Image-compensating addressable electrostatic chuck system

A lithographic system, comprising:

• a reticle support configured to clamp a reticle in a path of a radiation beam so that the reticle produces a patterned beam;
• a projection system configured to project the patterned beam onto a target portion of a substrate;
• a substrate support configured to support the substrate during a lithographic process;
• and
• an electrostatic chuck coupled to the reticle support, the electrostatic chuck comprising:
• a chuck substrate;
• a plurality of first electrodes disposed on the chuck substrate and spaced evenly in a first direction;
• a plurality of second electrodes, disposed on the chuck substrate, positioned in an area defined by the plurality of first electrodes, and spaced evenly in a second direction, the second direction being generally orthogonal to the first direction;
• and a support layer disposed above the pluralities of electrodes to
• support an object,
• wherein positionally overlapping portions of the plurality of first electrodes and second electrodes form a matrix of electrostatic force points, such that a non-uniform electrostatic force acts on the object in proximity of a given force point upon energizing a pair of the plurality of first electrodes and second electrodes associated with the given force point.

A method, comprising:

• determining surface irregularities of an object;
• determining a plurality of electrostatic compensation force values based on the irregularities;
• correlating the plurality of electrostatic compensation force values with a plurality of matrix points formed by first and second evenly spaced sets of electrodes disposed in a substrate beneath a support layer of a chuck, the first and second set of electrodes being generally orthogonally oriented with respect to the other set;
• determining an energizing level for each electrode in the first and second set of electrodes corresponding to the associated compensation force value being applied to the object at each of the plurality of matrix points;
• and applying the energizing level to each of the electrodes in the first and second set of electrodes to generate an electrostatic compensation force on the object at each of the plurality of matrix points.

A method, comprising:

• utilizing an interferometer to determine surface irregularities of an object;
• determining a plurality of electrostatic compensation force values based on the irregularities;
• correlating the plurality of electrostatic compensation force values with a plurality of matrix points formed by first and second evenly spaced sets of electrodes disposed in a substrate beneath the support layer of a chuck, the first and second set of electrodes being generally orthogonally oriented to the other set;
• determining an energizing level for each electrode in the first and second set of electrodes corresponding to the associated compensation force value being applied to the object at each of the plurality of matrix points;
• applying the energizing level to each electrode in the first and second set of electrodes to generate an electrostatic compensation force on the object at each of the plurality of matrix points;
• and
• determining, with the interferometer, the surface irregularities of the object remaining after application of the electrostatic compensation force.

A method, comprising:

• utilizing an image quality evaluation system to determine a plurality of image errors affecting an image quality of the imaged object;
• determining a plurality of electrostatic compensation force values based on the plurality of image errors;
• correlating the plurality of electrostatic compensation force values with a plurality of matrix points formed by first and second evenly spaced sets of electrodes disposed in a substrate beneath the support layer of a chuck, the first and second set of electrodes being generally orthogonally oriented to the other set;
• determining an energizing level for each electrode in the first and second set of electrodes corresponding to the associated compensation force value being applied to the object at each of the plurality of matrix points;
• and
• applying the energizing level to each electrode in the first and second set of electrodes to generate an electrostatic compensation force on the object at each of the plurality of matrix points.

A method for improving an image quality of an imaged object with an addressable electrostatic chuck, comprising:

• compensating for surface irregularities of an electrostatic chuck;
• determining if the image quality after compensating for the surface irregularities of the electrostatic chuck is above a predetermined acceptable threshold;
• if not, compensating for flatness irregularities of a reticle;
• determining if the image quality after compensating for flatness irregularities of the reticle is above the predetermined acceptable threshold;
• if not, compensating for system image errors;
• determining if the image quality after compensating for system image errors is above the predetermined acceptable threshold;
• if not, compensating for scanned errors;
• determining if the image quality after compensating for scanned errors is above the predetermined acceptable threshold;
• and
• compensating for irregularities of a wafer.