the centering unit is a circular ring spring, the inner ring and the outer ring of the centering unit are connected with the lens barrel and the lens seat by screws respectively.

[0022] The second aspect of the present application further provides an adjustable optical system, comprising:

[0023] The lens adjusting device described above;

[0024] The movable lens is arranged on the lens seat of the lens adjusting device and is adjusted in position by the lens adjusting device.

[0025] The third aspect of the present application further provides a lithography device comprising the adjustable optical system described above.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the technical solution provided by the present application has at least one of the following beneficial effects:

[0027] In the lens adjusting device, the adjustable optical system and the lithography device provided by the present application, the friction force formed by the point-face contact can be eliminated by connecting the lens seat to the upper surface of the cantilever structure, thereby reducing the crosstalk of the three-degree-of-freedom movable mechanism in the DX / DY direction, making the objective lens have higher adjustment accuracy in the adjustment process of the image quality, and avoiding the risk problem of pollution of the objective lens caused by the particles generated by the friction wear. When the transmission friction force is reduced, the driving unit does not need to provide additional driving force to overcome the friction force, so that more driving force is used to drive the lens movement, making the three-degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism have a larger adjustment stroke, and because the driving unit has smaller output under the same adjustment stroke requirement, the service life of the driving unit is longer, the reliability of the structure is higher, the use cost is saved, and the driving unit, the transmission structure and the lens seat are fixedly connected as a whole, the modal of the lens adjusting device is improved, so that the mechanism reaches the steady state in a shorter time, the exposure waiting time and the step scanning time are reduced, and the exposure yield of the step scanning lithography machine is improved.

[0028] Further, in the lens adjusting device, the adjustable optical system and the lithography device provided by the present application, when the driving unit, the transmission structure and the lens seat are fixedly connected, the flexible transmission rod can be disassembled by the driving ball design, thereby realizing the online disassembly function of the driving unit and effectively avoiding the problem that the driving unit is difficult to replace after being damaged. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0029] Figures 1-3 It is a structural schematic diagram of the existing lens adjusting device;

[0030] Figures 4-7 It is a structural schematic diagram of the lens adjusting device provided by the embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] As described in the background section, in photolithography projection lenses, manufacturing and assembly errors of the lenses degrade the image quality. To address this issue, movable lens groups are generally used to compensate for these manufacturing and assembly errors. However, as... Figures 1-3 As shown, in the prior art, the movable lens assembly adjusts the lens using a flexible block 50. This flexible block 50 is a multi-hinge flexible linkage structure manufactured by wire cutting. One end of the flexible block 50 is connected to the lens mount 20 by screws, and the other end contacts the drive motor 60. The drive motor 60 drives the linkage walls 5a-5c of the flexible block, causing the lens mount to move in the Z-direction. Since the drive motor 60 and the transmission components are not directly connected, a relative displacement will inevitably occur between the drive shaft of the drive motor 60 and the flexible block 50 during movement. Because the contact point between the motor shaft and the flexible block is a point-to-surface contact, significant contact stress will be generated, leading to considerable friction. This friction will generate wear particles, posing a risk of contamination. Furthermore, the friction will cause tangential force on the motor shaft, causing continuous damage. In the reverse movement, the recovery of the flexible block 50 lags behind the retraction of the drive motor 60, resulting in motion lag and affecting the structural steady-state time.

[0032] On the other hand, the drive motor 60 is separated from the transmission element. The modality of the entire mechanism is determined by the stiffness of the spring and the contact stiffness between the motor drive shaft and the transmission element, resulting in a low modality. When the adjusting element moves in the DZ direction, the radial displacement at the drive point is very small due to the centering effect of the centering spring. However, the contact point between the transmission element and the lens mount tends to move in a certain radial direction during the DZ direction. Due to the very high radial stiffness of the transmission element, it will be subjected to a large radial force, resulting in extreme stress at the hinge of the transmission element. The transmission element is very prone to failure due to insufficient strength. Furthermore, if the radial stiffness of the transmission element is too high, and the machining of several circumferentially arranged transmission elements is inconsistent, it will lead to inconsistent stiffness, resulting in inconsistent radial forces during the DZ direction movement of the entire mechanism, which in turn causes crosstalk in the DX / DY directions of the lens.

