Photocopying inventions 10/06

20060238726 - Method for scanning and processing a negative film and apparatus using the same: A method for scanning and processing a negative film used in a scanner is disclosed. The method includes scanning the negative film to generate an original image; performing a calibration algorithm on the original image according to a calibration curve; and performing a negative algorithm on the calibration image by...

20060238727 - Immersion lithography process, and structure used for the same and patterning process: An immersion lithography process is described. First, a photoresist layer on a material layer is formed. Then, an acid compensation layer is formed on the photoresist layer. An immersion exposure step is performed on the acid compensation layer and the photoresist layer. The acid compensation layer contains a photo-acid generator...

20060238728 - Optical error minimization in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus: Provided are systems and methods for overcoming optical errors occurring from reticle and other hardware usage in a semiconductor fabrication apparatus. The systems and methods minimize optical errors, such as those resulting from gravitational sag on a reticle or mask, for a pattern being projected onto a wafer. The reduced...

20060238730 - Exposure apparatus and method for producing device: An exposure apparatus exposes a substrate P by locally filling a side of an image plane of a projection optical system PL with a liquid 50 and projecting an image of a pattern onto the substrate P through the liquid 50 and the projection optical system PL. The exposure apparatus...

20060238729 - Exposure apparatus, optical projection apparatus and a method for adjusting the optical projection apparatus: An exposure apparatus includes a plurality of projection optical systems, each of which has optical elements arranged in an optical path between a first surface and a second surface and forms a radiation pattern from the first surface onto an exposure field on the second surface via the optical elements....

20060238732 - High-na unit-magnification projection optical system having a beamsplitter: A high numerical-aperture (NA) unit-magnification projection optical system (10) is disclosed. The optical system includes along an optical axis (A1) a concave mirror (M), a lens group (G) and a beam splitter (20), which separates the object and image planes (OP, IP). The optical system can be corrected for an...

20060238731 - Lithogaphic apparatus and positioning apparatus: A lithographic apparatus comprises a substrate table to hold a substrate, a reference structure and a measurement system to measure a position of the substrate table with respect to the reference structure. The measurement system comprises a first measurement system to measure a position of the substrate table with respect...

20060238733 - Lithographic apparatus and positioning apparatus: A lithographic apparatus comprises a substrate table to hold a substrate, a reference structure and a measurement system to measure a position of the substrate table with respect to the reference structure. The measurement system comprises a first measurement system to measure a position of the substrate table with respect...

20060238737 - Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method using the same: An exposure apparatus comprises an illumination optical system adapted to illuminate a reflection mask with light from an exposure light source, and a projection optical system adapted to project a pattern image of the reflection mask disposed in an object plane onto a substrate disposed in an image plane. The...

20060238734 - Exposure apparatus, method applied to the apparatus, and device manufacturing method: An exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate to light via an original plate includes a projection optical system configured to project a pattern of the original plate onto the substrate, a liquid immersion mechanism configured to generate a liquid immersion state in which the gap between the projection optical system...

20060238736 - Measuring apparatus and exposure apparatus having the same: A measuring apparatus used for an exposure apparatus that includes an illumination optical system that illuminates a reticle using light from a light source, a reticle stage that supports and drives the reticle, and a projection optical system that projects a pattern of the reticle onto a plate measures an...

20060238735 - Optical system of a projection exposure apparatus: An optical system of a microlithographic exposure apparatus has a pupil plane, a field plane and at least one intrinsically birefringent optical element that is positioned in or in close proximity to the field plane. A force application unit exerts mechanical forces to a correction optical element, which is positioned...

20060238738 - Projecting exposure apparatus: A spatial light modulator performs spatial light modulation of light produced by a light source. An image-side telecentric image foaming optical system forms an image of a two-dimensional pattern of the light, which has been obtained from the spatial lightmodulation performed by the spatial light modulator, on a photosensitive material....

