Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha

Shunichi Uzawa

Takao Kariya

Nobutoshi Mizusawa

Ryuichi Ebinuma

Mitsuaki Amemiya

Kunitaka Ozawa

Koji Uda

Isamu Shimoda

Yutaka Watanabe

Eiji Sakamoto

Katsunori Hatanaka

Shinichi Hara

Eigo Kawakami

Kazunori Iwamoto

Noriyuki Nose

Hiroshi Kurosawa

Makiko Mori

Tetsuzo Mori

Yutaka Tanaka

Naoto Abe

Yutaka Hirai

Toshiyuki Komatsu

Shigeyuki Suda

Naoki Ayata

Keiko Chiba

Yasuaki Fukuda

Hirohisa Ohta

Kenji Saitoh

Noboru Koumura

Shigeru Terashima

Yoshiaki Shirato

Masaki Fukaya

Yuji Chiba

Mitsutoshi Kuno

Seishiro Yoshioka

Hidehiko Fujioka

Mitsuji Marumo

Kenji Itoga

Makoto Higomura

Toyoki Kitayama

Kohji Uda

Katsumi Nakagawa

Minoru Yoshii

Shigeyuki Matsumoto

Takayuki Hasegawa

Takeshi Miyachi

Shin Matsui

Kunio Watanabe

Yasuo Kuroda

Shinichiro Uno

Shinkichi Ohkawa

Hiroshi Chiba

Nobutoshi Mitzusawa

Minoru Miyazaki

Akio Iijima

An X-ray exposure apparatus extracts exposure X-rays from light called synchrotron radiation from a synchrotron radiation source by an optical path including an X-ray mirror and performs exposure using the extracted X-rays. The X-ray mirror contains a material having an absorption edge in at least one of a wavelength range of less than 0.45 nm and a wavelength range exceeding 0.7 nm, thereby implementing exposure using the X-ray in the range of 0.45 nm to 0.7 nm. The X-ray mirror contains at least one material selected from the group consisting of iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese, chromium, and their alloys, nitrides, carbides, and borides.

X-ray exposure apparatus and method, semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and microstructure

An X-ray exposure apparatus comprises an X-ray mirror containing a material having an absorption edge only in at least either one of a wavelength region of less than 0.45 nm and a wavelength region exceeding 0.7 nm as to X-rays.

X-ray exposure apparatus, X-ray exposure method, X-ray mask, X-ray mirror, synchrotron radiation apparatus, synchrotron radiation method and semiconductor device

A device manufacturing method includes a first exposure step for executing a multiple exposure of a first layer of a substrate by use of plural first masks, a development step for developing the first layer of the substrate and a second exposure step, executed after the development step, for executing a multiple exposure of a second layer of the substrate by use of plural second masks. A portion of at least one of the first masks has a pattern the same as a pattern formed in a portion of at least one of the second masks.

Device manufacturing method

An exposure method for exposing a workpiece in a proximity exposure system, includes a first exposure step for printing, by exposure, an image of a first mask pattern on a predetermined portion of the workpiece, and a second exposure step for printing, by exposure, an image of a second mask pattern, different from the first mask pattern, on the predetermined portion of the workpiece, wherein exposures in the first and second exposure steps are performed superposedly, prior to a development process.

Exposure method

A mask manufacturing method includes performing a multiple exposure process to a substrate so that a number of latent images are formed on the substrate, and processing the exposed substrate to produce actual mask patterns, wherein the multiple exposure process includes a first exposure step for forming a latent image of relatively-fine periodic patterns on the substrate by use of a first master mask having absorptive periodic patterns, and a second exposure step for forming a latent image of relatively-rough patterns on the substrate by use of a second master mask having absorptive patterns.

Mask structure and method of manufacturing the same

An exposure method for posing a workpiece in a proximity exposure system, includes a first exposure step for printing, by exposure, an image of a first mask pattern on a predetermined portion of the workpiece, and a second exposure step for printing, by exposure, an image of a second mask pattern, different from the first mask pattern, on the predetermined portion of the workpiece, wherein exposures in the first and second exposure steps are performed superposedly, prior to a development process.

An exposure method for transferring a pattern of a mask onto a workpiece in a proximity exposure system, includes a first exposure step for exposing a predetermined portion of the workpiece, while maintaining a first spacing between the mask and the workpiece, and a second exposure step for exposing the predetermined portion of the workpiece, while maintaining a second spacing, different from the first spacing, between the mask and the workpiece, wherein exposures in the first and second exposure steps are performed superposedly, prior to a development process.

An exposure method for printing a pattern onto a workpiece to be exposed, includes a first exposure step for forming, on the workpiece and by exposure, a transferred image of a first absorbing material pattern formed on a mask and having no periodic structure, and a second exposure step for printing, on the workpiece and by exposure, a diffraction pattern to be produced through Fresnel diffraction due to a second absorbing material pattern formed on the mask and having a periodic structure, the diffraction pattern having a period corresponding to 1/n of a period of the transferred image of the periodic structure pattern, where n is an integer not less than 2, and wherein the first and second exposure steps are performed simultaneously.

