US 7,068,350 B2 · Exposure apparatus and stage device, and device manufacturing method

Abstract

After exposure of a divided area on a wafer is completed, for exposure of the next divided area, a control unit sends configuration information on control parameters necessary to expose the next divided area to a stage control system, sometime before the stage control system begins deceleration of a reticle stage and a wafer stage in a scanning direction. Therefore, both stages do not have to be suspended before acceleration for the stage control system to receive the configuration information on control parameters necessary to expose the next divided area, and since suspension time is not required, throughput can be improved. In this case, no serious problems occur, so the performance of other devices is not disturbed.

Claims14

Dependent claims

An exposure apparatus that sequentially transfers a pattern of a mask onto a plurality of divided areas on an object by synchronously moving said mask and said object in a predetermined scanning direction, said exposure apparatus comprising:

a mask stage that holds said mask and is movable in at least said scanning direction;
an object stage that holds said object and is movable in a two-dimensional plane;
and
a stage control system that controls both said mask and said object stages, said stage control system controlling both stages based on instruction values according to a jerk curve, which is an inverse curve of polarized symbols, when a preliminary operation where said both stages are accelerated after deceleration in said scanning direction is performed in between divided areas in the same row in a non-scanning direction perpendicular to said scanning direction, the jerk curve including an interval where jerk is zero provided in between a jerk curve convex to a plus side and a jerk curve convex to a minus side.

1 more element

a mask stage that holds said mask and is movable in at least said scanning direction;
two object stages that each hold said object and are movable independently in a two-dimensional plane;
and
a stage control system that controls said mask stage and said object stages when a predetermined operation is performed on one object stage of said object stages and exposure is performed in parallel on a plurality of divided areas on an object held on the other object stage, said stage control system controlling said mask stage and said other object stage based on instruction values according to a jerk curve, which is an inverse curve of polarized symbols, when a preliminary operation where said mask stage and said other object stage are accelerated after deceleration in said scanning direction is performed in between divided areas in the same row in a non-scanning direction perpendicular to said scanning direction, the jerk curve including an interval where jerk is zero provided in between a jerk curve convex to a plus side and a jerk curve convex to a minus side.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Exposure apparatus and stage device, and device manufacturing method

Life of this patent

Exposure apparatus and stage device, and device manufacturing method

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14