Actuator, stage device, exposure device, inspection device

Abstract

To provide an actuator and the like capable of suppressing deformation of a guide.SOLUTION: An actuator 10 includes: a slider 20 driven within a movable region along a moving direction (X direction); a guide 12 extending in the X direction for guiding the slider 20, the guide 20 including a surrounding structure surrounding an outer periphery of the slider 20 in a cross-section vertical to the X direction and including an opening portion 40 being at least partially open; an air pad 30 supplying compressed air to a part between the slider 20 and the guide 12; a slider connection member 44 penetrating through the opening portion 40 and connecting the slider 20 in the surrounding structure and a table 200 outside of the surrounding structure; and a guide connection member 45 for connecting edges of the opening portion 40, the guide connection member 45 being disposed on a position free from contact with the slider connection member 44 when he slider 20 moves in the movable region.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an actuator, a stage device, an exposure device, and an inspection device.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a pneumatic actuator used in a vacuum environment, which includes a slider driven along a predetermined moving direction by pneumatic pressure, and a guide extending in the moving direction to guide the slider. An air bearing formed by compressed air supplied between the outer periphery of the slider and the inner periphery of the guide through an air pad allows the slider to float from the guide and move smoothly.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the pneumatic actuator of Patent Document 1, the guide does not surround the entire outer periphery (entire circumference) of the slider, but has an opening with the center of its top surface open. Here, the compressed air supplied between the outer periphery of the slider and the inner periphery of the guide through the air pad applies a pressure to expand the guide from the inside. As a result, there is a risk that the opening with relatively low rigidity will be expanded. In particular, in a vacuum environment, since the pressure applied to the outer periphery of the guide is low, there is a risk that the guide will be greatly deformed through the opening due to a large pressure difference with the high pressure applied to the inner periphery of the guide.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to provide an actuator or the like that can suppress deformation of the guide.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, an actuator according to an aspect of the present invention includes a slider driven within a movable range along a predetermined moving direction, and a guide extending in the moving direction to guide the slider. The guide has an enclosure structure that surrounds the outer periphery of the slider in a cross-section perpendicular to the moving direction and includes an opening at least a part of which is open. The actuator further includes a fluid supply unit that supplies fluid between the slider and the guide, a slider connecting member that passes through the opening and connects the slider inside the enclosure structure and a driven body outside the enclosure structure, and a guide connecting member that connects the edges of the opening. The guide connecting member is provided at a position where the slider connecting member does not contact when the slider moves within the movable range.

[0007] In this aspect, since the rigidity is enhanced by the guide connecting member that connects the edges of the opening of the guide, deformation of the guide due to the pressure of the fluid supplied by the fluid supply unit between the slider and the guide can be suppressed. Note that since the guide connecting member is provided at a position where the slider connecting member does not contact when the slider moves within the movable range, normal driving of the slider is not inhibited.

[0008] Another aspect of the present invention is a stage device. This device is a stage device that controls the position of an object to be processed, and includes a table that holds the object to be processed and the above-described actuator that displaces the table.

[0009] Yet another aspect of the present invention is also a stage device. This device includes a slider that is driven within a movable range along a predetermined moving direction, and a guide that extends in the moving direction to guide the slider. In a cross-section perpendicular to the moving direction, the guide has an enclosure structure that surrounds the outer periphery of the slider and includes an opening with at least a part thereof being open. The device further includes a gas supply unit that supplies gas between the slider and the guide, a gas discharge unit that discharges the gas supplied by the gas supply unit from between the outer periphery of the slider and the inner periphery of the enclosure structure, a slider connecting member that passes through the opening to connect the slider inside the enclosure structure and the driven body outside the enclosure structure, a guide connecting member that connects the edges of the opening and is provided at a position where the slider connecting member does not contact when the slider moves within the movable range, and a vacuum chamber that houses the slider, the guide, the gas supply unit, the gas discharge unit, the slider connecting member, and the guide connecting member inside a vacuum state.

