Nikon Corporation

Nikon Systems Inc.

Yasuo Aoki

Hiroshi Shirasu

Yoshihiko Kudo

Takayuki Kikuchi

Motoo Koyama

Tomohide Hamada

Manabu Toguchi

Toru Kawaguchi

Takachika Shimoyama

Atsushi Hara

Iori Noda

Katsuhiro Shimatake

Takahiro Yamanaka

Masayuki Nagashima

A carrier device that carries a substrate to a noncontact holder that is configured to support the substrate in a noncontact manner is equipped with: holding pads that hold a part of the substrate at a first position located above the noncontact holder; a drive section that moves downward the holding pads holding the substrate so that the substrate is supported in a noncontact manner by the noncontact holder; and adsorption pads that hold the substrate supported in a noncontact manner by the noncontact holder, after the substrate held by the holding pads is moved by the drive section, wherein the drive section moves the holding pads from the first position to a second position where the substrate can be delivered to the adsorption pads.

Carrier device, exposure apparatus, exposure method, manufacturing method of flat-panel display, device manufacturing method, and carrying method

A liquid crystal exposure apparatus that moves a substrate supported in a noncontact manner by a noncontact holder to a projection optical system, and performs scanning exposure to the substrate equipped with: holding pads that hold a part of the substrate located at a first position above the noncontact holder; adsorption pads that hold another part of the substrate; a first drive section moves the holding pads from below the substrate direction intersecting a vertical direction, where the substrate is located at the first position held by the adsorption pads; and a second drive section that moves the adsorption pads holding the substrate, to a second position where the substrate is supported in a noncontact manner by the noncontact holder, wherein the scanning exposure, the second drive section moves the adsorption pads holding the substrate supported in a noncontact manner by the noncontact holder to the projection optical system.

Exposure apparatus, manufacturing method of flat-panel display, device manufacturing method, and exposure method

A movable body apparatus has: a substrate holder holding a substrate and can move in the X and Y-axes directions; a Y coarse movement stage movable in the Y-axis direction; a first measurement system acquiring position information on the substrate holder by heads on the substrate holder and a scale on the Y coarse movement stage; a second measurement system acquiring position information on the Y coarse movement stage by heads on the Y coarse movement stage and a scale; and a control system controlling the position of the substrate holder based on position information acquired by the first and second measurement systems. The first measurement system irradiates a measurement beam while moving the heads in the X-axis direction with respect to the scale, and the second measurement system irradiates a measurement beam while moving the heads in the Y-axis direction with respect to the scale.

Movable body apparatus, moving method, exposure apparatus, exposure method, flat-panel display manufacturing method, and device manufacturing method

A movable body apparatus that moves a substrate equipped with: a substrate holder which can move in the X-axis and the Y-axis directions; a Y coarse movement stage can move in the Y-axis direction, a first measurement system acquiring position information on the substrate holder with heads provided at the substrate holder and a scale provided at the Y coarse movement stage; a second measurement system acquiring position information on the Y coarse movement stage with heads at the Y coarse movement stage and a scale; and a control system controlling the position of the substrate holder based on position information acquired by the first and the second measurement systems, and the first measurement system irradiates a measurement beam on the scale while moving the heads in the X-axis direction, and the second measurement system irradiates a measurement beam on the scale while moving the heads in the Y-axis direction.

A liquid crystal exposure apparatus that exposes a substrate with an illumination light via a projection optical system is equipped with: a substrate holder that holds the substrate; a substrate encoder system that includes head units and scales, and acquires the position information of the substrate holder on the basis of the output of the head units; and a drive section that relatively moves one of the head units and the scales on the substrate holder with respect to the other.

An exposure apparatus that scans and exposes each of a plurality of areas on a glass substrate, by irradiating the substrate with an illumination light via a projection optical system and relatively driving the substrate with respect to the illumination light, is equipped with: a substrate holder that levitates and supports a first area of the substrate; a substrate carrier that holds the glass substrate levitated and supported by the substrate holder; an X coarse movement stage that drives the substrate holder; an X voice coil motor that drives the substrate carrier; and a controller that controls the X coarse movement stage and the X voice coil motor so that the substrate holder and the substrate carrier are driven, respectively, in scanning exposure. Accordingly, an exposure apparatus with improved position controllability of an object can be provided.

A substrate stage device that moves a substrate has: a noncontact holder that supports the substrate in a noncontact manner; a first drive section that moves the noncontact holder; scale plates that serve as a reference of movement of the noncontact holder; a first measurement section that has scale plates and Y heads, one of the scale plates and the Y heads being provided at the noncontact holder and the other of the scale plates and the Y heads being provided between the scale plates and the noncontact holder, and that measures position information of the Y heads; a second measurement section that measures position information of the other of the scale plates and the Y heads; and a position measurement system that obtains position information of the noncontact holder on the basis of the position information measured by the first and the second measurement sections.

