Alignment device

• US 4,301,363 A
• Filed: 08/30/1979
• Issued: 11/17/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/1978
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Akiyoshi, Yoshinari, Hideki, Hiraga, Ryozo
• Primary Examiner(s): Nelms, David C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hostetter, Darwin R.
• Application Number:
  US06/070,986
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 250/216, 250/571, 250/572, 250/548, 250/557, 356/446, 356/399, 356/400, 356/401, 350/91
• US Class Current: 250/216
• CPC Class Codes: B23Q 15/24 of linear position
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 9/7069 Alignment mark illumination, e.g. darkfield, dual focus

Abstract

An alignment device of a type, wherein an alignment pattern provided on a mask for fabrication of a semiconductor circuit element and an alignment pattern provided on a wafer are photoelectrically read in a dark field by a flying spot scanning system or a flying image scanning system to detect a relative positional relationship between the mask and the wafer, and a desired positional relationship is obtained by moving at least one of the mask and wafer on the basis of a detected signal. The novel feature of this alignment device resides in that the size of a line forming the alignment pattern along the scanning line is twice or more as large as the size of the scanning spot.

Claims

1. An alignment device, comprising:

(a) a mask supporting member to support a mask;

(b) a wafer supporting member to support a wafer;

(c) a moving and adjusting mechanism to move at least one of said mask and wafer;

(d) a photoelectric detector which scans said mask and wafer with a scanning unit of a predetermined magnitude along a linear scanning line, and which reads alignment marks on said mask and wafer in a dark field;

(e) a mask supported on said mask supporting member;

(f) a wafer supported on said wafer supporting member, and having an alignment mark the size of which in the scanning direction is twice or more as large as the size of said scanning unit in the scanning direction; and

(g) operational circuit means which operates an output signal from said photoelectric detector, and actuates said moving and adjusting mechanism when said mask and wafer are not in a predetermined relationship.

2. The alignment device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the size of the alignment mark of said mask in the direction of the scanning line is twice or more as large as that of said scanning unit in the scanning direction.

3. The alignment device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the size of the alignment mark of said mask in the direction of the scanning line is below a single multiplication in comparison with that of said scanning unit in the scanning direction.

4. The alignment device as set forth in claim 1, wherein one of said alignment marks is constructed with a line which intersects with the scanning line at two kinds of angles, and the other alignment mark is constructed with a line which is parallel with the line of said one alignment mark in its aligned state and intersects with said scanning line at two kinds of angles.