[0010] Yet another aspect of the present invention is an exposure device. This device includes the above-described stage device that controls the position of an object to be exposed held by a table.

[0011] Yet another aspect of the present invention is an inspection device. This device includes the above-described stage device that controls the position of an object to be inspected held by a table.

[0012] In addition, any combination of the above components, and those obtained by converting the expression of the present invention among methods, devices, systems, recording media, computer programs, etc. are also effective as aspects of the present invention.

Advantages of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, deformation of the guide in the actuator can be suppressed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, the mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail. The same or equivalent components, members, and processes in the description or drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted. The scales and shapes of the respective parts shown are set for convenience in order to facilitate the description, and are not to be construed in a limiting sense unless otherwise specified. The embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the scope of the present invention in any way. Not all features or combinations thereof described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the invention.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a stage device or actuator 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The actuator 10 is a pneumatic actuator used in a vacuum environment such as inside a vacuum chamber, and includes a slider 20 that is driven or displaced along a predetermined moving direction by pneumatic pressure, and a guide 12 that extends in the moving direction and guides the slider 20. Hereinafter, the moving direction of the slider 20 and the extending direction of the guide 12 are also referred to as the X direction. Also, two directions that are orthogonal to the X direction and orthogonal to each other are also referred to as the Y direction and the Z direction. Typically, the X direction and the Y direction are directions orthogonal to each other in a horizontal plane, and the Z direction is a vertical direction.

[0017] The slider 20 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is elongated in the moving direction, and the guide 12 has an internal space in the shape of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped that movably accommodates the slider 20. The length of the internal space of the guide 12 in the X direction is larger than the length of the slider 20 in the X direction so that the slider 20 can move along the moving direction in the internal space of the guide 12. Here, the difference between the length of the internal space of the guide 12 in the X direction and the length of the slider 20 in the X direction becomes the maximum value of the width of the movable range of the slider 20. Both end portions of the guide 12 in the X direction are closed by a first end plate 41 and a second end plate 42, and the distance between the inner peripheral surfaces thereof is the length of the internal space of the guide 12 in the X direction.

[0018] As also shown in FIG. 2 described later, the guide 12 has an enclosure structure that surrounds the rectangular outer periphery of the slider 20 in a cross section (YZ plane) perpendicular to the moving direction (X direction) and includes an opening 40 with at least a part thereof being open. In the example of FIG. 1, the opening 40 is provided in the top surface 43 or the upper surface of the guide 12. The opening 40 is a rectangular hole elongated in the moving direction of the slider 20 and has a length in the X direction equal to the internal space of the guide 12 because it terminates at the first end plate 41 and the second end plate 42, and a width in the Y direction is sized such that a slider connecting member 44 can pass through as shown in FIG. 2. The slider connecting member 44 penetrates the opening 40 in the Z direction to connect the top of the slider 20 inside the enclosure structure of the guide 12 and the bottom of a stage or table 200 as a driven body outside the enclosure structure of the guide 12. Note that the cross-sectional shape of the slider 20 is not limited to a rectangle and may be an arbitrary shape such as a trapezoid or other polygons disclosed in Patent Document 1, a circle, an ellipse, or the like.

