Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7817244?dq=U.S.+Patent+No.+4,528,643)
Timestamp: 2017-10-24 03:08:09
Document Index: 223491200

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 2002', 'Application No. 03777348', 'Application No. 03777348', 'Application No. 200704812', 'Application No. 200380105422', 'Application No. 03777348', 'Application No. 2003', 'Application No. 2003', 'Application No. 03777348', 'Application No. 200704812', 'Application No. 200503235']

Patent US7817244 - Exposure apparatus and method for producing device - Google Patents
An exposure apparatus performs exposure for a substrate by filling a space between a projection optical system and the substrate with a liquid and projecting an image of a pattern onto the substrate through the liquid by using the projection optical system. The exposure apparatus includes a substrate...http://www.google.com/patents/US7817244?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7817244 - Exposure apparatus and method for producing device
Publication number US7817244 B2
Application number US 11/585,824
Also published as US7242455, US7834976, US20050219489, US20060152699, US20060250596, US20070035711
Publication number 11585824, 585824, US 7817244 B2, US 7817244B2, US-B2-7817244, US7817244 B2, US7817244B2
Inventors Masahiro Nei, Naoyuki Kobayashi, Hiroshi Chiba, Shigeru Hirukawa
Patent Citations (147), Non-Patent Citations (42), Referenced by (1), Classifications (23), Legal Events (1)
US 7817244 B2
An exposure apparatus performs exposure for a substrate by filling a space between a projection optical system and the substrate with a liquid and projecting an image of a pattern onto the substrate through the liquid by using the projection optical system. The exposure apparatus includes a substrate stage for holding the substrate, a liquid supply unit for supplying the liquid to a side of an image plane of the projection optical system, and a focus/leveling-detecting system for detecting surface information about a surface of the substrate not through the liquid. The exposure apparatus performs liquid immersion exposure for the substrate while adjusting a positional relationship between the surface of the substrate and the image plane formed through the projection optical system and the liquid, on the basis of the surface information detected by the focus/leveling-detecting system. The liquid immersion exposure can be performed at a satisfactory pattern transfer accuracy.
1. A liquid immersion exposure method for exposing a substrate by projecting an image of a pattern onto the substrate through a projection optical system and a liquid, comprising:
determining a surface information about a surface of the substrate by receiving a detecting beam from the surface of the substrate without passing the detecting beam through the liquid so as to perform a measurement;
determining a relationship between the surface information about the surface of the substrate and an information of an image plane of the projection optical system formed through the liquid;
supplying the liquid onto the substrate; and
performing liquid immersion exposure for the substrate while adjusting a positional relationship between the surface of the substrate and the image plane formed through the liquid on the basis of the determined relationship between the surface information about the surface of the substrate and the information of the image plane of the projection optical system formed through the liquid without detecting the surface information about the surface of the substrate while the substrate is exposed.
2. The liquid immersion exposure method according to claim 1, wherein receiving of the detecting beam and the liquid immersion exposure are carried out in different stations, respectively.
3. A liquid immersion exposure method for exposing a substrate by projecting an image of a pattern onto the substrate through a projection optical system and a liquid, comprising:
detecting an alignment mark on the substrate by receiving a detecting beam from the substrate without passing the detecting beam through the liquid;
supplying the liquid onto the substrate;
detecting a projection position of the image of the pattern formed through the liquid by the projection optical system;
determining a positional relationship between the alignment mark detected not through the liquid and the image of the pattern formed through the liquid; and
performing liquid immersion exposure for the substrate while performing alignment of the pattern and the substrate onto which the liquid has been supplied, on the basis of the determined positional relationship between the alignment mark and the image of the pattern.
4. The liquid immersion exposure method according to claim 3, wherein the detection of the alignment mark and performing the liquid immersion exposure are carried out in different stations, respectively.
5. The liquid immersion exposure method according to claim 3, wherein the detection of the alignment mark is performed when the liquid is not supplied onto the substrate.
6. The liquid immersion exposure method according to claim 1, the method further comprising using a reference member, which has a reference surface provided on a substrate stage that holds the substrate, to determine the relationship between the surface information about the surface of the substrate detected without passing the detecting beam through the liquid and the image plane formed through the liquid by the projection optical system.
