LITHOGRAPHIC APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING DEVICE

• Main Authors: KLOMP ALBERT JAN HENDRIK, FRANSSEN JOHANNES HENDRIKUS GERTRUDIS, HOOGKAMP JAN FREDERIK
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 24.02.2005
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; PHOTOGRAPHY; PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES,e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTORDEVICES; PHYSICS; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a substrate from fouling by suppressing entry of unnecessary particles or molecules at the time of opening and closing a door in a substrate loading device (LL) of an exposure system in which the pressure is lower than an atmospheric pressure. SOLUTION: The loading device (LL) forms a space, or a chamber, and comprises a first door (11) that faces a lithographic pattern forming chamber (PC), a second door (12) that faces a second environment, and a gas entrance (13). The gas entrance (13) is connected to a gas supply (17) so as to provide a gas at least for a portion of a period during which an object moves. This gas is a gas which basically does not include at least one of particles, oxygen, a hydrocarbon and H2O. Supplying a gas that does not foul a substrate allows the pressure in the loading device to be higher than an atmospheric pressure, thereby suppressing the entry of unnecessary particles or molecules at the time opening and closing the door between different atmospheres and thus preventing the substrate from fouling. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI