Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Hirohisa Ohta

Nobuaki Ogushi

Masaya Ogura

Yoshito Yoneyama

Kunitaka Ozawa

Shunichi Uzawa

Noriyuki Nose

Makiko Mori

Naoto Abe

Shigeyuki Suda

Eigo Kawakami

Koji Uda

Hideyuki Chinju

Factories (-) have host computers () for monitoring industrial equipment (). Each host computer () is connected to a management host computer () on a vendor () side through the internet (). The host computer () on the factory side detects occurrence of a trouble of the industrial equipment () and notifies the vendor side of status information representing a trouble state. In response to this, the host computer () on the vendor side notifies the factory side of response information representing a countermeasure against the trouble state.

Remote maintenance system

Factories () have host computers () for monitoring industrial equipment (). Each host computer () is connected to a management host computer () on a vendor () side through the internet (). The host computer () on the factory side detects occurrence of a trouble of the industrial equipment () and notifies the vendor side of status information representing a trouble state. In response to this, the host computer () on the vendor side notifies the factory side of response information representing a countermeasure against the trouble state.

Factories () have host computers () for monitoring industrial equipments (). Each host computer () is connected to a management host computer () on a vendor () side through the internet (). The host computer () on the factory side detects occurrence of a trouble of the industrial equipment () and notifies the vendor side of status information representing a trouble state. In response to this, the host computer () on the vendor side notifies the factory side of response information representing a countermeasure against the trouble state.

Factories ( ) have host computers ( ) for monitoring industrial equipments ( ). Each host computer ( ) is connected to a management host computer ( ) on a vendor ( ) side through the internet ( ). The host computer ( ) on the factory side detects occurrence of a trouble of the industrial equipment ( ) and notifies the vendor side of status information representing a trouble state. In response to this, the host computer ( ) on the vendor side notifies the factory side of response information representing a countermeasure against the trouble state.

An alignment method useable with an original having a pattern and a substrate having a surface area on which the pattern of the original is printed. The alignment method comprises detecting plural marks, calculating plural times, the amount of rotational deviation on the basis of different combinations of marks, calculating the quantity of rotational correction of the original and the substrate by using the computed rotational deviations, and aligning on the basis of the calculated quantity of the rotational deviation.

Alignment system

A method of controlling a stage includes the steps of setting a plurality of drive modes according to which the stage is driven, which correspond to a plurality of positioning processes for positioning an element supported by the stage, and driving the stage according to the plurality of drive modes corresponding to the plurality of positioning processes. An exposure apparatus employing such a method includes a stage mechanism on which a substrate is placed, an exposure device for exposing the substrate to light, a memory for storing data representing a plurality of drive modes according to which the stage mechanism is driven for positioning the substrate, a driver for driving the stage mechanism in accordance with the drive modes, and a controller for selecting one of the drive modes stored in the memory in accordance with a positioning process according to which the substrate is to be positioned, and for controlling the driver in accordance with the selected drive mode.

Method of controlling a stage and a system such as an exposing apparatus

An exposure method includes disposing a mask and a semiconductor wafer opposed to each other in a close proximity relation with respect to a Z-axis direction and printing a pattern of the mask on each of different shot areas of the semiconductor wafer in a step-and-repeat manner, with a predetermined exposure energy. In this method, the spacing between the mask and the wafer for the paralleling of them is made larger than the spacing therebetween as assumed at the time of mask-to-wafer alignment with respect to X-Y plane or the spacing between the mask and the wafer as assumed at the time of exposure of the wafer to the mask. After the paralleling of the mask and the wafer, the mask and the wafer are moved closer to each other in the Z-axis direction and alignment and exposure is performed. This ensures that the alignment and exposure are effected at an optimum spacing while, on the other hand, contact of the mask and the wafer at the time of paralleling is precluded.

Exposure method

An alignment method for use in an exposure apparatus for printing a pattern of an original onto different surface areas of a substrate, the alignment method comprising the steps of: providing alignment marks around the pattern of the original and placing the original on an original supporting stage; providing a reference mark on an X-Y stage for supporting the substrate and being movable in X and Y directions, and moving the X-Y stage so as to place the reference mark at those positions, in sequence, which correspond to the alignment marks of the original, respectively, and which are preset in respect to a stage coordinate system; detecting, in sequence, positional errors of the alignment marks of the original with respect to the corresponding set positions, respectively, by using the reference mark and through the movement of the X-Y stage, wherein the positional errors are detected by use of positional error detectors which are provided to be associated with the alignment marks of the original, respectively; calculating a rotational error of the original with respect to the stage coordinate system, in .theta. direction, by using the positional errors; and rotationally moving the original supporting table in the .theta. direction so as to correct the rotational error.

Alignment method for printing a pattern of an original onto different

An alignment system for aligning a mask and a wafer into a predetermined positional relationship uses alignment marks provided on the mask and the water. In this system, light from a light source is directed to the alignment marks of the mask and the wafer and, then, the light from these alignment marks is detected by an accumulation type photoelectric converting device, for alignment of the mask and the wafer. The accumulation time of the photoelectric converting device is controlled to be sufficiently longer than or to be equal to a multiple, by an integral number, of the period of relative and natural vibration of the mask and the wafer. This makes it possible to reduce the effect of the relative vibration of the mask and the wafer upon the alignment result and, therefore, makes it possible to enhance the alignment precision.

Growing community of inventors

Kawagoe, Japan

Hirohisa Ohta