[0019] The actuator 10 of this embodiment can be applied to, for example, semiconductor manufacturing devices such as exposure devices, ion implantation devices, heat treatment devices, ashing devices, sputtering devices, dicing devices, inspection devices, cleaning devices, and FPD (Flat Panel Display) manufacturing devices. In this case, the table 200 holds a semiconductor wafer or the like to be processed (also referred to as an exposure target in the case of an exposure device or an inspection target in the case of an inspection device), or the semiconductor wafer or the like to be processed is placed thereon. As will be described later, when the slider 20 is driven in the X direction by gas pressure, the table 200 connected to the slider 20 by a slider connecting member moves in the X direction. Therefore, while precisely controlling the position of the semiconductor wafer or the like to be processed placed on the table 200, a desired process can be accurately executed on each part thereof. In FIG. 1, only the actuator 10 responsible for driving or displacing in the X direction is illustrated for simplicity of explanation, but in addition to this, actuators responsible for driving or displacing in other translational directions such as the Y direction and the Z direction may be configured and provided in the same manner.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a YZ plane perpendicular to the moving direction (X direction) of the slider 20, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a ZX plane including the opening 40. The cross-sections of FIGS. 2 and 3 are selected so that the guide connecting member 45 described later is shown. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 3, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the guide 12 has an enclosure structure that surrounds the rectangular outer periphery of the slider 20. This enclosure structure is composed of a bottom plate 37 facing the bottom 22 of the slider 20, a first side plate 38 facing the first side 24 of the slider 20, a second side plate 39 facing the second side 26 of the slider 20, and top plates 38b, 39b facing the top of the slider 20. It can also be said that the top plate of the guide 12 is divided into two substantially equal parts 38b, 39b by an opening 40 extending or crossing in the X direction at the center in the Y direction. In this way, the guide 12 entirely restrains the bottom 22, the first side 24, and the second side 26 of the slider 20 by the three sides of the bottom plate 37, the first side plate 38, and the second side plate 39 (three-sided restraint), and partially restrains the top of the slider 20 by the top plates 38b, 39b divided by the opening 40.

[0022] The slider 20 constrained from all four sides by the enclosure structure of the guide 12 is guided by the guide 12 and is movable in the X direction. A plurality of air pads 30 are provided on the bottom 22, the first side 24, the second side 26, and the top of the slider 20 as fluid supply parts or gas supply parts for supplying fluid or gas between the outer periphery of the slider 20 and the inner periphery of the enclosure structure of the guide 12. Specifically, each air pad 30 ejects a high-pressure gas such as compressed air supplied from an air supply and exhaust system (not shown) to form an air bearing, and lifts the slider 20 from the guide 12. Through a minute gap or layer of compressed air or the like formed between the outer periphery of the slider 20 and the inner periphery of the enclosure structure of the guide 12, the slider 20 can move smoothly in the X direction while being substantially non-contact with the guide 12.

[0023] Since the actuator 10 of the present embodiment is used in a vacuum environment such as inside a vacuum chamber, the compressed air ejected from the air pads 30 must not leak into the vacuum environment through the opening 40 or the like. For this reason, the slider 20 is provided with exhaust grooves 32, 34, and 36 for differential exhaust so as to surround each air pad 30. Each of the exhaust grooves 32, 34, and 36 constitutes a fluid discharge part or a gas discharge part that discharges the fluid or gas supplied by each air pad 30 as a fluid supply part or a gas supply part to the outside of the actuator 10 from between the outer periphery of the slider 20 and the inner periphery of the surrounding structure of the guide 12. Each of the exhaust grooves 32, 34, and 36 is a long groove formed over substantially the entire length of the slider 20 in the X direction.

[0024] Each exhaust groove 32 provided on both sides of all the air pads 30 is open to the atmosphere. An exhaust pump may be provided between each exhaust groove 32 and the atmosphere. The exhaust grooves 34 and 36 are provided at positions adjacent to or close to the opening 40 to reliably prevent the leakage of compressed air into the vacuum environment through the opening 40. The exhaust groove 34 is connected to a low-vacuum exhaust pump that generates a low vacuum pressure (100 kPa to 100 Pa), and the exhaust groove 36 closer to the opening 40 is connected to a medium-vacuum exhaust pump that generates a higher vacuum level (lower pressure level) than the exhaust groove 34, for example, a medium vacuum (100 Pa to 0.1 Pa).

