DUV Mirror Swapping with Axial Rotation in Confined Housings
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Solution Overview
Problem
The swapping of mirrors in DUV lithography apparatuses is challenging due to confined space conditions and tolerance requirements, leading to a high time and labor burden.
Innovation Solution
A method involving raising, rotating, and lowering the optical system along a center axis to avoid collisions between mount and frame struts, allowing for interference-free swapping, utilizing a swapping tool with xyz and rz carriers for precise movement and alignment in six degrees of freedom.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the optical system is swapped directly without rotation in confined space, then the swapping process is simpler, but collisions between mount struts and frame struts occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a rotational movement around the optical axis as an additional degree of freedom. By rotating the optical system, the mount struts can be positioned in the angular spaces between frame struts, transforming a 1D linear extraction problem into a 2D rotational-translational problem that resolves spatial conflicts in confined environments.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the optical system is extracted through a small opening in the housing, then the housing structure is maintained, but the mount struts collide with frame struts during extraction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static extraction path into a dynamic multi-stage process. The optical system first rotates around its axis to reposition mount struts, then translates along the extraction direction. This dynamic approach allows passage through the housing opening without collision, maintaining structural integrity while enabling successful swapping.
3Reliability
If more degrees of freedom are added to the swapping tool, then collision-free operation is achieved, but the tool complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The swapping tool integrates multiple functions into a unified mechanism. The same tool structure that provides rotational movement also provides translational movement along the extraction direction. This multi-functional design achieves collision-free operation while minimizing the increase in overall tool complexity compared to separate rotational and linear mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for swapping an optical system, such as a DUV mirror, of a projection exposure apparatus, comprises: a) raising the optical system along a centre axis of the optical system so that mount struts of the optical system pass out of contact with frame struts of a frame carrying the optical system; b) rotating the optical system about the centre axis so that the mount struts are arranged between the frame struts; c) lowering the optical system along the centre axis; and d) shifting the optical system perpendicularly to the centre axis so that the optical system is moved out of a housing.