Patents Examined by Michael Liu
  • Patent number: 9639006
    Abstract: A lithographic projection apparatus is disclosed where at least part of a space between a projection system of the apparatus and a substrate is filled with a liquid by a liquid supply system. The projection system is separated into two separate physical parts. With substantially no direct connection between the two parts of the projection system, vibrations induced in a first of the two parts by coupling of forces through the liquid filling the space when the substrate moves relative to the liquid supply system affects substantially only the first part of the projection system and not the other second part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.
    Inventor: Johannes Catharinus Hubertus Mulkens
  • Patent number: 9612539
    Abstract: 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 Enc3) to an encoder (Enc4, Enc2 and Enc3). On the switching, a coordinate linkage method or a phase linkage method is applied to set an initial value of an encoder (Enc4) which is to be newly used. Accordingly, position measurement values of the stage before and after the switching are stored even though the encoder used in position measurement of the stage is sequentially switched, and the stage can be driven accurately two-dimensionally.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: NIKON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yuichi Shibazaki
  • Patent number: 8059262
    Abstract: The present invention provides a calculation method of calculating, by a computer, a light intensity distribution formed on an image plane of a projection optical system, comprising a step of dividing an effective light source formed on a pupil plane of the projection optical system into a plurality of point sources, a step of shifting a pupil function describing a pupil of the projection optical system for each of the plurality of point sources in accordance with positions thereof, thereby generating a plurality of shifted pupil functions, a step of defining a matrix including the plurality of pupil functions, a step of performing singular value decomposition of the matrix, thereby calculating an eigenvalue and an eigenfunction, and a step of calculating the light intensity distribution, based on a distribution of the light diffracted by the pattern of the mask, and the eigenvalue and the eigenfunction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kenji Yamazoe
  • Patent number: 7245348
    Abstract: A coating and developing system includes an auxiliary block, a resist film forming unit block and antireflection film forming unit blocks stacked up in layers to form a resist film and an antireflection film underlying the resist film and an antireflection film overlying the resist film in a small space. The coating and developing system can cope with either a case where antireflection films are formed or a case where no antireflection film is formed. Film forming unit blocks, namely, a TCT layer, a COT layer and a BCT layer, and developing unit blocks, namely, DEV layers, are stacked up in layers in a processing block S2. The TCT layer, the COT layer and the BCT layer are used selectively in the case where antireflection films are formed and the case where any antireflection film is not formed. The coating and developing system is controlled by a carrying program.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2007
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Masami Akimoto, Shinichi Hayashi, Yasushi Hayashida, Nobuaki Matsuoka, Yoshio Kimura, Issei Ueda, Hikaru Ito