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, an air servo chamber 28 as a differential pressure drive space is provided on the side surface (the first side portion 24 and / or the second side portion 26) of the slider 20 at a position facing the inner periphery of the first side plate 38 and / or the second side plate 39 of the guide 12. Hereinafter, the air servo chamber 28 provided in the first side portion 24 of the slider 20 is also referred to as the air servo chamber 281, and the air servo chamber 28 provided in the second side portion 26 of the slider 20 is also referred to as the air servo chamber 282. When there is no need to distinguish between the two, they are collectively referred to as the air servo chamber 28. The first side plate 38 of the guide 12 includes a piston block 131 as a partition portion extending into the air servo chamber 281, and the second side plate 39 of the guide 12 includes a piston block 132 as a partition portion extending into the air servo chamber 282. Hereinafter, the piston blocks 131 and 132 are collectively referred to as the piston block 13.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 3, each piston block 13 inserted in the Y direction into each air servo chamber 28 divides each air servo chamber 28 into a first servo chamber 28A as a first pressure chamber and a second servo chamber 28B as a second pressure chamber along the X direction. As schematically shown in FIG. 3, air supply / discharge systems 17A, 17B are provided as differential pressure driving parts for supplying and / or discharging a pressure control fluid or a pressure control gas such as compressed air between each servo chamber 28A, 28B. The air supply / discharge systems 17A, 17B each include a compressed gas supply source 18A, 18B for supplying compressed gas and servo valves 16A, 16B for controlling the pressure of the compressed gas to supply / discharge between the servo chambers 28A, 28B. The slider 20 is driven along the moving direction according to the differential pressure between the pressure of the first servo chamber 28A controlled by the air supply / discharge system 17A and the pressure of the second servo chamber 28B controlled by the air supply / discharge system 17B.

[0027] Here, the range of the air servo chamber 28 in the X direction defines a movable range along the moving direction (X direction) of the slider 20. Since the piston block 13 (guide 12) that relatively moves in the X direction within the air servo chamber 28 (slider 20) itself has a significant length in the X direction, the width (maximum value) of the movable range, which is the distance in the X direction that the slider 20 can actually move, is the difference between the length of the air servo chamber 28 in the X direction and the length of the piston block 13 in the X direction. In other words, the length of the air servo chamber 28 in the X direction as the differential pressure driving space is larger than the width of the movable range of the slider 20 by the length of the piston block 13 in the X direction.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 3, a slider connecting member 44 that penetrates the opening 40 of the top surface 43 of the guide 12 in the Z direction to connect the top of the slider 20 and the bottom of the table 200 includes a first slider connecting member 441 and a second slider connecting member 442 provided along the X direction at an interval equal to or greater than the width of the movable range of the slider 20 and / or the length of the air servo chamber 28 in the X direction. Hereinafter, the first slider connecting member 441 and the second slider connecting member 442 are collectively referred to as the slider connecting member 44. As shown in FIG. 2, the width of each slider connecting member 44 in the Y direction is smaller than the width of the opening 40 of the guide 12 in the Y direction. Each slider connecting member 44 can move integrally with the slider 20 and the table 200 in the X direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 3) within the opening 40 extending in the X direction.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 2, the guide connecting member 45 is a columnar or rod-shaped member that connects the edges of the opening 40 of the guide 12 in the Y direction. Here, the Y direction in which the guide connecting member 45 connects the edges of the opening 40 is orthogonal to the Z direction in which the slider connecting member 44 connects the slider 20 and the table 200. Also, the Y direction in which the guide connecting member 45 connects the edges of the opening 40 and the Z direction in which the slider connecting member 44 connects the slider 20 and the table 200 are orthogonal to the X direction, which is the moving direction of the slider 20.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 3, the guide connecting member 45 is provided at a position where the first slider connecting member 441 and the second slider connecting member 442 do not come into contact when the slider 20 moves within the movable range. Specifically, the guide connecting member 45 is provided within the movable range of the slider 20 and / or within the X-direction range of the air servo chamber 28, at a position overlapping with the piston block 13 along the X direction. Also, the guide connecting member 45 is provided between the first slider connecting member 441 and the second slider connecting member 442 along the X direction.

