JP6391997B2 - Discharge lamp provided with transmitter and light source device thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a discharge lamp, and more particularly, to a discharge lamp including a transmitter that transmits information for safely lighting while preventing erroneous mounting and inappropriate lighting, and a light source device including the discharge lamp.

  A short arc type discharge lamp is used as a light source of an exposure apparatus for forming a pattern on a semiconductor, a liquid crystal panel, a printed wiring board or the like. Discharge gas in which rare gas such as Xe gas, Kr gas, Ar gas and mercury are sealed as a discharge gas, a rare gas type discharge lamp used as a light source for a projector or projector, or a metal in addition to discharge gas and mercury There are metal vapor discharge lamps in which steam is enclosed. Among these, there is also a short arc type discharge lamp in which a discharge gas and a metal vapor are sealed in an arc tube at 1 atmosphere or more at room temperature. Hereinafter, these discharge gas-filled discharge lamps are simply referred to as lamps or discharge lamps.

  Optimum electrical characteristics and cooling conditions are determined in advance for each lamp, and the original performance can be exhibited by lighting the lamp under such conditions. When attaching a lamp to a light source device and lighting it, if a lamp that is different from the lamp that should originally be used in the device is accidentally turned on, the lamp will be turned on with inappropriate electrical characteristics, and the required illuminance can be obtained. In addition, there is an unnecessary load on the lamp, which may cause the lamp to rupture.

  Furthermore, if a lamp that has already been accidentally turned on by mistake is attached to the light source device as an unused lamp and turned on, there is a difference between the lighting time of the lamp measured by the light source device and the actual cumulative lighting time of the lamp. In some cases, the lamp is lit longer than the lamp use limit time (lamp life time) in which the lamp can be lit without causing a malfunction, and the lamp may be damaged. In addition, if this discharge lamp is a lamp that needs to change the lighting power (or current, voltage) according to the lighting time, the lamp lighting time measured by the light source device and the actual lamp accumulation If there is a difference between the lighting time and the actual lighting time of the lamp, it cannot be turned on with appropriate power corresponding to the lighting time. As a result, an unnecessary load is applied to the lamp, causing the lamp to break.

  For this reason, it is necessary for the light source device to manage lamp information such as the lamp type and lighting time. The following are examples of prior art related to this.

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2, information on a lamp in which high-pressure gas is sealed is recorded in an IC tag. Then, the lamp information recorded in the IC tag is read by a reader / writer provided in the light source device, and referring to the read information, the power supply control unit determines whether the lamp can be turned on, or Lighting control is performed.

JP 2008-269976 A JP 2008-269977 A

  However, it has been found that the above lamp has the following problems.

  In order to read information from the IC tag by the reader / writer, it is necessary to arrange the IC tag so as to face the reader / writer, and the distance between them is about several tens of millimeters. Therefore, the reader / writer needs to be arranged in the vicinity of the power supply line of the lamp. If a lead writer is provided in the vicinity of the power supply line of the lamp, it is not only brought into a high temperature state by the heat of the lamp due to lighting but also exposed to ultraviolet rays due to lighting. As a result, the read / writer may fail and lamp information may not be recorded on the IC tag.

  The lamp is not always lit by a single light source device from the start of lighting until the lamp lifetime is reached. Even if the lamp life time has not been reached, a new light source device may be attached and turned on. In this case, the cumulative lighting time of the lamp recorded on the IC tag does not necessarily match the actual cumulative lighting time of the lamp. This is caused by a difference in specifications of the light source device among a plurality of light source devices, a defect in information transmission between the IC tag and the light source device, and the like.

  For example, when there is a light source device that does not include a reader / writer among a plurality of light source devices, the lighting time of the light source device cannot be transmitted to the IC tag. In addition, in such a light source device, lamp information cannot be transmitted to the light source device via the reader / writer.

  The lamp lighting time recorded in the IC tag is updated by transmitting the lamp lighting time measured by the light source device to the IC tag at the end of lamp lighting. Therefore, when a trouble such as a failure of the light source device occurs, the lighting time is not transmitted to the IC tag, and the lamp lighting time is not updated. As a result, the actual lighting time does not match the lighting time recorded on the IC tag.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention includes an arc tube, a pair of electrodes facing each other in the arc tube, and a feed structure having a feed line and a feed terminal for supplying power to the electrodes. The lamp has a configuration in which a lamp feeder is provided with a transmitter that superimposes a signal corresponding to lamp information on a lighting current.

  The transmitter is disposed so as to surround the lamp power supply line, and operates and operates when a lighting current flows through the lamp power supply line.

  The light source device includes means for determining whether the lamp can be turned on based on the lamp information, and means for controlling the lamp so that it cannot be used normally when it is determined that the lamp cannot be turned on. The light source device further includes means for controlling the lamp lighting power based on the lamp information.

  According to the present invention, in addition to the lamp information recorded in advance by the transmitter, the lamp lighting time or the like can be measured by the transmitter alone. Even if there is no lamp information transmission means such as an IC tag reader / writer, the lamp information can be transmitted to the lamp power supply by superimposing it on the lighting current. Furthermore, the transmitter can be operated by utilizing the lighting current flowing through the lamp feeder, and the transmitter can be reliably operated even when the lamp is not lit for a long time. Thereby, it is possible to control the lamp power source so that the lamp can be appropriately turned on based on the lamp information.

It is the figure which showed the lamp | ramp and light source device in the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart of judgment of lighting continuation propriety and lighting power adjustment. It is the figure which showed the transmitter in the Example of this invention. It is the figure which showed the other example of the oscillator in the Example of this invention.

  An embodiment of the present invention is a lamp including a transmitter that superimposes a frequency according to lamp information on a lighting current, and further reads lamp information from the frequency superimposed on the lighting current, and the read lamp information Is a light source device whose power source is controlled based on the above. Lamp information includes, for example, lamp type, cumulative lighting time, information on proper lighting power characteristics during cumulative lighting time, lamp type, model number, lot number, identification number, rated lamp current, rated lamp voltage, cooling conditions, equipment It includes information on mounting direction, lamp life time, or a combination thereof.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic overall view of a lamp and a light source device using an embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, a lamp 1 is a short arc type discharge lamp for an exposure apparatus that forms a pattern on a semiconductor, a liquid crystal panel, a printed wiring board, or the like, and has a lighting current of DC 10 A or more. The arc tube 2 includes a pair of electrodes (not shown) inside and emits light by discharge. The sealing tube 3 is a portion that seals the arc tube 2 and holds an electrode. The base 4 is a portion that receives electric power from the outside and holds the discharge lamp in the light source device. The lamp power supply line 5 is a conducting wire that supplies power to the discharge lamp. The lamp power supply line 5 is electrically connected to the electrode of the discharge lamp and is drawn out from the base 4. A transmitter 6 is disposed adjacent to the lamp power supply line 5 so as to surround the lamp power supply line 5 in the circumferential direction.

  The lamp power supply line 5 is electrically connected to the light source device side power supply line 9 in the light source device 7 through the connector 8 of the light source device 7. The light source device side feeding line 9 is connected to a lamp power source 10. The feeding distance between the lamp 1 and the power source 10, that is, the total length of the lamp feeding line 5 and the light source device side feeding line 9 is about 10 m.

  When lighting power is supplied from the lamp power supply 10 to the lamp 1 via the light source device side feeding line 9 and the lamp feeding line 5, the lamp 1 is turned on.

  The transmitter 6 operates by utilizing the fact that a lighting current flows through the lamp feeder 5. The transmitter 6 superimposes a frequency corresponding to the lamp information on the lighting current.

  The lamp power supply 10 detects the frequency superimposed on the lighting current flowing through the lamp power supply line 5 and the light source device side power supply line 9 via, for example, a current transformer coupled to the light source device side power supply line 9, and the detection output thereof. Is converted to lamp information. When the frequency corresponding to the lamp information is not superimposed on the lighting current, the lamp power supply 10 turns off the lamp 1 or issues a warning to the operator.

