Leveling device of proximity lithography machine

Abstract

The utility model discloses a leveling device of a proximity photoetching machine. A ball bowl assembly comprises a ball bowl seat with a bowl-shaped cavity and a ball head matched with the bowl-shaped cavity; a concave cavity is formed in the bottom of the bowl-shaped cavity; the ball head and the bowl-shaped cavity have a matching state that the ball head and the bowl-shaped cavity are mutually contacted and matched up and down and close the concave cavity and a separating state that the ball head and the bowl-shaped cavity are separated up and down; a ball bowl seat is arranged on one of the wafer carrying table and the lifting seat, and a ball head is arranged on the other one of the wafer carrying table and the lifting seat; the vacuumizing device is used for vacuumizing the concave cavity in a matching state; the telescopic air cylinder is used for driving the wafer carrying table to move upwards relative to the lifting base so that the ball bowl base and the ball head can be in a separated state. The lifting driving mechanism is used for driving the lifting base to move up and down and sequentially pass through the leveling position, the positioning position and the gap position. According to the utility model, the parallelism of the mask plate and the wafer can be adjusted so as to improve the exposure precision and the overlay precision, the leveling precision is high, the leveling process is rapid and stable, and the actual production requirements are effectively met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of photolithography machines, in particular to a leveling device for a proximity photolithography machine. Background Art

[0002] In the field of photolithography, proximity exposure involves leaving a tiny gap (approximately 0 to 200 μm) between the mask and the photoresist substrate. This effectively prevents damage to the mask caused by direct contact with the photoresist, ensuring the durability of the mask and photoresist substrate, extending the life of the mask (by more than 10 times) and minimizing pattern defects. Proximity exposure is the most widely used method in modern photolithography.

[0003] In proximity mask exposure, multiple exposures are typically required, during which the previous pattern must be aligned with the next, a process known as overlay. During this exposure process, the parallelism between the wafer and the mask is extremely critical, as any tilt can severely impact both exposure and overlay accuracy. Parallelism between the mask and wafer is typically optimized to within ±1 micron, though this can be relaxed depending on the process. Therefore, a leveling device capable of adjusting the parallelism between the mask and wafer is urgently needed to improve both exposure and overlay accuracy. Utility Model Content

[0004] In response to the above-mentioned technical problems, the purpose of the utility model is to propose a leveling device for a proximity-type lithography machine, which can adjust the parallelism of the mask plate and the wafer to improve the exposure accuracy and overlay accuracy, and has high leveling accuracy, and the leveling process is fast and stable, effectively meeting actual production needs.

[0005] The technical solution of the utility model is achieved as follows: a leveling device for a proximity lithography machine, comprising a mask plate, a wafer carrier, a lifting seat, a ball bowl assembly, a telescopic cylinder, a lifting drive mechanism, and a vacuum device;

[0006] The wafer carrier is movably arranged up and down below the mask plate;

[0007] The lifting seat is movably arranged below the wafer carrier.

[0008] The ball bowl assembly includes a ball bowl seat having a bowl-shaped cavity and a ball head adapted to fit the bowl-shaped cavity; a concave cavity is provided at the bottom of the bowl-shaped cavity; the ball head and the bowl-shaped cavity can be in a state of being sealed and sealed with each other and closing the concave cavity, and can be in a state of being separated from each other; the ball bowl seat is provided on one of the wafer carrier and the lifting seat, and the ball head is provided on the other;

[0009] The vacuuming device is in communication with the concave cavity and is used to vacuum the concave cavity in the mating state;

[0010] At least three groups of telescopic cylinders are arranged between the wafer carrier and the lifting seat, and are used to drive the wafer carrier to move upward relative to the lifting seat so that the ball bowl seat and the ball head form the separated state;

[0011] The lifting drive mechanism is used to drive the lifting seat to move up and down, and pass through the leveling position, the positioning position and the gap position in sequence;

[0012] In the leveling position, the wafer stage abuts against the mask plate in the upper and lower directions, and the bowl-shaped cavity and the ball head are in the separated state;

[0013] At the positioning position, the wafer stage abuts against the mask plate in the vertical direction, and the ball head and the ball bowl seat form the matching state;

[0014] At the gap position, the wafer stage is away from the mask.

[0015] Furthermore, at the positioning position, the vacuum device starts to operate so that the ball head is fixed on the bowl seat by vacuum adsorption.

[0016] Furthermore, the vacuum pumping device includes an exhaust pipeline connected to the concave cavity; the exhaust pipeline is provided with a vacuum detection component for detecting the vacuum degree in the exhaust pipeline.

[0017] Furthermore, a universal floating joint is provided on the telescopic end of the telescopic cylinder; the telescopic end of the telescopic cylinder is connected to the wafer carrier or the lifting seat through the universal floating joint.

