US 10,768,537 B2Granted

Liquid immersion exposure apparatus

AssigneeNikon Corporation

InventorShinji Sato

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A liquid immersion exposure apparatus is disclosed. It includes a projection system having a final element and a liquid immersion member that in turn includes a first member, which surrounds the final element and has a liquid supply port and a liquid suction port, and a second member, which is movable with respect to the first member and has a lower part under which a portion of a liquid immersion space is formed. During exposure of a plurality of shot regions of a substrate, the immersion space covers a portion of a surface of the substrate, and the first shot region is exposed while moving the substrate in a first scanning direction. After the exposure of the first shot region, the second shot region is exposed while moving the substrate in a second scanning direction.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A liquid immersion member that forms a liquid immersion space on an object which is movable below an optical member so that an optical path of exposure light emitted from an emitting surface of the optical member is filled with liquid, the liquid immersion member comprising:

a first member that is disposed at least at a portion of a surrounding of the optical member, and that has a first liquid recovery part;
and
a second member under which a portion of the liquid immersion space is formed, the second member being disposed at least at a portion of a surrounding of the optical path, and the second member being movable with respect to the first member in a direction which is substantially perpendicular to an optical axis of the optical member,
wherein:
the first member has a hole which connects an upper side space of the first member and a lower side space of the first member,
the second member is moved so that a relative speed between the second member and the object is decreased compared to a relative speed between the first member and the object, and
an upper end of the hole is arranged above the emitting surface of the optical member.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/564,583Filed 9 Sep 2019 · continuation
Priority: 10 Apr 2012
Published: US 2019/0391503 A126 Dec 2019
Granted: 8 Sep 2020
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

G03F 7/70866
Environment aspects, e.g. pressure of beam-path gas, temperature: of mask or workpiece
G03F 7/2041
Exposure; Apparatus therefor: in the presence of a fluid, e.g. immersion; using fluid cooling means
G03F 7/70341
Mask projection systems: details of immersion lithography aspects, e.g. exposure media or control of immersion liquid supply
G03F
Photomechanical production of textured or patterned surfaces

Family

Application61/622,182Us provisional application · filed 10 Apr 2012
Application13/800,448Parent of this continuation · filed 13 Mar 2013
Application15/015,704Parent of this continuation · filed 4 Feb 2016
US 9,268,231 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 23 Feb 2016
Application15/394,373Parent of this continuation · filed 29 Dec 2016
US 9,557,654 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 31 Jan 2017
Application15/935,661Parent of this continuation · filed 26 Mar 2018
US 9,927,724 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 27 Mar 2018
US 2019/0391503 A1Pre-grant publication · published 26 Dec 2019
US 10,409,177 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2013/0265556 A1Published application
US 2016/0161860 A1Published application
US 2017/0108786 A1Published application
US 2018/0217511 A1Published application
US 10,768,537 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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