Abstract: A driving mechanism usable in an electron beam exposure apparatus, X-ray exposure apparatus, ion beam exposure apparatus, evaporation apparatus, chemical vapor deposition apparatus or otherwise, for rectilinearly moving a wafer carrying stage in a vacuum chamber is disclosed. The mechanism includes a guide shaft, a partition flange fixed to the guide shaft, a pair of bearing assemblies slidably mounted to the guide shaft and disposed on the opposite sides of the flange, a coupling barrel for coupling the paired bearing assemblies and covering the guide shaft portion between the bearing assemblies, and a fluid supplying system for supplying fluids to the opposite sides of the partition flange. With this structure, the stage can be moved rectilinearly by controlling the fluid pressures on the opposite sides of the flange, while retaining high vacuum in the vacuum chamber.

Abstract: A stage device usable, e.g., in an X-ray exposure apparatus, for moving a semiconductor wafer placed in a vacuum ambience and held by a wafer chuck, is disclosed. In the stage device, the wafer chuck holds the wafer so that the surface of the wafer onto which a circuit pattern is to be transferred is placed in a vertical plane, and the wafer chuck is moved vertically and horizontally for step-and-repeat exposure of the wafer. The device includes a guide mechanism, locking mechanism and a constant-tension spring mechanism, to thereby ensure high-accuracy movement of the wafer chuck in the vertical direction as well as high-precision positioning of the wafer. Further, in the stage device, a drive source producing a drive to move the wafer chuck is disposed in a vacuum ambience while, on the other hand, the supply of operating fluids to air bearing assemblies, for guiding the movement of the wafer chuck, is achieved by use of metal pipes coupled by rotary joints.

Abstract: A static pressure bearing device for relatively supporting, in an ambience, an object for relative movement, comprising a fluid supplying portion for supplying a fluid to at least a portion of a surface of the object, and a suction pump for drawing the fluid supplied to the portion of the surface of the object by the fluid supplying portion, so as to substantially prevent leakage of the fluid into the ambience.