  The lamp power supply 10 includes means for determining whether or not to continue lamp lighting based on lamp information and means for controlling the discharge lamp so that it cannot be used normally when it is determined that lamp lighting is not possible. For example, if the lamp type and cumulative lighting time transmitted from the transmitter 6 is different from the lamp type originally set in the light source device or exceeds the lamp life time, Then, it is determined that the lighting cannot be continued, and a warning is given to the worker or the lamp 1 is turned off.

  The lamp power supply 10 determines the characteristics of the lamp lighting power based on the lamp information, and controls either the lamp lighting power characteristics, that is, the lighting power value, or the current value or voltage value of the lighting power (hereinafter, lighting power control). Means shall be provided. For example, when it is determined that the lighting can be continued, the lamp power supply 10 turns on the lighting power supplied to the lamp 1 according to the predetermined lighting time based on the cumulative lighting time transmitted from the transmitter 6. Control power characteristics.

  The determination of whether or not the lamp power supply 10 can continue to be lit and the lighting power control are performed at regular time intervals or intermittently while the lamp 1 is lit.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a schematic flowchart of the lamp power supply 10 for determining whether to continue the lamp lighting and controlling the lighting power. The lighting power supply 10 supplies lighting power to the lamp 1 to light the lamp (S101). Then, the lamp power supply 10 detects the frequency superimposed on the lighting current by the transmitter 6 provided in the lamp (S102), and converts it into lamp information. At this time, when the frequency superimposed on the lighting current cannot be detected, that is, when the frequency is not superimposed on the lighting current, a lamp is turned off / warned by the control means (S107), and the process ends. Next, it is determined from the lamp information obtained by converting the detected frequency whether the type of the lit lamp is appropriate (S103). If not, the lamp is turned off / warning is issued (S107), and the process ends. To do. Next, from the obtained lamp information, it is determined whether the cumulative lighting time of the lit lamp is less than a preset lamp life time (S104). If the cumulative lighting time is longer than the lamp life time, the lamp is turned off / warned. Is issued (S107), and the process ends. Next, it is determined whether or not the lamp that has been lit is a lamp that requires adjustment of lighting power according to the cumulative lighting time (S105). When the lighting power adjustment is necessary, the lighting power adjustment is performed (S106). Thereafter, the above determination is repeated, and when the cumulative lighting time becomes longer than the lamp life time due to continuous lighting, the lamp is turned off / warning is issued (S107), and the process is terminated.

  As a result, lamps whose cumulative lighting time is longer than the lamp life time are turned off by determining whether or not they can continue to be turned on, or the operator is notified of the abnormality by a warning. Also, it is possible to prevent the lighting from continuing. In addition, even when a lamp that has been lit to some extent is lit, appropriate lighting power adjustment can be performed according to the lighting time, and an unnecessary load on the lamp can be prevented. When the transmitter 6 is collected from the lamp that has been stopped, the usage status of the lamp can be grasped from the lighting information of the transmitter, which can be used for future lamp quality management. Moreover, when the lighting is stopped due to an abnormality of the lamp, it can be used for investigating the cause.

  With the configuration described above, the lamp 1 and the lamp power supply 10 are arranged at a distance from each other, and even if there is no information transmission means such as an IC tag and a reader / writer between the lamp 1 and the lamp power supply 10, the lamp supply is possible. The lamp information can be transmitted to the lamp power supply 10 through the lighting current flowing through the electric wire 5.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the transmitter 6 attached to the lamp feeder 5. 2A is a view of the transmitter 6 viewed from the axial direction of the lamp feed line 5, and FIG. 2B is a view of the transmitter 6 viewed from the circumferential direction of the lamp feed line 5. A part of the transmitter 6 is arranged so as to surround the lamp feeder 5 in the vicinity.

  The transmitter 6 includes a clamp core 11 including a hall element and a battery for starting the hall element, and is disposed so as to surround the lamp feeder 5 in the circumferential direction. The Hall element is connected to the transmitter 12 including an oscillator (not shown) and a capacitor (not shown). The oscillator of the transmitter 12 is connected to the lamp feed line via a capacitor.

  When a lighting current flows through the lamp feeder 5 in a state where a small current is passed from the starting battery to the Hall element, the Hall element senses a magnetic field generated by the lighting current. A voltage is output by this sensing, and this output serves as a driving power source for the transmitter 12. As a result, the transmitter 12 operates and the lamp information stored therein is read out. A list of frequencies corresponding to each lamp information is recorded in the transmitter 12 in advance, and the transmitter 12 selects a frequency corresponding to the lamp information transmitted to the lamp power supply 10 from the list. The transmitter 12 superimposes the selected frequency on the lighting current using an oscillator connected to the lamp feeder 5. It is desirable that the lighting current flowing through the lamp power supply line 5 is a direct current of 10 A or more. Thereby, the transmitter 6 can obtain a more sufficient current, and can reliably superimpose a signal corresponding to the lamp information on the lighting current. Note that it is possible to superimpose information signals having different frequencies on the power supply line in a time-sharing manner.

  The battery for starting the Hall element may be a general battery, but may be a solar battery. For example, the battery spontaneously discharges due to a state in which the transmitter is not used for a long period of time. However, if it is a solar battery, it is charged by light from lighting of the lamp, and the battery can be prevented from being consumed by natural discharge.

  In general, a lamp used for pattern formation of a semiconductor, a liquid crystal panel, a printed wiring board or the like has a lamp life of 750 hours or more, and the lamp may be stored without being lit for a long time. For this reason, when a general battery is used as the power source of the transmitter 6, there may be a problem that the battery runs out due to battery exhaustion or long-term natural discharge due to long-term storage. However, by configuring as described above, the transmitter 6 provided in the lamp 1 can be operated by using the lighting current flowing through the lamp power supply line 5 and reliably transmits when the lamp is turned on. The lamp information can be transmitted from the machine 6 to the lamp power supply 10.

  In general, a short arc discharge lamp is lit by applying a dielectric breakdown voltage to the lamp from a starter (not shown) at the time of lighting, thereby causing dielectric breakdown between the electrodes. This dielectric breakdown voltage is a very high voltage of several kV or more, and there is a possibility of destroying the transmitter 6. Therefore, it is desirable that the transmitter 6 includes a protection circuit (not shown) against a breakdown voltage.

  When a lighting current flows through the lamp feeder 5, the transmitter 12 transmits a specific frequency as a signal corresponding to the lamp information and superimposes it on the lighting current. The frequency to be superimposed is in the range of 1 kHz to 1 MHz.

  If the frequency to be superimposed is less than 1 kHz, fluctuations occur in the arc generated by the discharge due to the effect of the superimposed frequency, and the illuminance becomes unstable. Further, when the arc fluctuates, the temperature at the tip of the electrode where discharge occurs is not stable, the electrode is consumed or deformed, and there may be a problem such as a decrease in illuminance or lamp breakage.

  Further, in the short arc discharge lamp, the arc tube and the electrode are not overheated by the discharge immediately after the lamp is turned on, and the temperature of the electrode and the arc tube is low. For this reason, the pressure of the discharge gas is lower than that in a stable lighting state, and particularly when a metal such as mercury is enclosed, the mercury does not evaporate. In addition, the short arc discharge lamp may contain an emitter in the electrode. In a state where the temperature of the electrode is low, the emitter contained in the electrode is difficult to be stably supplied to the tip portion of the electrode where discharge is occurring, and the emitter cannot sufficiently exhibit the effect. Thus, when the pressure of the discharge gas in the arc tube is low and the effect of the emitter even contained in the electrode is insufficient, the arc generated by the discharge becomes unstable, and the arc shape and location are irregular. fluctuate. Therefore, when the frequency to be superimposed exceeds 1 MHz, it becomes difficult to distinguish the noise generated in the lighting current due to such an unstable arc immediately after lighting and the superimposed frequency. Therefore, by setting the frequency to be superimposed on the lighting current in the range of 1 kHz to 1 MHz, it is possible to reliably transmit the lamp information to the lamp power supply 10 without causing any trouble in the lamp during lamp lighting.

  For example, a lamp type and a lot number can be recorded in advance in the transmitter 12 as lamp information. The transmitter 6 is provided with a sensor (not shown) that measures the operating time of the transmitter 6. Since the transmitter 6 operates when the lighting current flows through the lamp feeder 5, the transmitter 6 can measure the operating time of the lamp by measuring its own operating time. The transmitter 6 can be provided with various sensors. For example, the number of blinks, temperature information at the time of lighting, and the like can be assumed. Similarly to the transmitter 12, these sensors can also operate the lamp feeder 5 when a lighting current flows. The measured information is superimposed on the lighting current as lamp information and transmitted to the lamp power supply 10.

  The transmitter 6 is provided with a function of stopping the function of the transmitter 6 according to the lamp information. For example, when the lamp lighting time reaches a preset lamp lifetime, the function of superimposing the signal, that is, the frequency, on the lighting current is stopped. Thereby, for example, even if a failure occurs in the means for converting the frequency detected in the lamp power supply 10 into lamp information, the lamp power supply 10 is stopped as shown in FIG. The lamp can be turned off or a warning can be given to the operator according to the flowchart of FIG.

  In addition to the configuration using the oscillator as shown in FIG. 3, the configuration of the oscillator 6 may be a configuration using a magnetic core 13 for frequency superposition as shown in FIG. The oscillating unit 12 operates similarly to the configuration of FIG. 3, and the lamp information stored therein is read out. A list of frequencies corresponding to each lamp information is recorded in the oscillator 12 in advance, and the oscillator 12 selects a frequency corresponding to the lamp information transmitted to the lamp power supply 10 from the list. The oscillation unit 12 can superimpose the selected frequency on the lighting current by passing an alternating current of the selected frequency through the magnetic core 13. As a result, the oscillator 6 can superimpose the frequency on the lighting current even if the oscillator 6 is not in contact with or fixed to the lamp power supply line 5. It becomes difficult to be affected by the temperature rise.

1 Lamp 5 Lamp Feed Line 6 Transmitter 7 Light Source Device 10 Lamp Power Supply 12 Transmitter

Claims (7)

Arc tube,
A pair of electrodes facing each other in the arc tube;
In a discharge lamp comprising a lamp feeder for supplying power to the electrode,
A transmitter that superimposes a signal corresponding to lamp information of the discharge lamp on a DC lighting current is provided in the lamp power supply line,
The discharge lamp is characterized in that the signal has a frequency in a range of 1 kHz to 1 MHz, and the transmitter is driven by the direct current lighting current flowing through the lamp power supply line and transmits the lamp information to a lamp power supply. . The discharge lamp according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter is disposed so as to surround the lamp power supply line. The lamp information includes the lamp type, cumulative lighting time, proper lighting power characteristics during the cumulative lighting time, model number, lot number, identification number, rated lamp current, rated lamp voltage, cooling conditions, installation direction on the device, and lamp life. Including information on any one of these times or a combination of these,
The discharge lamp according to claim 1, wherein a high-frequency signal corresponding to the lamp information is superimposed on the DC lighting current flowing through the feeder via the transmitter. A light source device having a discharge lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that with the lamp power for reading the lamp information from the signal superimposed on the DC lighting current. Means for determining whether the lamp can be turned on based on the lamp information;
If it is determined that the lamp cannot be lit,
Means for controlling the discharge lamp so that it cannot be used normally.
The light source device according to claim 4 . 6. The light source device according to claim 5 , further comprising means for controlling the lighting power and characteristics of the discharge lamp based on the lamp information. It is arranged to surround the lamp power supply line of the discharge lamp to be lit ,
A transmitter for a discharge lamp that transmits a signal corresponding to lamp information of the discharge lamp to a lamp power source,
The signal has a frequency in the range of 1 kHz to 1 MHz;
The transmitter for the discharge lamp includes a battery for starting,
Driven by a DC lighting current flowing through the lamp feeder,
A transmitter for a discharge lamp, wherein the signal is superimposed on the DC lighting current.

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