I-Corps: Flexure mechanism-based advanced nanopositioning motion stages for the semiconductor industry

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种用于半导体行业的具有成本效益的、高速的纳米定位平台。纳米定位平台是一种具有纳米精度和分辨率的宏观运动系统。考虑到日常电子产品（如计算机、移动设备、显示器等）中半导体器件的纳米特征尺寸，纳米定位阶段用于半导体器件制造和计量的各个步骤。传统的纳米定位运动系统要么太慢，限制了工艺吞吐量，要么太昂贵，导致半导体器件的生产成本更高。与当前系统相关的挑战导致电子产品的零售成本更高。所提出的纳米定位阶段的商业化可能导致半导体制造的产量提高，从而降低生产成本。这个I-Corps项目的基础是开发成本效益高、高速、使用柔性机构的纳米定位平台。传统的基于球轴承技术的纳米定位平台提供了大范围的运动，但由于其尺寸的限制，速度较慢，沉降时间较长。较慢的沉降时间导致使用这些运动系统的各种过程中的吞吐量较低。基于磁的纳米定位平台提供更大的运动范围和更高的速度，但价格昂贵，其成本仅在有限的应用中合理。基于柔性机构的纳米定位平台结构紧凑，价格合理，并且已经存在了几十年。柔性机构是无接缝的整体结构，无摩擦、无间隙、无装配。然而，这些阶段在运动范围和高速之间受到重大权衡。大范围的运动导致几何非线性，从而导致复杂的动力学和控制挑战。以前在非线性挠性力学和动力学、挠性机构设计、电磁致动器和控制方案方面的基础研究有助于克服这些历史上的权衡。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a cost-effective, high-speed, nanopositioning stage for use in the semiconductor industry. A nanopositioning stage is a macro-scale motion system that is capable of nanometric precision and resolution. Given the nanometric feature sizes in the semiconductor devices found in everyday electronics such as computers, mobile devices, displays, etc., nanopositioning stages are used in various steps of semiconductor device manufacturing and metrology. Conventional nanopositioning motion systems are either too slow: limiting process throughput, or too expensive: leading to higher production cost of semiconductor devices. The challenges associated with the current systems result in higher retail costs of electronic products. Commercialization of the proposed nanopositioning stages may lead to yield improvements in semiconductor manufacturing, resulting in lower costs of production.This I-Corps project is based on the development of cost-effective, high-speed, nanopositioning stages that use flexure mechanisms. Conventional nanopositioning stages based on ball bearing technology provide a large range of motion, but are limited by slower speeds and settling times because of their size. Slower settling times lead to lower throughput in the various processes where these motion systems are used. Maglev-based nanopositioning stages offer larger ranges of motion as well as higher speeds but are expensive, and their cost is justified only in limited applications. Flexure mechanism-based nanopositioning stages are compact, affordable, and have existed for decades. Flexure mechanisms are jointless, monolithic structures that are free of friction, backlash, and assembly. However, these stages suffer from significant trade-offs between range of motion and high speed. Large range of motion results in geometric non-linearities, which in turn lead to complex dynamics and control challenges. Previous basic research in non-linear flexure mechanics and dynamics, flexure mechanism design, electromagnetic actuators, and control schemes have helped overcome these historical tradeoffs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.