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Patent EP0358467A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
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EP0358467A2 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Exposure apparatus and control of the same

Assignee: Canon Inc
•
Filing: 1989-09-06
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2009-09-06
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Abstract

Abstract Exposure apparatus and control of the same, for exposing a semiconductor wafer to a mask with a predetermined radiation energy, for manufacture of semiconductor devices, is disclosed. During a time period in which the mask-to-wafer alignment or the exposure of the wafer to the mask is made, the operation of any other driving device that has no participation of the aligning operation or the exposure operation, is prohibited. This ensured high-precision pattern printing.

Inventors

  • 👤 Eigo Kawakami
  • 👤 Kunitaka Ozawa
  • 👤 Koji Uda
  • 👤 Isamu Shimoda
  • 👤 Shunichi Uzawa

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-07 17:38
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03F; G03F7/00; G03F7/70; G03F7/70691; G03F7/70733; G03F7/7075; G03F7/708; G03F7/70858; G03F7/709

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim 77 words
An exposure apparatus for printing on a workpiece a pattern formed on an original, said apparatus comprising: exposure means for aligning the original and the workpiece, and/or for exposing the workpiece to the original with a radiation energy; driving means having no participation to the aligning operation and/or exposure operation of said exposure means; and control means operable to prohibit the operation of said driving means when said exposure means performs the aligning operation and/or exposure operation.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 77 words
An exposure apparatus for printing on a workpiece a pattern formed on an original, said apparatus comprising: exposure means for aligning the original and the workpiece, and/or for exposing the workpiece to the original with a radiation energy; driving means having no participation to the aligning operation and/or exposure operation of said exposure means; and control means operable to prohibit the operation of said driving means when said exposure means performs the aligning operation and/or exposure operation.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 19 words
An apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein said exposure means is effective to conduct step-and-­repeat exposure of the workpiece.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 30 words
An apparatus according to Claim 2, wherein said driving means is operable to convey the workpiece to an exposure position from a position at which the workpiece can be stored.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 94 words
An exposure apparatus for printing on a workpiece a pattern formed on an original, said apparatus comprising: exposure means for aligning the original and the workpiece, and/or exposing the workpiece to the original with a radiation energy; servo driving means having no participation to the aligning operation and/or exposing operation of said exposure means; and control means operable to change a servo characteristic of said servo driving means, between when said exposure means performs the aligning operation and/or exposure operation and when said exposure operation does not perform the aligning operation or exposure operation.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 94 words
An exposure apparatus for printing on a workpiece a pattern formed on an original, said apparatus comprising: exposure means for aligning the original and the workpiece, and/or exposing the workpiece to the original with a radiation energy; servo driving means having no participation to the aligning operation and/or exposing operation of said exposure means; and control means operable to change a servo characteristic of said servo driving means, between when said exposure means performs the aligning operation and/or exposure operation and when said exposure operation does not perform the aligning operation or exposure operation.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 38 words
An apparatus according to Claim 4, wherein said control means operates to change the servo characteristic, when said exposure means performs the aligning operation and/or the exposure operation, so that vibration by said servo driving means is attenuated.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 28 words
An apparatus according to Claim 4, wherein said servo driving means conveys the workpiece to an exposure position from a position at which the workpiece can be stored.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 89 words
An apparatus according to Claim 4, wherein said workpiece comprises a semiconductor wafer and wherein said servo driving means includes a wafer supplying hand and a wafer collecting hand, said wafer supplying hand being operable to convey the wafer from a wafer supply station to an orientation flat detecting station and to convey the wafer from said orientation flat detecting station to a wafer stage of said exposure means, and said wafer collecting hand being operable to convey the wafer from said wafer stage to a wafer collecting station.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 19 words
An apparatus according to Claim 4, wherein said exposure means is operable to execute step-and-­repeat exposure of the workpiece.
Claim 11
Independent Claim 72 words
A method of controlling an exposure apparatus for printing on a workpiece a pattern formed on an original, said method comprising the steps of: aligning the original and the workpiece, and/or exposing the workpiece to the original with a radiation energy; and prohibiting an operation of driving means having no participation to the aligning operation and/or exposure operation of exposure means, when the exposure means performs the aligning operation and/or exposure operation.
Claim 12
Independent Claim 72 words
A method of controlling an exposure apparatus for printing on a workpiece a pattern formed on an original, said method comprising the steps of: aligning the original and the workpiece, and/or exposing the workpiece to the original with a radiation energy; and prohibiting an operation of driving means having no participation to the aligning operation and/or exposure operation of exposure means, when the exposure means performs the aligning operation and/or exposure operation.
Claim 13
Independent Claim 74 words
A method of controlling an exposure apparatus for printing on a workpiece a pattern formed on an original, said method comprising the steps of: aligning the original and the workpiece, and/or exposing the workpiece to the original with a radiation energy; and changing a servo characteristic of servo driving means having no participation to the aligning operation or exposure operation of exposure means, when the exposure means performs the aligning operation or exposure operation.
Claim 14
Independent Claim 74 words
A method of controlling an exposure apparatus for printing on a workpiece a pattern formed on an original, said method comprising the steps of: aligning the original and the workpiece, and/or exposing the workpiece to the original with a radiation energy; and changing a servo characteristic of servo driving means having no participation to the aligning operation or exposure operation of exposure means, when the exposure means performs the aligning operation or exposure operation.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 149 words
In a method of manufacturing semi-conductor integrated circuits of the kind in which each of a plurality of wafers is subjected in turn to a number of process steps by which each wafer finishes with a pattern formed on it, the process steps including one or more transport and/or orientation steps and an exposure step, characterised in that the relationship between the transport and/or orientation steps on the one hand and the exposure step on the other hand is such that when the exposure step is being carried out in respect of one wafer the transport and/or orientation steps being carried out in respect of other wafers is either inhibited or so modified as to reduce the disturbance effect of those latter mentioned steps on the exposure step thus reducing any vibration to which the exposure step may be subjected and thus increasing the accuracy of the exposure step.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim 149 words
In a method of manufacturing semi-conductor integrated circuits of the kind in which each of a plurality of wafers is subjected in turn to a number of process steps by which each wafer finishes with a pattern formed on it, the process steps including one or more transport and/or orientation steps and an exposure step, characterised in that the relationship between the transport and/or orientation steps on the one hand and the exposure step on the other hand is such that when the exposure step is being carried out in respect of one wafer the transport and/or orientation steps being carried out in respect of other wafers is either inhibited or so modified as to reduce the disturbance effect of those latter mentioned steps on the exposure step thus reducing any vibration to which the exposure step may be subjected and thus increasing the accuracy of the exposure step.

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