[0033] To address this, the present invention provides a lens adjustment device, an adjustable optical system, and a photolithography apparatus. By connecting the lens mount to the upper surface of the cantilever structure, the frictional force of point-to-surface contact can be eliminated, and the drive unit, transmission structure, and lens mount can be fixedly connected as a whole. This can improve the modality of the lens adjustment device and solve the problem of the drive unit being difficult to maintain when the drive unit and transmission structure are fixedly connected.

[0034] The lens adjusting device, the adjustable optical system and the lithographic apparatus according to embodiments of the present application will be further described below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments. The advantages and features of the present application will be more apparent from the following description. It should be noted that the drawings are in very simplified form and are not precise in scale, and are only used to facilitate, clarify and assist in the description of the embodiments of the present application. The meaning of "and / or" in this paper includes both alternatives and both.

[0035] Reference Figure 4 , Figure 4 A schematic view of a lens adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present application is provided. The lens adjusting device comprises a movable lens group module 1 and a plurality of position adjusting modules 2.

[0036] The movable lens group module 1 comprises a lens barrel 11, a lens seat 12 and a centering unit 13. The lens seat 12 is arranged on the lens barrel 11 through the centering unit 13. The plurality of position adjusting modules 2 are arranged circumferentially along the lens barrel 11, and each position adjusting module 2 comprises a driving unit 21 and a transmission structure 22, the transmission structure 22 is provided with a flexible transmission rod 221, a flexible transmission block 222 and a cantilever structure 223, the cantilever structure 223 is arranged on the side wall of the flexible transmission block 222, and the upper surface of the cantilever structure 223 is connected with the lens seat 12.

[0037] The driving unit 21 is fixed on the lens barrel 11, and the driving unit 21 can be a driving motor. The driving unit 21 is used to drive the flexible transmission rod 221 to move forward and backward, and drive the cantilever structure 223 arranged on the side wall of the flexible transmission block 222 to move along the optical axis direction, so as to adjust the position of the lens seat 12.

[0038] In this embodiment, the rigidity of the cantilever structure 223 is reasonably designed, so that the cantilever structure 223 can absorb the stress caused by the displacement of the flexible transmission block 222 in the radial direction, and also can absorb the stress caused by the slight displacement in the tangential direction.

[0039] Optionally, the centering unit 13 is a circular ring spring, and the inner ring and the outer ring of the centering unit 13 are connected with the lens barrel 11 and the lens seat 12 through the screws 131.

[0040] Specifically, the inner ring and the outer ring of the centering unit 13 are uniformly distributed with a plurality of threaded holes (not marked). In this embodiment, the centering unit 13 is fixed with the lens barrel 11 and the lens seat 12 by inserting the screws 131 into the corresponding threaded holes, so as to ensure that the lens barrel 11 and the lens seat 12 are coaxial.

[0041] Optionally, the movement direction of the lens 3 along the optical axis is set as the Z direction. The annular surface of the centering unit 13 can also be provided with a plurality of through holes (not shown), and the plurality of through holes can be uniformly distributed along the circumference of the centering unit 13 to further reduce the rigidity of the centering unit 13 along the Z direction. By designing the shape and number of the through holes, the rigidity of the centering unit 13 along the Z direction can be quantitatively reduced without the need to recalculate the cross-sectional size of the centering unit 13. For example, when the cross-sectional size of the centering unit 13 is fixed, different Z-direction rigidities of the centering unit 13 can be designed by setting different numbers, different sizes and / or different shapes of the through holes, that is, the rigidity of the centering unit 13 along the Z direction can be parameterized according to different requirements.

[0042] Of course, the annular surface of the centering unit 13 can also not be provided with through holes, so that the rigidity of the centering unit 13 along the Z direction is higher, thereby making the lens adjusting device suitable for scenarios with smaller Z-direction adjustment strokes or higher modal requirements.

[0043] It should be noted that the lens seat 12 is used to fix the lens 3 and to uniformly adjust the position of the lens 3, and the position adjusting module 2 has at least three (for example, 4, 5, 6, 10, or even more, etc.) position adjusting modules 2 which are uniformly arranged along the circumference of the lens barrel 11; when the displacements provided by each driving unit 21 are the same, the lens seat 12 moves along the optical axis direction, and when the displacements provided by at least two driving units 21 are different, the lens seat 12 rotates around the direction perpendicular to the optical axis.

