Lithography Optical System with Redundant Connections for Fault Recovery
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lithography apparatuses face issues with connection failures between actuator/sensor devices and drive units, leading to prolonged downtime and increased maintenance costs due to the complexity of electrical connections, especially in vacuum environments.
Innovation Solution
An optical system for lithography apparatuses is designed with redundant connections between actuator/sensor devices and local drive units, incorporating a fault detection unit and providing unit to dynamically reroute data to inactive connections upon failure, ensuring continued operation even with multiple connection failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If redundant connections are implemented between actuator/sensor devices and local drive units, then system reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring redundant connections between actuator/sensor devices and local drive units before any failure occurs. The system is designed with multiple parallel connections (primary and secondary) that are ready to take over immediately upon failure detection, eliminating the need for complex real-time reconfiguration procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The redundant connections serve as a cushioning mechanism that absorbs the impact of connection failures. By having backup connections pre-established, the system can tolerate failures without experiencing complete system shutdown, thus cushioning against the harmful effects of connection failures in the vacuum environment.
2Reliability
If multiple electrical connections are used in vacuum environment, then connection reliability is improved, but maintenance time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service capability through automatic fault detection and switchover mechanisms. When a connection failure is detected in the vacuum environment, the system automatically switches to redundant connections without requiring human intervention or complex maintenance procedures, thus reducing maintenance time while maintaining high connection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs feedback mechanisms where actuator/sensor devices continuously monitor the status of electrical connections and provide real-time information to control units. This feedback enables automatic detection of failures and triggers switchover to backup connections, ensuring continuous operation with minimal maintenance disruption.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If redundant connections are implemented, then system continuity is improved, but computational load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by implementing redundancy only at critical connection points where failure would cause complete system shutdown, rather than providing full redundancy across all components. This selective approach maintains system continuity for essential functions while limiting the overall computational and energy overhead to manageable levels.
Data Source
AI summary
An optical system for a lithography apparatus comprises a plurality of optical elements, having: a number N1 of arrangements, where N1≥1, wherein each of the N1 arrangements comprises at least one actuator/sensor device assigned to one of the optical elements; a plurality N2 of local drive units for driving the number N1 of arrangements where N2≥2; and a number N3 of central drive units for driving the N2 local drive units, where N3≥1. Each of the N1 arrangements is connected to at least one of the N2 local drive units via a primary connection and a secondary connection, which is redundant with respect to the primary connection. One of the connections is usable as an active connection for data transmission, and the other of the connections is inactive.