A three-axis adjustable micro stage

Abstract

This utility model relates to the field of semiconductor technology, specifically to a three-axis adjustable micro-motion stage, comprising: a support stage; multiple motion conversion mechanisms, horizontally movable and disposed below the support stage, for converting horizontal linear motion into vertical linear motion, and controlling the spatial posture of the support stage through the horizontal displacement of each motion conversion mechanism; wherein, when the horizontal movement distance of each motion conversion mechanism is the same, the support stage is driven to achieve vertical translational motion; when the horizontal movement distance of at least one motion conversion mechanism is different from that of the other motion conversion mechanisms, the support stage is driven to generate angular deflection; and multiple elastic connecting members, correspondingly disposed between adjacent motion conversion mechanisms, for improving the overall structural rigidity of the micro-motion stage.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and in particular to a three-axis adjustable micro-motion stage. Background Technology

[0002] In the semiconductor manufacturing field, with the rapid development of integrated circuit technology, the integration level of chips is constantly increasing and the feature size is continuously shrinking, which has led to unprecedentedly high requirements for precision in the processing and testing process.

[0003] Currently, the traditional method for adjusting Z-axis motion in semiconductor equipment is to directly apply the load to the drive end of the motor. However, in practical applications, Z-axis adjustment in semiconductor equipment typically requires bearing a large overhead load, which increases the operating load on the motor and generates a significant amount of heat. This heat accumulation leads to an increase in the internal temperature of the equipment. Since semiconductor manufacturing processes are extremely sensitive to temperature, even small temperature changes can cause problems such as thermal expansion of materials and changes in the refractive index of optical components, thus severely affecting the processing and inspection accuracy of the equipment.

[0004] On the other hand, traditional three-axis adjustment systems often struggle to guarantee the overall system's modal characteristics during design and adjustment. Modal characteristics refer to the inherent properties of a mechanical system during vibration, including natural frequencies and mode shapes. During the operation of semiconductor equipment, external vibration disturbances and the equipment's own movement can excite system vibration. If the system's modal characteristics are unreasonable, resonance can easily occur. When resonance occurs, the system's vibration amplitude increases sharply, leading to instability in the adjustment process and severely affecting the equipment's accuracy and performance.

[0005] Therefore, this application develops a three-axis adjustable micro-stage to solve the problems existing in the prior art. Utility Model Content

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a three-axis adjustable micro-motion stage to solve the problem that the accuracy is affected by the direct drive of the load by the motor in the prior art.

[0007] The technical solution of this utility model is: a three-axis adjustable micro-motion stage, comprising: Support platform; Multiple motion conversion mechanisms are located below the support platform and move horizontally to convert horizontal linear motion into vertical linear motion, and control the spatial posture of the support platform through the horizontal displacement of each motion conversion mechanism. Specifically, when the horizontal movement distance of each of the motion conversion mechanisms is the same, the support platform is driven to achieve vertical translational movement; when the horizontal movement distance of at least one of the motion conversion mechanisms is different from that of the other motion conversion mechanisms, the support platform is driven to produce angular deflection. Multiple elastic connectors are disposed between adjacent motion conversion mechanisms to improve the overall structural rigidity of the micro-motion stage.

[0008] Preferably, multiple motion conversion mechanisms surround the center of the support platform and are arranged below it at equal angular intervals to achieve stable support and adjustment of the support platform.

[0009] Preferably, there are three motion conversion mechanisms, and the motion axes of the three motion conversion mechanisms converge at a point below the center of the support platform, and the distance from the drive end of each motion conversion mechanism to the convergence point is equal.

[0010] Preferably, the motion conversion mechanism includes a driving device, a moving part driven by the driving device, and a rolling part fixed to the bottom surface of the support platform; the moving part has an inclined surface, the driving device drives the moving part to move horizontally, and the horizontal motion is converted into the vertical motion of the support platform through the relative motion between the rolling part and the inclined surface.

[0011] Preferably, the inclined surface of the motion conversion mechanism is configured such that when all moving parts are driven to move closer to each other synchronously, the support platform rises; and when all moving parts move further apart synchronously, the support platform falls.

[0012] Preferably, a tension spring is connected between the support platform and the motion conversion mechanism, and the tension spring provides preload to maintain the structural stability of the micro-motion platform during the adjustment process.

[0013] Preferably, the plurality of elastic connectors are arranged in a central array around the support platform, and the radial extensions of the plurality of elastic connectors intersect at a point.

[0014] Preferably, encoders are provided under both the motion conversion mechanism and the support platform to detect the horizontal and vertical movement distances, respectively.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of this utility model are: (1) Through three motion conversion mechanisms that can move in the horizontal direction, the horizontal linear motion is converted into vertical linear motion, thereby realizing the translation of the support platform in the Z-axis and the angle deflection adjustment in the RX and RY directions. Unlike the traditional method of directly driving the Z-axis motion by the motor, the vertical adjustment is achieved through the horizontal motion conversion, which avoids the load above acting directly on the motor, reduces the motor load and heat generation, and improves the adjustment accuracy and motor service life. (2) The inclination angle of the inclined plane is designed according to the actual accuracy requirements. The design of the inclined plane allows the use of low-precision, low-cost linear geared motors to replace high-precision servo motors, which significantly reduces the hardware procurement cost. Attached Figure Description

[0016] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments: Figure 1 This is an exploded view of a three-axis adjustable micro-motion stage according to the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the motion conversion mechanism described in this utility model; Figure 3 This is a perspective view of a three-axis adjustable micro-motion stage according to the present invention; Figure 4 This is a top view of a three-axis adjustable micro-motion stage according to the present invention.

[0017] The components include: 1. Support platform; 2. Motion conversion mechanism; 21. Drive device; 22. Moving part; 221. Inclined surface; 23. Rolling part; 3. Elastic connector; 4. Tension spring; 5. Encoder. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments: like Figures 1-3 As shown, a three-axis adjustable micro-motion stage includes a support platform 1, motion conversion mechanisms 2, and elastic connectors 3. The support platform 1 provides a stable support plane for the object being measured. The three motion conversion mechanisms 2 are movably arranged horizontally below the support platform 1, converting horizontal linear motion into vertical linear motion, thereby achieving adjustment of the spatial attitude of the support platform 1.

[0019] Specifically, when the horizontal movement distance of each motion conversion mechanism 2 is consistent, the vertical displacement generated by each motion conversion mechanism 2 is also the same. At this time, the support platform 1 is subjected to a uniform force in the vertical direction, thereby achieving smooth vertical translational motion. However, when the horizontal movement distance of one or two motion conversion mechanisms 2 is different from that of other motion conversion mechanisms 2, the vertical force on each part of the support platform 1 is unbalanced, causing the support platform 1 to deflect around the corresponding axis, that is, to achieve adjustment in the RX and RY directions. During the operation of the micro-motion stage, the movement of the motion conversion mechanism 2 will cause relative displacement and vibration. Therefore, multiple elastic connectors 3 are provided below the support platform 1, and the multiple elastic connectors 3 are correspondingly arranged between adjacent motion conversion mechanisms 2. The elastic connectors 3 are thin plate-shaped and can only move along the direction of their deformation. Other directions are restricted, thus effectively limiting the small displacement of the support platform 1 in the horizontal direction and improving the overall structural rigidity of the micro-motion stage.

[0020] Furthermore, the motion conversion mechanism 2 in this embodiment differs from the traditional method of directly driving the Z-axis motion with a motor. It achieves vertical adjustment through horizontal motion conversion, avoiding the direct application of the load above to the motor, which would otherwise cause excessive motor load and generate a large amount of heat, ultimately affecting the adjustment accuracy of the micro-motion stage.

[0021] Specifically, such as Figure 4 As shown, three motion conversion mechanisms 2 surround the center of the support platform 1 and are arranged at equal angular intervals below the support platform 1. The included angle between any two adjacent motion conversion mechanisms 2 is 120°, which makes the support platform 1 subject to uniform force distribution in all directions. In addition, the motion axes of the three motion conversion mechanisms 2 intersect at a point below the center of the support platform 1, and the distance from the drive end of each motion conversion mechanism 2 to the intersection point is equal. In practical applications, when making fine adjustments to the angle, if the motion axis of any one of the motion rotation mechanisms is not at the intersection point, its movement will cause the support platform 1 to be subjected to other component forces in different directions, resulting in the support platform 1 being subjected to offset forces, which in turn affects the stability of the micro-motion stage.

[0022] In this embodiment, as Figure 2 As shown, the motion conversion mechanism 2 includes a drive device 21, a moving part 22, and a rolling part 23. The drive device 21 is a linear geared motor. The moving part 22 moves horizontally under the drive of the drive device 21, and the moving part 22 is provided with an inclined surface 221. The inclination angle of the inclined surface 221 is designed according to the actual accuracy requirements. In practical applications, if the tangent of the inclined surface 221 is 1:5, then the accuracy of the drive device 21 only needs to reach 1 / 5 of the actual accuracy requirement to meet the accuracy requirements, without the need to use excessively high-precision instruments, thus reducing procurement costs. The rolling part 23 is fixed to the lower surface of the support platform 1 and is in close contact with the inclined surface 221 on the moving part 22. When the drive device 21 drives the moving part 22 to move horizontally, the rolling part 23 will roll along the inclined surface 221. Under the action of the inclined surface 221, the rolling part 23 will generate vertical displacement while moving horizontally, thereby driving the support platform 1 to move vertically.

[0023] To further explain, all three inclined planes 221 face the support platform 1. That is, when the three moving parts 22 approach each other, the support platform 1 moves upward, and when the three moving parts 22 move away from each other, the support platform 1 moves downward. Because the linear geared motor has a large thrust and a small contraction force, the support platform and load assist the linear geared motor in contraction, effectively reducing the load on the linear geared motor.

[0024] Furthermore, in order to detect the horizontal and vertical movement distances, an encoder 5 is provided at the front end of each drive device 21 and below the adjacent support platform 1 of each drive device 21. The encoder 5 measures the horizontal movement distance of the moving part 22 and the vertical movement distance of the support platform 1, which can realize the accurate measurement of the movement of the micro-motion stage in both horizontal and vertical dimensions, and the adjustment angle of the support platform can be calculated based on the horizontal and vertical distances.

[0025] To maintain the stability of the support platform 1 during the adjustment process, a tension spring 4 is connected between the support platform 1 and the motion conversion mechanism 2. Its two ends are fixed at the corresponding positions of the support platform 1 and the motion conversion mechanism 2, respectively. The tension spring 4 is preloaded during installation. When the motion conversion mechanism 2 performs the adjustment action, driving the support platform 1 to rise or fall, the preload of the tension spring 4 can prevent the support platform 1 from excessive shaking or displacement deviation due to inertia or other factors, ensuring the smoothness and accuracy of the adjustment process.

[0026] Furthermore, the three elastic connectors 3 are also arranged in an array around the center of the support platform 1, and the radial extensions of the three elastic connectors 3 intersect at a single point, further improving the overall structural rigidity of the micro-motion stage. During the operation of the micro-motion stage, the movement of the motion conversion mechanism 2 may cause relative displacement and vibration between adjacent components. The elastic connectors 3, through their own elastic deformation, can effectively absorb and disperse this energy, reduce the relative swaying between components, and enhance the stability of the entire micro-motion stage structure.

[0027] Since the motion axes of the three motion conversion mechanisms 2 converge at one point and the distance from the drive end to the convergence point is equal, and the inclined plane 221 structure enables all moving parts 22 to move closer or further away from each other synchronously, and the preload of the tension spring 4 helps to balance the force during the motion process, when the support platform 1 is adjusted to rise or fall, the three motion conversion mechanisms 2 can work synchronously to ensure the smooth movement of the support platform 1 in the vertical direction.

[0028] The above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical concept and features of this utility model, and are intended to enable those skilled in the art to understand the content of this utility model and implement it accordingly. They should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of this utility model. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that this utility model is not limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and that it can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or basic characteristics of this utility model. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered exemplary and non-limiting in all respects. The scope of this utility model is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and therefore, all changes falling within the meaning and scope of the equivalents of the claims are intended to be included within this utility model.

Claims

1. A three-axis adjustment micro-motion stage, characterized in that, include: Support platform (1); Multiple motion conversion mechanisms (2) are located below the support platform (1) and move horizontally to convert horizontal linear motion into vertical linear motion. The spatial posture of the support platform (1) is controlled by the horizontal displacement of each motion conversion mechanism (2). When the horizontal movement distance of each of the motion conversion mechanisms (2) is the same, the support platform (1) is driven to achieve vertical translation; when the horizontal movement distance of at least one of the motion conversion mechanisms (2) is different from that of the other motion conversion mechanisms (2), the support platform (1) is driven to generate an angular deflection. Multiple elastic connectors (3) are respectively disposed between adjacent motion conversion mechanisms (2) to improve the overall structural rigidity of the micro-motion stage.

2. A three-axis adjustment micro-motion stage according to claim 1, wherein: Multiple motion conversion mechanisms (2) surround the center of the support platform (1) and are arranged below it at equal angular intervals to achieve stable support and adjustment of the support platform (1).

3. A three-axis adjustable micro-stage according to claim 2, characterized in that: There are three motion conversion mechanisms (2), and the motion axes of the three motion conversion mechanisms (2) converge at a point below the center of the support platform (1). The distance from the driving end of each motion conversion mechanism (2) to the convergence point is equal.

4. A three-axis adjustable micro-stage according to claim 1, characterized in that: The motion conversion mechanism (2) includes a drive device (21), a moving part (22) driven by the drive device (21), and a rolling part (23) fixed to the bottom surface of the support platform (1). The moving part (22) has an inclined surface (221). The drive device (21) drives the moving part (22) to move horizontally. Through the relative movement between the rolling part (23) and the inclined surface (221), the horizontal movement is converted into the vertical movement of the support platform (1).

5. A three-axis adjustable micro-stage according to claim 4, characterized in that: The inclined surface (221) of the motion conversion mechanism (2) is configured such that when all moving parts (22) are driven to move closer to each other synchronously, the support platform (1) rises; when all moving parts (22) move further away from each other synchronously, the support platform (1) falls.

6. A three-axis adjustable micro-stage according to claim 1, characterized in that: A tension spring (4) is connected between the support platform (1) and the motion conversion mechanism (2). The tension spring (4) provides preload to maintain the structural stability of the micro-motion platform during the adjustment process.

7. A three-axis adjustable micro-stage according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multiple elastic connectors (3) are arranged in an array around the center of the support platform (1), and the radial extensions of the multiple elastic connectors (3) intersect at a point.

8. A three-axis adjustable micro-stage according to claim 1, characterized in that: Both the motion conversion mechanism (2) and the support platform (1) are equipped with encoders (5) for detecting horizontal and vertical movement distances, respectively.

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