Patent ID: 7737419

Claim:
An alignment apparatus comprising: a stage base; a coarse moving stage arranged on the stage base; a fine moving stage arranged on the coarse moving stage; a moving mechanism which moves the coarse moving stage relative to the stage base; and an electromagnetic actuator which moves the fine moving stage relative to the coarse moving stage, the electromagnetic actuator including a plurality of linear motor units which apply forces in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction to the fine moving stage, wherein the plurality of linear motor units apply, to the fine moving stage, forces in a rotation direction about each of two axes orthogonal to each other in a horizontal plane and a rotation direction about an axis in the vertical direction, wherein each of the plurality of linear motor units includes a magnet unit in which a plurality of permanent magnets magnetized in the vertical direction align themselves in a horizontal plane and a coil unit formed by juxtaposing a plurality of coils in the horizontal direction, each of the plurality of coils including a straight portion and a curved portion, and wherein the electromagnetic actuator moves the fine moving stage relative to the coarse moving stage in the horizontal direction or in the rotation direction about the axis in the vertical direction such that the magnet unit always opposes the straight portion.