Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Osamu Morimoto

Yoshinori Ohsaki

Takahiro Matsumoto

Yoshihiro Ishida

Koichi Sentoku

Shuichi Nakamura

Shinichiro Koga

Takahiro Oshino

Yuichiro Morikuni

Toshitaka Amano

The present invention provides a method for calibrating an encoder which includes a scale and a light receiving unit configured to receive light reflected by the scale, and detects a change in relative position between the scale and the light receiving unit, the method comprising a measurement step of measuring a deformation amount of a surface shape of the scale, a specifying step of specifying, based on a measurement result in the measurement step, a range which includes a portion of a surface of the scale, where the deformation amount exceeds a threshold, and within which a detection value of the encoder is corrected, and a determination step of determining a correction value for correcting the detection value of the encoder within the range specified in the specifying step.

Calibration method, measurement apparatus, exposure apparatus, and method of manufacturing article

A lithography apparatus includes a measuring station that includes a first measuring device configured to measure a height of a substrate holder, and a second measuring device configured to measure a height of a surface of a substrate held by the holder, and a patterning station that includes a third measuring device configured to measure a height of the holder, and patterns the substrate held by the holder based on an output of the second measuring device. The patterning station includes a fourth measuring device configured to measure a height of a surface of a substrate held by the holder. The lithography apparatus includes a controller configured to obtain a correction value for an output obtained from at least one of the first and third measuring devices based on outputs of the second and fourth measuring devices with respect to a substrate held by the holder.

Lithography apparatus, and article manufacturing method

An apparatus which projects a pattern of an original onto a substrate by a projection optical system within a chamber to expose the substrate, comprises a measurement unit which performs measurement to calculate a deformation amount of the original, and a controller which calculates a predicted deformation amount of the original and corrects a projection magnification of the projection optical system so as to correct the predicted deformation amount, based on information representing a relationship between the deformation amount with reference to a shape of the original at a certain temperature and a time for which the original receives exposure light, a deformation amount of the original before exposure determined based on a measurement value obtained by measuring, by the measurement unit, the deformation amount of the original loaded into the chamber and unused for exposure, and the time for which the original receives the exposure light.

Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method

An apparatus for measuring at least one of an arrangement and shape of shots formed on a substrate, comprises a scope configured to obtain an image of an alignment mark corresponding to a shot; and a calculating device configured to calculate a difference between a position of the alignment mark in the image obtained by the scope and a designed position of the alignment mark, obtain a non-linear component of the calculated difference with respect to each of a plurality of conditions, calculate an index indicating a stability of the non-linear component of each shot with respect to each of the plurality of conditions, and select, from the plurality of conditions, a condition for obtaining the non-linear component based on the calculated indices.

Apparatus and method for measuring at least one of arrangement and shape of shots on substrate, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method

It is determined whether it is necessary to execute processing for automatically measuring a shot compensation parameter. Processing is reduced by performing automatic measurement of the shot compensation parameter only when such measurement is necessary. This is followed by measuring a wafer compensation parameter automatically. Depending upon whether or not automatic measurement of the shot compensation parameter has been performed, it is determined whether to calculate a relative parameter &#x3b4; between the shot compensation parameter and wafer compensation parameter or to calculate a shot compensation parameter from a stored relative parameter &#x3b4; and a wafer compensation parameter. This maintains alignment precision. The units comprising the apparatus are driven to perform exposure in accordance with the shot compensation parameter and wafer compensation parameter obtained.

Exposure apparatus, method of controlling same, method of manufacturing devices, computer-readable memory and program

An image processing apparatus which can be connected to a plurality of terminals, comprising an input unit for inputting the image data representing the image corresponding to a predetermined range by causing a predetermined camera unit to photograph or take each of plural partial areas obtained by dividing the image corresponding to the predetermined range, a reception unit for receiving commands representing positions in the predetermined range from a plurality of terminals, an extraction unit for extracting the image data corresponding to a part of the predetermined range on the basis of the command received by the reception unit and a transmission control unit for causing a predetermined transmission unit to transmit the image data extracted by the extraction means, to the terminal which transmitted the command corresponding to the image data.

Image processing apparatus and method, storage medium, and communication system

An exposure apparatus or a device manufacturing method, wherein a focus measuring device measures a best focus position upon projecting and exposing, through a projection optical system, a pattern of an original plate onto a substrate placed on a movable stage, by obtaining predetermined estimating information indicative of a blur degree of an image being observed, when observing a reference mark on the movable stage or the surface of the substrate by the focus measuring device, while changing a relative position between the movable stage and the projection optical system toward an optical axis direction of the projection optical system. This exposure apparatus or device manufacturing method controls whether or not the best focus position is measured, based on (i) an elapsed time after a last projection and exposure or (ii) the estimating information obtained at a predetermined time by the focus measuring device and estimating information obtained at the time of measuring the best focus position at the preceding time.

In magnifying a multivalued image, binary images are generated by using the respective density levels of the multivalued image as thresholds. The contour of each binary image is equivalent to an equidensity curve corresponding to each density gradient of the original multivalued image. Outline vectors of each binary image are extracted and magnified/smoothed. The contour of each binary image represents an equidensity curve corresponding to each density gradient of the magnified multivalued image. In a binary image area corresponding to a black pixel of each binary image, a pixel having a density equal to the threshold used to generate the binary image is written. This processing is sequentially performed for all the binary images from a low-density binary image to a high-density binary image to generate a multivalued image. The objected multivalued image is subjected to density gradient smoothing processing. As a result, a magnified multivalued image is obtained.

Image processing method and apparatus

A hyper text reading system which assures an advantage by protecting the right of a contents provider. A link source confirmation unit confirms a link source of an anchor included in a hyper text. The link source is provided between a WWW browser and a helper application, thereby enabling contents data to be referred from only the anchor included in the hyper text prepared by the contents provider.

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Utsunomiya, Japan

Osamu Morimoto