OPTICAL APPARATUS WITH ADJUSTABLE ACTION OF FORCE ON AN OPTICAL MODULE
First Claim
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1. An optical apparatus, comprising:
- an optical module;
a support structure; and
a connection apparatus, comprising;
a connection unit, comprising;
a first connector part connected to the optical module;
a second connector part connected to the support structure; and
at least a portion of a positioning device configured to act on the first and second connector parts,wherein;
the connection unit has an adjustment state and an installed state;
the first connector part has a first contact surface with a first main curvature defining a first main curvature axis;
the second connector part has a second contact surface with a second main curvature defining a second main curvature axis;
the second main curvature is matched to the first main curvature;
in the installed state of the connection unit, the first contact surface contacts the second contact surface;
in the adjustment state of the connection unit, a narrow gap between the first and second contact surfaces is maintained in a non-contact manner so that a compensating motion between the first and second contact surfaces about the first main curvature axis is possible without the occurrence of any action of force between the first and second connector parts resulting from the compensating motion; and
the optical apparatus is configured to be used in microlithography.
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Abstract
The disclosure pertains to an optical apparatus, in particular for microlithography, that includes an optical module, a support structure and a connection apparatus. The connection apparatus includes at least one connection unit which includes a first connector part and a second connector part. The first connector part is connected to the optical module, and the second connector part is connected to the support structure.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. An optical apparatus, comprising:
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an optical module; a support structure; and a connection apparatus, comprising; a connection unit, comprising; a first connector part connected to the optical module; a second connector part connected to the support structure; and at least a portion of a positioning device configured to act on the first and second connector parts, wherein; the connection unit has an adjustment state and an installed state; the first connector part has a first contact surface with a first main curvature defining a first main curvature axis; the second connector part has a second contact surface with a second main curvature defining a second main curvature axis; the second main curvature is matched to the first main curvature; in the installed state of the connection unit, the first contact surface contacts the second contact surface; in the adjustment state of the connection unit, a narrow gap between the first and second contact surfaces is maintained in a non-contact manner so that a compensating motion between the first and second contact surfaces about the first main curvature axis is possible without the occurrence of any action of force between the first and second connector parts resulting from the compensating motion; and the optical apparatus is configured to be used in microlithography. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method, comprising:
using a connection apparatus to connect a support structure with an optical module configured for use in microlithography, wherein; the connection apparatus comprises a connection unit comprising a first connector part and a second connector part, the first connector part is connected to the optical module and the second connector part is connected to the support structure, the first connector part has a first contact surface with a first main curvature defining a first main curvature axis, the second connector part has a second contact surface with a second main curvature defining a second main curvature axis, the first main curvature axis matches to the second main curvature, in an installed state, the method comprises bringing the optical module and the support structure closer to each other so that the first contact surface contacts the second contact surface in an installed state, and in an adjustment state, the method comprises maintaining a narrow gap between the first and second contact surfaces in a non-contact manner so that a compensating motion between the first and second contact surfaces about the first main curvature axis is possible without the occurrence of any action of force between the first and second connector parts resulting from the compensating motion. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method, comprising:
using a connection apparatus to connect a support structure with an optical module configured to be used in microlithography, wherein; the connection apparatus comprises a plurality of connection units, each connection unit comprises a module connector part connected to the optical module and a structure connector part connected to the support structure, the method comprises bringing the optical module and the support structure closer to each other so that the respective module connector part and the assigned structure connector part contact each other in an installed state, in an adjustment state that exists prior to the installed state, a gap exists in each case between the respective module connector part and the assigned structure connector part is reduced in a non-contact manner so that the module connector parts and the assigned structure connector parts contact each other substantially simultaneously, the method comprises detecting a value of a variable representative of a dimension of the respective gap between the module connector part and the assigned structure connector part, the method comprises passing a corresponding measurement signal passed to a control device, the method comprises generating from the respective measurement signal and at least one setpoint value a control signal, the method comprises passing the control signal to a force generation device, and the method comprises using the force generation device to generate action of force between the optical module and the support structure to achieve a predefined change in the respective gap between the module connector part and the assigned structure connector part.
Specification