Patent ID: 6885908
Filing Date: 2005-04-26
Classification: G03F,G06N

Abstract:
1. A determining method of movement sequence for determining an order of measurement of a plurality of measurement target areas, which is executed prior to an alignment step in which while the plurality of measurement target areas provided on a substrate are successively moved into a preset measuring area of a measuring system, positions of the respective measurement target areas moved into the measuring area are measured, thereby achieving alignment between a transfer position of a pattern of an original plate and each chip area on the substrate, said determining method of movement sequence comprising an arithmetic step of obtaining a solution of a most preferable movement sequence with respect to an overall movement time between said plurality of measurement target areas, by using a predetermined search technique, said arithmetic step comprising: a first step of generating a group including a plurality of executable movement sequences out of a group of movement sequence candidates, each indicating a measurement order of said plurality of measurement target areas; and a second step of selecting a movement sequence that can accomplish a movement operation between said plurality of target areas in the shortest time, out of said group generated.