Exposure apparatus, device manufacturing method, gas substituting apparatus, and gas substituting method
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorHitoshi Nakano
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An exposure apparatus includes a support for holding (i) a pellicle-equipped reticle, the pellicle-equipped reticle including a pellicle frame having an opening, and (ii) a nozzle disposed in an opposed relation to the opening formed in the pellicle frame of the reticle held on the support, the nozzle being used to substitute an inert gas for gas in a pellicle space surrounding the reticle, the pellicle frame and a pellicle film. By purging out air including impurities from the pellicle space with the inert gas, a reduction in transmittance of exposure light through the pellicle space can be suppressed and the exposure operation can be performed with stability.
Claims33
An exposure apparatus comprising:
- a support for holding a pellicle-equipped reticle, the pellicle-equipped reticle including a pellicle frame having an opening;
- and
- a nozzle for causing an inert gas to flow through the opening formed in the pellicle frame of the reticle held on said support at a controlled flow rate to replace gas in a pellicle space surrounding the reticle, the pellicle frame and a pellicle film;
- and
- a moving member for moving the nozzle into an aligned relation to the opening.
A gas substituting apparatus comprising:
- a support for holding a pellicle-equipped reticle, the pellicle-equipped reticle including a pellicle frame having an opening;
- and
- a nozzle for causing an inert gas to flow through the opening formed in the pellicle frame of the reticle held on said support at a controlled flow rate to replace gas in a pellicle space surrounding the reticle, the pellicle frame and a pellicle film;
- and
- a moving member for moving the nozzle into an aligned relation to the opening.
A gas substituting method comprising the steps of:
- holding a pellicle-equipped reticle, the pellicle-equipped reticle including a pellicle frame having an opening;
- moving a nozzle in an aligned relation to the opening formed in the pellicle frame by a moving member;
- and using the nozzle to cause an inert gas to flow through the opening at a controlled flow rate to replace gas in a pellicle space surrounding the reticle, the pellicle frame and a pellicle film.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.