[0031] When the slider 20 moves within the movable range, the guide connecting member 45 moves relative to the first slider connecting member 441 and the second slider connecting member 442 in the X direction. However, since the first slider connecting member 441 and the second slider connecting member 442 are provided outside the movable range of the slider 20 and / or outside the range of the air servo chamber 28 in the X direction, the guide connecting member 45 does not contact either the first slider connecting member 441 or the second slider connecting member 442. That is, the guide connecting member 45 does not inhibit the normal driving of the slider 20.

[0032] According to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, since the rigidity is enhanced by the guide connecting member 45 that connects the edges of the opening 40 of the guide 12, deformation of the guide 12 due to the pressure of the compressed air supplied between the outer periphery of the slider 20 and the inner periphery of the guide 12 by the plurality of air pads 30 can be suppressed. As shown in FIG. 1, the opening 40 is less likely to deform at both ends in the X direction fixed to the first end plate 41 and the second end plate 42, while it is more likely to be expanded by the pressure of the compressed air of the air pad 30 at the central portion. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, by providing the guide connecting member 45 at the central portion along the X direction of the opening 40 that is particularly likely to deform, deformation of the guide 12 can be effectively suppressed.

[0033] In addition, in order to suppress deformation near both ends in the X direction of the opening 40, the first end guide connecting member 451 and the second end guide connecting member 452 shown in FIG. 4 may be provided in addition to or instead of the guide connecting member 45 at the central portion of the opening 40. When the guide connecting member 45 at the central portion of the opening 40 is not provided, the slider 20 and the table 200 may be connected by one slider connecting member 44 instead of the first slider connecting member 441 and the second slider connecting member 442. Since the first end guide connecting member 451 and the second end guide connecting member 452 are provided outside along the X direction from both ends of the movable range of the slider 20, they do not contact the slider connecting member 44 even when the slider 20 moves within the movable range.

[0034] FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of the guide connecting member 45. The guide connecting member 45 in the example of FIG. 5A includes a stress relaxation portion 453 that relaxes stress by deforming. When the guide connecting member 45 is attached to the opening 40 of the guide 12, the stress relaxation portion 453 deforms to release the stress so that the opening 40 is not expanded by the stress. As shown in FIG. 5A, the stress relaxation portion 453 may be constituted by a flexible portion or an elastic deformation portion that is narrower in width or the like than other portions and can bend, or may be constituted by a mechanical component that allows opening / closing operations or bending operations such as a hinge.

[0035] The guide connecting member 45 may be a simple columnar or rod-shaped member as shown in FIG. 5B. In this case, it is preferable to use a precision-machined guide connecting member 45 so that an excessive load is not applied to the opening 40 of the guide 12 when the guide connecting member 45 is attached. The guide connecting member 45 may include a resistance imparting portion 454 that imparts resistance to deformation that expands the opening 40 as shown in FIG. 5C. In the example of FIG. 5C, the resistance imparting portion 454 is constituted by a cylindrical cylinder 455 and a columnar piston 456 inserted into the cylinder 455. The length of the internal space of the cylinder 455 in the Y direction is larger than the length of the piston 456 in the Y direction, and the space between the tip (right end) of the piston 456 and the base end (right end) of the cylinder 455 is in a low pressure state such as a vacuum state. When the compressed air of the air pad 30 applies a pressure to expand the opening 40, that is, when a pressure is applied to pull the cylinder 455 and the piston 456 apart along the Y direction, the internal space of the cylinder 455 in the low pressure state generates a resistance force, so that the opening 40 can be effectively prevented from being expanded. Note that the resistance imparting portion 454 is not limited to one that passively generates a resistance force in response to a pressure that expands the opening 40 of the guide 12 in the Y direction, such as the cylinder 455 and the piston 456, and may be constituted by an actuator such as a piezoelectric element that actively or adaptively imparts a resistance or a force to prevent the expansion or deformation of the opening 40.