7. The liquid immersion exposure method according to claim 6, wherein the surface information includes a relationship between the surface of the substrate and the reference surface.
8. The liquid immersion exposure method according to claim 7, wherein a relationship between the reference surface and the image plane formed through the liquid by the projection optical system is detected in a state in which the liquid is supplied to a space between the projection optical system and the reference surface, and the relationship between the surface of the substrate and the image plane is determined on the basis of the relationship between the image plane and the reference surface.
9. The liquid immersion exposure method according to claim 8, wherein the relationship between the image plane and the reference surface, which is detected in the state in which the liquid is supplied to the space between the projection optical system and the reference surface, is determined by using a first surface-detecting system which is different from a second surface-detecting system that receives the detecting beam to determine the relationship between the surface information about the surface of the substrate and the image plane.
10. The liquid immersion exposure method according to claim 1, wherein the image is projected onto the substrate through the projection optical system and the liquid, and wherein the receiving of the detecting beam, which is performed without passing the detecting beam through the liquid, is executed in a state in which the liquid is retained on the side of the image plane of the projection optical system.
11. The liquid immersion exposure method according to claim 3, the method further comprising using a reference mark, which is provided on a reference member provided on a substrate stage that holds the substrate, to determine the positional relationship between the result of the detection of the alignment mark and the projection position of the image of the pattern formed through the liquid by the projection optical system.
12. The liquid immersion exposure method according to claim 11, wherein by detecting the alignment mark, a positional relationship between the reference mark and each of the shot areas on the substrate is determined.
13. The liquid immersion exposure method according to claim 12, further comprising detecting the reference mark through, the projection optical system and the liquid, wherein a relationship between each of the shot areas on the substrate and the projection position of the image of the pattern formed through the liquid by the projection optical system is determined on the basis of a result of the detection of the reference mark.
14. The liquid immersion exposure method according to claim 13, wherein the reference mark is detected in a state in which the liquid is supplied to a space between the projection optical system and the reference member.
15. The liquid immersion exposure method according to claim 12, further comprising detecting a positional relationship between the reference mark and the pattern through the projection optical system, wherein a relationship between each of the shot areas on the substrate and the projection position of the image of the pattern formed through the liquid by the projection optical system is determined on the basis of a result of the detection of the reference mark.
16. The liquid immersion exposure method according to claim 13, wherein the pattern is formed on a mask, and the detection of the reference mark includes detecting a positional relationship between the reference mark and a mark on the mask in a state in which the liquid is supplied to a space between the projection optical system and the reference member.
17. The liquid immersion exposure method according to claim 13, wherein the reference mark is detected through the projection optical system and a transparent member arranged between the projection optical system and the reference member.
This is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/372,269 filed Mar. 10, 2006 (now abandoned), which in turn is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/141,518 filed Jun. 1, 2005 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,242,455), which is a Continuation of International Application No. PCT/JP03/015667 filed Dec. 8, 2003 claiming the conventional priority of Japanese patent Application No. 2002-357962 filed on Dec. 10, 2002. The disclosures of these applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
The present invention has been made taking the circumstances as described above into consideration, an object of which is to provide a liquid immersion exposure apparatus and a liquid immersion exposure method which make it possible to expose a substrate at a satisfactory pattern transfer accuracy when the exposure process is performed in a state in which a space between a projection optical system and the substrate is filled with a liquid. Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid immersion exposure apparatus and a liquid immersion exposure method which make it possible to bring about an optimum state by adjusting the positional relationship between a substrate surface and an image plane of a pattern. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid immersion exposure apparatus and a liquid immersion exposure method which make it possible to correctly perform the positional alignment (alignment) for a substrate.
An explanation will be made below about the exposure apparatus and the method for producing the device according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a schematic arrangement illustrating an embodiment of the exposure apparatus of the present invention.
