A substrate treatment apparatus includes a transport part to transport a transparent rectangular substrate, a substrate support part to support the substrate, light generators to irradiate two different lights onto the moving substrate, and sense the irradiated lights, and a controller to determine a posture of the substrate with reference to the sensed lights and control the transport part such that the substrate is seated on the substrate support part in a default posture that is preset. The controller determines the posture of the transparent rectangular substrate with respect to the default posture using a time difference between a time point at which a first light of the two different lights is not transmitted through an edge of the transparent rectangular substrate and a time point at which a second light of the two different lights is not transmitted through the edge of the transparent rectangular substrate.

A structure and method for providing alignment aids that are co-fabricated with the optical emission output from a laser pedestal are described. In embodiments, the alignment aids are formed using processes and masking layers that produce a ridge waveguide laser structure. The use of same masking processes for the laser and the alignment aids provides lithographic level precision in the positioning of the alignment aids in relation to the optical output from the laser device. Optoelectrical die formed with the alignment aids may be used with complementary interposer structures to enable alignment of optical output from lasers formed on the optoelectrical die with optical devices on the interposer.

Three-dimensional printing methods and systems use a derived geometry and aligns anisotropic inclusions in any orientation at any number of discrete volumetric sections. Structural, thermal, or geometry-based analyses are combined with inclusion alignment computations and print preparation methods and provided to 3D printers to produce composite material parts that meet demanding geometric needs as well as enhanced structural and thermal requirements. In one example, optimal inclusion alignment vectors associated with a section of the object are calculated based on specifications for the object, segmenting a three-dimensional model of the object into layer slices, grouping each section within each layer slice having similar alignment vectors and combining the groupings and generating printing instructions for the object according to the grouped alignment vectors.

Various embodiments of aligning wafers are described herein. In one embodiment, a photolithography system aligns a wafer by averaging individual via locations. In particular, some embodiments of the present technology determine the center locations of individual vias on a wafer and average them together to obtain an average center location of the set of vias. Based on a comparison of the average center location to a desired center location, the present technology adjusts the wafer position. Additionally, in some embodiments, the present technology compares wafer via patterns to a template and adjusts the position of the wafer based on the comparison.

An edge-dominant alignment method for use in an exposure scanner system is provided. The method includes the steps of: providing a wafer having a plurality of shot areas, wherein each shot area has a plurality of alignment marks; determining a first outer zone of the wafer, wherein the first outer zone includes a first portion of the shot areas along a first outer edge of the wafer; determining a scan path according to the shot areas of the first outer zone; and performing an aligning process to each shot area of the first outer zone according to the scan path and an alignment mark of each shot area of the first outer zone.

A method and a device for aligning two lenses, wherein the method is directed to aligning first and second optical partial systems of an optical system, which are arranged so as to be located opposite to one another. The method includes the steps of: projecting alignment marks into a first image plane of the first optical partial system, projecting the alignment marks from the first image plane onto a sensitive surface of the second optical partial system, and aligning the optical partial systems relative to one another, such that projections of the alignment marks in a depth of field of the sensitive surface are imaged at ideal positions.

A detection apparatus detects an orientation reference of an object to be detected which includes an edge including the orientation reference. The apparatus includes a first detection system configured to detect the edge such that the orientation reference is detected, and a second detection system configured to detect, by projecting a pattern to a surface of the object and detecting an image formed by reflected light from the surface, a position of the surface in a direction perpendicular to the surface. After a focusing operation of the first detection system is performed based on the position of the surface detected by the second detection system, the first detection system detects the orientation reference.

A substrate treatment apparatus includes a transport part to transport a transparent rectangular substrate, a substrate support part to support the substrate, light generators to irradiate two different lights onto the moving substrate, and sense the irradiated lights, and a controller to determine a posture of the substrate with reference to the sensed lights and control the transport part such that the substrate is seated on the substrate support part in a default posture that is preset. The controller determines the posture of the transparent rectangular substrate with respect to the default posture using a time difference between a time point at which a first light of the two different lights is not transmitted through an edge of the transparent rectangular substrate and a time point at which a second light of the two different lights is not transmitted through the edge of the transparent rectangular substrate.

A pattern forming method includes: a first step of forming a first pattern to define a first shot arrangement; and a second step of performing an imprint process, thereby forming a second pattern on the imprint material on the first pattern and defining a second shot arrangement. In the second step, the second shot arrangement is defined so as to reduce an overlay error between the first and second shot arrangements by deforming the mold. In the first step, based on information of the estimated second shot arrangement definable on the substrate when the second step is performed after the second pattern formed on the mold is amended by deforming the mold, the first pattern is formed to make an overlay error between the first and second shot arrangements fall within an allowable range.

A device for measuring reference points in real time during lithographic printing includes a light source providing an exposure beam; a light modulator modulating the exposure beam according to an exposure pattern; a measurement system configured to measure a position of a number of alignment marks previously arranged on a substrate; and an exposure optical system comprising a control unit. The exposure optical system delivers the modulated exposure beam as an image provided by the light modulator onto the substrate. The exposure system control unit is configured to calculate the orientation of the substrate based on the position of the alignment marks and control the delivering of the modulated exposure beam relative to the calculated orientation of the substrate.