KR20100089786A - Stage cleaner, lithography apparatus and substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A stage cleaner, a lithography apparatus, and a substrate processing apparatus are provided to maintain the gap between a plate and a stage by blowing gas between the plate and the stage. CONSTITUTION: A plate shape member has a through hole. The through hole is formed at the center of the plate(12). A rising apparatus lifts the plate. The plate is moved to a foreign material to remove the foreign material from the stage(10) on the end of the plate. An air is blown between the plate and the stage to maintain the cap between the plate and the stage constant.

Description

STAGE CLEANER, LITHOGRAPHY APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS}

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to a stage cleaner, the drawing apparatus provided with the same, and a substrate processing apparatus.

In the field related to the photomask, for example, in a drawing / exposure process, flatness measurement, coordinate measurement, etc., even if there is slight distortion when the photomask blank, the photomask, or the substrate is held on the stage, misalignment is poor. However, it has been pointed out that causing poor measurement accuracy.

That is, in the manufacture of a photomask, in a drawing step of drawing a predetermined design pattern on a photomask blank using an electron beam or a laser, or in an exposure step of exposing a substrate of a transfer object using a predetermined photomask, If there is distortion in the substrate that is the held photomask blank or the transfer target, position shift occurs in the pattern. In the flatness measurement and the coordinate measurement of the photomask, if the photomask held on the stage has distortion, the measurement accuracy is lowered.

As a cause of the distortion of the photomask or the substrate to be transferred in the stage, the distortion of the surface of the stage and the foreign matter on the stage can be considered. For this reason, the board | substrate holding apparatus which hold | maintains a board | substrate without generating distortion conventionally has been developed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-101226 (Patent Document 1) includes a convex portion on a top surface of a stage and a discharge hole for blowing gas out on a bottom surface of the substrate, and the convex portion partially mounts the substrate. The substrate holding apparatus of the structure which has a mounting surface and the holding means which hold | maintains a board | substrate, and the gas blown out by the lower surface of a board | substrate is exhausted to a horizontal direction is described. This configuration reduces the warpage of the substrate due to its own weight by blowing gas out of the substrate. In addition, the convex portion can reduce the contact area with the substrate, thereby reducing the problem that the substrate bends due to foreign matter such as dust intervening between the stage and the substrate.

In addition, the stage surface cleaning for removing the foreign material on a stage has been performed by the manual worker by the prior art.

However, although the technique described in the said patent document 1 reduces the contact area of a board | substrate and a stage, when there exists a foreign material on a stage, it reduces the influence to the distortion of the photomask blank etc. by the foreign material, but the foreign material itself It does not reduce the Moreover, in the method of the said patent document 1, control of the air blow for keeping a board | substrate horizontal is not easy.

In addition, with the recent increase in the size of the photomask, the stages of the drawing device and the inspection device are also enlarged, and it is difficult to sufficiently clean the stage by hand. In addition, in order to clean a wide range manually, the worker works out with his / her body, and there is a problem that foreign matters are generated from the worker by the working posture and contaminate the stage.

By the way, the enlargement of the mask for display apparatus manufacture (so-called FPD mask), such as a liquid crystal display device, progresses in recent years, and also the apparatus main body used for manufacture or inspection of such a mask is remarkable. For example, it is not uncommon for the size of a board | substrate to be more than 1 m 1 square, and in order to respond to various sizes, the stage of the said apparatus is in the state that 1.5 m or more is required, for example.

The board | substrate is mounted in this large stage, and drawing of a pattern, measurement of the coordinate position precision of the formed pattern, etc. are needed. However, in the case where foreign matter has adhered on the vast stage, abnormalities occur in pattern position accuracy by foreign matters during drawing, and problems such as coordinate shift abnormality are detected during coordinate position precision measurement. In addition, since the foreign matter has a higher probability of causing cracks or damage on the back surface of the substrate, there is also a big problem in quality control.

Under such circumstances, the method of cleaning manually by a cloth or the like infiltrating the cleaning liquid is not only difficult, but also uncertain and unstable.

An object of this invention is to provide the stage cleaner which reliably reduces the foreign material on the stage used by substrate processing apparatuses, such as a drawing apparatus or an inspection apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the present inventors earnestly studied a method for efficiently and reliably removing foreign matter on the stage, and as a result, the cleaning plate having a smooth plane facing the substrate placing surface of the stage, and the cleaning plate Substrate treatment capable of removing foreign matter on the stage by using a stage cleaner, which has a floating mechanism that floats a predetermined height on the stage, and a driving mechanism that moves the cleaning plate in a plane parallel to the substrate placing surface of the stage. I thought about the device.

In addition, by the stage cleaner, a gas such as air is sent between the plate-shaped cleaning plate and the stage, and a gas of a predetermined pressure is present to maintain the gap between the plate-shaped member and the stage and to form a plate in that state. It was thought to remove the foreign material on a stage by the edge part of a plate-shaped member by moving a member.

That is, the stage cleaner which concerns on one aspect of this invention is a plate-shaped member which has at least one through-hole, and the blowing means which sends gas from one surface side of the said plate-shaped member to the other surface side via the said through hole. The stage cleaner which removes the foreign material on the stage surface, The said plate surface member is made to face the said other surface and the said stage in the state which opposes the said stage surface and the said other surface, and was blown by the said blowing means. The surfaces are arranged at predetermined intervals, the plate-like member is moved in a plane parallel to the stage surface, and foreign matter on the surface of the stage is pushed away by the end of the plate-shaped member.

In that case, it is preferable to further have a blowing control means for adjusting the blowing amount of the gas sent from the blowing means, and to adjust the magnitude | size of the said predetermined space | interval by adjusting the said blowing amount by the said blowing adjustment means. Moreover, the through hole may be formed in the center of the said plate-shaped member, and the through hole may be formed in multiple numbers at the equidistant position from the center of the said plate-shaped member.

Moreover, the stage cleaner which concerns on another aspect of this invention is a plate-shaped member which has at least 1st through-hole and at least 1st 2nd through-hole, and one surface side of the said plate-shaped member via said 1st through-hole. A stage cleaner having: an air blowing means for blowing gas from the other surface side to the other surface side; and an intake means for inhaling gas from the other surface side of the plate-shaped member to the one surface side via the second through hole; The plate-shaped member is spaced apart from the other surface and the stage surface in a state where the stage surface is opposed to the other surface, and the air is blown off by the blowing means and sucked by the intake means. On the stage surface by moving the plate member in a plane parallel to the stage surface. The foreign material is removed by pushing it by the end of the plate member.

In that case, it further has an adjusting means which adjusts at least one of the blowing amount of the gas blown from a blowing means, or the intake amount of the gas inhaled by an intake means, By adjusting at least one of the said blowing amount or the intake amount by the said adjusting means It is preferable to adjust the size of the predetermined interval. In addition, either one of the first through hole and the second through hole may be formed in the center of the plate-shaped member, and the first through hole or the second through hole is located at an equidistant position from the center of the plate-shaped member. Two or more may be formed. Furthermore, it is preferable to further provide a 3rd through hole for attracting a foreign material.

Moreover, in the said stage cleaner, it is preferable that at least one of the edge part of a plate-shaped member has the part which entered into the curved shape.

The present invention also provides a drawing apparatus including the stage cleaner, wherein the stage cleaner is movable in a vertical direction of the stage surface of the drawing apparatus.

Moreover, this invention also provides the following substrate processing apparatuses.

A substrate processing apparatus for placing a substrate on a stage and subjecting the substrate to a substrate, wherein the substrate cleaner has a stage cleaner for removing foreign substances on the stage, and the stage cleaner is a flat plane facing the substrate placing surface of the stage. Substrate processing comprising: a cleaning plate having: a floating mechanism; a floating mechanism for floating the cleaning plate to a predetermined height on the stage; and a driving mechanism for moving the cleaning plate in a plane parallel to the substrate placing surface of the stage. Device.

It is preferable that the said floating mechanism controls so that the said cleaning plate may float to the height of 1-500 micrometers on the said stage. More preferably, it is 1-100 micrometers, More preferably, it is 1-50 micrometers.

Moreover, it is preferable that the said cleaning plate is flat form, and the edge part of the lower surface side is formed at right angle or acute angle at the angle of 90 degrees or less. More preferably, it is 70-90 degrees.

