SEARCH:      Monitor Keywords |  Custom RSS

Photocopying February patent applications/inventions, industry category 02/09

20090051888 - Liquid jet and recovery system for immersion lithography: A liquid immersion lithography apparatus includes a projection system having a last element. The projection system projects an image onto a workpiece to expose the workpiece through a liquid filled in a space between the last element and the workpiece. A liquid supply device includes a supply inlet that supplies... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20090051889 - Optical element driving apparatus, projection optical system, exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method: An outer ring (21) is arranged in a barrel unit (14c). A driving mechanism (25) provided on the outer ring shifts an optical element (M), and adjusts the position and the tilt of the optical element. A damper mechanism (31) for suppressing propagation of vibration to the optical element is... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20090051890 - Microlithography projection optical system, tool and method of production: A microlithography projection optical system is disclosed. The system can include a plurality of optical elements arranged to image radiation having a wavelength λ from an object field in an object plane to an image field in an image plane. The plurality of optical elements can have an entrance pupil... Agent: Fish & Richardson PC

20090051891 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A system and method use a substrate with a pattern of individual, indiscrete alignment marks, i.e., the marks are separate and distinct from each other, and each mark is not divided into component parts. The pattern of marks is distributed over an area of the substrate, and the method also... Agent: Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.l.l.c.

20090051893 - Movable body drive method and movable body drive system, pattern formation method and apparatus, and device manufacturing method: A controller uses two Z heads, which are positioned above a reflection surface installed on the ±X ends of the upper surface of a wafer table, to measure the height and tilt of the wafer table. The Z head to be used is switched according to XY positions of the... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20090051895 - Movable body drive method and movable body drive system, pattern formation method and apparatus, device manufacturing method, and processing system: A position of a stage in a perpendicular direction with respect to a movement plane and a tilt direction is measured, using a surface position sensor and a Z interferometer. And, the stage is driven in a stable manner and also with high precision, by appropriately switching between three control... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20090051894 - Movable body drive method and movable body drive system, pattern formation method and apparatus, exposure method and apparatus, device manufacturing method, and measuring method: A wafer stage is moved while monitoring a position using an X interferometer and a Y interferometer, and a Z position of a Y scale arranged on the wafer stage upper surface is measured using a surface position sensor. In this case, for example, from a difference of measurement results... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20090051892 - Movable body drive method and movable body drive system, pattern formation method and apparatus, exposure method and apparatus, device manufacturing method, measuring method, and position measurement system: By moving a wafer stage while monitoring an XY position of a wafer stage WST using an interferometer system, and scanning a Y scale in an X-axis direction and a Y-axis direction using a surface position sensor, an XY setting position of the surface position sensor is measured. Based on... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20090046261 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A manifold is provided between an outlet of a fluid supply system for an immersion lithographic apparatus and a separator. The manifold is provided with a pressure sensor which passes the measured pressure in the manifold to a mass flow controller. The mass flow controller controls a leak flow into... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20090046260 - Lithographic apparatus and thermal optical manipulator control method: A control method is provided for controlling a heating of a thermal optical element, the thermal optical element having a matrix of heater elements. The method includes stabilizing a nominal temperature of the thermal optical element with a feedback loop to control the heating of heater elements; providing a desired... Agent: Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.l.l.c.

20090046262 - Exposure apparatus and exposure method: An exposure apparatus includes a light source for emitting exposure light, a spatial light modulation means for performing spatial light modulation, based on an image signal, on the exposure light, an imaging means for forming an image on a photosensitive material with the exposure light on which spatial light modulation... Agent: Sughrue Mion, PLLC

20090046266 - Exposing method, exposing device, and device manufacturing method: An exposure method is arranged to guide illumination light having passed through a first pattern formed in a first pattern formation region and a second pattern formed in a second pattern formation region different from the first pattern formation region, to a substrate to transfer the first pattern and the... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20090046265 - Illumination optical apparatus, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method: An illumination optical apparatus of the present invention includes an illumination optical system having a plurality of reflection mirrors arranged to guide illumination light flux to an irradiated plane. A first partial field stop is arranged in an optical path of the illumination optical system to form a first profile... Agent: Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP

20090046267 - Lithographic apparatus with enhanced spectral purity, device manufacturing method and device manufactured thereby: A lithographic apparatus includes an illumination system configured to condition a radiation beam; a support configured to support a patterning device, the patterning device being configured to impart the radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section to form a patterned radiation beam; a substrate table configured to hold a... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20090046264 - Synchronizing timing of multiple physically or logically separated system nodes: A method for synchronizing a plurality of series coupled nodes is described. A master trigger is transmitted through the plurality of series coupled local nodes in a downstream direction from a first node to a last node and retransmitted through the plurality of series coupled nodes in an upstream direction... Agent: Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.l.l.c.

