Exposure apparatus and method for producing device

• US 20050264774A1
• Filed: 06/08/2005
• Published: 12/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Magome, Nobutaka, Mizutani, Hideo
• Granted Patent: US 7,460,207 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 355/30
• CPC Class Codes: 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

Abstract

An exposure apparatus, wherein an exposure of a substrate (P) is carried out by filling at least a portion of the space between a projection optical system and the substrate (P) with a liquid and projecting an image of a pattern onto the substrate (P) via the projection optical system and the liquid, includes a bubble detector (20) which detects air bubble or bubbles in the liquid between the projection optical system and the substrate (P). Consequently, the exposure apparatus is capable of suppressing deterioration of a pattern image caused by bubbles in the liquid when an exposure is carried out while filling the space between the projection optical system and the substrate with the liquid.

Claims

1. An exposure apparatus which exposes a substrate by transferring an image of a pattern through a liquid onto the substrate, the exposure apparatus comprising:

a projection optical system which projects the image of the pattern onto the substrate; and

a bubble detector which detects a bubble in the liquid between the projection optical system and the substrate.

2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bubble detector optically detects the bubble.

3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the bubble detector includes a projecting system which projects a light beam onto the liquid, and a light-receiving system which receives the light beam from the liquid.

4. The exposure apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the substrate is subjected to scanning exposure while being moved in a predetermined scanning direction, and the projecting system projects the light beam from a position separated from an optical axis of the projection optical system in the scanning direction.

5. The exposure apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a supply unit which supplies the liquid, wherein the liquid flows in parallel to the scanning direction between the projection optical system and the substrate during the scanning exposure.

6. The exposure apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the bubble detector detects an amount of the bubble on the basis of an intensity of the light beam detected by the light-receiving system.

7. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a judgment is made whether or not the exposure is performed appropriately for the substrate on the basis of a result of the detection performed by the bubble detector.

8. The exposure apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the bubble is detected by the bubble detector during the exposure for a plurality of shot areas on the substrate respectively, and a shot area of the shot areas, for which the image of the pattern is inappropriately formed due to the bubble, is stored on the basis of each result of the detection.

27. A method for producing a device, comprising using the exposure apparatus as defined in claim 1.

9. An exposure apparatus which exposes a substrate by transferring an image of a pattern through a liquid onto the substrate, the exposure apparatus comprising:

a projection optical system which projects the image of the pattern onto the substrate; and

a liquid shortage detector which detects shortage of the liquid between the projection optical system and the substrate.

10. The exposure apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the liquid shortage detector optically detects the liquid shortage between the projection optical system and the substrate.

11. The exposure apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the liquid shortage detector includes a projecting system which projects a light beam onto the liquid, and a light-receiving system which receives the light beam from the liquid.

12. The exposure apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the liquid shortage detector detects the liquid shortage on the basis of absence of incidence of the light beam from the liquid into the light-receiving system.

28. A method for producing a device, comprising using the exposure apparatus as defined in claim 9.

13. An exposure apparatus which exposes a substrate by radiating an exposure light beam onto the substrate via a projection optical system and through a liquid, the exposure apparatus comprising:

a gas-detecting system which detects a presence or absence of a gas portion in an optical path for the exposure light beam.

14. The exposure apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the gas-detecting system detects a bubble in the optical path for the exposure light beam.

15. The exposure apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the gas-detecting system detects whether or not the optical path for the exposure light beam is filled with the liquid.

16. The exposure apparatus according to claim 13, wherein a judgment is made whether or not start of the exposure for the substrate is appropriate, on the basis of an output of the gas-detecting system.

17. The exposure apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the gas-detecting system detects a presence or absence of a gas in the optical path for the exposure light beam during the exposure for the substrate.

18. The exposure apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the gas-detecting system optically detects the gas portion.

19. The exposure apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the gas-detecting system includes a surface position-detecting function for detecting a surface position of the substrate by projecting a detecting light beam onto the substrate through the liquid on the substrate and receiving a reflected light beam thereof.

29. A method for producing a device, comprising using the exposure apparatus as defined in claim 13.

20. An exposure apparatus which exposes a substrate by radiating an exposure light beam onto the substrate via a projection optical system and through a liquid, the exposure apparatus comprising:

a surface position-detecting system which detects a surface position of the substrate by projecting a detecting light beam onto the substrate through the liquid on the substrate and receiving the detecting light beam reflected on the substrate, wherein;

a presence or absence of a gas portion in an optical path for the detecting light beam is detected on the basis of an output of the surface position-detecting system.

21. The exposure apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the detecting light beam passes through an optical path for the exposure light beam.

22. The exposure apparatus according to claim 20, wherein a bubble is detected in the optical path for the detecting light beam on the basis of the output of the surface position-detecting system.

23. The exposure apparatus according to claim 20, wherein a judgment is made whether or not start of the exposure for the substrate is appropriate, on the basis of the output of the surface position-detecting system.

24. The exposure apparatus according to claim 20, wherein a judgment is made whether a gas is present or absent in the optical path for the detecting light beam during the exposure for the substrate, on the basis of the output of the surface position-detecting system.

25. The exposure apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the surface position-detecting system projects a plurality of detecting light beams onto the substrate.

26. The exposure apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the surface position-detecting system projects the detecting light beam onto the substrate via a part of an optical member of the projection optical system.

30. A method for producing a device, comprising using the exposure apparatus as defined in claim 20.