| 摘要 |
<p>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid depositing dust on exposing masks, etc., by providing a mechanism for holding the mask in a loader so that the normal to the mask surface is horizontal or near horizontal. SOLUTION: A reticle conveyer 342 carries a used reticle from a stage to a stock position in a reticle loader 341 in which reticles 304 are held with the reticle surfaces set sideways. In vacuum dust such as fine particles vertically falls down, without being influenced by an air flow. In the loader 341 the reticles 304 are held with the reticle surfaces set sideways, the greatly lessening the possibility of the deposition of the dust to the reticle surface, thereby reducing the occurrence of poor exposure and required number of cleaning times of the reticles.</p> |
