Stage leveling device for proximity lithography machine

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of proximity photolithography's stage leveling device, which comprises mask table, product stage, at least three contact balls and at least three voice coil motors;The product stage is arranged below the mask table;The contact ball is arranged on the product stage, the diameter of each contact ball is consistent, and each contact ball is not on a straight line;The voice coil motor is arranged below the product stage;The voice coil motor is used to lift the product stage, so that the two ends of the contact ball in the vertical direction respectively abut against the lower surface of the mask table and the upper surface of the product stage, to adjust the parallelism of one side of the product stage relative to the mask table and one side of the mask table relative to the product stage.The technical scheme of the application can realize the rapid leveling of the product stage in the proximity photolithography, improve the leveling precision and ensure the exposure quality.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of lithography special equipment, in particular to a stage leveling device of proximity lithography machine. BACKGROUND

[0002] The lithography machine is also named mask alignment exposure machine, exposure system, lithography system, etc. It is the core equipment for manufacturing chips. It adopts the technology similar to photo printing to print the fine pattern on the mask onto the silicon wafer through light exposure.

[0003] In the related art, in the field of proximity lithography machine, in order to improve the exposure quality, it is necessary to use a leveling device to ensure the parallelism between the mask plate and the product stage. The traditional stage leveling device has large parallelism error between the product stage and the mask stage, and needs to be leveled repeatedly, so the leveling precision is low. SUMMARY

[0004] The main purpose of the present application is to provide a stage leveling device of proximity lithography machine, which aims to improve the leveling precision of adjusting the parallelism between the product stage and the mask stage.

[0005] To achieve the above purpose, the stage leveling device of proximity lithography machine provided by the present application comprises:

[0006] A mask stage;

[0007] A product stage arranged below the mask stage;

[0008] At least three contact balls arranged on the product stage, each contact ball has the same diameter, and each contact ball is not on a straight line;

[0009] At least three voice coil motors arranged below the product stage;

[0010] The voice coil motor is used to lift the product stage, so that the two ends of the contact ball in the vertical direction respectively abut against the lower surface of the mask stage and the upper surface of the product stage, to adjust the parallelism between one side of the product stage relative to the mask stage and one side of the mask stage relative to the product stage.

[0011] In an embodiment, the output end of the voice coil motor is provided with a rotatable ball head, and the ball head is in point contact with the product stage.

[0012] In an embodiment, the stage leveling device further comprises a base, and the voice coil motor is mounted on the base and located between the base and the product stage.

[0013] In an embodiment, the stage leveling device further comprises a carrier support component, the carrier support component comprising a support table and a telescopic assembly telescopically mounted to the support table, the telescopic assembly being provided with a rotatable connecting portion, the connecting portion connecting the product stage, and the support table connecting the base.

[0014] In an embodiment, the number of the contact balls is three, and the three contact balls are uniformly arranged in an equilateral triangle form.

[0015] In an embodiment, the voice coil motors are not all on a straight line.

[0016] In an embodiment, the number of the voice coil motors is three, and the three voice coil motors are uniformly arranged in an equilateral triangle form.

[0017] In an embodiment, the center lines of the three contact balls coincide with the center line of the product stage.

[0018] In an embodiment, the center lines of the three voice coil motors coincide with the center line of the product stage.

[0019] In an embodiment, the product stage has a cross section of a rounded square.

[0020] In an embodiment, the mask stage has a cross section of a square.

[0021] The stage leveling device of the proximity type photoetching machine comprises a mask stage, a product stage, at least three contact balls, and at least three voice coil motors. The product stage is arranged below the mask stage. The contact balls are arranged on the product stage, and the contact balls are not all on a straight line. The voice coil motors are arranged below the product stage. The voice coil motors are used to lift the product stage, so that the two ends of the contact balls in the vertical direction abut against the lower surface of the mask stage and the upper surface of the product stage, respectively, to adjust the parallelism of one side of the product stage relative to the mask stage and one side of the mask stage relative to the product stage. In this way, multiple voice coil motors synchronously generate the same torque. Under the pushing of the voice coil motors, the product stage rises, the product stage is close to the mask stage, and the contact balls are tightly clamped between the lower surface of the mask stage and the upper surface of the product stage. At this time, according to the principle that three non-collinear points determine a plane and the distance between the lower surface of the mask stage and the upper surface of the mask stage is equal to the diameter of the contact ball everywhere, the relative surfaces of the product stage and the mask stage remain parallel, the plane on which the product stage is located is determined, the positions of the voice coil motors are recorded and maintained when they are tightly clamped, and the contact balls are removed. After this, when the product stage is driven by the mechanical structure outside the leveling device, the relative surfaces of the product stage and the mask stage can still remain parallel within the effective stroke, the parallelism needs to be adjusted every time the product stage is exposed, the leveling precision is improved, and the processing efficiency is improved. Attached Figure Description

[0022] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without creative effort.

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a structure of an embodiment of the stage leveling device for the proximity lithography machine of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 2 This is a front view of an embodiment of the stage leveling device for the proximity lithography machine of the present invention.

