High-precision slide assembly and lithography machine workbench

Abstract

The present invention provides a high-precision slide assembly and a photolithography machine workbench. The high-precision slide assembly includes a base, a slide, a slide drive unit and an adjustment unit; the slide is used to carry a wafer carrier; the base is provided with a linear guide rail, the slide is installed on the linear guide rail, and the slide drive unit is connected to the slide to drive the slide to move along the linear guide rail. The first end of the adjustment unit is connected to the slide drive unit, and the second end of the adjustment unit is rotatably connected to one end of the slide. The adjustment unit can rotate around one end of the slide toward or away from the base under the drive of the slide drive unit. It can avoid slight shaking and friction of the slide during movement, thereby improving the static performance of the slide and the service life of the slide assembly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of integrated circuit manufacturing, and in particular to a high-precision slide table component and a photolithography machine workbench. Background Art

[0002] In current semiconductor equipment, there are many parts that need to be adjusted. At the same time, the parts are required to have static stability after adjustment. In the prior art, the parts that need to be adjusted can be directly installed on the slide of the ball screw linear module. Usually, the slide adopts a rigid connection fixing method, such as a screw nut rigid connection. The slide and the linear motor drive the ball screw to drive the slide to perform linear motion under the constraint of the linear guide. However, due to the parallelism tolerance between the ball screw and the linear guide, the linear guide, ball screw, and slide will generate interaction forces that are not parallel to the direction of movement, affecting the static stability of the slide. At the same time, it will aggravate the mechanical wear of the guide and ball screw, affecting the service life of the equipment.

[0003] It can be seen that the existing technology has the problems of poor static performance of the slide and severe mechanical wear of the equipment. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention provides a high-precision slide assembly and a photolithography machine workbench, which solve the problems of poor static performance of the slide and severe mechanical wear of the equipment in the prior art.

[0005] The present invention provides a high-precision slide assembly, comprising a base, a slide, a slide drive unit and an adjustment unit; the slide is used to carry a wafer carrier; the base is provided with a linear guide rail, the slide is mounted on the linear guide rail, and the slide drive unit is connected to the slide to drive the slide to move along the linear guide rail;

[0006] The first end of the adjusting part is connected to the slide driving part, and the second end of the adjusting part is rotatably connected to one end of the slide. The adjusting part can rotate around one end of the slide towards or away from the base under the drive of the slide driving part.

[0007] In the present invention, the adjustment part arranged between the slide driving part and the slide can rotate around one end of the slide when the slide is driven by the slide driving part. Through the rotation, the component force that is not parallel to the movement direction of the slide caused by the parallelism tolerance (such as installation error) of the slide driving part is absorbed, and then only the force parallel to the movement direction of the slide is transmitted to the slide, thereby ensuring that the driving force received by the slide is always parallel to the movement direction (or can be understood as consistent with the movement direction), avoiding slight shaking and friction of the slide during the movement, and improving the static performance of the slide and the service life of the slide assembly.

[0008] Optionally, a rotation axis of the adjusting portion rotating around one end of the slide is perpendicular to the movement direction of the slide and is located in the same plane.

[0009] Optionally, the slide drive unit includes a ball screw and a screw nut, and the adjustment unit includes a body, a rotating shaft and a bearing; one end of the body is connected to the screw nut, the bearing is installed on the slide, and the end of the body away from the screw nut is rotatably connected to the bearing through the rotating shaft.

[0010] The high-precision slide assembly of the embodiment of the present invention uses a rotating shaft and a bearing to realize the rotation of the adjustment part, and has the advantages of simple structure and low cost.

[0011] Optionally, a first mounting hole and a second mounting hole are provided on the slide, and the first mounting hole and the second mounting hole are symmetrically arranged about the ball screw; the rotating shaft includes a first rotating shaft and a second rotating shaft, and the bearing includes a first bearing and a second bearing; the first bearing is installed in the first mounting hole, and the second bearing is installed in the second mounting hole; the first rotating shaft and the second rotating shaft are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the main body and are respectively installed on the first bearing and the second bearing.

[0012] The high-precision slide assembly in the embodiment of the present invention has a symmetrically arranged first rotating shaft, second rotating shaft, first bearing and second bearing. Compared with the unilateral arrangement or the central arrangement, the force transmission is more balanced and the error caused by the poor installation position can be avoided to a certain extent, which can further improve the static performance of the slide.

[0013] Optionally, the linear guide rail includes a first guide rail and a second guide rail arranged in parallel, the first mounting hole is located between the first guide rail and the ball screw, and the second mounting hole is located between the second guide rail and the ball screw.

