Management system, management method and apparatus, and management apparatus control method

• US 7,010,380 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2003
• Issued: 03/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Oishi, Satoru, Ina, Hideki, Sentoku, Koichi, Suzuki, Takehiko, Matsumoto, Takahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Picard, Leo
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jarrett, Ryan A.
• Application Number:
  US10/423,891
• Publication Number:
  US 20030204488A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,044 Days
• Field of Search: 700 95- 97, 700/108, 700/109, 700/121, 700/28, 700/32, 700/44, 700/45, 700/52, 702/81, 702/84, 702/182, 716/21, 382/145
• US Class Current: 700/121
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70525 Controlling normal operating mode, e.g. matching different apparatus, remote control or prediction of failure
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/418 Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM]
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32015 Optimize, process management, optimize production line
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/34402 Synchronize programs for machines, processes, tasks, if one stops other also
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45027 Masking, project image on wafer semiconductor, photo tracer
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A system which manages a plurality of semiconductor exposure apparatuses holds TIS information representing the characteristics of the respective semiconductor exposure apparatuses. In a semiconductor exposure apparatus, a parameter value is optimized on the basis of AGA measurement results obtained using a set parameter value and another parameter value and AGA measurement estimation results obtained by virtually changing the parameter value. Whether to reflect the optimized parameter value in another exposure device is decided on the basis of the TIS information. If it is decided to reflect the optimized parameter value, the parameter value of another semiconductor exposure apparatus is optimized by the optimized parameter value. In this manner, the optimization result of a parameter value by a given exposure device can be properly reflected in another exposure device, realizing efficient parameter value setting.

Claims

1. A management apparatus for managing a plurality of exposure apparatuses, said management apparatus comprising:

determination means for determining how a change in a value of a first parameter, regarding an exposure operation, to be set in one of the plurality of exposure apparatuses is to be reflected to a change in a value of a second parameter, regarding the exposure operation, to be set in at least one remaining exposure apparatus of the plurality of exposure apparatuses, based on characteristic information of the at least one remaining exposure apparatus; and

reflection means for reflecting the change in the value of the first parameter to the change in the value of the second parameter in accordance with a determination result of said determination means.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determination means determines whether the change in the value of the first parameter is to be reflected to the change in the value of the second parameter, based on the characteristic information.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determination means determines the value of the second parameter, based on the characteristic information.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit to store the characteristic information with respect to each of the plurality of exposure apparatuses.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising change means for changing the value of the first parameter to be set in the one of the plurality of exposure apparatuses.

6. Am apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said change means changes the value of the first parameter based on first measurement data obtained by the one of the plurality of exposure apparatuses using a first value as the value of the first parameter, second measurement data obtained by the one of the plurality of exposure apparatuses using a second value as the value of the first parameter, and examination data with respect to a pattern obtained through exposure performed by the one of the plurality of exposure apparatuses based on the first measurement data.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic information concerns a characteristic of an alignment measurement optical system in the exposure apparatus.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the characteristic comprises at least one of a coma, spherical aberration, astigmatism, chromatic image shift and telecentricity.

9. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determination means determines how the change in the value of the first parameter is to be reflected to the change in the value of the second parameter further based on characteristic information of the one of the plurality of exposure apparatuses.

10. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said determination means determines whether the change in the value of the first parameter is to be reflected to the change in the value of the second parameter further based on characteristic information of the one of the plurality of exposure apparatuses.

11. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determination means determines the value of the second parameter further based on characteristic information of the one of the plurality of exposure apparatuses.

12. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a network to which the plurality of exposure apparatuses connect.

13. A method of manufacturing a device, said method comprising steps of:

exposing a substrate to a pattern using an exposure apparatus managed by a management apparatus as defined in claim 1;

developing the exposed substrate; and

processing the developed substrate to manufacture a device.

14. A computer-implemented method of managing a plurality of exposure apparatuses, said method comprising steps of:

determining how a change in a value of a first parameter, regarding an exposure operation, to be set in one of the plurality of exposure apparatuses is to be reflected to a change in a value of a second parameter, regarding the exposure operation, to be set in at least one remaining exposure apparatus of the plurality of exposure apparatuses based on characteristic information of the at least one remaining exposure apparatus; and

reflecting the change in the value of the first parameter to the change in the value of the second parameter in accordance with a determination result in said determining step.

15. A computer-readable medium storing software for causing a computer to execute a method of managing a plurality of exposure apparatuses, said method comprising steps of:

determining how a change in a value of a first parameter, regarding an exposure operation, to be set in one of the plurality of exposure apparatuses is to be reflected to a change in a value of a second parameter, regarding the exposure operation, to be set in at least one remaining exposure apparatus of the plurality of exposure apparatuses based on characteristic information of the at least one remaining exposure apparatus; and

reflecting the change in the value of the first parameter to the change in the value of the second parameter in accordance with a determination result in said determining step.

16. A management apparatus for managing a plurality of exposure apparatuses, said management apparatus comprising:

a storage configured to store characteristic information of the plurality of exposure apparatuses; and

a processor configured to determine how a change in a value of a first parameter, regarding an exposure operation, to be set in one of the plurality of exposure apparatuses is to be reflected to a change in a value of a second parameter, regarding the exposure operation, to be set in at least one remaining exposure apparatus of the plurality of exposure apparatuses, based on characteristic information of the at least one remaining exposure apparatus stored in said storage, and to reflect the change in the value of the first parameter ot the change in the value of the second parameter in accordance with the determination.