Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Nikon Corporation

Shinichi Hirano

Nobuhiko Terui

Atsushi Suzuki

Yoshio Imura

Tadao Kai

Mitsuji Marumo

Kohei Yamada

Tatsuo Amanuma

Fumiya Taguchi

Yoshihisa Kitagawa

Tetsuo In

Yoshiyuki Usui

Hitoshi Takeuchi

Ryota Makino

A method of determining information indicating an arrangement of an imprint material in an imprint apparatus, includes repeating, by the imprint apparatus, a process of arranging an imprint material on a substrate in accordance with a provisional arrangement, forming a pattern by curing the imprint material in a state in which a mold is brought into contact with the imprint material, and changing the provisional arrangement based on the pattern, until quality of the pattern satisfies a predetermined condition, and determining, by the imprint apparatus, information indicating the arrangement of the imprint material based on the latest provisional arrangement at a stage where the quality of the pattern satisfies the predetermined condition.

Method of determining drop recipe, imprint apparatus, and article manufacturing method

An imprint apparatus for bringing a mold and an imprint material on a substrate into contact with each other and performing imprint processing for forming a pattern of the imprint material is provided. The apparatus comprises a supplier configured to supply the imprint material on the substrate in accordance with a supply pattern of the imprint material, and a controller configured to control the supplier, wherein the controller obtains a contact timing as a timing at which the mold and the imprint material are brought into contact with each other at each of a plurality of positions of the mold, and determines the supply pattern based on the obtained contact timing.

Imprint apparatus, planarized layer forming apparatus, forming apparatus, control method, and method of manufacturing article

An imprint apparatus performs an imprint process by bringing a mold into contact with an imprint material arranged on a shot region of a substrate and curing the imprint material. The apparatus includes a controller configured to execute, in a case where an elapsed time from the supplying of the imprint material to the shot region until the contact with the mold falls outside an allowable range of a predetermined elapsed time, adjustment processing of adjusting an amount of the imprint material on the shot region at the timing of the contact.

Imprint apparatus and method of manufacturing article

A lithography apparatus is provided. The lithography apparatus includes a control unit that obtains information of an expected processing count to be processed in a lot by a transfer unit, obtains information of an accumulated processing count, in the transfer unit, of each of originals in a original storage unit, and preferentially selects, from the originals, an original whose process enable count before the accumulated processing count reaches a predetermined count is not smaller than the expected processing count.

Lithography apparatus, control method therefor, and method of manufacturing article

A processing apparatus for processing a substrate chucked by a chuck installed on a stage includes: a conveying unit configured to convey the substrate to the chuck; a robot configured to selectively convey, to the stage, a pressing member capable of pressing the substrate to reduce a warp of the substrate chucked by the chuck and a cleaning member capable of cleaning a chuck surface; and a controller configured to cause the robot holding the pressing member to execute pressing processing for correcting the warp of the substrate and cause the robot holding the cleaning member to execute cleaning processing of the chuck surface.

Processing apparatus and device manufacturing method

The present invention provides an exposure apparatus which transfers a pattern of a reticle onto a substrate, the apparatus including a convey unit configured to convey the substrate while chucking and holding a lower surface of the substrate, and a control unit configured to control a conveyance condition of the convey unit so that a conveyance acceleration is lower when the convey unit conveys the substrate in a vertical direction with downward acceleration than when the convey unit conveys the substrate in the vertical direction with upward acceleration.

Exposure apparatus and device fabrication method

A processing apparatus that performs processing to a wafer is provided, the processing apparatus comprising a wafer chuck disposed on a stage and that holds the wafer; three pins that attract the wafer and move the wafer from the wafer chuck; and a control unit that is configured to stop or decrease the attraction of the three pins based on information about a through hole of the wafer when the wafer is moved from the wafer chuck by the three pins.

Processing apparatus, processing method, and device manufacturing method

An exposure apparatus includes a light shielding plate that is arranged on a plane conjugate to a substrate plane and shields against light to prevent the light from entering an outer peripheral region outside the circular borderline on the substrate; a first driving unit that rotationally drives the light shielding plate about an axis parallel to an optical axis of the illumination system; a second driving unit that linearly drives the light shielding plate within a plane perpendicular to the optical axis; a detecting unit that detects a light-shielding position; and a control unit that stores a light-shielding position at reference time point and light-shielding positions prior to and after change of the light shielding plate when the light shielding plate is changed after the reference time point, and calculates a variation amount of the light-shielding position based on a light-shielding position detected by the detecting unit at any time point after the light shielding plate is changed, a light-shielding position at the reference time point, and the difference between light-shielding positions before and after the light shielding plate is changed.

Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method using same

The present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus for performing a process of reducing warpage of a substrate, comprising a substrate stage configured to hold the substrate, a pressing member including a portion formed to press a peripheral portion of the substrate against the substrate stage, an obtaining unit configured to obtain information indicating a shift between a center of a region where a pattern is formed on the substrate and a center of the substrate, and a controller configured to control relative positions of the substrate stage and the pressing member based on the information obtained by the obtaining unit, such that the portion of the pressing member presses the peripheral portion of the substrate.

Substrate processing apparatus, lithography apparatus, and method of manufacturing article

An exposure apparatus comprises: a substrate stage movable from a first position to a second position; a conveyance arm movable from a third position to the second position; an elevating member transferring the substrate to the arm at the second position; and a controller. The controller judges whether the stage reaches a fourth position that shifts to a front side from the second position by a predetermined interval for avoiding a collision between the substrate and the arm and a collision between the elevating member and the substrate when the elevating operation ends. If the controller judges that the stage does not reach the fourth position, the controller controls the movements of the stage and the arm, and the elevation of the elevating member so that the arm starts to move toward the second position before the end of the elevating operation.

Exposure aparatus and method of manufacturing device to avoid collision between an elevating member of a substrate stage and a conveyance arm

An exposure apparatus includes a light shielding plate that is arranged on a plane conjugate to a substrate plane and shields against light to prevent the light; a first driving unit that rotationally drives the light shielding plate about an axis parallel to an optical axis of the illumination system; a second driving unit that linearly drives the light shielding plate within a plane perpendicular to the optical axis; a detecting unit that detects a light-shielding position; and a control unit that stores a light-shielding position at reference time point and prior to and after change of the light shielding plate, and calculates a variation amount of the light-shielding position based on a light-shielding position detected by the detecting unit at any time point after the light shielding plate is changed, a light-shielding position at the reference time point, and the difference between stored light-shielding positions.

A processing apparatus of the present invention processes for a wafer. The processing apparatus includes an XY stage which includes a wafer chuck which holds the wafer and an elevating device which rises relative to the wafer chuck to hold the wafer, and a wafer conveying robot hand which conveys the wafer from the XY stage at a wafer transfer position. The XY stage moves to change a direction at an angle between degree and degree via the wafer transfer position in a state where the elevating device rises relative to the wafer chuck. The wafer conveying robot hand has a shape which does not interfere with the XY stage which moves to change the direction at the angle when the wafer conveying hand is positioned at the wafer transfer position.

A processing apparatus includes a unit processing an object, a first conveyer to perform conveyance of the object between the unit and a station arranged between an external apparatus and the unit, the external apparatus including a second conveyer to hold the object with a hand thereof to perform conveyance of the object to or from the station, and a controller to output a request signal and a stop instruction signal. The request signal requests the external apparatus to perform the conveyance by the second conveyer, and is output before the processing apparatus becomes a state to allow the second conveyer to perform the conveyance, and the stop instruction signal instructs the external apparatus to stop the hand and is output based on a state of the processing apparatus after an output of the request signal and before the conveyance of the second conveyer.

Processing apparatus with conveyer and controller to output request signal and stop instruction signal

An exposure apparatus including an optical system, includes a light shielding plate, a rotational drive unit configured to rotatably drive the light shielding plate around an axis of rotation along an optical path in the optical system, a shift drive unit configured to shift-drive the light shielding plate in a direction intersecting the axis of rotation, an acquisition unit configured to acquire information relating to a relative position between a reference axis serving as a reference when a pattern image is projected on a substrate by the optical system and the axis of rotation, and a control unit configured to control the rotational drive unit and the shift-drive unit so that, when projecting the pattern image on a circumferential portion near an outer edge of the substrate, the light shielding plate is positioned at a predetermined position based on the information relating to the relative position.

Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method

The present invention provides an exposure apparatus including a light shielding plate which is placed on a plane conjugate to an object plane of a projection optical system in an illumination optical system, includes, on an edge thereof, an arc that overlaps a circular boundary line inside an outer periphery of a substrate, and defines a region on the substrate, to which a pattern is to be transferred, a detection unit which detects a shift amount between the center position of the substrate and the center position of an array of a plurality of shot regions on a layer, and a control unit which positions the plate at a position, at which the plate shields light incident on an outer peripheral region shifted inward from the outer periphery of the substrate by a predetermined width, based on the shift amount.

Growing community of inventors

Utsunomiya, Japan

Shinichi Hirano