[0018] Furthermore, the telescopic cylinder has a working state under the action of a compressed air source and an unloading state without the action of a compressed air source; when the lifting seat moves from the leveling position to the positioning position, the telescopic cylinder is in the working state; when the lifting seat moves from the positioning position to the gap position, the telescopic cylinder is in the unloading state.

[0019] Furthermore, the telescopic cylinder is a single-acting cylinder.

[0020] Furthermore, a rotation-stopping assembly is provided between the chip carrier and the lifting seat; the rotation-stopping assembly includes a vertically extending limit groove and a limit pin movably arranged in the limit groove; the limit pin is provided on one of the chip carrier and the lifting seat, and the limit groove is provided on the other.

[0021] Furthermore, the lifting drive mechanism is a linear motion mechanism driven by a motor.

[0022] Due to the application of the above technical solution, the utility model has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0023] The present invention uses a ball bowl seat and a ball head in conjunction with each other. After the telescopic cylinder drives the ball bowl seat and the ball head to separate from each other, the lifting seat is driven to move to a leveling position by a lifting drive mechanism, so that the wafer carrier and the mask plate abut against each other and form a parallel state. The lifting seat is driven upward to a positioning position again to enable the ball head to return to the ball bowl seat. The ball bowl seat and the ball head can automatically correct to a precise fit in the process of mutual cooperation, and vacuum is formed between the ball bowl seat and the ball head to form a vacuum adsorption fixation, thereby positioning and fixing the wafer carrier and the lifting seat to each other, and the wafer carrier and the mask plate remain in a parallel state. The lifting seat is driven downward to a gap position to drive the wafer carrier away from the mask plate while maintaining a parallel state, thereby forming a set gap. The combination of the above methods can adjust the parallelism of the mask plate and the wafer to improve the exposure accuracy and overlay accuracy, and the leveling accuracy is high, and the leveling process is fast and stable, effectively meeting actual production needs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The technical solution of the utility model is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0025] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the overall structure of the utility model;

[0026] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A cross-sectional structural diagram of ;

[0027] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a structure in which the bowl seat and the ball head are separated from each other;

[0028] Figure 4 for Figure 1 A side view structural diagram of ;

[0029] Figure 5 for Figure 3 A magnified view of point A in the figure;

[0030] Figure 6 for Figure 1 Exploded view of;

[0031] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the wafer carrier and ball head of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the bowl seat of the utility model;

[0033] Figure 9 for Figure 8 A cross-sectional structural diagram of ;

[0034] Figure 10 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the telescopic cylinder and the universal floating joint of the utility model;

[0035] Among them: 1. Mask plate; 2. Wafer carrier; 3. Lifting seat; 4. Ball bowl assembly; 41. Ball head; 42. Ball bowl seat; 421. Bowl cavity; 422. Concave cavity; 423. Air port; 5. Telescopic cylinder; 51. Universal floating joint; 6. Lifting drive mechanism; 61. Base; 7. Anti-rotation assembly; 71. Structural part; 711. Limit groove; 72. Limit pin; 8. Vacuum pumping device; 81. Exhaust pipeline; 82. Vacuum detection component. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings so that the advantages and features of the present invention can be more easily understood by those skilled in the art, thereby making a clearer and more precise definition of the protection scope of the present invention.

[0037] like Figure 1-10 The figure shows a leveling device for a proximity lithography machine described in this embodiment. The leveling device includes a mask plate 1, a wafer carrier 2, a lifting seat 3, a ball bowl assembly 4, a telescopic cylinder 5, a lifting drive mechanism 6, and a vacuum device 8. The mask plate 1 is fixedly arranged. The wafer carrier 2 is mounted below the mask plate 1 for vertical movement, and the wafer carrier 2 is used to support the wafer. The lifting seat 3 is mounted below the wafer carrier 2 for vertical movement, so that it can move closer to or further away from the wafer carrier. The ball bowl assembly 4 includes a ball bowl seat 42 having a bowl-shaped cavity 421 and a ball head 41 that matches the bowl-shaped cavity 421. The inner wall surface of the bowl-shaped cavity 421 is spherical, and the corresponding ball head 41 has a spherical surface that matches the inner wall surface of the bowl-shaped cavity 421. A concave cavity 422 is machined at the bottom of the bowl-shaped cavity 421 between the ball head 41 and the bowl-shaped cavity 421. The concave cavity 422 is machined with an air port 423 that communicates with the outside. The ball head 41 and the bowl-shaped cavity 421 are movably matched together, wherein the ball head 41 is in sealing contact with the inner wall surface of the bowl-shaped cavity 421 so that the two have a matched state of a closed cavity 422, and the ball head 41 leaves the bowl-shaped cavity 421 so that the two have a separated state of being away from each other up and down.

