Exposure unit, exposure system and device manufacturing method
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsTakashi Nakamura, Yasuyoshi Yamada, Satoshi Kyotoku
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A network type exposure unit connected via a communication network to other exposure units or to an information processor determines whether or not exposure work information of the instructed kind of exposure work is in the storage thereof. When the instructed exposure work information is determined to be non-existent, the unit inquires of the other exposure units or a host equipment whether or not there is therein the exposure work information, and decides executability of the exposure work requested to be started from the result thereof. The exposure work information can be transferred between arbitrary units, thereby alleviating complexity of maintenance and management of the exposure work information.
Claims36
An exposure unit for performing exposure processing in which a pattern on a mask is print-exposed onto a substrate on the basis of exposure work information, said exposure unit comprising:
- communication means for performing communication with external units;
- determining means for determining whether or not said exposure unit has specified work information;
- inquiring means for inquiring of an external unit via said communication means about a presence or an absence of work information when said determining means determines a non-existence of said specified work information;
- and
- deciding means for deciding whether or not the exposure processing based on said specified work information is executable on the basis of the result of the inquiry by said inquiring means.
An exposure unit for performing exposure processing in which a pattern on a mask is print-exposed onto a substrate on the basis of exposure work information, said exposure unit comprising:
- communication means for performing communication with external units;
- determining means for determining whether or not said exposure unit has specified work information;
- inquiring means for inquiring of an external unit via said communication means about a presence or an absence of work information when said determining means determines a non-existence of said specified work information;
- and
- receiving means for receiving said specified work information via said communication means from an external unit having given a response notifying of the presence of said specified work information.
An exposure unit for performing a specified exposure processing, said exposure unit comprising:
- communication means capable of being connected to a network having a server unit;
- determining means for determining whether or not work information necessary for executing the specified exposure processing is present in said unit;
- requesting means which, when said determining means determines that the necessary work information is not existent in said unit, requests said work information via said network to said server unit;
- receiving means for receiving the work information transmitted via said communication means from said server unit in response to said request by said requesting means;
- and
- exposing means for executing said specified exposure processing in which a pattern on a mask is print-exposed onto a substrate on the basis of the work information received by said receiving means.
An exposure system provided with a plurality of exposure units for conducting exposure processing in which a pattern on a mask is print-exposed onto a substrate on the basis of exposure work information, said system comprising:
- communication means communicably connecting said plurality of exposure units and a host equipment and giving an exposure work instruction to the host equipment;
- determining means for determining, when said host equipment specifies an exposure unit and work information, whether or not the specified exposure unit has said work information;
- searching means for searching, when said determining means determines a non-existence of the specified work information, for a unit having said work information from among said plurality of exposure units and said host equipment;
- and
- deciding means for deciding whether or not the exposure processing based on said specified work information is executable by said system, on the basis of the result of the search by said searching means.
An exposure system provided with a plurality of exposure units for performing exposure processing in which a pattern on a mask is print-exposed onto a substrate on the basis of exposure work information, said system comprising:
- communication means which communicably connects said plurality of exposure units to said host equipment giving an exposure work instruction thereto;
- determining means for determining, when an exposure unit and work information are specified by said host equipment, whether or not the specified exposure unit has said work information;
- searching means for searching, when said determining means determines that said specified work information is non-existent, for a unit having said work information from among said plurality of exposure units and said host equipment;
- and
- transmitting means for transmitting said specified work information from the unit searched for by said searching means via said communication means to said specified exposure unit.
An exposure system having a plurality of exposure units and at least one server, said system comprising:
- communication means including a network communicably connecting said plurality of exposure units and said server;
- determining means for determining whether or not the work information necessary for executing the exposure processing specified for one of said plurality of exposure units is present in said specified exposure unit;
- acquiring means for acquiring, when said determining means determines that the necessary work information is non-existent in said exposure unit, said work information via said server via said communication means;
- and
- exposing means for executing said specified exposure processing in which a pattern on a mask is print-exposed onto a substrate on the basis of the work information acquired by said acquiring means.
A control method of an exposure unit having communication means for conducting communication with an external unit and performing exposure processing in which a pattern on a mask is print-exposed onto a substrate on the basis of the exposure work information, said method comprising:
- a determining step of determining whether or not said exposure unit has the specified work information;
- an inquiring step of inquiring of an external unit via said communication means about a presence or an absence of said work information when it is determined in said determining step that the specified work information is non-existent;
- and
- a deciding step of deciding whether or not an exposure processing based on said specified work information is executable, on the basis of the result of an inquiry in said inquiring step.
A control method of an exposure unit having communication means for conducting communication with an external unit and performing exposure processing in which a pattern on a mask is print-exposed onto a substrate on the basis of the exposure work information, said method comprising:
- a determining step of determining whether or not said exposure unit has specified work information;
- an inquiring step of inquiring of an external unit via said communication means about a presence or an absence of said work information when it is determined in said determining step that the specified work information is non-existent;
- and
- a receiving step of receiving, upon receipt of an inquiry in said inquiring step, said specified work information via said communication means from an external unit having given a response showing a presence of said specified work information.
A control method of an exposure unit having communication means capable of being connected to a network having a server and performing a specified exposure processing, said method comprising:
- a determining step for determining whether or not work information necessary for executing said specified exposure processing is present in said unit;
- a requesting step of requesting, when it is determined in said determining step that the necessary work information is non-existent in said unit, said work information via said network to said server;
- a receiving step of receiving the work information transmitted via said communication means from said server in response to the request in said requesting step;
- and
- an exposing step of executing said specified exposure processing in which a pattern on a mask is print-exposed onto a substrate on the basis of the work information received in said receiving step.
A control method of an exposure system which is provided with a plurality of exposure units for performing exposure processing in which a pattern on a mask is print-exposed onto a substrate on the basis of exposure work information, a host equipment giving exposure work information to said plurality of exposure units, and communication means communicably connecting them, said method comprising:
- a determining step of determining, when said host equipment specifies an exposure unit and work information, whether or not the specified exposure unit has said work information;
- a searching step of searching, when non-existence of the specified work information is determined in said determining step, for a unit having said work information from among said plurality of exposure units and said host equipment;
- and
- a deciding step of deciding whether or not the exposure processing based on said specified work information is executable in said system on the basis of the result of the search in said searching step.
A control method of an exposure system which is provided with a plurality of exposure units for performing exposure processing in which a pattern on a mask is print-exposed onto a substrate on the basis of exposure work information, a host equipment giving exposure work to said plurality of exposure units, and communication means communicably connecting them, said method comprising:
- a determining step of determining, when said host equipment specifies an exposure unit and work information, whether or not the specified exposure unit has said work information;
- a searching step of searching, when non-existence of the specified work information is determined in said determining step, for a unit having said work information from among said plurality of exposure units and said host equipment;
- and
- a transmitting step of transmitting said specified work information from a unit found in said searching step via said communication means to said specified exposure unit.
A control method of an exposure system having a plurality of exposure units, at least one server, and communication means including a network communicably connecting them, said method comprising:
- a determining step of determining whether or not work information necessary for executing the exposure processing specified for one of said plurality of exposure units is present in said specified exposure unit;
- an acquiring step of acquiring, when non-existence of the necessary work information in said exposure unit is determined in said determining step, said work information via said communication means from said server;
- and
- an exposing step of executing said specified exposure processing in which a pattern on a mask is print-exposed onto a substrate on the basis of the work information acquired in said acquiring step.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.