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US RE32,795 EGranted
Exposure apparatus for production of integrated circuit
AssigneeNikon Corporation
InventorsToshio Matsuura, Kyoichi Suwa, Hisayuki Shimizu, Akikazu Tanimoto
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An exposure apparatus for production of ICs of the type that includes a stage on which is placed a semiconductor wafer to be exposed by illumination light projecting means, and means for two-dimensionally moving the stage within a plane intersecting the illumination light at substantially right angles. The improvement comprises illumination detection means provided with a photo reception surface, and means for mounting the illumination detection means on the stage in such a manner that the photo reception surface and the surface of the semiconductor wafer on the stage to be exposed are at substantially equal height relative to the stage.
Claims28
In an exposure apparatus for production of integrated circuits including a stage on which a semiconductor wafer is placed for exposure by illumination light projecting means and means for two-dimensionally displacing said stage in a plane intersecting the illumination light at substantially right angles, an improvement comprising:
- illumination detecting means having a photo reception surface;
- and
- means for fixedly mounting said illumination detecting means on said stage in such manner that said photo reception surface lies substantially at the same level as the exposed surface of said semiconductor wafer on said stage relative to said stage.
In an exposure apparatus for production of integrated circuits in which a pattern is illuminated to print an image of the pattern through an optical system onto a surface to be exposed of a semiconductor wafer having predetermined thickness, an improvement comprising:
- (a) a stage having a surface for supporting said semiconductor wafer thereon at a predetermined location with said semiconductor wafer surface to be exposed oriented substantially perpendicular to the optical axis of said optical system, the stage being supported to move on a two-dimensional plane substantially orthogonal to said optical axis;
- (b) limiting means providing a limited area through which light passes, said limiting means being integral with said stage and positioned at a location on said stage spaced laterally away from said predetermined location;
- (c) means detecting the light which passes through said limiting means to convert it into an electric signal, said detecting means being fixedly mounted on said stage and having a photo reception surface that is at substantially the same level relative to said stage surface as the surface of the semiconductor wafer to be exposed;
- and
- (d) means for detecting the position of said stage on said two-dimensional plane.
2 more elements
In an exposure apparatus for production of integrated circuits in which a pattern is illuminated to print an image of the pattern through an optical system onto a surface to be exposed of a semiconductor wafer, an improvement comprising:
- (a) a stage on which said semiconductor wafer is supported with said semiconductor wafer surface to be exposed substantially perpendicular to the optical axis of said optical system, the stage being supported to move on a two-dimensional plane substantially orthogonal to said optical axis;
- (b) illumination detecting means having a photo reception surface and being provided with an intercepting member having an opening formed therethrough that is very small in area parallel to said plane relative to the area of the photo reception surface parallel to said plane to limit the light receivable area on the photo reception surface, the illumination detecting means including means to support said photo reception surface fixedly on said stage at a level substantially coincident with the level of said semiconductor wafer surface to be exposed;
- and
- (c) means detecting the position of said stage on said two-dimensional plane.
1 more element
An exposure apparatus for production of integrated circuits comprising:
- (a) illuminating means for illuminating a reticle;
- (b) a stage provided with a supporting surface for supporting a wafer on said supporting surface;
- (c) moving means for moving said stage on a two-dimensional plane which is parallel to a surface to be exposed of said wafer;
- (d) position detecting means for detecting the position of said stage on said two-dimensional plane;
- (e) illumination light detecting means having a detection surface;
- and
- (f) mounting means for mounting said illumination light detecting means fixedly on said stage so that said detection surface is substantially at the same level as said surface of the wafer and said illumination light detecting means is out of an area of said stage where said wafer is disposed.
4 more elements
An exposure apparatus for production of integrated circuits comprising:
- (a) illuminating means for illuminating a reticle, said illuminating means having an optical system for forming a minified image of the illuminated reticle on a predetermined plane so that the size of said image of said reticle is smaller than the size of said reticle;
- (b) a stage provided with a supporting surface for supporting a wafer on said supporting surface so that a surface to be exposed of said wafer is substantially at the same level as said predetermined plane;
- (c) moving means for moving said stage on a two-dimensional plane which is parallel to said predetermined plane;
- (d) position detecting means for detecting the position of said stage on said two-dimensional plane;
- (e) light detecting means having a detection surface, said detecting means detecting an intensity of light incident on said detection surface to produce an electric signal conforming to the detected intensity;
- and
- (f) mounting means for mounting said light detecting means fixedly on said stage so that said detection surface is substantially at the same level as said predetermined plane and said detecting means is out of an area of said stage where said wafer is disposed.
4 more elements
An exposure apparatus for production of integrated circuits comprising:
- (a) illuminating means for illuminating a reticle, said illuminating means having an optical system for forming a minified image of the illuminated reticle on a predetermined plane so that the size of said image of said reticle is smaller than the size of said reticle;
- (b) a stage for supporting a wafer thereon so that a surface to be exposed of said wafer is substantially at the same level as said predetermined plane;
- (c) moving means for moving said stage on a two-dimensional plane which is parallel to said predetermined plane;
- and
- (d) measuring means for detecting positions of rise and fall of an illumination distribution of the image of said illuminated reticle on said predetermined plane to measure the size of an exposure area corresponding to the image of the illuminated reticle, said measuring means including light detecting means, mounting means for mounting said light detecting means fixedly on said stage, and position detecting means for detecting each of the positions of said stage on said two-dimensional plane, said light detecting means having a detection surface and detecting an intensity of light incident on said detection surface to produce an electric signal conforming to the detected intensity, said mounting means mounting said light detecting means so that said detection surface is substantially at the same level as said predetermined plane and said detecting means is out of an area of said stage where said wafer is
- disposed.
3 more elements
An exposure apparatus for production of integrated circuits comprising:
- (a) illuminating means for illuminating a reticle, said illuminating means having an optical system for forming a minified image of the illuminated reticle on a predetermined plane so that the size of said image of said reticle is smaller than the size of said reticle;
- (b) a stage provided with a supporting surface for supporting a wafer on said supporting surface so that a surface to be exposed of said wafer is substantially at the same level as said predetermined plane;
- (c) moving means for moving said stage on a two-dimensional plane which is parallel to said predetermined plane;
- (d) position detecting means for detecting the position of said stage on said two-dimensional plane;
- (e) light detecting means having a detection surface, said detecting means detecting an intensity of light incident on said detection surface to produce an electric signal conforming to the detected intensity;
- and
- (f) mounting means for mounting said light detecting means fixedly on said stage so that said detection surface is substantially at the same level as
- said predetermined plane.
5 more elements
An exposure apparatus for production of integrated circuits comprising:
- (a) illuminating means for illuminating a reticle, said illuminating means having an optical system for forming a minified image of the illuminated reticle on a predetermined plane so that the size of said image of said reticle is smaller than the size of said reticle;
- (b) a stage for supporting a wafer thereon so that a surface to be exposed of said wafer is substantially at the same level as said predetermined plane;
- (c) moving means for moving said stage on a two-dimensional plane which is parallel to said prerdetermined plane;
- and
- (d) measuring means for detecting positions of rise and fall of an illumination distribution image of the illuminated reticle on said predetermined plane to measure the size of an exposure area corresponding to the image of said illuminated reticle, said measuring means including light detecting means, mounting means for mounting said light detecting means fixedly on said stage, and position detecting means for detecting each of the positions of said stage on said two-dimensional plane, said light detecting means having a detection surface and detecting an intensity of light incident on said detection surface to produce an electric signal conforming to the detected intensity, said mounting means mounting said light detecting means so that said detection surface is substantially at the same level as said predetermined plane.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.