Integrated multidimensional positioner for precision manufacturing

Reliable low-cost positioning for precision manufacturing processes requiring clean-room, extreme-temperature or vacuum environments is key for microelectronics manufacturing, packaging, machine tool and high-precision inspection industries. The integrated multidimensional positioner presented herein is a major technological breakthrough and may o€ er competitive advantages in both cost and performance relative to current practices. Speci®cally, this integrated positioner can generate all required ®ne and coarse motions with only one levitated moving part, namely the platen, and have potential to satisfy the dynamic performance speci®cations necessary for next-generation deepsubmicron microelectronics manufacturing equipment. Absence of particulate contamination without mechanical contact between the single moving part and the machine frame makes this technology highly suited to clean-room operation. In this paper, the design concept, electromechanical design and fabrication and assembly of all the key parts in the development of this multidimensional positioner are presented. A dynamic model and feedback controllers were derived and implemented. This prototype positioner currently has a planar travelling range of 160mm£ 160mm with a position resolution of 30nm, position repeatability of 30nm, position noise of 10nm r.m.s. and platen dimensional stability of 32.7mm. The maximum velocity achieved so far is 0.4m/s with 2m/s acceleration. Various experimental results veri®ed the utility of this positioner in precision manufacturing applications.