JP3445257B2 - Processing system, exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method using the same - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a processing system for performing processing in a reduced pressure atmosphere, such as a system such as an exposure apparatus or a thin film forming apparatus. The present invention also relates to an exposure apparatus and a device manufacturing method using such a processing system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an X-ray exposure apparatus utilizing SR light (synchrotron radiation) has been known. SR light has a large attenuation in the air, so to prevent this, S
The synchrotron ring that emits R and the inside of the beam port are maintained in an ultrahigh vacuum, and are guided to an exposure apparatus in which a mask wafer is built in through a blocking window (beryllium window, hereinafter abbreviated as Be window). Also, the exposure atmosphere in which the mask wafer is placed is preferably vacuum or reduced pressure helium for the same reason, and therefore the exposure apparatus is placed in the reduced pressure container.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional processing system. In the figure, 1 is a process chamber for performing process processing such as exposure and thin film formation in a reduced pressure atmosphere, and 2 is a load lock chamber for exchanging samples. Although not shown, pumps and valves for supplying and exhausting these two chambers are provided. A sluice valve 9 and a bellows 11, which serve as a transfer path for sample exchange, are provided between the two chambers, and by closing the sluice valve 9, the respective pressures of the two chambers are maintained.

The process chamber 1 includes support members 8a and 8b.
Also, the load lock chamber 2 is provided with a support member 8
It is supported on the first frame 3 by c and 8d, respectively. The first pedestal 3 is provided with an air mount 16 which is an air spring so as to block vibration from the floor. Support members 8e and 8f are provided inside the process chamber 1.
The second gantry 4 is supported by, and the processing stage 12 and the transfer robot 13 are mounted on the second gantry 4. A support member 8 is provided inside the load lock chamber 2.
The third pedestal 5 is supported by g and 8h, and the sample pedestal 14 for holding the sample 15 such as a substrate is mounted on the third pedestal 5.
Is installed.

FIG. 13 shows the configuration of another conventional example. The SR light is guided from the beam port 51, which is kept in an ultrahigh vacuum, through the Be window 52 into the stage housing chamber 60, which has a reduced pressure helium atmosphere. A stage 58 is installed in the stage storage chamber 60, and a stage 57 for positioning the mask chuck 53 holding the mask 54 by suction and the wafer 55 sucked and held by the wafer chuck 56 with respect to the mask 54 is mounted on the stage 58. I support you. The pedestal 58 has an air mount 61, which is an air spring, in order to suppress the influence of vibration of the beam port 51 and floor vibration.
It is supported by.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned first problem
In the conventional apparatus, when the process chamber 1 and the load lock chamber 2 are evacuated and decompressed, each chamber may undergo elastic deformation due to decompression. Then, this deformation is transmitted to the devices built in the chamber, and in some cases, the relative positional relationship between the devices is deviated, resulting in deterioration of sample transfer accuracy.

Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to solve the problem of the first conventional example and to provide an improved system. More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a processing system capable of suppressing changes in the position and orientation of a processing apparatus incorporated in the chamber even if the chamber is deformed, an exposure apparatus using the same, and a device manufacturing method. And

By the way, in the device of the second conventional example,
Since the air mount 61 is brought into the decompressed atmosphere inside the chamber 60, there are the following problems. First, there is a fear that the decompressed atmosphere will be deteriorated due to air leakage from the air mount. Further, the height of the air mount changes according to the change in the relative difference between the atmospheric pressure in the chamber 60 and the pressure of the air mount 61, and the position of the mounted device changes. Furthermore, since the exposure apparatus is supported inside the chamber 60, the deformation of the chamber caused by the reduced pressure is transmitted to the internal exposure apparatus via the air mount, and the position and orientation of the processing apparatus may change. is there.

Therefore, a second object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the second conventional example and to provide an improved system. More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a processing system that suppresses deterioration of the atmosphere in the chamber and suppresses changes in the position and orientation of the processing apparatus incorporated in the chamber, and an exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method using the same. To aim.

A third and third object of the present invention is to provide a processing system having a plurality of chambers, which enables highly accurate exposure processing and thin film forming processing.

[0011]

A processing system according to the present invention that achieves the above object comprises a processing apparatus, a chamber that contains the processing apparatus and can keep the inside airtight, and a supporting means that supports the chamber. A mount on which the processing device is mounted,
It is characterized in that it is provided with an air mount installed outside the chamber to support the gantry separately from the chamber, and an elastic airtight holding means for airtightly connecting the gantry and the chamber.

Further, it is desirable that the elastic airtight holding means has a bellows or a magnetic fluid seal.

Further, it is desirable to have a supply / exhaust system for controlling the atmosphere of the chamber, it is preferable that the supply / exhaust system has a pump and a regulator, and the supply / exhaust system will bring the inside of the chamber into a depressurized state. It is preferable that it is characterized by the following.

Further, it is desirable to provide an air mount for supporting the supporting means in addition to the air mount for supporting the mount.

Here, in each of the above inventions, it is preferable to subject the sample contained in the chamber to an exposure process, and if a device is manufactured using this processing system, a highly accurate device can be manufactured.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS <First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 5 represent the same members.

The process chamber 1 and the load lock chamber 2 are fixed to the floor by columns 20. The first pedestal 3 and the second pedestal 4 are connected by supporting members 6a and 6b, and the second pedestal 4 and the third pedestal 5 are connected by a supporting member 6c. These connections are made with high rigidity, and the first to the third mounts can be regarded as substantially one structure. Here, the support members 6a and 6b and the process chamber 1 are airtightly connected by elastic bellows 10a and 10b, and the support member 6c, the process chamber 1 and the load lock chamber 2 are airtightly connected by elastic bellows 10c. There is. This allows each chamber 1, 2
The inside is kept airtight. As the elastic airtight holding means for airtightly connecting the support member and the chamber, a form other than the bellows may be considered, and examples thereof include a mechanism using a multistage O-ring or a leaf spring.

With this configuration, the sequence of sample transfer from the load lock chamber 2 to the process chamber 1 is as follows. First, the inside of the process chamber 1 is evacuated to a vacuum with the partition valve 9 closed. On the other hand, after introducing the sample into the load lock chamber 2 in the atmospheric state from the outside and setting the sample 15 on the sample holder 14,
The process chamber 1 is evacuated to the same pressure level.
Next, the partition valve 9 is opened, and the transfer robot 13
The sample 15 is taken out from the load lock chamber 2 through the bellows 11 and is transported to the processing stage 12 in the process chamber 1. Then, the sluice valve 9 is closed again if necessary, and the sample is subjected to processing such as exposure and thin film formation in the process chamber 1. The processed sample 15 is carried out to the load lock chamber 2 through the same path as the carry-in path. When the predetermined number of samples have been processed, the gate valve 9 is closed and the load lock chamber 2 is closed.
Return the sample to the atmosphere and take out the sample.

Although the process chamber 1 may be deformed by depressurization, the second pedestal 4 is connected to the first pedestal 3 and is not directly connected to the chamber 1, so the bellows 1
The chamber deformation is absorbed by the elasticity of 0a and 10b. Therefore, the position of the second pedestal 4 is the same as that of the process chamber 1
The positional relationship adjusted in the atmospheric pressure state is maintained without being affected by the internal pressure state. Similarly, load lock chamber 2
The deformation that may occur due to the reduced pressure is not directly transmitted to the third pedestal 5 by the action of the bellows 10c. From the above, no matter what the pressures of the process chamber 1 and the load lock chamber 2 are, the built-in structure is not affected. Therefore, the sample 15 between the processing stage 12 and the sample mounting table 14 on the structure is
Can be delivered with high precision by the transfer robot 13.

