Movable body drive method and movable body drive system, pattern formation method and apparatus, exposure method and apparatus, and device manufacturing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9958792-B2
Application number	US-201314067110-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2013
Priority date	Aug 31, 2006
Publication date	May 1, 2018
Grant date	May 1, 2018

Abstract

During the drive of a stage, positional information in a movement plane of a stage is measured by three encoders that include at least one each of an X encoder and a Y encoder of an encoder system, and a controller switches an encoder used for a measurement of positional information of a stage in the movement plane from an encoder to an encoder so that the position of the stage in the movement plane is maintained before and after the switching. Therefore, although the switching of the encoder used for controlling the position of the stage is performed, the position of the stage in the movement plane is maintained before and after the switching, and a correct linkage becomes possible.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An exposure apparatus that exposes a substrate with an illumination light via a projection optical system, the apparatus comprising:
a first 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 including a first motor coupled to the first stage;
a second stage system having a second stage, and a second drive system, the second stage being disposed below the projection optical system and holding the substrate, and the second drive system including a second motor coupled to the second stage;
a measurement system having a first encoder system and a second encoder system, wherein
the first encoder system measures positional information of the first stage,
in the second encoder system, one of a grating section that has four scale members and a plurality of heads that each irradiate the grating section with a beam is provided at the second stage,
at least in an exposure operation of a plurality of areas to be exposed on the substrate, the second encoder system measures positional information of the second stage with at least three heads, of the plurality of heads, the at least three heads always facing at least three of the four scale members, respectively, and
each of the four scale members has a reflective grating that is periodic in a direction parallel to a predetermined plane orthogonal to an optical axis of the projection optical system; and

a controller coupled to the first and the second stage systems and the measurement system, that controls the first and the second drive systems based on measurement information of the first and the second encoder systems so that scanning exposure is performed with a first direction within the predetermined plane serving as a scanning direction in the exposure operation, in the scanning exposure the mask and the substrate being each moved relative to the illumination light, wherein
one head of three heads that face three of the four scale members, respectively, is switched to another head, as the second stage is moved in a direction parallel to the predetermined plane, the another head being different from the three heads used before the switching, of the plurality of heads,
the controller acquires correction information of the positional information measured with the another head, based on the positional information measured with the three heads used before the switching, and
after the switching, the positional information of the second stage is measured with three heads including two heads and the another head, the two heads excluding the one head of the three heads used before the switching.

2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the correction information is acquired while four heads face the grating section, the four heads including the three heads used before the switching and the another head to be used after the switching.

3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the another head faces another scale member, of the four scale members, that is different from three scale members to which the three heads used before the switching face respectively.

4. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the switching is performed while the four heads face the grating section.

5. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the correction information is used in control of the first and the second drive systems based on the measurement information of the first and the second encoder systems.

6. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
in the exposure operation, the positional information of the second stage is measured with three or four heads, of the plurality of heads, that face three or four of the four scale members, and as the second stage is moved, the heads that face the four scale members are changed from one of the three heads and the four heads to the other of the three heads and the four heads.

7. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a nozzle member that is provided to surround a lens disposed closest to an image plane side, of a plurality of optical elements of the projection optical system, and has a lower surface to which the substrate is placed facing, the nozzle member locally forming a liquid immersion area with the liquid under the lens, wherein
in the exposure operation, the substrate is placed in proximity to the lower surface of the nozzle member by the second stage, and is exposed with the illumination light via the projection optical system and the liquid of the liquid immersion area.

8. The exposure apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising:
a frame member that supports the projection optical system, wherein
the other of the grating section and the plurality of heads is supported in a suspended manner by the frame member, and is provided on an outer side of the nozzle member with respect to the projection optical system.

9. The exposure apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein
the controller compensates a measurement error of the second encoder system that occurs due to at least one of the grating section and a displacement of the second stage in a direction different from a measurement direction of the positional information by the heads.

10. The exposure apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising:
a first detection system that is provided at the frame member, away from the projection optical system, wherein
the controller controls the second drive system so that a mark of the substrate and a reference mark provided on an upper surface of the second stage are detected, not via a liquid, with the first detection system, and
in a detection operation of the mark, the positional information of the second stage is measured with the second encoder system.

11. The exposure apparatus according to claim 10 , 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
in a detection operation of the mark image, the positional information of the second stage is measured with the second encoder system, and
in the exposure operation, alignment of a pattern image of the mask and the substrate is performed based on detection information of the first detection 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.

12. The exposure apparatus according to claim 11 , further comprising:
a second detection system provided at the frame member, away from the projection optical system, and different from the first detection system, wherein
the controller controls the second drive system so that positional information of the substrate in a direction orthogonal to the predetermined plane is detected with the second detection system,
in a detection operation of the positional information of the substrate, the positional information of the second stage is measured with the second encoder system, and
in the exposure operation, focus-leveling control of the pattern image and the substrate is performed based on detection information of the second detection system and the aerial image measurement device.

13. The exposure apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein
in order to acquire focus information of the projection optical system used in th

Assignees

• Nikon Corp

Inventors

• Shibazaki Yuichi

Classifications

• G03F7/70725 Primary

  control · CPC title

• G03F7/7085

  Detection arrangement, e.g. detectors of apparatus alignment possibly mounted on wafers, exposure dose, photo-cleaning flux, stray light, thermal load · CPC title

• G03F9/7088

  Alignment mark detection, e.g. TTR, TTL, off-axis detection, array detector, video detection · CPC title

• G03F7/70775 Primary

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