[0025] Explanation of icon numbers:

[0026] Reference Name Reference Name 100 Mask table 500 Base 200 Product table 600 Carrier support member 300 Contact ball 410 Ball head 400 Voice coil motor

[0027] The realization of the objective, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] It should be noted that if the embodiments of the present invention involve directional indicators (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.), the directional indicators are only used to explain the relative positional relationship and movement of the components in a certain specific posture (as shown in the figure). If the specific posture changes, the directional indicators will also change accordingly.

[0030] In addition, if the description of "first", "second" and the like is involved in the embodiments of the present application, the description of "first", "second" and the like is only for the purpose of description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying the relative importance of the indicated technical features or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features limited by "first", "second" can be explicitly or implicitly included at least one of the features. In addition, the meaning of "and / or" appearing throughout the text is that it includes three parallel schemes, for example, "A and / or B" includes A scheme, or B scheme, or A and B scheme. In addition, the technical solutions of each embodiment can be combined with each other, but it must be based on the realization of the ordinary skilled in the art, when the combination of technical solutions appears contradictory or unachievable, it should be considered that the combination of technical solutions does not exist, nor within the scope of protection required by the present application.

[0031] Lithography machine is also known as mask alignment exposure machine, exposure system, photolithography system, etc. It is the core equipment of chip manufacturing. It uses a technology similar to photo printing to print fine patterns on the mask onto the silicon wafer through light exposure.

[0032] In the related art, in the field of proximity lithography machine, in order to improve the exposure quality, it is necessary to use a leveling device to ensure the parallelism of the mask and the product stage. The traditional stage leveling device has large parallelism error between the leveling product stage and the mask stage, and needs to be leveled repeatedly, and the leveling precision is low.

[0033] Please refer to Figures 1 to 2 The present application provides a stage leveling device for proximity lithography machine.

[0034] The stage leveling device for proximity lithography machine comprises a mask stage 100, a product stage 200, at least three contact balls 300 and at least three voice coil motors 400; the product stage 200 is arranged below the mask stage 100; the contact balls 300 are arranged on the product stage 200, the diameters of each contact ball 300 are consistent, and each contact ball 300 is not on a straight line; the voice coil motor 400 is arranged below the product stage 200; the voice coil motor 400 is used to lift the product stage 200, so that the two ends of the contact ball 300 in the vertical direction respectively abut against the lower surface of the mask stage 100 and the upper surface of the product stage 200, to adjust the parallelism of one side of the product stage 200 relative to the mask stage 100 and the other side of the mask stage 100 relative to the product stage 200.

[0035] Specifically, the multiple voice coil motors 400 synchronously output the same torque, under the pushing of the voice coil motors 400, the product carrier 200 rises, the product carrier plate is close to the mask table 100, the contact balls 300 are pressed and clamped between the lower surface of the mask table 100 and the upper surface of the product carrier 200, at this time, according to the principle of determining a plane by three non-collinear points and the distance between the lower surface of the mask table 100 and the upper surface of the mask table 100 is equal to the diameter of the contact ball 300 everywhere, the relative surfaces of the product carrier plate and the mask table 100 remain parallel, the plane where the product carrier 200 is located is determined, the voice coil motors 400 record the respective positions when being pressed and remain, the contact balls 300 are withdrawn, and after this, when the product carrier 200 is driven by the mechanical structure outside the leveling device, the relative surfaces of the product carrier plate and the mask table 100 can still remain parallel within the effective stroke, so that the parallelism needs not to be adjusted every time of exposure, the leveling precision is improved, and the processing efficiency is accelerated. The carrier leveling device of the proximity type photoetching machine can realize the rapid leveling of the product carrier 200 in the proximity type photoetching machine, improve the leveling precision, ensure the exposure quality, and improve the qualified rate of products.

[0036] Please refer to Figures 1 to 2 In an embodiment, a rotatable ball head 410 is installed at the output end of the voice coil motor 400, and the ball head 410 is in point contact with the product carrier 200. It can be understood that when the voice coil motor 400 jacks up the product carrier 200, one of the contact balls 300 thereon first contacts the mask table 100, at this time, the voice coil motor 400 continues to jack up, since the ball head 410 of the voice coil motor 400 can rotate freely, the ball head 410 can eliminate the transverse shearing force of the voice coil motor 400 on the product carrier 200, and then the remaining contact balls 300 sequentially abut against the product carrier 200, so that the distance between the product carrier 200 and the mask table 100 is equal to the diameter of the contact ball 300 everywhere, the parallelism between the two is ensured, and the leveling precision is improved.

[0037] Please refer to Figures 1 to 2 In an embodiment, the carrier leveling device further comprises a base 500, the voice coil motor 400 is installed on the base 500 and located between the base 500 and the product carrier 200. It can be understood that the base 500 can be driven by the mechanical structure outside the leveling device to drive the voice coil motor 400 and the product carrier 200 to move up and down, since the voice coil motor 400 records the respective positions when the contact balls 300 are pressed by the product carrier 200 and the mask table 100 and remains, at this time, the product carrier 200 and the mask table 100 always remain parallel, so that the parallelism needs not to be adjusted every time of exposure.

