JP2003022963A - Aligner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress decomposition of refrigerant without having any adverse effect on a clean semiconductor factory, or the like. SOLUTION: The aligner comprises an illumination optical system irradiating exposing light or an electron beam, a stage for mounting at least any one of an original plate and a substrate, a temperature regulator 46 for controlling the temperature in the aligner through a refrigerant, i.e., pure water 3, and a UV sterilizer 43 performing UV sterilization of the pure water 3. Any one of distilled water or pure water is deoxydized by a deoxydizer 44 and flow rate of the pure water 3 passing through the UV sterilizer 43 can be controlled based on the detection results of a sensor 25 for detecting the quality of the pure water 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus used in a semiconductor manufacturing process, and is particularly suitable for temperature control inside the apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a cooling method performed for a positioning device in an exposure apparatus, as shown in FIG. 6, a temperature-controlled fluorine-based inert refrigerant is used between a heating element such as a drive unit and a temperature control device. It is common practice to circulate. The conventional example shown in FIG. 6 shows a positioning device portion in an exposure apparatus, and detects a measurement length 13 for a positioning target 10 by using a measuring mirror 11 and a position measuring means 12 such as a laser interferometer. Then, the position of the positioning target 10 is measured with high accuracy, and based on the measurement result, the controller 14
Also, the linear motor 1 is controlled by the driver 15.
Linear motor 1 including stator 1a and mover 1b
Circulates the fluorine-based inert refrigerant 2 through the temperature control device 6 and the flow path 7 in the temperature control chamber to keep the temperature constant. Further, the linear motor 1 has a jacket structure as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-309071.
The refrigerant directly collects the amount of heat generated by the coil. The reason why the fluorine-based inert refrigerant is used as the refrigerant is as follows. 1. Since it is a chemically very stable liquid and the refrigerant does not deteriorate or decompose, it does not require maintenance. 2. Since it does not induce rust, there is no need to worry about rust on pipes and joints. In addition, in the unlikely event of a leak, the influence on the inside of the device is small. 3. Since the electric insulation is extremely high (about 10 ¹⁵ Ω · cm), there is no problem in the insulation even if the coil or the like is directly cooled.

Further, as a technique of circulating cooling other than the fluorine-based inert refrigerant, a gas refrigerant such as air or carbon dioxide or oil,
There is a so-called antifreeze liquid refrigerant called brine (ethylene glycol-based or propylene glycol-based), or water mixed with various additives such as rust preventives and anti-corrosion agents.

[0004]

While the fluorine-based inert refrigerant has the advantages described in the prior art, it has the following disadvantages. 1. Refrigerant unit price is very high. 2. High global warming potential. 3. Heat capacity (specific heat x density) per unit volume is about 1 for water
It is as small as / 2.

Fluorine-based inert refrigerant has a unit cost of about 1 as compared with various refrigerants such as water and brine containing additives.
It is very high, about 0 to 50 times. Therefore, it has been a problem in terms of cost for an exposure apparatus that requires a large amount of coolant. Further, it has been pointed out that the fluorine-based inert refrigerant has a very high global warming potential GWP (Global Warming Potential) because it is not decomposed in the atmosphere because of its high chemical stability. Therefore, first, the use of an inert refrigerant is being reviewed for use in an open system such as for cleaning, and for use in a closed circulation system, an alternative refrigerant will be examined over the long term. It's starting to happen.

In addition to such a background, particularly in the exposure apparatus, further higher output of the driving unit is required, and improvement of cooling capacity is desired. In order to improve the cooling capacity, (1) increasing the refrigerant flow rate, (2) decreasing the refrigerant temperature, and (3) increasing the heat capacity of the refrigerant can be considered.
However, since the pumping capacity required increases with the increase of the refrigerant flow rate, the pump becomes very large, and it is difficult to secure the flow rate higher than that at present. Furthermore, if the circulating refrigerant flow rate near the positioning target, which is the temperature control target, is increased more than ever, the flow of the refrigerant becomes turbulent, which induces vibrations in the pipes, etc. This cannot be easily done because there is a problem that it becomes a disturbance and deteriorates the positioning accuracy and further lowers the exposure accuracy. Further, if the refrigerant temperature is lowered too much, the air around the refrigerant passage will have temperature unevenness as compared with the entire atmosphere, and it will induce fluctuations of the interferometer laser for measuring the position, and therefore the measurement accuracy This will deteriorate the positioning accuracy. Therefore, we have been studying alternative refrigerants with a large heat capacity, instead of fluorine-based inert refrigerants.