The floating mechanism is capable of floating the cleaning plate to a predetermined height by ejecting gas from a gas blowing hole formed in the lower surface side of the cleaning plate while the cleaning plate faces the substrate placing surface of the stage. This hole may be a through hole penetrating the plate.

The floating mechanism causes the cleaning plate to float to a predetermined height by ejecting gas from the blowing hole, taking in air from the intake hole formed on the lower surface side of the cleaning plate, and controlling the amount of gas ejected and the amount of intake air. It can be done. This intake hole may also be a through hole of the plate.

Although the use of the said substrate processing apparatus does not have a restriction | limiting in particular, For example, when the drawing head for drawing predetermined design pattern data is provided with respect to the said board | substrate, the effect of this invention is remarkable.

Or it may be an inspection apparatus which has a measuring mechanism which measures the shape of the predetermined transfer pattern formed on the board | substrate with respect to the said board | substrate, or measures the distance of arbitrary points.

The stage cleaner according to the present invention maintains the gap between the plate member and the stage by blowing a gas between the plate member and the stage, and moves the plate member by the end of the plate member by moving the plate member in the state. Since foreign matter on the phase is removed, foreign matter on the stage can be removed efficiently and reliably.

In addition, according to the present invention, since the gap between the plate-shaped member and the stage can be used to remove materially and the gap gap can be controlled by controlling the supply and intake of airflow, the size of the foreign material to be removed is quantified. There is an advantage that can be removed. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently remove the foreign matter determined to affect the product performance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The figure for demonstrating the stage cleaner which concerns on embodiment of this invention.
2 is a view for explaining a stage cleaner according to another embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view for explaining a stage cleaner according to another embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram for explaining a stage cleaner according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a view for explaining an example of a drawing apparatus with a stage cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
It is a figure for demonstrating the other example of the drawing apparatus provided with the stage cleaner which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, embodiment of this invention is described using drawing, an Example, etc. In addition, these figures, Examples, and description are illustrative of the present invention, and do not limit the scope of the present invention. It goes without saying that other embodiments can also fall within the scope of the present invention as long as they are in accordance with the spirit of the present invention.

1 is a view for explaining a stage cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A shows a plan view of the stage cleaner disposed on the stage 10. The stage cleaner consists of a plate-shaped member (hereinafter also referred to as a plate or a cleaning plate) 12 having a through hole 11 and a floating mechanism for floating a predetermined amount of the plate. The floating mechanism is formed from the through hole 11. Blowing means (not shown) which blows air is provided. The through hole 11 is substantially formed in the center of the plate 12. FIG.1 (b) is sectional drawing by the Ib-Ib cross section of FIG.1 (a). In Figs. 1A and 1B, the arrows indicate the blowing direction of air. In (b) of FIG. 1, air is blown from the through-hole 11 from the blowing means not shown, and air is sent to the lower side of the plate 12 through the through-hole 11, and the plate 12 Isotropically diffuses between the lower surface of the and the upper surface of the stage (10). The arrow of FIG. 1A shows a state where the blown air diffuses isotropically between the lower surface of the plate 12 and the upper surface of the stage 10. By the blowing by this blowing means, the lower surface of the plate 12 is hold | maintained at regular intervals (henceforth a gap by an air layer) from the surface of the stage 10. The gap by the air layer is shown by g in FIG. Although the magnitude | size of the gap g by an air layer changes according to the target foreign material, it can be 1-500 micrometers, More preferably, it is 1-100 micrometers, Furthermore, it can be set to 1-50 micrometers.

In addition, it is preferable that the air blown out from this through-hole is filtered so that it may not contain particle | grains, such as a foreign material, Preferably it is filtered so that it does not contain the foreign material of 0.1 micrometer or more, More preferably, it is 0.01 micrometer or more. desirable. In addition, it is preferable that the temperature of the air blown from this through hole is a difference of 0.5 degrees C or less with respect to the environmental temperature in which the plate 12 was installed so that the temperature distribution might generate | occur | produce in the plate 12 and it will not deform | transform. Furthermore, it is preferable that it is the difference of 0.1 degrees C or less. Although it depends on the linear expansion coefficient of the material used for the plate 12, and the size and shape of the plate 12, when the temperature difference is large in the gap surface through which the blown air passes and on the surface on the opposite side, the amount of expansion due to temperature is different. This is because the plates are different from each other, causing distortion of the plate.

For example, in the case where the foreign material 13 was on the surface of the stage 10, as shown in FIG. 1C, the foreign material plate 12 was in the plane parallel to the surface of the stage 10. When it moves in the direction of (13), the edge part of the plate 12 contacts the foreign material 13. If the plate 12 is continuously moved as it is, the foreign material 13 is pushed out from the surface of the stage 10 and removed. In addition, the foreign material may not necessarily remove all, for example, as shown in FIG.1 (d), the foreign material 13 is scraped off by the plate 12 edge part, and the part 14 scraped off is carried out. ) May be pushed out and removed. In that case, the remaining foreign material 15 has the same height as the height g of the gap by the air layer and remains on the surface of the stage 10. However, the foreign material on the stage 10 needs to be removed when there is an effect on drawing or exposure when a photomask blank or the like is placed thereon, but it is not necessary to remove the foreign material on the stage 10 as long as it is small. . Therefore, by adjusting the height g of the gap by the air layer, if the height of the remaining foreign material 15 is set to a height that does not affect drawing or exposure, the remaining foreign material 15 remains on the stage 10. There is no problem.

The movement of the plate in the horizontal plane is performed by a drive mechanism and controlled. For example, when the stage cleaner mentioned above is mounted in a drawing apparatus, you may attach a drawing head so that it may be interlocked with the XY drive apparatus which drives to a X direction and a Y direction on a plane. Moreover, it is preferable that the plate of the stage cleaner is attached so that an up-and-down movement is allowable so that injury may be possible.

According to the stage cleaner demonstrated using FIG. 1, the foreign material on a stage can be removed reliably, For example, the influence on the pattern precision in the drawing process or exposure process by the foreign material on the stage of a drawing apparatus or an inspection apparatus is reliably reduced. can do. In addition, since the gap between the plate 12 and the stage 10 is kept constant by blowing gas between the plate 12 and the stage 10, the gap is kept constant even when there is a slight distortion in the stage 10. It can hold | maintain, and the plate 12 and the stage 10 do not contact and damage the surface of the stage 10, either.

As the plate 12, ceramics or granite obtained by processing at least a lower surface (surface corresponding to the stage 10) into a smooth plane is used. It may be made of a ceramic having a dense surface such as alumina or a porous ceramic. It is desired that at least the plate lower surface side is made of a suitable rigid material. Alternatively, highly rigid metals such as duralumin and other aluminum alloys can also be used, and since the plane is easy to be smoothed and the Young's modulus is high, there is little possibility of deformation due to any cause during use.

The above materials can be used in combination, respectively. On the side facing the stage, a smooth surface is easily obtained, and ceramics, minerals and the like having high rigidity are used, and the back side connects a tube for intake and exhaust, or fixes the plate 12 itself to an apparatus. Because of the necessity, fine processing is required, and therefore, an alloy of metal having high workability can be obtained.

In addition to pushing out the whole foreign material, the lower surface side edge part of a plate can push out only the part more than predetermined height of a foreign material. Therefore, it is preferable that the shape of the lower surface side edge part is a right angle or an acute angle, for example, may be 70-90 degree.

The through holes 11 have a balance in the horizontal direction when the plurality of through holes 11 as well as the central portion of the plate 12 have the same amount of blowing air in the respective through holes 11. It is preferable to be in a position to be taken (for example, a position equidistant from the center of the plate 12).

Moreover, you may further have a blowing control means which adjusts the blowing amount of the gas by a blowing means. By controlling the blowing amount of the gas by the blowing control means, the height g of the gap by the gas layer can be adjusted to raise the plate.

In addition, in the stage 10, a photomask blank and a board | substrate are mounted on it, for example in a drawing apparatus or an inspection apparatus.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, the same numbers as those in FIG.

2 is a diagram for explaining a stage cleaner according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A shows a plan view of the stage cleaner disposed on the stage 10. The stage cleaner includes a plate 12 having a first through hole 11a and four second through holes 11b, blowing means (not shown) for blowing air from the first through holes 11a, and a second one. It consists of intake means (not shown) which takes in air from the through-hole 11b.

