Maskless exposure method, maskless exposure apparatus and method of manufacturing a semiconductor device using the same

• US 10,670,968 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2018
• Issued: 06/02/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2017
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Sang-Min, Park, Sang-Hyun, Joo, Won-Don
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Edward
• Application Number:
  US16/109,054
• Publication Number:
  US 20190146347A1
• Time in Patent Office: 650 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/2051 Exposure without an original mask, e.g. using a programmed deflection of a point source, by scanning, by drawing with a light beam, using an addressed light or corpuscular source G03F7/70 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/2059 using a scanning corpuscular radiation beam, e.g. an electron beam
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70291 Addressable masks, e.g. spatial light modulators [SLMs], digital micro-mirror devices [DMDs] or liquid crystal display [LCD] patterning devices
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/703 Non-planar pattern areas or non-planar masks, e.g. curved masks or substrates
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0274 Photolithographic processes

Abstract

A maskless exposure method includes spatially modulating a light output from a light source into a pattern beam having a mask pattern, condensing the modulated pattern beam into a first group of spot beams having a first focal position on a Z-axis substantially perpendicular to an exposure surface of an object layer, and into a second group of spot beams having a second focal position different from the first focal position, and scanning the object layer with the first and second groups of spot beams. The object layer has a first height and a second height different from the first height.

Claims

1. A maskless exposure method, comprising:

generating exposure data based on a detected height difference between a first height and a second height in an object layer;

spatially modulating a light output from a light source into a pattern beam having a mask pattern;

condensing the modulated pattern beam into a first group of spot beams having a first focal position on a Z-axis substantially perpendicular to an exposure surface of the object layer, and a second group of spot beams having a second focal position different from the first focal position; and

scanning a first portion of the object layer having the first height with the first group of spot beams according to the exposure data, and a second portion of the object layer having the second height, which is different from the first height, with the second group of spot beams according to the exposure data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein condensing the modulated pattern beam into the first and second groups of spot beams comprises:

forming the first group of spot beams by passing the modulated pattern beam through a first micro lens array group; and

forming the second group of spot beams by passing the modulated pattern beam through a second micro lens array group.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first micro lens array group comprises a plurality of first micro lenses having a first thickness, and the second micro lens array group comprises a plurality of second micro lenses having a second thickness different from the first thickness.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the first micro lens array group comprises a plurality of first micro lenses having a first radius of curvature, and the second micro lens array group comprises a plurality of second micro lenses having a second radius of curvature different from the first radius of curvature.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the first micro lens array group comprises a plurality of first micro lenses disposed at a first position on the Z-axis, and the second micro lens array group comprises a plurality of second micro lenses disposed at a second position on the Z-axis different from the first position.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

adjusting the first position of the first micro lenses on the Z-axis; and

adjusting the second position of the second micro lenses on the Z-axis.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the height difference is within a scan exposure width of the first and second spot beams.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adjusting the first focal position of the first group of spot beams and the second focal position of the second group of spot beams according to the height difference between the first height and the second height in the object layer.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

filtering the first and second groups of spot beams, wherein the first and second groups of spot beams are condensed by a multi-lens array.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the object layer is scanned with the first group of spot beams and the second portion of the object layer is scanned with the second group of spot beams within a scan exposure width.

11. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising:

forming an object layer on a substrate, wherein the object layer has a first height and a second height different from the first height;

detecting a height difference between the first height and the second height;

generating exposure data based on the detected height difference;

spatially modulating a light output from a light source into a pattern beam having a mask pattern;

condensing the modulated pattern beam into a first group of spot beams having a first focal position on a Z-axis substantially perpendicular to an exposure surface of the object layer, and a second group of spot beams having a second focal position different from the first focal position; and

scanning a first portion of the object layer having the first height with the first group of spot beams according to the exposure data, and a second portion of the object layer having the second height with the second group of spot beams according to the exposure data.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein condensing the modulated pattern beam into the first and second groups of spot beams comprises:

forming the first group of spot beams by passing the modulated pattern beam through a first micro lens array group; and

forming the second group of spot beams by passing the modulated pattern beam through a second micro lens array group.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first micro lens array group comprises a plurality of first micro lenses having a first thickness, and the second micro lens array group comprises a plurality of second micro lenses having a second thickness different from the first thickness.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the first micro lens array group comprises a plurality of first micro lenses having a first radius of curvature, and the second micro lens array group comprises a plurality of second micro lenses having a second radius of curvature different from the first radius of curvature.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the first micro lens array group comprises a plurality of first micro lenses disposed at a first position on the Z-axis, and the second micro lens array group comprises a plurality of second micro lenses disposed at a second position on the Z-axis different from the first position.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

adjusting the first position of the first micro lenses on the Z-axis; and

adjusting the second position of the second micro lenses on the Z-axis.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the height difference is within a scan exposure width of the first and second spot beams.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein spatially modulating the light comprises forming a plurality of beams having the mask pattern using a digital micro-mirror device.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein forming the object layer on the substrate comprises:

disposing a plurality of dies on the substrate;

forming a conductive layer on the substrate, wherein the conductive layer covers the dies; and

forming a photoresist layer as the object layer on the conductive layer.

20. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising:

forming an object layer on a substrate, wherein the object layer has a first height and a second height different from the first height;

detecting a height difference between the first height and the second height;

spatially modulating a light output from a light source into a pattern beam having a mask pattern;

condensing the modulated pattern beam into a first group of spot beams having a first focal position on a Z-axis substantially perpendicular to an exposure surface of the object layer, and a second group of spot beams having a second focal position different from the first focal position; and

scanning the exposure surface with the first group of spot beams and the second group of spot beams within a scan exposure width based on the detected height difference.