Pattern forming apparatus and pattern forming method, movable body drive system and movable body drive method, exposure apparatus and exposure method, and device manufacturing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10139738-B2
Application number	US-201715686718-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 25, 2017
Priority date	Feb 21, 2006
Publication date	Nov 27, 2018
Grant date	Nov 27, 2018

Abstract

A controller of an exposure apparatus ( 1 ) controls a second drive system so that scanning exposure is performed via a projection optical system and liquid of a liquid immersion area, from an area located on one side in a first direction, of a plurality of areas of a substrate held by a second stage that is placed facing the projection optical system and (ii) controls the second drive system so that a third stage comes close to the second stage from the other side in the first direction, and the second and the third stages that have come close together move from the other side to the one side in the first direction in order to place the third stage to face the projection optical system instead of the second stage while substantially maintaining the liquid immersion area under the lens.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An exposure apparatus that exposes a substrate with an illumination light via a projection optical system and a liquid, the apparatus comprising:
a mask stage system having a first stage and a first drive system, the first stage being disposed above the projection optical system and holding a mask illuminated with the illumination light, and the first drive system having a first motor to drive the first stage;
a nozzle member provided to surround a lens that is disposed closest to an image plane side, of a plurality of optical elements of the projection optical system, the nozzle member having a lower surface to which the substrate is placed facing, and locally forming a liquid immersion area with the liquid under the lens;
a base member disposed below the nozzle member;
a substrate stage system having a second stage and a third stage that are disposed on the base member, and a second drive system that has a second motor to drive the second and the third stages, wherein
the second stage has a holder for holding the substrate, and holds the substrate in a recessed portion of an upper surface of the second stage, the holder being disposed in the recessed portion, and
the third stage has at least one measurement member that detects the illumination light via the projection optical system and the liquid of the liquid immersion area;

an encoder system having a plurality of heads that respectively irradiate a plurality of scale members disposed substantially parallel to a predetermined plane, with a measurement beam, the encoder system measuring positional information of the second stage in directions of three degrees of freedom within the predetermined plane, with at least three heads, of the plurality of heads, that face at least three of the plurality of scale members, each of the plurality of scale members having a reflective grating periodic in a direction parallel to the predetermined plane, and the predetermined plane being orthogonal to an optical axis of the projection optical system; and
a controller coupled to the mask stage system and the substrate stage system, that controls the first and the second drive systems so that, in an exposure operation of the substrate, scanning exposure in which the mask and the substrate are each moved relative to the illumination light is performed with a first direction within the predetermined plane serving as a scanning direction,
wherein in the exposure operation, the substrate is placed facing the lower surface of the nozzle member by the second stage, and in the exposure operation and in movement of the second and the third stages that have come close together, the positional information of the second stage is measured with the encoder system, and
wherein the controller:
controls the second drive system so that the scanning exposure is performed via the projection optical system and the liquid of the liquid immersion area, from an area located on one side in the first direction, of a plurality of areas of a substrate held by the second stage that is placed facing the projection optical system; and
controls the second drive system so that the third stage comes close to the second stage from the other side in the first direction, and the second and the third stages that have come close together move from the other side to the one side in the first direction in order to place the third stage to face the projection optical system instead of the second stage while substantially maintaining the liquid immersion area under the lens.

2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the controller controls the second drive system so that, in the exposure operation, exposure of a step-and-scan method is performed with respect to areas disposed in line in a second direction, of the plurality of areas of the substrate, and the substrate is moved from the other side to the one side in the first direction, in the exposure of the step-and-scan method the scanning exposure and movement of the substrate in the second direction being repeated, and the second direction being orthogonal to the first direction within the predetermined plane.

3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the controller controls the second drive system so that, in the exposure operation, the third stage comes close, from the other side in the first direction, to the second stage that is moved from the other side to the one side in the first direction, and the third stage is moved from the other side to the one side in the first direction in parallel with movement of the second stage.

4. The exposure apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein
the second stage holds the substrate in the recessed portion so that a surface of the substrate and the upper surface of the second stage are substantially flush, and the second stage maintains, with the upper surface, at least a part of the liquid immersion area that moves off from the substrate held in the recessed portion.

5. The exposure apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein
at least one of illuminance measurement, aerial image measurement and wavefront aberration measurement is performed by the at least one measurement member of the third stage.

6. The exposure apparatus according to claim 5 , further comprising:
an aerial image measurement device that detects a mark image of the mask or a mark image of the first stage via a slit pattern disposed on the upper surface of the second stage, the mark image being projected via the projection optical system and the liquid of the liquid immersion area, wherein
the controller controls the second drive system so that a detection operation of the mark image is performed prior to the scanning exposure.

7. The exposure apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein
the slit pattern is disposed on the other side in the first direction on the upper surface of the second stage, and
the controller controls the second drive system so that the second stage is moved from the other side to the one side in the first direction following the detection operation, in order to perform the scanning exposure from an area located on the one side in the first direction, of the plurality of areas of the substrate.

8. The exposure apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising:
an alignment system that is disposed spaced from the projection optical system in the first direction, wherein
the controller controls the second drive system so that a mark of the substrate and a fiducial mark disposed on the upper surface of the second stage are detected with the alignment system, and
in the exposure operation, alignment between a pattern image of the mask and the substrate is performed based on detection information of the alignment system and the aerial image measurement device, the pattern image being projected via the projection optical system and the liquid of the liquid immersion area.

9. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
in the exposure operation, one head of the at least three heads is switched to another head that is different from the at least three heads, as the second stage is moved in a direction parallel to the predetermined plane, and
after the switching, the positional information of the second stage is measured with at least three heads that include the another head.

10. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
in the exposure operation, the number of scale members, of the plurality of scale members, to which the heads face is changed, as the second stage is moved in a direction parallel to the predetermined plane.

11. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
in the exposure operation, a relationship betw

Assignees

• Nikon Corp

Inventors

• Shibazaki Yuichi

Classifications

• G03F7/70775

  Position control, e.g. interferometers or encoders for determining the stage position · CPC title

• G03F9/7084

  Position of mark on substrate, i.e. position in (x, y, z) of mark, e.g. buried or resist covered mark, mark on rearside, at the substrate edge, in the circuit area, latent image mark, marks in plural levels · CPC title

• G03F7/70675

  Latent image, i.e. measuring the image of the exposed resist prior to development · CPC title

• G03F7/70341

  Details of immersion lithography aspects, e.g. exposure media or control of immersion liquid supply (chemical composition of immersion liquids G03F7/2041) · CPC title

• G03F9/7026

  Focusing · CPC title