Projection exposure methods and apparatus, and projection optical systems

A method of fabricating a dioptric projection optical system for forming an image of a pattern on a first surface, onto a second surface by action of radiation-transmitting refractors, comprising:

• a step of locating a front lens unit having a positive refracting power;
• a step of locating a rear lens unit having a positive refracting power, between the front lens unit and said second surface;
• and
• a step of locating an aperture stop between said front lens unit and said rear lens unit;
• wherein said front lens unit, said rear lens unit, and said aperture stop are located so that the projection optical system is telecentric on the said first surface side and on the said second surface side, and
• said method using the projection optical system satisfying the following condition:
• 0.065<f2/L<0.125,
• where f2 is a focal length of said rear lens unit and L is a distance from said first surface to said second surface.

A dioptric projection optical system for forming an image of a pattern on a first surface, onto a second surface by action of radiation-transmitting refractors, comprising:

• a plurality of lenses having their respective refracting powers,
• wherein when two lenses are selected in order from said first surface of said lenses having their respective refracting powers, at least one surface of the two lenses has an aspheric surface, and wherein, where Ca is a local, principal curvature near a center of an optical axis of the aspheric surface and Cb is a local, principal curvature in the meridional direction of an extreme marginal region of a lens clear aperture diameter of the aspheric surface,
• the following condition holds when said aspheric surface has a negative refracting power:
• Cb/Ca<0.7;
• the following condition holds when said aspheric surface has a positive refracting power:
• Cb/Ca>1.6.

A dioptric projection optical system for forming an image of a pattern on a first surface, onto a second surface by action of radiation-transmitting refractors, comprising:

• four or more lenses having their respective refracting powers,
• wherein when four lenses are selected in order from said first surface of said lenses having their respective refracting powers, at least one surface of the four lenses is an aspheric surface, and wherein, where Ca is a local, principal curvature near a center of an optical axis of the aspheric surface and Cb is a local, principal curvature in the meridional direction of an extreme marginal region of a lens clear aperture diameter of the aspheric surface,
• the following condition holds when said aspheric surface has a negative refracting power:
• Cb/Ca<0.45;
• the following condition holds when said aspheric surface has a positive refracting power:
• Cb/Ca>2.3.

A method of fabricating a dioptric projection optical system for forming an image of a pattern on a first surface, onto a second surface by action of radiation-transmitting refractors, comprising:

• a step of locating four or more lenses having their respective refracting powers,
• wherein when four lenses are selected in order from said first surface of said lenses having their respective refracting powers, at least one surface of the four lenses is an aspheric surface, and wherein said aspheric surface is selected in such a manner that, where Ca is a local, principal curvature near a center of an optical axis of the aspheric surface and Cb is a local, principal curvature in the meridional direction of an extreme marginal region of a lens clear aperture diameter of the aspheric surface,
• the following condition holds when said aspheric surface has a negative refracting power:
• Cb/Ca<0.45;
• the following condition holds when said aspheric surface has a positive refracting power:
• Cb/Ca>2.3.

A projection optical system for forming a reduced image of a pattern on a first surface, onto a second surface, comprising, in order from the first surface side:

• a first lens unit having a negative refracting power;
• a second lens unit having a positive refracting power;
• a third lens unit having a negative refracting power;
• a fourth lens unit having a positive refracting power;
• an aperture stop;
• and
• a fifth lens unit having a positive refracting power;
• wherein the following conditions are satisfied:
• −1.3<1/β1<0, and 0.08<L1/L<0.17,
• where β1 is a composite, lateral magnification of said first lens unit and said second lens unit, L1 is a distance from said first surface to a lens surface closest to said second surface in said second lens unit, and L is a distance from said first surface to said second surface.

