Supporting device for supporting vibration sensitive components

• US 8,256,735 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2006
• Issued: 09/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Integrated Dynamics Engineering GmbH (Aalberts NV)
• Original Assignee: Integrated Dynamics Engineering GmbH (Aalberts NV)
• Inventors: Heiland, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): WOOD, KIMBERLY T
• Application Number:
  US11/457,582
• Publication Number:
  US 20070052946A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,244 Days
• Field of Search: 248/636, 248/638, 248/901, 248/562, 248/580, 248/581, 248/654, 108/20, 108/147, 269/20, 269/35, 267/64.11, 267/64.27, 267/64.23, 267/140.5, 267/64.25, 267/64.28
• US Class Current: 248/638
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 15/0275 Control of stiffness
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 15/04 using elastic means single elements or their attachment F16F1/00 - F16F13/00; F16F15/023, F16F15/03 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70716 Stages
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/709 Vibration, e.g. vibration detection, compensation, suppression or isolation

Abstract

The invention is in particular a supporting device for relative supporting loads with respect to a base comprising a load side part, a base side part, and an intermediate part giving support to the load side part, and thus defining a supporting direction with reference to the base and the load side, including a pressure chamber bounded by chamber walls.

Claims

1. A supporting device for relative supporting lithography or metrology tools with respect to a base comprising:

a load side part,

a base side part, and

an intermediate part giving support to the load side part, and thus defining a support direction with reference to the base side part and the load side part,

wherein the intermediate part includes a pressure chamber that is formed by chamber walls to encapsulate a fluid,

wherein the chamber walls include a bellow that is deformable in the support direction, and undeformable perpendicular to the support direction, and is located closer to the base side part than to the load side part, and

wherein the load side part is connected with the pressure chamber by an elastic hinge that is stiff in the support direction and bendable perpendicular to the support direction.

2. The supporting device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bellow separates said pressure chamber into an upper pressure chamber and a communication pressure chamber.

3. The supporting device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressure chamber further comprises a base pressure chamber communicatively connected to a communication pressure chamber.

4. The supporting device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bellow comprises diaphragm rings that are edge welded together inside and outside.

5. The supporting device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the diaphragm rings are made of metal.

6. The supporting device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pressure chamber comprises or is line-connected to an additional reservoir.

7. The supporting device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said elastic hinge is made of metal.

8. The supporting device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting device comprises at least one one-dimensional spring acting on said load side part perpendicular to the supporting direction.

9. The supporting device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting device further comprises a pair of Lorenz actuator.