Patent · US Expired

Method of determining movement sequence and apparatus for realizing it

US6576919B1 · kind B1 · utility

36Cited by
6References
48Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 27, 1998
Grant dateJun 10, 2003
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 27, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG03F7/70716
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

The present invention relates to a movement sequence determining method of obtaining a preferred solution of movement sequence within a predetermined time and an apparatus for realizing it so that a movement sequence, indicating a visit order of plural process areas having degrees of freedom in scan directions of local areas being objects of a predetermined process of exposure, inspection, or the like, can be achieved in a shortest time. The method comprises at least an arithmetic step of generating a group including plural movement sequences that can be carried out, out of a group of movement sequence candidates, each indicating a visit order of plural process areas as well as scan directions of local areas in the plural process areas, and selecting a movement sequence in which a movement operation between plural process areas is completed in a shortest time, from the group generated, and a prestep of producing a movement time management table storing movement times, each from a movement start position to a movement end position, in unit lengths between process areas. Accordingly, a resultant solution of movement sequence includes information concerning the visit order of process …

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.