A photolithography mask holder and jbx photolithography machine
By designing a cover plate with recessed and extended sections on the photomask fixture of the lithography machine, the problem of the cover plate blocking the electrostatic lines was solved, thus achieving the integrity of the photomask electrostatic lines, improving production capacity, and reducing manufacturing costs.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- NEW RAY MASK TECHNOLOGY CORP
- Filing Date
- 2025-09-11
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-04
AI Technical Summary
The existing design of the photomask fixture cover plate of the JBX lithography machine causes the electrostatic lines to be blocked, resulting in missing or broken electrostatic lines, which affects the electrostatic shielding function of the photomask, increases the need for secondary repair processes, reduces machine capacity and increases manufacturing costs.
The design incorporates recessed and extended cover plates on the edge and center conductive pins of the photomask fixture in the lithography machine. This prevents the cover plates from blocking the electrostatic lines, ensuring the integrity of the electrostatic lines. By adjusting the shape of the cover plates, the overlapping area is reduced, enabling one-time exposure molding.
This improved the integrity of the photomask electrostatic lines, avoided secondary repair processes, increased machine capacity, and reduced manufacturing costs.
Smart Images
Figure CN224594991U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of integrated circuit technology, specifically to a photomask fixture for a lithography machine and a JBX lithography machine. Background Technology
[0002] In integrated circuit manufacturing, photomasks typically use photosensitive quartz glass as a substrate. First, photoresist is patterned and exposed using laser or electron beam lithography. Then, through development and etching, the pattern is transferred to a chromium metal layer, forming a photomask suitable for projection exposure. To prevent external static electricity from being conducted along the chromium layer into the customer's patterned area, the industry commonly places a continuous ring of chromium electrostatic lines around the outermost edge of the mask. These lines are grounded at the exposure station using conductive pins, allowing static charge to be discharged promptly and preventing damage to the mask pattern due to electrostatic discharge (ESD). Since the photomask serves as the master template for mass chip production, damage to the pattern directly leads to the scrapping of subsequent wafers. Therefore, the integrity of the electrostatic lines is considered a key indicator of mask reliability.
[0003] In existing technologies, the photomask fixtures equipped with JBX lithography machines are primarily designed with mechanical protection and dust prevention for the conductive pins in mind, resulting in an excessively large cover area. During actual exposure, this cover obstructs the mask's edge area, causing some customer-designed electrostatic lines to overlap with the cover area. The photoresist in the overlapping area cannot be properly exposed, leading to gaps or breaks of 250μm and 450μm in the electrostatic lines after development and etching. Due to the discontinuity of the electrostatic lines, their electrostatic shielding and discharge functions fail, making the mask highly susceptible to pattern damage from electrostatic discharge during subsequent processes and transportation. Furthermore, to compensate for these defects, the production line must add a secondary repair exposure process, significantly reducing machine capacity and increasing manufacturing costs.
[0004] Therefore, a new technological solution is needed. Utility Model Content
[0005] In view of this, the present invention provides a photomask fixture for a lithography machine and a JBX lithography machine to at least solve the problem that existing cover plates would block electrostatic lines on the photomask.
[0006] The present invention provides the following technical solutions:
[0007] This utility model embodiment provides a photomask fixture for a lithography machine, including a fixture body for holding a photomask, two edge conductive pins and a central conductive pin disposed on a horizontal clamping edge of the fixture body, the two edge conductive pins being spaced apart at both ends of a horizontal clamping edge of the fixture body, and the central conductive pin being located at the middle of opposite sides of the two edge conductive pins, and further comprising:
[0008] Two edge cover plates, the two edge cover plates correspondingly cover the two edge conduction pins, the edge cover plates include a recessed portion, the recessed portion is located on the lateral edge of the edge cover plate near the photomask, and is recessed in a direction away from the photomask until it is flush with the lateral edge of the corresponding edge conduction pin;
[0009] A central cover plate covers the central conductive pin. The lateral edge of the central cover plate is flush with the lateral clamping edge of the fixture body. The central cover plate includes an extension extending from the lateral edge of the central cover plate toward the photomask. The lateral edge of the extension is flush with the edge of the central conductive pin.
[0010] Preferably, the recessed portion extends laterally from the vertical clamping edge of the clamp body.
[0011] Preferably, the recess and the edge cover plate are inclined to transition between the lateral edge of the photomask to cover the tilt angle between the lateral clamping edge and the vertical clamping edge of the fixture body.