It is considered that water (pure water) or brine (refrigerant obtained by diluting ethylene glycol or propylene glycol antifreeze with water) is used as a refrigerant having a large heat capacity, and is actually used in various machine tools. . However, when water or brine is circulated as a refrigerant for a long time,
There is a problem that rust is generated on the metal surface of the refrigerant contacting portion of the pipe or the like, or the refrigerant is spoiled due to propagation of various bacteria. For this reason, it is common to use water or brine to which a rust preventive or preservative has been added as a refrigerant. However, in many preservatives, in addition to alcohol-based components, amine-based components are included to enhance the sterilization effect.

On the other hand, in a semiconductor factory, a very clean space is maintained, and in the process of semiconductor manufacturing, not only minute organic substances such as dust but also the atmosphere is polluted by metal ions and amine organic substance ions. Has been minimized. For this reason, it is said that it is preferable that the refrigerant used in the exposure apparatus does not include metal salts or amine-based ions that are these contaminants (contamination), assuming that they may leak from the pipes and the like. It was Furthermore, even if these pollutants are at a level that does not cause a problem in the factory, if the refrigerant leaking from the piping adheres to the precision surface plate, etc., the refrigerant volatilizes and the additive components remain and adhere to the surface of the precision surface plate. Therefore, the surface accuracy of the surface plate may be affected. The precision surface plate is often the positioning reference in the positioning device in the exposure apparatus.
Further, since the exposure accuracy is greatly affected, there is a demand for a refrigerant having no residue even when the refrigerant volatilizes.

Further, it is general that periodic maintenance is required to control the water quality of the refrigerant, but in the case of an exposure apparatus, it is often operated for 24 hours, and it is desirable to reduce the maintenance load as much as possible. ing.

An object of the present invention is to provide an exposure apparatus capable of suppressing the spoilage of a cooling medium without causing a bad influence on a clean semiconductor factory or the like.

[0011]

In view of the above problems, the present invention relates to an illumination optical system for irradiating exposure light and an electron beam, a stage on which at least one of an original plate and a substrate is mounted, and a coolant. And a temperature control device for controlling the temperature inside the device via
A UV sterilizer for V sterilization is provided.
The refrigerant may be distilled water or pure water,
The refrigerant is preferably a deoxidized refrigerant, and means for detecting the quality of the refrigerant is provided, and it is preferable that the flow rate of the refrigerant passing through the UV sterilizer can be controlled based on the detection result.

In the present invention, the refrigerant sterilized by the UV sterilizer is circulated in the exposure device. Further, when the refrigerant is water, the heat capacity of the refrigerant can be increased and a cooling effect can be expected. Furthermore, if distilled water or pure water is used as the refrigerant, even if the refrigerant leaks outside the device, the atmosphere in the factory will not be polluted. Further, when distilled water or pure water is used, no residue remains after volatilization, so that even if it should leak from a pipe or the like into the apparatus, adverse effects on positioning accuracy and exposure accuracy can be avoided. Further, if the refrigerant is subjected to a deoxidizing treatment, it can have a rust preventive effect on the piping and the like, and can also prevent the growth of various bacteria due to lack of oxygen.

Further, according to the present invention, a step of installing a manufacturing apparatus group for various processes including any one of the above-mentioned exposure apparatuses in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, and a semiconductor device is manufactured by a plurality of processes using the manufacturing apparatus group. It is also applicable to a semiconductor device manufacturing method having a process. The method further includes the steps of connecting the manufacturing apparatus group with a local area network, and performing data communication between the local area network and an external network outside the semiconductor manufacturing factory for information regarding at least one of the manufacturing apparatus group. It is desirable to have. A database provided by a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus is accessed through the external network to obtain maintenance information of the manufacturing apparatus by data communication, or between the semiconductor manufacturing factory and a semiconductor manufacturing factory different from the semiconductor manufacturing factory. It is preferable to perform production management by data communication via an external network.