<Embodiment 2> FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 above represent the same members. The process chamber 1 and the load lock chamber 2 are connected via a sluice valve 9 and a bellows 11, and both chambers are fixed to a floor by a column 20. On the other hand, the first pedestal 3 and the second pedestal 4 are provided with a support member 7
The third pedestal 5 is connected to the first pedestal 3 by the support members 7c and 7d.
Similar to the previous embodiment, these connections are made with high rigidity, and the first to third mounts 5 can be regarded as one structure. Here, the support members 7a and 7b and the process chamber 1 are airtightly connected by elastic bellows 12a and 12b, and the support members 7c and 7d and the load lock chamber 2 are airtightly connected by elastic bellows 12c and 12d. . As a result, the airtightness inside the chambers 1 and 2 is maintained.

In this construction, the bellows 12a to 12d of the process chamber 1 and the load lock chamber 2 absorb the deformation due to the pressure reduction, so that the deformation of the chamber does not adversely affect the internal structure. Therefore 2
The sample 15 can be transferred between the two chambers with high accuracy as in the previous embodiment. In addition, in the present embodiment, the second mount 4 and the third mount 5 are provided on the first mount 3.
Since both of them are combined, it is sufficient to assemble and adjust the first pedestal 3 as a reference plane, and the workability is improved.

<Third Embodiment> In the future semiconductor manufacturing process, it is expected that the work involving humans will be reduced more and more. With the shift from conventional batch processing to single-wafer processing, sample transfer by a transfer robot or the like becomes an important issue in the manufacturing line. In addition, 64M DRAM
Due to the characteristics of chemically amplified resists in the subsequent semiconductor manufacturing technology, precise time management is required for each sheet from resist coating to exposure, development and rinsing. A production line is required. In this embodiment, when the sample is delivered in a reduced pressure atmosphere,
The present invention realizes highly accurate transport of a sample in a production line in which the sample is delivered at atmospheric pressure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a manufacturing line including the processing system of this embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection state between chambers. In FIG. 3, 101 is a process chamber, 102a is a load chamber, 102b is an unload chamber, and 121 is a transfer module chamber. Load chamber 102a and process chamber 1
01 is provided with a sluice valve 109a, and a sluice valve 122a and a bellows 123a are provided between the transfer module chamber 121 and the load chamber 102a. In addition, the unload chamber 102b and the process chamber 1
01 is provided with a sluice valve 109b, and a sluice valve 122b and a bellows 123b are provided between the transfer module chamber 121 and the unload chamber 102b.
Reference numerals 113a and 113b are transfer robots for transferring a sample between the chambers, 124a and 124b are clean tunnels that serve as a path for transferring the sample, 131 is a resist coating station, 132 is a resist developing station, and 1 is a resist developing station.
33 is a rinse station.

FIG. 4 shows the connection relationship between the process chamber 101, the load chamber 102a, and the transfer module 121. The process chamber 101 and the load chamber 102a include support members 106c and 106d that couple internal devices to each other, and bellows 110c to 110.
The state of connection is similar to that of the embodiment described above by f. The transfer module chamber 121 is supported by a support column 120 which is a support means different from the support means of the process chamber 101 and the load chamber 102a. In addition, the process chamber 101 and the load chamber 1
02a is adapted to be able to independently assume a depressurized state and an atmospheric pressure state by a supply / discharge system including a pump and a regulator. In addition, the supply and discharge system, the transfer robot,
A controller 150 having a computer is provided to control all operations of the gate valve and the like, and controls the operation of the entire system.

Next, the operation of the apparatus will be described along the flow of the sample in the manufacturing process. The procedure until the exposure process is performed on the sample is as follows. Note that FIG. 5 shows the pressure state of the chamber and the open / close state of the gate valve in each step.

(1) At the resist coating station 131, a chemically amplified resist is coated on the sample.

(2) The transfer robot 113b transfers the sample from the resist coating station 131 to the transfer module chamber 121 through the clean tunnel 124a.

(3) The gate valve 122a is opened, and the sample is introduced from the transfer module chamber 121 into the load chamber 102a by the transfer robot 113b. At this time, the load lock chamber 102a is at atmospheric pressure, and the process chamber 101 is at a reduced pressure. When the process chamber 1 is depressurized, chamber deformation occurs, but the bellows 1
The deformation is absorbed by 23a. Even if it can not be absorbed, the sample is delivered under atmospheric pressure, so the deformation amount can be detected and corrected by the transfer robot with a sensor, so the configuration is simpler, the cost is lower, and the accuracy is higher than that under reduced pressure. Is possible. [Fig. 5 (a)]

(4) The gate valve 122a is closed and the load lock chamber 102a is depressurized to the same pressure as the process chamber 1. At this time, there is no influence on the process chamber 1. [Fig. 5 (b)]

(5) The gate valve 109a is opened, and the sample is introduced from the load chamber 102a into the process chamber 101 by the transfer robot 113a. The sample transfer between the two chambers is as described in the previous embodiment. [Fig. 5 (c)]

(6) The partition valve 109a is closed, and the sample is exposed to X-rays in the decompressed process chamber 101. [Fig. 5 (d)]

(7) After loading into the process chamber 101,
The load chamber 102a is purged and returned to atmospheric pressure. Then, during the exposure process, the next sample is loaded on the load chamber 102a.
Introduce it to make it stand by.

The procedure for transporting the exposed sample is as follows.

(8) The sluice valve 109b is opened, and the transfer robot 113a transfers the exposed sample from the process chamber 101 to the unload chamber. The unload chamber 102b is depressurized.

(9) The sluice valve 109b is closed, and the sluice valve 12
2b is opened to open the unload chamber 102b to the atmospheric pressure.

(10) The transfer robot 113b transfers the unload chamber 102b to the transfer module chamber 121. Then, the transfer robot 113b transfers the sample to the resist developing station 132 through the clean tunnel 124b.

(11) Resist developing station 132
In (1), the sample is developed, and the developed sample is transferred to the rinse station 133 to be rinsed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in performing the exposure processing on the sample and the transport operation of another sample in parallel, a system is provided in which the vibration due to the transport operation does not adversely affect the exposure process. Has become.

<Embodiment 4> FIG. 6 shows a structure of another embodiment which is a modification of the supporting members 106c and 106d having the structure shown in FIG. In the figure, the support member 106c-
It is divided into 1 and 106c-2, and both are connected under the atmospheric pressure outside the chamber. The same applies to the connecting members 106d-1 and 106d-2.

According to this structure, in order to improve the assembling and maintenance in the manufacturing line for single-wafer processing, based on the concept of FRU (Field Replaceable Unit),
Ease of unit replacement is achieved. That is, when replacing the load chamber 102a, the work can be completed with a minimum number of assembling steps.

<Fifth Embodiment> Next, an X-ray exposure system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the SR light generated by the SR light source (not shown) is guided by the beam port 201 and be (Beryllium)
It is introduced into the chamber 301 through the window 202. The chamber 301 and the beam port 201 are elastic bellows 2
They are hermetically connected by 14. Here chamber 3
The inside of 01 is a reduced pressure helium atmosphere of about 150 Torr.

Next, the exposure apparatus arranged in the chamber 301 will be described. The mask 204 is the mask chuck 2
03 is sucked and held, and the wafer 205 is sucked and held by the wafer chuck 206. The wafer 205 is configured to be movable with respect to the mask 204 by the alignment stage 207. The mask chuck 203 and the alignment stage 207 are supported on a pedestal 208, and a gantry support 303 which is a part of the pedestal 208 is supported by an air mount 211 which is an air spring placed on the floor. The pedestal column 303 is hermetically connected to the chamber 301 by a bellows 304. Stand 303
Has a built-in hydraulic cylinder 213 for changing the length of the support column, and the control device is arranged so that the measured value of the distance measuring sensor 212 for measuring the distance to the floor mounted on the gantry support column 303 becomes constant. The hydraulic cylinder 213 is controlled by 215. In addition, the chamber 301 is the chamber column 30
The chamber 301 and the pedestal 208 are individually supported with respect to the floor.

