Photocopying inventions 03/07

20070070311 - Contacts to microdevices: Provided are microdevices, e.g. integrated circuits, with contact bumps and processes for making the same. The microdevices may have contact bumps on two or more sides of the microdevices. Also provided are stacks of microdevices.... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20070070317 - Exposure apparatus: An exposure apparatus includes a projection optical system for projecting a pattern of a reticle onto a substrate to be exposed, via a liquid that is filled in a space between the substrate and a final lens that is closest to the substrate, a movement restricting part for restricting a... Agent: Morgan & Finnegan, L.L.P.

20070070314 - Exposure system, exposure method and semiconductor device manufacturing method: In performing exposure for forming patterns being fine as well as having great density difference, adequate corrections are to be enabled for suppressing the influence from peripheries of these patterns to be a minimum and for suppressing the dimension variation within the plane of semiconductor substrate or among semiconductor substrates... Agent: Westerman, Hattori, Daniels & Adrian, LLP

20070070312 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A lithographic apparatus comprises a liquid supply system to supply an immersion liquid between a downstream lens of a projection system of the lithographic apparatus and a substrate. The lithographic apparatus further comprises a closing element to close an underside of the liquid supply system thus preventing a leaking away... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20070070313 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A lithographic apparatus including a projection system configured to project a patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of a substrate includes a position measuring system configured to determine the position of a movable object in at least one direction. The measuring system includes at least a first sensor arranged... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20070070315 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: Methods and apparatus for maintaining the thermal equilibrium of a substrate and an immersion lithographic apparatus are disclosed using or having a timetable comprising information regarding the position, speed and/or acceleration of the substrate; and an evaporation controller and/or condensation controller acting to decrease localized evaporation and/or increase localized condensation... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20070070318 - Lithographic process: In a lithographic process for producing microstructures by means of a direct write system, predefined areas are exposed by means of a focused beam, particularly a laser beam, in order to produce microstructures. This process is to be further developed such that structures can be produced which are smaller than... Agent: Crowell & Moring LLP Intellectual Property Group

20070070316 - Microlithographic projection exposure apparatus and measuring device for a projection lens: A microlithographic projection exposure apparatus includes a projection lens that is configured for immersion operation. For this purpose an immersion liquid is introduced into an immersion space that is located between a last lens of the projection lens on the image side and a photosensitive layer to be exposed. To... Agent: Fish & Richardson PC

20070070319 - Laser processing apparatus, exposure apparatus and exposure method: An exposure apparatus includes a stage 10 for holding a substrate 8 to be exposed; a direct writing mask 6 arranged above the substrate 8 to be exposed held by the stage 10; a repeated opening pattern in which a plurality of openings each having approximately the same size are... Agent: Nixon Peabody, LLP

20070070320 - Method for aberration evaluation in a projection system: Aberrations in an optical system can be detected and measured using a method comprised of a test target in the object plane of a projection system and imaging onto the image plane with the system. The test target comprises at least one open figure which comprises a multiple component array... Agent: Hiscock & Barclay, LLP

20070070321 - Adjustable resolution interferometric lithography system: A lithographic system includes a source of a laser beam; a beamsplitter dividing the laser beam into a plurality of beams; and a plurality of reflecting surfaces that forms interference fringes on a substrate using the plurality of beams. Resolution of the lithographic system is adjustable by adjusting angular orientation... Agent: Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox PLLC

20070070322 - Projection system for euv lithography: An EUV optical projection system includes at least six mirrors (M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6) for imaging an object (OB) to an image (IM). At least one mirror pair is preferably configured as an at least phase compensating mirror pair. The system is preferably configured to form an intermediate... Agent: Ohlandt, Greeley, Ruggiero & Perle, LLP