Further, according to the present invention, a group of manufacturing apparatuses for various processes including any one of the above-mentioned exposure apparatuses, a local area network connecting the group of manufacturing apparatuses, and an external network outside the factory are accessed from the local area network. The present invention is also applied to a semiconductor manufacturing factory that has a gateway that enables data communication of information regarding at least one of the manufacturing apparatus group.

The present invention also provides a maintenance method of any one of the exposure apparatuses installed in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, wherein a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus is a maintenance database connected to an external network of the semiconductor manufacturing factory. And a step of permitting access to the maintenance database from the semiconductor manufacturing factory via the external network, and maintenance information accumulated in the maintenance database on the semiconductor manufacturing factory side via the external network. And a step of transmitting the information to the user.

Further, the present invention, in any one of the above-mentioned exposure apparatuses, further has a display, a network interface, and a computer that executes software for a network, and carries out data communication of maintenance information of the exposure apparatus via a computer network. It may be characterized in that it is possible to do. The network software is connected to an external network of a factory in which the exposure apparatus is installed and provides a user interface on the display for accessing a maintenance database provided by a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus. It is preferable to be able to obtain information from the database via.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION <First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a cooling system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The same elements as those shown in FIG. Is attached. This embodiment corresponds to FIG. 6 which is a conventional example, and shows the cooling configuration of the positioning device in the exposure apparatus. Conventionally, a fluorine-based inert refrigerant was circulated between the drive unit and the temperature control device, whereas in the present embodiment, pure water sterilized by the UV sterilizer 43 is used as a refrigerant for hermetic circulation. . In the flow path of the circulating pure water 3, a pure water device 42 and a deoxidizer 44 are arranged in addition to the UV sterilizer 43 and the temperature controller 46. Bypass side flow path 7
A bypass valve 20 is provided in b, and a water quality sensor 25 is provided in the flow path 7 on the outlet side of the temperature control device 46.

The water quality sensor 25 detects purity, oxygen concentration and the like. The purity is detected based on the conductivity of pure water measured. And when the water quality drops below a certain level,
The valve controller 28 controls the opening degree of the bypass valve 20 based on the water quality detection result by the water quality sensor 25, thereby controlling the flow rate of pure water passing through the pure water device 42, the UV sterilizer 43 and the deoxidizer 44. .

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a linear motor as an example of the driving unit, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the stator thereof. The linear motor 1 includes a mover B having a magnet 30 and a stator A having coils 31a, 31b, 31c which are heating elements.
It is composed of. As shown in FIG. 4, the stator A has a jacket structure in which coils 31a, 31b, 31c are incorporated and a jacket 34 surrounding the coils is formed.
The member 35 and the members 39a, 39b for efficiently contacting the pure water 3 with the coils 31a, 31b and the like are fixed to the inner surface of the jacket 34, and the pure water 3 supports the supporting members 38a to 38c via the member 37. The coils 31a, 31b, 31c supported by are directly touched to efficiently remove the heat generated by the coils.

As another example of the driving unit, FIG.
I will give you. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a single-coil linear motor. In this linear motor, permanent magnets 21a, 21b and 21c, 21d are fixed to the inner surfaces of the yokes 22, 22 and face each other, and a coil 23 is provided between the permanent magnets 21a, 21b and the permanent magnets 21c, 21d. It is supported and arranged in 24. Similar to that shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in this linear motor, the coolant of the pure water 3 is supplied into the coil support 24 and directly contacts the coil 23 to recover the amount of heat generated by the coil 23. Has become.
In addition to the water quality sensor 25, the flow rate sensor 2 is provided in the flow path 7.
6, a temperature sensor 27 and a filter 48 are provided.

The water quality sensor 25 and the flow rate sensor 2
The output of 6 is sent to the valve controller 28, and the valve controller 28 controls the opening degree of the supply valve 16 and the discharge valve 18, and controls the water quality and flow rate of the circulating pure water 3.
Further, the output of the temperature sensor 27 is sent to the controller 14, and the controller 14 controls the temperature control device 46 via the cooling control means 4 to control the temperature of the circulating pure water 3. The flow rate sensor 26, the temperature sensor 27, and the filter 48 are also applicable to the embodiment shown in FIG.