Here, the vertical rigidity of the bellows 304 is sufficiently smaller than that of the wall of the chamber 301 and the air mount 211. As a result, the deformation of the chamber 301 caused by the reduced pressure can be absorbed by the bellows 304, and an adverse effect on the mount 208 on which the exposure apparatus is mounted can be eliminated. Further, even if the chamber 301 vibrates due to floor vibration, it is absorbed by the bellows 304, so that the performance of the air mount 211 is not impaired. If higher accuracy is required, the column 305 may be provided on an air mount different from the air mount 211 that supports the pedestal 208. In this case, the position of the chamber 301 changes due to the differential pressure of the beam port opening, but this is not a problem because it is absorbed by the bellows 304 between the chamber and the pedestal.

Further, the air mount 211 is attached to the chamber 301.
Of the chamber 301 due to air leakage from the air mount 211 because it is arranged outside the reduced pressure helium atmosphere.
The atmosphere inside does not deteriorate, and the height of the air mount 211, that is, the pedestal 208 does not depend on the pressure reduction.
The position of the upper exposure device is kept constant.

Further, since the hydraulic cylinder 213 is controlled so that the measured value of the distance measuring sensor 212 becomes constant, the posture of the exposure apparatus on the pedestal 208 can be maintained with high accuracy even if atmospheric pressure changes. Be drunk

As the elastic airtight holding means for airtightly connecting the gantry support 303 and the chamber 301, a form other than the bellows may be considered, and for example, a mechanism using a multistage O-ring or a leaf spring may be mentioned. An example of this is shown in FIG.
In the figure, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 7 described above represent the same members. In this embodiment, the leaf spring 306 and the magnetic fluid seal 307 are used.
By the elastic airtight holding means consisting of
And the chamber 301 are hermetically connected. This can make the rigidity lower than that of the above bellows, and can more effectively absorb the deformation of the chamber and the change in posture.

<Embodiment 6> FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a structure of a further embodiment of the present invention, and the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 7 indicate the same members. Reference numeral 311 denotes a second chamber connected to the chamber 301, and a partition valve 300 that can be opened and closed is provided between the second chamber 311 and the chamber 301. Second chamber 31
In No. 1, the wafer exchange device 310 is mounted on the second mount 309. In addition, the second mount 309 and the mount 208
And are rigidly connected to each other by a support column 308 having high rigidity. Here, the pedestal column 308 is connected to the chamber 301 and the chamber 311 by the elastic bellows 320, and the airtightness is sealed.

According to this structure, in addition to the operation and effect described with reference to FIG. 7, the bellows 320 absorbs the deformation of the chambers 301 and 311 and the relative position fluctuation between the chambers caused by the pressure reduction. The positional deviation between the exposure apparatus mounted on the pedestal 208 and the apparatus mounted on the second pedestal 309 does not occur, and the delivery accuracy between them is not adversely affected.

<Embodiment 7> Next, an embodiment of a device manufacturing method using any of the above-described exposure apparatuses will be described. FIG. 10 shows a flow of manufacturing minute devices (semiconductor chips such as IC and LSI, liquid crystal panels, CCDs, thin film magnetic heads, micromachines, etc.). In step 1 (circuit design), a semiconductor device circuit is designed. In step 2 (mask manufacturing), a mask having the designed circuit pattern is manufactured. On the other hand, step 3 (wafer manufacture)
Then, a wafer is manufactured using a material such as silicon. Step 4 (wafer process) is called a pre-process, and an actual circuit is formed on the wafer by the lithography technique using the mask and the wafer prepared above. Next step 5
(Assembly) is called a post-process, and is a process of forming a semiconductor chip using the wafer manufactured in Step 4, and an assembly process (dicing, bonding),
It includes steps such as packaging (chip encapsulation). In step 6 (inspection), the semiconductor device manufactured in step 5 undergoes inspections such as an operation confirmation test and a durability test. Through these steps, the semiconductor device is completed and shipped (step 7).