20090046263 - Using phase difference of interference lithography for resolution enhancement: Interference lithography (IL) system and methods are disclosed according to embodiments of the invention. Two beams of coherent light with a first phase difference expose a first interference pattern on a nonlinear photoresist. A second interference pattern may be exposed on the nonlinear photoresist using the same coherent light beams... Agent: Townsend And Townsend And Crew LLP

20090046268 - Projection optical system, exposure apparatus, and exposure method: An immersion projection optical system having, for example, a catadioptric and off-axis structure, reduces the portion of an image space filled with liquid (immersion liquid). The projection optical system, which projects a reduced image of a first plane onto a second plane through the liquid, includes a refractive optical element... Agent: Klarquist Sparkman, LLP

20090040480 - Exposure apparatus, information processing apparatus, and method of manufacturing device: An exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate to radiant energy comprises a controller configured to determine a shot layout based on data representing a surface shape of the substrate, and an exposure unit configured to expose the substrate to the radiant energy in accordance with the shot layout determined by... Agent: Morgan & Finnegan, L.L.P.

20090040481 - Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method: An exposure apparatus that exposes a substrate via liquid includes a substrate stage configured to hold the substrate and to move. The substrate stage includes a top plate, a substrate holder disposed on the top plate and configured to hold the substrate, and a support-plate holder disposed on the top... Agent: Canon U.s.a. Inc. Intellectual Property Division

20090040482 - Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method: An exposure apparatus projects a pattern of an original onto a substrate through a projection optical system and a liquid. The exposure apparatus includes a supply unit adapted to supply liquid to a space between the projection optical system and a substrate, a suction unit adapted to suck a fluid... Agent: Canon U.s.a. Inc. Intellectual Property Division

20090040484 - Exposure equipment, exposure method, and manufacturing method for a semiconductor device: Provided is an exposure equipment having high resolution even when a reticle is inclined. The exposure equipment includes: an optical system for projecting on a wafer (130), a pattern formed on a surface of a reticle (101); a determining section for determining a tilt angle of the reticle (101) with... Agent: Young & Thompson

20090040483 - Multiple exposure technique using opc to correct distortion: Accurate ultrafine patterns are formed using a multiple exposure technique comprising implementing an OPC procedure to form an exposure reticle to compensate for distortion of an overlying resist pattern caused by an underlying resist pattern. Embodiments include forming a first resist pattern in a first resist layer over a target... Agent: Ditthavong Mori & Steiner, P.C.

20090040487 - Imaging device in a projection exposure facility: An imaging device in a projection exposure machine for microlithography has at least one optical element and at least one manipulator, having a linear drive, for manipulating the position of the optical element. The linear drive has a driven subregion and a nondriven subregion, which are movable relative to one... Agent: Fish & Richardson PC

20090040485 - Photolithography system: A photolithography system has at least one spatial light modulator, a scanning mechanism configured to move an exposure area relative to a target object in a scanning direction, a plurality of memories (1st to Nth memories), a data processor, and exposure controller. The exposure area is defined as a projection... Agent: Greenblum & Bernstein, P.L.C

20090040486 - Reflective film interface to restore transverse magnetic wave contrast in lithographic processing: A method and system for exposing a resist layer with regions of photosensitivity to an image in a lithographic process using a high numerical aperture imaging tool. There is employed a substrate having thereover a layer reflective to the imaging tool radiation and a resist layer having a region of... Agent: Law Office Of Delio & Peterson, LLC.

20090040488 - Movable body drive method and movable body drive system, pattern formation method and apparatus, exposure method and apparatus, and device manufacturing method: Positional information of a stage within a movement plane is measured, using three encoders which include at least one each of an X encoder and a Y encoder. Based on position measurement values of the stage, the encoder used in position measurement is switched from an encoder (Enc1, Enc2 and... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20090040489 - Position sensor: A position detecting apparatus for detecting position of an object disposed in a first space by receiving light from the object with a light receiving element disposed outside said first space, said position detecting apparatus includes an optical system for directing light from the object to the light receiving element,... Agent: Morgan & Finnegan, L.L.P.

