Nikon Corporation

Nippon Kogaku K.k.

Ushio Denki Kabushiki Kaisha

Kabushiki Kaisha Nikon

Akira Miyaji

Hideya Inoue

Yutaka Ichihara

Kenji Toyoda

Atsumi Kasuya

Takao Watanabe

Takashi Mori

Akikazu Tanimoto

Takeshi Yagi

Issei Tanaka

Tatsushi Igarashi

Yukio Yasuda

Saburo Kamiya

Masato Shibuya

Takashi Arai

Yoshijiro Ushio

Masatoshi Ikeda

Ikuo Hikima

Akiyasu Yamaguchi

Masanori Sugihara

Tatsuya Senga

Yoshio Nara

Katsumi Mizunoe

Yukako Matsumoto

Kenzo Kai

Keiichiro Sakato

Toshiyuki Namikawa

Yasuo Oonishi

Shunsuke Kobayashi

Akira Ihsikawa

After a hole is formed in a polishing pad, a transparent window plate is inserted into the hole. Here, a gap is left between the upper surface of the transparent window plate and the outermost surface constituting the working surface of the polishing pad. During polishing, the polishing head holding the wafer applies a load to the polishing pad by means of a load-applying mechanism, so that the polishing pad and transparent window plate are compressed. In this case, the system is arranged so that the gap remains constant, and so that a dimension equal to or greater than a standard value is maintained. Since the upper surface of the transparent window plate is recessed from the upper surface of the polishing pad, there is no scratching of the surface of the transparent window plate during dressing. Accordingly, the polishing pad has a long useful life.

Polishing body, polishing apparatus, polishing apparatus adjustment method, polished film thickness or polishing endpoint measurement method, and semiconductor device manufacturing method

Polishing laps and apparatus incorporating such polishing laps for polishing workpieces such as semiconductor wafers are disclosed. The polishing laps are made from a cured mixture of an epoxy resin and a filler material, and preferably have at least a portion that is transparent to light. The polishing lap is preferably mounted on rigid polishing wheel or the like with or without an intervening layer such as an elastic layer. Polishing apparatus incorporating the polishing lap preferably include a light source for directing a beam of light toward the transparent portion of the polishing lap to enable the light beam to reflect from the working surface of the workpiece as the workpiece is being polished by the polishing lap. The apparatus also preferably includes a light detector for detecting light reflected from the surface of the workpiece. Such light can provide information, as on the status of the working surface as polishing progresses and can provide an indication of when polishing has reached a desired end point.

Semiconductor wafer polishing apparatus

Apparatus and methods are disclosed for increasing the illuminance at a mask used for proximity-type microlithography and for achieving increases in throughput. A mask defining a pattern is illuminated by an illumination optical system. The pattern is transferred to a workpiece separated from the mask by a prescribed standoff. The mask and workpiece can be relatively moved in a scan direction. With respect to the illumination optical system, the workpiece-side numerical aperture in a first direction on the plane of the mask is different from the workpiece-side numerical aperture in a second direction, perpendicular to the first direction, on the plane of the mask. A reflective-type relay optical system can be included that comprises first and second spherical mirrors that do not produce chromatic aberrations.

Proximity-type microlithography apparatus and method

An exposure apparatus is for illuminating a pattern on a mask by an illumination optical system to transfer the pattern on the mask onto a photosensitive substrate set on a stage through a projection optical system. The exposure apparatus comprises a first supply device for supplying an inert gas toward the photosensitive substrate substantially in parallel with the optical axis of the projection optical system in a space open to communicate with the atmosphere between the projection optical system and the photosensitive substrate, and a second supply device for supplying the inert gas to the space in a direction intersecting with the optical axis of the projection optical system so as to establish an inert gas atmosphere in the space together with the first supply device. The transfer is conducted in the inert gas atmosphere.

