JP2001284231A - Exposure system and method of distributing error for processing on its pattern on occurrence of error - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an exposure system which executes accurate processing and is enhanced in operating efficiency by distributing errors for processing, depending on their patterns on the occurrence of errors, and to provide a method of distributing errors for processing on the occurrence of errors. SOLUTION: An exposure system is equipped with an error storage 106 which serves as a storage means to store errors and a distributing means (a main processing section 102, a processing table 103, a processing judgement section 104, and a unit section 105) which distributes errors for processing, depending on their patterns when errors occur in an exposure system in operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus which, when a plurality of errors occur in an exposure apparatus, can sort the processing after the error occurrence according to the errors (error patterns). And a method for distributing the processing according to the pattern of the error that has occurred in step (1).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, even if an error occurs in an exposure apparatus, it has no relation to other errors at all, and after the error occurs, a fixed sequence for the error is performed.

[0003]

However, the prior art has the following problems. Even if an error occurred in the exposure apparatus, only a fixed sequence was performed after the error occurred, so that processing in various exposure apparatus states (due to the previous occurrence of the error) could not be performed. For this reason, processing that should not be performed may be performed. For this reason, there is a case where a considerable time is required for recovery due to the failure of the exposure apparatus, which leads to a decrease in the operation rate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is directed to an exposure apparatus capable of performing accurate processing and improving the operation rate by allocating processing according to a pattern at the time of occurrence of an error in the exposure apparatus. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for distributing processing according to a pattern at the time of occurrence of an error.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an exposure apparatus according to the present invention is an exposure apparatus for transferring and exposing an original pattern formed on an original onto a substrate. In this case, it is characterized by comprising a storage means for storing a plurality of the errors, and a distribution means for distributing processing according to one or a plurality of the error patterns.

According to the present invention, the exposure apparatus determines and selects an optimal or corresponding error recovery process from a single or a plurality of error recovery processes according to the generated error pattern. be able to.

The exposure apparatus may include the pattern of the error as a table, and may refer to whether the error generated in the exposure apparatus matches the pattern in the table.

Further, the error is an abnormality from a plurality of units of the exposure apparatus, and the exposure apparatus performs one or a plurality of processings required in the exposure apparatus based on the determined and selected error recovery processing. It is preferable to have a unit part. Further, it is preferable that the exposure apparatus has a main processing unit that acquires the error occurrence information from the unit unit, and sends the determined and selected error recovery processing to the unit unit.

Preferably, the processing after the occurrence of the error in the exposure apparatus is a processing for stopping the exposure apparatus. Further, it is preferable that the processing after the occurrence of the error in the exposure apparatus is the error recovery processing that has been determined and selected. Preferably, the processing after the occurrence of the error in the exposure apparatus is a processing for automatically or manually collecting the substrate.

The method of distributing processing according to the pattern at the time of occurrence of an error in the exposure apparatus according to the present invention is a method for transferring and exposing an original pattern formed on an original to a substrate. It is characterized by comprising a storage step of storing a plurality of errors, and a distribution step of allocating processing according to one or more error patterns.

A device manufacturing method using an exposure apparatus according to the present invention comprises the steps of: installing a manufacturing apparatus group for various processes including the exposure apparatus in a semiconductor manufacturing plant; Manufacturing step.

A step of connecting the group of manufacturing apparatuses via a local area network; and a step of communicating information on at least one of the group of manufacturing apparatuses between the local area network and an external network outside the semiconductor manufacturing plant. And the step of performing.

Further, a database provided by a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus is accessed via the external network to obtain maintenance information of the manufacturing apparatus by data communication, or a semiconductor manufacturing factory different from the semiconductor manufacturing factory And data communication via the external network to perform production management.

A semiconductor manufacturing plant accommodating the exposure apparatus of the present invention includes a group of manufacturing apparatuses for various processes including the exposure apparatus,
A local area network connecting the group of manufacturing apparatuses, and a gateway that enables the local area network to access an external network outside the factory;
It is possible to perform data communication of information on at least one of the manufacturing apparatus groups.

