Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method

An exposure apparatus, comprising:

• a light source for providing pulse light;
• mask scanning means for scanning a mask having a pattern;
• wafer scanning means for scanning a wafer onto which the pattern is to be projected, wherein said mask scanning means and said wafer scanning means scan the mask and the wafer in a timed relation so that the mask is illuminated while superposing portions of an illumination region defined by the pulse light and being narrower than the pattern such that the pattern is lithographically transferred onto the wafer;
• illumination range limiting means for limiting a range of illumination for the mask by the plse light, said illumination range limiting means changing the range of illumination for the mask;
• illumination range determining means for determining a range of illumination for the mask when a required precision of an integrated exposure amount is changed, wherein the range of illumination is changed in accordance with the changed precision of the integrated exposure amount;
• and
• an interface into which information related to the required precision of the integrated exposure amount is inputted and from which the information is outputted to said illumination range determining means.

An exposure apparatus, comprising:

• a light source for providing pulse light;
• mask scanning means for scanning a mask having a pattern;
• wafer scanning means for scanning a wafer onto which the pattern is to be projected, wherein said mask scanning means and said wafer scanning means scan the mask and the wafer in a timed relation so that the mask is illuminated while superposing portions of an illumination region defined by the pulse light and being narrower than the pattern such that the pattern is lithographically transferred onto the wafer;
• illumination range limiting means for limiting a range of illumination for the mask by the pulse light, said illumination range limiting means changing the range of illumination for the mask;
• position changing means for changing a position of said illumination range limiting means with respect to a direction of an optical axis;
• position determining means for determining the position of said illumination range limiting means when a required precision of an integrated exposure amount is changed, wherein the position of the illumination range limiting means is changed in accordance with the changed precision of the integrated exposure amount;
• and
• an interface into which information related to the required precision of the integrated exposure amount is inputted and from which the information is outputted to said illumination range determining means.

A device manufacturing method including lithographically transferring a pattern of a mask onto a wafer, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing pulse light;
• scanning the mask and the wafer in a timed relation;
• illuminating the mask while superposing portions of an illumination region defined by the pulse light and being narrower than the pattern such that the pattern is lithographically transferred onto the wafer;
• determining an emission period of the pulse light when a required precision of an integrated exposure amount is changed, prior to an actual exposure process, wherein the emission period is changed in accordance with the changed precision of the integrated exposure amount;
• and
• inputting information related to the required precision of the integrated exposure amount into an interface and outputting the information for determining the emission period of the pulse light from the interface.

A device manufacturing method including lithographically transferring a pattern of a mask onto a wafer, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing pulse light;
• scanning the mask and the wafer in a timed relation;
• illuminating the mask while superposing portions of an illumination region defined by the pulse light and being narrower than the pattern such that the pattern is lithographically transferred onto the wafer;
• determining an illumination range for illumination of the mask by the pulse light when a required precision of an integrated exposure amount is changed, wherein the illumination range is changed in accordance with the changed precision of the integrated exposure amount;
• and
• inputting information related to the required precision of the integrated exposure amount into an interface and outputting the information for determining the illumination range for illumination of the mask by the pulse light from the interface.

A device manufacturing method including lithographically transferring a pattern of a mask onto a wafer, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing pulse light;
• scanning the mask and the wafer in a timed relation;
• illuminating the mask while superposing portions of an illumination region defined by the pulse light and being narrower than the pattern such that the pattern is lithographically transferred onto the wafer;
• determining a position of illumination range limiting, for limiting a range of illumination of the mask by the pulse light, with respect to a direction of an optical axis when a required precision of an integrated exposure amount is changed, wherein the position of the illumination range limiting means is changed in accordance with the changed precision of the integrated exposure amount;
• and
• inputting information related to the required precision of the integrated exposure amount into an interface and outputting the information for determining the position of the illumination range limiting for limiting the range of illumination of the mask by the pulse light from the interface.