As a method of sterilizing the refrigerant, a method of adding an antiseptic agent to the refrigerant is often used as a simple method and has a great effect. However, when it is used in an exposure apparatus, there are serious problems for the following reasons. 1. In many cases, the components of the preservative include substances which are not preferable in the manufacturing process at the semiconductor factory. 2. When pure water is used for the purpose of giving insulation to the refrigerant,
Additives such as preservatives deteriorate the insulation. 3. In order to maintain the sterilization effect, a sample check must be performed regularly, which imposes a maintenance load.

Therefore, as a sterilizing method in the exposure apparatus, the so-called U is used to sterilize the refrigerant by irradiating it with ultraviolet rays.
Sterilization with a V sterilizer was adopted. By doing so, it is not necessary to add anything to the refrigerant, so there is no fear of adversely affecting the process process of the semiconductor factory, and in particular pure water for the purpose of requiring the insulating property of the refrigerant as in this embodiment. In the case of using, the sterilization can be performed without adding to the pure water without deteriorating the insulating property of the pure water (specific resistance value of pure water). Further, when the UV sterilizer is used, maintenance can be performed only at the device level (replacement of the ultraviolet lamp, etc.), so the timing and method of maintenance are clear and the maintenance load can be reduced.

Further, by using pure water as the refrigerant, pollutants that are disliked in the semiconductor factory can be collected in the pure water device, so that even if the refrigerant leaks to the outside of the device, it does not work. Can prevent pollution. Furthermore, even if these pollutants are at a level that does not cause a problem in the factory, if the refrigerant leaking from the piping adheres to the precision surface plate, etc., the refrigerant volatilizes and the additive components remain and adhere to the surface of the precision surface plate. Therefore, the surface accuracy of the surface plate may be affected. However, when distilled water or pure water is used as the refrigerant, even if it leaks and volatilizes in the device, no residue remains, so the accuracy of the platen is not affected.

The reason why the deoxidizing treatment has an anticorrosive effect is that the refrigerant is contaminated when a commonly used anticorrosive agent is used. Basically, rust preventives are roughly divided into two groups, one containing a metal salt and the other containing an amine salt. However, as described above, these salts are not preferable in the manufacturing process in the semiconductor factory. For example, a metal salt causes a poor yield when attached to a wafer, and an amine salt has a bad influence on a resist. Of course, since the refrigerant circulates in a closed system, there is no problem unless an accident such as a refrigerant leak occurs, but in the unlikely event of an accident, due to the reliability of the device, these contaminants are intentionally added to prevent rust. There are circumstances that I do not want to let you do. Further, since the refrigerant is distilled water or pure water, since the organic matter that is a food of miscellaneous bacteria in the refrigerant is removed, it has an effect of suppressing the growth of miscellaneous bacteria to some extent, but if the refrigerant is subjected to deoxygenation treatment. It is very effective against bacteria that require oxygen to live. Therefore, it becomes possible to more effectively perform the sterilization process and the like. Under these circumstances, it is very suitable to perform UV treatment, remove dissolved oxygen, and circulate distilled water or pure water containing no contaminants in cooling in an exposure apparatus operating in a semiconductor factory. Can be said.

<Second Embodiment> FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a cooling system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
The same elements as those shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the present embodiment, in order to maintain the level of the pure water 3 that is circulated, to maintain the deterioration (rotation) of the pure water 3 in a simple manner, and to maintain the dissolved oxygen amount at a low level, the supply valve 16 is opened, pure water supplied from the factory through the supply pipe 17 is constantly supplied little by little, and the discharge valve 18 is opened to discharge the circulating pure water 3 through the discharge pipe 19 for replacement. Generally, a semiconductor factory produces a large amount of deoxidized pure water at a high level (having a high specific resistance value) for use in cleaning wafers and the like. Therefore, in the semiconductor factory, the unit price of these pure water is much lower than that of the one generally obtained. Therefore, as one of the methods of maintaining pure water with a small amount of dissolved oxygen, there is a small amount of dissolved oxygen with a suitable amount in a timely or high level (high specific resistance) pure water with respect to the circulating refrigerant. A configuration in which it is diluted with is conceivable. As a result, the deoxidizer 44 or the deionizer 42 can be remarkably compact, or the deoxidizer 44 or the deionizer 42 can be omitted. The pure water may be supplied from the factory with a constant amount of pure water, or may be supplied with a constant amount of water every fixed time, or when the water quality falls below a certain standard. Either of them does not differ from the gist of the present invention. In this way, if the supply of pure water at a higher level than the factory is always performed at a constant amount, at regular intervals, or when the quality of the water is below a certain level, the pure water refrigerant is prevented from spoiling at the same time. It becomes possible. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the scale of the UV sterilizer.

