The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 14, 2004
Filed:
Dec. 08, 2000
Tatsuo Sato, Tokyo, JP;
Nikon Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An exposure apparatus includes a preliminary chamber which accommodates a mask on which a pellicle is attached, an exhaust device which exhausts a gas from the preliminary chamber, a deformation measuring device which measures the deformation of the pellicle, and a control section which regulates the amount of a gas to be exhausted from the preliminary chamber. At the time of replacing a gas in a space by exhausting the gas from the preliminary chamber, the control section adjusts the exhaust amount of the gas from the preliminary chamber based on the result of the measurement made by the deformation measurement device so that the deformation of the pellicle is within a predetermined range. This can ensure stable gas replacement while preventing the pellicle from being damaged.