[0014] The high-precision slide assembly of an embodiment of the present invention arranges the first mounting hole and the second mounting hole between the guide rail and the ball screw, or it can be understood that the first mounting hole and the second mounting hole are located on the inner side of the two guide rails, which can make the entire slide assembly structure more compact and avoid interference between the adjustment part and other equipment, thereby affecting the static performance of the slide.

[0015] Optionally, the first rotating shaft and the second rotating shaft are both screw-driven.

[0016] Optionally, a slider is provided at the bottom of the slide, which is mounted on the linear guide rail and has a size matching that of the linear guide rail, so that when the slide rail moves along the linear guide rail, the slider fits against the side wall of the linear guide rail.

[0017] The embodiment of the present invention uses linear guides and sliders with matching sizes, so that the slide can fit with the side walls of the linear guide when moving along the linear guide, thereby avoiding non-linear deviations in the horizontal direction during movement and further improving the static stability of the slide.

[0018] Optionally, a mounting groove is provided on a side of the main body of the adjusting part facing the slide driving part, and the lead screw nut of the slide driving part is installed in the mounting groove.

[0019] The present invention also provides a photolithography machine workbench, including the high-precision slide assembly involved in the above-mentioned embodiments and possible implementation methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a high-precision slide assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 It is a schematic side view of the structure of a high-precision slide assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the partial cross-sectional structure of the precision slide assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Description of reference numerals:

[0024] 1: High-precision slide assembly;

[0025] 11: base; 110: linear guide rail; 1101: first guide rail; 1102: second guide rail;

[0026] 12: slide table; 120: slider; 121: first mounting hole; 122: second mounting hole;

[0027] 131: ball screw; 132: screw nut;

[0028] 14: adjusting part; 141: main body; 1410: mounting groove; 1421: first rotating shaft; 1422: second rotating shaft; 1431: first bearing; 1432: second bearing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. This embodiment is implemented based on the technical solution of the present invention, and provides a detailed implementation method and specific operation process, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0030] It should be noted that in this specification, similar reference numerals and letters denote similar items in the following drawings, and therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, it does not need to be further defined and explained in the subsequent drawings.

[0031] In the description of this embodiment, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "inner", "bottom", etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, or are the orientations or positional relationships in which the inventive product is usually placed when used. They are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0032] The terms “first”, “second”, etc. are only used for distinguishing descriptions and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0033] In the description of this embodiment, it is also necessary to explain that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "set", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this embodiment can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0034] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear, the embodiments of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0035] Photolithography is a process of transferring the pattern on the photoresist plate to the photoresist through chemical reactions, and then transferring the pattern on the photoresist to the thin film on the silicon surface through etching. Photolithography requires that the pattern on the silicon wafer surface be accurately aligned with the pattern on the mask, with extremely high precision requirements, and the error is at the micron or even nanometer level. Therefore, the equipment that carries the silicon wafer and wafer substrate is required to have extremely high static stability.

[0036] See also Figure 1~Figure 3 The present invention provides a high-precision slide assembly 1, including a base 11, a slide 12, a slide drive unit (such as a ball screw 131 and a screw nut 132), and an adjustment unit 14. The slide 12 is used to carry a wafer carrier (specifically, the slide 12 is used to change the height of the wedge block to adjust the height of the wafer carrier). The base 11 is provided with a linear guide rail 110, the slide 12 is installed on the linear guide rail 110, and the slide drive unit (such as a ball screw 131 and a screw nut 132) is connected to the slide 12 to drive the slide 12 to move along the linear guide rail.

[0037] The first end of the adjusting part 14 is connected to the slide driving part, specifically, it can be connected to the screw nut 132, for example, and the second end of the adjusting part 14 is rotatably connected to one end of the slide 12. The adjusting part 14 can rotate around one end of the slide 12 toward or away from the base 11 under the drive of the slide driving part.

[0038] By adopting the above scheme, the adjustment part 14 of the present invention can rotate around one end of the slide 12 when the slide 12 is driven by the slide driving part. Through this rotation, the component force that is not parallel to the movement direction of the slide 12 caused by the parallelism tolerance (such as installation error) of the slide driving part is absorbed, or it can be understood that the component force that is not parallel to the movement direction of the slide 12 is transferred to the adjustment part 14, and then only the force parallel to the movement direction of the slide 12 is transmitted to the slide 12, thereby ensuring that the driving force applied to the slide 12 is always parallel to the movement direction (or can be understood as always consistent with the movement direction), avoiding slight shaking and friction of the slide 12 during the movement, and improving the static performance of the slide 12 and the service life of the slide assembly.