A method of fabricating a projection optical system for forming a reduced image of a pattern on a first surface, onto a second surface, comprising the steps of:

• a step of preparing a first lens unit having a negative refracting power;
• a step of preparing a second lens unit having a positive refracting power;
• a step of preparing a third lens unit having a negative refracting power;
• a step of preparing a fourth lens unit having a positive refracting power;
• a step of preparing an aperture stop;
• a step of preparing a fifth lens unit having a positive refracting power;
• and
• a step of locating said first lens unit, said second lens unit, said third lens unit, said fourth lens unit, said aperture stop, and said fifth lens unit in the order named from the said first surface side;
• wherein, where β1 is a composite, lateral magnification of said first lens unit and said second lens unit, L1 a distance from said first surface to a lens surface closest to said second surface in said second lens unit, and L a distance from said first surface to said second surface, said first and second lens units are prepared so as to satisfy the following condition:
• −1.3<1/β1<0,
• and said first and second lens units are located so as to satisfy the following condition:
• 0.08<L1/L<0.17.

A projection optical system for forming a reduced image of a pattern on a first surface, onto a second surface, comprising:

• at least one light-transmitting refractor located in an optical path of said projection optical system,
• wherein the following condition is satisfied:
• 0.46<C/L<0.64,
• where C is a total thickness along the optical axis of the radiation transmitting refractor located in the optical path of said projection optical system and L is a distance from said first surface to said second surface.

A method of fabricating a projection optical system for forming a reduced image of a pattern on a first surface, onto a second surface, comprising the steps of:

• a step of preparing at least one radiation-transmitting member;
• a step of locating at least one said radiation-transmitting member in and along an optical path of said projection optical system;
• wherein said radiation-transmitting member is prepared so as to satisfy the following condition:
• 0.46<C/L<0.64,
• where C is a total thickness along the optical axis of the radiation transmitting refractor located in the optical path of said projection optical system and L is a distance from said first surface to said second surface.

A projection optical system for forming a reduced image of a pattern on a first surface, onto a second surface,

• comprising:
• at least three lens surfaces of aspheric shape,
• wherein the following condition is satisfied:
• 0.15<Ea/E<0.7,
• where E is the total number of members having their respective refracting powers among radiation-transmitting refractors in said projection optical system and Ea is the-total number of members each provided with a lens surface of aspheric shape.

A method of fabricating a projection optical system for forming a reduced image of a pattern on a first surface, onto a second surface, comprising the steps of:

• a step of preparing light-transmitting members so that at least three surfaces of lens surfaces of the radiation-transmitting refractors having aspheric shape and so that the following condition is satisfied:
• 0.15<Ea/E<0.7,
• where E is the total number of members having their respective refracting powers among said radiation-transmitting refractors and Ea is the total number of members each provided with a lens surface of aspheric shape;
• and
• a step of assembling the radiation transmitting members.

A projection exposure apparatus for projecting a reduced image of a pattern provided on a projection master, onto a workpiece to effect exposure thereof, comprising:

• a light source for supplying exposure light in a wavelength region of not more than 180 nm;
• an illumination optical system for guiding the exposure light from the light source to said pattern on said projection master;
• and
• a projection optical system located in an optical path between said projection master and said workpiece, said projection optical system guiding 25% or more by quantity of said exposure light having passed through said projection master, to said workpiece to form the reduced image of said pattern on said workpiece.

A projection exposure apparatus for projecting a reduced image of a pattern provided on a projection master, onto a workpiece to effect exposure thereof, comprising:

• a light source for supplying exposure light in a wavelength region of not more than 200 nm;
• an illumination optical system for guiding the exposure light from the light source to said pattern on said projection master;
• and
• a projection optical system located in an optical path between said projection master and said workpiece, said projection optical system guiding said exposure light having passed through said projection master, to said workpiece to form the reduced image of said pattern on said workpiece;
• wherein the following condition is satisfied:
• where En1 is a quantity of said exposure light traveling from said light source to said illumination optical system, En2 a quantity of said exposure light traveling from said illumination optical system to said projection master, En3 a quantity of said exposure light entering said projection optical system, and En4 a quantity of said exposure light emerging from said projection optical system toward said workpiece.

