Projection exposure apparatus and method

A scanning exposure apparatus in which a substrate is exposed by synchronously moving a mask and the substrate, the apparatus comprising:

• a beam source which emits pulses of an exposure beam in response to trigger signals output at predetermined time intervals;
• a projection system disposed in a path of the exposure beam from the beam source and which projects an image of a pattern formed on the mask onto the substrate, the mask to be disposed on one side of the projection system and the substrate to be disposed on another side thereof;
• a stage disposed on the one side or the other side of the projection system and which is movable in a scanning direction while holding the mask or the substrate, respectively;
• and
• a interferometer operatively connected to the stage and which outputs a measurement value corresponding to positional information of the stage in the scanning direction;
• wherein a stop timing of the output of the trigger signals is controlled based on the measurement value from the interferometer.

A scanning exposure method in which a substrate is exposed by synchronously moving a mask and the substrate, the method comprising:

• emitting pulses of an exposure beam from a beam source in response to trigger signals output at predetermined time intervals;
• moving a stage which holds the mask or the substrate in a scanning direction;
• measuring positional information of the stage in the scanning direction using an interferometer which outputs a measurement value corresponding to the positional information of the stage;
• and
• determining a start timing of the output of the trigger signals based on the measurement value from the interferometer.

A scanning exposure method in which a substrate is exposed by synchronously moving a mask and the substrate, the method comprising:

• emitting pulses of an exposure beam in response to trigger signals output at predetermined time intervals;
• moving a stage which holds the mask or the substrate in a scanning direction;
• measuring positional information of the stage in the scanning direction using an interferometer which outputs a measurement value corresponding to the positional information of the stage;
• and
• determining a stop timing of the output of the trigger signals based on the measurement value from the interferometer.

A device manufacturing method including scanning exposure process in which a substrate is exposed by synchronously moving a mask and the substrate, the method comprising:

• emitting pulses of an exposure beam from a beam source in response to trigger signals output at predetermined time intervals;
• moving a stage which holds the mask or the substrate in a scanning direction;
• measuring positional information of the stage in the scanning direction using an interferometer which outputs a measurement value corresponding to the positional information of the stage;
• and
• determining a start timing of the output of the trigger signals based on the measurement value from the interferometer.

A device manufacturing method including scanning exposure process in which a substrate is exposed by synchronously moving a mask and the substrate, the method comprising:

• emitting pulses of an exposure beam from a beam source in response to trigger signals output at predetermined time intervals;
• moving a stage which holds the mask or the substrate in a scanning direction;
• measuring positional information of the stage in the scanning direction using an interferometer which outputs a measurement value corresponding to the positional information of the stage;
• and
• determining a stop timing of the output of the trigger signals based on the measurement value from the interferometer.