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US 7,804,576 B2Granted
Maintenance method, maintenance device, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method
AssigneeNikon Corporation
InventorsTomoharu Fujiwara, Yasufumi Nishii, Kenichi Shiraishi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An exposure apparatus is provided with a nozzle member that has at least one of a supply outlet which supplies the liquid and a collection inlet which recovers the liquid. By immersing the nozzle member in cleaning liquid LK stored in container, the nozzle member is cleaned.
Claims38
A maintenance method comprising:
- placing a container of a maintenance system under a nozzle member in an exposure apparatus in which a liquid immersion region of a first liquid is formed on a substrate to expose the substrate via the first liquid, the nozzle member being used for forming the liquid immersion region and having at least one of a first supply outlet that supplies the first liquid and a collection inlet that recovers the first liquid;
- and
- immersing the nozzle member in a second liquid in the container, and in order to clean the nozzle member, the second liquid being supplied to the container via a supply outlet provided at the container.
A maintenance device comprising:
- a container adapted to be placed under a nozzle member in an exposure apparatus in which a liquid immersion region of a first liquid is formed on a substrate to expose the substrate via the first liquid, the nozzle member being used for forming the liquid immersion region and having at least one of a supply outlet that supplies the first liquid and a collection inlet that recovers the first liquid,
- the container being configured in order that the nozzle member can be cleaned by immersion of the nozzle member in a second liquid in the container;
- and
- a supply outlet provided at the container and via which the second liquid is supplied to the container placed in the exposure apparatus.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.