[0038] The vacuum device 8 is connected to the air port 423 on the cavity 422 via an exhaust line 81, and is used to evacuate the cavity 422 in the aforementioned mating state. The vacuum device 8 performs a vacuum operation so that the ball head 41 and the ball bowl 42 can be fixed by vacuum adsorption when mated. A vacuum detection component 82 is installed on the exhaust line 81 for detecting the vacuum level within the exhaust line 81. This vacuum detection component 82 is a conventional negative pressure gauge. The vacuum detection component 82 detects whether the vacuum level within the cavity 422 meets the required level.

[0039] The aforementioned wafer carrier 2 and lift base 3 each have a spherical bowl seat 42 fixedly mounted on one side, and a ball head 41 fixedly mounted on the other side. In this embodiment, the spherical bowl seat 42 is fixedly mounted on the lift base 3, and the ball head 41 is mounted on the wafer carrier 2. When the wafer carrier and lift base 3 are relatively close, the ball head 41 can enter the bowl-shaped cavity 421 and contact the inner wall surface of the bowl-shaped cavity 421. When the wafer carrier and lift base 3 are relatively far apart, the ball head 41 separates from the inner wall surface of the bowl-shaped cavity 421.

[0040] The at least three sets of telescopic cylinders 5 are installed between the wafer stage 2 and the lift base 3, and are used to drive the wafer stage 2 upward relative to the lift base 3, thereby separating the ball bowl 42 and the ball head 41. These telescopic cylinders 5 are preferably single-acting cylinders of conventional technology. These cylinders use a compressed air source to drive the telescopic rod, which retracts and resets when subjected to an external force.

[0041] The aforementioned lifting drive mechanism 6 is mounted on the base 61 and is used to drive the lifting seat 3 to move up and down, passing through a leveling position, a positioning position, and a gap position in sequence. The positioning position is located above the leveling position, and the gap position is located below the positioning position. The lifting seat 3 is driven upward from its initial position to form a leveling position. In this leveling position, the wafer carrier 2 is in vertical contact with the mask plate 1. The lifting seat 3 is driven upward from the leveling position to form a positioning position. In this positioning position, the wafer carrier 2 remains in vertical contact with the mask plate 1, and a vacuum adsorption state is formed between the ball head 41 and the ball bowl seat 42. The lifting seat 3 is driven downward from the positioning position to form a gap position. In this gap position, the wafer carrier 2 is moved away from the mask plate 1, so that a designed gap is formed between the wafer carrier 2 and the mask plate 1. The aforementioned lifting drive mechanism 6 is a linear motion mechanism driven by a motor. The lifting drive mechanism 6 is preferably a screw transmission mechanism.

[0042] A universal floating joint 51 is mounted on the telescopic end of the telescopic cylinder 5. In this embodiment, the telescopic cylinder 5 is fixed to the lifting base 3 and connected to the wafer stage 2 via the universal floating joint 51. This universal floating joint 51 allows the horizontal position of the wafer stage 2 to be adjusted, and thus the position of the ball head 41 as it enters the bowl-shaped cavity 421, ensuring a precise and sealed fit between the ball head 41 and the bowl-shaped cavity 421.

[0043] The aforementioned telescopic cylinder 5 has a working state under the action of a compressed air source and an unloading state without the action of the compressed air source; when the lifting seat 3 moves from the leveling position to the positioning position, the telescopic cylinder 5 is in the working state to maintain the force applied to the wafer carrier 2 and maintain the balance of the wafer carrier 2. During the above process, the telescopic rod of the telescopic cylinder 5 is compressed by a certain displacement under the pushing of the lifting seat 3. When the lifting seat 3 moves from the positioning position to the gap position, the telescopic cylinder 5 is in the unloading state to release the force of the telescopic cylinder 5 on the wafer carrier 2, so as to avoid the influence of the force of the telescopic cylinder 5 on the position of the wafer carrier 2.

[0044] In the embodiment, a rotation-stopping assembly 7 is installed between the wafer carrier 2 and the lifting seat 3. The rotation-stopping assembly 7 includes a vertical extending limiting groove 711 and a limiting pin 72 movably arranged in the limiting groove 711; one of the wafer carrier 2 and the lifting seat 3 is arranged with the limiting pin 72, and the other is arranged with the limiting groove 711. When the wafer carrier 2 and the lifting seat 3 move up and down relative to each other, the limiting pin 72 moves up and down in the limiting groove 711, so as to limit the relative rotation of the wafer carrier 2 and the lifting seat 3.