[0044] Specifically, all the position adjusting modules 2 are uniformly arranged along the circumference of the lens barrel 11; when the displacements of the cantilever structures 223 provided by each driving unit 21 along the Z direction are the same, the lens seat 12 moves along the Z direction, and when the displacements of the cantilever structures 223 provided by at least two driving units 21 along the Z direction are different, the lens seat 12 rotates around the direction perpendicular to the optical axis to change the inclination angle between the lens seat 12 and the lens 3.

[0045] In an embodiment of the present application, one end of the flexible transmission rod 221 is fixedly connected with the driving unit 21, so that the driving unit 21 and the transmission structure 22 form an integrated structure; the other end of the flexible transmission rod 221 is fixedly connected with the flexible transmission block 222 or movably connected with the flexible transmission block 222; when the other end of the flexible transmission rod 221 is fixedly connected with the flexible transmission block 222, the flexible transmission rod 221 and the flexible transmission block 222 form an integrated structure.

[0046] Reference Figure 6As shown, the driving unit 21 is fixedly connected with the transmission structure 22 through the flexible transmission rod 221 to form an integrated structure. As an example, one end of the flexible transmission rod 221 is threadedly connected with the driving unit 21 through the nut 211 to realize the fixed connection between the driving unit 21 and the transmission structure 22. In this embodiment, when the other end of the flexible transmission rod 221 is fixedly connected with the flexible transmission block 222, the various structures inside the transmission structure 22 can also constitute an integrated structure. Furthermore, the upper surface of the cantilever structure 223 in the transmission structure 22 is fixedly connected with the lens holder 12 through a screw, and the driving unit 21, the transmission structure 22 and the lens holder 12 can be connected as a whole, so that the modal of the lens adjusting device can be improved, and the time for the whole mechanism to reach a steady state is shorter, the exposure waiting and step scanning time are reduced, and the exposure yield of the step scanning lithography machine is improved.

[0047] Reference Figure 5 As shown, the transmission structure 22 further comprises a fixing device 224 fixedly arranged on the flexible transmission block 222, and the flexible transmission rod 221 forms an integrated structure with the flexible transmission block 222 through the fixing device 224.

[0048] Specifically, the fixing device 224 is an annular structure comprising an inner ring and an outer ring. The inner ring of the fixing device 224 is provided with an internal thread (not labeled), and the other end of the flexible transmission rod 221 is provided with an external thread (not labeled). The inner ring of the fixing device 224 is threadedly connected with the other end of the flexible transmission rod 221. The upper end and the lower end of the central axis of the fixing device 224 are further provided with two threaded holes (not labeled) respectively, so as to fasten the fixing device 224 on the flexible transmission block 222 through a screw.

[0049] In this embodiment, the flexible transmission rod 221 is fixedly connected with the flexible transmission block 222 as a whole, so that the internal structure of the transmission structure 22 is a fixedly and integrally connected integrated structure. By further fixedly connecting the transmission structure 22 with the driving unit 21 and the lens holder 12 respectively, the modal of the lens adjusting device can be further improved. Furthermore, the flexible transmission rod 221 and the flexible transmission block 222 are designed as an integrated structure, which has the advantages of completely eliminating friction and simple structure. The integrated structure can be used in the scene where the reliability of the driving unit 21 meets the demand and the life cycle of the lithography machine does not need to replace the motor.

[0050] Please continue to refer to Figure 6 The side edge of the flexible transmission block 222 is provided with a first tapered hole (not labeled), and the transmission structure 22 further comprises a driving ball 225 arranged in the first tapered hole. The driving ball 225 is abutted on the inner wall of the first tapered hole of the flexible transmission block 222 through the flexible transmission rod 221, so that the other end of the flexible transmission rod 221 is movably connected with the flexible transmission block 222.

