MEASUREMENT APPARATUS AND MEASUREMENT METHOD

• US 20120320381A1
• Filed: 05/30/2012
• Published: 12/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Okada, Yoshiyuki
• Application Number:
  US13/483,615
• Publication Number:
  US 20120320381A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 356/484
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 9/02002 using two or more frequencies
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 9/02059 Reducing effect of parasitic reflections, e.g. cyclic errors
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 9/02083 characterised by particular signal processing and presentation
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 9/02084 Processing in the Fourier or frequency domain when not imaged in the frequency domain

Abstract

A measurement apparatus obtains a reference signal from light modulated by a first frequency, obtains a measurement signal from light modulated by the first frequency and a second frequency, and measures a position of a target object by calculating a phase difference between the reference signal and the measurement signal. The apparatus includes: a demodulation unit which demodulates the measurement signal by the first frequency; a decimation filter which removes harmonic components from the signal generated by the demodulation unit; a detection unit which detects periodic error components included in the signal output from the decimation filter; a removing unit which removes the periodic error components from the signal output from the decimation filter; and a calculation unit which calculates the position of the target object based on the signal output from the removing unit.

Claims

1. A measurement apparatus, which obtains a reference signal from reference light modulated by a first frequency, obtains a measurement signal from measurement light, which is modulated by a second frequency due to movement of a target object in addition to modulation by the first frequency, and measures a position of the target object by calculating a phase difference between the reference signal and the measurement signal, said apparatus comprising:

letting fd be the second frequency,

a demodulation unit which generates, by demodulating the measurement signal by the first frequency, a signal including a component of the second frequency, and periodic error components having frequencies n×

fd (for n=½

, 2, 3, . . . ), and harmonic components of the second frequency;

a decimation filter which outputs a signal including the component of the second frequency and the periodic error components by removing the harmonic components from the signal generated by said demodulation unit;

a detection unit which detects the periodic error components included in the signal output from said decimation filter;

a removing unit which outputs a signal of the component of the second frequency by removing the periodic error components detected by said detection unit from the signal output from said decimation filter; and

a calculation unit which calculates the position of the target object based on the signal output from said removing unit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said detection unit calculates amplitudes and phases of the periodic error components by computing Fourier transforms of the signal output from said decimation filter, and generates the signals of the periodic error components to be removed by said removing unit using the calculated amplitudes and phases, and

said removing unit removes the periodic error components using the signals generated by said detection unit.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said detection unit demodulates the signal output from said decimation filter by frequencies of the periodic error components, removes harmonic components from the demodulated signals, calculates amplitudes and phases of the periodic error components from the signals from which the harmonic components are removed, and generates signals of the periodic error components to be removed by said removing unit using the calculated amplitudes and phases, and

said removing unit removes the periodic error components using the signals generated by said detection unit.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said calculation unit calculates a provisional value of a change amount of a phase difference between the reference signal and the measurement signal or a change amount of a position of the target object from the signal output from said decimation filter, and calculates a provisional value of the second frequency from the calculated provisional value of the change amount, and

said detection unit generates signals of frequencies of the periodic error components using the provisional value of the second frequency calculated by said calculation unit, and demodulates the signal output from said decimation filter using the generated signals.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a phase synchronization unit which generates a signal of the first frequency used in demodulation by said demodulation unit from the reference signal.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said decimation filter is a Cascaded Integrator Comb filter.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a heterodyne interferometer.

5. A measurement apparatus, which obtains a reference signal from reference light modulated by a first frequency, obtains a measurement signal from measurement light, which is modulated by a second frequency due to movement of a target object in addition to modulation by the first frequency, and measures a position of the target object by calculating a phase difference between the reference signal and the measurement signal, said apparatus comprising:

letting fr be the first frequency and fd be the second frequency, and n=½

, −

1, 2, 3, . . .

a demodulation unit which generates, by demodulating the measurement signal by the first frequency, a signal including a component of the second frequency, and periodic error components having frequencies n×

fd, and harmonic components of the second frequency;

a decimation filter which outputs a signal including the component of the second frequency and the periodic error components by removing the harmonic components from the signal generated by said demodulation unit;

a detection unit which detects the periodic error components by demodulating the measurement signal by frequencies (fr+n×

fd);

a removing unit which outputs a signal of the component of the second frequency by removing the periodic error components detected by said detection unit from the signal output from said decimation filter; and

a calculation unit which calculates the position of the target object based on the signal output from said removing unit.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said detection unit demodulates the measurement signal by the frequencies (fr+n×

fd), removes the harmonic components from the demodulated signals, calculates amplitudes and phases of the periodic error components from the signals from which the harmonic components are removed, and generates signals of periodic error components to be removed by said removing unit using the calculated amplitudes and phases, and

said removing unit removes the periodic error components using the signals generated by said detection unit.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said calculation unit calculates a provisional value of a change amount of a phase difference between the reference signal and the measurement signal or a change amount of a position of the target object from the signal output from said decimation filter, and calculates a provisional value of the second frequency from the calculated provisional value of the change amount, and

said detection unit generates signals of the frequencies (fr+n×

fd) using the provisional value of the second frequency calculated by said calculation unit, and demodulates the measurement signal using the generated signals.

10. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a phase synchronization unit which generates a signal of the first frequency used in demodulation by said demodulation unit from the reference signal.

11. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said decimation filter is a Cascaded Integrator Comb filter.

13. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the apparatus is a heterodyne interferometer.

14. A method of measuring a position of a target object by obtaining a reference signal from reference light modulated by a first frequency, obtaining a measurement signal from measurement light, which is modulated by a second frequency due to movement of a target object in addition to modulation by the first frequency, and calculating a phase difference between the reference signal and the measurement signal, said method comprising:

letting fd be the second frequency,

a demodulation step of generating, by demodulating the measurement signal by the first frequency, a signal including a component of the second frequency, and periodic error components having frequencies n×

fd (for n=½

, 2, 3, . . . ), and harmonic components of the second frequency;

a decimation step of outputting a signal including the component of the second frequency and the periodic error components by removing the harmonic components from the signal generated in the demodulation step;

a detection step of detecting the periodic error components included in the signal output in the decimation step;

a removing step of outputting a signal of the component of the second frequency by removing the periodic error components detected in the detection step from the signal output in the decimation step; and

a calculation step of calculating the position of the target object based on the signal output in the removing step.

15. A method of measuring a position of a target object by obtaining a reference signal from reference light modulated by a first frequency, obtaining a measurement signal from measurement light, which is modulated by a second frequency due to movement of a target object in addition to modulation by the first frequency, and calculating a phase difference between the reference signal and the measurement signal, said method comprising:

letting fr be the first frequency and fd be the second frequency, and n=½

, −

1, 2, 3, . . .

a demodulation step of generating, by demodulating the measurement signal by the first frequency, a signal including a component of the second frequency, and periodic error components having frequencies n×

fd, and harmonic components of the second frequency;

a decimation step of outputting a signal including the component of the second frequency and the periodic error components by removing the harmonic components from the signal generated in the demodulation step;

a detection step of detecting the periodic error components by demodulating the measurement signal by frequencies (fr+n×

fd);

a removing step of outputting a signal of the component of the second frequency by removing the periodic error components detected in the detection step from the signal output in the decimation step; and

a calculation step of calculating the position of the target object based on the signal output in the removing step.