[0039] Furthermore, compared to the prior art which requires the use of high-precision materials to avoid installation errors, and which requires time-consuming and labor-intensive multiple inspections and calibrations but still cannot avoid the existence of errors, the present invention adds a simple rotatable intermediate structure as an adjustment part to absorb (or can be understood as transfer) the component force caused by the installation error, and has the advantages of simple and sophisticated design, low cost, and easy installation.

[0040] Among them, the slide drive unit can be the ball screw 131 and the screw nut 132 in the above example. In other alternative implementations, it can also be a mechanism such as a gear rack that can convert the motor drive into linear motion. Furthermore, the above installation error can be understood as the installation error of the ball screw 131 or the rack. For example, the ball screw 131 and the linear guide 110 have an angle in the vertical direction, forming a parallelism tolerance.

[0041] For details, see Figure 2 , Figure 2 M in the figure represents the direction of movement of the slide 12, N represents the force of the adjustment unit 14 on the slide, and P represents the force of the slide drive unit (such as the ball screw 131 and the screw nut 132) on the adjustment unit 14, wherein the ball screw 131 has an installation error and has a certain angle with the direction M of movement of the slide 12. In the embodiment of the present application, the adjustment unit 14 can be used as an intermediate piece for force transmission, which rotates around one end of the slide 12 during the movement of the slide 12 to absorb the force that is not parallel to the direction of movement of the slide 12, so that the slide 12 is only subjected to a force in the same direction as the direction M of movement of the slide 12.

[0042] In one embodiment, the rotation axis of the adjusting portion 14 rotating around one end of the slide 12 is perpendicular to the movement direction of the slide 12 and is located in the same plane. In one embodiment, the movement direction of the slide 12 is consistent with its length direction, and the width direction of the slide 12 is perpendicular to its length direction. The rotation axis of the adjusting portion 14 can be parallel to the width direction of the slide 12, or can be arranged along the width direction of the slide 12. In other alternative embodiments, the direction of the rotation axis can also be other directions. As long as one end of the adjusting portion 14 is connected to the slide 12 and can move around the slide 12 towards or away from the base under the drive of the slide drive unit (or can be understood as moving toward the upper surface of the slide 12 or moving toward the lower surface of the slide 12), the driving force applied to the slide 12 by the slide drive unit that is not parallel to the movement direction can be absorbed, without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0043] In one embodiment, if Figure 1 As shown, a slider 120 is provided at the bottom of the slide 12, and the slider 120 is mounted on the linear guide 110 and the size of the slider 120 matches the linear guide 110, so that when the slide 12 moves along the linear guide 110, the slider 120 fits the side wall of the linear guide 110. In one embodiment, the linear guide 110 is a bar-shaped structure, and the slider 120 is a U-shaped structure, which is clamped to the outer wall of the linear guide 110. In other alternative embodiments, the linear guide 110 is a U-shaped structure, and the slider 120 is a bar-shaped structure, which is clamped to the inner wall of the linear guide 110.

[0044] By adopting the above structure, the embodiment of the present invention can make the slide 12 fit with the side wall of the linear guide 110 when moving along the linear guide 110 through the linear guide 110 and the slider 120 of matching sizes, thereby avoiding non-linear deviation in the horizontal direction during the movement, and further improving the static stability of the slide.

[0045] Further, in one embodiment, see Figure 1 and Figure 3 The adjusting part 14 includes a body 141, a rotating shaft (e.g., a first rotating shaft 1421 and a second rotating shaft 1422), and bearings (e.g., a first bearing 1431 and a second bearing 1432). One end of the body 141 is connected to the screw nut 132, and the bearings (e.g., a first bearing 1431 and a second bearing 1432) are installed on the slide 12. The end of the body 141 away from the screw nut 132 is rotatably connected to the bearings (e.g., a first bearing 1431 and a second bearing 1432) through the rotating shaft (e.g., a first bearing 1431 and a second bearing 1432).

[0046] The high-precision slide assembly 1 of the embodiment of the present invention uses a rotating shaft and a bearing to realize the rotation of the adjustment part 14, and has the advantages of simple structure and low cost.

[0047] For further information, see Figure 3 The slide 12 is provided with a first mounting hole 121 and a second mounting hole 122, and the first mounting hole 121 and the second mounting hole 122 are symmetrically arranged about the ball screw 131. The first bearing 1431 is installed in the first mounting hole 121, and the second bearing 1432 is installed in the second mounting hole 122. The first rotating shaft 1421 and the second rotating shaft 1422 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the body 141 and are respectively installed on the first bearing 1431 and the second bearing 1432.

[0048] In one embodiment, the first rotating shaft 1421 and the second rotating shaft 1422 are both driven screws, which play the role of installation and fixing and can be reused as rotating shafts. In other alternative embodiments, other connecting parts can also be used.

