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US 6,501,532 B2Granted
Exposure apparatus and method of controlling the same
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorDaisuke Suzuki
Life of this patent
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AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorDaisuke Suzuki
Estimating the term…
In a step and repeat process with a projection exposure apparatus, a pre-auto focus process is performed so as to compensate for a focus error caused by traveling of an XY stage wherein the pre-auto focus process is performed in a period in which the XY stage is moved from one exposure location to another. The pre-auto focus process minimizes the focus error, which is further corrected in a focus adjustment process using an auto focus sensor. This technique allows a focus adjustment to be made with improved accuracy in a short time. The focus error corrected in the pre-auto focus process is such an error of the position, in a direction along the optical axis, of the exposure surface with respect to the projection image plane that occurs when the XY stage is driven in a plane that is not parallel to the projection image plane and that is proportional to the traveling distance of the XY stage in the XY plane.
A stage apparatus comprising:
An exposure apparatus for exposing, through a projection optical system, an object to be exposed, said exposure apparatus comprising:
A method of controlling a stage movable in a first direction parallel to a stage traveling plane and in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the stage traveling plane, the stage traveling plane being a plane formed by a point on the stage moving in a plurality of different first directions, said method comprising:
A method of controlling an exposure apparatus including a stage movable in a first direction parallel to a stage traveling plane and also in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the stage traveling plane, the stage traveling plane being a plane formed by a point on the stage moving in a plurality of different first directions, the exposure apparatus being adapted to expose, via a projection optical system, an object which is to be exposed and which is placed on the stage, said method comprising:
A method of producing a device by supplying a material to an exposure apparatus including a stage movable in a first direction parallel to a stage traveling plane and also movable in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the stage traveling plane, the stage traveling plane being a plane formed by a point on the stage moving in a plurality of different first directions, the exposure apparatus being adapted to expose, via a projection optical system, an object which is to be exposed and which is placed on the stage, said method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.