B a c kg r o u n d
Semicon
Bringing high-performance motion systems to a whole new stage In the world of high-performance machine development, the Netherlands is planted firmly on the cutting edge – particularly in the field of chip-making equipment, used in the semiconductor and electronics domain. To stay ahead of the ever-evolving demands and consumer expectations, key players in Dutch high tech are teaming up as part of the Imsys-3D public-private partnership to create next-generation high-performance motion systems. Collin Arocho
W
hen it comes to the world of silicon, the chips that are feeding the electronics boom, Dutch equipment and machine builders such as ASML and ASMI are planted at the top of their fields, globally. However, to keep a competitive edge in the production of state-of-the-art machines, companies like these must balance their customers’ current needs with innovation. Thanks to the public-private partnership of the Imsys-3D project, high-tech equipment makers are getting a big boost in planning for the future, as collaborators utilize cutting-edge technology to develop new and improved methods to build next-gen high-performance motion systems. For the high-tech equipment industry, high-performance motion systems are a vital piece to the puzzle. However, to meet future performance targets and time-tomarket demands, new design-optimization methods are much needed. Enter the Imsys-3D project team, which includes Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), mechatronics and motion control specialist MI-Partners, the industrial 3D-printing equipment manufacturer Additive Industries, lithography systems provider ASML and software company Infinite Simulation Systems. “Our goal for this project is to use computers to generate new designs for 16
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a wafer stage automatically,” explains Arnoud Delissen, PhD student at TU Delft. “By using unique algorithms, computers can design optimal shape and dynamic properties, which can then be 3D-printed, offering never before realized efficiency – allowing industrial partners to work toward the next generation of machines.”
Precision
In chip manufacturing equipment, the wafer stage, also called a chuck, is a crucial positioning module in the chip-making process. When the large disk or wafer of silicon
Imsys-3D
As part of the Imsys-3D project, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), MI-Partners and Additive Industries joined forces, together with ASML and Infinite Simulation Systems, to create a next-generation, 3D-printed wafer stage for improved performance and accuracy in the chip-making process. The project is co-funded by Holland High Tech, Top Sector HTSM, and the Dutch Research Council (NWO), with a public-private partnership grant for research and innovation.
is ready to be printed with a chip pattern, through the so-called lithography process, the silicon is placed by a robot on the magnetically-levitated stage, which moves very precisely under extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light – exposing only specific parts of the silicon to the light to print patterns. “The exactness and speed of this movement are critical for productivity, but fast motions easily trigger mechanical vibrations that destroy the accuracy of the lithography process,” describes Matthijs Langelaar, associate professor of computational engineering at TU Delft. “Making the chuck stiffer isn’t an easy remedy, since adding more mass results in higher forces as well.” Typically, to solve this issue and limit the vibrations in wafer stages operating at high speed, it would take teams of engineers conducting dynamic optimization analysis – a real-time test and evaluation process of the mechanical design – to determine how best to control the movements for optimum precision. The Imsys-3D collaboration, however, is looking to automate and improve the procedure. “Currently, this is an iterative process where the mechanical designers create a design and pass it along to dynamics engineers for analysis. Then the system would move to a control engineer to determine what kind of control bandwidth