The first through hole 11a is substantially formed in the center of the plate 12. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IIb-IIb of FIG. 2A. In Fig. 2 (a) and (b), the arrow indicates the blowing direction of air. In FIG. 2B, air is blown from the blowing means (not shown) onto the first through hole 11a, and the air is sent to the lower side of the plate 12 through the first through hole 11a. Isotropically diffuses between the lower surface of the plate 12 and the upper surface of the stage 10. The arrow of FIG. 2 (a) shows a state in which the blown air diffuses isotropically between the lower surface of the plate 12 and the upper surface of the stage 10.

Four second through-holes 11b are formed so as to surround the first through-holes 11a, and the air isotropically diffused between the lower surface of the plate 12 and the upper surface of the stage 10 is second. Intake is carried out by the intake means (not shown) through the through hole 11b.

By the balance of the air blowing amount by this blowing means and the air intake amount by the air intake means, the lower surface of the plate 12 has a fixed space | interval (gap by air layer) from the surface of the stage 10, and is maintained. The gap by the air layer is shown by g in FIG. The size of the gap g by the air layer varies depending on the use, but may be 1 to 500 µm as described in the first embodiment.

In the case where there was foreign matter on the surface of the stage 10, the foreign material was moved by the end of the plate 12 by moving the plate 12 in the direction of the foreign matter in a plane parallel to the surface of the stage 10. The operation of pushing out or scraping off from the surface is the same as in the case described above using Figs. 1B to 1D.

According to the stage cleaner demonstrated using FIG. 2, the foreign material on a stage can be removed reliably, For example, the influence on the pattern precision in the drawing process or exposure process by the foreign matter on a drawing apparatus, an inspection apparatus, and a stage is reliably reduced. can do. In addition, since the gap between the plate 12 and the stage 10 is kept constant by blowing gas between the plate 12 and the stage 10, the gap is kept constant even when there is a slight distortion in the stage 10. It can hold | maintain, and the plate 12 and the stage 10 do not contact and damage the surface of the stage 10, either.

In addition, the plate 12 is the same as the above in which ceramic etc. which flat-processed the lower surface (surface corresponding to the stage 10) are used.

In addition, in the said description, although the 1st through-hole 11a was arrange | positioned in the center of the plate 12, the example which placed more than one 2nd through-hole 11b so that the 1st through-hole 11a was shown was shown. May be reversed. What is necessary is just an arrangement | positioning so that the plate 12 may be balanced in a horizontal direction by the blowing through the 1st through-hole 11a, and the inhalation through the 2nd through-hole 11b. A plurality of first through holes 11a and second through holes 11b may be provided. What is necessary is just to arrange | position it at the equidistant position from the center part of a plate, when there are multiple 1st through holes 11a and / or 2nd through holes 11b.

Moreover, you may further have a control means which adjusts at least one of the blowing amount of the gas by a blowing means, or the intake amount of the gas by an intake means. By adjusting means, the height of the gap by the gas layer can be adjusted by adjusting the air blowing amount and / or the air intake amount.

The 2nd through hole 11b arrange | positioned in multiple numbers can adjust the parallelism of the plate 12 with respect to the stage 10 by adjusting the flow volume of the gas which passes through each through hole. For example, when the 2nd through hole inhales gas, by increasing the amount of intake air, the gap around the through hole in which the amount of intake air is increased becomes narrow. Thus, by adjusting the flow volume of the gas of each through hole, not only the gap amount with respect to the stage 10 of the plate 12 but also fine adjustment of parallelism is attained. For this reason, since it is easy to make the gap of the plate 12 and the stage equal to the perimeter of the plate 12, all the edges which the plate 12 has can have the same foreign material removal ability. Therefore, it is preferable to have a means by which a flow volume can be adjusted in at least one or more of 2nd through holes arrange | positioned in multiple numbers, Preferably in two or more of them, More preferably, all.

In addition, the plate 12 may resonate and vibrate depending on the relationship between its mass, the area and shape of the portion in contact with the gap with the stage 10, the amount of air ejected, and the like. This vibration makes the gap amount unstable and lowers the ability to remove foreign substances. When the vibration is large, the plate 12 itself may come in contact with the stage 10 to inflict damage. In addition, even when the plate 12 does not directly contact the stage 10, the foreign matter of the size that can enter into the gap is rolled up when the amplitude of the vibration is maximum, and when the amplitude is minimized, the foreign matter becomes the stage ( It is caught between 10) and plate 12, and in the worst case, foreign matter inflicts damage to the stage. In order to prevent these problems, the gap and the gap so that foreign matters with high hardness, which may cause damage to the stage 10, do not enter between the plate 12 and the stage 10. It is necessary to adjust the amplitude of the vibration.

Here, the gap amount means the average distance between the plate surface and the stage when the vibration is zero.

Moreover, these 2nd through holes arrange | positioned in multiple numbers also have an effect which suppresses the vibration of the plate 12 by air blowing, and when resonance occurs to the plate 12, by adjusting the intake amount by a 2nd through hole Therefore, the balance of the resonance state can be broken down, and the vibration can be suppressed by avoiding the resonance state. In addition, in order to make these effects effective, the flatness of the plate 12 must also be considered. The following relationship holds also for the flatness of the plate 12.

Here, plate flatness error is the difference between the gap amount and the distance of the stage of each point in the plate 12 surface. Therefore, when the plate flatness error is large, entry into the gap of the foreign material larger than the gap amount is allowed, and the plate 12 scans on the stage, whereby the foreign material is sandwiched in a portion where the flatness error is small. There is a risk of damaging (10). Therefore, in order to reduce plate flatness error, it is preferable that the flatness of the plate is smaller than 1 μm, which is the value of the minimum gap between the plate 12 and the stage 10 in the plane. In addition, although the relation was calculated assuming that the stage is an abnormal plane, the actual stage 10 has a flatness error similarly to the plate 12. Therefore, it is preferable that the stage 10 also has a flatness of 1 µm or less within the range of the same area as the plate 12.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B. In Figs. 3A and 3B, the same components as in Fig. 2 are assigned the same numbers. FIG. 3A shows a plan view of the stage cleaner disposed on the stage 10. (B) is sectional drawing by the IIIb-IIIb cross section of (a) of FIG. In Figs. 3A and 3B, only the shape of the end portion 31 of the plate 12 is different from those of Figs. 2A and 2B, and all others are Figs. and (b). Therefore, only the shape of the edge part 31 is demonstrated. In this embodiment, the end part 31 of the plate 12 has entered in the curved shape, as shown to Fig.3 (a). If it is this shape, compared with the case where an edge part is linear shape, the foreign material 13 can be pushed out more reliably and can be collected. Although the structure which curved the edge part was shown in FIG.3 (a), (b), the same effect is acquired even if it is the structure which entered the edge part in the curved shape in the structure of FIG.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B. In Figs. 4A and 4B, the same components as in Figs. 3A and 3B are assigned the same numbers. FIG. 4A shows a plan view of the stage cleaner disposed on the stage 10. FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along the IVb-IVb cross section of FIG. 4A. In (a) and (b) of FIG. 4, what is different from (a) and (b) of FIG. 3 is the 3rd through hole 32 formed in the vicinity of the edge part 31 of the plate 12, and the 3rd Only the thickness of the plate between the through-hole 32 and the end part 31 is the same as that of FIG. 3 (a), (b). Therefore, only that part will be described.

The third through hole 32 is a through hole for sucking foreign matter and is connected to an intake means (not shown). The thickness of the plate between the third through hole 32 and the end portion 31 is thinner than other portions as shown in Fig. 4B. That is, only the part has a large gap between the lower surface of the plate 12 and the surface of the stage 10. This is for passing the foreign material 13 to the 3rd through hole. In this configuration, the foreign material 13 can be sucked from the third through hole, so that the foreign material 13 can be reliably removed. Although the structure which provided the 3rd through-hole in the structure of FIG. 3 was shown in FIG.4 (a), (b), it is applicable also to the structure of FIG. 2, and the same effect is acquired.

In addition, in all the said embodiment, a blowing means can be implemented by a well-known method with a compressor, the regulator which pressure-reduces the compressed gas from a compressor, the solenoid valve which turns air blowing on and off, etc. Similarly, the intake means can be performed by a known method using a vacuum pump, a solenoid valve, or the like.