The maintenance method for an exposure apparatus according to the present invention is a maintenance method for the exposure apparatus, wherein a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus provides a maintenance database connected to an external network of a semiconductor manufacturing plant. Permitting access to the maintenance database from the semiconductor manufacturing plant via the external network, and transmitting maintenance information stored in the maintenance database to the semiconductor manufacturing plant via the external network. Can have.

The exposure apparatus of the present invention further has a display, a network interface, and a computer that executes network software, and enables data communication of maintenance information of the exposure apparatus via a computer network. Can be.

Further, the network software provides a user interface on the display for accessing a maintenance database provided by a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus connected to an external network of a factory where the exposure apparatus is installed. Then, it is possible to obtain information from the database via the external network.

[0018]

According to the above-described configuration, when an error occurs, the error is stored, the sequence is continued as it is, and when the error occurs, the error is stored and at the same time, the previously generated error is referenced (or Whether or not an error has occurred) and the subsequent processing is distributed according to the content (or whether or not an error has occurred).

[0019]

Next, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. [Description of Overall Configuration] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 101 denotes a semiconductor exposure apparatus that implements the present embodiment. Reference numeral 102 denotes a main processing unit which acquires error information sent from a unit unit 105 described later, acquires an error that has occurred previously from an error storage unit 106 described later, Receives information such as an error pattern generated in the sequence, and sends the information to a process determination unit 104 described later.
The processing sent from the processing determination unit 104 is
And the like.

Reference numeral 103 denotes a processing table in which processing contents (error recovery processing and the like) according to the error occurrence situation (error pattern and the like) are arranged, and a processing determination unit 104 described later.
Referenced from. For example, the processing determination unit 104, which will be described later, refers to whether an error pattern generated in the exposure apparatus matches a pattern in the processing table 103.

Reference numeral 104 denotes a processing determination unit, which is a main processing unit 10
Based on the information such as the error pattern sent from the server 2, an optimum error recovery process is determined and selected from among a plurality of error recovery processes in the processing table 103, and sent to the main processing unit 102. Alternatively, the corresponding processing is determined and selected from the processing table and sent to the main processing unit 102.

Reference numeral 105 denotes a unit, and the main processing unit 10
The error that has occurred is sent to the main processing unit 102, and the processing determined and selected by the processing determining unit 104 is received from the main processing unit 102, and necessary processing is performed. That is, an abnormality in the unit is sent to the main processing unit 102 as an error. The unit in this case corresponds to a stage for mounting a wafer as a substrate, a stage for mounting a reticle as an original, a unit for measuring alignment, and the like. Therefore, the unit portion 105 may be configured as a single unit or a plurality of units, and it is preferable that the unit unit 105 be configured and arranged appropriately.

Reference numeral 106 denotes an error storage unit as storage means.
An error sent from the main processing unit 102 can be stored. Further, information such as an error pattern generated in the present sequence can be transmitted to the main processing unit 102.

In this embodiment, the distributing means is constituted by the main processing section 102, the processing table 103, the processing judging section 104, and the unit section 105. May be configured.

[Explanation of a Specific Example] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
First, when an error (1) occurs in step 201, the error (1) is stored in a storage step (step 202). Subsequently, some sequence processing (sequence processing 1) is performed in step 203, and if an error (2) occurs (step 204), the error (2) is stored in a storage step (step 20).
5).

Thereafter, in step 206, the state of occurrence of an error that has occurred previously is checked, and the processing is distributed in the distribution step. If no error has occurred in step 201, the next processing 1A is continuously performed (step 207),
Subsequently, in step 209, some sequence processing (sequence processing 2) is performed. Error (1) in step 201
When the error occurs, consider the occurrence of error (1),
Subsequently, the processing 1B is performed (Step 208), and Step 2 is performed.
At 10, some sequence processing (sequence processing 3) is performed.

Thereafter, an error (3) occurs (step 211), and the error (3) is stored in the storage step in the same manner as before (step 212). And step 2
In step 13, as in step 206, the status of the error that has occurred previously in the distribution process is checked, and the process is distributed. If no error has occurred, go to step 3A (step 214). If only error (1) has occurred, go to step 3B (step 215). If only error (2) has occurred, go to step 3C. If both errors (1) and (2) occur in (step 214), process 3D
(Step 215). The above is the description of the processing in this embodiment.

[Embodiment] Embodiments 1 and 2 which are specific examples using the processing of FIG. 2 will be described below. <First Embodiment> FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a first embodiment up to wafer collection due to occurrence of a vacuum error during wafer transfer. First, in step 301, the wafer is transferred and placed on a pin (PIN). Next step 3
If a pin vacuum error occurs in 02, the error is stored (step 303). If no error occurs, the next step 304 is performed without any operation.
Proceed to. Then, in step 304, the wafer is transferred to the chuck. If a vacuum error occurs here (Y (Yes) determination in step 305), the exposure apparatus is stopped (step 307). If no vacuum error has occurred (N (No) determination in step 305), a sequence process to be performed next is performed (step 306). When an alignment error occurs (step 308), the alignment error is stored (step 309).

Thereafter, the wafer is to be collected.
If a vacuum error has occurred in step 302 (Y (Yes) determination in step 310), automatic collection is not possible, so a manual collection process (step 3)
Perform 12). For example, if a vacuum error is stored in step 303, step 312 is performed. If a vacuum error has not occurred (N (No) in step 310), automatic wafer collection (step 311) is performed. For example, if no vacuum error is stored in step 303, step 311 is performed.

<Second Embodiment> FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment in which alignment measurement is performed after the start of the sequence processing. First, in step 401, an AGA job is started. Next, processing such as wafer loading is performed (step 402).
GA measurement is performed (step 403). Suppose, here, AG
If an A measurement error has occurred (Y (Y
es)), and this error is stored (step 40).
5). If there is no error (determination of N (No) in step 404), the TVPA measurement (step 406) is performed as it is. If a TVPA measurement error occurs here (Y (Yes) determination in process 407), this error is stored (step 408). If there is no error, the process proceeds to the next process (step 4).
09).

In step 409, it is determined whether an AGA or TVPA measurement error has occurred. If neither has occurred (determination of none), since no error has occurred, the next sequence processing (step 411) is performed as it is. For example, step 40
If the measurement errors of AGA and TVPA are not stored in step 5 and step 408, step 411 is performed.

If only an AGA measurement error has occurred (determination of (1) only), AGA measurement (step 403)
Again. For example, an AGA measurement error is stored in step 405, and if a TVPA measurement error is not stored in step 408, step 403 is performed again. If an AGA measurement error does not occur here, the error information of the AGA measurement that occurred earlier becomes invalid, and
VPA measurement (step 406) is performed. That is, AGA
Recovery from the measurement error is performed.

If only a TVPA measurement error has occurred (determination of (2) only), the TVPA measurement (step 40)
Repeat step 6). For example, no AGA measurement error is stored in step 405, and the TV
If a PA measurement error has been stored, step 406 is performed again. If no error has occurred here, the error information of the TVPA measurement that has just occurred becomes invalid, and the process proceeds to step 409 as it is. That is, recovery from a TVPA measurement error is performed.

If both the AGA measurement error and the TVPA measurement error have occurred (determination of (1) and (2)), the wafer is collected (step 410).
For example, if an AGA measurement error is stored in step 405 and a TVPA measurement error is stored in step 408, step 410 is performed.

[Other Embodiments] The present invention is also applicable to the following cases. In the above-described first and second embodiments, a case has been described in which an error generated after a certain process is started is stored. The present invention is also applied to an error that has been generated by processing the data up to now, that is, a case where an error other than an error that has occurred in a certain process is taken. Further, when a plurality of errors occur, the determination is made only by the combination, and only one process is performed depending on the combination. However, a plurality of processes may be performed in a certain combination. Further, the present invention is also applied to a case where a process can be selected in the plurality of processes.

[Embodiment of Semiconductor Production System] Next, an example of a production system for semiconductor devices (semiconductor chips such as ICs and LSIs, liquid crystal panels, CCDs, thin-film magnetic heads, micromachines, etc.) will be described. In this method, maintenance services such as troubleshooting and periodic maintenance of a manufacturing apparatus installed in a semiconductor manufacturing factory or provision of software are performed using a computer network outside the manufacturing factory.

FIG. 5 shows the whole system cut out from a certain angle. In the figure, reference numeral 501 denotes a business office of a vendor (equipment maker) that provides an apparatus for manufacturing semiconductor devices. As an example of a manufacturing apparatus, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for various processes used in a semiconductor manufacturing plant, for example,
Pre-process equipment (lithography equipment such as exposure equipment, resist processing equipment, etching equipment, heat treatment equipment, film formation equipment,
It is assumed that flattening equipment and the like and post-processing equipment (assembly equipment, inspection equipment, etc.) are used. A host management system 50 that provides a maintenance database for manufacturing equipment is located in the business office 501.
8, a plurality of operation terminal computers 510, and a local area network (LAN) 509 connecting these to construct an intranet or the like. Host management system 5
Reference numeral 08 includes a gateway for connecting the LAN 509 to the Internet 505, which is an external network of the business office, and a security function for restricting external access.

On the other hand, 502 to 504 are manufacturing factories of a semiconductor manufacturer as users of the manufacturing apparatus. The manufacturing factories 502 to 504 may be factories belonging to different manufacturers, or factories belonging to the same manufacturer (for example, a factory for a pre-process, a factory for a post-process, etc.). In each of the factories 502 to 504, a plurality of manufacturing apparatuses 506, a local area network (LAN) 511 connecting them to construct an intranet or the like, and a monitoring apparatus for monitoring the operation status of each manufacturing apparatus 506 are provided. A management system 507 is provided. Each factory 5
Host management system 507 provided in each of 02 to 504
Has a gateway for connecting the LAN 511 in each factory to the Internet 505 which is an external network of the factory. As a result, the LAN 511 of each factory can access the host management system 508 on the vendor 501 side via the Internet 505, and only the users limited by the security function of the host management system 508 are permitted to access. In particular,
Via the Internet 505, status information indicating the operation status of each manufacturing apparatus 506 (for example, a symptom of the manufacturing apparatus in which a trouble has occurred) is notified from the factory side to the vendor side, and response information corresponding to the notification (for example, (Information for instructing a coping method for the trouble, software and data for coping), and maintenance information such as the latest software and help information can be received from the vendor side. Each factory 5
02 to 504 and the vendor 501 and data communication on the LAN 511 in each factory, a communication protocol (TCP) generally used on the Internet is used.
/ IP) is used. Instead of using the Internet as an external network outside the factory, it is also possible to use a dedicated line network (such as ISDN) that is not accessible from a third party and has high security. Further, the host management system is not limited to the one provided by the vendor, and a user may construct a database and place it on an external network, and permit access from a plurality of factories of the user to the database.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the entire system of the present embodiment cut out from another angle than that of FIG. In the above example, a plurality of user factories each having a manufacturing device and a management system of a vendor of the manufacturing device are connected via an external network, and the production management of each factory and at least one device are connected via the external network. Data communication of the information of the manufacturing apparatus. On the other hand, in this example, a factory equipped with manufacturing equipment of a plurality of vendors is connected to a management system of each of the plurality of manufacturing equipments via an external network outside the factory, and maintenance information of each manufacturing equipment is stored. It is for data communication. In the figure, reference numeral 601 denotes a manufacturing factory of a manufacturing apparatus user (semiconductor device maker), and a manufacturing line for performing various processes, for example, an exposure apparatus 602, a resist processing apparatus 603,
A film forming apparatus 604 is introduced. Although only one manufacturing factory 601 is illustrated in FIG. 6, a plurality of factories are actually networked similarly. Each device in the factory is connected via a LAN 606 to form an intranet or the like, and a host management system 605 manages the operation of the production line. On the other hand, each business establishment of a vendor (equipment supplier) such as an exposure apparatus maker 610, a resist processing apparatus maker 620, and a film formation apparatus maker 630 has a host management system 6 for performing remote maintenance of the supplied equipment.
11, 621, 631 which comprise a maintenance database and an external network gateway as described above. A host management system 605 that manages each device in a user's manufacturing factory and a management system 611, 621, and 631 of a vendor of each device are connected to an external network 600.
Are connected by the Internet or a dedicated line network. In this system, if a trouble occurs in any of a series of manufacturing equipment on the manufacturing line, the operation of the manufacturing line is stopped, but remote maintenance is performed from the vendor of the troubled equipment via the Internet 600. As a result, quick response is possible, and downtime of the production line can be minimized.

Each of the manufacturing apparatuses installed in the semiconductor manufacturing factory includes a display, a network interface, and a computer that executes network access software and apparatus operation software stored in a storage device. The storage device is a built-in memory, a hard disk, a network file server, or the like. The network access software includes a dedicated or general-purpose web browser, and provides, for example, a user interface having a screen as shown in FIG. 7 on a display. The operator who manages the manufacturing equipment at each factory refers to the screen and refers to the model (7
01), serial number (702), subject of trouble (703), date of occurrence (704), urgency (705), symptom (706), remedy (707), progress (708), etc. on the screen. Fill in the input fields. The entered information is sent to the maintenance database via the Internet,
The resulting appropriate maintenance information is returned from the maintenance database and presented on the display. Further, the user interface provided by the web browser further realizes a hyperlink function (710 to 712) as shown in the figure, so that the operator can access more detailed information of each item,
From the software library provided by the vendor, the latest version of software to be used for the manufacturing apparatus can be extracted, and an operation guide (help information) for reference by the factory operator can be extracted. Here, the maintenance information provided by the maintenance database includes information on the features of the present invention described above, and the software library also provides the latest software for realizing the features of the present invention.

Next, a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device using the above-described production system will be described. FIG.
1 shows a flow of an overall semiconductor device manufacturing process. In step 1 (circuit design), the circuit of the semiconductor device is designed. Step 2 is a process for making a mask on the basis of the circuit pattern design. On the other hand, in step 3 (wafer manufacturing), a wafer is manufactured using a material such as silicon. Step 4 (wafer process) is called a pre-process, and an actual circuit is formed on the wafer by lithography using the prepared mask and wafer. The next step 5 (assembly) is called a post-process, and is a process of forming a semiconductor chip using the wafer produced in step 4, and an assembly process (dicing,
Bonding), an assembly process such as a packaging process (chip encapsulation) and the like. In step 6 (inspection), inspections such as an operation confirmation test and a durability test of the semiconductor device manufactured in step 5 are performed. Through these steps, a semiconductor device is completed and shipped (step 7). The pre-process and the post-process are performed in separate dedicated factories, and maintenance is performed for each of these factories by the above-described remote maintenance system. Also, between the pre-process factory and the post-process factory,
Information for production management and device maintenance is communicated via the Internet or a dedicated line network.

FIG. 9 shows a detailed flow of the wafer process. Step 11 (oxidation) oxidizes the wafer's surface. Step 12 (CVD) forms an insulating film on the wafer surface. Step 13 (electrode formation) forms electrodes on the wafer by vapor deposition. In step 14 (ion implantation), ions are implanted into the wafer. Step 1
In 5 (resist processing), a photosensitive agent is applied to the wafer. Step 16 (exposure) uses the above-described exposure apparatus to print and expose the circuit pattern of the mask onto the wafer. Step 17 (development) develops the exposed wafer. In step 18 (etching), portions other than the developed resist image are removed. In step 19 (resist stripping), unnecessary resist after etching is removed. By repeating these steps, multiple circuit patterns are formed on the wafer. Since the manufacturing equipment used in each process is maintained by the remote maintenance system described above, troubles can be prevented beforehand, and if troubles occur, quick recovery is possible. Productivity can be improved.

[0043]

As described above, according to the exposure apparatus and / or the method for distributing processing according to the pattern at the time of occurrence of an error according to the present invention, a sequence to be processed according to a plurality of error patterns generated in the exposure apparatus is conventionally used. According to the technique described above, accurate processing is performed when the same error occurs (processing that should not be performed is not performed). In addition, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the operation rate due to a failure or recovery in the exposure apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process up to a wafer recovery due to a vacuum error during wafer transfer according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart in a case where alignment measurement is performed after a sequence process is started as Embodiment 2.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual view of a semiconductor device production system including an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from a certain angle.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual view of a semiconductor device production system including an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from another angle.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of a user interface in a semiconductor device production system including an exposure apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a flow of a device manufacturing process by the exposure apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a wafer process by the exposure apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