[0012] Preferably, the extension is located at the middle of the lateral edge of the middle cover plate, and its two sides are conformally arranged to the two sides of the conductive pin.
[0013] Preferably, the two sides of the extension are inclined.
[0014] Preferably, the outer edge of the extension is equal to the outer edge of the central conductive pin.
[0015] Preferably, the distance between the recess and the edge cover near the photomask is 700 micrometers.
[0016] This utility model embodiment also provides a JBX lithography machine, including any of the lithography machine photomask fixtures described above.
[0017] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects that can be achieved by at least one of the above-mentioned technical solutions adopted in the embodiments of this utility model include at least the following:
[0018] This utility model discloses a photomask fixture for a lithography machine. By setting a recessed portion on the edge cover plate and using only the extension portion on the middle cover plate to cover part of the conductive pins located on the photomask, the edge of the middle cover plate is flush with the clamping edge of the fixture body. This can prevent the cover plate from blocking the electrostatic lines on the photomask and improve the integrity of the electrostatic lines on the photomask. Attached Figure Description
[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.
[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a photomask fixture for a lithography machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] Figure 2 This is a partial schematic diagram of a photomask fixture for a lithography machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 ;
[0022] Figure 3 This is a partial schematic diagram of a photomask fixture for a lithography machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 .
[0023] 1. Fixture body; 2. Edge guide pin; 3. Middle guide pin; 4. Edge cover plate; 41. Recessed part; 5. Middle cover plate; 51. Extension part. Detailed Implementation
[0024] The embodiments of this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0025] The following specific examples illustrate the implementation of this application. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of this application from the content disclosed in this specification. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of them. This application can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of this application. It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the following embodiments and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.
[0026] It should be noted that various aspects of embodiments within the scope of the appended claims are described below. It will be apparent that the aspects described herein can be embodied in a wide variety of forms, and any particular structure and / or function described herein is merely illustrative. Based on this application, those skilled in the art will understand that one aspect described herein can be implemented independently of any other aspect, and two or more of these aspects can be combined in various ways. For example, any number and aspects set forth herein can be used to implement the device and / or practice the method. Additionally, this device and / or method can be implemented using structures and / or functionalities other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein.
[0027] It should also be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are only schematic representations of the basic concept of this application. The drawings only show the components related to this application and are not drawn according to the actual number, shape and size of the components in the actual implementation. In the actual implementation, the form, quantity and proportion of each component can be arbitrarily changed, and the layout of the components may also be more complex.
[0028] Additionally, specific details are provided in the following description to facilitate a thorough understanding of the examples. However, those skilled in the art will understand that practice can be carried out without these specific details.
[0029] Photomask fabrication involves altering the chemical properties of photoresist on a photosensitive quartz substrate using laser or electron beam lithography, followed by developing and etching to form a photomask pattern.
[0030] The electrostatic lines on the photomask are located on the outermost edge of the photomask. They are used to prevent external charges from being conducted through the chromium metal on the photomask surface into the customer's pattern area, thereby damaging the photomask pattern. As the template for chip production, damage to the photomask pattern will eventually lead to chip scrapping, resulting in significant losses. If the electrostatic lines are incomplete, the electrostatic protection will fail. Currently, the cover plate of the photomask fixture on the JBX lithography machine covers too large an area, and the electrostatic lines designed by some customers overlap with the coverage area of the fixture, causing the covered area to be unable to be exposed, thus resulting in missing electrostatic lines.
[0031] The main function of the cover plate is to protect the conductive pins and prevent electrostatic discharge during exposure from damaging the photomask pattern. Currently, there are three overlapping areas between the photomask fixture of the JBX lithography machine and the customer's electrostatic discharge lines, at 250 micrometers, 250 micrometers, and 450 micrometers respectively. The resulting missing or broken electrostatic discharge lines are unacceptable to the customer and require secondary exposure repair, which seriously affects the production capacity of machines at various sites.
[0032] In view of this, the inventors, through in-depth research and improvement on the dimensions of the cover plates and the dimensions and positions of the conductive pins, discovered that by setting independent cover plates above the three conductive pins of the JBX photomask fixture: the two edge cover plates 4 have "recessed" cuts on the mask side, with the cut edges aligned with the conductive pins; the middle cover plate 5 remains flush with the mask side, extending only to cover the conductive pins themselves. Thus, the overall outline of the cover plates is recessed, avoiding the customer's electrostatic discharge (ESD) wire exposure area, ensuring complete ESD wire exposure in one pass, maintaining ESD discharge function, eliminating the need for secondary repairs, and increasing production capacity.
[0033] Based on this, the embodiments of this specification propose a processing solution: such as Figure 1 As shown, the photomask fixture of this utility model uses two edge conductive pins 2 at both ends of the same horizontal clamping edge of the fixture body 1, and a central conductive pin 3 in the middle of the opposite side to ground and discharge the static electricity of the mask wire. Then, an edge cover plate 4 covers the two edge conductive pins 2 respectively. The edge cover plate 4 includes a recessed part 41, which is located on the lateral edge of the edge cover plate 4 near the photomask and is recessed away from the photomask until it is flush with the lateral edge of the corresponding edge conductive pin 2. The central cover plate 3 is then placed on the middle edge of the photomask. The plate 5 covers the central conductive pin 3. The lateral edge of the central cover plate 5 is close to the photomask and the lateral clamping edge of the fixture body 1. The central cover plate 5 includes an extension 51 extending from the lateral edge of the central cover plate 5 to the photomask. The lateral edge of the extension 51 is flush with the edge of the central conductive pin 3, thereby reducing the overlap area between the cover plate and the photomask electrostatic lines, realizing complete forming in one exposure, eliminating the secondary repair process, and the cover plate still completely covers the conductive pin, so that the dustproof, anti-collision and ESD discharge functions remain unchanged.
[0034] The technical solutions provided by the various embodiments of this application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0035] like Figure 1-3 As shown, this utility model embodiment provides a photomask fixture for a lithography machine, including a fixture body 1 for holding a photomask, two edge conductive pins 2 and a central conductive pin 3 disposed on the horizontal clamping edge of the fixture body 1, the two edge conductive pins 2 being spaced apart at both ends of a horizontal clamping edge of the fixture body 1, and the central conductive pin 3 being located in the middle of the opposite side of the two edge conductive pins 2.
[0036] Among them, the fixture body 1 serves as a reference frame for positioning and clamping, and is used to clamp the photomask.
[0037] Among them, the conductive pin is used to establish a conductive path between the photomask and the equipment grounding system, prevent electrostatic accumulation and discharge damage to the mask pattern, maintain the surface potential of the mask consistent with the equipment, and reduce exposure defects caused by electrostatic adsorption of particles.
[0038] Furthermore, the photomask fixture of the lithography machine also includes two edge cover plates 4 and a central cover plate 5. The two edge cover plates 4 cover the two edge conductive pins 2 respectively. The edge cover plates 4 include a recessed portion 41, which is located on the lateral edge of the edge cover plate 4 near the photomask and is recessed away from the photomask until it is flush with the lateral edge of the corresponding edge conductive pin 2. The central cover plate 5 covers the central conductive pin 3. The lateral edge of the central cover plate 5 near the photomask is flush with the lateral clamping edge of the fixture body 1. The central cover plate 5 includes an extension portion 51 extending from the lateral edge of the central cover plate 5 toward the photomask. The lateral edge of the extension portion 51 is flush with the edge of the central conductive pin 3.
[0039] Among them, the edge cover plate 4 is recessed into a recessed part 41 on the photomask side. The recessed depth is the original cover plate extension amount, and the cut edge is aligned with the edge conductive pin 2, thereby making room for the electrostatic line exposure area, but still covering the top of the edge conductive pin 2 to achieve dust prevention, impact prevention, etc.
[0040] Preferably, the distance between the recessed portion 41 and the edge cover plate 4 near the photomask is 700 micrometers, that is, the outer contour of the edge cover plate 4 is recessed inward by 700 micrometers, so that the electrostatic line exposure area at the edge of the photomask is completely exposed, so that it can be formed in one exposure.
[0041] The central cover plate 5 is coplanar with the lateral edge of the photomask and the lateral clamping edge of the fixture body 1, thereby preventing the central cover plate 5 from blocking the electrostatic lines on the photomask. At the same time, by extending outward to form an extension portion 51, it can also continue to cover the central conductive pin 3 to achieve the original cover plate function.
[0042] In this way, the traditional cover plate can be recessed inward by 800 micrometers to make the edge of the extension 51 flush with the edge of the conductive pin, or the edge of the middle cover plate 5 flush with the lateral clamping edge of the fixture body 1, so as to increase the exposed area of the photomask, avoid the loss of electrostatic lines, and enable the product to be successfully exposed in one exposure, thus avoiding the impact on the subsequent machine capacity.
[0043] Therefore, in this embodiment of the invention, the recessed portion 41 of the edge cover plate 4 and the middle cover plate 5 are adjusted, and the edge of the cover plate is aligned with the clamping edge of the conductive pin or the main body 1 of the clamp, thereby reducing the overall volume of the cover plate and avoiding blocking the electrostatic lines on the photomask. This achieves minimal effective coverage, which preserves the electrostatic current discharge path and completely eliminates the spatial interference between the electrostatic lines on the photomask and the electrostatic lines.
[0044] Furthermore, the recessed portion 41 extends laterally from the vertical clamping edge of the fixture body 1 to achieve electrostatic lines that do not obstruct the photomask at all, while simultaneously achieving complete coverage of the conductive pin.
[0045] Furthermore, the recess 41 and the edge cover 4 are inclined to transition between the lateral edges of the photomask to cover the tilt angle between the lateral clamping edge and the vertical clamping edge of the fixture body 1.
[0046] Among them, the lateral edge of the improved edge and the edge modification near the photomask is set as an inclined line structure to match the inclination angle between the lateral clamping edge and the vertical clamping edge of the fixture body 1.
[0047] Furthermore, the extension 51 is located at the center of the transverse edge of the central cover plate 5, and its two sides are shaped to conform to the two sides of the conductive pin, so as to completely cover the central conductive pin 3.
[0048] For example, when the portion of the conductive pin located on the photomask is a trapezoidal structure, the extension 51 as a whole is also a trapezoidal structure.
[0049] Furthermore, the two sides of the extension 51 are inclined to accommodate the two inclined sides of the conductive pin on the photomask.
[0050] Furthermore, the outer edge of the extension 51 is equal to the outer edge of the central conductive pin 3, so that the extension 51 can just cover the part of the conductive pin located on the photomask, without blocking the electrostatic lines on the photomask.
[0051] This utility model embodiment also provides a JBX lithography machine, characterized in that it includes a lithography machine photomask fixture as described above.
[0052] This invention changes the shape of the cover plate of the photomask fixture, reduces the area covered by the cover plate, allows the electrostatic lines of the product to be fully exposed, meets the product usage requirements, reduces subsequent repair steps, and thus increases output.
[0053] In this specification, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to mutually. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the product embodiments described later, since they correspond to the methods, the descriptions are relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions in the system embodiments.
[0054] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.
Claims
1. A photomask fixture for a lithography machine, comprising a fixture body for holding a photomask, two edge conductive pins and a central conductive pin disposed on a horizontal clamping edge of the fixture body, wherein the two edge conductive pins are spaced apart at both ends of a horizontal clamping edge of the fixture body, and the central conductive pin is located at the center of opposite sides of the two edge conductive pins, characterized in that, Also includes: Two edge cover plates, the two edge cover plates correspondingly cover the two edge conduction pins, the edge cover plates include a recessed portion, the recessed portion is located on the lateral edge of the edge cover plate near the photomask, and is recessed in a direction away from the photomask until it is flush with the lateral edge of the corresponding edge conduction pin; A central cover plate covers the central conductive pin. The lateral edge of the central cover plate is flush with the lateral clamping edge of the fixture body. The central cover plate includes an extension extending from the lateral edge of the central cover plate toward the photomask. The lateral edge of the extension is flush with the edge of the central conductive pin.
2. The photomask fixture for a lithography machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The recessed portion extends laterally from the vertical clamping edge of the clamp body.
3. The photomask fixture for a lithography machine according to claim 2, characterized in that, The recess and the edge cover plate are inclined to transition between the lateral edges of the photomask to cover the angle between the lateral clamping edge and the vertical clamping edge of the fixture body.
4. The photomask fixture for a lithography machine according to claim 3, characterized in that, The extension is located in the middle of the lateral edge of the middle cover plate, and its two sides are contoured to the two sides of the conductive pin.
5. The photomask fixture for a lithography machine according to claim 4, characterized in that, The two sides of the extension are inclined.
6. The photomask fixture for a lithography machine according to claim 4, characterized in that, The outer edge of the extension is equal in size to the outer edge of the central conductive pin.
7. The photomask fixture for a lithography machine according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The distance between the recess and the edge cover plate near the photomask is 700 micrometers.
8. A JBX lithography machine, characterized in that, Including the photomask fixture for a lithography machine as described in any one of claims 1-7.