Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7063192?ie=ISO-8859-1
Timestamp: 2014-03-15 02:33:40
Document Index: 636660111

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 11', 'Application No. 2000', 'Application No. 11', 'Application No. 11', 'Application No. 2000', 'Application No. 2000']

Patent US7063192 - Active vibration suppression apparatus, control method therefor, and ... - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsAn active vibration suppression apparatus includes an actuator fixed to a vibration suppression target, an inertial load driven relative to the target by the actuator, and a driving system which drives the actuator based on a first signal corresponding to the vibration, generated or to be generated,...http://www.google.com/patents/US7063192?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7063192 - Active vibration suppression apparatus, control method therefor, and exposure apparatus having active vibration suppression apparatusAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7063192 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/990,350Publication dateJun 20, 2006Filing dateNov 23, 2001Priority dateNov 27, 2000Fee statusLapsedAlso published asUS7275627, US20020104950Publication number09990350, 990350, US 7063192 B2, US 7063192B2, US-B2-7063192, US7063192 B2, US7063192B2InventorsTakehiko MayamaOriginal AssigneeCanon Kabushiki KaishaExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (11), Referenced by (9), Classifications (12), Legal Events (3) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetActive vibration suppression apparatus, control method therefor, and exposure apparatus having active vibration suppression apparatusUS 7063192 B2Abstract An active vibration suppression apparatus includes an actuator fixed to a vibration suppression target, an inertial load driven relative to the target by the actuator, and a driving system which drives the actuator based on a first signal corresponding to the vibration, generated or to be generated, of the target. The driving system includes a compensation unit which performs a compensation for the first signal. The compensation, separately or as a composite compensation includes (i) a linear compensation for the first signal to obtain a first compensated signal, and (ii) a nonlinear compensation for the first compensated signal to obtain a second compensated signal. A rate of a change in the second compensated signal to a change in an absolute value of the first compensated signal becoming less with an increase of the absolute value.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an active vibration suppression method and apparatus which are suited to realizing the excellent performance of an apparatus by stably and quickly suppressing vibrations such as rigid-body vibrations and structural resonance produced in a structure forming a semiconductor exposure apparatus, an exposure apparatus using the same, and the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With an increase in the precision of a semiconductor exposure apparatus, a vibration isolation/suppression apparatus with higher performance has been required. In a semiconductor exposure apparatus, in particular, it is required to prevent vibrations that affect exposure from being produced in an exposure stage or a structure forming an exposure apparatus body. For this purpose, the exposure apparatus body must be insulated from external vibrations, including vibrations from an apparatus mount pedestal such as a floor, as much as possible, and vibrations produced when equipment, having a driving means such as an X-Y stage mounted on the apparatus main body, operates, must be quickly reduced.
An active vibration isolation apparatus of this type and a semiconductor exposure apparatus using this vibration isolation apparatus are disclosed in �Vibration Isolation Apparatus, Exposure Apparatus and Device Manufacturing Method using the Same, and Vibration Isolation Method�, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-294520 proposed by the present applicant. According to this prior art, an active vibration isolation apparatus configured to reduce/suppress the vibrations of a vibration isolation base is disclosed, which uses air springs, as air actuators, which support the vibration isolation base on an apparatus mount pedestal, and also uses electromagnetic linear motors for applying a control force between the vibration isolation base and the apparatus mount pedestal. In this apparatus, each actuator is controlled on the basis of a signal obtained by detecting any displacement, acceleration, or the like, of the vibration isolation base using a sensor and performing a compensation computation for the signal, such as a signal being obtained by compensating for a signal from equipment having a driving means such as an X-Y stage mounted on the vibration isolation base, a signal being obtained by detecting the vibrations of the apparatus mount pedestal and performing a compensation computation for the resultant signal, or the like. This apparatus realizes excellent vibration isolation/suppression performance, which the active vibration isolation apparatus based on the pneumatic driving scheme widely used in the past does not have, by respectively allocating control functions to air actuators capable of easily obtaining a large thrust and electromagnetic actuators with excellent response properties in consideration of the merits of the two types of actuators.
Such conventional active vibration suppression apparatuses are disclosed in �Active Vibration Suppression Apparatus and Semiconductor Exposure Apparatus Using the Same�, Japanese Patent Application No. 11-151141 filed by the present applicant, �Stage Apparatus, Exposure Apparatus using the Same, and Device Manufacturing Method�, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-190786, �Active Vibration Suppression Apparatus�, Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-122731 filed by the present applicant, and the like. Methods and apparatuses for reducing/suppressing vibrations are also disclosed in these references.
FIG. 17 is a perspective view for explaining the structure of a vibration suppression apparatus proposed as �Active Vibration Suppression Apparatus and Semiconductor Exposure Apparatus Using the Same�, Japanese Patent Application No. 11-151141. This vibration suppression apparatus is configured to drive a mass serving as a weight in the straight direction by using an actuator for generating a thrust in the straight direction. The apparatus shown in FIG. 17 suppresses vibrations in the vertical direction.
In the prior art associated with Japanese Patent Application No. 11-151141, and the like, there is no detailed description about a vibration suppression method and an apparatus aimed at removing the vibrations of a structure as a part of a semiconductor exposure apparatus, more specifically, the vibrations of a cantilever support structure as a part of a semiconductor exposure apparatus, a structure on the mount pedestal side on which vibration isolation legs for vibration-isolating/supporting a semiconductor exposure apparatus are mounted, and the like, as in the apparatus according to the present invention. In �Active Vibration Suppression Apparatus�, Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-122731, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-190786, a vibration suppression apparatus for a semiconductor exposure apparatus is described. Basically, however, such references are limited to the disclosure of vibration suppression methods and apparatuses aimed at suppressing rigid-body vibrations such as the vibrations of a vibration isolation base or surface plate as a part of an exposure apparatus body.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed to solve the conventional problems.
First Embodiment In the first embodiment of the present invention, an active vibration suppression apparatus will be described below, which reduces vibrations that are produced in a precision equipment mount vibration isolation base or in an object mounted on a vibration isolation base, and affect precision equipment, such as a semiconductor exposure apparatus.
y = K 1 ⁡ ( 1 1 + exp ⁡ ( - K 2 ⁢ x ) - 0.5 ) ( 1 ) where K1 and K2 are constants, and K2 is a positive constant.
y = 1 1 + exp ⁡ ( - x ) ( 2 ) Note that the input/output characteristic shown in FIG. 4 can be described by a nonlinear function which monotonously increases with the positive constant K1. Obviously, in some cases, a nonlinear computation described by a nonlinear function, which monotonously decreases with a negative constant K1, can be used.
Second Embodiment FIG. 8 is a view showing an example of the arrangement of an apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, which is configured to reduce the vibrations of a structure 6 mounted on a vibration isolation base 1.
FIGS. 9A and 9B show the simulation results obtained when the resonance vibrations of a structure of this type are reduced/suppressed by feedback control operation using the compensation computation section 140. Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, the abscissa represents the time elapsed since the occurrence of vibrations in the vibration suppression target, and the ordinate represents the acceleration of the vibration suppression target in FIG. 9A, and the displacement amount of the inertial load in FIG. 9B. Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, each curve indicated by �(I)� represents the control result based on the result of a compensation computation including a nonlinear compensation computation, and each curve indicated by �(II)� represents the control result based on only a conventional linear compensation computation. In this case, in a compensation computation including a nonlinear compensation computation, a compensation computation based on a nonlinear function represented by equation (1) is performed for a signal similar to the one indicated by �(II)� for which a linear compensation computation has been performed.
Third Embodiment The third embodiment of the present invention will exemplify the following semiconductor exposure apparatus having the active vibration suppression apparatus shown in FIG. 8 to reduce vibrations that affect the exposure performance.
Fourth Embodiment An active vibration suppression apparatus designed to act in the rotational motion direction may be suitably used to reduce/suppress vibrations centered on the fulcrum of a cantilever support structure, like the vibration suppression target in the third embodiment, in the rotational direction. In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor exposure apparatus having a structure desired to suppress the vibrations of such a structure by using an active vibration suppression apparatus acting in the rotational motion direction will be described.