101: semiconductor exposure apparatus, 102: main processing unit, 10
3: processing table, 104: processing determination section, 105: unit section, 106: error storage section, 501: vendor's office, 502, 503, 504: manufacturing factory, 505: internet, 506: manufacturing apparatus, 507: factory 508: vendor-side host management system, 509: vendor-side local area network (LAN), 510: operation terminal computer, 511:
Factory Local Area Network (LAN), 60
0: external network, 601: manufacturing apparatus user's manufacturing factory, 602: exposure apparatus, 603: resist processing apparatus,
604: film forming apparatus, 605: factory host management system, 606: factory local area network (L
AN), 610: Exposure equipment maker, 611: Host management system of the business of the exposure equipment maker, 620: Resist processing equipment maker, 621: Host management system of the business of the resist processing equipment maker, 630: Film forming equipment maker
631: host management system of a business site of a film forming apparatus maker, 701: model of a manufacturing apparatus, 702: serial number, 703: subject of trouble, 704: date of occurrence, 70
5: urgency, 706: symptom, 707: remedy, 708:
Progress, 710, 711, 712: hyperlink function.

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. An exposure apparatus for transferring and exposing an original pattern formed on an original onto a substrate, wherein when an error occurs in the exposure apparatus, a plurality of storage means for storing the errors, An exposure apparatus comprising: a distribution unit that distributes a process according to a pattern. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the exposure apparatus determines and selects an optimal or corresponding error recovery process from a single or a plurality of error recovery processes according to the generated error pattern. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pattern of the error is provided as a table, and whether the error generated in the exposure apparatus matches the pattern in the table is referred to. 3. The exposure apparatus according to 1 or 2. 4. The error is an abnormality from a plurality of units of the exposure apparatus, and the exposure apparatus performs one or more processes required in the exposure apparatus by performing a determination and a selected error recovery process. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit. 5. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a main processing unit that acquires the error occurrence information from the unit unit, and sends a determined and selected error recovery process to the unit unit. Item 5. The exposure apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 4. 6. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein processing after the occurrence of the error in the exposure apparatus is processing for stopping the exposure apparatus. 7. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing after the occurrence of the error in the exposure apparatus is the error recovery processing selected and selected. 8. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein processing after the occurrence of the error in the exposure apparatus is processing for automatically or manually collecting the substrate. 9. An exposure apparatus for transferring and exposing an original pattern formed on an original onto a substrate, wherein when an error occurs in the exposure apparatus, a storage step of storing a plurality of the errors, and a single or a plurality of patterns of the errors And a distribution step of distributing the processing according to the method. 10. A step of installing a group of manufacturing apparatuses for various processes including the exposure apparatus according to claim 1 in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, and a semiconductor device by a plurality of processes using the group of manufacturing apparatuses. A method of manufacturing a device. 11. A step of connecting the group of manufacturing apparatuses via a local area network, and data communication between at least one of the group of manufacturing apparatuses between the local area network and an external network outside the semiconductor manufacturing plant. 11. The device manufacturing method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of: 12. A semiconductor manufacturing factory different from the semiconductor manufacturing factory by accessing a database provided by a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus via the external network to obtain maintenance information of the manufacturing apparatus by data communication. 12. The production management is performed by performing data communication with the device via the external network.
3. The device manufacturing method according to claim 1. 13. A manufacturing apparatus group for various processes including the exposure apparatus according to claim 1, a local area network connecting the manufacturing apparatus group, and an external device outside the factory from the local area network. A semiconductor manufacturing plant, comprising: a gateway enabling access to a network; and enabling data communication of information on at least one of the manufacturing apparatus groups. 14. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, which is installed in a semiconductor manufacturing plant.
A maintenance method for an exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
A step of providing a maintenance database connected to an external network of a semiconductor manufacturing plant by a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus, and a step of permitting access to the maintenance database from the inside of the semiconductor manufacturing factory via the external network. Transmitting the maintenance information stored in the maintenance database to the semiconductor manufacturing factory via the external network. 15. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display, a network interface, and a computer that executes network software, and stores maintenance information of the exposure apparatus via a computer network. An exposure apparatus, which enables data communication. 16. The network software,
Provided on the display is a user interface for accessing a maintenance database provided by a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus connected to an external network of a factory where the exposure apparatus is installed, and from the database via the external network. The exposure apparatus according to claim 15, wherein information can be obtained.