Abstract: A design system of an alignment mark for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes a memory which stores at least mark data including pattern information regarding plural kinds of marks and process data including condition information of manufacturing processes, and a first process simulator which simulates a substrate structure before patterning based on the process data, the substrate structure being formed in an identified manufacturing process.

Abstract: A laser processing apparatus comprises a laser oscillator for producing a laser beam to selectively remove part of a substrate to be processed, a scanning system for applying the laser beam to an arbitrary position of the substrate and incident means for applying the laser beam to the substrate substantially at right angle.

Abstract: A photomask designing method used in a lithography process, the lithography process comprises illuminating light on a photomask and converging the light which has passed through the photomask on a photosensitive substrate via a projection optical system, the photomask designing method comprises acquiring a transmittance characteristic of the projection optical system, the characteristic varing depending on a difference in optical paths of light in the projection optical system, the light passing through the projection optical system, and acquiring mask bias of the photomask by use of the transmittance characteristic of the projection optical system.

Abstract: An aligner evaluation system includes (a) an error calculation module configured to calculate error information on mutual optical system errors among a plurality of aligners; (b) a simulation module configured to simulate device patterns to be delineated by each of the aligners based on the error information; and (c) a evaluation module configured to evaluate whether each of the aligners has appropriate performances for implementing an organization of a product development machine group based on the simulated device pattern.

Abstract: A laser processing apparatus comprises a laser oscillator for producing a laser beam to selectively remove part of a substrate to be processed, a scanning system for applying the laser beam to an arbitrary position of the substrate and incident means for applying the laser beam to the substrate substantially at right angle.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including, forming a photosensitive-film on a substrate, carrying the substrate on which the photosensitive-film is formed, to an exposure device provided with a mask in which an on-mask-inspection-mark and an on-mask-device-pattern are formed, selectively exposing the photosensitive-film to light to transfer the on-mask-inspection-mark to the photosensitive-film to form a latent-image of the inspection-mark on the photosensitive-film, heating at least that area of the photosensitive-film in which the latent-image of the inspection-mark is formed, measuring the inspection-mark, changing set-values for the exposure device used for the selective exposure, on the basis of result of the measurement so that exposure conditions conform to the set-values, exposing the photosensitive-film on the basis of the changed set-values to transfer the on-mask-device-pattern to the photosensitive-film to form a latent image of the device-pattern on the photosensitive-film, heat

Abstract: Lens distortion correction is characterized by obtaining a correction parameter by using the difference between the latest QC data used when exposing a overlaying layer and the latest QC data used when exposing a overlaid layer.

Abstract: An exposure method comprising measuring a position distribution, in an optical axis direction of the optical system, on a measurement area surface of the wafer which is not irradiated with the exposure light, computing a tilt component and a curved component of the measurement area surface on the basis of the measured position distribution, obtaining a leveling amount by which the measurement area surface is made to become orthogonal to the optical axis direction, on the basis of the tilt component, obtaining an adjustment amount for an imaging characteristic of the optical system on the basis of the curved component, and irradiating the measurement area with the exposure light on the basis of the obtained leveling amount and adjustment amount while the measurement area surface and the imaging characteristic are adjusted.

Abstract: Disclosed is an exposure method comprising preparing an exposure apparatus including an illumination system and a projection lens, setting, in the exposure apparatus, a photomask having a mask pattern including a plurality of unit circuit patterns arranged like a checkered flag pattern and a plurality of unit auxiliary patterns arranged between the unit circuit patterns, and projecting the mask pattern onto a substrate through the projection lens by irradiating the photomask with light from the illumination system, wherein the unit circuit patterns and the unit auxiliary patterns generate a plurality of diffraction light spots on a pupil plane of the projection lens, and the four diffraction light spots having higher light intensities than the remaining diffraction light spots are distributed on the pupil plane in a cycle of 90°.

Abstract: In an optical exposure apparatus of a scan-exposure system, scan-exposure is preliminarily executed before an actual scan-exposure, and a reticle position measuring device measures a positional change of a reticle in the upper and lower direction with the movement of a reticle stage to a scanning direction. Then, a calculation circuit obtains correction data for an offset based on the measuring value to be stored in a memory. Thereafter, correction data stored in the memory is sequentially supplied to a feedback controlling circuit at an actual scan-exposure time. Also, a measuring value of the position of a wafer in a Z-axial direction with the movement of the wafer stage to the scanning direction, relatively moving with the reticle stage, is supplied to the feedback controlling circuit from a wafer position measuring device.

Abstract: A laser processing apparatus comprises a laser oscillator for producing a laser beam to selectively remove part of a substrate to be processed, a scanning system for applying the laser beam to an arbitrary position of the substrate and incident means for applying the laser beam to the substrate substantially at right angle.

Abstract: A plurality of bars-in-bars marks are formed. Each mark has four small patterns and four large patterns arranged in a direction of a straight line and a direction perpendicular thereto. The straight lines of the respective bars-in-bars marks are disposed at angles of 0°, 30° and 60°.

Abstract: In an optical exposure apparatus of a scan-exposure system, scan-exposure is preliminarily executed before an actual scan-exposure, and a reticle position measuring device measures a positional change of a reticle in the upper and lower direction with the movement of a reticle stage to a scanning direction. Then, a calculation circuit obtains correction data for an offset based on the measuring value to be stored in a memory. Thereafter, correction data stored in the memory is sequentially supplied to a feedback controlling circuit at an actual scan-exposure time. Also, a measuring value of the position of a wafer in a Z-axial direction with the movement of the wafer stage to the scanning direction, relatively moving with the reticle stage, is supplied to the feedback controlling circuit from a wafer position measuring device.

Abstract: The invention allows for measurement at the same density as an actual device pattern and measures the level of registration of actual patterns with precision. In the measurement of the invention, a first exposure process is performed on a first-level pattern and a second exposure process is then performed on a second-level pattern. After that, the patterns are developed and etched, thereby forming two patterns of different shapes. Next, the resistance between terminals of a pattern which are obtained by means of etching is measured through a four-point measurement. An amount of misregistration of the first-level pattern and the second-level pattern is calculated from the measured resistance.

Abstract: In an optical exposure apparatus of a scan-exposure system, scan-exposure is preliminarily executed before an actual scan-exposure, and a reticle position measuring device measures a positional change of a reticle in the upper and lower direction with the movement of a reticle stage to a scanning direction. Then, a calculation circuit obtains correction data for an offset based on the measuring value to be stored in a memory. Thereafter, correction data stored in the memory is sequentially supplied to a feedback controlling circuit at an actual scan-exposure time. Also, a measuring value of the position of a wafer in a Z-axial direction with the movement of the wafer stage to the scanning direction, relatively moving with the reticle stage, is supplied to the feedback controlling circuit from a wafer position measuring device.

Abstract: A light exposure tool of the present invention is so structured as to enable the correction of a linear intrafield error of a shot and of a higher-order intrafield error of the shot depending upon an interfield of a wafer. The light exposure tool comprises a reticle having a written circuit pattern, a reticle stage having the reticle placed on it, a reticle XY stage drive controller, a reticle stage position measuring mechanism, a wafer stage having a semiconductor wafer placed on it, the semiconductor wafer having a plurality of alignment marks formed on it for position identification, a wafer XY stage drive controller, a wafer stage position measuring mechanism, a projection optical mechanism for projecting the circuit pattern of the reticle onto the wafer to create a shot, an alignment mechanism for detecting positions of the alignment marks 9 and setting the reticle and wafer in a desired position, a calculation device, a shot rotation adjusting controller, and an isotropic magnification controller.