Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7576831?ie=ISO-8859-1
Timestamp: 2015-04-27 18:51:16
Document Index: 597586818

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 2004', 'Application No. 2004', 'Application No. 10', 'Application No. 2004', 'Application No. 2004100326869', 'Application No. 200401159', 'Application No. 093106320']

Patent US7576831 - Method and apparatus for maintaining a machine part - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsA method of and apparatus for maintaining a machine part arranged in an interior space of a machine, where the interior space is kept at a first pressure and is separated from an environment having a second pressure via a load lock. The method includes transporting a machine part via the load lock out...http://www.google.com/patents/US7576831?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7576831 - Method and apparatus for maintaining a machine partAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7576831 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 10/797,664Publication dateAug 18, 2009Filing dateMar 11, 2004Priority dateMar 11, 2003Fee statusPaidAlso published asCN1530754A, US20050019709Publication number10797664, 797664, US 7576831 B2, US 7576831B2, US-B2-7576831, US7576831 B2, US7576831B2InventorsPieter Johannes Marius Van Groos, Jan Frederik Hoogkamp, Josephus Cornelius Johannes Antonius Vugts, Robert Gordon Livesey, Johannes Hendrikus Gertrudis Franssen, Albert Jan Hendrik Klomp, Johannes Petrus Martinus Bernardus Vermeulen, Erik Roelof LoopstraOriginal AssigneeAsml Netherlands B.V.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (101), Non-Patent Citations (30), Classifications (16), Legal Events (2) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMethod and apparatus for maintaining a machine part
Lithographic projection apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In such a case, the patterning device may generate a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the IC, and this pattern can be imaged onto a target portion (e.g. comprising one or more dies) on a substrate (silicon wafer) that has been coated with a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). In general, a single wafer will contain a whole network of adjacent target portions that are successively irradiated via the projection system, one at a time. In current apparatus, employing patterning by a mask on a mask table, a distinction can be made between two different types of machine. In one type of lithographic projection apparatus, each target portion is irradiated by exposing the entire mask pattern onto the target portion in one go; such an apparatus is commonly referred to as a wafer stepper or step-and-repeat apparatus. In an alternative apparatus�commonly referred to as a step-and-scan apparatus�each target portion is irradiated by progressively scanning the mask pattern under the projection beam in a given reference direction (the �scanning� direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate table parallel or anti-parallel to this direction; since, in general, the projection system will have a magnification factor M (generally <1), the speed V at which the substrate table is scanned will be a factor M times that at which the mask table is scanned. More information with regard to lithographic devices as here described can be gleaned, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,792, incorporated herein by reference.
In a manufacturing process using a lithographic projection apparatus, a pattern (e.g. in a mask) is imaged onto a substrate that is at least partially covered by a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). Prior to this imaging step, the substrate may undergo various procedures, such as priming, resist coating and a soft bake. After exposure, the substrate may be subjected to other procedures, such as a post-exposure bake (PEB), development, a hard bake and measurement/inspection of the imaged features. This array of procedures is used as a basis to pattern an individual layer of a device, e.g. an IC. Such a patterned layer may then undergo various processes such as etching, ion-implantation (doping), metallization, oxidation, chemo-mechanical polishing, etc., all intended to finish off an individual layer. If several layers are required, then the whole procedure, or a variant thereof, will have to be repeated for each new layer. Eventually, an array of devices will be present on the substrate (wafer). These devices are then separated from one another by a technique such as dicing or sawing, whence the individual device can be mounted on a carrier, connected to pins, etc. Further information regarding such processes can be obtained, for example, from the book �Microchip Fabrication: A Practical Guide to Semiconductor Processing�, Third Edition, by Peter van Zant, McGraw Hill Publishing Co., 1997, ISBN 0-07-067250-4, incorporated herein by reference.
a projection system (�lens�) PL (e.g. a refractive or catadioptic system or a mirror group) for imaging an irradiated portion of the mask MA onto a target portion C (e.g. comprising one or more dies) of the substrate W.
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May 29, 2007.Classifications U.S. Classification355/53, 355/72International ClassificationG03B27/58, H01L21/683, H01L21/677, H01L21/027, G03B27/42, G03F7/20Cooperative ClassificationG03F7/70858, G03F7/70991, G03F7/7075, G03F7/70975European ClassificationG03F7/70P16, G03F7/70P12, G03F7/70N6D, G03F7/70P6Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionFeb 7, 2013FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Sep 27, 2004ASAssignmentOwner name: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V., NETHERLANDSFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:VAN GROOS, PIETER JOHANNES MARIUS;HOOGKAMP. JAN FREDERIK;VUGTS, JOSEPHUS CORNELIUS JOHANNES ANTONIUS;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:015836/0934;SIGNING DATES FROM 20040706 TO 20040816RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services