[0051] Specifically, in order to facilitate the removal of the flexible transmission rod 221 and enable the detachable function of the drive unit 21, a drive ball 225 can be threaded to the other end of the flexible transmission rod 221, and the drive ball 225 can be pressed against the inner wall of the tapered hole of the flexible transmission block 222, so that the other end of the flexible transmission rod 221 can be movably connected to the flexible transmission block 222.

[0052] In this embodiment, the middle part of the flexible transmission rod 221 has two mutually perpendicular thin-walled structures (not shown) processed by wire cutting, which can absorb the stress generated by the small displacement of the drive ball 225 in two vertical directions. In addition, the flexible transmission rod 221 and the drive ball 225 in this embodiment can be directly inserted and removed, which effectively solves the problem of motor maintenance required in the three-degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism.

[0053] Optionally, the transmission structure 22 may further include a first locking device 226 and / or a second locking device 227. The first locking device 226 is disposed on the flexible transmission block 222 and located on one side of the drive ball 225 to apply pressure to the drive ball 225 from one side of the drive ball 225 to lock the drive ball 225 in the first conical hole (not marked). The flexible transmission block 222 is fixed to the support block 242 by a flexible bearing 232, and the support block 242 is fixed to the gasket 252. The second locking device 227 is disposed in at least pairs on the flexible transmission block 222 to apply pressure to the drive ball 225 from at least both opposite sides of the drive ball 225 to lock the drive ball 225 in the first conical hole.

[0054] Please refer to Figures 6-7 The transmission structure 22 can also lock the drive ball 225 in the first conical hole through the first locking device 226 and / or the second locking device 227. The first locking device 226 may include a locking rod 236 and a ball plunger 246. The locking rod 236 is limited in the waist hole (not marked) of the flexible transmission block 222 by a limiting rod 256. A spring 266 is sleeved on the outside of the locking rod 236. One end of the spring 266 is connected to the flexible transmission block 222, and the other end is connected to the locking rod 236. The ball plunger 246 is threadedly connected to the flexible transmission block 222.

[0055] Specifically, the limiting rod 256 passes through the through hole above the locking rod 236 and is located in the waist hole (unmarked) on the upper left of the flexible transmission block 222, thereby limiting the vertical movement of the locking rod 236 and preventing the locking rod 236 from disengaging from the countersunk hole (unmarked) after the driving ball 225 disengages. The driving ball 225 is located in the first conical hole of the flexible transmission block 222 and is simultaneously subjected to the downward locking force of the locking rod 236, causing it to adhere tightly to the inner wall of the conical hole, thus restricting its movement in six degrees of freedom. The ball plunger 246 is located in the threaded hole on the left side of the flexible transmission block 222, providing a preload force to the right of the locking rod 236, ensuring that the contact point between the locking rod 236 and the driving ball 225 is always in the leftmost position, so that the driving ball 225 will not disengage from the locking rod 236 during forward or backward movement.

[0056] The drive unit 21 drives the flexible transmission rod 221 to move back and forth, causing the drive ball 225 to vibrate upwards. This vibrates the locking rod 236, compressing the spring 266. The spring 266, under the action of elastic force, locks the drive ball 225 vertically. Furthermore, by rotating the ball-head plunger 246, the locking rod 236 locks the drive ball 225 horizontally. This completely locks the drive ball 225 in the first conical hole, reducing the transmission friction of the entire transmission structure 22. This results in higher utilization of the driving force of the drive unit 21 and eliminates backlash in the back-and-forth movement of the flexible transmission rod 221, ensuring consistent control parameters and simplifying parameter adjustment. Furthermore, it effectively improves the modal characteristics of the transmission structure, leading to better system dynamic performance and a shorter settling time.

[0057] In this embodiment, the locking of the drive ball 225 is achieved by using a combination of a tapered hole (unmarked) on the flexible transmission block 222 and two springs 266. This locking method is relatively simple, the assembly process is also relatively simple, the cost is low, and it also has a pluggable function, making it suitable for scenarios with a longer adjustment time.

[0058] Optionally, the second locking device 227 includes a pair of arc-shaped locking rings 237. The arc-shaped locking rings 237 of the pair of second locking devices 227 are both fixed to the outer wall of the flexible transmission block 222 by bolts and are symmetrically arranged on the upper and lower sides of the drive ball 225 to lock the drive ball 225.

