Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Ken Matsumoto

Takashi Nakahara

An exposure apparatus for performing exposure of a substrate to light via a reticle. The apparatus includes a first stage configured to hold a chuck. The chuck has a support base with an electrode, and forms a container, for one of the substrate and the reticle, together with a cover. The container electrostatically chucks the one on the support base by the electrode. A transporter transports the container in which the one is contained, and loads the chuck, which chucks the one, on the first stage without the cover. A second stage holds the other of the substrate and the reticle. The apparatus obtains a first positional shift amount between the chuck and the one chucked on the chuck before the transportation by the transporter, to measure a second positional shift amount between a reference mark on the chuck held by the first stage and a reference mark on the second stage, and corrects positions of the first and second stages based on the first and second positional shift amounts, to perform the exposure.

Container and method of transporting substrate using the same

In transporting a reticle with a pellicle, gas purge is efficiently performed in a pellicle space or the environment in the pellicle space is efficiently maintained. Injectors are provided in a pair of fork positions or a reticle hand. Inert gas is injected and supplied from the injectors into a pellicle space through vent holes of a reticle with a pellicle. In this state, the reticle with the pellicle is transported.

Transport apparatus

A bar code containing information about a reticle (transparent substrate) is marked on the reticle at a portion vertically overlapping a transfer hand when the reticle held by the transfer hand is transferred. A reflecting portion is formed on the transfer hand at a portion corresponding to the bar code. A bar code reader has an illumination portion and detection portion. When the reticle is held and transferred by the transfer hand, the illumination portion illuminates the bar code, and the detection portion detects light reflected by the reflecting portion to read the bar code. The illumination portion and detection portion of the bar code reader may be separated and disposed to oppose each other through the reticle, thereby reading the bar code in the transmission scheme.

Substrate transfer apparatus, semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and semiconductor device manufacturing method

Disclosed is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus which includes a chamber having an environment-controlled inside space, a stage disposed in the inside space of the chamber and for holding a substrate to perform a predetermined process to the substrate, a temporary storage for temporarily storing one or more substrates in a local environment being independent from the chamber inside, a robot for conveying a substrate between the stage and the temporary storage, and a controller for controlling the robot so that the substrate is stored into the temporary storage when the environment control of the chamber inside space is suspended.

Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and method

A substrate managing system includes a reading device for reading information recorded on a substrate, and an information processing device for performing management of the substrate on the basis of the information, wherein the reading device reads information as recorded on an end face of the substrate. At least a portion of a substrate container is made of a transparent material for optical reading of information as recorded on a substrate kept stored in the container.

Substrate managing system and substrate storing system

A method for transporting a substrate between a carrier, which holds the substrate, and a semiconductor manufacturing unit, which receives the substrate. The method includes steps of applying the carrier, which holds the substrate, to a chamber, which houses the semiconductor manufacturing unit, in which chamber the environment of the semiconductor manufacturing unit is controlled, rotatably removing, by an opener, a door of the carrier and a door of the chamber, as a unit, from the carrier and the chamber, and transferring the substrate from the carrier and to the carrier, when the door of the carrier and the door of the chamber have been rotatably removed as a unit by the opener in the removing step. Also disclosed are semiconductor manufacturing apparatus utilizing such a method.

Method for transporting substrates and a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using the method

A code reading device includes an illuminator which illuminates a code formed on a substrate with light, a reflector which reflects the light to allow the light to pass through the code at least two times, and a detector which detects the reflected light to read the code on the substrate. The substrate is one of a photomask, a reticle, a wafer and a glass plate.

Code reading device and method with light passing through the code twice, an exposure apparatus and a device manufacturing method using the code reading

Growing community of inventors

Utsunomiya, Japan

Ken Matsumoto