[0045] In specific use, the telescopic cylinder 5 moves upward to lift the wafer carrier 2, so that the ball head 41 and the ball socket 42 are separated by a certain distance, and at this time, there is still a certain distance between the wafer carrier 2 and the mask plate 1. The lifting driving mechanism 6 drives the lifting seat 3 to move upward to the leveling position, so as to drive the wafer carrier 2 to move upward and contact the mask plate 1. The complete contact between the wafer carrier 2 and the mask plate 1 is the leveling. After the wafer carrier 2 contacts the mask plate 1, the lifting driving mechanism 6 continues to drive the lifting seat 3 to move upward to the positioning position, and in this process, the telescopic rod of the telescopic cylinder 5 is compressed, the ball head 41 returns to the bowl-shaped cavity 421 of the ball socket 42, and the ball socket 42 and the ball head 41 can be automatically corrected to precise fitting and close the recess 422 in cooperation. At the positioning position, the vacuumizing device 8 starts to work to vacuum adsorb and fix the ball head 41 on the ball socket 42, so as to position and fix the wafer carrier 2 and the lifting seat 3 relative to each other, and the wafer carrier 2 and the mask plate 1 remain in parallel. Then, the telescopic cylinder 5 is no longer supplied with the compressed air source, the telescopic cylinder 5 loses the force, and the lifting seat 3 is driven downward to the gap position by the lifting driving mechanism 6, so as to drive the wafer carrier 2 to move away from the mask plate 1 in the parallel state, thereby forming a set gap. The combination of the above-mentioned modes can adjust the parallelism of the mask plate 1 and the wafer to improve the exposure precision and overlay precision, the leveling precision is high, the leveling process is fast and stable, and the actual production requirements can be effectively met.

[0046] The above description is merely an embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present invention specification, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A leveling device for a proximity lithography machine, comprising a mask, a wafer stage, a lifting seat, a bowl assembly, a telescopic cylinder, a lifting drive mechanism, and a vacuum pump; characterized in that: The wafer carrier is movably arranged up and down below the mask plate; The lifting seat is movably arranged below the wafer carrier. The ball bowl assembly includes a ball bowl seat having a bowl-shaped cavity and a ball head adapted to fit the bowl-shaped cavity; a concave cavity is provided at the bottom of the bowl-shaped cavity; the ball head and the bowl-shaped cavity can be in a state of being sealed and sealed with each other and closing the concave cavity, and can be in a state of being separated from each other; the ball bowl seat is provided on one of the wafer carrier and the lifting seat, and the ball head is provided on the other; The vacuuming device is in communication with the concave cavity and is used to vacuum the concave cavity in the mating state; At least three groups of telescopic cylinders are disposed between the wafer carrier and the lifting seat, and are used to drive the wafer carrier to move upward relative to the lifting seat, so that the ball bowl seat and the ball head form the separated state; The lifting drive mechanism is used to drive the lifting seat to move up and down, and pass through the leveling position, the positioning position and the gap position in sequence; In the leveling position, the wafer stage abuts against the mask plate in the upper and lower directions, and the bowl-shaped cavity and the ball head are in the separated state; At the positioning position, the wafer carrier and the mask plate abut against each other in the vertical direction, and the ball head and the ball bowl seat form the matching state; At the gap position, the wafer stage is away from the mask.

2. The leveling device for a proximity lithography machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: At the positioning position, the vacuum device starts to operate so that the ball head is fixed on the ball bowl seat by vacuum adsorption.

3. The leveling device for a proximity lithography machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuum pumping device includes an air pumping pipeline connected to the concave cavity; a vacuum detection component for detecting the vacuum degree in the air pumping pipeline is provided on the air pumping pipeline.

4. The leveling device for a proximity lithography machine according to claim 1, wherein: A universal floating joint is provided on the telescopic end of the telescopic cylinder; the telescopic end of the telescopic cylinder is connected to the wafer carrier or the lifting seat through the universal floating joint.

5. The leveling device for a proximity lithography machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The telescopic cylinder has a working state under the action of a compressed air source and an unloading state without the action of a compressed air source; when the lifting seat moves from the leveling position to the positioning position, the telescopic cylinder is in the working state; when the lifting seat moves from the positioning position to the gap position, the telescopic cylinder is in the unloading state.

6. The leveling device for a proximity lithography machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The telescopic cylinder is a single-acting cylinder.

7. The leveling device for a proximity lithography machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: A rotation-stop assembly is provided between the wafer carrier and the lifting seat; the rotation-stop assembly includes a vertically extending limit groove and a limit pin movably arranged in the limit groove; the limit pin is provided on one of the wafer carrier and the lifting seat, and the limit groove is provided on the other.

8. The leveling device for a proximity lithography machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting drive mechanism is a linear motion mechanism driven by a motor.

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