[0059] Please refer to Figure 7 Each arc-shaped locking ring 237 includes a fixed end and a locking end. The fixed end is fixed to the outer wall of the flexible transmission block 222 by bolts, and the locking end has an arc-shaped curved structure. The locking end located on the upper side of the drive ball 225 cooperates with the locking end located on the lower side of the drive ball 225 to lock the drive ball in the first conical hole.

[0060] In this embodiment, the drive ball 225 is locked by a pair of arc-shaped locking rings 237, which makes the locking method simpler, the assembly process simpler, the cost lower, and it also has the same pluggable function.

[0061] Optionally, the transmission structure also includes a guide block 228, located below the flexible transmission rod 221. The guide block 228 is disposed on the outer wall of the flexible transmission block 222 to support the drive ball 225. Figure 6 As shown, in order to facilitate the flexible transmission rod 221 to push the drive ball 225, a guide block 228 can be provided on the outer wall of the flexible transmission block 222 and on the lower side of the flexible transmission rod 221. The guide block 228 can be fixed by screws 238.

[0062] Optionally, a second conical hole (unmarked) is provided on the side wall of the flexible transmission block 222, and the cantilever structure 223 is disposed in the second conical hole to absorb the stress caused by the horizontal displacement of the cantilever structure 223 through the second conical hole, so as to reduce the horizontal and vertical crosstalk caused by the movement of the cantilever structure 223 along the optical axis.

[0063] Furthermore, a second aspect of the present invention also proposes an adjustable optical system, comprising:

[0064] The aforementioned lens adjustment device;

[0065] The movable lens 3 is mounted on the lens mount 12 of the lens adjustment device and its position is adjusted by the lens adjustment device.

[0066] The drive unit 21 drives the flexible transmission rod 221 to move back and forth, and drives the cantilever structure 223 set on the side wall of the flexible transmission block 222 to move along the optical axis, so as to adjust the position of the lens 3 fixed on the lens mount 12.

[0067] Furthermore, a third aspect of the present invention provides a photolithography apparatus including the aforementioned adjustable optical system.

[0068] In the lens adjustment device, adjustable optical system, and lithography equipment provided by this invention, by connecting the lens mount to the upper surface of the cantilever structure, the frictional force formed by point-to-surface contact can be eliminated, thereby reducing crosstalk in the DX / DY directions of the three-degree-of-freedom movable mechanism. This allows the objective lens to have higher adjustment accuracy during image quality adjustment and avoids the risk of contamination of the objective lens interior by particles generated by friction and wear. When the transmission friction is reduced, the drive unit does not need to provide additional driving force to overcome the friction, thus allowing more driving force to be used to drive the lens movement. This enables the three-degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism to have a larger adjustment stroke. Furthermore, since the drive unit output is smaller for the same adjustment stroke requirement, the service life of the drive unit is longer, the structural reliability is correspondingly higher, and the operating cost is reduced. In addition, this invention fixes the drive unit, transmission structure, and lens mount into one unit, which can improve the modality of the lens adjustment device, thereby shortening the time for the mechanism to reach a steady state. This achieves the effect of reducing exposure waiting time, step scanning time, and improving the exposure yield of the step scanning lithography machine.

[0069] Furthermore, in the lens adjustment device, adjustable optical system, and lithography equipment provided by the present invention, when the drive unit, transmission structure, and lens mount are fixedly connected, the flexible transmission rod can be disassembled through the design of the drive ball, thereby realizing the online detachable function of the drive unit and effectively avoiding the problem of difficulty in replacing the drive unit after damage.

