| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lithography system capable of sustaining the yield of device over a long term. SOLUTION: A coater/developer 50 for coating a wafer W with resist and developing the resist is connected in-line with the body chamber 12 of an aligner 10 through a delivery chamber 70 internally having a section 83 for delivering the wafer. The delivery chamber is connected with an air supply/exhaust unit 85. Gas in the delivery chamber is replaced by any one of dry air, nitrogen or rare gas by means of the air supply/exhaust unit. Consequently, chemical contaminants generated in the coater/developer when th wafer coated with resist is carried into the body chamber are removed in the delivery chamber before entering the body chamber. Since content of chemical substances in gas flowing into the body chamber is suppressed below a specified level, lowering in transmittance of exposing light and deterioration in illuminance on the image plane can be suppressed in the aligner body within the body chamber. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI |
