Patent ID: 6861331

Claim:
A method for aligning and exposing a semiconductor wafer with a structural pattern in an exposure device, which comprises the following steps: a) providing the semiconductor wafer with at least one exposure field having a first layer formed with at least one alignment mark for aligning the semiconductor wafer in the exposure device for exposure of the exposure field; b) forming a measurement structure with a first locational position in the exposure field in the first layer; c) subjecting the exposure field with the measurement structure to a chemical or physical process; d) subsequently measuring a second locational position of the measurement structure; e) comparing the first and second locational positions for determining a difference characterizing an influence of the chemical or physical process on the measurement structure in the exposure field; f) loading the semiconductor wafer into the exposure device and aligning the semiconductor wafer via the at least one alignment mark for defining an exposure position for the exposure field; g) correcting the exposure position of the exposure field in the exposure device in dependence on the difference for compensating for the influence of the chemical or physical process; h) exposing with the corrected exposure position; i) repeating steps a) to h) for correcting at least two further exposure fields, with respective corrections having a nonlinear dependence on the position of the first exposure field and of the at least one further exposure field on the semiconductor wafer.