On the improvement of heterodyne displacement interferometry: Enhancing measurement linearity and system modularity

Lithographic exposure equipment for integrated circuit manufacturing requires ever more accurate position measurement systems, which is currently led by the advent of Extreme UltraViolet (EUV)-lithography machines. This PhD-research describes an interferometric displacement measurement system that possess the potential to foresee in the need for...

Adaptive Optics to Counteract Thermal Aberrations: System Design for EUV-Lithography with Sub-nm Precision

In highly precise systems the thermal expansion of system-parts is of increasing concern, since it can severely compromise its performance at sub-nanometre level. An example of such a system is an Extreme UltraViolet (EUV)-lithography machine that is used in the semi-conductor industry to project the pattern of the chip onto a silicon wafer. In...

Contactless Positioning using an Active Air Film

In the production of integrated circuits, solar cells, flat panel displays and elec- tronics, thin plates are often used as a base for manufacturing. Examples are silicon wafers and glass panels on which several process steps build transistors, pixels and interconnects. To improve the production throughput these features are made smaller while...

Optical metrology techniques for dimensional stability measurements

This thesis work is optical metrology techniques to determine material stability. In addition to displacement interferometry, topics such as periodic nonlinearity, Fabry-Perot interferometry, refractometry, and laser stabilization are covered.

Mechatronic Design of an Electromagnetically Levitated Linear Positioning System using Novel Multi-DoF Actuators

The development of contactless electromagnetically levitated positioning systems is stimulated by the demand for vacuum compatible production machines. These vacuum compatible machines are used e.g. in the development of faster semiconductor chips and optical discs with larger data capacity. A novel vacuum compatible actuator is the IU-module....