Exposure apparatus

A cadmium/inert gas discharge lamp of the short arc type, which suppresses an unnecessary emission upstream and downstream of the necessary emission spectra in a wavelength range of 210 to 230 nm, achieves a high efficiency of the emission spectra in the range 210 to 230 nm and can be used in very satisfactory manner for industrial applications. Also, a highly efficient projection exposure device through the incorporation of a cadmium/rare gas discharge lamp of the short arc type having good emission spectrum characteristics in the wavelength range 210 to 230 nm, which can transmit in projecting manner fine image patterns with a large depth of focus. The cadmium/rare gas discharge lamp of the short arc type is arranged within a temperature-regulated quartz bulb, and is provided with a pair of adjacently facing electrodes, together with inert gas selected from xenon, krypton, argon, neon or mixtures of them. Metal cadmium with a pressure of 14 to 200 kPa is encapsulated in the tube in a stationary lighting operation. The lamp is operated in such a way that J/P, i.e. the ratio between a discharge current in a stationary lighting operation J (A) and a cadmium pressure in a stationary lighting operation P (kPa) is in a range 0.13 to 15. Also, a projection exposure device, which has the above-described discharge lamp and a power supply for carrying out the lighting operation of the discharge lamp under the above-described condtions.

Cadmium/rare gas discharge lamp of the short arc type, as well as

An exposure apparatus comprises a light source emitting light of the ultraviolet region; an illuminating system for introducing the light from the light source into a mask bearing a predetermined pattern; an exposure unit for forming the image of the mask pattern on a photosensitive substrate; a chamber accommodating the light source, the illuminating system and the exposure unit; and an impurity eliminating device for eliminating at least an organic impurity inducing a photochemical reaction with the light of the ultraviolet region.

A projection exposure apparatus is provided with an optical member, capable of transmitting the exposure light of a first wavelength, placed between a projection optical system and a wafer. The alignment light of a second wavelength for pattern detection is introduced obliquely to the wafer surface through the optical member. A pattern in the projection exposure area or in the vicinity thereof, particularly an alignment mark can be detected by means of the reflection and transmission characteristics.

Projection exposure apparatus

A laser working system comprises supplying means for supplying a laser beam, a working unit which includes a stage for supporting a workpiece and means for exposing the workpiece to the laser beam, and a room unit which includes wall means for surrounding the working unit and accomodates the working unit to spatially isolate it from outside of the wall means. The supplying means is arranged outside the room unit and includes first and second laser units each for generating the laser beam. The laser working system further comprises beam guiding means which creates first light path for optically communicating the first laser unit with the working unit through the wall means, and second light path for optically communicating the second laser unit with the working unit through the wall means, respectively.

Laser beam working system

An electronic camera comprises an imaging optical system, image-pickup means for converting an optical image formed by the optical system into an electric image signal, memory means capable of recording the electric image signal, trigger means adapted to be actuated for transferring the electric image signal corresponding to a still optical image to the memory means and means for inserting data into the electric image signal thus transferred. The inserting means comprises means for replacing a part of the recorded electric image signal with 'framed' or 'unframed' data.

Data recording device for electronic camera

Electronic camera comprises an image taking unit and a memory unit connected detachably. The image taking unit generates image signals corresponding to an object. The image signals are transmitted to the memory unit to be stored therein. The memory unit is detached from the image taking unit and connected to an external memory device such as a video tape recorder. The image taking unit has a monitor which can display the image signals in visual form before recording them in the memory unit.

Electronic camera

An electronic photographic camera includes an imaging optical system operable to be focused to an object to be photographed, a solid state imaging sensing device including a plurality of light-receiving elements disposed in the imaging plane of the imaging optical system and capable of producing a charge corresponding to the quantity of incident light and accumulating the charge therein, first transfer means having a first output terminal and adapted to transfer the charge accumulated in each of the elements separately to the first output terminal, and second transfer means having a second output terminal and adapted to transfer the charges produced in some or all of the elements collectively to the second output terminal, and metering means for measuring the brightness of the object from the charge transferred by the second transfer means.

Electronic photographic camera

An electro-optical display element for a multiplexing system has a first and a second electrode substrate opposed to each other and an electrically responsive optical member provided between the two electrode substrates. Each of the two electrode substrates has combinations of ten segments, which are, in order from above, first, second and third lateral segments juxtaposed, a longitudinal upper left segment, upper middle segment and upper right segment juxtaposed between the first segment and the second segment, and a longitudinal lower left segment, lower middle segment, lower right segment juxtaposed between the second and third segments and a point segment for displaying the decimal point. The first electrode substrate has a first, a second and a third signal terminal. The second electrode substrate has a first, a second and a third scanning terminal. The signal terminals and the scanning terminals are specifically connected.

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Tokyo, Japan

Akira Miyaji