An exposure apparatus comprising:

• a light source for providing pulse light;
• mask scanning means for scanning a mask having a pattern;
• wafer scanning means for scanning a wafer onto which the pattern is to be projected, wherein said mask scanning means and said wafer scanning means scan the mask and the wafer in a timed relation so that the mask is illuminated while superposing portions of an illumination region defined by the pulse light and being narrower than the pattern such that the pattern is lithographically transferred onto the wafer;
• and
• light emission period determining means for determining an emission period of the pulse light when a required precision of an integrated exposure amount is changed, wherein the emission period is changed in accordance with the changed precision of the integrated exposure amount,
• wherein the required precision of the integrated exposure amount is designated as a tolerance ratio ΔS/S for an integrated exposure amount non-uniformness, the tolerance ratio corresponding to a ratio of a tolerance value ΔS for non-uniformness of the integrated exposure amount to a target value S of the integrated exposure amount.

An exposure apparatus comprising:

• a light source for providing pulse light;
• mask scanning means for scanning a mask having a pattern;
• wafer scanning means for scanning a wafer onto which the pattern is to be projected, wherein said mask scanning means and said wafer scanning means scan the mask and the wafer in a timed relation so that the mask is illuminated while superposing portions of an illumination region defined by the pulse light and being narrower than the pattern such that the pattern is lithographically transferred onto the wafer;
• illumination range limiting means for limiting a range of illumination for the mask by the pulse light, said illumination range limiting means changing the range of illumination for the mask;
• and
• illumination range determining means for determining a range of illumination for the mask when a required precision of an integrated exposure amount is changed, wherein the range of illumination is changed in accordance with the changed precision of the integrated exposure amount,
• wherein the required precision of the integrated exposure amount is designated as a tolerance ratio ΔS/S for an integrated exposure amount non-uniformness, the tolerance ratio corresponding to a ratio of a tolerance value ΔS for non-uniformness of the integrated exposure amount to a target value S of the integrated exposure amount.

An exposure apparatus comprising:

• a light source for providing pulse light;
• mask scanning means for scanning a mask having a pattern;
• wafer scanning means for scanning a wafer onto which the pattern is to be projected, wherein said mask scanning means and said wafer scanning means scan the mask and the wafer in a timed relation so that the mask is illuminated while superposing portions of an illumination region defined by the pulse light and being narrower than the pattern such that the pattern is lithographically transferred onto the wafer;
• illumination range limiting means for limiting a range of illumination for the mask by the pulse light, said illumination range limiting means changing the range of illumination for the mask;
• position changing means for changing a position of said illumination range limiting means with respect to a direction of an optical axis;
• and
• position determining means for determining the position of said illumination range limiting means when a required precision of an integrated exposure amount is changed, wherein the position of the illumination range limiting means is changed in accordance with the changed precision of the integrated exposure amount,
• wherein the required precision of the integrated exposure amount is designated as a tolerance ratio ΔS/S for an integrated exposure amount non-uniformness, the tolerance ratio corresponding to a ratio of a tolerance value ΔS for non-uniformness of the integrated exposure amount to a target value S of the integrated exposure amount.

A device manufacturing method including lithographically transferring a pattern of a mask onto a wafer, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing pulse light;
• scanning the mask and the wafer in a timed relation;
• illuminating the mask while superposing portions of an illumination region defined by the pulse light and being narrower than the pattern such that the pattern is lithographically transferred onto the wafer;
• and
• determining an emission period of the pulse light when a reguired precision of an integrated exposure amount is changed, prior to an actual exposure process, wherein the emission period is changed in accordance with the changed precision of the integrated exposure amount,
• wherein the required precision of the integrated exposure amount is designated as a tolerance ratio ΔS/S for an integrated exposure amount non-uniformness, the tolerance ratio corresponding to a ratio of a tolerance value ΔS for non-uniformness of the integrated exposure amount to a target value S of the integrated exposure amount.

A device manufacturing method including lithographically transferring a pattern of a mask onto a wafer, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing pulse light;
• scanning the mask and the wafer in a timed relation;
• illuminating the mask while superposing portions of an illumination region defined by the pulse light and being narrower than the pattern such that the pattern is lithographically transferred onto the wafer;
• and
• determining an illumination range for illumination of the mask by the pulse light when a required precision of an integrated exposure amount is changed, wherein the illumination range is changed in accordance with the changed precision of the integrated exposure amount,
• wherein the required precision of the integrated exposure amount is designated as a tolerance ratio ΔS/S for an integrated exposure amount non-uniformness, the tolerance ratio corresponding to a ratio of a tolerance value ΔS for non-uniformness of the integrated exposure amount to a target value S of the integrated exposure amount.

A device manufacturing method including lithographically transferring a pattern of a mask onto a wafer, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing pulse light;
• scanning the mask and the wafer in a timed relation;
• illuminating the mask while superposing portions of an illumination region defined by the pulse light and being narrower than the pattern such that the pattern is lithographically transferred onto the wafer;
• and
• determining a position of illumination range limiting means, for limiting a range of illumination of the mask by the pulse light, with respect to a direction of an optical axis when a required precision of an integrated exposure amount is changed, wherein the position of the illumination range limiting means is changed in accordance with the changed precision of the integrated exposure amount,
• wherein the required precision of the integrated exposure amount is designated as a tolerance ratio ΔS/S for an integrated exposure amount non-uniformness, the tolerance ratio corresponding to a ratio of a tolerance value ΔS for non-uniformness of the integrated exposure amount to a target value S of the integrated exposure amount.

An exposure apparatus, comprising:

• a light source for providing pulse light;
• mask scanning means for scanning a mask having a pattern;
• wafer scanning means for scanning a wafer onto which the pattern is to be projected, wherein said mask scanning means and said wafer scanning means scan the mask and the wafer in a timed relation so that the mask is illuminated while superposing portions of an illumination region defined by the pulse light and being narrower than the pattern such that the pattern is lithographically transferred onto the wafer;
• scan speed determining means for determining a scan speed of the mask and the wafer when a required precision of an integrated exposure amount is changed, wherein the scan speed is determined in accordance with the changed precision of the integrated exposure amount;
• and
• an interface into which information related to the required precision of the integrated exposure amount is inputted and from which the information is outputted to said scan speed determining means.

A device manufacturing method including lithographically transferring a pattern of a mask onto a wafer, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing pulse light;
• scanning the mask and the wafer in a timed relation;
• illuminating the mask while superposing portions of an illumination region defined by the pulse light and being narrower than the pattern such that the pattern is lithographically transferred onto the wafer;
• determining a scan speed of the mask and the wafer when a required precision of an integrated exposure amount is changed, wherein the scan speed is determined in accordance with the changed precision of the integrated exposure amount;
• and
• inputting information related to the required precision of the integrated exposure amount into an interface and outputting the information for determining the scan speed of the mask and the wafer from the interface.

An exposure apparatus, comprising:

• a light source for providing pulse light;
• mask scanning means for scanning a mask having a pattern;
• wafer scanning means for scanning a wafer onto which the pattern is to be projected, wherein said mask scanning means and said wafer scanning means scan the mask and the wafer in a timed relation so that the mask is illuminated while superposing portions of an illumination region defined by the pulse light and being narrower than the pattern such that the pattern is lithographically transferred onto the wafer;
• and
• scan speed determining means for determining a scan speed of the mask and the wafer when a required precision of an integrated exposure amount is changed, wherein the scan speed is determined in accordance with the changed precision of the integrated exposure amount,
• wherein the required precision of the integrated exposure amount is designated as a tolerance ratio ΔS/S for an integrated exposure amount non-uniformness, the tolerance ratio corresponding to a ratio of a tolerance value ΔS for non-uniformness of the integrated exposure amount to a target value S of the integrated exposure amount.

A device manufacturing method including lithographically transferring a pattern of a mask onto a wafer, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing pulse light;
• scanning the mask and the wafer in a timed relation;
• illuminating the mask while superposing portions of an illumination region defined by the pulse light and being narrower than the pattern such that the pattern is lithographically transferred onto the wafer;
• and
• determining a scan speed of the mask and the wafer when a required precision of an integrated exposure amount is changed, wherein the scan speed is determined in accordance with the changed precision of the integrated exposure amount,
• wherein the required precision of the integrated exposure amount is designated as a tolerance ratio ΔS/S for an integrated exposure amount non-uniformness, the tolerance ratio corresponding to a ratio of a tolerance value ΔS for non-uniformness of the integrated exposure amount to a target value S of the integrated exposure amount.