[0038] Please refer to Figures 1 to 2In an embodiment, the stage leveling device further comprises a carrier supporting component 600, which comprises a supporting table and a telescopic assembly telescopically mounted on the supporting table, the telescopic assembly is provided with a rotatable connecting portion, the connecting portion connects the product stage 200, and the supporting table connects the base 500. It can be understood that the carrier supporting component 600 can limit the horizontal translation of the product stage 200, while being capable of retaining the rotation of the product stage 200 in each direction, so that the voice coil motor 400 can adjust the parallelism between the product stage 200 and the mask stage 100.

[0039] Referring to Figures 1 to 2 In order to balance the contact points between the mask stage 100 and the product stage 200, in an embodiment, the number of the contact balls 300 is three, and the three contact balls 300 are uniformly arranged in an equilateral triangle form. In other embodiments, the number of the contact balls 300 can be more than three, for example, four, five, etc., as long as the arrangement of the contact balls 300 is not on a straight line.

[0040] Referring to Figures 1 to 2 In order to facilitate the voice coil motor 400 to adjust the position of the product stage 200 in different directions, in an embodiment, each of the voice coil motors 400 is not on a straight line. It can be understood that the voice coil motors 400 are arranged at different positions, so that the voice coil motors 400 can adjust the posture of the product stage 200 under the product stage 200 in different directions, thereby improving the adjustment accuracy.

[0041] Referring to Figures 1 to 2 In an embodiment, the number of the voice coil motors 400 is three, and the three voice coil motors 400 are uniformly arranged in an equilateral triangle form. In this way, the adjustment of the position of the product stage 200 by different voice coil motors 400 can be balanced. In other embodiments, the number of the voice coil motors 400 can be more than three, for example, four, five, etc., as long as the arrangement of the voice coil motors 400 is not on a straight line.

[0042] Referring to Figures 1 to 2In an embodiment, the center lines of the three contact balls 300 coincide with the center line of the product table 200; and / or, the center lines of the three voice coil motors 400 coincide with the center line of the product table 200. It can be understood that the center lines of the three contact balls 300 coincide with the center line of the product table 200. Alternatively, the center lines of the three voice coil motors 400 coincide with the center line of the product table 200. Alternatively, the center lines of the three contact balls 300, the center lines of the three voice coil motors 400, and the center line of the product table 200 all coincide. In this way, the forces of the contact balls 300 and the voice coil motors 400 on the product table 200 can be more uniform, which is conducive to adjusting the parallelism between the product table 200 and the mask table 100.

[0043] The cross section of the product table 200 can be various, such as square, rectangular, oval, etc. Please refer to Figures 1 to 2 In an embodiment, the cross section of the product table 200 is a rounded square.

[0044] The cross section of the mask table 100 can be various, such as square, rectangular, oval, etc. Please refer to Figures 1 to 2 In an embodiment, the cross section of the mask table 100 is a square.

[0045] The above description is only optional embodiments of the present application, and does not limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structural transformation, direct / indirect application in other related technical fields, or the like, which is made under the inventive concept of the present application, and based on the content of the present application and the accompanying drawings, is included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A stage leveling device for a proximity photolithography machine, comprising: The application relates to a mask table leveling device, which comprises: a mask table; a product table arranged below the mask table; at least three contact balls arranged on the product table, each of the contact balls having the same diameter, and each of the contact balls not being arranged on a straight line, wherein three of the contact balls are arranged in an equilateral triangle; at least three voice coil motors arranged below the product table, each of the voice coil motors not being arranged on a straight line, wherein three of the voice coil motors are arranged in an equilateral triangle; the voice coil motors are used for lifting the product table, so that two ends of the contact balls in a vertical direction respectively abut against a lower surface of the mask table and an upper surface of the product table, so as to adjust one side of the product table relative to the mask table and one side of the mask table relative to the product table to be parallel, the voice coil motors are also used for recording and keeping positions of the contact balls when the contact balls are pressed by the product table and the mask table, so as to keep the product table and the mask table parallel, and an output end of the voice coil motor is provided with a freely rotatable ball head, the ball head is in point contact with the product table.

2. The proximity photolithography stage leveling apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The mask table leveling device further comprises a base, the voice coil motors are arranged on the base and located between the base and the product table.

3. The proximity photolithography stage leveling apparatus of claim 2, wherein, The mask table leveling device further comprises a carrier supporting component, the carrier supporting component comprises a supporting table and a telescopic assembly telescopically arranged on the supporting table, the telescopic assembly is provided with a rotatable connecting part, the connecting part is connected with the product table, and the supporting table is connected with the base.

4. The proximity photolithography stage leveling apparatus of claim 3, wherein, The number of the contact balls is three.

5. The proximity photolithography stage leveling apparatus of claim 4, wherein, The number of the voice coil motors is three.

6. The proximity photolithography stage leveling apparatus of claim 5, wherein, Center lines of the three contact balls coincide with a center line of the product table. Center lines of the three voice coil motors coincide with the center line of the product table.

7. The proximity photolithography stage leveling apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The product table has a circular-rectangular cross section.

8. The proximity photolithography stage leveling apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The mask table has a square cross section.

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