Patent ID: 7253879
Filing Date: 2007-08-07
Classification: G03F

Abstract:
1. A method, comprising: (a) injecting an immersion fluid into an exposure area between a projection system and a substrate using a showerhead attached to the projection system; (b) performing exposure of the substrate through directing patterned illumination onto the substrate through the immersion fluid using the projection system as the substrate is scanned; (c) retrieving the immersion fluid from the exposure area after step (b); and (d) positioning a retrieval nozzle, which performs step (c), at a different height with respect to the substrate and with respect to an injection nozzle, which performs step (a), while maintaining the showerhead at a constant angle with respect to the substrate to form a tilted flow of the immersion fluid during retrieval of the immersion fluid after step (b).