Alignment stage apparatus

• US 7,084,534 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2005
• Issued: 08/01/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ohishi, Shinji
• Primary Examiner(s): Mullins, Burton
• Application Number:
  US11/030,952
• Publication Number:
  US 20050093378A1
• Time in Patent Office: 568 Days
• Field of Search: 310/12, 310/17, 336/118, 318/135, 191/2, 191/10
• US Class Current: 310/12.04
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70716 Stages
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70725 control
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70758 Drive means, e.g. actuators, motors for long- or short-stroke modules or fine or coarse driving
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70991 Connection with other apparatus, e.g. multiple exposure stations, particular arrangement of exposure apparatus and pre-exposure and/or post-exposure apparatus; Shared apparatus, e.g. having shared radiation source, shared mask or workpiece stage, shared base-plate; Utilities, e.g. cable, pipe or wireless arrangements for data, power, fluids or vacuum
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 9/7096 Arrangement, mounting, housing, environment, cleaning or maintenance of apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/682 Mask-wafer alignment in general G03F7/70, G03F9/70

Abstract

An alignment stage apparatus including a base structure and a movable stage, which can move along a surface of the base structure so as not to be in contact with the base structure. The apparatus includes a plurality of power transmission coils buried under the surface of the base structure, a power reception coil attached to the movable stage to oppose the surface, a switch unit configured to sequentially switch, of the plurality of power transmission coils, those that are to be energized to feed power in accordance with a position of the movable stage, and a power feed unit configured to supply AC power to the power transmission coils to be energized through the switch unit. The power reception coil includes a plurality of power reception coils arrayed in a driving direction of the movable stage, and the power reception coils and power transmission coils are phase-shifted from each other by 180°/n where n is the number of power reception coils arrayed in the driving direction of the movable stage.

Claims

1. An alignment stage apparatus including a base structure and a movable stage which can move along a surface of the base structure so as not to be in contact with the base structure, said apparatus comprising:

a plurality of power transmission coils buried under the surface of the base structure;

a power reception coil attached to the movable stage to oppose the surface;

a switch unit configured to sequentially switch, of said plurality of power transmission coils, those that are to be energized to feed power in accordance with a position of the movable stage; and

a power feed unit configured to supply AC power to said power transmission coils to be energized through said switch unit,

wherein said power reception coil comprises a plurality of power reception coils arrayed in a driving direction of said movable stage, and said power reception coils and power transmission coils are phase-shifted from each other by 180°

/n where n is the number of power reception coils arrayed in the driving direction of said movable stage.

2. An alignment stage apparatus including a base structure and a movable stage which can move along a surface of the base structure so as not to be in contact with the base structure, said apparatus comprising:

a plurality of power transmission coils buried under the surface of the base structure;

a power reception coil attached to the movable stage to oppose the surface;

a switch unit configured to sequentially switch, of said plurality of power transmission coils, those that are to be energized to feed power in accordance with a position of the movable stage; and

a power feeding unit configured to supply AC power to said power transmission coils to be energized through said switch unit,

wherein a frequency of the AC power is set at a resonance frequency determined by a load and a mutual inductance of said power transmission coils and said power reception coil.