1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to stage systems, and preferably, to a stage system installed in an exposure apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
An exposure apparatus used during the manufacture of a device, such as a semiconductor device, or a liquid crystal device, has a stage system for moving a master plate, such as a mask, a reticle, or a substrate subjected to exposure, such as a semiconductor wafer, or a glass substrate (hereinafter, they are collectively called a substrate).
Such a stage system is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-106344A (See FIG. 11). Referring to FIG. 11, a yaw guide 550 and a Y stage 551 are disposed on a base table 502. The yaw guide 550 and the base table 502 guide the Y stage 551. Airsliders (not shown) are disposed between the Y stage 551 and the base table 502 and between the Y stage 551 and the yaw guide 550 so that the Y stage 551 is slidable in the Y direction.
An X stage 561 encloses the Y stage 551. The X stage 561 is guided by sides of the Y stage 551. An airslider is disposed between the sides of the Y stage 551 and the X stage 561. Also, an airslider (not shown) is disposed between the X stage 561 and the base table 502. As a result, the X stage 561 is slidable in the X direction on the Y stage 551. Since the Y stage 551 is slidable in the Y direction and the X stage 561 is slidable in the X direction on the Y stage 551, as mentioned above, the X stage 561, being a coarse-motion stage, is slidable in the X and Y directions on the base table 502.
A fine-motion stage, comprising a six-axis fine-motion linear motor and a wafer top plate 501, is disposed on the X stage 561. A wafer chuck (not shown) is disposed on the wafer top plate 501 so as to expose a wafer (not shown) on the wafer chuck to form a pattern of a mask on the wafer. The positions of the fine-motion stage and the coarse-motion stage are measured and controlled independently of each other.
In order to reduce adverse effects of a cable for supplying power to a stage on the stage in a stage system, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-043213A discloses a power-supplying stage (cable-holding stage), which holds a power-supplying cable, so as to be synchronized to movement of an X-Y stage.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds