System for magnification and distortion correction during nano-scale manufacturing
The present invention is directed toward a system to vary dimensions of a substrate, such as a template having a patterned mold. To that end, the system includes a substrate chuck adapted to position the substrate in a region; a pliant member; and an actuator sub-assembly elastically coupled to the substrate chuck through the pliant member. The actuator assembly includes a plurality of lever sub-assemblies, one of which includes a body lying in the region and spaced-apart from an opposing body associated with one of the remaining lever sub-assemblies of the plurality of lever sub-assemblies. One of the plurality of lever assemblies is adapted to vary a distance between the body and the opposing body. In this manner, compressive forces may be applied to the template to remove unwanted magnification or other distortions in the pattern on the mold. The pliant member is configured to attenuate a magnitude of resulting forces sensed by the substrate chuck generated in response to the compressive forces.
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The present application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/576,879 filed on Jun. 3, 2004, entitled “System and Method for Magnification and Distortion Correction during Nano-Scale Manufacturing,” which is incorporated by reference herein.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTThe government of these United States has a paid-up license in this invention and the right in limited circumstance to require the patent owner to license other on reasonable terms as provided by the terms of N66001-01-1-8964 and N66001-02-C-8011 awarded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe field of invention relates generally to imprint lithography. More particularly, the present invention is directed to reducing pattern distortions during imprint lithography processes.
Micro-fabrication involves the fabrication of very small structures, e.g., having features on the order of micro-meters or smaller. One area in which micro-fabrication has had a sizeable impact is in the processing of integrated circuits. As the semiconductor processing industry continues to strive for larger production yields while increasing the circuits per unit area formed on a substrate, micro-fabrication becomes increasingly important. Micro-fabrication provides greater process control while allowing increased reduction of the minimum feature dimension of the structures formed. Other areas of development in which micro-fabrication has been employed include biotechnology, optical technology, mechanical systems and the like.
An exemplary micro-fabrication technique is commonly referred to as imprint lithography and is described in detail in numerous publications, such as U.S. published patent applications 2004/0065976, entitled METHOD AND A MOLD TO ARRANGE FEATURES ON A SUBSTRATE TO REPLICATE FEATURES HAVING MINIMAL DIMENSIONAL VARIABILITY; 2004/0065252, entitled METHOD OF FORMING A LAYER ON A SUBSTRATE TO FACILITATE FABRICATION OF METROLOGY STANDARDS; and 2004/0046271, entitled METHOD AND A MOLD TO ARRANGE FEATURES ON A SUBSTRATE TO REPLICATE FEATURES HAVING MINIMAL DIMENSIONAL VARIABILITY, all of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The fundamental imprint lithography technique as shown in each of the aforementioned published patent applications includes formation of a relief pattern in a polymerizable layer and transferring a pattern corresponding to the relief pattern into an underlying substrate. To that end, a template is employed spaced-apart from the substrate with a formable liquid present between the template and the substrate. The liquid is solidified to form a solidified layer that has a pattern recorded therein that is conforming to a shape of the surface of the template in contact with the liquid. The substrate and the solidified layer are then subjected to processes to transfer, into the substrate, a relief image that corresponds to the pattern in the solidified layer.
One manner in which to locate the polymerizable liquid between the template and the substrate is by depositing a plurality of droplets of the liquid on the substrate. Thereafter, the polymerizable liquid is concurrently contacted by both the template and the substrate to spread the polymerizable liquid over the surface of the substrate. It is desirable to properly align the template with the substrate so that the proper orientation between the substrate and template may be obtained. To that end, both the template and substrate include alignment marks. A concern with these processes involves distortions in the pattern resulting from, inter alia, extenuative variations in the imprinting layer and/or the substrate, as well as misalignment of the template with respect to the substrate.
It is desired, therefore, to provide a system to reduce distortions in patterns due to magnification and alignment variations patterns formed using imprint lithographic techniques.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is directed toward a system to vary dimensions of a substrate, such as a template having a patterned mold. To that end, the system includes a substrate chuck adapted to position the substrate in a region; a pliant member; and an actuator sub-assembly elastically coupled to the substrate chuck through the pliant member. The actuator assembly includes a plurality of lever sub-assemblies, one of which includes a body lying in the region and spaced-apart from an opposing body associated with one of the remaining lever sub-assemblies of the plurality of lever sub-assemblies. One of the plurality of lever assemblies is adapted to vary a distance between the body and the opposing body. In this manner, compressive forces may be applied to the template to remove unwanted magnification or other distortions in the pattern on the mold. The pliant member is configured to attenuate a magnitude of resulting forces sensed by the substrate chuck generated in response to the compressive forces. These and other embodiments are discussed more fully below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring to both
Referring to
Referring to
To facilitate filling of recessions 28a, the imprinting material is provided with the requisite properties to completely fill recessions 28a while covering surface 32 with a contiguous formation of the imprinting material. In the present embodiment, sub-portions 34b of imprinting layer 34 in superimposition with protrusions 28b remain after the desired, usually minimum distance “d”, has been reached, leaving sub-portions 34a with a thickness t1, and sub-portions 34b with a thickness, t2. Thicknesses “t1” and “t2” may be any thickness desired, dependent upon the application.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to both
Referring to
Referring to
It should be understood that throughway 64 may extend between second side 48 and first recess 52, as well. Similarly, throughway 66 may extend between second side 48 and second recess 54. What is desired is that throughways 64 and 66 facilitate placing recesses 52 and 54, respectively, in fluid communication with a pressure control system, such a pump system 70.
Pump system 70 may include one or more pumps to control the pressure proximate to recesses 52 and 54, independently of one another. Specifically, when mounted to chuck body 42, template 26 rests against first 58 and second 60 support regions, covering first 52 and second 54 recesses. First recess 52 and a portion 44a of template 26 in superimposition therewith define a first chamber 52a. Second recess 54 and a portion 44b of template 26 in superimposition therewith define a second chamber 54a. Pump system 70 operates to control a pressure in first 52a and second 54a chambers. Specifically, the pressure is established in first chamber 52a to maintain the position of the template 26 with the chuck body 42 and reduce, if not avoid, separation of template 26 from chuck body 42 under force of gravity. The pressure in the second chamber 54a may differ from the pressure in the first chamber 52a to, inter alia, reduce distortions in the template 26 that occur during imprinting, by modulating a shape of template 26. For example, pump system 70 may apply a positive pressure in chamber 54a to compensate for any upward force R that occurs as a result on imprinting layer 34, shown in
Referring to
Each of lever sub-assemblies 74 is mounted to frame 76 so that linkage system 84 is positioned on a first side 92 of frame 76. Actuation system 82 is positioned on a second side 94 of frame 76, disposed opposite to first side 92, with lever arm 80 extending therebetween. Each body 78 of lever sub-assemblies 74 extends from linkage system 84 away from lever arm 80 toward aperture 77 and terminates in superimposition therewith. Although it is not necessary, it is desirable to have the plurality of lever sub-assemblies 74 coupled to frame 76 so that the plurality of bodies 78 associated therewith are symmetrically disposed with respect to aperture 77. Furthermore, it may be desirable to have the plurality of lever sub-assemblies 74 coupled to frame 76 such that the same may impart the aforementioned force on a common frame, i.e. frame 76. Alternatively, sub-assemblies may be coupled to differing frames, but it is desirable that opposed sub-assemblies be coupled to a common frame. Although aperture 77 may have any shape desired, typically aperture 77 has a shape complementary to the shape of the template 26. To that end, and as shown, aperture 77 is square. Further it is desired that each of the plurality of bodies 78 be disposed opposite one of the remaining bodies 78 of the plurality of bodies 78. To that end, there are an equal number of bodies 78 on opposing sides of aperture 77. Although four lever sub-assemblies 74 are shown, providing four bodies 78 to a side of aperture 77, any number may be present. More specifically, each lever sub-assembly 74 may be made smaller such that a greater number of lever sub-assemblies 74 may be employed to provide a finer precision of the distortion control of template 26. In this manner, an area is defined between the plurality of bodies 78 in which template 26 may be centered. An advantage with the present design is that the entire actuator sub-assembly 72 is positioned to lie on one side of mold 28 so as to be spaced-apart from a plane in which mold surface 28c, shown in
Referring to
Referring again to
An important consideration when varying the dimensions of template 26 is to minimize, if not avoid, localized force concentrations upon template 26 and bending of template 26, both of which will result in distortions in the pattern of mold 28. To that end, linkage 84 is designed to control the direction of travel of body 78 and lever arm 80. Additionally the structural connect of sub-assemblies 74 to common frame 76 ensures that high forces are reacted in frame 76, which as opposed to other components such as template chuck body 42 and, therefore, template 26.
Linkage 84 includes a linkage member 99 and a plurality of flexure joints, shown as 100, 102, 104, 106, 108 and 110. Each of flexure joints 100, 102, 104, 106, 108 and 110 are regions of material of linkage member 99 has substantially reduced material. Flexure joint 100 defines a pivot axis 112 about which lever arm 80 undergoes rotational/angular movement in response to force FIN imparted upon lever arm 80 by piston 88 of actuation system 82 at terminus region 86. The rotational/angular movement of lever arm 80 about pivot axis 112 causes body 78 to move in a direction 114 that is transverse, if not orthogonal, to pivot axis 112. It is highly desired that direction 114 is precisely controlled so that deviation therefrom is minimized. This reduces, if not avoids, out-of-plane bending of template 26 upon being subjected to force FOUT by the plurality of bodies 78. Force FOUT is directed along terminus region 87 of lever arm 80 onto linkage system 84.
Flexure joints 102, 104, and 106 in addition to flexure joint 100 facilitate rotational/angular movement between lever arm 80 and body 78 while ensuring that deviation of body 78 from direction 114 is minimized. Specifically, each of flexure joints 102, 104, and 106 defines an axis of rotation, 116, 118, and 120, respectively, about which rotational/angular movement between lever arm 80 and body 78 may occur. Axes 112, 116, 118, and 120 extend parallel, with axes 112 and 116 being substantially in superimposition with one another and axes 118 and 120 being substantially in superimposition with one another. Axes 112 and 118 lie in a common plane and axes 116 and 120 lie in a common plane.
Additionally by properly positioning axis 112 between terminus regions 86 and 87, lever arm 80 and linkage 84 may function as an amplifier. Specifically, when contact between side 96 and contact surface 98 exists, the force FOUT applied to linkage system 84 is a function of force FIN and the position of axis 112 between terminus regions 86 and 87. The magnitude of FOUT may be defined as follows:
FOUT=FIN(l1/l2)
where l1 is a distance axis 112 from terminus region 86, and l2 is a distance of axis 112 from terminus region 87.
Referring to
Actuator sub-assembly 72 facilitates varying the dimension of template 26 in two dimensions. This is particularly useful in overcoming Poisson's effect. Poisson's effect may result in linear coupling of strain in orthogonal directions of template 26. Specifically, the Poisson ratio is the ratio between the tensile strain caused in the Y and Z directions in template 26 to the compressive strain imparted to template 26 in the X direction. Typical numbers are in the range of 0.1-0.4. Were template 26 formed from fused silica, the ratio is approximately 0.16. A dimensional change that is purely in the X direction, therefore, i.e., with no dimensional change in the Y direction being desired, may necessitate activation of actuator sub-assembly 72 to vary both distances D1 and D2, to compensate for Poisson's effect. With any of the above-described configurations of actuator sub-assembly 72, a force may be applied to template 26 to vary the dimensions of the same and reduce distortions in the pattern recorded into imprinting layer 34, shown in
Referring to
As shown, each pliant member 75 includes opposed termini 79 and 81 with a dual fulcrum lever system 83 extending from terminus 79, toward terminus 81, terminating in a fulcrum 85. Fulcrum 85 is located between opposed termini 79 and 81. Fulcrum lever system 83 includes a lever 187, extending from fulcrum 85, along direction Z toward terminus 79, terminating in a base 89. Base 89 is coupled to lever 187 defining a fulcrum 91 thereat. Base 89 extends from fulcrum 91, transversely to direction Z. Extending from fulcrum 85 is a support 93 that terminates in a base 95. Support 93 extends from fulcrum 85 toward terminus 79 and is disposed opposite to and spaced apart from lever 187. Base 95 extends from support 93 away from lever and is positioned in superimposition with, and spaced apart from, base 89.
Base 89 is fixedly attached to actuator sub-assembly 72, and base 95 is fixedly attached to flexure 41. With this configuration, relative movement between actuator sub-assembly 72 and flexure 41 is facilitated. Having one pliant member 75 coupling together each pair of corners, i.e., one of the corners of flexure 41 with one of the corners of actuator sub-assembly 72, allows each lever 187 to function as a parallel four-bar linkage in space. This provides the actuator sub-assembly 72 with relative translational movement, with respect to flexure 41, along the X and Y directions, as well as rotational about the Z direction. Specifically, fulcrum 85 facilitates relative movement about axis 97, and fulcrum 91 facilitates relative movement about axis 199. In addition, relative rotational movement about axis Z is facilitated by lever 187. The rigidity of lever 187 minimizes, of not prevents, translational movement along the Z direction. Providing the aforementioned relative movement between actuator sub-assembly 72 and flexure 41 minimizes the amount of magnification forces that is sensed by others features of the system 10, e.g., flexure 41 and system 42 among others.
Additionally, actuators sub-assembly 72 is allowed to accommodate loading tolerances and unequal forces between the template and actuator sub-assembly 72. For example, were template 26 loaded on body 42 with theta error, e.g., not properly aligned, rotationally about the Z direction, with respect to chuck body 42 then the actuator sub-assembly 72 may rotate about the Z direction to accommodate for the misalignment. In addition, were the sum of the forces applied to template 26 by opposing bodies 78 not cancel, the actuator sub-assembly 72 accommodates for non-equilibrium of the forces applied by moving in the X and/or Y directions and/or rotates about the Z direction.
For example, it is desired that each of the plurality of levers systems 74 operate independently of the remaining lever sub-assemblies 74 so that the sum of the magnification forces applied to template 26 in each direction is zero. To that end the following is satisfied:
Fxi+Fx(i+1)+ . . . Fx(i+n)=0 (1)
Fyi+Fy(i+1)+ . . . + Fy(i+n)=0 (2)
Σ(Mzi)=0 (3)
where i is an integer number, Fx is a force in the X direction, Fy is a force in the Y direction and Mz is the moment of the forces Fx and Fy about the Z-axis. A large number of combinations of forces can be applied on the template obeying the above constraints. These combinations can be used to correct for magnification and distortion errors.
In a further embodiment, to provide better distortion control over template 26, the area of template 26 may be increased such that a greater number of lever sub-assemblies 74 may be employed to apply compressive forces to template 26. The larger number of lever sub-assembly 74 allow a finer precision of the distortion control of template 26. To that end, a subset of, or each of lever sub-assemblies 74 may be constructed to have bodies 78 of smaller dimensions to increase the number thereof coupled to side 96. In this manner, improved distortion correction may be achieved due to the increased resolution of correction afforded by increasing a number of bodies 78 on side 96. Alternatively, the area of side 96 may be increased, requiring appropriate scaling of actuator sub-assembly 72 to accommodate a template of increased size 26. Another advantage of increasing the size of template 26 is that the area of template 26 outside of mold 28 filters, e.g., attenuates, deleterious effects of stress concentrations of bodies 78 on side 96. The stress concentration creates strain variations at mold 28, which results in pattern distortions in the pattern on mold 28. In short it may be realized that the number of bodies 78 per unit area of edge is proportional to the resolution of distortion correction. Furthermore, decreasing the area of mold 28 with respect to the remaining regions of template 26 reduces the pattern distortions caused by bodies 78 contacting side 96.
Referring to
Referring to
Proper execution of a step-and-repeat process may include proper alignment of mold 28 with each of regions a-l. To that end, mold 28 includes alignment marks 114a, shown as a “+” sign. One or more of regions a-l includes fiducial marks 110a. By ensuring that alignment marks 114a are properly aligned with fiducial marks 110a, proper alignment of mold 28 with one of regions a-l in superimposition therewith is ensured. To that end, machine vision devices (not shown) may be employed to sense the relative alignment between alignment marks 114a and fiducial marks 110a. In the present example, proper alignment is indicated upon alignment marks 114a being in superimposition with fiducial marks 110a. With the introduction of magnification/run-out errors, proper alignment becomes very difficult.
However, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, magnification/run-out errors are reduced, if not avoided, by creating relative dimensional variations between mold 28 and wafer 30. Specifically, the relative dimensions of mold 28 and wafer 30 are established so that at least one of regions a-l defines an area that is slightly less than an area of the original pattern on mold 28. Thereafter, the final compensation for magnification/run-out errors is achieved by subjecting template 26, shown in
Referring again to
Referring to both
In yet another embodiment, shown in
Referring to
Specifically, a change in the distance between two gross alignment fiducials lob collinear along one of the X or Y axes is determined. Thereafter, this change in distance is divided by a number of adjacent regions a-l on the wafer 30 along the X-axis. This provides the dimensional change of the areas of regions a-l attributable to dimensional changes in wafer 30 along the X-axis. If necessary the same measurement may be made to determine the change in area of regions a-l due to dimensional changes of wafer 30 along the Y-axis. However, it may also be assumed that the dimensional changes in wafer 30 may be uniform in the two orthogonal axes, X and Y.
At step 204, compressive forces, F1-10, are applied to mold 28 to establish the area of the original pattern to be coextensive with the area of one of the regions a-l in superimposition with the pattern and proper alignment between the pattern on mold 28 and one of the regions a-l. This may be achieved in real-time employing machine vision devices (not shown) and known signal processing techniques, to determine when two or more of alignment marks 114a are aligned with two or more of fiducial marks 110a. At step 206, after proper alignment is achieved and magnification/run-out errors are reduced, if not vitiated, the original pattern is recorded in the region a-l that is in superimposition with mold 28, forming the recorded pattern. It is not necessary that compression forces F1-10 have the same magnitude, as the dimensional variations in either wafer 30 or mold 28 may not be uniform in all directions. Further, the magnification/run-out errors may not be identical in both X-Y directions. As a result, compression forces, F1-10 may differ to compensate for these anomalies. Specifically, as mentioned above, each lever sub-assembly 74 of actuator sub-assembly 72 may operate independently. This affords application of differing force combinations F1-10 to mold 28 to compensate for magnification distortion, as well as distortions that may be present in pattern on mold, e.g., orthogonally distortions, such as skew distortions and keystone distortions. Furthermore, to ensure greater reduction in magnification/run-out errors, the dimensional variation in mold 28 may be undertaken after mold 28 contacts imprinting layer 124, shown in
Referring again to
Referring to
Were it determined at step 304 that the region a-l in superimposition with mold 28 had an area greater than the area of the pattern, then the process proceeds to step 306 wherein the temperature of mold 28 and/or wafer 30 is varied to cause expansion of the same. In the present embodiment, mold 28 is heated at step 306 so that the pattern is slightly larger than the area of region a-l in superimposition therewith. Then the process continues at step 310.
The embodiments of the present invention described above are exemplary. Many changes and modifications may be made to the disclosure recited above, while remaining within the scope of the invention. For example, by pressurizing all chambers formed by the chuck body-substrate combination with positive fluid pressure, the substrate may be quickly released from the chuck body. Further, many of the embodiments discussed above may be implemented in existing imprint lithography processes that do not employ formation of an imprinting layer by deposition of droplets of polymerizable material. Therefore, the scope of the invention should not be limited by the above description, but instead should be determined with reference to the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.
Claims
1. An apparatus to vary dimensions of a substrate, said apparatus comprising:
- a substrate chuck adapted to position said substrate in a region;
- a pliant member; and
- an actuator sub-assembly elastically coupled to said substrate chuck through said pliant member, with said actuator assembly including a plurality of lever sub-assemblies one of which includes a body lying in said region and spaced-apart from an opposing body associated with one of the remaining lever sub-assemblies of said plurality of lever sub-assemblies, with one of said plurality of lever sub-assemblies being adapted to vary a distance between said body and said opposing body.
2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said body and said opposing body are positioned to receive said substrate therebetween and apply compressive forces thereto, with said pliant member configured to attenuate a magnitude resulting forces sensed by said substrate chuck generated in response to said compressive forces.
3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 further including a flexure, with said substrate chuck being fixedly attached to said flexure and a first end of said pliant member being fixedly attached to said actuator assembly and a second end of said pliant member being fixedly attached to said flexure.
4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 further including a flexure, with said substrate chuck being fixedly attached to said flexure and said pliant member being coupled between said flexure and said actuator sub-assembly to facilitate translational movement therebetween along two orthogonal axes lying in a common plane, while restricting translation movement along an additional axis extending normal to said plane.
5. The apparatus as recited in claim 4 wherein said pliant member facilitates rotational movement about said additional axis.
6. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said actuator assembly includes additional bodies, with said additional bodies and said body and said opposing body defining a plurality of bodies, with said plurality of bodies defining an area therebetween lying within said region, said plurality of bodies being adapted to vary said area.
7. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein a subset of said plurality of lever sub-assemblies further includes a lever arm having first and second opposed termini; a linkage, coupled between said body and said lever arm, to translate angular motion of said lever arm about an axis into motion of said body along a direction extending transversely to said axis, with said direction being substantially constant over a range of motion of said body about said axis; and an actuation system to impart said angular motion.
8. The apparatus as recited in claim 7 wherein said body further includes a contact surface and said linkage further includes a linkage system coupled between said lever arm and said body to allow said contact surface to compress against a side of said substrate.
9. The apparatus as recited in claim 7 wherein said linkage further includes a linkage system coupled between said lever arm and said body to facilitate angular movement of said lever arm with respect to said body about two additional axes, one of which extends orthogonally to the remaining axis of said two axes.
10. The apparatus as recited in claim 7 wherein said body further includes a contact surface formed from a compliant material to contact a side of said substrate and conform to a shape of said side.
11. The apparatus as recited in claim 7 further including an amplifier coupled to said body, with said actuation system imparting a first force upon an additional contact surface of said opposing body, with said amplifier imparting a second force upon said contact surface in response to said first force with a magnitude of said second force being greater than a magnitude of said first force.
12. The apparatus as recited in claim 7 further including an amplifier coupled to said body, with said actuation system imparting a first force upon an additional contact surface of said opposing body, with said amplifier imparting a second force upon said contact surface, with a magnitude of said second force being a multiple of a magnitude of said first force.
13. The apparatus as recited in claim 7 further including an amplifier coupled to said opposing body, with said actuation system imparting a first force upon an additional contact surface of said opposing body, with said amplifier imparting a second force upon said contact surface in response to said first force, with said amplifier including a pivot disposed from said first end a first length and disposed from said second end a second length with said magnitude of said second force being a function of a ratio of said first length and said second length.
14. The apparatus as recited in claim 7 wherein said actuation system comprises an actuator selected from a set of actuators consisting essentially of a pneumatic acutator, a piezo-electric actuator, a magnetostrictive actuator and a voice coil actuator.
15. An apparatus to vary dimensions of a substrate, said apparatus comprising:
- a substrate chuck adapted to position said substrate in a region;
- a plurality of pliant members;
- a flexure, with said substrate chuck being fixedly attached to said flexure; and
- an actuator sub-assembly elastically coupled to flexure through said plurality of pliant members, with said actuator assembly including a plurality of lever sub-assemblies a subset of which includes a body lying in said region and spaced-apart from an opposing body associated with one of the remaining lever sub-assemblies of said plurality of lever sub-assemblies, with each of the lever sub-assemblies of said subset being adapted to vary a distance between said body and opposing body.
16. The apparatus as recited in claim 15 wherein said body and said opposing body are positioned to receive said substrate therebetween and apply compressive forces thereto, with said pliant member configured to attenuate a magnitude of resulting forces sensed by said substrate chuck generated in response to said compressive forces.
17. The apparatus as recited in claim 15 wherein a first end of a subset of said plurality of pliant members are fixedly attached to said actuator assembly and a second end of the pliant members of said subset are fixedly attached to said flexure.
18. The apparatus as recited in claim 15 wherein said plurality of pliant members are configured to facilitate translational movement between said flexure and said actuator sub-assembly along two orthogonal axes lying in a common plane, while restricting translation movement along an additional axis extending normal to said plane.
19. The apparatus as recited in claim 15 wherein said actuator assembly includes additional bodies, with said additional bodies and said body and said opposing body defining a plurality of bodies, with said plurality of bodies defining an area therebetween lying within said region, said plurality of bodies being adapted to vary said area.
20. The apparatus as recited in claim 15 wherein a subset of said plurality of lever sub-assemblies further includes a lever arm having first and second opposed termini; a linkage, coupled between said body and said lever arm, to translate angular motion of said lever arm about an axis into motion of said body along a direction extending transversely to said axis, with said direction being substantially constant over a range of motion of said body about said axis; and an actuation system to impart said angular motion.
21. The apparatus as recited in claim 20 wherein said body further includes a contact surface and said linkage further includes a linkage system coupled between said lever arm and said body to allow said contact surface to compress against a side of said substrate.
22. The apparatus as recited in claim 20 wherein said linkage further includes a linkage system coupled between said lever arm and said body to facilitate angular movement of said lever arm with respect to said body about two additional axes, one of which extends orthogonally to the remaining axis of said two axes.
23. The apparatus as recited in claim 20 wherein said body further includes a contact surface formed from a compliant material to contact a side of said substrate and conform to a shape of said side.
24. The apparatus as recited in claim 20 wherein said actuation system comprises an actuator selected from a set of actuators consisting essentially of a pneumatic acutator, a piezo-electric actuator, a magnetostrictive actuator and a voice coil actuator.
25. An apparatus to vary dimensions of a substrate, said apparatus comprising:
- a first body having a first end;
- a second body having a contact surface spaced-apart from said first end a distance;
- a lever arm having first and second opposed termini;
- a linkage, coupled between said second body and said lever arm, to translate angular motion of said lever arm about an axis into movement of said second body in a direction to vary said distance, while allowing angular movement between said second body and said lever arm; and
- an actuation system to impart said angular movement.
26. The apparatus as recited in claim 25 wherein said linkage further includes a linkage system coupled between said lever arm and said second body to facilitate angular movement of said lever arm with respect to said second body about an additional axis extending parallel to said axis.
27. The apparatus as recited in claim 25 wherein said linkage further includes a linkage system coupled between said lever arm and said second body to facilitate angular movement of said lever arm with respect to said second body about an additional axis extending orthogonally to said axis.
28. The apparatus as recited in claim 25 wherein said linkage further includes a linkage system coupled between said lever arm and said second body to facilitate angular movement of said lever arm with respect to said second body about two additional axes one of which extends orthogonally to said axis, with the remaining axis of said two additional axes extending parallel to said axis.
29. The apparatus as recited in claim 25 wherein said contact surface is formed from a compliant material.
30. The apparatus as recited in claim 25 further including an amplifier coupled to said second body, with said actuation system imparting a first force upon an additional contact surface of said second body, with said amplifier imparting a second force upon said contact surface in response to said first force with a magnitude of said second force being greater than a magnitude of said first force.
31. The apparatus as recited in claim 25 further including an amplifier coupled to said second body, with said actuation system imparting a first force upon an additional contact surface of said second body, with said amplifier imparting a second force upon said first terminus, with a magnitude of said second force being a multiple of a magnitude of said first force.
32. The apparatus as recited in claim 25 further including an amplifier coupled to said second body, with said actuation system imparting a first force upon an additional contact surface of said second body, with said amplifier imparting a second force upon said first terminus in response to said first force, with said amplifier including a pivot disposed from said first end a first length and disposed from said second end a second length with said magnitude of said second force being a function of a ratio of said first length and said second length
33. The apparatus as recited in claim 25 wherein said actuation system comprises a piezo-electric actuator.
34. An apparatus to vary dimensions of a substrate, said apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of bodies disposed about a perimeter defining an area, with a subset of said plurality of bodies being coupled to a lever arm through a linkage to translate angular motion of said lever arm about an axis to vary said area by imparting motion onto one of said plurality of bodies along a direction extending transversely to said axis, with said direction being substantially constant over a range of motion of said lever arm about said axis; and
- an actuation system to impart said angular movement.
35. The apparatus as recited in claim 34 wherein said linkage further includes a linkage system coupled between one of said plurality of bodies and said lever arm to facilitate angular movement of said body with respect to said lever arm about an additional axis extending parallel to said axis.
36. The apparatus as recited in claim 34 wherein said linkage further includes a linkage system coupled between one of said plurality of bodies and said lever arm to facilitate angular movement of said body with respect to said lever arm about an additional axis extending orthogonally to said axis.
37. The apparatus as recited in claim 34 wherein said linkage further includes a linkage system coupled between one of said plurality of bodies and said lever arm to facilitate angular movement of said body with respect to said lever arm about two additional axes one of which extends orthogonally to said axis, with the remaining axis of said two additional axes extending parallel to said axis.
38. The apparatus as recited in claim 34 wherein one end of said body is formed from a compliant material.
39. The apparatus as recited in claim 34 further including an amplifier coupled to said lever arm, with said actuation system imparting a first force upon a said lever arm, with said amplifier imparting a second force upon said one of the bodies of said subset in response to said first force, with a magnitude of said second force being greater than a magnitude of said first force.
40. The apparatus as recited in claim 34 further including an amplifier coupled to said second body, with said actuation system imparting a first force upon said lever arm, with said amplifier imparting a second force upon said body, with a magnitude of said second force being a multiple of a magnitude of said first force.
41. The apparatus as recited in claim 34 further including an amplifier coupled to said second body, with said actuation system imparting a first force upon said lever arm, with said amplifier imparting a second force upon said body in response to said first force, with said amplifier including a pivot positioned between opposed ends of said lever arm, with said pivot being positioned, with respect to one of said opposed ends, a first length and positioned from the remaining of said opposed ends, a second length with a magnitude of said second force being a function of a ratio of said first length and said second length
42. The apparatus as recited in claim 34 wherein said actuation system comprises of a piezo-electric actuator.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 30, 2004
Publication Date: Dec 8, 2005
Applicant:
Inventors: Anshuman Cherala (Austin, TX), Byung-Jin Choi (Austin, TX), Pawan Nimmakayala (Austin, TX), Mario Meissl (Austin, TX), Sidlgata Sreenivasan (Austin, TX)
Application Number: 10/999,898