PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 16089956
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-09
Publication Date: 2019-05
Patent Classification: ["355", "055000"]

Abstract:
A projection exposure apparatus is disclosed, including a focal plane measuring system ( 8 ) and an alignment measuring system ( 9 ) both disposed between a reticle stage ( 3 ) and a substrate stage ( 4 ). The alignment measuring system ( 9 ) is capable of focusing. The focal plane measuring system ( 8 ) measures variation in the surface profile of a substrate ( 5 ), and the alignment measuring system ( 9 ) effectuates focusing based on data obtained from the measurement performed by the focal plane measuring system ( 8 ). After the completion of the focusing, coordinates of various points on the substrate ( 5 ) in the alignment measuring system ( 9 ) are those of the points that have experienced the profile variation of the substrate ( 5 ). A relative positional relationship between the reticle ( 2 ) and the substrate ( 5 ) that has undergone the profile variation can be computationally derived from the changes in the coordinates of the points, and compensation can be accomplished by moving the substrate stage ( 4 ). In this way, even when there are differences between measuring focal planes of the alignment measuring system ( 9 ) and the focal plane measuring system ( 8 ), the resulting errors can be compensated for through calculation and focusing. An exposure method for a projection apparatus is also disclosed.

Claim (Index 1):
A projection exposure apparatus, comprising:\n an illumination light source; an illumination optical system; a reticle stage, for supporting a reticle; a projection objective assembly, comprising a plurality of constituent objectives that together provide a stitched exposure field-of-view; a substrate stage for supporting a substrate, the substrate comprising a plurality of exposure regions, each of the plurality of exposure regions having a size matching with the stitched exposure field-of-view; and a control system in signal connection with both of the reticle stage and the substrate stage, wherein during a scanning exposure process, a light beam emanated from the illumination light source passes through the illumination optical system and is irradiated onto the reticle, thereby transferring a pattern on the reticle onto a corresponding one of the plurality of exposure regions of the substrate through the stitched exposure field-of-view provided by the projection objective assembly, the projection exposure apparatus further comprising an alignment measuring system and a focal plane measuring system, each electrically connected to the control system, the alignment measuring system comprising a plurality of alignment measuring elements, the focal plane measuring system comprising a plurality of focal plane measuring elements, each corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of alignment measuring elements, the alignment measuring system and the focal plane measuring system both disposed between the reticle stage and the substrate stage, wherein each of the plurality of alignment measuring elements is capable of focusing, and during alignment of any one of the plurality of exposure regions of the substrate by the alignment measuring system, each of the plurality of alignment measuring elements effectuates focusing and alignment based on focal plane information about the exposure region measured by a corresponding one of the plurality of focal plane measuring elements.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 1.0
- Percentile: 97.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.76667
- Patent Class: 355.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: True
- Related Applications: ['14796328', '15515110', '13935972', '10844939', '11011570']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.7062534007333263
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.4719511641389321
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.6828231770738868
- Mean Citation Score: 230.271544
- Max Citation Score: 234.89825
- Similarity Product: 188.32195837983485

Labels:
- Claim Label 101: 1
- Claim Label 102: 1
- Claim Label 103: 1
- Claim Label 112: 1
- Combined Label: 1
- Label 101 Adjusted: 1

Dataset: test