When a high level of pure water is supplied from the factory when the water quality is below a certain level, based on the water quality detection result by the water quality sensor 25 for detecting the water quality in the flow path 7,
The valve controller 28 can control the opening of the supply valve 16 to control the flow rate of pure water supplied from the factory. The water quality sensor 25 detects purity, oxygen concentration, and the like. The purity is detected based on the conductivity of pure water measured. In addition, in the present embodiment, the bypass valve 20 that opens and closes the bypass-side flow path 7b that does not pass through the deoxidizer 44 is provided, and the valve controller 28 determines the opening degree of the bypass valve 20 based on the water quality detection result by the water quality sensor 25. By controlling, the flow rate of pure water passing through the pure water device 42, the UV sterilizer 43, and the deoxidizer 44 can also be controlled. In the case of the present embodiment, in addition to the water quality sensor 25, the flow rate sensor 26, the temperature sensor 27, and the filter 48 may be disposed in the flow path 7 as in the case shown in FIG. 6.

<Third Embodiment> A third embodiment of the present invention will be described by taking a scanning exposure apparatus as an example. Figure 9
FIG. 8 is a front view showing a main structure of a scanning exposure apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the lens barrel surface plate 96
Are supported from the floor or base 91 via dampers 98. The lens barrel surface plate 96 supports the reticle stage surface plate 94 and also supports the projection optical system 97 located between the reticle stage 95 and the wafer stage 93.

The wafer stage 93 is a floor or base 91.
Is supported on a stage surface plate 92 supported by a plurality of mounts 90, and a wafer as a substrate is mounted and held by a chuck (not shown) for positioning. The reticle stage 95 is supported on a reticle stage surface plate 94 supported by a lens barrel surface plate 96, and is movable by mounting a reticle as an original plate on which a circuit pattern is formed.
Exposure light for exposing the reticle mounted on the reticle stage 95 onto the wafer on the wafer stage 93 is emitted from the illumination optical system 99.

Then, the wafer stage 93 is scanned in synchronization with the reticle stage 95. Reticle stage 9
5, the positions of the wafer 5 and the wafer stage 93 are continuously detected by an interferometer and fed back to the drive units of the reticle stage 95 and the wafer stage 93, respectively. As a result, the scanning start positions of the both can be accurately synchronized, and the scanning speed of the constant speed scanning region can be controlled with high accuracy. While both are scanning the projection optical system 97, the reticle pattern is exposed on the wafer and the circuit pattern is transferred.

The circulation system of the cooling system according to the present invention is used for all of the fluid of the cooling system for cooling the projection optical system 97, the reticle stage 95, the wafer stage 93, the mount 90, the chuck and the like in this exposure apparatus. Applicable.

<Embodiment of Semiconductor Production System> Next,
An example of a production system of semiconductor devices (semiconductor chips such as IC and LSI, liquid crystal panels, CCDs, thin film magnetic heads, micromachines, etc.) using the exposure apparatus according to the present invention will be described. This is to perform maintenance services such as troubleshooting of a manufacturing apparatus installed in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, periodic maintenance, or software provision using a computer network outside the manufacturing factory.

FIG. 8 shows the whole system cut out from a certain angle. In the figure, 101 is a business office of a vendor (apparatus supplier) that provides a semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus. As an example of the manufacturing apparatus, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for various processes used in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, for example,
Pre-process equipment (lithography equipment such as exposure equipment, resist processing equipment, etching equipment, heat treatment equipment, film forming equipment,
Flattening equipment, etc.) and post-process equipment (assembling equipment, inspection equipment, etc.) are assumed. In the business office 101, a host management system 10 that provides a maintenance database for manufacturing equipment is provided.
8, a plurality of operation terminal computers 110, and a local area network (LAN) 109 that connects these to construct an intranet or the like. Host management system 1
08 is provided with a gateway for connecting the LAN 109 to the Internet 105, which is an external network of the office, and a security function for restricting access from the outside.

