Nikon Corporation

Somar Corporation

Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.a.

Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Nec Corporation

Keio University

Kazuya Ono

Katsuji Kitagawa

Andrew J Hazelton

Mikio Osa

Seitaro Iwamoto

Takeshi Watanabe

Yuichi Shibazaki

Kunimitsu Matsuzaki

Tadakatsu Ikenoya

Yukio Yamane

Tetsuo Miyake

Michael B Binnard

Masato Takahashi

Douglas C Watson

Tetsuya Suzuki

Masao Kubo

Mitsuru Inoue

Mahito Negishi

Eiji Osanai

Peter Frisk

Akira Yasuda

Shigeo Sakino

Ichiro Akutagawa

Yuzo Otsuka

Michio Horikoshi

Katugi Kitagawa

Hiroaki Ogita

Yutaka Uda

Toshihide Kikuchi

Masahiro Totsu

Katuji Kitagawa

Yuya Futagami

Akira Shirakura

A packaging container having excellent water repelling properties on the outer or inner surface of the packaging container includes at least an outer resin layer, a paper core layer, and an inner resin layer. Minute protrusions are formed on the surface of the outer resin layer or the inner resin layer, and the minute protrusion structure has a fractal dimension of 1.08 to 1.17, wherein the fractal dimension is a numeric value calculated by the box count method at a resolution at which the length per one pixel is 0.5-1.0 &#x3bc;m.

Packaging container

The aim of the present invention lies in inexpensively providing a thin-film laminated film having excellent barrier properties. A further aim of the present invention lies in providing a method for producing a thin-film laminated film in which a plurality of thin films are coated on a plastic film by means of atmospheric-pressure plasma CVD which has low equipment costs and running costs, and also in providing a thin-film laminated film production apparatus which is able to operate continuously for a long period of time and can produce high-speed coating. A thin film according to the present invention includes a plastic film, a first silicon oxide-based thin film containing silicon oxide as the main component, and a first amorphous carbon-based thin film. The first amorphous carbon-based thin film is formed on the first silicon oxide-based thin film. The first silicon oxide-based thin film has pinholes with a diameter in the range of 10-200 nm.

Laminated film

An exposure apparatus includes a stage apparatus having an upper surface in which a recess that holds a substrate is formed. A liquid immersion system has a supply port via which a liquid is supplied and a collection port via which the liquid is collected forms a liquid immersion region. A projection optical system has an optical element and is configured to project an exposure light onto the substrate through the liquid of the liquid immersion region. A light-transmissive member is provided at the stage apparatus and has an upper surface substantially coplanar with an upper surface of the substrate held on the stage apparatus and with the upper surface of the stage apparatus. A groove is provided at the stage apparatus, into which the liquid is allowed to flow.

Exposure apparatus and device fabrication method

An exposure apparatus includes a projection system, a liquid supply system having a supply opening via which liquid is supplied to a space under the projection system, a liquid recovery system having a recovery opening via which the supplied liquid is collected, a supply flow meter fluidically connected to the supply opening, a stage system having a movable stage apparatus on which a substrate is held, and a measurement system which measures a wavefront aberration and has a light receiving part which receives a light from the projection system through a light-transmissive member provided at the movable stage apparatus and the liquid between the projection system and the light-transmissive member. A liquid immersion area, through which the substrate is exposed, is formed on a portion of an upper surface of the substrate while performing liquid supply via the supply opening and liquid collection via the recovery opening.

An exposure apparatus includes a projection system; a liquid supply system configured to supply liquid to a space under the projection system; a liquid recovery system configured to recover the supplied liquid via a recovery opening; a separator fluidically connected to the recovery opening, which separates one of the liquid and gas, which has been collected via the recovery opening, from the other; a flow-meter fluidically connected to the recovery opening; a stage system configured to move a movable member on which a substrate is held; and a measurement system having a light receiving part which receives a measurement light through a light-transmissive member provided at the movable member and through the liquid between the projection system and the light-transmissive member.

A substrate is transported between a first space and a second space, which are separated by a partition wall, through an opening portion formed in the partition wall. A transport apparatus includes a support device having a support portion which supports the substrate, the support device being provided so as to block the opening portion while a clearance between the partition wall and the support device is formed, the support device moving the support portion from a state where the support portion faces the first space to a state where the support portion faces the second space; and an adjustment device which adjusts an amount of the clearance, thereby suppressing the movement of fluid from the first space to the second space.

Transport apparatus and exposure apparatus

An exposure apparatus for forming a predetermined pattern on a substrate by using exposure light, includes a stage apparatus which is movable with respect to an optical axis of the exposure light; a light-transmissive member provided at the stage apparatus, wherein a liquid is supplied on an upper surface of the light-transmissive member; and a measurement device which is settable below the light-transmissive member when measurement using the measurement device is performed. Leakage or entrance of a liquid used for exposure into an optical measurement device such as a wavefront aberration measurement device can be prevented, thereby enabling preferable optical adjustment such as imaging performance or optical characteristics.

An exposure apparatus is an exposure apparatus that exposes a substrate by filling a liquid between a projection optical system and the substrate, and projecting a pattern image onto the substrate via the projection optical system and the liquid, wherein the projection optical system has a first group comprising an optical member that contacts the liquid, and a second group that differs from that first group; the first group is supported by a first support member; and the second group is separated from the first group and is supported by the second support member that differs from the first support member.

Coupling apparatus, exposure apparatus, and device fabricating method

An exposure apparatus fills a space between a projection optical system and a substrate with a liquid and projects a pattern image onto the substrate to expose the substrate. The projection optical system has a first group including an optical member that comes into contact with the liquid, and a second group that differs from the first group. The first group is supported by a first support member via a vibration isolating apparatus.

In the manufacture of a paper container from packaging materials, damage of internal layers of packaging materials is promptly inspected, and degradation by light exposure of content can be prevented. A method of manufacturing light barrier paper packaging materials for liquid food formed from a laminate having a paper layer, a thermoplastic resin outside layer, and a thermoplastic resin inside layer include preparing a substantially completely bleached white bleached paper layer, providing a light barrier layer of light barrier material on the inside of the bleached paper layer before or during lamination of the thermoplastic resin inside layer, and inspecting for defects of the obtained laminate by observation of the visible or invisible inside surface of the bleached paper layer from the thermoplastic resin inside layer side of the obtained laminate through the light barrier layer.

Paper packaging material for liquid food and method for production thereof

A serial communication device bridging between a parallel bus and a serial bus, includes (a) a check bit producer which applies an error correcting code to parallel data transmitted through the parallel bus, (b) a parallel-serial converter which converts the parallel data output from the check bit producer, into serial data, (c) a serial-parallel converter which converts serial data transmitted through the serial bus, into parallel data, and (d) an error detector which checks an error correcting code applied to the serial data, and detects an error in the error correcting code.

Serial communication device and method of carrying out serial communication

A stage assembly () for independently moving and positioning a first device (A) and a second device (A) in an operation area () is provided herein. The stage assembly () includes a stage base (), a first stage (), a first mover assembly (), a second stage (), and a second mover assembly (). The first mover assembly () moves the first stage () and the first device (A) into the operational area () and the second mover assembly () moves the second stage () and the second device (B) into the operational area (). The present stage assembly () reduces and minimizes the amount of reaction forces and disturbances that are transferred between the stages (), (). This improves the positioning performance of the stage assembly (). Further, for an exposure apparatus (), this allows for more accurate positioning of two semiconductor wafers () relative to a reticle () or some other reference.

Multiple stage, stage assembly having independent stage bases

An actuator has a pair of electromagnets and a curved magnetic member that is magnetically coupled to the electromagnets. The magnetic force acting on the curved magnetic member has less of a tendency to induce torque to the table than a straight magnetic member, because the geometry of the magnetic force between the curved magnetic member and electromagnets remain relatively unchanged over the permitted range of movement of the magnetic member.

Curved I-core

A high accuracy stage supported in six degrees of freedom by electromagnetic bearings. Movements in the horizontal plane of the stage are controlled by variable reluctance actuators which are mounted between the high accuracy stage and a coarse stage so as not to distort the high accuracy stage during movements thereof. The high accuracy stage is supported in three vertical degrees of freedom by electromagnetic actuators disposed between the coarse stage and the high accuracy stage and aided by a supplemental vertical support disposed adjacent to the actuators. Preferably, the high accuracy stage is suspended from a bar supported by the supplemental vertical support, which is preferably air bellows.

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Saitama, Japan

Kazuya Ono