Nikon Corporation

Tokyo Institute of Technology

Masashi Okada

Akimitsu Ebihara

Isao Sugaya

Hiroshi Ohki

Kazuya Okamoto

Minoru Fukuda

Shigeru Aoki

Hajime Mitsuishi

Osamu Saruwatari

Atsushi Kamashita

Hidehiro Maeda

Takashi Nagase

Koji Matsumoto

A substrate holder includes a central support portion configured to support a central portion of a substrate, and an circumferential support portion arranged on an outside of the central support portion and configured to support a circumferential portion on an outside of the central portion, and the circumferential support portion is configured to support the circumferential portion so that at least a partial region of the circumferential portion is curved toward the substrate holder with a curvature greater than that of the central portion.

Substrate bonding apparatus and substrate bonding method

A detector comprises a plurality of photoelectric converters to output an electrical signal corresponding to an incident light, and a plurality of filter circuits provided corresponding to each of the plurality of photoelectric converters or to each of a plurality of element groups respectively including a predetermined number of the photoelectric converters of the plurality of photoelectric converters, the plurality of filter circuits attenuating a signal having a predetermined frequency from the electrical signal output from the plurality of photoelectric converters, In the above-described detector, the plurality of photoelectric converters may be provided in a first substrate, and the plurality of filter circuits may be provided in a second substrate laminated on the first substrate.

Detector, detector with lock-in amplifier, substrate, and method for manufacturing a detector

A motor device includes a base portion; a transmission portion that is formed with the base portion as one member and is wound around at least a part of an outer periphery of a rotator; and a driving portion which is supported by the base portion, moves the transmission portion by a certain distance in a state in which a rotational force is transmitted between the rotator and the transmission portion, and returns the transmission portion to a predetermined position in a state in which the rotation force transmission state is released.

Motor device, method of manufacturing motor device, and robot device

A motor device comprises a transmission substrate formed with a transmission portion that is wound around at least part of the outer periphery of a rotator; and a driving substrate that has a driving portion which moves the transmission portion by a certain distance in a state in which a rotational force is transmitted between the rotator and the transmission portion returns the transmission portion to a predetermined position in a state in which the rotation force transmission state is released, and is connected to the transmission substrate so that the driving force due to the driving portion acts on the transmission portion.

An ice thermal storage medium comprises water and a water-soluble additive, in which an amount of the additive is 1-8% by weight.

Ice thermal storage medium

Methods and apparatus are disclosed for accurately measuring stresses in respective membrane regions of segmented mask blanks destined to be made into masks or reticles for use in microlithography. A mask blank is held to a securing plate, e.g., by electrostatic attraction. The mask blank is held such that the struts of the mask blank contact the surface of the securing plate. The securing plate defines an array of through holes that are aligned with individual subfields of the mask blank. A pressure differential is applied across the membrane via the through-holes, causing the membrane regions to bulge. While measuring the pressure, the magnitude of bulge of individual membrane regions is measured using a displacement-measuring device. From data concerning the magnitude of bulge, membrane stress and Young's modulus are determined.

Methods and apparatus for measuring stress of membrane regions of segmented microlithographic mask blanks

Apparatus are disclosed for evaluating a thin film of a sample such as a reticle blank. A representative embodiment includes a chamber defining an opening over which the sample, mounted in the sample-support mechanism, is placed such that a pneumatic pressure established in the chamber is transmitted to the thin film of the sample. A deflection-measuring device measures an amount of deflection exhibited by the thin film whenever the pressure is being applied from the chamber to the sample. An optical system irradiates the thin film of the sample, mounted to the chamber, with light to cause light reflected from the thin film to be incident on the deflection-measuring device. The sample-support mechanism includes a substrate that contacts the sample in a manner allowing access of a desired region of the thin film to the pressure, and a retainer that secures the sample and substrate to the opening in the chamber in a manner such that substrate and sample are sandwiched between the retainer and the chamber.

Apparatus for evaluating a sample including a self-supporting thin film

Methods and apparatus are disclosed in which pulses of laser light are used to remove particles from a sample surface. The laser light can have a wavelength absorbed by water, and the sample surface can be coated with a film of water. To prevent decreasing the intensity of the laser light propagating from a source to the sample, a propagation path is provided from the source to the sample that contains an environment lacking water vapor or other gas that significantly absorbs at a wavelength similar to that at which water absorbs the laser light. The methods and apparatus can also include observing the sample in real time as the sample is being irradiated with the laser light. The methods and apparatus can also include vibrating the sample as the sample is being irradiated to facilitate removal of the particles, thereby allowing the intensity of the laser light to be decreased to levels that do not damage the sample surface.

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Ibaraki, Japan

Masashi Okada