The embodiment of the present invention will now be explained as exemplified by a case of the use of the scanning type exposure apparatus (so-called scanning stepper) as the exposure apparatus EX in which the substrate P is exposed with the pattern formed on the mask M while synchronously moving the mask M and the substrate P in mutually different directions (opposite directions) in the scanning directions. In the following explanation, the Z axis direction resides in the direction which is coincident with the optical axis AX of the projection optical system PL, the X axis direction resides in the synchronous movement direction (scanning direction) for the mask M and the substrate P in the plane perpendicular to the Z axis direction, and Y axis direction resides in the direction (non-scanning direction) perpendicular to the Z axis direction and the Y axis direction. The directions about the X axis, the Y axis, and the X axis are designated as θX, θY, and θZ directions respectively. The term “substrate” referred to herein includes those obtained by applying a resist on a semiconductor wafer, and the term “mask” includes a reticle formed with a device pattern to be subjected to the reduction projection onto the substrate.
The projection optical system PL projects the pattern on the mask M onto the substrate P at a predetermined projection magnification β to perform the exposure. The projection optical system PL includes a plurality of optical elements (lenses). The optical elements are supported by a barrel PK as a metal member. In this embodiment, the projection optical system PL is based on the reduction system having the projection magnification β which is, for example, ¼ or ⅕. The projection optical system PL may be any one of the 1× magnification system and the magnifying system. The optical element (lens) 60 is exposed from the barrel PK on the side of the tip (on the side of the substrate P) of the projection optical system PL of this embodiment. The optical element 60 is provided detachably (exchangeably) with respect to the barrel PK.
FIG. 2 shows a partial magnified view of FIG. 1 illustrating, for example, the lower portion of the projection optical system PL of the exposure apparatus EX, the liquid supply unit 1, and the liquid recovery unit 2. In FIG. 2, the lens 60, which is disposed at the lowest end of the projection optical system PL, is formed to have a rectangular shape which is long in the Y axis direction (non-scanning direction) except for the portion required for the end portion 60A in the scanning direction. During the scanning exposure, a pattern image of a part of the mask M is projected onto the rectangular projection area disposed just under the end portion 60A. The mask M is moved at the velocity V in the −X direction (or in the +X direction) with respect to the projection optical system PL, in synchronization with which the substrate P is moved at the velocity β·V (β is the projection magnification) in the +X direction (or in the −X direction) by the aid of the XY stage 52. After the completion of the exposure for one shot area, the next shot area is moved to the scanning start position in accordance with the stepping of the substrate P. The exposure process is successively performed thereafter for each of the shot areas in accordance in the step-and-scan manner. This embodiment is designed so that the liquid 50 flows in the movement direction of the substrate P.
FIG. 3 shows the positional relationship among the end portion 60A of the projection optical system PL, the supply nozzles 4 (4A to 4C) for supplying the liquid 50 in the X axis direction, and the recovery nozzles 5 (5A, 5B) for recovering the liquid 50. In FIG. 3, the end portion 60A of the lens 60 has a rectangular shape which is long in the Y axis direction. The three supply nozzles 4A to 4C are arranged on the side in the +X direction, and the two recovery nozzles 5A, 5B are arranged on the side in the −X direction so that the end portion 60A of the lens 60 of the projection optical system PL is interposed thereby. The supply nozzles 4A to 4C are connected to the liquid supply unit 1 through the supply tube 3, and the recovery nozzles 5A, 5B are connected to the liquid recovery unit 2 through the recovery tube 4. Further, the supply nozzles 8A to 8C and the recovery nozzles 9A, 9B are arranged at positions obtained by rotating, by substantially 180°, the positions of the supply nozzles 4A to 4C and the recovery nozzles 5A, 5B about the center of the end portion 60A. The supply nozzles 4A to 4C and the recovery nozzles 9A, 9B are alternately arranged in the Y axis direction. The supply nozzles 8A to 8C and the recovery nozzles 5A, 5B are alternately arranged in the Y axis direction. The supply nozzles 8A to 8C are connected to the liquid supply unit 1 through the supply tube 10. The recovery nozzles 9A, 9B are connected to the liquid recovery unit 2 through the recovery tube 11.
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U.S. Classification 355/53, 355/30, 355/55
International Classification G03F9/00, G03F7/20, G03B27/52, G03B27/42
Cooperative Classification G03F7/70341, G03F9/7015, G03F9/7046, G03F9/7034, G03F9/7011, G03F9/7019, G03F9/7088, G03F9/7096
European Classification G03F9/70M, G03F9/70P, G03F9/70B6L, G03F9/70B12, G03F7/70F24, G03F9/70B2P, G03F9/70B2R, G03F9/70B4