Patent ID: 9229332
Filing Date: 2016-01-05
CPC Classification: G03F,H01L

Claim Text:
1. A lithography system comprising: a radiation source; an exposure tool including a plurality of exposure columns packed in a first direction, each exposure column including an exposure area configured to pass the radiation source; and a wafer carrier configured to secure and move one or more wafers along a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction so that the one or more wafers are exposed by the exposure tool to form patterns along the second direction, the one or more wafers aligned in the second direction on the wafer carrier; wherein: the plurality of exposure columns are packed along the second direction in more than one row; two adjacent rows of the exposure columns are shifted along the first direction by a distance that is substantially similar to a radius of the exposure column, the two adjacent rows forming a unit column assembly (UCA); a plurality of UCAs are packed along the second direction; and two adjacent UCAs are shifted along the first direction by a distance that is less than the radius of the exposure column.