METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE OPTICAL CONTACT BONDING OF COMPONENTS

Abstract

A method for optical contact bonding components includes: placing a first surface (2a) of a first component (2) onto a second surface (3a) of a second component (3), to form an air film, and pressing the first surface against the second surface for optical contact bonding of the two components. Placing and pressing the first component is carried out by a robot (4). A laminar gas flow (10) is generated between the first and second surfaces with a ventilation device (9). A related apparatus (1) includes: the robot, configured to place the first surface onto the second surface thereby forming an air film. The robot presses the first surface against the second surface, to optically contact bond the first and second components. A holding device (8) holds the second component during the placing and pressing. A ventilation device generates the laminar gas flow between the first and second surfaces.

Claims

1. A method for optical contact bonding of components, comprising: placing a first surface of a first component onto a second surface of a second component, thereby forming an air film, wherein said placing of the first component is carried out by robot, pressing the first surface of the first component against the second surface of the second component, thereby forming the optical contact bonding of the first component to the second component and generating a laminar gas flow between the first surface of the first component and the second surface of the second component with a ventilation device.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pressing of the first component is carried out by robot.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising orienting the second component at an angle () with respect to a horizontal plane during said placing of the first component.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second component is oriented vertically with respect to the horizontal plane during said placing of the first component.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the laminar gas flow is oriented at an angle () with respect to a horizontal plane.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising, prior to said placing, bringing a subregion of the first surface of the first component into contact with the second surface of the second component.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the subregion brought in contact with the second surface of the second component comprises a lateral edge of the first surface.

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising: detecting the contact between the subregion of the first surface and the second surface.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said detecting of the contact between the subregion of the first surface and the second surface comprises exerting a torque on the robot by the second component.

10. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first surface of the first component and the second surface of the second component are oriented at a predefined angle () with respect to one another during the contacting of the subregion.

11. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first component is rotated about the subregion until the first surface of the first component abuts areally against the second surface of the second component.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: detecting an areal abutment of the first surface of the first component against the second surface of the second component.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein said detecting of an areal abutment comprises minimizing the torque exerted on the robot by the second component.

14. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: detecting an interference fringe pattern of an air film formed between the first and the second surfaces areally abutting against one another.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein a pressing position, at which the first surface is pressed against the second surface, is defined in dependence on the detected interference fringe pattern.

16. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein at least one parallel-oriented trench-like is formed on the first surface of the first component and/or on the second surface of the second component, and wherein an orientation of the first component during the areal abutment is selected in dependence on the orientation of the interference fringe pattern relative to a longitudinal direction (Y) of the at least one trench-like depression.

17. An apparatus for automated optical contact bonding of components, comprising: a robot configured to place a first surface of a first component onto a second surface of a second component, to form an air film, a holding device configured to hold the second component during said placing, and a ventilation device configured to generate a laminar gas flow between the first surface of the first component and the second surface of the second component.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the robot is further configured to press the first surface of the first component against the second surface of the second component, to thereby optically contact bond the first component to the second component.

19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the robot comprises at least one sensor, configured to detect the areal abutment of the first surface of the first component against the second surface of the second component.

20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the holding device is configured to orient the second component at an angle () with respect to a horizontal plane.

21. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the ventilation device is configured to orient the laminar gas flow at an angle () with respect to a horizontal plane.

22. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, further comprising: a spatially resolving detector configured to detect an interference fringe pattern of an air film formed between the first and the second surfaces areally abutting against one another.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] Exemplary embodiments are illustrated in the schematic drawing and are explained in the following description. In the figures:

[0054] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of an apparatus for the optical contact bonding of two components,

[0055] FIGS. 2A and 2B show schematic illustrations of the establishing of first contact between the two components (FIG. 2A) or of the areal abutment (FIG. 2B) of the two components against one another,

[0056] FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of an interference fringe pattern which is generated in an air film between the two components areally abutting against one another,

[0057] FIG. 4 shows a schematic illustration of a robot, which comprises a kinematic system having three linear units, during the approach of the first component toward the second component,

[0058] FIG. 5 shows a schematic illustration of an apparatus for the fully automated optical contact bonding of two components,

[0059] FIGS. 6A-6C show three respective schematic illustrations of a fully automated measuring and positioning of the two components relative to one another, and

[0060] FIGS. 7A-7D show, respectively, schematic illustrations of four different variants of the optical contact bonding process with a robot which comprises a kinematic system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] In the following description of the drawings, identical reference signs are used for identical or functionally identical components.

[0062] FIG. 1 schematically shows the construction of an apparatus 1 which is configured for the optical contact bonding of two component 2, 3. The apparatus 1 comprises a robot 4 which is configured in the form of a robot arm. In the example shown, the robot 4 is a lightweight robot comprising seven joints. The robot 4 is mounted with a base on a loading table 5. The robot illustrated in FIG. 1 is a lightweight robot from KUKA, however other robots 4 can also be used for the purpose described here, provided they have sufficiently sensitive motor skills.

[0063] The robot 4 comprises a gripping device in the form of a robot hand 6, which is connected to the rest of the robot 4 by way of a joint 7. Fastened to the robot hand 6 is the first component 2 which is intended to be optically contact bonded to the second component 3. The fastening or the holding of the first component can be effected with the aid of the robot hand 6.

[0064] The second component 3 is mounted on a holding device 8 vertically, i.e. at an angle of 90, relative to a horizontal plane X, Y, which corresponds to the support plane of the loading table 5. As a result of the vertical orientation of the second component 3, the accumulation of particles on a second surface 3a of the second component 3, said second surface being intended to be optically contact bonded to a first surface 2a of the first component 2, is reduced, since the particles are no longer able to abut against the vertically oriented second surface 3a.

[0065] In the case of the apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, the adhesion of particles to the second surface 3a and to the first surface 2a is also reduced by a ventilation device 9 which is mounted in the region of the top of the apparatus 1. In the example shown, the ventilation device 9 is configured as what is known as a fan filter unit (FFU), as is used in clean rooms. The ventilation device 9 comprises a fan and a filter, said fan drawing in air from above and blowing it in the form of a laminar air flow 10 through the filter into the space between the two surfaces 2a, 3a. In the example shown, the laminar air flow 10 is oriented vertically, i.e. in a Z direction. The air flow 10 passes through a mesh bottom 11 of the loading table 5 and is deflected at an air guiding plate 12, before the air is conducted out of a housing 13 of the apparatus 1, in order to form a circulating air flow. The laminar air flow 10 between the two surfaces 2a, 3a also makes it possible to considerably reduce the risk of particles being deposited and thus the occurrence of voids during the optical contact bonding of the two components 2, 3. The clean room class of the apparatus 1 may in particular possibly be increased as a result of the ventilation device 9.

[0066] The apparatus 1 also comprises a spatially resolving detector 14 in the form of a camera, which is mounted on a side of the second component 3 that faces away from the second surface 3a. The detector 14 allows the second surface 3a and also the first surface 2a to be observed through the second component 3. In the example shown, the second component 3, like the first component 2, is formed from titanium-doped quartz glass, more precisely from ULE, which is transparent to visible wavelengths, thus making the observation through the second component 3 possible. However, the first component 2 and the second component 3 may also be formed from other materials.

[0067] In the example shown in FIG. 1, the first component 2 is of substantially disk-like form and forms a cover for covering the trench-like depressions 15 formed on the second surface 3a of the second component 3. If the first component 2 is connected at the first surface 2a to the second surface 3a of the second component 3, the cross section of the depressions 15 is closed, and channels which are suitable for being flowed through by a cooling medium are formed in the optical component part produced here. In the example shown, the optical component part is a substrate for a mirror for EUV lithography. In a coating process following the connection of the two components 2, 3, a reflective coating which reflects EUV radiation is applied to a surface of the first component 2 that faces away from the first surface 2a.

[0068] As can be seen in FIG. 1, the two surfaces 2a, 3a are congruent with respect to one another, i.e. the first surface 2a is convexly curved and the second surface 3a is concavely curved, wherein the two radii of curvature correspond. The congruence of the two surfaces 2a, 3a is a prerequisite for the optical contact bonding of the two components 2, 3. The two surfaces 2a, 3a must also be sufficiently smooth and free from impurities. The two surfaces 2a, 3a are therefore cleaned prior to the optical contact bonding.

[0069] In the example shown, the robot 4 is controlled during the optical contact bonding operation described below by a control device 16 which also controls the loading of the apparatus 1 with first and/or second components 2, 3 with a loading device 17. The control device 16 is also connected to the detector 14 in terms of signaling and comprises an evaluation device in order to evaluate the image captured by the detector 14.

[0070] The method sequence during the optical contact bonding is explained below with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, in which the two surfaces 2a, 3a are illustrated in planar form for the sake of simplicity.

[0071] First of all, the robot 4 is used to move the first component 2 closer to the second component 3 until a subregion 18 of the first surface 2a of the first component 2 bears against the second surface 3a. The subregion 18 of the first surface 2a is formed at the lateral edge of the first surface 2, as can be seen in FIG. 2A. Here, the subregion 18 at the edge of the first surface 3a bears against a lateral edge of the second surface 3a. As can also be seen in FIG. 2A, the first surface 2a is oriented at an angle R with respect to the second surface 3a, which is about 15 but can also be selected to be larger or smaller. The angle R is predefined by the control device 16 and is selected to be relatively large, in order to prevent unintentional optical contact bonding of the two surfaces 2a, 3a. The force exerted on the second component 3 by the robot 4 during the first contact should also not be too great: the force should generally not be greater than if the first component 2 were pressed with its weight force against the second component 3. The force exerted on the second component 3 should generally lie in the order of magnitude of about 10 N.

[0072] The first contact between the first surface 2a and the second surface 3a in the subregion 18 can be detected on the basis of a torque M, which is exerted on the first component 2 by the second component 3 and on the robot 4, more precisely on the longitudinal axis 19 of the robot hand 6 or on the joint 7, by said first component. As can be seen in FIG. 2A, the longitudinal axis 19 runs substantially centrally through the first surface 2a of the first component 2. The subregion 18, in which the first contact is effected, of the first surface 3a is spaced apart from the longitudinal axis 19 of the robot hand 6, the spacing being indicated by an arrow in FIG. 2A. Therefore, upon first contact of the subregion 18, a torque M is exerted on the robot 4. This torque M is detected by the robot 4 at the joint 7 with the aid of a joint moment sensor 20, which is illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0073] On the basis of the detected torque M, which is a vector quantity, the control device 19 can identify which direction or along which axis of rotation D the first component 2 has to be rotated in order to close the angle R and to place the first component 2 areally on the second component 3. Here, it is not absolutely necessary to know the direction of the torque M. The axis of rotation D during the rotation of the first component 2 is located in the subregion 18 in which the first contact takes place, i.e. the first component 2 is rotated about the already abutting subregion 18 or the corresponding contour at the edge of the first surface 2a.

[0074] FIG. 2B shows the two components 2, 3 in a position abutting against one another after the rotational movement has concluded. Owing to the relatively small forces exerted on the second component 3 during the rotational movement, the optical contact bonding is not triggered during the rotational movement. The first surface 2a of the first component 2 therefore abuts areally against the second surface 3a of the second component 3 so as to form an air film 21. The air film 21 has a thickness which generally lies in the order of magnitude of micrometers.

[0075] The areal abutment of the first surface 2a of the first component 2 against the second surface 3a of the second component 3 is also detected with the aid of the torque sensor 20 of the robot 4: The torque M exerted on the first component 2 by the second component 3 in the areally abutting position shown in FIG. 2B is virtually zero or undershoots a threshold value, which is detected by the control device 16 as the achievement of the areal abutment. For this purpose, the control device 16 carries out a control action in order to minimize the torque M.

[0076] In the example shown, with the components 2, 3 areally abutting against one another, the optical contact bonding is triggered by virtue of the first surface 2a of the first component 2 being pressed against the second surface 3a of the second component 3 at a pressing position 24 which is formed at the circular, peripheral edge of the first surface 2a. The pressing position 24 is illustrated in FIG. 3, which shows the image, captured by the spatially resolving detector 14, of the air film 21 between the first surface 2a of the first component 2 and the second surface 3a of the second component 3. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the pressing position 24 is a position which is formed at the lateral edge of the, in the projection into the XY plane, circular first surface 2a of the first component 2.

[0077] Also visible in FIG. 3 are the trench-like depressions 15 in the second surface 3a of the second component 3, the longitudinal direction of said depressions corresponding to the Y direction of the XYZ coordinate system shown in FIG. 1. Also visible in FIG. 3 is an interference fringe pattern 22, which is produced in the air film 21 owing to the not fully parallel orientation of the two surfaces 2a, 3a areally abutting against one another. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the interference fringes 23 of the interference fringe pattern 22 are illustrated in dashed form in order to better distinguish them from the trench-like depressions 15. The respective interference fringes 23 have a direction of extent which corresponds to the X direction of the XYZ coordinate system.

[0078] The direction of extent X of the interference fringes 23 is thus oriented perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal direction Y of the trench-like depressions 15. This is favorable since a displacement wave, which displaces the air film 21 out of the intermediate space or out of the gap between the two surfaces 2a, 3a, propagates transversely with respect to the interference fringes 23, i.e. in the Y direction, as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 3. Here, the displacement wave proceeds from the pressing position 24 at which the first surface 2a of the first component 2 is pressed against the second surface 3a of the second component 3. As soon as the displacement wave has completely displaced the air film 21 between the two components 2, 3, the two components 2, 3 are optically contact bonded to one another and held by molecular forces of attraction.

[0079] Both the pressing position 24 and the orientation of the first component 2 or of the first surface 2a relative to the second component 3 or to the second surface 3a are defined in dependence on the orientation of the interference fringe pattern 22, more precisely on the direction of extent X of the interference fringes 23 of the interference fringe pattern 22. Here, the orientation of the first component 2, more precisely of the first surface 2a, can be changed by small movements of the first component 2 with the aid of the robot 4 in such a way that the direction of extent X of the interference fringes 23 is oriented substantially perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal direction Y of the trench-like depressions 15. This makes it possible for the displacement wave, which displaces the air film 21, to not impinge on the longitudinal side of one of the trench-like depressions 15, since in this case the displacement wave might be stopped at the trench-like depression 15. Such an orientation of the first component 2 is also possible if the trench-like depressions 15 are formed in the first component 2 instead of in the second component 3, or if both the first component 2 and the second component 3 comprise trench-like depressions 15.

[0080] Since the displacement wave propagates perpendicularly with respect to the interference fringes 23 of the interference fringe pattern 22, the pressing position 24 is selected at that position at the peripheral edge of the first surface 2a at which the surface 2a has its maximum extent perpendicularly with respect to the direction of extent X of the interference fringes 23. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the pressing position 24 is selected at the bottommost location of the edge of the surface 2a in the Y direction. The pressing position 24 may also be selected at the uppermost location of the edge of the surface 2a in the Y direction. In principle, other pressing positions 24 may also be defined by the control device 16, wherein the definition of a pressing position 24 at the edge of the first surface 2a has proven to be favorable.

[0081] The successful optical contact bonding of the two components 2, 3 can also be checked with the aid of the spatially resolving detector 14: if the optical contact bonding was successful, the interference fringe pattern 22 in the captured image should completely disappear. If this is not the case, the two components 2, 3 may possibly be released from one another again, if the robot 4 exerts a sufficiently great force on the components 2, 3. It is also possible for the step of placing the two components 2, 3 onto one another to be interrupted or restarted, e.g. if the torque M cannot be minimized as desired. In this case, it is for example possible for a different subregion 19, which establishes the first contact with the second surface 3a, of the first surface 2a to be selected, as a result of which the axis of rotation D about which the first component 2 is rotated changes.

[0082] The component part which is formed during the optical contact bonding of the two components 2, 3 and which, in the example shown, is a mirror or a substrate for a mirror can be unloaded with the aid of the robot 4. Here, the robot 4, more precisely the robot hand 6, can grip or hold the two components 2, 3. However, it is also possible for the robot 4 to grip the assembled component part only on the first component 2, if the connection formed during the optical contact bonding is stable enough.