Exposure method and X-ray mask structure for use with the same

An apparatus for transferring a pattern of a mask onto a substrate with radiation light from a synchrotron radiation light source, includes a first mirror for collectively reflecting radiation light from the synchrotron radiation light source, and a second mirror for reflecting radiation light from the first mirror and for projecting the same to the mask. When a light ray advancing from a light emission point of the light source toward a center of a predetermined region of the mask, to be transferred to the substrate, is taken as a chief ray, when a normal to each of the first and second mirrors at an incidence position of a corresponding chief ray is taken as a Z axis, when a direction perpendicular to a plane defined by the Z axis of each mirror and a corresponding chief ray is taken as an X axis, and when a Y axis is taken along a direction perpendicular to the Z axis and X axis of each mirror, the first mirror has a reflection surface of a shape which is concave with respect to the X axis direction and concave with respect to the Y axis direction, while the second mirror has a reflection surface of a shape which is convex with respect to the Y axis direction.

Exposure apparatus for synchrotron radiation lithography

An alignment method useable with an original having a pattern and a substrate having a surface area on which the pattern of the original is printed. The alignment method comprises detecting plural marks, calculating plural times, the amount of rotational deviation on the basis of different combinations of marks, calculating the quantity of rotational correction of the original and the substrate by using the computed rotational deviations, and aligning on the basis of the calculated quantity of the rotational deviation.

Alignment system

A synchrotron exposure includes a synchrotron radiation source for generating a synchrotron radiation beam, and exposure unit having a mask stage for holding a mask and a wafer stage for holding a waver, a beam port for directing the radiation beam to the exposure unit, a mirror unit having a mirror for reflecting the radiation beam, a pre-alignment system for aligning the wafer relative to the wafer stage, a fine-alignment system for aligning the wafer held by the wafer stage relative to the mask held by the mask stage, a mask storage apparatus for storing the mask, a wafer storage apparatus for storing the wafer, a mask conveying apparatus for conveying the mask between the mask storage apparatus and the mask stage and a wafer conveying apparatus for conveying a wafer between the wafer storage apparatus and the wafer stage.

Alignment apparatus and SOR X-ray exposure apparatus having same

A method of supporting or mounting a precision instrument for supporting a mask and a wafer in a vacuum container is disclosed. The method is particularly applicable to an SOR X-ray exposure apparatus wherein the mask and the wafer are disposed in a desired level of the reduced pressure, and exposure energy such as X-rays contained in synchrotron radiation is projected onto the wafer through the mask to print the pattern of the mask onto the wafer. In x-y-z coordinates with the x direction being vertical, the precision instrument is hung at at least two points which are spaced in the x direction, to the inside wall of the vacuum container. At one of the supporting points, the precision instrument is given latitude of x, y and z direction movement, and at the other supporting point, the precision instrument is fixed or is given latitude only in the x direction. By this arrangement, when the vacuum container deforms by the difference between the internal and external pressures, the precision instrument can be supported correctly.

Mounting method

Disclosed are an object holding process and and an apparatus therefor in which a process strain of the object can be accurately compensated for. When the exposure operation is started, the bottom surface of the object is held by a holding unit. If the object has a strain, the process strain is calculated. Here, if the process strain is larger than a tolerance, the temperature of the object is set to an object setting temperature in a position other than an exposure position in order to contract or expand the object by a predetermined amount for a magnification correction. The bottom surface of the object is then held by the holding unit again, and the exposure of the object is performed in the exposure position.

Process for holding an object

A method of controlling a conveying device having a gripping hand for gripping an article to be conveyed and a conveying mechanism for conveying the gripping hand, wherein a pressing force applied to the gripping hand through the article being conveyed is detected and the conveying operation of the conveying mechanism is stopped when the pressing force exceeds a predetermined force.

Substrate conveying device and method of controlling the same

A method of exposing a wafer to exposure energy such as ultraviolet rays or X-rays through a mask to transfer a pattern of the mask onto the wafer, for example. The temperature of the mask and/or the wafer increases during the exposure operation by absorption of the exposure energy. While the wafer is being exposed, the temperature of the mask and/or the wafer is detected. If the temperature is going to exceed an exposable temperature range determined on the basis of the line width of the pattern to be transferred, the exposure operation is interrupted. Then, the heat accumulated in the mask and/or the wafer is removed. Thereafter, the exposure operation is resumed. This is repeated until the predetermined or required amount of exposure is reached, for one shot. By this, thermal expansion of the mask and the wafer during the exposure operation is prevented to assure the precision of the pattern transfer.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Shunichi Uzawa