ETEL, the HEIDENHAIN-owned motion control supplier, has introduced the METIS HP, a full air bearing XY planar platform for step-and-scan semiconductor equipment such as direct laser writing and high-resolution optical inspection systems. ETEL specifies ±150 nm accuracy over the full XY stroke after mapping, and ±150 nm dynamic straightness at speeds up to 1 m/s.
Acceleration reaches 20 m/s². ETEL says that shortens turnaround time between scan lines and raises machine throughput. The stage supports panels up to 600 mm × 600 mm, which the company ties to demand for maskless lithography on large-area substrates. Stéphane Pellegrini, Product Manager at ETEL, said the platform delivers "the trajectory quality required for advanced optical processes" and keeps its speed stability at high scanning velocities.
The measurement scheme is the more unusual part. A multi-degree-of-freedom HEIDENHAIN encoder sits at the core of the stage, and ETEL says it holds accuracy without thermal drift. The encoder architecture allows projected tool-point measurement, meaning the controller reports position at the tool point rather than at the encoder location. ETEL controllers can also emulate a TTL position signal that machine builders use as a trigger event.
ETEL pitches this as an alternative to the interferometer normally used to generate advanced triggers. For engineers designing optical inspection tools, the practical difference is in the trigger path. ETEL says the approach needs no mirror on the carriage, avoids air lensing and air perturbation, and costs less than an interferometer.
For advanced packaging inspection, where focal distance must change quickly and precisely, the stage includes a high-bandwidth 4-DoF module. It gives fine control over Z, tip, tilt and theta. ETEL calls the METIS HP the "optimal platform" for those tasks.
The METIS HP is available now for OEM integration. ETEL showed it at the HEIDENHAIN booth, number 1639, during SEMICON West, held October 13–15 in San Francisco.
