# US 8,786,829 B2 · Exposure apparatus, exposure method, and device manufacturing method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,786,829 B2 - Document ID: US8786829B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 12/463,730 - Filed: 2009-05-11 - Published: 2009-11-19 - Granted: 2014-07-22 - Earliest claimed: 2008-05-13 - Assignees: Nikon Corporation - Applicants: Yuho Kanaya - Inventors: Yuho Kanaya - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8786829B2 ## CPC - G03F 7/70341: {Details of immersion lithography aspects, e.g. exposure media or control of immersion liquid supply (chemical composition of immersion liquids G03F7/2041)} - G03F 7/70775: {Position control, e.g. interferometers or encoders for determining the stage position} - G03F: PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; (phototypographic composing devices B41B; photosensitive materials or processes for photographic purposes G03C; electrophotography, sensitive layers or processes therefor G03G) ## Abstract In an exposure apparatus of a liquid immersion exposure method, a liquid immersion area is formed on the upper surface of a wafer by liquid supplied in a space formed with a projection optical system, and on a moving table holding the wafer, a plurality of encoder heads is placed. Of the plurality of encoder heads, a controller measures positional information of the moving table within an XY plane using an encoder head which is outside a liquid immersion area. This allows a highly precise and stable measurement of positional information of the moving table. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An exposure apparatus comprising: a movable body which holds a mounted object and substantially moves along a predetermined plane; a liquid supply device which supplies liquid on a surface of at least one of the object and the movable body on which the object is mounted; a pattern generation device which includes an optical system that has liquid supplied to a space formed with the surface of at least one of the object and the movable body, and which irradiates an energy beam on the object via the optical system and the liquid, and forms a pattern on the object; and a measurement system which has a plurality of encoder heads each placed on a surface of the movable body that is parallel to the predetermined plane, and out of the plurality of encoder heads, measures positional information of the movable body, based on measurement values of a predetermined number of encoder heads that face a grating section placed outside the movable body and in parallel to the predetermined plane, wherein when some of the plurality of encoder heads are located in a liquid immersion area formed with the liquid, the measurement system measures the positional information of the movable body based on measurement values of a predetermined number of encoder heads located outside the liquid immersion area. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the measurement system selects and uses an encoder head outside the liquid immersion area from the plurality of encoder heads, based on positional information of the movable body within the predetermined plane. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The exposure apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the plurality of encoder heads is placed spaced apart at a separation distance larger than a width of the liquid immersion area. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The exposure apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the movable body is made of a member having a rectangular shape in a planar view, and each of the plurality of encoder heads is placed in each of four corners of the movable body. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The exposure apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the movable body is made of a member having a rectangular shape in a planar view, and the plurality of encoder heads is placed along at least one of four sides of the movable body. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the plurality of encoder heads includes a first head and a second head whose measurement directions are in a first direction and a second direction, respectively, which are orthogonal to each other in the predetermined plane, and the measurement system uses at least a total of three encoder heads including one each of the first and second heads. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The exposure apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the grating section includes a first diffraction grating which covers a range where the first head faces and which has a periodic direction in the first direction; and a second diffraction grating which covers a range where the second head faces and which has a periodic direction in the second direction. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The exposure apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the grating section includes a two-dimensional grating which covers a range where the first and second heads face and which has a periodic direction in the first and second directions. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the plurality of encoder heads includes a two-dimensional head whose measurement directions are in both a first direction and a second direction, which are orthogonal to each other in the predetermined plane, and the measurement system uses at least two of the two-dimensional heads. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The exposure apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the grating section includes a two-dimensional grating which covers a range where the two-dimensional head faces and which has a periodic direction in the first and second directions. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the surface of the movable body is covered with a light transmission member which forms a substantially flush surface with the object with a small gap in between, and covers the plurality of encoder heads. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 wherein of the plurality of encoder heads which are outside the liquid immersion area, the measurement system uses remaining encoder heads that exclude an encoder head which outputs abnormal positional information. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a drive system which drives the movable body based on positional information of the movable body within the predetermined plane. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) A device manufacturing method comprising: exposing an object with the exposure apparatus according to claim 1; and developing the object which has been exposed. ### Claim 15 An exposure method in which an energy beam is irradiated on an object via an optical system and liquid, and a pattern is formed on the object, the method comprising: a measurement process in which, of a plurality of encoder heads that are placed on a surface, where the object is mounted, of a movable body that substantially moves along a predetermined plane, positional information of the movable body is measured based on measurement values of a predetermined number of encoder heads that face a grating section placed outside the movable body and in parallel with the predetermined plane, the surface of the movable body being parallel to the predetermined plane, wherein when some of the plurality of encoder heads are located in a liquid immersion area formed with the liquid, the positional information of the movable body is measured based on measurement values of a predetermined number of encoder heads located outside the liquid immersion area. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The exposure method according to claim 15 wherein the plurality of encoder heads includes a first head and a second head whose measurement directions are in a first direction and a second direction, respectively, which are orthogonal to each other in the predetermined plane, and in the measurement process, at least a total of three encoder heads including one each of the first and second heads are used. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The exposure method according to claim 15 wherein the plurality of encoder heads includes a two-dimensional head whose measurement directions are in both a first direction and a second direction, which are orthogonal to each other in the predetermined plane, and in the measurement process, at least two of the two-dimensional heads are used. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The exposure method according to claim 15 wherein in the measurement process, of the plurality of encoder heads which are outside the liquid immersion area, remaining encoder heads that exclude an encoder head which outputs abnormal positional information are used. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The exposure method according to claim 15, further comprising: a drive process in which the movable body is driven based on positional information of the movable body within the predetermined plane. ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) A device manufacturing method comprising: a process in which a pattern is formed on the object by the exposure method according to claim 15; and a process in which the object on which the pattern has been formed is developed.