Movable body apparatus, exposure apparatus, manufacturing method of flat-panel display and device manufacturing method, and movement method of object

Movable body apparatus, moving method, exposure apparatus, exposure method, flat-panel display manufacturing method , and device manufacturing method

A substrate stage device of an exposure apparatus is equipped with: a noncontact holder that supports, in a noncontact manner, a first area and at least a partial area of a second area, of a substrate, the second area being arranged side by side with the first area in the Y-axis direction; a substrate carrier that holds the substrate held in a noncontact manner by the noncontact holder, at a position not overlapping the noncontact holder in the X-axis direction; Y linear actuators and Y voice coil motors that relatively move the substrate carrier with respect to the noncontact holder in the Y-axis direction; X voice coil motors that move the substrate carrier in the X-axis direction; and actuators that move the noncontact holder in the X-axis direction.

Exposure apparatus, exposure method, manufacturing method of flat-panel display, and device manufacturing method

A movable body apparatus is provided with: a substrate holder which holds a substrate and which can move in the X- and Y-axis directions; a Y coarse movement stage which can move in the Y-axis direction; a first measurement system which acquires position information on substrate holder by means of heads provided on substrate holder and a scale provided on Y coarse movement stage; a second measurement system which acquires position information on Y coarse movement stage by means of heads provided on Y coarse movement stage and a scale; and a control system which controls the position of substrate holder based on position information acquired by first and second measurement systems. The first measurement system irradiates a measurement beam while moving heads in X-axis direction with respect to the scale, and second measurement system irradiates a measurement beam while moving heads in Y-axis direction with respect to the scale.

A carrying method of carrying a substrate with a substrate holder, including: holding a part of the substrate located above the substrate holder using holding pads; controlling and driving downward the holding pads holding the substrate so that the substrate is supported on the support surface of the substrate holder, when releasing the hold of an other part of the substrate by a substrate carry-in hand that holds the other part of the substrate located above the substrate holder. Accordingly, the substrate carriage to the substrate holder can be swiftly performed.

Object carrier device, exposure apparatus, manufacturing method of flat-panel display, device manufacturing method, object carrying method, and exposure method

In a substrate stage, when a Y coarse movement stage moves in the Y-axis direction, an X coarse movement stage, a weight cancellation device, and an X guide move integrally in the Y-axis direction with the Y coarse movement stage, and when the X coarse movement stage moves in the X-axis direction on the Y coarse movement stage, the weight cancellation device move on the X guide in the X-axis direction integrally with the X coarse movement stage. Because the X guide is provided extending in the X-axis direction while covering the movement range of the weight cancellation device in the X-axis direction, the weight cancellation device is constantly supported by the X guide, regardless of its position. Accordingly, a substrate can be guided along the XY plane with good accuracy.

Exposure apparatus, movable body apparatus, flat-panel display manufacturing method, and device manufacturing method

A movable body apparatus includes: a substrate holder which can move in the X-axis and Y-axis directions; a Y coarse movement stage which can move in the Y-axis direction; a first measurement system which acquires position information on the substrate holder by heads on the substrate holder and a scale on the Y coarse movement stage; a second measurement system which acquires position information on the Y coarse movement stage by heads on the Y coarse movement stage and a scale; and a control system which controls the position of the substrate holder based on position information acquired by the first and second measurement systems. The first measurement system irradiates a measurement beam while moving the heads in the X-axis direction with respect to the scale, and the second measurement system irradiates a measurement beam while moving the heads in the Y-axis direction with respect to the scale.

A substrate stage and an empty-weight canceling mechanism that supports an empty weight of the substrate stage are made up of separate bodies. Accordingly, the size and weight of the substrate stage (a structure including the substrate stage) can be reduced, compared with the case where the substrate stage and the empty-weight canceling mechanism are integrally configured. Further, due to movement of an X coarse movement stage and a Y coarse movement stage by an X drive mechanism and a Y drive mechanism, the substrate stage is driven in an XY plane and also the empty-weight canceling mechanism that supports the empty weight of the substrate stage is driven. With this operation, the substrate stage can be driven without difficulty even when the substrate stage and the empty-weight canceling mechanism are configured of separate bodies.

Movable body apparatus, pattern forming apparatus and pattern forming method, device manufacturing method, manufacturing method of movable body apparatus, and movable body drive method

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Zushi, Japan

Yasuo Aoki