On the other hand, 102 to 104 are manufacturing factories of semiconductor manufacturers as users of manufacturing equipment. The manufacturing factories 102 to 104 may be factories belonging to different manufacturers or may be factories belonging to the same manufacturer (for example, a factory for pre-process, a factory for post-process, etc.). In each of the factories 102 to 104, a plurality of manufacturing apparatuses 106, a local area network (LAN) 111 that connects them to construct an intranet, and a host as a monitoring apparatus that monitors the operating status of each manufacturing apparatus 106 are provided. A management system 107 is provided. Each factory 1
02-104 host management system 107
Is provided with a gateway for connecting the LAN 111 in each factory to the Internet 105 which is an external network of the factory. As a result, it becomes possible to access the host management system 108 on the side of the business office 101 of the vendor from the LAN 111 of each factory via the Internet 105, and the security function of the host management system 108 allows access to only a limited number of users. . Specifically, each manufacturing apparatus 1 is connected via the Internet 105.
In addition to notifying status information indicating the operating status of 06 (for example, a symptom of a manufacturing apparatus in which a trouble has occurred) from the factory side to the vendor side, response information corresponding to the notification (for example, information instructing a troubleshooting method, You can receive maintenance information such as software (data and data for handling), the latest software, and help information from the vendor side. A communication protocol (TCP / IP) generally used on the Internet is used for data communication between each of the factories 102 to 104 and the vendor's office 101 and data communication via the LAN 111 in each factory. . In addition,
Instead of using the Internet as an external network outside the factory, it is possible to use a leased line network (ISDN or the like) having high security without being accessed by a third party. Further, the host management system is not limited to one provided by a vendor, and a user may construct a database and place it on an external network to permit access from a plurality of factories of the user to the database.

Now, FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing the entire system of this embodiment cut out from an angle different from that shown in FIG. In the above example, a plurality of user factories each equipped with a manufacturing apparatus and a management system of a vendor of the manufacturing apparatus are connected by an external network, and production management of each factory or at least one unit is performed via the external network. The information of the manufacturing apparatus was data-communicated. On the other hand, in this example, a factory equipped with manufacturing equipment of a plurality of vendors and a management system of each vendor of the plurality of manufacturing equipments are connected by an external network outside the factory, and maintenance information of each manufacturing equipment is displayed. It is for data communication. In the figure, reference numeral 201 denotes a manufacturing plant of a manufacturing apparatus user (semiconductor device manufacturing maker), and a manufacturing apparatus for performing various processes is installed on a manufacturing line of the factory.
The film forming processing device 204 is introduced. Although only one manufacturing factory 201 is shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of factories are actually networked in the same manner. Each device in the factory is connected by LAN 206 to form an intranet,
The host management system 205 manages the operation of the manufacturing line.

On the other hand, each business office of a vendor (apparatus supply manufacturer) such as an exposure apparatus maker 210, a resist processing apparatus maker 220, a film forming apparatus maker 230, etc., has a host management system 21 for remote maintenance of the supplied apparatus.
1, 221, 231, which are provided with the maintenance database and the gateway of the external network as described above. A host management system 205 that manages each device in the user's manufacturing plant, and a vendor management system 2 for each device
11, 221, and 231 are connected to each other via the external network 200 such as the Internet or a dedicated line network. In this system, when trouble occurs in any of the series of production equipment on the production line,
Although the operation of the manufacturing line is suspended, it is possible to quickly respond by receiving remote maintenance via the Internet 200 from the vendor of the device in which the trouble has occurred, and the suspension of the manufacturing line can be minimized. .

