Patent ID: 8450031
Filing Date: 2013-05-28
Classification: G03F

Abstract:
1. A determination method of determining a light intensity distribution to be formed on a pupil plane of an illumination optical system which illuminates a mask in an exposure apparatus including the illumination optical system and a projection optical system which projects a pattern of the mask onto a substrate, the method comprising: a first step of setting the pattern of the mask; a second step of setting a cutline used to evaluate an image of the pattern of the mask, which is formed on an image plane of the projection optical system, and a target value of a dimension of the image; a third step of setting a plurality of element light sources which form the light intensity distribution of the illumination optical system; a fourth step of calculating an image of the pattern of the mask, which is formed on the cutline upon illuminating the pattern of the mask, for each of the plurality of element light sources; and a fifth step of determining a weight to be applied to each of the plurality of element light sources such that the dimension of the image of the pattern of the mask on the cutline from the images calculated in the fourth step comes close to the target value of the dimension, thereby determining, as the light intensity distribution to be formed on the pupil plane of the illumination optical system, light sources obtained by combining the plurality of element light sources applied with the weights.