Shutter device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10928704-B2
Application number	US-201716499761-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 9, 2017
Priority date	Mar 31, 2017
Publication date	Feb 23, 2021
Grant date	Feb 23, 2021

Abstract

A shutter device includes a movable shading module and a movement control module configured to control movement of the movable shading module. The movable shading module includes a shading unit, a driving unit and a signal measuring unit. The shading unit includes two blades, and the movement control module is configured to generate a control signal. The driving unit is configured to receive the control signal and drive the two blades. The signal measuring unit is configured to measure an operating status of the blades feed it back to the movement control module in real time. The movement control module is configured to update the control signal based on the fed back operating status. This shutter device can overcome the problems of low exposure dose accuracy and light leaks arising from the use of existing shutters and provide various accurately-controlled exposure doses suitable for different applications.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A shutter device, comprising a movable shading module and a movement control module; wherein the movement control module is configured to control a movement of the movable shading module, the movable shading module comprises a shading unit, two driving units and two signal measuring units, the shading unit comprises two blades, the movement control module is configured to generate a control signal, the two driving units are configured to receive the control signal and drive the two blades, the two signal measuring units are configured to measure an operating status of the two blades and feed the operating status back to the movement control module in real time, the movement control module is configured to update the control signal based on the fed back operating status;
wherein the two driving units and the two signal measuring units respectively corresponding to the two blades;
the movable shading module further comprises two shaft assembly units each comprising a bearing base, a rotating shaft and a bearing, the bearing disposed within the bearing base, the rotating shaft penetrating through the bearing, a corresponding one of the two blades being connected to the rotating shaft and located on a side of the rotating shaft, a corresponding one of the two driving units being connected to the rotating shaft and located on the other side of the rotating shaft.

2. The shutter device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the driving units comprises a motor configured to drive a corresponding one of the two blades to move, so as to allow opening and closing of the two blades.

3. The shutter device according to claim 1 , wherein the shading unit further comprises two blade adapter plates, a corresponding one of the two blades being connected to the rotating shaft by a corresponding one of the two blade adapter plates.

4. The shutter device according to claim 3 , wherein a thermal isolation plate is arranged between a corresponding one of the two blade adapter plates and the rotating shaft.

5. The shutter device according to claim 1 , wherein the movement control module is configured to control a rotation angle error α of each of the two blades so as to ensure absence of light leaks when the two blades are closed together, according to:

α
≤

arctan
⁡

(

M
-

M
min

2
⁢
R

)

where M represents an overlap between the two blades; M min represents a minimum allowable overlap for the two blades; and R represents a radius of rotation of each of the two blades.

6. The shutter device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the signal measuring units comprises a position sensor configured to sense a position of a corresponding one of the two blades in real time.

7. The shutter device according to claim 6 , wherein the position sensor comprises a rotary encoder or a circular grating scale which is fastened at an end of the rotating shaft and configured to detect a rotation angle of the corresponding one of the two blades in real time.

8. The shutter device according to claim 6 , wherein the position sensor comprises a linear grating scale.

9. The shutter device according to claim 1 , wherein the movement control module comprises a processor, a trigger and a controller; wherein the processor is configured to transmit an exposure command to the trigger, the trigger is configured to trigger the controller according to the exposure command, the processor is configured to communicate with the controller through a communication interface, and the controller is configured to control the movement of the movable shading module based on information communicated from the processor.

Assignees

• Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co Ltd

Inventors

• Wang Yanfei
• Zhang Fuping
• Jia Xiang

Classifications

• G03B9/14 Primary

  Two separate members moving in opposite directions · CPC title

• G03B9/08

  Shutters · CPC title

• G03B9/58 Primary

  Means for varying duration of "open" period of shutter · CPC title

• G03F7/7055

  Exposure light control in all parts of the microlithographic apparatus, e.g. pulse length control or light interruption · CPC title

• G03F7/70558 Primary

  Dose control, i.e. achievement of a desired dose · CPC title