[0070] The above description is merely a description of preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention in any way. Any changes or modifications made by those skilled in the art based on the above disclosure shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0071] It should be noted that although the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to preferred embodiments, these embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention. For any person skilled in the art, many possible variations and modifications can be made to the technical solutions of the present invention based on the disclosed technical content, or equivalent embodiments can be modified accordingly, without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, any simple modifications, equivalent changes, and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the present invention shall still fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0072] In this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, without necessarily requiring or implying any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0073] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention are included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A lens adjustment device, characterized in that, include: The movable lens module includes: a lens barrel, a lens mount, and a centering unit, wherein the lens mount is mounted on the lens barrel via the centering unit; Several position adjustment modules are arranged along the circumference of the lens barrel, and each position adjustment module includes a drive unit and a transmission structure. The transmission structure is provided with a flexible transmission rod, a flexible transmission block and a cantilever structure. One end of the flexible transmission rod is fixedly connected to the drive unit so that the drive unit and the transmission structure form an integrated structure. The cantilever structure is arranged on the side wall of the flexible transmission block, and the upper surface of the cantilever structure is fixedly connected to the lens mount so as to connect the drive unit, the transmission structure and the lens mount into one unit. The drive unit drives the flexible transmission rod to move back and forth, and drives the cantilever structure set on the side wall of the flexible transmission block to move along the optical axis, so as to adjust the position of the mirror mount.

2. The lens adjustment device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The other end of the flexible transmission rod is fixedly connected to the flexible transmission block, or movably connected to the flexible transmission block; wherein, when the other end of the flexible transmission rod is fixedly connected to the flexible transmission block, the flexible transmission rod and the flexible transmission block form an integrated structure.

3. The lens adjustment device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The transmission structure also includes a fixing device, which is fixedly mounted on the flexible transmission block, and the flexible transmission rod forms an integrated structure with the flexible transmission block through the fixing device.

4. The lens adjustment device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The flexible transmission block has a first conical hole on its side. The transmission structure also includes a driving ball disposed in the first conical hole. The driving ball abuts against the inner wall of the first conical hole of the flexible transmission block through the flexible transmission rod, so that the other end of the flexible transmission rod is movably connected to the flexible transmission block.

5. The lens adjustment device as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The transmission structure further includes a first locking device and / or a second locking device. The first locking device is disposed on the flexible transmission block and located on one side of the driving ball to apply pressure to the driving ball from one side of the driving ball to lock the driving ball in the tapered hole. The second locking device is provided in at least a pair on the flexible transmission block to apply pressure to the drive ball from at least both sides of the drive ball, thereby locking the drive ball in the tapered hole.

6. The lens adjustment device as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The first locking device includes a locking rod and a ball plunger. The locking rod is limited in the waist hole of the flexible transmission block by a limiting rod. A spring is sleeved on the outside of the locking rod. One end of the spring is connected to the flexible transmission block, and the other end is connected to the locking rod. The ball plunger is connected to the flexible transmission block. The drive unit drives the flexible transmission rod to move back and forth, the drive ball vibrates upward, causing the locking rod to compress the spring. The spring is subjected to elastic force to lock the drive ball in the vertical direction, and by rotating the ball head plunger, the locking rod locks the drive ball in the horizontal direction.

7. The lens adjustment device as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The second locking device includes a pair of arc-shaped locking rings. Both arc-shaped locking rings of the second locking device are fixed to the outer wall of the flexible transmission block by bolts and are symmetrically arranged on the upper and lower sides of the driving ball to lock the driving ball.

8. The lens adjustment device as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The transmission structure also includes a guide block located on the lower side of the flexible transmission rod. The guide block is disposed on the outer wall of the flexible transmission block to support the driving ball.

9. The lens adjustment device as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The middle part of the flexible transmission rod has two mutually perpendicular thin-walled structures machined by wire cutting to absorb the stress generated by the small displacement of the driving ball in two vertical directions.

10. The lens adjustment device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The flexible transmission block has a second conical hole on its side wall, and the cantilever structure is disposed in the second conical hole to absorb the stress caused by the horizontal displacement of the cantilever structure through the second conical hole, so as to reduce the crosstalk in the horizontal and vertical directions caused by the movement of the cantilever structure along the optical axis.

11. The lens adjustment device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The position adjustment module has at least three modules, and the at least three position adjustment modules are evenly arranged along the circumference of the lens barrel.

12. The lens adjustment device as described in any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that, The centering unit is a circular spring, and the inner and outer rings of the centering unit are connected to the lens barrel and the lens mount by screws, respectively.

13. An adjustable optical system, characterized in that, include: The lens adjustment device as described in any one of claims 1-12; A movable lens is mounted on the lens mount of the lens adjustment device and its position is adjusted by the lens adjustment device.

14. A photolithography apparatus, characterized in that, Includes the adjustable optical system as described in claim 13.

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