ETEL, a HEIDENHAIN company and a supplier of high-performance motion-control components and complete motion platforms, has introduced the METIS HP. The new full air-bearing planar platform is designed for demanding step-and-scan semiconductor applications, including direct laser writing and high-resolution optical inspection systems.
ETEL presents the platform as an addition to its high-precision motion-control portfolio. According to the company, the METIS HP is intended to combine speed and stability with dynamic straightness and projected tool-point measurement capability. Those characteristics are relevant to scanning processes in which motion errors can affect feature placement or inspection quality.
Encoder architecture and triggering
At the core of the METIS HP is a multi-degree-of-freedom HEIDENHAIN encoder. ETEL says this architecture is intended to ensure accuracy without thermal drift and to enable projected tool-point measurement. The company's controllers can emulate a transistor-transistor logic position signal for use as a trigger event.
ETEL describes this approach as a compelling alternative to the classical interferometer used as an advanced trigger generator. With the METIS HP, the company says there is no need to add a mirror to the carriage, no air-lensing effect or air perturbation, and lower cost. These are design and cost claims attributed to the manufacturer; they are not independently validated in the announcement.
Motion specifications and inspection
The platform is specified for ±150 nm accuracy over the full XY stroke after mapping, ±150 nm dynamic straightness at speeds up to 1 m/s, and dynamic capabilities reaching accelerations up to 20 m/s². ETEL says these capabilities minimize turnaround time and thereby increase machine throughput for step-and-scan applications.
A high-bandwidth 4-DoF module provides fine control over the Z, tip, tilt and theta axes. ETEL identifies this as important for high-end inspection in advanced packaging, where rapid and precise focal-distance adjustments are required.
Large-area lithography and positioning
METIS HP supports panel sizes up to 600 mm × 600 mm. According to ETEL, this addresses the growing need for next-generation maskless lithography with large-area substrates.
Stéphane Pellegrini, product manager at ETEL, said the platform builds on the company's long-standing expertise in high-precision platforms and provides the trajectory quality required for advanced optical processes. He added that its speed stability and dynamic straightness are intended to support consistent performance at high scanning velocities.
The METIS HP is presented as a motion platform rather than a complete lithography or inspection system, so its stated accuracy, straightness and acceleration figures describe the stage's contribution to a tool builder's design. The announcement does not quantify end-to-end throughput gains or identify specific integration partners.
The announcement focuses on the platform's design and specified performance. It does not disclose pricing, commercial availability, customer deployments or independently verified results.