University of California

Layton C Hale

Terry N Malsbury

Russell M Hudyma

Steven R Patterson

Steven A Jensen

John M Parker

A highly damped kinematic coupling for precision instruments. The kinematic coupling provides support while causing essentially no influence to its nature shape, with such influences coming, for example, from manufacturing tolerances, temperature changes, or ground motion. The coupling uses three ball-cone constraints, each combined with a released flexural degree of freedom. This arrangement enables a gain of higher load capacity and stiffness, but can also significantly reduce the friction level in proportion to the ball radius divided by the distance between the ball and the hinge axis. The blade flexures reduces somewhat the stiffness of the coupling and provides an ideal location to apply constrained-layer damping which is accomplished by attaching a viscoelastic layer and a constraining layer on opposite sides of each of the blade flexures. The three identical ball-cone flexures provide a damped coupling mechanism to kinematically support the projection optics system of the extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) system, or other load-sensitive apparatus.

Highly damped kinematic coupling for precision instruments

A pedestal optical substrate that simultaneously provides high substrate dynamic stiffness, provides low surface figure sensitivity to mechanical mounting hardware inputs, and constrains surface figure changes caused by optical coatings to be primarily spherical in nature. The pedestal optical substrate includes a disk-like optic or substrate section having a top surface that is coated, a disk-like base section that provides location at which the substrate can be mounted, and a connecting cylindrical section between the base and optics or substrate sections. The connecting cylindrical section may be attached via three spaced legs or members. However, the pedestal optical substrate can be manufactured from a solid piece of material to form a monolith, thus avoiding joints between the sections, or the disk-like base can be formed separately and connected to the connecting section. By way of example, the pedestal optical substrate may be utilized in the fabrication of optics for an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography imaging system, or in any optical system requiring coated optics and substrates with reduced sensitivity to mechanical mounts.

Pedestal substrate for coated optics

A projection optics box or assembly for use in an optical assembly, such as in an extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) system using 10-14 nm soft x-ray photons. The projection optics box utilizes a plurality of highly reflective optics or mirrors, each mounted on a precision actuator, and which reflects an optical image, such as from a mask, in the EUVL system onto a point of use, such as a target or silicon wafer, the mask, for example, receiving an optical signal from a source assembly, such as a developed from laser system, via a series of highly reflective mirrors of the EUVL system. The plurality of highly reflective optics or mirrors are mounted in a housing assembly comprised of a series of bulkheads having wall members secured together to form a unit construction of maximum rigidity. Due to the precision actuators, the mirrors must be positioned precisely and remotely in tip, tilt, and piston (three degrees of freedom), while also providing exact constraint.

Projection optics box

A three tooth kinematic coupling based on having three theoretical line contacts formed by mating teeth rather than six theoretical point contacts. The geometry requires one coupling half to have curved teeth and the other coupling half to have flat teeth. Each coupling half has a relieved center portion which does not effect the kinematics, but in the limit as the face width approaches zero, three line contacts become six point contacts. As a result of having line contact, a three tooth coupling has greater load capacity and stiffness. The kinematic coupling has application for use in precision fixturing for tools or workpieces, and as a registration device for a work or tool changer or for optics in various products.

Three tooth kinematic coupling

A precision device which can precisely actuate three degrees of freedom of an optic mount, commonly referred to as tip, tilt, and piston. The device consists of three identical flexure mechanisms, an optic mount to be supported and positioned, a structure that supports the flexure mechanisms, and three commercially available linear actuators. The advantages of the precision device is in the arrangement of the constraints offered by the flexure mechanism and not in the particular design of the flexure mechanisms, as other types of mechanisms could be substituted. Each flexure mechanism constrains two degrees of freedom in the plane of the mechanisms and one direction is actuated. All other degrees of freedom are free to move within the range of flexure mechanisms. Typically, three flexure mechanisms are equally spaced in angle about to optic mount and arranged so that each actuated degree of freedom is perpendicular to the plane formed by the optic mount. This arrangement exactly constrains the optic mount and allows arbitrary actuated movement of the plane within the range of the flexure mechanisms. Each flexure mechanism provides a mechanical advantage, typically on the order of 5:1, between the commercially available actuator and the functional point on the optic mount. This improves resolution by the same ratio and stiffness by the square of the ratio.

Precision tip-tilt-piston actuator that provides exact constraint

An adjustable link for kinematic mounting systems. The adjustable link is a low-cost, passive device that provides backlash-free adjustment along its single constraint direction and flexural freedom in all other directions. The adjustable link comprises two spheres, two sockets in which the spheres are adjustable retain, and a connection link threadly connected at each end to the spheres, to provide a single direction of restraint and to adjust the length or distance between the sockets. Six such adjustable links provide for six degrees of freedom for mounting an instrument on a support. The adjustable link has applications in any machine or instrument requiring precision adjustment in six degrees of freedom, isolation from deformations of the supporting platform, and/or additional structural damping. The damping is accomplished by using a hollow connection link that contains an inner rod and a viscoelastic separation layer between the two.

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Livermore, CA, United States of America

Layton C Hale