Scanning exposure apparatus and method
AssigneeNikon Corporation
InventorSusumu Makinouchi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A scanning exposure apparatus and method for synchronously moving a mask and a substrate with respect to an exposing radiation flux to project an image of a mask pattern on the mask onto the substrate, includes an alignment sensor detecting the initial rotational angle of the mask relative to the substrate, a mask position detector, a substrate position detector, a calculation unit processing the position signals of the mask and the substrate in accordance with the projection ratio of the projection optical system and the initial rotational angle of the mask relative to the substrate to derive a positional deviation of the mask stage relative to the substrate stage, and a controller controlling the mask stage movement and the substrate stage movement to eliminate the positional deviation.
Claims28
A scanning exposure method for exposing a substrate by transferring an image of a mask pattern on a mask onto a plurality of shot areas on the substrate through a projection system, wherein the plurality of shot areas includes a plurality of first shot areas exposed by a first scan exposure operation in which the mask is scanned only in a first direction and a plurality of second shot areas exposed by a second scan exposure operation in which the mask is scanned only in a second direction opposite to the first direction are performed, the method comprising the steps of:
- synchronously scanning the mask and the substrate;
- and
- adjusting relational position between the mask and the substrate during scanning operation in accordance with a scanning direction of the mask so as to correct a transfer error between first shot areas and second shot areas, wherein the transfer error is obtained in advance.
A scanning exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate by transferring an image of a mask pattern on a mask onto a plurality of shot areas on the substrate through a projection system by synchronously scanning the mask and the substrate, wherein the plurality of shot areas includes a plurality of first shot areas exposed by a first scan exposure operation in which the mask is scanned only in a first direction and a plurality of second shot areas exposed by a second scan exposure operation in which the mask is scanned only in a second direction opposite to the first direction are performed, the scanning exposure apparatus comprising:
- a movable mask stage that holds the mask;
- a movable substrate stage that holds the substrate;
- and
- a control unit connected to the mask stage and the substrate stage, that controls the mask stage and the substrate stage to move synchronously with each other, and adjusts relational position between the mask stage and the substrate stage during exposure operation in accordance with a scanning direction of the mask so as to correct a transfer error between first shot areas and second shot areas, wherein the transfer error is obtained in advance.
A method for manufacturing a scanning exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate by transferring an image of a mask pattern on a mask onto a plurality of shot areas on the substrate through a projection system by synchronously scanning the mask and the substrate, wherein the plurality of shot areas includes a plurality of first shot areas exposed by a first scan exposure operation in which the mask is scanned only in a first direction and a plurality of second shot areas exposed by a second scan exposure operation in which the mask is scanned only in a second direction opposite to the first direction are performed, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a movable mask stage that holds the mask;
- providing a movable substrate stage that holds the substrate;
- and
- providing a control unit connected to the mask stage and the substrate stage, that controls the mask stage and the substrate stage to move synchronously with each other, and adjusts relational position between the mask stage and the substrate stage during exposure operation in accordance with a scanning direction of the mask so as to correct a transfer error between first shot areas and second shot areas, wherein the transfer error is obtained in advance.
A scanning exposure method for exposing a substrate by transferring an image of a mask pattern on a mask onto the substrate, wherein upon exposing the substrate, a first scan exposure operation in which the substrate is scanned at a first velocity and a second scan exposure operation in which the substrate is scanned at a second velocity that is different from the first velocity are performed, the method comprising the steps of:
- synchronously scanning the mask and the substrate;
- and
- adjusting scanning operation in accordance with a scanning velocity of the substrate so as to correct a transfer error between a pattern transferred onto the substrate by the first scan exposure operation and a pattern transferred onto the substrate by the second exposure operation, wherein the transfer error is obtained in advance.
A scanning exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate by transferring an image of a mask pattern on a mask onto the substrate by synchronously scanning the mask and the substrate, wherein upon exposing the substrate, a first scan exposure operation in which the substrate is scanned at a first velocity and a second scan exposure operation in which the substrate is scanned at a second velocity that is different from the first velocity are performed, the scanning exposure apparatus comprising:
- a movable mask stage to hold the mask;
- a movable substrate stage to hold the substrate;
- and
- a control unit connected to the mask stage and the substrate stage, the control unit controlling the mask stage and the substrate stage to move synchronously with each other, the control unit adjusting exposure operation in accordance with a scanning velocity of the substrate so as to correct a transfer error between a pattern transferred onto the substrate by the first-scan exposure operation and a pattern transferred onto the substrate by the second exposure operation, wherein the transfer error is obtained in advance.
A method for manufacturing a scanning exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate by transferring an image of a mask pattern on a mask onto the substrate by synchronously scanning the mask and the substrate, wherein upon exposing the substrate, a first scan exposure operation in which the substrate is scanned at a first velocity and a second scan exposure operation in which the substrate is scanned at a second velocity that is different from the first velocity are performed, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a movable mask stage to hold the mask;
- providing a movable substrate stage to hold the substrate;
- and
- providing a control unit connected to the mask stage and the substrate stage, the control unit controlling the mask stage and the substrate stage to move synchronously with each other, the control unit adjusting exposure operation in accordance with a scanning velocity of the substrate so as to correct a transfer error between a pattern transferred onto the substrate by the first scan exposure operation and a pattern transferred onto the substrate by the second exposure operation, wherein the transfer error is obtained in advance.
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising the steps of transferring a mask pattern onto a substrate using a scanning exposure method for exposing the substrate by transferring an image of a mask pattern on a mask onto a plurality of shot areas on the substrate through a projection system, wherein the plurality of shot areas includes a plurality of first shot areas exposed by a first scan exposure operation in which the mask is scanned only in a first direction and a plurality of second shot areas exposed by a second scan exposure operation in which the mask is scanned only in a second direction opposite to the first direction are performed, the scanning exposure method comprising the steps of:
- synchronously scanning the mask and the substrate;
- and
- adjusting relational position between the mask and the substrate during scanning operation in accordance with a scanning direction of the mask so as to correct a transfer error between first shot areas and second shot areas, wherein the transfer error is obtained in advance.
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising the steps of transferring a device pattern onto a substrate using a scanning exposure method for exposing the substrate by transferring an image of a mask pattern on a mask onto the substrate, wherein upon exposing the substrate, a first scan exposure operation in which the substrate is scanned at a first velocity and a second scan exposure operation in which the substrate is scanned at a second velocity that is different from the first velocity are performed, the scanning exposure method comprising the steps of:
- synchronously scanning the mask and the substrate;
- and
- adjusting scanning operation in accordance with a scanning velocity of the substrate so as to correct a transfer error between a pattern transferred onto the substrate by the first scan exposure operation and a pattern transferred onto the substrate by the second exposure operation, wherein the transfer error is obtained in advance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.