Exposure apparatus
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorEiichi Murakami
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed is an exposure apparatus for printing, by exposure, a pattern of an original on a substrate, which includes a housing tightly filled with a predetermined ambience and for accommodating therein at least a portion of an exposure light optical axis, and a detection system having an optical system, wherein a portion of a light path of the detection system is disposed in a first space enclosed by the housing, and wherein at least another portion of the detection system including an electric element thereof is disposed in a second space outside the housing.
Claims24
An exposure apparatus for printing, by exposure, a pattern of an original on a substrate, said apparatus comprising:
- a housing tightly filled with a predetermined ambience and for accommodating therein at least a portion of an exposure light optical axis;
- and
- a detection system having an optical system, wherein a portion of a light path of said detection system is disposed in a first space enclosed by said housing, and wherein at least another portion of said detection system including an electric element thereof is disposed in a second space outside said housing.
A device manufacturing method, comprising the steps of:
- placing a group of production machines for various processes, including an exposure apparatus for printing, by exposure, a pattern of an original on a substrate, in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, wherein the exposure apparatus includes (i) a housing tightly filled with a predetermined ambience and for accommodating therein at least a portion of an exposure light optical axis, and (ii) a detection system having an optical system, wherein a portion of the detection system is disposed in a first space enclosed by the housing, and wherein another portion of the detection system is disposed in a second space outside the housing;
- and
- manufacturing a semiconductor device through plural processes using the production machine group.
A semiconductor manufacturing factory, comprising:
- a group of production machines for various processes, including an exposure apparatus for printing, by exposure, a pattern of an original on a substrate, wherein said exposure apparatus includes (i) a housing tightly filled with a predetermined ambience and for accommodating therein at least a portion of an exposure light optical axis, and (ii) a detection system having an optical system, wherein a portion of said detection system is disposed in a first space enclosed by the housing, and wherein another portion of said detection system is disposed in a second space outside the housing;
- a local area network for connecting the production machine group;
- and
- a gateway for enabling an access from the local area network to an external network outside the factory;
- wherein information related to at least one production machine of the production machine group can be data communicated.
A method of executing maintenance for an exposure apparatus, provided in a semiconductor manufacturing factory and for printing, by exposure, a pattern of an original on a substrate, said method comprising the steps of:
- preparing, by a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus, a maintenance database connected to an external network outside the semiconductor manufacturing factory, wherein the exposure apparatus includes (i) a housing tightly filled with a predetermined ambience and for accommodating therein at least a portion of an exposure light optical axis, and (ii) a detection system having an optical system, wherein a portion of the detection system is disposed in a first space enclosed by the housing, and wherein another portion of said detection system is disposed in a second space outside the housing;
- admitting an access from the semiconductor manufacturing factory to the maintenance database through the external network;
- and
- transmitting maintenance information stored in the maintenance database to the semiconductor manufacturing factory through the external network.
An exposure apparatus for printing, by exposure, a pattern of an original on a substrate, said apparatus comprising:
- a housing tightly filled with a predetermined ambience and for accommodating therein at least a portion of an exposure light optical axis;
- a detection system having an optical system, wherein a portion of the detection system is disposed in a first space enclosed by the housing, and wherein another portion of the detection system is disposed in a second space outside the housing;
- and
- a display;
- a network interface;
- and
- a computer for executing a network software;
- wherein maintenance information related to said exposure apparatus can be data communicated from the network interface and through a network, by use of said display and said computer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.