1. A substrate processing apparatus that is arranged adjacent to an exposure device, comprising:
a processing section for subjecting a substrate to processing; and
an interface that transfers and receives the substrate between said processing section and said exposure device,
said processing section including
a photosensitive film formation unit that forms a photosensitive film composed of a photosensitive material on the substrate,
said interface including
a thermal processing unit that subjects the substrate after exposure processing by said exposure device to thermal processing,
a first transport unit that transports the substrate between said processing section and said thermal processing unit, and
a second transport unit that transports the substrate between said exposure device and said thermal processing unit,
said second transport unit carrying the substrate after the exposure processing by said exposure device into said thermal processing unit,
said first transport unit carrying the substrate after the thermal processing by said thermal processing unit out of said thermal processing unit.
2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
said thermal processing unit includes
a supporting portion that supports the substrate carried into or out of the thermal processing unit,
a heating portion that subjects the substrate to heating processing, and
a transport device that transports the substrate between said supporting portion and said heating portion.
3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a controller that controls said heating unit so as to heat the substrate after the exposure processing by said exposure device at predetermined timing.
4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
said interface further includes a platform on which the substrate is temporarily placed,
said first transport unit transporting the substrate after predetermined processing by said processing section to said platform, and
said second transport unit transporting the substrate from said platform to said exposure device.
5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said platform is a temperature control waiting unit that makes the substrate before the exposure processing by said exposure device wait until the substrate can be carried into said exposure device while keeping the substrate at a predetermined temperature.
6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein at least one of said processing section and said interface includes a drying processing unit that subjects the substrate to drying processing after the exposure processing by said exposure device and before the thermal processing by said thermal processing unit.
7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said drying processing unit subjects the substrate to cleaning processing before subjecting the substrate to the drying processing.
8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein at least one of said processing section and said interface includes a cleaning processing unit that subjects the substrate to the cleaning processing before the exposure processing by said exposure device.
9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said cleaning processing unit subjects the substrate to the drying processing after subjecting the substrate to the cleaning processing.
10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein
said processing section, said interface, and said exposure device are arranged side by side in a first direction,
said interface has at least one side surface in a second direction perpendicular to said first direction within a horizontal plane, and
said drying processing unit is arranged on the side of said one side surface within said interface.
11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein
said interface has another side surface opposite to said one side surface in said second direction, and
said cleaning processing unit is arranged on the side of said opposite side surface within said interface.
12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein
said thermal processing unit and said platform are stacked in a substantially central part in said second direction within said interface,
said first transport unit is arranged between said cleaning processing unit and said thermal processing unit, and
said second transport unit is arranged between said thermal processing unit and said drying processing unit.
13. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein
said second transport unit includes first and second holders that each hold the substrate,
said first holder holding the substrate when the substrate is transported before the exposure processing by said exposure device and after the drying processing by said drying processing unit, and
said second holder holding the substrate when the substrate after said exposure processing is transported from said exposure device to said drying processing unit.
14. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said second holder is provided below said first holder.
15. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
said interface further includes an edge exposure unit that exposes a peripheral portion of the substrate, and
said first transport unit transports the substrate among said processing section, said edge exposure unit, said cleaning processing unit, and said platform.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A shim for positioning a work piece comprising:
a first plate;
an optional reference frame; and
an actuator in operative communication with the first plate and the reference frame.
2. The shim of claim 1, wherein the actuator comprises an active material, and wherein the active material is a shape memory alloy, a ferromagnetic shape memory alloy, a shape memory polymer, an electroactive polymer, a piezoelectric material, a magnetostrictive material, an electrorheological fluid, a magnetorheological fluid, a magnetorheological elastomer, a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing active materials.
3. The shim of claim 2, wherein the active material has the ability to return to an original defined shape upon application of an external stimulus.
4. The shim of claim 2, wherein the active material undergoes a change in stiffness andor shape in proportion to the strength of an external stimulus.
5. The shim of claim 1, wherein the reference frame can be displaced with respect to the first plate or wherein the first can be displaced with respect to the reference frame.
6. The shim of claim 1, wherein the reference frame partially or completely surrounds the first plate and wherein the first plate upon actuation by the actuator can be displaced vertically, horizontally andor rotationally with respect to the reference frame.
7. The shim of claim 2, wherein the active material can change its shear strength, modulus properties, andor shape to control the position of the first plate with respect to the reference frame.
8. The shim of claim 1, wherein the actuator employs control logic andor a feedback loop.
9. The shim of claim 1, wherein the actuator comprises an electric stepper motor, an inchworm, a piezoelectric inchworm, an ultrasonic motor, an electrohydrostatic actuator, a nanomotion piezoelectric motor, a compact hybrid actuator device, or combinations thereof.
10. The shim of claim 9, wherein the electric stepper motor, the inchworm, the piezoelectric inchworm, the ultrasonic motor, the electrohydrostatic actuator, the nanomotion piezoelectric motor and the compact hybrid actuator device comprise a active material.
11. The shim of claim 1, wherein the shim is capable of positioning a load of about 0.5 kilograms to 10,000 kilograms.
12. The shim of claim 1, further comprising a second plate andor a third plate, wherein the second andor third plates are in operative communication with the actuator.
13. The shim of claim 12, wherein the second plate andor the third plate are adopted to act cooperatively and synchronously with a first plate.
14. A method of aligning a work piece comprising:
disposing the work piece upon a first plate of a shim;
activating an actuator with an external stimulus; wherein the actuator is in operative communication with the first plate; and
displacing the work piece.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising holding the work piece in a displaced position without the assistance of power.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the work piece is displaced vertically, horizontally, andor rotationally with respect to a reference frame.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein the work piece is reversibly displaced with respect to a reference frame.
18. The method of claim 14, wherein the actuating comprises applying an external stimulus to the actuator, and wherein the external stimulus is thermal, electric, magnetic, radiation, chemical, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing external stimuli.
19. The method of claim 14, wherein the work piece has a weight of about 0.5 kilograms to about 10,000 kilograms.
20. The method of claim 14, wherein the shim displaces the work piece to a distance of less than or equal to about 50 micrometers from a specified reference point.