Alignment stage apparatus

• US 20060214518A1
• Filed: 05/31/2006
• Published: 09/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ohishi, Shinji
• Granted Patent: US 7,199,493 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 310/12.310
• 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 includes 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 switching device for sequentially switching, 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 feeding device for supplying AC power to the power transmission coils to be energized through the switching device.

Claims

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

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

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

switching means for sequentially switching, of said plurality of power transmission coils, those that are to be energized to feed power in accordance with a position of said movable stage; and

power feeding means for supplying AC power to said power transmission coils to be energized through said switching means.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least some of said plurality of power transmission coils are also used as driving coils which move said movable stage.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said power reception coil comprises a plurality of power reception coils arrayed in a driving direction of said movable stage.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the driving direction of said movable stage comprises a two dimensional direction along the surface of said base structure.

5. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said power reception coils are arranged to be phase shifted from said power transmission coils.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said power reception coils and said 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.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, 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.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein power is transmitted and received by superposing a control signal on the AC power, so that an electrical circuit on said movable stage and a control device provided to said base structure communicate with each other.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a rechargeable secondary battery is mounted on said movable stage.

10. An exposure apparatus comprising:

an alignment stage apparatus according to claim 1, which aligns at least one of a substrate and a master by said stage apparatus.

11. A device manufacturing method comprising:

a step of forming a latent image pattern on a substrate by using an exposure apparatus according to claim 10;

and

a step of developing the latent image pattern.