20070070323 - Exposure apparatus, exposure method, and device fabricating method: An exposure apparatus is provided with an optical element, which has a concave surface from which an exposure light emerges, and a surface, which is provided so that it surrounds the optical path of the exposure light. An interface of a liquid of an immersion region is held between the... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20070070324 - Lithographic apparatus, device manufacturing method and device manufactured thereby: A lithographic apparatus arranged to transfer a pattern from a patterning structure onto a substrate is disclosed that includes a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate and a substrate temperature conditioner configured to condition a temperature of the substrate prior to, during, or both, a transfer of the substrate... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20070070325 - Substrate transfer apparatus: A substrate transfer apparatus has pluralities of pairs of substrate support mechanisms. The substrate support mechanism includes a first roller provided on a first rotary shaft and a second roller provided on a second rotary shaft, the substrate support mechanism transfers a substrate in a transfer direction while supporting the... Agent: Rankin, Hill, Porter & Clark LLP

20070070326 - Control apparatus used in image forming apparatus, control method therefor, and image forming apparatus: A control apparatus used in an image forming apparatus which is capable of improving development efficiency and decreasing development cost as well. A control apparatus comprises a CPU board 100 and a relay board having I/Fs 311-314 and a CPU 301. The I/Fs 311-314 are connectable with driver boards 5001-5004,... Agent: Rossi, Kimms & Mcdowell LLP.

20070064209 - Exposure apparatus and method for manufacturing device: An exposure apparatus wherein an image of a pattern is projected onto a substrate via a projection optical system to expose the substrate, includes: a substrate moving device that is movable while holding the substrate above the projection optical system; and a liquid immersion unit that fills at least a... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20070064210 - Exposure apparatus and method for producing device: There is provided an exposure apparatus capable of forming a desirable device pattern by removing unnecessary liquid when performing exposure by projecting a pattern onto the substrate via a projection optical system and the liquid. The exposure device projects an image of the pattern onto the substrate P via the... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20070064211 - Exposure operation evaluation method for exposure apparatus and manufacturing method for semiconductor device: An exposure operation evaluation method for an exposure apparatus for arranging a predetermined number of at least one evaluation pattern in an overlapping area and printing the at least one evaluation pattern on a substrate when performing a plurality of exposures and printing on the substrate while sequentially step-moving an... Agent: Edwards & Angell, LLP

20070064212 - Projection exposure apparatus and stage unit, and exposure method: A projection exposure apparatus (100) has a substrate table (30) on which a substrate (W) is mounted that can be moved holding the substrate, a position measuring system (18 and others) that measures positional information of the substrate table, and a correction unit (19) that corrects positional deviation occurring in... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20070064213 - Lithography system and projection method: The inventions relates to a lithography system in which an electronic image pattern is delivered to a exposure tool for projecting an image to a target surface, said exposure tool comprising a control unit for controlling exposure projections, said control unit at least partly being included in the projection space... Agent: Blakely Sokoloff Taylor & Zafman

20070064214 - Exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method: An exposure apparatus illuminates a pattern with an energy beam and transfers the pattern onto a substrate via a projection optical system. The exposure apparatus includes a table on which the substrate is mounted and that can move two-dimensionally while holding the substrate. The exposure apparatus also includes a hydrostatic... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20070064215 - Removable pellicle for immersion lithography: A method of irradiating to pattern a photosensitive layer such as a resist (L2) immersed in a fluid (L3), involves applying a removable transparent layer (L4, L5), projecting the radiation onto the resist through the immersion fluid and through the transparent layer, such that imperfections in the fluid are out... Agent: Philips Intellectual Property & Standards

20070058145 - Lithographic apparatus, programmable patterning structure, device manufacturing method, and device manufactured thereby: Pixel element for a programmable patterning structure (e.g. a spatial light modulator) which can simultaneously modulate both phase and amplitude. Use of such a programmable patterning structure with lithographic projection apparatus is also described.... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20070058148 - Analysis method, exposure method, and device manufacturing method: An analysis method includes a developing process (SA60), which develops the substrate, a first measuring process (SA50), which measures the abnormalities of the pre-development substrate, a second measuring process (SA70), which measures the abnormalities of the post-development substrate, and an analyzing process (SA80), which analyzes the exposure defects of a... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20070058147 - Apparatus for and method of processing substrate subjected to exposure process: A substrate subjected to an exposure process by an exposure unit is transported into a cleaning processing unit in a substrate processing apparatus. An adjustment is made to the presence time (more specifically, the waiting time or the cleaning time) of the exposed substrate in the cleaning processing unit to... Agent: Ostrolenk Faber Gerb & Soffen

