Projection exposure apparatus and method
AssigneeNikon Corporation
InventorNaomasa Shiraishi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An exposure apparatus and method to expose an object with an illumination beam irradiated on a mask from a light source disposes an optical unit between the light source and an optical integrator of an illumination optical system to illuminate the mask with an illumination beam, of which an intensity distribution on a Fourier transform plane with respect to a pattern on the mask has an increased intensity portion apart from the optical axis relative to a portion of the intensity distribution on the optical axis.
Claims54
An exposure apparatus which exposes an object with an illumination beam irradiated on a mask from a light source, comprising:
- an illumination optical system disposed on an optical path along which the illumination beam passes to illuminate the mask with the illumination beam through an optical integrator;
- and
- an optical unit disposed between the light source and the optical integrator in the illumination optical system to form different intensity distributions of the illumination beam on a Fourier transform plane with respect to a pattern surface of the mask, the optical unit including a deflection optical element that generates a deflected beam in a different direction from an optical axis of the illumination optical system to form one of the different intensity distributions having an increased intensity portion apart from the optical axis relative to a portion of the one intensity distribution on the optical axis, an optical element movable along the optical axis and a zoom optical system to adjust at least one of the different intensity distributions.
An exposure apparatus which exposes an object with an illumination beam irradiated on a mask from a light source, comprising:
- an illumination optical system disposed on an optical path along which the illumination beam passes to illuminate the mask with the illumination beam through an optical integrator;
- an optical unit disposed between the light source and the optical integrator in the illumination optical system to form different intensity distributions of the illumination beam, on a Fourier transform plane with respect to a pattern surface of the mask, of which one intensity distribution has a plurality of increased intensity portions apart from an optical axis of the illumination optical system relative to a portion of the one intensity distribution on the optical axis;
- and
- a driving system connected with at least a part of the optical unit to adjust positions of each of the plurality of increased intensity portions in a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction on the Fourier transform plane, respectively.
An exposure apparatus which exposes an object with an illumination beam irradiated on a mask from a light source, comprising:
- an illumination optical system disposed on an optical path along which the illumination beam passes to illuminate the mask with the illumination beam through an optical integrator;
- an optical unit disposed between the light source and the optical integrator in the illumination optical system to form different intensity distributions of the illumination beam on a Fourier transform plane with respect to a pattern surface of the mask, wherein the optical unit includes a deflection optical element to form a first one of the different intensity distributions having a plurality of increased intensity portions, apart from an optical axis of the illumination optical system relative to a portion of the first intensity distribution on the optical axis, of which distances from the optical axis are substantially equal, and to form a second one of the different intensity distributions different from the first intensity distribution by exchange of the deflection optical element.
An exposure apparatus which exposes an object through a projection optical system, with an illumination beam irradiated on a mask from a light source, comprising:
- an illumination optical system disposed on an optical path along which the illumination beam passes to illuminate the mask with the illumination beam through an optical integrator;
- an optical unit disposed between the light source and the optical integrator in the illumination optical system to form different intensity distributions of the illumination beam on a Fourier transform plane with respect to a pattern surface of the mask, wherein the optical unit includes a diffraction optical element that generates a diffraction beam in a direction different from an optical axis of the illumination optical system to form one of the different intensity distributions having an increased intensity portion apart from the optical axis relative to a portion of the one intensity distribution on the optical axis.
A method of exposing an object through a projection optical system, with an illumination beam irradiated on a mask from a light source by an illumination optical system, comprising:
- disposing a diffraction optical element that generates a diffraction beam in a direction different from an optical axis of the illumination optical system, between the light source and an optical integrator of the illumination optical system to illuminate the mask with the illumination beam, of which an intensity distribution on a Fourier transform plane with respect to a pattern surface of the mask has an increased intensity portion apart from the optical axis relative to a portion of the intensity distribution on the optical axis;
- and
- projecting onto the object the illumination beam from the illuminated mask.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.