Patent EP0250031A1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0250031A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Opto- lithographic device comprising a displaceable lens system and method of controlling the imaging properties of a lens system in such a device
Assignee: Koninklijke Philips NV
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Filing: 1987-06-11
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2007-06-11
Abstract
Abstract An opto-lithographic device comprising a lens system (13) arranged between a mask support (25) and a substrate table (33) and telecentric on one side, the lens system (13) and the mask support (25) being secured to a first holder (21) and a second holder (23), respectively, which can be displaced both simultaneously and relatively be means of a first actuator (183, 187, 189) and a second actuator (197, 199) for adjustment of focusing and enlargement. The invention provides the possibility of a simple correction of focusing and enlargement when this focusing and this enlargement are varied inter alia to pressure or temperature variations.
Inventors
- 👤 Adrianus Bouwer
- 👤 Guido Van De Looy
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 16:35
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03F; G03F7/00; G03F7/70; G03F7/70216; G03F7/70241
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
271 words
An opto-lithographic device comprising a lens system which is arranged between a mask support and a substrate table and which is telecentric on the side of the substrate, in which device the distance between the lens system and the substrate table is adjustable by means of an actuator cooperating with a circular-cylindrical holder which is coupled to the lens system and is suspended in a fixedly arranged frame via elastically deformable coupling members, the extent of deformation of said coupling members being determined by the force exerted on the holder by means of the actuator, characterized in that the device comprises a second circular-cylindrical coaxial holder displaceable with respect to and together with the first circular-cylindrical holder and a fixedly arranged first actuator cooperating with one of the holders and a second actuator secured to one of the holders and cooperating with the other holder, one holder being secured to the other holder by means of a first elastic coupling member and one of the holders being secured to the frame by means of a second elastic coupling member, while the distance between the lens system secured to one of the holders and the substrate table is adjustable with a constant distance between the mask support coupled to the other holder and the lens system by means of the first fixedly arranged actuator by elastic deformation of the second elastic coupling member and the distance between the lens system and the mask support is adjustable with a constant distance between the substrate table and the lens system by means of the second actuator by elastic deformation of the first coupling member.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
271 words
An opto-lithographic device comprising a lens system which is arranged between a mask support and a substrate table and which is telecentric on the side of the substrate, in which device the distance between the lens system and the substrate table is adjustable by means of an actuator cooperating with a circular-cylindrical holder which is coupled to the lens system and is suspended in a fixedly arranged frame via elastically deformable coupling members, the extent of deformation of said coupling members being determined by the force exerted on the holder by means of the actuator, characterized in that the device comprises a second circular-cylindrical coaxial holder displaceable with respect to and together with the first circular-cylindrical holder and a fixedly arranged first actuator cooperating with one of the holders and a second actuator secured to one of the holders and cooperating with the other holder, one holder being secured to the other holder by means of a first elastic coupling member and one of the holders being secured to the frame by means of a second elastic coupling member, while the distance between the lens system secured to one of the holders and the substrate table is adjustable with a constant distance between the mask support coupled to the other holder and the lens system by means of the first fixedly arranged actuator by elastic deformation of the second elastic coupling member and the distance between the lens system and the mask support is adjustable with a constant distance between the substrate table and the lens system by means of the second actuator by elastic deformation of the first coupling member.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
63 words
An opto-lithographic device as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that the lens ysystem is coupled to the first holder, which is surrounded at least in part by the second holder and is secured by means of a third elastic coupling member to the frame, while the second holder is secured by means of a fourth elastic coupling member to the first holder.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
103 words
An opto.lithographic device as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the elastic coupling members are constituted by elastically deformable metal rings provided with an even number of pairs of elastic pivots, between which are situated comparatively long sections of the ring, while comparatively short sections of the ring are situated between the elastic pivots of a pair, whereby the comparatively short sections of the first coupling member are secured alternately to the first holder and the second holder and the comparatively short sections of the second coupling member are secured alternately to the frame and to one of the holders.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
41 words
An opto-lithographic device as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that at least one pre-stressed first compensation spring is arranged between the holders, while at least one pre-stressed second compensation spring is arranged between the frame and one of the holders.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
68 words
An opto-lithographic device as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that the first and the second actuator are constituted by a first and a second eccentric, which are in engagement with one and the other holder, respectively, and are driven by a first and a second direct current motor, the first motor being secured to the frame, while the second motor is secured to one of the holders.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
83 words
An opto-lithographic device as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that the device is provided with servo control means comprising a first and a second control loop, while in the first control loop an optical focusing detector secured to the holder with the lens system supplies a first control signal to a focusing motor coupled to the first actuator and in the second control loop an optical enlargement detector supplies a second control signal to an enlargement motor coupled to the second actuator.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
129 words
A method of controlling the imaging properties of an optical lens system in an opto-lithographic device, in which the distance between a mask and the lens system is adjusted to the desired value for obtaining the desired enlargement, characterized in that in a first control loop of servo control means a first control signal determined by a focus detector is supplied to a focus motor, which is coupled to a first actuator, by which the desired distance between the lens system and a substrate is adjusted, while in a second control loop of the servo control means a second control signal determined by an enlargement detector is supplied to an enlargement motor coupled to a second actuator, which adjusts the desired distance between the mask and the lens system.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
129 words
A method of controlling the imaging properties of an optical lens system in an opto-lithographic device, in which the distance between a mask and the lens system is adjusted to the desired value for obtaining the desired enlargement, characterized in that in a first control loop of servo control means a first control signal determined by a focus detector is supplied to a focus motor, which is coupled to a first actuator, by which the desired distance between the lens system and a substrate is adjusted, while in a second control loop of the servo control means a second control signal determined by an enlargement detector is supplied to an enlargement motor coupled to a second actuator, which adjusts the desired distance between the mask and the lens system.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
193 words
A method as claimed in Claim 7, characterized in that the distance between the lens system and the substrate on which the mask is imaged is measured by means of the optical focus detector, while the first control signal supplied by the focus detector is correlated to the desired distance between the lens system and the substrate and to the atmospheric pressure, after which the desired distance between the lens system and the substrate is adjusted by supplying a first control signal to the focus motor of the first actuator, after which, whilst the first control loop remains activated, the second control loop is activated and the second control signal determined by the enlargement detector and correlated to the atmospheric pressure is supplied to the enlargement motor of the second actuator for adjusting the desired enlargement, which second control signal is replaced after adjustment of the desired enlargement by a third control signal obtained by means of a relative position sensor and calibrated by the second control signal, after which the activation both of the first and of the second control loop is maintained during a number of successive exposures of the substrate.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4155642A
Cited
US4140392A
Cited
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