[0036] The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. It is understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments are illustrative, and various modifications are possible for each component and the combination of each processing process thereof, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

[0037] In addition, the functional configurations of the respective devices described in the embodiments can be realized by hardware resources or software resources, or by the cooperation of hardware resources and software resources. As hardware resources, a processor, ROM, RAM, and other LSIs can be used. As software resources, programs such as an operating system and an application can be used.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0038] 10 Actuator, 12 Guide, 13 Piston Block, 17A Supply and Exhaust System, 17B Supply and Exhaust System, 20 Slider, 28 Air Servo Chamber, 30 Air Pad, 32 Exhaust Groove, 34 Exhaust Groove, 36 Exhaust Groove, 40 Opening, 41 First End Plate, 42 Second End Plate, 43 Top Surface, 44 Slider Connecting Member, 45 Guide Connecting Member, 200 Table, 441 First Slider Connecting Member, 442 Second Slider Connecting Member, 451 First End Guide Connecting Member, 452 Second End Guide Connecting Member, 453 Stress Relaxation Portion, 454 Resistance Imparting Portion.

Claims

1. A slider driven within a movable range along a predetermined moving direction, a guide that extends in the moving direction to guide the slider, and that has a surrounding structure that surrounds the outer periphery of the slider in a cross section perpendicular to the moving direction and includes an opening with at least a part thereof being open, a fluid supply unit that supplies fluid between the slider and the guide, a slider connecting member that penetrates the opening and connects the slider within the surrounding structure and a driven body outside the surrounding structure, a guide connecting member that connects the edges of the opening between both ends of the guide in the moving direction, and that is provided at a position where the slider connecting member does not contact when the slider moves within the movable range, An actuator comprising the above.

2. The slider connecting member includes a first slider connecting member and a second slider connecting member provided at intervals equal to or greater than the width of the movable range along the moving direction, The guide connecting member is provided between the first slider connecting member and the second slider connecting member, The actuator according to Claim 1.

3. The actuator according to Claim 2, wherein the guide connecting member is provided within the movable range.

4. The actuator according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the guide connecting member includes a first end guide connecting member and a second end guide connecting member provided outside along the moving direction from both ends of the movable range.

5. The actuator according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the guide connecting member includes a stress relaxation portion that relaxes stress by deforming.

6. The actuator according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the guide connecting member includes a resistance imparting portion that imparts resistance to deformation that widens the opening.

7. The actuator according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the direction in which the slider connecting member connects the slider and the driven body and the direction in which the guide connecting member connects the edges of the opening are substantially orthogonal to each other.

8. The actuator according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein both ends of the guide are closed.

9. A stage device that controls the position of an object to be processed, a table that holds the object to be processed, the actuator according to any one of Claims 1 to 8 that displaces the table, A stage device comprising the above.

10. An exposure apparatus comprising the stage device according to claim 9 for controlling the position of an object to be exposed held by the table.

11. An inspection apparatus comprising the stage device according to claim 9 for controlling the position of an object to be inspected held by the table.

12. A slider driven within a movable range along a predetermined moving direction, a guide that extends in the moving direction and guides the slider, the guide having an enclosure structure that surrounds the outer periphery of the slider in a cross-section perpendicular to the moving direction and includes an opening with at least a part thereof being open, a gas supply unit that supplies gas between the slider and the guide, a gas discharge unit that discharges the gas supplied by the gas supply unit from between the outer periphery of the slider and the inner periphery of the enclosure structure, a slider connecting member that penetrates the opening and connects the slider inside the enclosure structure and a driven body outside the enclosure structure, a guide connecting member that connects the edges of the opening between both ends of the guide in the moving direction, the guide connecting member being provided at a position where the slider connecting member does not contact when the slider moves within the movable range, a vacuum chamber that houses the slider, the guide, the gas supply unit, the gas discharge unit, the slider connecting member, and the guide connecting member inside a vacuum state, A stage device comprising the above.

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