Nikon Corporation

Akio Nishikata

Yutaka Endo

Kanefumi Nakahara

An exposure substrate of the invention is characterized in that at least one mark representing information related to the exposure substrate is provided on a part of the exposure substrate, and at least one of the marks contains information related to a mark readout operation. This information may include; the number, the position, or the order for reading the other marks to be read, or an end of information to be read. According to the present invention, information for other marks can be obtained from one mark, therefore, an optional number of marks can be read automatically.

Substrate for exposure, readout method and apparatus for the substrate, exposure apparatus, and method for producing semiconductor devices using the exposure apparatus

A master plate transporting system automatically detects the presence/absence of master plates accommodated in a container and also detects the position of each master plate in the container as well as the type of the container being used. In this arrangement, the master plate transporting system executes the automatic transporting operation without transport errors. Containers each holding one or more reticles, are positioned in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. A reticle detection sensor detects the presence and the position of the reticle in each container. A controller controls the transporting operation of a reticle transporting mechanism based on the detection results of the detection sensor to reliably retrieve the reticle, transport it to an exposure system, and return it to the container.

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Kitamoto, Japan

Akio Nishikata