Exposure apparatus, exposure method, and device manufacturing method
AssigneeNikon Corporation
InventorJunichi Chonan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An exposure apparatus exposes a substrate with exposure light via a liquid. The exposure apparatus includes an optical system including an emission surface from which the exposure light is emitted; a liquid supply port that supplies the liquid in order to fill an optical path of the exposure light emitted from the emission surface with the liquid; and a fluid supply port that supplies a fluid including a material capable of changing the specific resistance of the liquid to at least a part of a space around a liquid immersion space that is formed by the liquid.
Claims18
An exposure apparatus that exposes a substrate with exposure light via a liquid, the exposure apparatus comprising:
- an optical system having a terminating optical element that emits the exposure light, under which a liquid immersion space is formed;
- a substrate stage having a holder by which the substrate is held, which is movable relative to and below the optical system;
- a liquid supply port via which the liquid is supplied to fill an optical path of the exposure light with the liquid;
- a liquid recovery port;
- and
- a fluid supply port that supplies carbon dioxide gas to a gas space, the gas space at least partly surrounding the liquid immersion space, the carbon dioxide gas being supplied from the fluid supply port in gas phase without liquid phase fluid,
- wherein:
- the liquid recovery port is disposed such that an upper surface of the substrate faces the liquid recovery port,
- the fluid supply port is disposed radially outward of the liquid recovery port in a radial direction in relation to an optical axis of the optical system, and
- the substrate is exposed via the liquid in the liquid immersion space covering a portion of the upper surface of the substrate.
An exposure method comprising:
- projecting exposure light onto a substrate by an optical system having a terminating optical element which emits the exposure light and under which a liquid immersion space is formed;
- moving a substrate stage on which the substrate is held by a holder, relative to and below the optical system;
- performing liquid supply via a liquid supply port to fill an optical path of the exposure light with liquid;
- performing liquid recovery via a liquid recovery port;
- and
- supplying carbon dioxide gas to a gas space via a fluid supply port, the gas space at least partly surrounding the liquid immersion space, the carbon dioxide gas being supplied from the fluid supply port in gas phase without liquid phase fluid,
- wherein:
- the liquid recovery port is disposed such that an upper surface of the substrate faces the liquid recovery port,
- the fluid supply port is disposed radially outward of the liquid recovery port in a radial direction in relation to an optical axis of the optical system, and
- the substrate is exposed with the exposure light via the liquid in the liquid immersion space covering a portion of the upper surface of the substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.