The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 24, 2004
Filed:
Jul. 17, 2003
Blaine R. Spady, Lincoln, NE (US);
Dan M. Colban, Tracy, CA (US);
Nanometrics Incorporated, Milpitas, CA (US);
Abstract
A compact stage includes a rotary driver and a vertical linear driver that are in the same horizontal plane, which advantageously reduces the height of the device. The stage may include a rotating shaft to which a chuck is mounted. A rotary drive, which may be an annular rotary drive, is coupled to and rotates the rotating shaft. A linear drive is also coupled to the rotating shaft and in one embodiment extends through the center of the annular rotary drive. The linear drive moves the rotating shaft along a vertical axis. The linear drive may be, e.g., a voice coil motor that uses a spring to bias the rotating shaft along the vertical axis.