Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha

Mitsuya Sato

Nobuhito Yamaguchi

Eiichi Murakami

Takao Ukaji

Shunzo Imai

Taro Ohmori

Isamu Shimoda

Junji Isohata

Ryozo Hiraga

Hiroshi Yamaguchi

Tsunehiro Motegi

Bunei Hamasaki

Minoru Yomoda

Nobuyoshi Deguchi

Keishi Higashi

Hiroshi Yamamoto

Hirofumi Harada

Yuji Abuku

Katsuo Shioiri

A position detector includes a first planar encoder including a first encoder head unit mounted on a test object that is a movable member, and a first grating unit mounted on a fixed member, the first planar encoder being configured to detect a position of the test object in two directions by measuring a position of the first grating unit using the first encoder head unit, and a second planar encoder including a second encoder head unit mounted on the fixed member, and a second grating unit mounted on the movable member, the second planar encoder being used to generate data for calibrating the position of the first grating unit measured by the first encoder head unit.

Position detector and exposure apparatus

A planar motor includes a movable body and a stator configured to drive the movable body in a plane. The stator includes a first stator unit and a second stator unit. The movable body is moved in a first direction by a force acting between the movable body and the first stator unit, and is moved in a second direction by a force acting between the movable body and the second stator unit. The first stator unit and the second stator unit are arranged to face each other in such a manner that the movable body is provided therebetween.

Planar motor and stage using the same

A planar pulse motor includes a stator and a mover which is arranged opposite to the stator and which has a plurality of coils. The planar pulse motor can drive the mover in a first direction on a horizontal plane and in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction by controlling current flowing in the plurality of coils. The stator has a plurality of raised portions, including a plurality of first raised portions composed by laminating a plurality of layers of members including magnetic materials through which magnetic flux can pass only in the first direction and a plurality of second raised portions composed by laminating a plurality of layers of members including magnetic materials through which magnetic flux can pass only in the second direction, and a plurality of recessed portions through which magnetic flux does not pass in either the first or the second direction. The plurality of raised portions are regularly arranged in a vicinity of each of recessed portions in the first and second directions.

Planar pulse motor, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method

Two independent fine adjustment stages are arranged on one coarse adjustment stage to simultaneously perform all of focus measurement and part of alignment measurement in parallel with an exposure operation. A method of transporting a wafer together with a chuck is adopted as a precondition. Alignment of a pattern on a wafer with a chuck is performed before the chuck is mounted on each fine adjustment stage.

Exposure apparatus

An exposure apparatus which exposes substrates to a pattern on a master. The apparatus includes first, second and third chucks which hold the substrates, a first fine adjustment stage which holds the first chuck to perform fine driving, a second fine adjustment stage which holds the second chuck to perform fine driving, a coarse adjustment stage on which the first and second fine adjustment stages are mounted and which can move in an X-Y plane substantially perpendicular to an optical axis, an exposure unit which performs exposure operation for the substrate held by the first chuck, a measurement unit which performs measurement operation for the substrate held by the second chuck, and a controller which drives the coarse adjustment stage and causes the measurement and exposure units to perform the measurement and exposure operations, respectively.

There is provided an information storage output system enhanced in mobility and improved in convenience to use. In the information storage output system for storing predetermined storage data in a storage server on a network, the storage server can be accessed from many and unspecified communication devices. The information storage output system includes a plurality of remote output terminals for outputting supply data supplied via a network in a predetermined output form, a remote output server having a function of supplying at least the supply data to one of the remote output terminals, and an output request communication terminal for transmitting a primary output request of the storage data to the storage server or the remote output server via a network. The storage data is output from the remote output terminal in response to the primary output request transmitted from the output request communication terminal.

Information storage output system and information storage output service

An exposure apparatus which exposes substrates to a pattern on a master. The apparatus includes first, second and third chucks which hold the substrates, a first fine adjustment stage which holds the first chuck to perform fine driving, a second fine adjustment stage which holds the second chuck to perform fine driving, a coarse adjustment stage on which the first and second fine adjustment stages are mounted and which can move in an X-Y plane substantially perpendicular to an optical axis, an exposure unit which performs exposure operation for the substrate held by the first chuck, a measurement unit which performs measurement operation for the substrate held by the second chuck, and a controller which drives the coarse adjustment stage and causes the measurement and exposure units to perform the measurement and exposure operations, respectively. The controller performs in parallel the measurement and exposure operations for the substrates by serially performing (i) an operation of unloading the substrate having undergone the exposure operation together with the first chuck from the first fine adjustment stage, (ii) an operation of moving the substrate having undergone the measurement operation from the second fine adjustment stage to the first fine adjustment stage while the substrate is held by the second chuck, and (iii) an operation of loading a substrate to be subjected to the measurement operation next while the substrate is held by the third chuck.

A scan type exposure apparatus wherein a pattern of an original is lithographically transferred to a substrate sequentially while the original and the substrate are scanningly moved relative to exposure light, the apparatus including a photodetector disposed at a position optically conjugate with the original, and a storing device for storing correction information with respect to an output of the photodetector, in relation to different positions of the original to be illuminated with the exposure light, such that, in the lithographic pattern transfer, the output of the photodetector can be corrected by use of the correction information.

Exposure apparatus and exposure method

In a step San excimer laser control unit sets a central wavelength command value, an integral spectrum distribution command value, and an exposure pulse number in a laser internal control unit. In a step Sthe laser internal control unit receives the central wavelength command value, the integral spectrum distribution command value, and the exposure pulse number from the excimer control unit, and executes an actual exposure when an exposure command is received. In a step Sthe laser internal control unit, after executing exposure, measures the central wavelength of the pulse and the spectral distribution, and corrects any discrepancy between the actually measured central wavelength and the central wavelength command value by outputting a drive command to the narrow-band module so that the central wavelength of the succeeding pulse substantially matches the central wavelength command value. In a step Sspectral distribution data is integrated with each exposure.

Light source, light source generation control method, exposure apparatus and maintenance method therefor, and semiconductor device manufacturing method and semiconductor production facility

A sensor is provided for identifying the type of discharge lamp mounted as the light source of an exposure apparatus, and at least one of an optical condition, power-source condition and cooling condition is set based upon the identification made. For example, an optical condition is changed by adjusting the zoom lens of an illuminating optical unit in dependence upon the type of discharge lamp. Alternatively, a power-source condition or discharge-lamp cooling performance is changed by setting the range of allowable power applied to the discharge lamp.

Exposure apparatus and method, device manufacturing method, and discharge lamp

An interlocking apparatus includes a plurality of determination units independent of each other, an operation stopping circuit, a switch, and a restoring circuit. The plurality of determination units determine that a semiconductor device manufacturing equipment has shifted to a predetermined state. The operation stopping circuit sets the manufacturing equipment to an operation stop state when at least one of the plurality of determination units determines that the manufacturing equipment has shifted to the predetermined state. The switch inputs a restoration instruction instructing that the manufacturing equipment set in the operation stop state is restored to an operation state. The restoring circuit is responsive to the restoration instruction to restore the manufacturing equipment to the operation state only when the manufacturing equipment is set in the operation stop state determined by all of the plurality of determination units determining that the manufacturing equipment has shifted to the predetermined state.

Interlocking apparatus

A scan type exposure apparatus includes a first movable stage for carrying a reticle thereon and a second movable stage for carrying a wafer thereon, a projection system for projecting a pattern of the reticle onto the wafer through a projection optical system while scanningly moving the first and second movable stages in a timed relation, relative to the projection optical system, a first mark formed on the reticle and including a plurality of marks arrayed along a scan direction, a reference plate fixedly mounted on the second movable stage and having a second mark including a plurality of marks arrayed along the scan direction, a third movable stage for carrying the second movable stage thereon and being movable in a direction different from the movement direction of the second stage, and a photodetector fixedly mounted on the third movable stage. The second and third movable stages are moved so as to place the reference plate and the photodetector at a position of an image of the first mark as projected by the projection optical system, and the image of the first mark is detected through the second mark by using the photodetector while moving the first and second movable stages in a timed relation, relative to the projection optical system.

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Yokohama, Japan

Mitsuya Sato