Leica Microsystems Lithography Gmbh

Vistec Electron Beam Gmbh

Gerhard Schubert

Stefan Risse

Thomas Peschel

Gerd Harnisch

Ulf-Carsten Kirschstein

Christoph Schenk

René Bauer

Michael Boehm

Christian Jackel

Christoph Damm

Volker Guyenot

Klaus-Dieter Adam

Gerhard Kalkowski

Thomas Elster

Hans-Joachim Doering

Andreas Gebhardt

Nigel Crosland

Brian Rafferty

Mathias Rohde

Timothy Groves

Jeffrey Kristoff

Michael Böhm

Christoph Dr Schenk

Stefan Dr Risse

Thomas Dr Peschel

A proposed aerostatic bearing arrangement for moving a device on a base structure, particularly in a vacuum environment, has at least one aerostatic bearing element comprising a bearing body having a load-carrying zone and a suction area. An electrostatic preloading unit having at least one electrode is associated with the at least one aerostatic bearing element, and a voltage can be applied to the electrode in such a way that a force component is generated in direction of the surface normal of the bearing body of the aerostatic bearing element.

Aerostatic bearing arrangement and associated electrostatic preloading unit, particularly for vacuum application

A table system for vacuum application has a base plate and a moving table guided by aerostatic bearing units. The bearing units () are connected to supply lines and suction lines for supplying and extracting the gas required for the operation of the bearing units and are provided in each instance with a sealing system having at least one stage and comprising suction channel and sealing gap for sealing relative to the vacuum. The table system is characterized in that the aerostatic bearing units () are constructed at least partially as swivel joints, and a push rod () which is actuated by a drive () for guiding the moving table laterally is connected to the rotating part () of each swivel joint, and in that the push rods () are hollow and constitute a component part of the suction lines for extracting the operating gas.

Aerostatically guided table system for vacuum application

A table for vacuum application which is guided by aerostatic bearing elements, having a fixedly mounted supporting structure and a tabletop which is displaceable in x-direction and y-direction with respect to the fixedly mounted supporting structure by means of slides. The slides are provided with the aerostatic bearing elements for guiding, these aerostatic bearing elements being connected to feed lines for supplying the gas required for the operation of the gas bearings and suction lines for removing this gas. The suction lines comprise at least one variable-length line arrangement having a first pipe member and a second pipe member which penetrate one inside the other without contacting, at least one sealing gap being provided between the pipe members.

Table guided by aerostatic bearing elements for vacuum application

The invention is directed to electrostatic deflection systems for corpuscular beams which can be used particularly in microstructured and nanostructured applications in lithography installations or measuring equipment. According to the proposed object of the invention, the individual electrodes of a deflection system of this kind should permanently have and retain a very exact axially symmetric arrangement relative to one another. In the electrostatic deflection system according to the invention, rod-shaped electrodes are held in an axially symmetric arrangement in an inwardly hollow carrier through which a corpuscular beam can be directed. The carrier is formed of at least two, and at most four, carrier members which are connected to one another.

Electrostatic deflection system for corpuscular radiation

A dual-mode electron beam lithography machine () comprises an electron beam column () for generating an electron beam () for writing a pattern on a surface of a substrate) by way of a writing current, the substrate being supported on a stage () movable to displace the substrate relative to the beam. The column () includes beam deflecting plates () for deflecting the beam to scan the substrate surface in accordance with the pattern to be written and beam blanking plates () for blanking the beam to interrupt writing. The machine further comprises control means (to) for changing each of writing current, stage movement, beam deflection and beam blanking between a predetermined first mode optimised for pattern-writing accuracy, thus resolution, and a predetermined second mode different from the first mode and optimised for pattern-writing speed, thus throughput.

Dual-mode electron beam lithography machine

The present invention provides for a device for holding a substrate in an exposure system. In the exposure system, the substrate is positioned on a table movable in the X and Y coordinates of an X, Y plane, and the exposure system provides a metering assembly between a table surface and the substrate to adjust the distance and to align the substrate in relation to an exposure optics, from where a corpuscular radiation is directed right-angled onto a substrate surface, corresponding to the Z coordinate. The device for holding the substrate includes two mounting plates aligned parallel to the X, Y plane, adjusted upon the table in a direction to the exposure optics and with different distances to the table surface, the first mounting plate of which being directly connected to the table. The second mounting plate is connected with the first mounting plate through at least one holding device, and has a bearing plane for the substrate being designed on that side of the second mounting plate turned to the exposure optics.

Holding device for a substrate

Growing community of inventors

Jena, Germany

Gerhard Schubert