A projection exposure method of projecting a reduced image of a pattern provided on a projection master, onto a workpiece to effect exposure thereof, comprising the steps of:

• a step of supplying exposure light in a wavelength region of not more than 200 nm;
• a step of guiding the exposure light from the light source through an illumination optical system to said pattern on said projection master;
• and
• a step of guiding said exposure light from said projection master through said projection optical system to said workpiece to form the reduced image of said pattern on said workpiece;
• wherein the following condition is satisfied:
• where En1 is a quantity of said exposure light entering said illumination optical system, En2 is a quantity of said exposure light traveling from said illumination optical system to said projection master, En3 is a quantity of said exposure light entering said projection optical system, and En4 is a quantity of said exposure light emerging from said projection optical system toward said workpiece.

A projection exposure apparatus for projecting a pattern on a projection master onto a workpiece to effect exposure thereof, comprising:

• an illumination optical system for supplying exposure light of a wavelength of not more than 200 nm to said projection master;
• and
• a projection optical system for forming an image of the pattern on said projection master, at a predetermined projection magnification β on said workpiece;
• wherein said projection optical system comprises an aperture stop, a front lens unit located between the aperture stop and said projection master, and a rear lens unit located between said aperture stop and said workpiece,
• wherein, where y (kg) represents a translated amount of fluorite of a disk member from an amount of fluorite among light-transmitting optical materials in said projection optical system, f2 (mm) is a focal length of said rear lens unit, and NAw is a maximum numerical aperture on the image side of said projection optical system, and where x is defined as follows:
• x=f2·4|β|·NAw2;
• the following conditions are satisfied:
• y≦4x−200, y≦(4x/13)+(1000/13), y≧4x−440, and y≧0.

A projection exposure method of projecting a pattern on a projection master onto a workpiece to effect exposure thereof, comprising:

• an illumination step of supplying exposure light of a wavelength of not more than 200 nm to said projection master;
• and
• an image forming step of forming an image of the pattern on said projection master, at a predetermined projection magnification β on said workpiece, using a projection optical system comprising a front lens unit, an aperture stop, and a rear lens unit;
• wherein said image forming step comprises a first auxiliary step of guiding the light from said projection master to said front lens unit, a second auxiliary step of guiding the light passing through said front lens unit, to said aperture stop, a third auxiliary step of guiding the light passing through the aperture stop, to said rear lens unit, and a fourth auxiliary step of forming the image of said pattern on said workpiece, using the light passing through the rear lens unit,
• wherein, where y (kg) represents a translated amount or fluorite of a disk member from an amount of fluorite among light-transmitting optical materials in said projection optical system, f2 (mm) is a focal length of said rear lens unit, and NAw is a maximum numerical aperture on the image side of said projection optical system, and where x is defined as follows:
• x=f2·4|β|·NAw2;
• the following conditions are satisfied:
• y≦4x−200, y≦(4x/13)+(1000/13), y>4x−440, and y≧0.

A method of fabricating a projection exposure apparatus for projecting a pattern on a projection master onto a workpiece to effect exposure thereof, comprising the steps of:

• a step of preparing an illumination optical system for supplying exposure light of a wavelength of not more than 200 nm to said projection master;
• and
• a step of preparing a projection optical system for forming an image of the pattern on said projection master, at a predetermined projection magnification β on said workpiece;
• wherein the step of preparing said projection optical system comprises an auxiliary step of preparing a front lens unit, an aperture stop, and a rear lens unit, an auxiliary step of locating said front lens unit between positions where said aperture stop and said projection master are located respectively, and an auxiliary step of locating said rear lens unit between positions where said aperture stop and said workpiece are located respectively,
• wherein, where y (kg) represents a translated amount of fluorite of a disk member from an amount of fluorite among light-transmitting optical materials in said projection optical system, f2 (mm) is a focal length of said rear lens unit, and NAw is a maximum numerical aperture on the image side of said projection optical system, and where x is defined as follows:
• x=f2·4|β|·NAw2;
• the following conditions are satisfied:
• y≦4x−200, y≦(4x/13)+(1000/13), y≧4x−440, and y≧0.