20090040490 - Illuminating optical apparatus, exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method: An illumination optical apparatus is able to quickly perform switching of illumination conditions between illumination in a first region and illumination in a second region. The illumination optical apparatus of the present invention to illuminate an illumination target surface on the basis of light from a light source comprises: a... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20090040493 - Illumination optical system, illumination optical apparatus, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method: An illumination optical apparatus includes a light source, which supplies illumination light including a wavelength of 5 nm to 50 nm, and an illumination optical system, which guides the illumination light to an illuminated surface. The illumination optical system includes an aperture angle restriction member and a condenser optical system,... Agent: Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP

20090040491 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A lithographic system includes a source configured to generate a radiation, the source including a cathode and an anode, the cathode and the anode configured to create a discharge in a fuel located in a discharge space so as to generate a plasma, the discharge space including, in use, a... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20090040492 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A source configured to generate radiation for a lithographic apparatus is disclosed. The source includes an anode, and a cathode. The cathode and the anode are configured to create a discharge in a fuel in a discharge space between the anode and the cathode so as to generate a plasma,... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20090040494 - Methods and apparatuses for configuring radiation in microlithographic processing of workpieces: Methods and apparatuses for configuring radiation used in microlithographic processing of workpieces are disclosed herein. One particular embodiment of such a method comprises directing a radiation beam along a radiation path from a reticle to an adjustment structure. The radiation beam has a wavefront with a first configuration in an... Agent: Perkins Coie LLP Patent-sea

20090040497 - Exposure apparatus, adjusting method, exposure method, and device fabrication method: The present invention provides an exposure apparatus comprising an illumination optical system configured to illuminate an original with light from a light source, a projection optical system configured to project a pattern image of the original onto a substrate, an optical integrator configured to form a pupil plane of the... Agent: Morgan & Finnegan, L.L.P.

20090040495 - Illumination system including an optical filter: An illumination system including an optical element, such as an optical filter, which can influence the optical properties of radiation impinging thereon is disclosed. Such a filter can have a variably adjustable absorption. The illumination system is employed for instance within a lithography apparatus. A method for the production of... Agent: Fish & Richardson PC

20090040496 - Microlithographic exposure method as well as a projection exposure system for carrying out the method: In an exposure method for exposing a substrate which is arranged in the area of an image plane of a projection objective as well as in a projection exposure system for performing that method, output radiation directed at the substrate and having an output polarization state is produced. Through variable... Agent: Sughrue Mion, PLLC

20090040498 - Microlithographic projection exposure apparatus: A microlithographic projection exposure apparatus and method are provided. In some embodiments, a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus includes a light source to generate pulsed light, an illumination device, a projection objective, and at least one photoelastic modulator between the pulsed light source and the illumination device. The illumination device is... Agent: Fish & Richardson PC

20090040499 - Exposure apparatus and method of manufacturing device: This invention provides a positioning apparatus which can safely stop a movable body irrespective of its driving status. This invention relates to a positioning apparatus which positions a movable body (4) of an exposure apparatus and includes a driver (2) which drives the movable body (4), a power source (3)... Agent: Morgan & Finnegan, L.L.P.

20090033890 - Exposure apparatus, substrate processing method, and device producing method: An exposure apparatus includes a detector which detects a defect in a thin film formed on a substrates. When the detector is provided for liquid immersion exposure in which the substrate is exposed through liquid, outflow of the liquid due to by any defect in the thin film is detected... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20090033889 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: A lithographic apparatus includes an illumination system configured to condition a beam of radiation; a pattern support configured to hold a patterning device, the patterning device configured to pattern the beam of radiation to form a patterned beam of radiation; a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate, the substrate... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20090033891 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: An immersion lithographic apparatus is disclosed having comprising a pump and buffer volume configured to remove remaining liquid from a substrate, the pump and the buffer volume configured to generate a vacuum cleaning gas flow near the substrate by gas suction into the buffer volume. In an embodiment, since gas... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20090033892 - Double exposure of a photoresist layer using a single reticle: A composite exposure image is formed on a photoresist layer by applying a light beam through a reticle to form a first exposure image thereon, and thereafter, while maintaining the position of the reticle with respect to the photoresist layer, again applying a light beam through the reticle to form... Agent: Ditthavong Mori & Steiner, P.C.

20090033894 - Method for determining the systematic error in the measurement of positions of edges of structures on a substrate resulting from the substrate topology: A method for determining the lateral correction as a function of the substrate topology and/or the geometry of the substrate holder is disclosed. The substrate is placed on a measuring stage traversable in the X coordinate direction and Y coordinate direction, which carries the substrate to be measured. The substrate... Agent: Davidson, Davidson & Kappel, LLC

20090033893 - Methods and systems to compensate for a stitching disturbance of a printed pattern in a maskless lithography system not utilizing overlap of the exposure zones: A method and system are provided for forming a pattern within an area of a photosensitive surface. An exemplary method includes performing a first exposure of the photosensitive surface in accordance with predetermined image data, wherein the first exposure occurs during a first pass and produces a first image within... Agent: Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.l.l.c.

20090033898 - Developing apparatus, developing method and storage medium: A developing apparatus includes, to process substrates each coated with a resist and processed by an exposure process by a developing process, includes: plural developing units each provided with a substrate holding device for stably pouring a developer onto the substrate, a first developer nozzle to be used in common... Agent: Oblon, Spivak, Mcclelland Maier & Neustadt, P.C.

20090033901 - Driving apparatus and exposure apparatus using the same and device manufacturing method: A driving apparatus for driving an object in a vacuum environment includes a first chamber whose interior is maintained in a vacuum environment, a mover configured to load the object, and a stator, wherein the mover includes one or more magnets, the stator includes one or more coils. The mover... Agent: Canon U.s.a. Inc. Intellectual Property Division

20090033896 - Exposure apparatus and method, and device manufacturing method: An exposure apparatus (EX) includes: a substrate holder (4H) that holds a substrate (P) onto which exposure light (EL) is irradiated; and a film formation apparatus (60) that forms a film of a liquid (LQ) on the substrate (P) before the substrate (P) is held in the substrate holder (4H).... Agent: Miles & Stockbridge PC

20090033899 - Exposure apparatus, exposure method, and method for manufacturing display panel substrate: The movable stages carry chucks 10a and 10b and move towards secondary stage bases 11a and 11b and a primary stage base 11, thereby positioning the substrate 1 on the primary stage base 11. Each first laser length-measuring system includes laser sources 31a and 31b, bar mirrors 34a and 34b... Agent: J C Patents, Inc.

20090033897 - Limiting a portion of a patterning device used to pattern a beam: A system and method are used to limit a proportion of a programmable patterning means used to pattern a substrate. This is done such that a size of a repeated pattern to be exposed on the substrate is an integer multiple of a size of a pattern exposed on the... Agent: Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.l.l.c.

20090033895 - Lithography apparatus with flexibly supported optical system: A lithography apparatus includes a projection optical system that projects an image of a pattern, a first support member, a second support member that is flexibly coupled to the first support member by a first flexible coupling device such that the second support member is suspended from the first support... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20090033900 - Movable body drive method and movable body drive system, pattern formation method and pattern formation apparatus, and device manufacturing method: First positional information of a stage is measured using an interferometer system, for example, an X interferometer and a Y interferometer. At the same time, second positional information of the stage is measured using an encoder system, for example, one X head and one Y head. A coordinate offset is... Agent: Miles & Stockbridge PC

20090033903 - Illumination systems, exposure apparatus, and microdevice-manufacturing methods using same: Illumination systems are disclosed that illuminate a surface M for irradiation with illumination light emitted from a light source 5. An exemplary illumination system includes an incidence-side reflection-type fly-eye optical system 12 having multiple reflection-type partial optical systems arranged in rows, an emission-side reflection-type fly-eye optical system 14 having multiple... Agent: Klarquist Sparkman, LLP

20090033902 - Lithographic apparatus and method: A device manufacturing method includes conditioning a beam of radiation using an illumination system. The conditioning includes controlling an array of individually controllable elements and associated optical components of the illumination system to convert the radiation beam into a desired illumination mode, the controlling including allocating different individually controllable elements... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20090033904 - Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method: This invention provides an exposure apparatus which exposes a substrate (51) with a pattern formed on a reticle (3), and includes a projection optical system (1) including an optical element (11-14) and a reflecting surface (42) which reflects light toward the projection optical system (1). The exposure apparatus further includes... Agent: Morgan & Finnegan, L.L.P.

20090033905 - Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method: An immersion lithographic apparatus includes a liquid supply system member configured to contain a liquid in a space between a projection system of the lithographic apparatus and the substrate and a liquid supply system member compensator arranged to compensate an interaction between the liquid supply system member and substrate table.... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

20090033906 - Stage apparatus, exposure apparatus, stage control method, exposure method, and device fabricating method: A stage apparatus includes a mover having a holding part that holds a substrate, and a first mechanism and a control apparatus. The mover is capable of moving between a first position and a second position. At the first position, the substrate is held by the holding part, and, at... Agent: Miles & Stockbridge PC

20090033907 - Devices and methods for decreasing residual chucking forces: Devices and methods are disclosed for holding a reticle or analogous object, particularly a planar object. An exemplary reticle-holding device includes a reticle chuck having a reticle-holding surface on which a reticle is placed to hold the reticle. The device includes at least one ultrasonic transducer (as an exemplary vibration-inducing... Agent: Klarquist Sparkman, LLP

20090033908 - Jig for detecting postion: A position alignment of a transfer point of a transfer arm is performed by using a position detecting wafer capable of being loaded into an apparatus having a thin transfer port. The position detecting wafer S includes an electrostatic capacitance detecting sensor 50 for detecting an electrostatic capacitance in relation... Agent: Pearne & Gordon LLP