Each manufacturing apparatus installed in the semiconductor manufacturing factory is provided with a display, a network interface, and a computer for executing the network access software and the apparatus operating software stored in the storage device. The storage device is a built-in memory, a hard disk, or a network file server. The network access software includes a dedicated or general-purpose web browser, and provides a user interface having a screen as shown in FIG. 10 on the display. The operator who manages the manufacturing device in each factory refers to the screen and refers to the model 401 of the manufacturing device, the serial number 402, and the subject 4 of the trouble.
03, date of occurrence 404, urgency 405, symptom 406, coping method 407, progress 408, etc. are input to the input items on the screen. The input information is transmitted to the maintenance database via the Internet, and the appropriate maintenance information as a result is returned from the maintenance database and presented on the display. In addition, the user interface provided by the web browser further includes hyperlink functions 410 to 410 as illustrated.
412 is implemented, the operator can access more detailed information on each item, extract the latest version of software used for the manufacturing equipment from the software library provided by the vendor, and use the operation guide (help Information) can be withdrawn. Here, the maintenance information provided by the maintenance database includes the information about the present invention described above, and the software library also provides the latest software for implementing the present invention.

Next, a semiconductor device manufacturing process using the above-described production system will be described. FIG. 11 shows the flow of the whole manufacturing process of the semiconductor device.
In step 1 (circuit design), the circuit of the semiconductor device is designed. In step 2 (mask manufacturing), a mask having the designed circuit pattern is manufactured. On the other hand, step 3
In (wafer manufacture), 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 the lithography technique using the mask and the wafer prepared above. The next step 5 (assembly) is called a post-process, which is a process of forming a semiconductor chip using the wafer manufactured in step 4, and includes an assembly process (dicing, bonding), a packaging process (chip encapsulation), and the like. Including steps. In step 6 (inspection), the semiconductor device manufactured in step 5 undergoes inspections such as an operation confirmation test and a durability test. A semiconductor device is completed through these processes and shipped (step 7). The front-end process and the back-end process are performed in separate dedicated factories, and maintenance is performed for each of these factories by the remote maintenance system described above. Information for production management and device maintenance is also data-communicated between the front-end factory and the back-end factory via the Internet or the leased line network.

FIG. 12 shows a detailed flow of the wafer process. In step 11 (oxidation), the surface of the wafer is oxidized. In step 12 (CVD), an insulating film is formed on the wafer surface. In step 13 (electrode formation), electrodes are formed on the wafer by vapor deposition. In step 14 (ion implantation), ions are implanted in the wafer. Step 1
In 5 (resist processing), a photosensitive agent is applied to the wafer. In step 16 (exposure), the circuit pattern of the mask is printed and exposed on the wafer by the exposure apparatus described above. In step 17 (development), the exposed wafer is developed. In step 18 (etching), parts other than the developed resist image are removed. In step 19 (resist stripping), the resist that is no longer needed 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 in advance, and even if troubles occur, quick recovery is possible, and semiconductor devices can be compared to conventional devices. Productivity can be improved.

[0040]

According to the present invention, in the exposure apparatus provided with the temperature control device for controlling the temperature inside the apparatus through the refrigerant, the UV sterilization apparatus for performing the UV sterilization treatment on the refrigerant is provided. The antiseptic effect of the refrigerant can be obtained without adding a pollutant that may cause a problem in the manufacturing process in a semiconductor factory. Furthermore, by performing deoxidation treatment on the refrigerant,
It becomes possible to obtain a greater antiseptic effect. Further, when the refrigerant is distilled water or pure water, the antiseptic effect can be further enhanced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a cooling system of an exposure apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a cooling system for an exposure apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a linear motor used in the exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a stator of the linear motor of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing another example of a linear motor used in the exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional cooling system.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing an exposure apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual view of a semiconductor device production system using the exposure apparatus according to the present invention viewed from a certain angle.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual view of a semiconductor device production system using the exposure apparatus according to the present invention seen from another angle.

FIG. 10 is a specific example of a user interface.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a flow of a device manufacturing process.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a wafer process.