[0049] Those skilled in the art can understand that the number of the rotating shaft and the bearing can also be one, and the installation position thereof can be located at the middle position of the body 141 or the slide 12 .

[0050] In the above embodiment, a symmetrically arranged first rotating shaft 1421, a second rotating shaft 1422, a first bearing 1431 and a second bearing 1432 are adopted. Compared with a unilateral arrangement or a central arrangement, the force transmission is more balanced and the error caused by a poor installation position can be avoided to a certain extent, which can further improve the static performance of the slide.

[0051] In one embodiment, if Figure 1 As shown, a mounting groove 1410 is provided on the side of the body 141 of the adjustment part facing the slide drive part, or can be understood as a side away from the slide 12, and the screw nut 132 of the slide drive part is installed in the mounting groove 1410. The shape of the mounting groove 1410 is not limited, for example, it can be a circular groove or a polygonal groove, as long as it can accommodate and install the screw nut 132, it does not depart from the scope of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0052] Further, in one embodiment, the linear guide 110 includes a first guide 1101 and a second guide 1102 arranged parallel to the surface of the base 11, and the first mounting hole 121 on the slide 12 is located between the first guide 1101 and the ball screw 131, and the second mounting hole 122 is located between the second guide 1102 and the ball screw 131. Or it can be understood that: the first mounting hole 121 and the second mounting hole 122 are located on the inner side of the first guide 1101 and the second guide 1102, such a structure can make the entire slide assembly structure more compact, avoid interference between the adjustment part 14 and other devices, and thus affect the static performance of the slide.

[0053] In one embodiment, the first guide rail 1101 and the second guide rail 1102 may be fixed to the surface of the base 11 by screws. In other alternative embodiments, the first guide rail 1101 and the second guide rail 1102 may also be integrally formed on the surface of the base 11 .

[0054] The present invention further provides a photolithography machine working platform, including the high-precision slide assembly 1 involved in the above-mentioned embodiments and possible implementation methods.

[0055] The preferred specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above. It should be understood that a person skilled in the art can make many modifications and changes based on the concept of the present invention without creative work. Therefore, any technical solution that can be obtained by a person skilled in the art through logical analysis, reasoning or limited experiments based on the concept of the present invention on the basis of the prior art should be within the scope of protection determined by the claims.

Claims

1. A high-precision slide assembly, characterized in that: It includes a base, a slide, a slide drive unit and an adjustment unit; the slide is used to carry a wafer carrier; the base is provided with a linear guide rail, the slide is installed on the linear guide rail, and the slide drive unit is connected to the slide to drive the slide to move along the linear guide rail; The first end of the adjusting part is connected to the slide drive part, and the second end of the adjusting part is rotatably connected to one end of the slide, and the adjusting part can be driven by the slide drive part to rotate around the one end of the slide toward the direction close to the base or away from the base; The rotation axis of the adjusting part rotating around one end of the slide is perpendicular to the movement direction of the slide and is located in the same plane; The slide drive unit includes a ball screw and a screw nut, and the adjustment unit includes a body, a rotating shaft and a bearing; One end of the body is connected to the screw nut, the bearing is installed on the slide, and one end of the body away from the screw nut is rotatably connected to the bearing through the rotating shaft.

2. The high-precision slide assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The slide is provided with a first mounting hole and a second mounting hole, and the first mounting hole and the second mounting hole are symmetrically arranged about the ball screw; the rotating shaft includes a first rotating shaft and a second rotating shaft, and the bearing includes a first bearing and a second bearing; the first bearing is installed in the first mounting hole, and the second bearing is installed in the second mounting hole; the first rotating shaft and the second rotating shaft are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the main body and are respectively installed on the first bearing and the second bearing.

3. The high-precision slide assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that: The linear guide rail includes a first guide rail and a second guide rail arranged in parallel, the first mounting hole is located between the first guide rail and the ball screw, and the second mounting hole is located between the second guide rail and the ball screw.

4. The high-precision slide assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first rotating shaft and the second rotating shaft are both plug-in screws.

5. The high-precision slide assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: A slider is provided at the bottom of the slide, and the slider is installed on the linear guide rail and the size of the slider matches the linear guide rail, so that when the slide rail moves along the linear guide rail, the slider fits against the side wall of the linear guide rail.

6. The high-precision slide assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: A mounting groove is provided on one side of the main body of the adjusting part facing the slide driving part, and the lead screw nut of the slide driving part is installed in the mounting groove.

7. A photolithography machine workbench, characterized in that: A high-precision slide assembly comprising any one of claims 1 to 6.

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