Next, the stage cleaner is installed in the drawing apparatus which is one of the substrate processing apparatuses, and the operation | movement is shown. First, FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a drawing device, in which FIG. 5A is a plan view (view from above) of the drawing device, and FIG. 5B is a side view (view from the side). In the drawing apparatus, the stage 42 is provided on the base unit 41. The base unit 41 is further provided with a bridge 43 so as to span the base unit 41, and the head 43 (drawing means) 44 is provided with the bridge 43. The stage 42 is movable to the left-right direction on the base unit 41 in FIG.5 (a), (b). The head 44 is movable along the bridge 43 in the up-down direction (in-plane parallel to the surface of the stage 42) in FIG. 5A.

In addition, FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a drawing apparatus, for example, the means which inputs the data to draw to a head, the means which supplies the energy for drawing, such as an electron beam, is abbreviate | omitted.

This drawing apparatus normally draws a transfer pattern on a photomask blank, At that time, the photomask blank which has a photoresist is arrange | positioned on the stage 42, and the head 44 is moved up and down in FIG. While drawing in the position to be drawn while scanning with the drawing, the stage 42 can be moved to the left and right directions in FIGS. 5A and 5B, whereby the entirety of the photomask blank can be drawn at a required position. .

6A to 6C show an example in which the stage cleaner according to the present invention is attached to the drawing device. FIG. 6A is a plan view of the drawing apparatus, and FIG. 6B is a side view. 6C is a plan view for explaining the operation. In Figs. 6A to 6C, the same components as in Fig. 5 are assigned the same numbers. 6 (a) to 6 (c) are also conceptual diagrams of a drawing apparatus similar to FIG. 5, for example, means for inputting data to be drawn to a head, means for supplying energy for drawing such as an electron beam, a laser, or the like. Is omitted. In FIGS. 6A to 6C, the base unit 41, the stage 42, the bridge 43, and the head 44 are the same as those in FIG. 5, and thus description thereof is omitted.

In FIG. 6, the stage cleaner 51 according to the present invention is provided in the bridge 43. The stage cleaner 51 is movable along the bridge 43 similarly to the head 44, in a plane parallel to the surface of the stage 42 (up and down direction in FIG. 6A). In addition, the stage cleaner 51 is provided in the bridge 43 in the state which can be moved flexibly in the direction perpendicular | vertical to the surface of the stage 42 (up-down direction in FIG.6 (b)).

For example, when the stage cleaner described with reference to FIG. 1 is provided, the plate of the stage cleaner 51 can be moved in the vertical direction in a flexible manner by the amount of air blown by the blowing means. In the state where air gap is adjusted and the gap by air layer is adjusted to desired height, for example, the photomask blank is not raised on the stage 42, the stage 42 of FIG. When the stage cleaner is moved downward from the upper left corner to the lower left corner of the stage 42, the bridge 43 is moved to the right, and the stage cleaner 51 is moved upward again. By repeating this operation, all of the surface of the stage 42 can be cleaned. Fig. 6C shows the state in the middle of the operation. In FIG. 6C, the region 52 is a region where cleaning is completed.

The foreign material on the surface of the stage 42 cleaned with the stage cleaner 51 by the drawing apparatus was visually observed under counting illumination, and counted. After cleaning, there were 0 pseudo dusts (foreign matter) scattered in advance per 10 cm 2.

In this embodiment, since the stage cleaner 51 is provided in the drawing apparatus, after cleaning the surface of the stage 42 with the stage cleaner 51, a photomask blank is immediately installed on the stage 42, and a drawing process is performed. It can be started, and the influence on the drawing process by the foreign material on a stage surface can be reduced effectively.

In the above example, the example in which the stage cleaner described with reference to FIG. 1 is provided in the drawing apparatus has been described. However, all of the stage cleaners described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 can be installed in the drawing apparatus in the same manner as described above. Moreover, it can install in the apparatus which has stages, such as an inspection apparatus other than a drawing apparatus, and can remove a foreign material effectively like a drawing apparatus.

In addition, the above-mentioned substrate processing apparatus may be an inspection apparatus which examines the coordinate position precision of the pattern formed on the mask, besides being a drawing apparatus which has a drawing head, or other substrate processing apparatus.

In FIGS. 6A to 6C, the means for installing the stage cleaner 51 so as to be movable in the vertical direction is omitted, but can be implemented by a conventional method using a flexible attachment or the like. .

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change suitably and can implement. In addition, the material, size, processing procedure, etc. in the said embodiment are an example, It can change and implement in various ways.

