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:
May. 15, 2012
Filed:
Mar. 12, 2008
Ralf Stuetzle, Aalen, DE;
Ralf Stuetzle, Aalen, DE;
Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH, Oberkochen, DE;
Abstract
An adjusting device used to align two components of a microlithography projection exposure installation relative to each other. The adjusting device has an autocollimating device with a light source and a reflector. The light source and the reflector are each rigidly connected to one of the optical components. In one embodiment, the adjusting device has a laser light source which is different from the radiation source. A beam-splitter is downstream from the laser light source and carries useful adjustment light along a first optical path. A reflector can be rigidly connected to a reference component of an illuminating optics system or to a radiation source so that when an actual position of the reference component relative to the radiation source coincides with a desired position, the useful adjustment light is reflected back on itself. A bundle-sensitive component is sensitive to the direction and position of useful adjustment light in the optical path between bundle-sensitive component and reflector. The bundle-sensitive component can be rigidly mounted relative to the radiation source or the reflector. A light sensor is downstream from the beam-splitter in a second optical path for the useful adjustment light which is reflected back by the reflector. This results in an adjusting device which makes it possible to achieve high adjustment accuracy with relatively low construction expense.