[Explanation of Codes] 1: Linear Motor, 1a: Stator, 1b: Mover, 3:
Pure water, 4: Cooling control means, 6: Temperature control device, 7: Flow path, 7
b: bypass channel, 10: positioning target, 11: measuring mirror, 12: position measuring means, 13: length to be measured, 1
4: controller, 15: driver, 16: supply valve, 17: supply pipe, 18: discharge valve, 19: discharge pipe,
20: bypass valve, 21a, 21b, 21c, 21
d: permanent magnet, 22: yoke, 23: coil, 24: coil support, 25: water quality sensor, 26: flow rate sensor, 2
7: Temperature sensor, 28: Valve controller, 30: Magnet, 31a, 31b, 31c: Coil, 34: Jacket, 38a, 38b, 38c: Support member, 42: Pure water device, 43: UV sterilizer, 44: Removal Oxygen device, 46: Temperature control device, 48: Filter, 90: Mount, 91: Floor or substrate, 92: Stage substrate, 93: Wafer stage, 94: Reticle stage surface plate, 95: Reticle stage, 96: Lens barrel constant Board, 97: Projection Optical System, 98: Damper, 99: Illumination Optical System, 101: Vendor Office, 10
2, 103, 104: Manufacturing Factory, 105: Internet, 106: Manufacturing Device, 107: Factory Host Management System, 108: Vendor Host Management System, 10
9: Vendor side local area network (LA
N), 110: operating terminal computer, 111: factory local area network (LAN), 200: external network, 201: manufacturing equipment user manufacturing factory, 2
02: exposure device, 203: resist processing device, 204:
Deposition apparatus, 205: Factory host management system, 2
06: Factory local area network (LAN),
210: Exposure equipment maker, 211: Host management system of business office of exposure equipment manufacturer, 220: Resist processing equipment manufacturer, 221: Host management system of business office of resist processing equipment manufacturer, 230: Film deposition equipment manufacturer, 231:
Host management system for business offices of film deposition equipment manufacturers, 40
1: Manufacturing equipment model, 402: Serial number, 40
3: Trouble subject, 404: Date of occurrence, 405: Urgency, 406: Symptom, 407: Remedy, 408: Progress, 4
10, 411, 412: Hyperlink function.

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H01L 21/30 516E (72) Inventor Hirohide Matsuhisa 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon's F-term (Reference) 2H097 AA03 BA10 CA16 GB00 LA10 4D037 AA08 AB03 AB11 BA18 BA23 BB01 BB02 5F046 AA28 DA26

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An illumination optical system for irradiating exposure light, an electron beam, a stage on which at least one of an original plate and a substrate is mounted, and a temperature control device for controlling the temperature inside the device via a coolant. An exposure apparatus comprising an UV sterilizer for performing UV sterilization on the coolant. 2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coolant is either distilled water or pure water. 3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling medium is a deoxidized cooling medium. 4. A means for detecting the quality of the refrigerant is provided, and the flow rate of the refrigerant passing through the UV sterilizer can be controlled based on the detection result. The exposure apparatus described. 5. A step of installing a manufacturing apparatus group 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 manufacturing apparatus group. And a step of manufacturing the semiconductor device. 6. Data communication of information relating to at least one of the manufacturing apparatus group between the step of connecting the manufacturing apparatus group with a local area network and between the local area network and an external network outside the semiconductor manufacturing factory. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 5, further comprising: 7. A semiconductor manufacturing factory, which is different from the semiconductor manufacturing factory, accessing the database provided by the vendor or the user of the exposure apparatus via the external network to obtain maintenance information of the manufacturing apparatus by data communication. 7. The semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 6, wherein production control is performed by performing data communication with the device via the external network. 8. A manufacturing apparatus group for various processes including the exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, a local area network connecting the manufacturing apparatus group, and an external unit outside the factory from the local area network. A semiconductor manufacturing factory, comprising a gateway that enables access to a network, and enabling data communication of information regarding at least one of the manufacturing apparatus group. 9. The method according to claim 1 installed in a semiconductor manufacturing factory.
5. The exposure apparatus maintenance method according to any one of 4 to 4, wherein a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus provides a maintenance database connected to an external network of a semiconductor manufacturing factory, Exposure having a step of permitting access to the maintenance database via an external network, and a step of transmitting maintenance information accumulated in the maintenance database to a semiconductor manufacturing factory side via the external network. How to maintain the equipment. 10. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display, a network interface, and a computer that executes network software, and the exposure apparatus maintenance information is transmitted via a computer network. The exposure apparatus is characterized in that it is possible to perform data communication by using it. 11. The network software comprises:
A user interface for accessing a maintenance database provided by a vendor or a user of the exposure apparatus, which is connected to an external network of a factory in which the exposure apparatus is installed, is provided on the display, and from the database via the external network. The exposure apparatus according to claim 10, which enables information to be obtained.