As the rotational actuator 61, one of various types of electromagnetic motors, e.g., a DC motor, a synchronous AC motor, an induction AC motor, and a swing electromagnetic motor, can be used. Note that these actuators are disclosed in detail in �Active Vibration Suppression Apparatus�, Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-122731, and the like.
The apparatus according to this embodiment performs the control operation of feeding back a compensation signal for the vibrations of the structure 6 to the rotational vibration suppression unit 60 by using the rotational vibration detection unit 3 c, compensation computation section 4 c, and the like, and the control operation of feeding forward information about the operation state of equipment having a driving means that influences the structure 6 to the rotational vibration suppression unit 60 by using the feedforward compensation computation section 5 c. Feedback control operation using the rotational vibration detection unit 3 c and compensation computation section 4 c will be described first.
Fifth Embodiment In the fifth embodiment of the present invention, an active vibration suppression apparatus is applied to the reduction of the vibrations of a pedestal structure 91 (shown in FIG. 10), on which the overall semiconductor exposure apparatus, is mounted.
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS5812958Mar 24, 1995Sep 22, 1998Canon Kabushiki KaishaAnti-vibration systemUS5862894 *Jun 30, 1997Jan 26, 1999Gec Alsthom Transport SaSemi-active damper with continuous force controlUS6155542Dec 24, 1996Dec 5, 2000Canon Kabushiki KaishaVibration damping apparatus and methodUS6170622Mar 6, 1998Jan 9, 2001Canon Kabushiki KaishaAnti-vibration apparatus and anti-vibration method thereofUS6322060Apr 6, 1999Nov 27, 2001Canon Kabushiki KaishaAnti-vibration apparatus, exposure apparatus using the same, device manufacturing method, and anti-vibration methodUS20010040324Apr 6, 1999Nov 15, 2001Fitzpatrick Cella Harper & ScintoAnti-vibration apparatus, exposure apparatus using the same, device manufacturing method, and anti-vibration methodUSRE33937 *Jan 12, 1990May 26, 1992Barry Wright CorporationActive vibration isolation systemJP2000122731A Title not availableJPH11151141A Title not availableJPH11190786A Title not availableJPH11294520A Title not available* Cited by examinerReferenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS7275627 *Sep 8, 2005Oct 2, 2007Canon Kabushiki KaishaActive vibration suppression apparatus, control method therefor, and exposure apparatus having active vibration suppression apparatusUS7355674 *Sep 28, 2004Apr 8, 2008Asml Netherlands B.V.Lithographic apparatus, device manufacturing method and computer program productUS7686144 *Apr 1, 2008Mar 30, 2010Canon Kabushiki KaishaVibration isolation device, arithmetic apparatus, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing methodUS8068210Mar 17, 2008Nov 29, 2011Asml Netherlands B.V.Lithographic apparatus, device manufacturing method and computer program productUS8300208Nov 11, 2009Oct 30, 2012Asml Netherlands B.V.Lithographic apparatus and a method to compensate for the effect of disturbances on the projection system of a lithographic apparatusUS20100001445 *Jun 30, 2009Jan 7, 2010Tokkyokiki CorporationVibration isolatorUS20110080178 *Sep 28, 2010Apr 7, 2011Olympus CorporationCalibration method for inertial drive actuator, and inertial drive actuator deviceUS20110285340 *Jun 10, 2010Nov 24, 2011Katsuyoshi TakeuchiServo control deviceUS20130134639 *Mar 9, 2012May 30, 2013Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.Shockproof device for container data centers and method for using the same* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification188/378, 248/550, 267/136International ClassificationF16F7/10, G03F7/20, A47G27/00, H01L21/027, F16F15/02Cooperative ClassificationF16F7/1005, G03F7/709European ClassificationG03F7/70P6F, F16F7/10ALegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionJun 20, 2010LAPSLapse for failure to pay maintenance feesJan 25, 2010REMIMaintenance fee reminder mailedJan 31, 2002ASAssignmentOwner name: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA, JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:MAYAMA, TAKEHIKO;REEL/FRAME:012536/0648Effective date: 20011222RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google