20060238739 - Lithographic apparatus, position quantity controller and control method: A lithographic apparatus comprises a first movable element and a first control system to control a position quantity thereof. Also, the lithographic apparatus comprises a second movable element and a second control system to control a position quantity thereof. To reduce a tracking error, i.e., a relative error between the...

20060238740 - Electronic device and support mechanism thereof: An electronic device and support mechanism thereof. A first body is pivoted to a second body and capable of rotating between a first position and a second position with respect to the second body to close or open the electronic device respectively. A support member is connected to the first...

20060232753 - Liquid immersion lithography system with tilted liquid flow: A liquid immersion lithography system including a projection optical system for directing electromagnetic radiation onto a substrate, and a showerhead for delivering liquid flow between the projection optical system and the substrate. The showerhead includes an injection nozzle and a retrieval nozzle located at different heights. The liquid flow is...

20060232754 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A lithographic apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus includes an illuminator for conditioning a beam of radiation, and a first support for supporting a patterning device that serves to pattern the beam of radiation according to a desired pattern. The apparatus also includes a second support for supporting a substrate, a...

20060232755 - Imaging system and method employing beam folding: A maskless lithography system is disclosed that includes a spatial light modulator, first and second imaging areas, and first folding optics. The spatial light modulator receives illumination from an illumination source and provides a modulated illumination beam having a first cross-sectional line length in a length-wise direction and a first...

20060232756 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: In a lithographic projection apparatus, a structure surrounds a space between the projection system and a substrate table of the lithographic projection apparatus. Gas is used between the structure and the surface of the substrate to contain liquid in the space....

20060232758 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A lithographic apparatus comprising an illumination system for supplying a plurality of beams of radiation, an array of individually controllable elements for imparting to each beam a pattern in its cross section, a substrate table for supporting a substrate, and projection systems for projecting the patterned beams onto the substrate....

20060232757 - Projection exposure apparatus, cleaning and maintenance methods of a projection exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method: A projection exposure apparatus that exposes a substrate with a liquid interposed between a surface of the substrate and an optical element on the substrate side of a projection optical system; includes liquid supply and discharge mechanisms, which supply the liquid via a liquid supply tube as they recover the...

20060232759 - Image forming apparatus for improving image quality: An image forming apparatus includes a sheet feed unit having a sheet feed port, an image forming unit, a sheet position detector, a mode selector, and a memory unit. The sheet feed unit feeds a recording sheet. The image forming unit forms an image on the recording sheet. The sheet...

20060227305 - Multi-functional product having a releasing mechanism to activate the opening of a cover relative to a main body: A multi-functional product is provided. Such a multi-functional product comprises a main body, a cover on which at least one hook is formed and to which an elastic force is applied in a direction to open the cover away from the main body, a locking lever that locks the cover...

20060227306 - Projection optical system adjustment method, prediction method, evaluation method, adjustment method, exposure method and exposure apparatus, program, and device manufacturing method: Wavefront aberration of a projection optical system is measured and information on the wavefront aberration is obtained (step 102). Furthermore, a pattern of a reticle is transferred onto a wafer via a projection optical system (steps 104 to 108). Then, the waver on which the pattern is transferred is developed,...

20060227308 - Dual stage lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: The invention relates to a dual stage lithographic apparatus, wherein to substrate stages are constructed and arranged for mutual cooperation in order to perform a joint scan movement for bringing the lithographic apparatus from a first situation, wherein immersion liquid is confined between a first substrate held by the first...

20060227309 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A lithographic apparatus includes a displacement measuring system configured to measure the position of a substrate table in at least three degrees of freedom. The displacement measuring system includes a first x-sensor configured to measure the position of the substrate table in a first direction and a first and a...

20060227307 - Lithographic apparatus, patterning assembly and contamination estimation method: A lithographic apparatus includes a pattern support to support a patterning device, the patterning device to impart a radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section to form a patterned radiation beam. The lithographic apparatus further includes a position measurement system to perform a position measurement of a reference mark...

20060227310 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A method and apparatus make use of data representing changes in wavelength of a radiation source to provide control of focal plane position or to provide correction of sensor data. In the first aspect, the wavelength variation data is provided to control systems that control focus by moving apparatus components...

20060227311 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method utilizing plural patterning devices: A lithographic apparatus comprises an illumination system, a patterning system, a projection system, and a combining system. The illumination system supplies a beam of radiation. The patterning system patterns the beam. The patterning system comprises at least two arrays of individually controllable elements arranged to be illuminated by respective portions...

20060227313 - Exposure apparatus: An exposure apparatus which exposes substrates to a pattern on a master. The apparatus includes first, second and third chucks which hold the substrates, a first fine adjustment stage which holds the first chuck to perform fine driving, a second fine adjustment stage which holds the second chuck to perform...

20060227312 - Exposure method, substrate stage, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method: In exposing substrate by projecting an image of a pattern onto substrate via projection optical system and liquid, side surface and underside surface of substrate are applied with liquid-repellent treatment. By such a configuration, an exposure method by which when exposing edge areas of the substrate, the exposure can be...

20060227314 - System and method for automatically mounting a pellicle assembly on a photomask: A system and method for automatically mounting a pellicle assembly on a photomask are disclosed. The method includes loading a photomask into a mounting apparatus and loading a pellicle assembly into a back plate of the mounting apparatus opposite the photomask. The back plate includes at least one load cell...

20060221315 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A liquid supply system for an immersion lithographic apparatus provides a laminar flow of immersion liquid between a final element of the projection system and a substrate. A control system minimizes the chances of overflowing and an extractor includes an array of outlets configured to minimize vibrations....

20060221314 - Lithographic apparatus, device manufacturing method, and device manufactured thereby: A lithographic apparatus includes a patterning device for patterning a beam of radiation, a projection system for projecting the patterned beam of radiation onto a substrate, a gas purged sealing aperture extending between different zones of the apparatus, and a gas supply arrangement for supplying a mixture of at least...

20060221317 - Immersion lithography method and device for illuminating a substrate: The invention relates to an immersion lithography method which illuminates a substrate positioned on a carrier. When a substrate is illuminated, an immersion fluid is introduced between a reproducing element and the substrate and the field depth or the resolution, or both, are adjusted by varying the distance in the...

20060221316 - Optical element, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method: An optical element for an exposure apparatus is disclosed, where the exposure apparatus has a projection optical system configured to project a pattern of an original plate illuminated with extreme ultraviolet light from a light source onto a substrate and exposes the substrate to the light via the original plate...

20060221318 - Exposure apparatus: An exposure apparatus which irradiates, with an exposure beam through a projection optical system, a photosensitive agent applied to a substrate to form a latent image pattern on the photosensitive agent is disclosed. The exposure apparatus includes a substrate stage which drives the substrate, a focus measurement unit which obliquely...

20060221319 - Exposure system and exposure method: An exposure system for exposing a substrate to radiation is disclosed. The system comprises an exposure unit configured to expose the substrate to radiation, an exposure chamber configured to accommodate the exposure unit, an alignment measurement unit arranged outside the exposure chamber and configured to measure a position of an...

20060221320 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method utilizing multiple die designs on a substrate: A lithographic system in which multiple variations of a basic device design can be generated without substantially increasing the cost of the data path hardware....

20060221321 - Exposure device with spatial light modulator and neutral density filters: Exposure device for writing mixed data onto a photosensitive support comprising: a light source (10), supplying an exposure light; a first two-dimension pixel matrix modulator (50), and a neutral optical filter means (12) having at least two different optical densities, the modulator and the filter being arranged in series on...

20060221322 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method utilizing data filtering: An apparatus and method are used to form patterns on a substrate. The comprise a projection system, a patterning device, a low-pass filter, and a data manipulation device. The projection system projects a beam of radiation onto the substrate as an array of sub-beams of radiation. The patterning device modulates...

20060221323 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method utilizing a positioning device for positioning an object table: A positioning device for positioning an object table comprises a frame for supporting the object table in a first direction, a motor unit constructed and arranged for exerting a first force on the object table in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction and a second force on...