[0083] FIG. 4 shows the approach of the first component 2 toward the second component 3, the surface 2a of said first component being oriented, as in FIG. 2A, at a predefined angle R with respect to the surface 3a of the second component 3, in an alternative configuration of the robot 4. The robot 4 shown in FIG. 4 comprises a kinematic system having three or more linear units, of which only two linear units 25a,b are illustrated in the sectional illustration of FIG. 4. The linear units 25a, 25b, . . . each comprise a motor and are of telescopic form. A clamping device 26a, 26b, . . . in the form of a clamping gripper is connected at a free end of a respective linear unit 25a, 25b, . . . by way of a respective joint 7a, 7b, Of the clamping devices 26a, 26b, . . . , only two clamping devices 26a,b are illustrated in FIG. 4. Correspondingly, only two joints 7a, 7b are illustrated in FIG. 4 as well. The clamping devices 26a, 26b, . . . form a gripping device 6 of the robot 4 and engage at different positions along the lateral edge of the first component 2.

[0084] With the aid of the joints 7a, 7b, . . . , it is possible to also implement a controlled rotational or tilting movement of the first component 2 in addition to a translational movement of the first component 2 by virtue of the linear units 25a, 25b, . . . being deflected to different extents. The linear units 25a, 25b, . . . or the clamping devices 26a, 26b, . . . mounted thereon may possibly be precisely positioned with the aid of piezo actuators.

[0085] In order to measure the torque M exerted on the first component 2 by the second component 3, a respective torque sensor 20a, 20b, . . . (force-torque sensor) is mounted on a respective joint 7a, 7b, . . . of the robot 4, of which only two torque sensors 20a,b are illustrated in FIG. 4. On the basis of the forces which are measured by the torque sensors 20a, 20b, . . . and which are exerted on the respective joints 7a, 7b, . . . , it is possible, in an analogous manner to the robot 4 described further above, for a force-torque control of the optical contact bonding method to be effected, which is based solely on the feedback from the torque sensors 20a, 20b, . . . . In this way, it is in particular possible for the first contact between the subregion 18 of the first surface 2a and the second surface 3a of the second component 3 and the areal abutment of the first surface 2a of the first component 2 against the second surface 3a of the second component 3 to be detected. For the control of the method, it is generally sufficient for force sensors, instead of force-torque sensors 20b, . . . , to be mounted on the joints 7a, 7b, . . . of the respective linear units 25a, 25b, since the torque M exerted on the first component 2 can also be determined from the forces acting at different locations. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the holding device 8 for the second component 3 may be oriented vertically, however it is also possible for the second component 3 to be oriented horizontally, as is described further below.

[0086] The optical contact bonding of the two components 2, 3 which is described further above can be followed, for example, by a tempering step, in which a permanent connection between the two components 2, 3 is established; however, this is not absolutely necessary.

[0087] FIG. 5 shows, in highly schematic form, a top view of an apparatus 1 which, like the apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, is configured for the fully automated optical contact bonding of two components 2, 3, which are not illustrated graphically in FIG. 5. The apparatus 1 comprises a central handling device 27 which is used to pick up and deposit the two components and the component part formed during the optical contact bonding. The handling device 27 is also used to transport the components or the component part between five machine stations A to E, which are located in an interior space of a housing 13 of the apparatus 1, said interior space being a clean room as in FIG. 1. The handling device 27 comprises a robot arm which is displaceably mounted on a side wall of the housing 13 of the apparatus, as indicated by a double-headed arrow in FIG. 5. The handling device 27 may also be configured differently.

[0088] During the fully automated optical contact bonding, the machine stations A to E are passed through successively. The first machine station A is an input station, at which the two components are introduced via an air lock into the interior space of the housing 13. It is for example possible to use a conveyor belt to transport the components into the interior space. The input station A of the apparatus 1 comprises an ultrafine cleaning installation, at which the surfaces of the components are clean. The ultrafine cleaning installation is configured to blow off particles deposited on the surfaces with the aid of compressed air. However, the ultrafine cleaning installation may also clean the surfaces in a different manner. The ultrafine cleaning of a respective component at the input station A can be effected without said component needing to be held by the handling device 27.

[0089] After the ultrafine cleaning has concluded, the respective component is transported with the aid of the handling device 27 to the second machine station B, at which an inspection device for automated pre-inspection of the respective component, more precisely of that surface of the component which is connected to the surface of the other component during the optical contact bonding process, is arranged. The inspection device may, for example, comprise a camera or the like, in order to inspect the respective surface. If it is determined during the inspection that the cleanliness of the surface is not sufficient for the subsequent optical contact bonding process, the component can be transported back to the ultrafine cleaning device at the input station A by the handling device 27 and the ultrafine cleaning can be repeated.

[0090] If the surface of the respective component has a sufficient surface quality, said component is transported by the handling device 27 to the third machine station C, at which an optical contact bonding module 28 for the optical contact bonding of the two components to one another is arranged, said module being described in more detail further below. During the optical contact bonding, a component part is formed from the two components, said component part being transported with the handling device 27 to a fourth machine station D, at which a further inspection device for post-inspection of the component part is arranged. For this purpose, the further inspection device may, for example, comprise a microscope which checks whether defects, e.g. inclusions in the form of air bubbles, were formed along a for example planar contact surface at which the two components 2, 3 were connected to one another during the optical contact bonding. The defects are quantified and qualified by the further inspection device with regard to number, position, size and possibly defect type. The information obtained during the inspection is stored by the further inspection device in a database which can be accessed by a machine operator located outside of the housing 13.

[0091] The component part assembled during the optical contact bonding is transported by the handling device 27 from the fourth machine station D to a fifth machine station E, which is an output station at which the component part is deposited and transported via an air lock out of the interior space of the housing 13.

[0092] FIGS. 6A-6C and FIGS. 7A-7D show a detail illustration of the optical contact bonding module 28 of FIG. 5. The optical contact bonding module 28 comprises a holding device 8 for holding the second component 3. In the example shown, the holding device 8 is configured to hold the second component 3 in a horizontal orientation and comprises a support block 29 for this purpose, the second component 3 being placed on a plurality of support points on the upper side of said support block. As can be seen in FIG. 6C, that surface 3a of the second component 3 to which the surface 2a of the second component 2 is optically contact bonded also runs horizontally in the example shown, i.e. in a plane XY perpendicular to the direction of gravity Z. The holding device 8 comprises a plurality of clamping devices 30a, 30b, . . . , of which only two are illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6C, which engage laterally on the second component 3 in order to secure it in a desired position in the XY plane.

[0093] The optical contact bonding module 28 also comprises a robot 4 which, like the robot 4 shown in FIG. 4, comprises a kinematic system having three or more linear units, of which only two linear units 25a,b are illustrated in FIGS. 6A-C. The linear units 25a, 25b, . . . each comprise a motor and are of telescopic form. The linear units 25a, 25b, . . . are connected, on their upper side, in an articulated manner to a supporting frame 31, on which clamping devices 26a, 26b, indicated schematically in FIG. 6A are mounted, said clamping devices engaging laterally on the first component 2 in order to hold it for the optical contact bonding process, as illustrated in FIG. 6B and in FIG. 6C.

[0094] As can be seen in FIGS. 6A-6C, the optical contact bonding module 28 also comprises a measuring head 32. The measuring head 32 is mounted on an XYZ coordinate guide which allows the measuring head 32 to be displaced in three spatial directions, i.e. allows it to be moved freely in space. The measuring head 32 senses the position of the two components 2, 3 in space, as indicated in FIG. 6C for the first component 2. The measuring head 32 makes it possible to acquire the position of the two components 2, 3 in space and to thus also acquire the relative position thereof with respect to one another. The orientation or the position of the two components 2, 3 can be set, and if necessary corrected, with the aid of the clamping devices 26a, 26b, . . . of the robot 4 or with the aid of the clamping devices 30a, 30b of the holding device 8.

[0095] As can also be seen in FIGS. 6B and 6C, a ventilation device 9 is used to generate a laminar gas flow 10, indicated by an arrow, between the first surface 2a of the first component 2 and the second surface 3a of the second component 3. As can be seen in FIGS. 6B and 6C, the laminar gas flow 10 runs substantially in the horizontal direction. The ventilation device 9 may be configured to branch off the horizontally oriented laminar gas flow 10 from a gas flow provided by a fan filter unit (FFU), as has been described in conjunction with FIG. 1; however, this is not absolutely necessary. It is favorable for the laminar gas flow 10 to only be generated if at least one of the two components 2, 3 is received in the optical contact bonding module 28. The laminar gas flow 10 is also maintained during the optical contact bonding of the two components 2, 3, which is described in more detail below in conjunction with FIGS. 7A-7D. The laminar gas flow 10 does not necessarily have to be oriented horizontally, provided that it is ensured that said gas flow runs between the surface 2a of the first component 2 and the surface 3a of the second component 3 during the optical contact bonding.