FIG. 11 shows a detailed flow of the wafer process. In step 11 (oxidation), the surface of the wafer is oxidized. In step 12 (CVD), an insulating film is formed on the wafer surface. In step 13 (electrode formation), electrodes are formed on the wafer by vapor deposition. In step 14 (ion implantation), ions are implanted in the wafer. Step 1
In 5 (resist processing), a photosensitive agent is applied to the wafer. In step 16 (exposure), the circuit pattern of the mask is printed and exposed on the wafer by the exposure apparatus described above. In step 17 (development), the exposed wafer is developed. In step 18 (etching), parts other than the developed resist image are removed. In step 19 (resist stripping), the resist that is no longer needed after etching is removed. By repeating these steps, multiple circuit patterns are formed on the wafer. By using the manufacturing method of this embodiment, it is possible to manufacture a highly integrated semiconductor device, which has been difficult to manufacture in the past.

[0051]

According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the atmosphere in the chamber and to suppress the change in the position and the posture of the processing apparatus incorporated in the chamber.

Particularly, according to the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to suppress the change in the position and the attitude of the processing apparatus due to the deformation of the chamber and the change in the attitude.

Further, according to the invention of claim 6, even if the chamber is deformed by decompressing the chamber, it is possible to suppress the change in the position and the posture of the processing apparatus.

Further, according to the invention of claim 7, the performance of the air mount can be maintained with higher accuracy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a device configuration diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a device configuration diagram of a second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a device configuration diagram of a third embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an apparatus according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing states of a chamber and a gate valve in each step.

FIG. 6 is a device configuration diagram of a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a device configuration diagram of an example of a fifth example.

FIG. 8 is a device configuration diagram of a modified example of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a device configuration diagram of a further embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a manufacturing flow of a semiconductor device.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a detailed flow of a wafer process.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a processing system of a conventional example.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of another conventional processing system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 process chamber 2 load lock chamber 3, 4, 5 1st, 2nd, 3rd stand 6 Support members 7 Support member 8 Support members 9 gate valve 10,11 Bellows 12 processing stages 13 Transport robot 14 Sample stand 15 samples 101 process chamber 102a load chamber 102b unload chamber 106 support member 109, 122 Gate valve 121 Transport Module Chamber 123 Bellows 124 clean tunnel 131 Resist Coating Station 132 resist development station 133 Rinse Station 150 controller 201 beam port 202 Be window 203 Mask chuck 204 mask 205 wafer 206 Wafer chuck 207 alignment stage 208 stand 211 air mount 301 chamber 303 stand post 304 Bellows 305 Chamber support 306 leaf spring 307 Magnetic fluid seal 308 Stand post 309 Second mount 310 Wafer Exchanger 311 Second chamber

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A 64-20617 (JP, A) JP-A 63-164243 (JP, A) JP-A 6-94900 (JP, A) JP-A 5- 100098 (JP, A) JP 5-90134 (JP, A) JP 5-50723 (JP, A) JP 4-136944 (JP, A) JP 3-88400 (JP, A) JP-A-2-93139 (JP, A) JP-A-1-232721 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/027 G03F 7/20 H01L 21/68

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] 1. A processing apparatus, a chamber that contains the processing apparatus and can keep the inside airtight, a supporting unit that supports the chamber, a mount on which the processing apparatus is mounted, and a chamber installed outside the chamber. The processing system is characterized by including an air mount that supports the gantry and an elastic airtight holding unit that airtightly connects the gantry and the chamber, separately from the chamber. 2. The processing system according to claim 1, wherein the elastic airtight holding means has a bellows. 3. The processing system according to claim 1, wherein the elastic airtight holding means has a magnetic fluid seal. 4. The processing system according to claim 1, further comprising a supply / exhaust system that manages an atmosphere of the chamber. 5. The processing system according to claim 4, wherein the air supply / exhaust system includes a pump and a regulator. 6. The processing system according to claim 4, wherein the air supply / exhaust system depressurizes the inside of the chamber. 7. The processing system according to claim 1, further comprising an air mount that supports the supporting means, separately from the air mount that supports the gantry. 8. An exposure apparatus, which uses the processing system according to claim 1 to perform an exposure process. 9. A device manufacturing method comprising the step of exposing a wafer using the exposure apparatus according to claim 8.