A scanning projection exposure apparatus for projecting a pattern on a projection master onto a workpiece to effect exposure thereof while scanning, comprising:

• an illumination optical system for supplying exposure light of a wavelength of not more than 200 nm to said projection master;
• and
• a projection optical system for forming an image of the pattern on said projection master, at a predetermined projection magnification β on said workpiece;
• wherein said projection optical system comprises an aperture stop, a front lens unit located between the aperture stop and said projection master, and a rear lens unit located between said aperture stop and said workpiece,
• wherein, where y (kg) represents a translated amount of fluorite of a disk member from an amount of fluorite among light-transmitting optical materials in said projection optical system, f2 (mm) is a focal length of said rear lens unit, and NAw is a maximum numerical aperture on the image side of said projection optical system, and where x is defined as follows:
• x=f2·4|β|·NAw2;
• the following conditions are satisfied:
• y≦4x−200, y≦(4x/13)+(1000/13), y≧4x−440, and y>0.

A dioptric projection optical system for forming an image of a pattern on a first surface, on a second surface, using light of a wavelength of not more than 200 nm, comprising:

• an aperture stop;
• a front lens unit located between the aperture stop and said first surface;
• and
• a rear lens unit located between said aperture stop and said second surface;
• wherein, where y (kg) represents a translated amount of fluorite of a disk member from an amount of fluorite among light-transmitting optical materials in said projection optical system, f2 (mm) is a focal length of said rear lens unit, β is a projection magnification of said projection optical system, and NAw is a maximum numerical aperture on the image side of said projection optical system, and where x is defined as follows:
• x=f2·4|β|·NAw2;
• the following conditions are satisfied:
• y≦4x−200, y≦(4x/13)+(1000/13), y≧4x−440, and y>0.

A method of fabricating a dioptric projection optical system for forming an image of a pattern of a first surface on a second surface, using light of a wavelength of not more than 200 nm, comprising:

• a step of preparing a front lens unit, an aperture stop, and a rear lens unit;
• a step of locating said front lens unit between said aperture stop and said first surface;
• and
• a step of locating said rear lens unit between said aperture stop and said second surface;
• wherein, where y (kg) represents a translated amount of fluorite of a disk member from an amount of fluorite among light-transmitting optical materials in said projection optical system, f2 (mm) is a focal length of said rear lens unit, β is a projection magnification of said projection optical system, and NAw is a maximum numerical aperture on the image side of said projection optical system, and where x is defined as follows:
• x=f2·4|β|·NAw2;
• the following conditions are satisfied:
• y≦4x−200, y≦(4x/13)+(1000/13), y≧4x−440, and y>0.

A projection exposure apparatus for projecting a pattern on a projection master onto a workpiece to effect exposure thereof, comprising:

• an illumination optical system for supplying exposure light of a wavelength of not more than 200 nm to said projection master;
• and
• a projection optical system for forming an image of the pattern on said projection master, at a predetermined projection magnification β on said workpiece;
• wherein said projection optical system comprises an aperture stop, a front lens unit located between the aperture stop and said projection master, and a rear lens unit located between said aperture stop and said workpiece,
• wherein, where y (kg) represents a translated amount of fluorite of a disk member from an amount of fluorite among light-transmitting optical materials in said projection optical system, f2 (mm) is a focal length of said rear lens unit, and NAw is maximum numerical aperture on the image side of said projection optical system, and where x is defined as follows:
• x=f2·4|β|·NAw2;
• the following conditions are satisfied:
• y≦(9x/2)−270, y≦90, y≧(9x/2)−(855/2), and y>0.