Claims (19)

A stage cleaner having a plate-like member having at least one through hole and a blowing means for sending gas from one surface side of the plate-shaped member to the other surface side via the through hole, wherein the foreign matter on the stage surface is removed.
The plate-shaped member is disposed such that the other surface and the stage surface are spaced at a predetermined interval while the stage surface and the other surface are opposed to each other and is blown by the blowing means. A stage cleaner, wherein the member is moved in a plane parallel to the stage surface to remove foreign matter on the stage surface by pushing it by the end of the plate-shaped member. The method of claim 1,
And a blowing control means for adjusting the blowing amount of the gas sent from the blowing means, and adjusting the size of the predetermined interval by adjusting the blowing amount by the blowing adjusting means. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The through-holes are stage cleaners formed in the center of the said plate-shaped member. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The stage cleaner of which the said through-hole is formed in multiple at equidistant positions from the center of the said plate-shaped member. A plate-like member having at least one first through hole and at least one second through-hole, blowing means for sending gas from one face side of the plate-shaped member to the other face side via the first through hole; A stage cleaner having intake means for taking in gas from the other surface side of the plate-like member to the one surface side via the second through hole,
The other surface and the stage surface of the plate-shaped member are formed in a state in which the stage surface and the other surface are opposed to each other, and the air is blown by the blowing means and intake by the intake means. And spaced apart, and moving the plate-like member in a plane parallel to the stage surface to remove foreign matter on the stage surface by pushing it by the end of the plate-shaped member. The method of claim 5,
Further comprising adjusting means for adjusting at least one of the blowing amount of the gas blown from the blowing means or the intake amount of the gas sucked by the intake means, by adjusting at least one of the blowing amount or the intake amount by the adjusting means, A stage cleaner for adjusting the size of the predetermined interval. The method according to claim 5 or 6,
The stage cleaner in which either the said 1st through hole or the said 2nd through hole is formed in the center of the said plate-shaped member. The method according to claim 5 or 6,
The stage cleaner with which the said 1st through hole or the said 2nd through hole is formed in multiple numbers at the equidistant position from the center of the said plate-shaped member. The method according to claim 5 or 6,
The stage cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the plate member further includes a third through hole for attracting foreign matter. The method according to claim 1 or 5,
The stage cleaner which has the part which entered at least one of the edge part of the said plate-shaped member into a curved shape. A writing apparatus comprising the stage cleaner of claim 1 or 5,
The drawing cleaner is movable in the vertical direction of the stage surface of the drawing device. As a substrate processing apparatus which mounts a board | substrate on a stage and processes a board | substrate in the state,
Has a stage cleaner for removing foreign matter on the stage,
The stage cleaner,
A cleaning plate having a smooth plane facing the substrate placing surface of the stage,
A floating mechanism for floating the cleaning plate to a predetermined height on the stage;
And a drive mechanism for moving the cleaning plate in a plane parallel to the substrate placing surface of the stage.
Substrate processing apparatus. The method of claim 12,
And the floating mechanism controls the cleaning plate to float at a height of 1 to 500 µm on the stage. The method according to claim 12 or 13,
The said cleaning plate is flat form, The board | substrate processing apparatus in which the edge part of the lower surface side is formed at right angle or acute angle at the angle of 90 degrees or less. The method according to claim 12 or 13,
The floating mechanism is configured to float the cleaning plate to a predetermined height by blowing gas from a gas blowing hole formed in the lower surface side of the cleaning plate while the cleaning plate faces the substrate placing surface of the stage. Device. 16. The method of claim 15,
The floating mechanism causes the cleaning plate to float to a predetermined height by ejecting gas from the gas blowing hole, taking in air from the intake port formed on the lower surface of the cleaning plate, and controlling the amount of gas ejected and the amount of intake air. Substrate processing apparatus. The method according to claim 12 or 13,
The substrate processing apparatus provided with the drawing head for drawing predetermined design pattern data with respect to the said board | substrate. The method according to claim 12 or 13,
And a means for holding a photomask having a pattern to be transferred to the substrate, and an exposure means for irradiating the photomask with irradiation light. The method according to claim 12 or 13,
The substrate processing apparatus which has a measuring mechanism which measures the shape of the predetermined | prescribed transfer pattern formed on the board | substrate with respect to the said board | substrate, or measures the distance of arbitrary points.

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