[0096] As has been described further above in conjunction with FIGS. 2A and 2B and FIG. 4, the two components 2, 3 are oriented at an angle R during the optical contact bonding (cf. FIG. 7A) and brought into contact with one another. For the pressing of the first component 2 against the second component 3, the robot 4 comprises a force module 33 which is mounted on the XYZ linear guide described further above. The force module 33 comprises an extendable, bar-like pressing element, in order to exert an initial force for the optical contact bonding on the two components 2, 3 which are oriented relative to one another. In the example shown, the bar-like pressing element is pressed against the upper side of the first component 2, but the force required for the optical contact bonding may also be applied in a different manner. By way of example, the initial force may be applied with the aid of the telescopic linear units 25a, 25b . . . of the kinematic module of the robot 4, which also brings about the tilting of the first component 2 held in the supporting frame 31.

[0097] As has been described further above in conjunction with FIGS. 2A and AB and FIG. 4, the first component 2 is connected to the second component 3 upon the further lowering of the first component 2 in an initial tilting direction so as to form a contact surface. During this optical contact bonding process, instabilities occur which have to be controlled in order to ensure complete optical contact bonding of the two components 2, 3. In order to monitor the optical contact bonding process, an in-line monitoring system is used, in which the interference fringe pattern 22 described further above is detected with the camera 14 which is mounted in this case on the XYZ coordinate guide. The in-line monitoring system also contains the information regarding the respective orientation of the two components 2, 3 relative to one another (based on the optical contact bonding surface or contact surface). The interference fringe patterns 22 are interpreted with the aid of a suitable piece of software and/or hardware of the apparatus 1 and data, with the aid of which the optical contact bonding process can be kept stable, are made available to the robot 4 or to the force module 33.

[0098] There are various possibilities for the implementation of the optical contact bonding process, of which four possibilities are indicated in highly schematic form in FIGS. 7A-7D. In FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, the optical contact bonding is effected in an only partially guided manner, i.e. the position of the first component 2 is not completely defined during the lowering operation. In the examples shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, this is achieved by virtue of the fact that an upper part 31a of the supporting frame 31 is tilted relative to the rest of the supporting frame 31 or to the lower part thereof. In this case, the lower part of the supporting frame 31 remains in a horizontal orientation during the optical contact bonding, since the length of the telescopic linear units 25a, 25b, . . . is kept constant. The upper part 31a of the supporting frame 31 has a free end or a free side, the position of which is not precisely predefined by the robot 4 or by the kinematic module. By contrast, in the examples shown in FIGS. 7C,D, the movement of the first component 2 is effected in a completely guided manner, specifically by virtue of the entire supporting frame 31 being tilted with the aid of the telescopic linear units 25a, 25b, . . . , as described further above in conjunction with FIG. 4.

[0099] FIG. 7A and FIG. 7C show an optical contact bonding process in which the force module 33 no longer applies any force to the first component 2 during the lowering operation, i.e. after the initial force has been applied, i.e. the optical contact bonding process is not a force-controlled optical contact bonding process. By contrast, in the optical contact bonding processes shown in FIG. 7B and FIG. 7D, a force F is also applied to the upper side of the first component 2 with the aid of the pressing element of the force module 33 during the optical contact bonding process, as indicated by an arrow. The optical contact bonding processes shown in FIGS. 7B and 7D are therefore force-controlled processes.

[0100] In the optical contact bonding process shown in FIG. 7B and FIG. 7D, the measured data provided by the in-line monitoring system described further above are used by the force module 33 in order to define the pressing position at which, the movement direction in which, and the magnitude with which the force module 33 has to apply a force to the first component 2 in order to keep the optical contact bonding process stable.

[0101] As has been described further above, the conclusion of the optical contact bonding process, in which the two components 2, 3 are completely connected to one another at a contact surface, can be detected on the basis of the disappearance of the interference fringe pattern 22, since in this case the air film between the two surfaces 2a, 3a has been completely displaced. If the interference fringe pattern 22 does not disappear, the optical contact bonding process can be terminated or the two components 2, 3 can be separated from one another again by the application of a counterforce.