Lithographic Apparatus, Device Manufacturing Method and Associated Data Processing Apparatus and Computer Program Product

A device manufacturing method comprising:

• projecting a patterned beam of radiation onto successive portions of a substrate, wherein an illumination system is configured to condition a radiation beam;
• supporting a patterning device, the patterning device being configured to impart the radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section to form a patterned radiation beam;
• securing a substrate;
• and
• projecting the patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of the substrate,
• wherein each portion of the substrate is patterned by a field scanning operation in which the substrate table and the patterning device are moved relative to each other and to the projection system to so as to scan the patterning device through the radiation beam while synchronously scanning the substrate through the patterned radiation beam so as to apply the pattern to the desired portion on the substrate, and
• wherein the projection system is configured to implement corrective variations during the field scanning operation in one or more properties of the projection system so as to compensate for distortion effects that vary during the scanning operation.

A data processing apparatus arranged to implement analyzing and calculating operations, comprising:

• projecting a patterned beam of radiation onto successive portions of a substrate, wherein an illumination system is configured to condition a radiation beam;
• supporting a patterning device, the patterning device being configured to impart the radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section to form a patterned radiation beam;
• securing a substrate;
• and
• projecting the patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of the substrate,
• wherein each portion of the substrate is patterned by a field scanning operation in which the substrate table and the patterning device are moved relative to each other and to the projection system to so as to scan the patterning device through the radiation beam while synchronously scanning the substrate through the patterned radiation beam so as to apply the pattern to the desired portion on the substrate, and
• wherein the projection system is configured to implement corrective variations during the field scanning operation in one or more properties of the projection system so as to compensate for distortion effects that vary during the scanning operation.

A computer program product containing one or more sequences of machine-readable instructions for controlling a lithographic apparatus to operate in a device manufacturing method, the instructions comprising:

• instructions for projecting a patterned beam of radiation onto successive portions of a substrate, wherein an illumination system is configured to condition a radiation beam;
• instructions for supporting a patterning device, the patterning device being configured to impart the radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section to form a patterned radiation beam;
• instructions for securing a substrate;
• and
• instructions for projecting the patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of the substrate,
• wherein each portion of the substrate is patterned by a field scanning operation in which the substrate table and the patterning device are moved relative to each other and to the projection system to so as to scan the patterning device through the radiation beam while synchronously scanning the substrate through the patterned radiation beam so as to apply the pattern to the desired portion on the substrate,
• wherein the projection system is configured to implement corrective variations during the field scanning operation in one or more properties of the projection system so as to compensate for distortion effects that vary during the scanning operation, and
• wherein the instructions being adapted for controlling said field scanning operation with said corrective variations and optionally said corrective movements.

A computer program product containing one or more sequences of machine-readable instructions for controlling a computer system to implement data processing comprising:

• instructions for projecting a patterned beam of radiation onto successive portions of a substrate, wherein an illumination system is configured to condition a radiation beam;
• instructions for supporting a patterning device, the patterning device being configured to impart the radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section to form a patterned radiation beam;
• instructions for securing a substrate;
• and
• instructions for projecting the patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of the substrate,
• wherein each portion of the substrate is patterned by a field scanning operation in which the substrate table and the patterning device are moved relative to each other and to the projection system to so as to scan the patterning device through the radiation beam while synchronously scanning the substrate through the patterned radiation beam so as to apply the pattern to the desired portion on the substrate, and
• wherein the projection system is configured to implement corrective variations during the field scanning operation in one or more properties of the projection system so as to compensate for distortion effects that vary during the scanning operation.