A projection exposure apparatus for projecting a pattern on a projection master onto a workpiece to effect exposure thereof, comprising:

• an illumination optical system for supplying exposure light of a wavelength of not more than 200 nm to said projection master;
• and
• a projection optical system for forming an image of the pattern on said projection master, at a predetermined projection magnification β on said workpiece;
• wherein said projection optical system comprises an aperture stop, a front lens unit located between the aperture stop and said projection master, and a rear lens unit located between said aperture stop and said workpiece,
• wherein, where y (kg) represents a translated amount of a first material of a disk member from an amount of the first material among light-transmitting optical materials in said projection optical system, f2 (mm) is a focal length of said rear lens unit, and NAw is a maximum numerical aperture on the image side of said projection optical system, and where x is defined as follows:
• x=f2·4|β|·NAw2;
• the following conditions are satisfied:
• y≦4x−200, y≦(4x/13)+(1000/13), y≧4x−440, and y≧0.

A projection exposure method of projecting a pattern on a projection master onto a workpiece to effect exposure thereof, comprising:

• an illumination step of supplying exposure light of a wavelength of not more than 200 nm to said projection master;
• and
• an image forming step of forming an image of the pattern on said projection master, at a predetermined projection magnification β on said workpiece, using a projection optical system comprising a front lens unit, an aperture stop, and a rear lens unit;
• wherein said image forming step comprises a first auxiliary step of guiding the light from said projection master to said front lens unit, a second auxiliary step of guiding the light passing through said front lens unit, to said aperture stop, a third auxiliary step of guiding the light passing through the aperture stop, to said rear lens unit, and a fourth auxiliary step of forming the image of said pattern on said workpiece, using the light passing through the rear lens unit,
• wherein, where y (kg) represents a translated amount of a first material of a disk member from an amount of the first material among light-transmitting optical materials in said projection optical system, f2 (mm) is a focal length of said rear lens unit, and NAw is a maximum numerical aperture on the image side of said projection optical system, and where x is defined as follows:
• x=f2·4|β|·NAw2;
• the following conditions are satisfied:
• y≦4x−200, y≦(4x/13)+(1000/13), y≧4x−440, and y≧0.

A dioptric projection optical system for forming an image of a pattern of a first surface on a second surface, using light of a wavelength of not more than 200 nm, comprising:

• an aperture stop;
• a front lens unit located between the aperture stop and said first surface;
• and
• a rear lens unit located between said aperture stop and said second surface;
• wherein, where y (kg) represents a translated amount of a first material of a disk member from an amount of the first material among light-transmitting optical materials in said projection optical system, f2 (mm) is a focal length of said rear lens unit, β is a projection magnification of said projection optical system, and NAw is a maximum numerical aperture on the image side of said projection optical system, and where x is defined as follows:
• x=f2·4|β|·NAw2;
• the following conditions are satisfied:
• y≦4x−200, y≦(4x/13)+(1000/13), y>4x−440, and y>0.

A method of fabricating a dioptric projection optical system for forming an image of a pattern of a first surface on a second surface, using light of a wavelength of not more than 200 nm, comprising the steps of:

• a step of preparing a front lens unit, an aperture stop, and a rear lens unit;
• a step of locating said front lens unit between said aperture stop and said first surface;
• and
• a step of locating said rear lens unit between said aperture stop and said second surface;
• wherein, where y (kg) represents a translated amount of a first material of a disk member from an amount of the first material among light-transmitting optical materials in said projection optical system, f2 (mm) is a focal length of said rear lens unit, β is a projection magnification of said projection optical system, and NAw is a maximum numerical aperture on the image side of said projection optical system, and where x is defined as follows:
• x=f2·4|β|·NAw2;
• the following conditions are satisfied:
• y≦4x−200, y≦(4x/13)+(1000/13), y≧4x−440, and y≧0.