20070058146 - Exposure apparatus, exposure method, position control method, and method for producing device: Exposure apparatus EX exposes a substrate P through a liquid LQ. The exposure apparatus is provided with a substrate stage PST which can hold the substrate P, an interferometer system (43), which projects a measuring light on a reflecting plane formed on a moving mirror on the substrate stage PST,... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20070058149 - Lighting system and exposure apparatus: A lighting system and an exposure apparatus in which even if the outgoing optical axes of outgoing beams emitted from a plurality of LDs disposed on a flat plane are shifted, the efficiency of use of the beams can be improved, and the directivity of lighting can be enhanced. Diffused... Agent: Crowell & Moring LLP Intellectual Property Group

20070058150 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A uniformity controller is arranged to control a profile of a radiation intensity along the length of a target portion of a substrate so as to substantially compensate for irradiation-induced variation of the profile with respect to time. The uniformity controller includes a variable filter interposed between the illumination system... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20070058151 - Optical element for use in lithography apparatus and method of conditioning radiation beam: An optical element for effecting a desired change in incident radiation at a plane of an illumination system of a lithographic apparatus comprises an array of cells manufactured as a single unit, each cell being arranged to redirect the incident radiation in a predetermined direction. An array of polarizing regions... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20070058153 - Image improvement by using reflective mirrors between object and projection lens: An optical method is invented to improve image quality by inserting different types and numbers of mirrors in different ways between the object and the projection lens. To demonstrate this method, we use an optical lithography system in which the mask is treated as the object to describe the involved... Agent: Yijian Chen

20070058152 - Method of calibrating a lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: In calibration of overlay performance of an immersion lithographic apparatus, two sets of overlay data are obtained from exposures carried out using normal and reversed meanders. The two data sets can then be used to eliminate effects due to wafer cooling.... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20070052941 - Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method: An exposure apparatus for exposing a subject to a pattern. The apparatus includes an update system to update a parameter necessary for processing in the exposure apparatus through measurement, a setting system to set a validity period of the parameter updated by the update system, and a control system to... Agent: Fitzpatrick Cella Harper & Scinto

20070052940 - Lithographic method: In calibration of overlay performance of an immersion lithographic apparatus, two sets of overlay data are obtained from exposures carried out using, for example, normal and reversed meanders. The two data sets can then be used to eliminate effects due to substrate cooling.... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20070052939 - Pre-measurement processing method, exposure system and substrate processing apparatus: high performance and high quality micro devices, etc. are produced highly efficiently at a high throughput. Before transferring a wafer W to an exposure apparatus 200 for exposing the wafer W, marks formed on the wafer W is measured by an in-line measurement device 400 and a measurement result and/or... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, Plc

20070052942 - Substrate transport apparatus and method, exposure apparatus and exposure method, and device fabricating method: A substrate transport apparatus, which transports a substrate that has been exposed with an image of a pattern through a projection optical system and a liquid, comprises a substrate support member that supports the substrate, and a liquid removal mechanism that removes the liquid that has adhered to at least... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, Plc

20070052943 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A lithographic apparatus and method include an illumination system that supplies a beam of radiation, an array of individually controllable elements that pattern the beam, and a projection system that directs the patterned beam a substrate supported on a substrate table. The projection system defines a pupil. Either the pupil... Agent: Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox Pllc

20070052944 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A lithographic projection apparatus in which a balance mass is supported by a base frame using at least one supporting member which is coupled to both the base frame and balance mass. Free horizontal movement is provided by providing the supporting member with at least two pivot points.... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20070052945 - Method and apparatus for protecting a reticle used in chip production from contamination: A transparent pellicle member or plate (1) is mounted across a reticle, substantially parallel thereto, so as to define a gas-tight space (9) therebetween. The pellicle (1) is mounted on a frame (3) by flexible connection members (20) provided at opposing edges of the pellicle (1). The flexible connection members... Agent: Philips Intellectual Property & Standards

20070052946 - Supporting device for supporting vibration sensitive components: The invention is in particular a supporting device for relative supporting loads with respect to a base comprising a load side part, a base side part, and an intermediate part giving support to the load side part, and thus defining a supporting direction with reference to the base and the... Agent: Demont & Breyer, Llc

20070046910 - Apparatus and method for recovering fluid for immersion lithography: A apparatus and methods recover a fluid from an immersion area formed in a gap between a projection system and an object of exposure in an immersion lithography system. A porous member is disposed adjacent to the immersion area. A pressure control system provides a first low pressure to a... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20070046911 - Exposure apparatus: An exposure apparatus is disclosed, which includes an alignment station where an alignment measurement process is executed, an exposure station where an exposure process is executed, and two stages which can be swapped between the alignment station and the exposure station. The exposure apparatus includes a first blowing unit which... Agent: Fitzpatrick Cella Harper & Scinto

20070046913 - Holding unit, assembly system, sputtering unit, and processing method and processing unit: Because an electromagnetic chuck supplies current to a specific microcoil among a plurality of microcoils and makes an object exert an electromagnetic force working together with a magnet of the object, the object can be held in a state where the object is set at a desired position (a position... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20070046912 - Interferometric measuring device and projection exposure installation comprising such measuring device: A measuring device for interferometric measurement of an optical imaging system that is provided for projecting a useful pattern, provided on a mask, into the image plane of the imaging system, includes a wavefront source for generating at least one wavefront traversing the imaging system; a diffraction grating, arrangeable downstream... Agent: Sughrue Mion, PLLC

20070046914 - Field sequential display apparatus and drive method thereof: A field sequential display apparatus that dynamically drives a light source and a panel in response to an image signal and a method thereof are provided. A method of driving a light source of a field sequential display apparatus includes: reading predetermined image information from image signals based on power... Agent: Sughrue Mion, PLLC

20070046916 - Containment system for immersion fluid in an immersion lithography apparatus: A containment system contains an immersion fluid in an immersion area to fill a gap between a projection system and an object to be exposed with the immersion fluid. The containment system includes an immersion fluid barrier formed by a pressurized gas that is supplied to a location adjacent to... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20070046915 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method is provided in which exposure is carried out by projecting through a liquid having a pH of less than 7, the liquid being in contact with a substrate to be exposed. The liquid advantageously comprises an anti-reflective topcoat.... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20070046919 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: Provided is a method and system for facilitating use of a plurality of individually controllable elements to modulate the intensity of radiation received at each focusing element of an array of focusing elements to control the intensity of the radiation in the areas on the substrate onto which the focusing... Agent: Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox PLLC

20070046917 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method that compensates for reticle induced cdu: A lithographic apparatus operable in a substrate exposing configuration to expose a substrate with a pattern of radiation and a radiation beam inspection configuration in which the pattern of radiation that would be exposed on the substrate if the lithographic apparatus was in the substrate exposing configuration is inspected by... Agent: Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox PLLC

20070046918 - Projection optical system, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method: An 8-mirror reflecting type projection optical system. A first reflecting image forming optical system forms an intermediate image of a first surface and a second reflecting image forming optical system forms an image of that intermediate image on a second surface. The first reflecting image forming optical system has a... Agent: Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP

20070046920 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A lithographic apparatus having a controller that sets at lest one system parameter such that the difference between the critical dimension of pattern features formed on the substrate in regions of relatively high and relatively low pattern feature density is minimised for an area on the substrate on which a... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20070046922 - Exposure apparatus and device fabrication method: An exposure apparatus includes a reticle stage for supporting a reticle, an illumination optical system for illuminating the reticle, a projection optical system for projecting an image of a pattern of the reticle onto a substrate, a polarization state measuring part for measuring a polarization state, and an optical unit,... Agent: Morgan & Finnegan, L.L.P.

20070046921 - Exposure apparatus and method: An exposure apparatus for exposing a pattern of a reticle onto a plate using a light from a light source and an optical system includes a measuring part for obtaining polarization information of the light that has passed the optical system, the polarization information including at least one of polarized... Agent: Morgan & Finnegan, L.L.P.

20070046923 - Printing method, printing system and method for determining correction value: A medium is carried to a predetermined position in a carrying direction. A first pattern is formed on the medium with nozzles on the carrying direction upstream side of a nozzle row constituted by a plurality of nozzles lined up at predetermined intervals. After forming the first pattern, the medium... Agent: Sughrue Mion, PLLC