Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method that limits a portion of a patterning device used to pattern a beam

• US 20060139605A1
• Filed: 02/15/2006
• Published: 06/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ASML Netherlands BV (ASML Holding NV)
• Original Assignee: ASML Netherlands BV (ASML Holding NV)
• Inventors: Bleeker, Arno Jan
• Granted Patent: US 7,385,677 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 355/67
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70066 Size and form of the illuminated area in the mask plane, e.g. reticle masking blades or blinds
• 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 7/70425 Imaging strategies, e.g. for increasing throughput or resolution, printing product fields larger than the image field or compensating lithography- or non-lithography errors, e.g. proximity correction, mix-and-match, stitching or double patterning

Abstract

A system and method are used to limit a proportion of a programmable patterning means used to pattern a substrate. This is done such that a size of a repeated pattern to be exposed on the substrate is an integer multiple of a size of a pattern exposed on the substrate by the patterned beam.

Claims

1. A lithographic apparatus, comprising:

an illumination system that conditions a beam of radiation;

a patterning device that patterns the beam;

a projection system that projects the patterned beam onto a target proportion of a substrate; and

a controller that limits a portion of the patterning device that is used to generate the patterned beam for at least one of a plurality of sub-exposures that are used to expose a repeating pattern on the substrate, whereby a sum of sizes of the sub-exposures, in a given direction, equals a size of the repeating pattern exposed on the substrate, in the given direction.

2. The lithographic projection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises:

a movable barrier that substantially prevents a portion of the patterned beam from being projected onto the substrate.

3. The lithographic projection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises:

a movable barrier that substantially prevents a portion of the beam from being incident on and patterned by the patterning device.

4. The lithographic projection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises:

another patterning device that controls which parts of the beam are incident on and patterned by the patterning device.

5. The lithographic projection apparatus of claim 4, wherein the patterning device and the another patterning device are configured to each generate three or more gray levels.

6. The lithographic projection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises:

another patterning device that controls which parts of the patterned beam are projected onto the substrate.

7. The lithographic projection apparatus of claim 6, wherein the patterning device and the another patterning device are configured to each generate three or more gray levels.

8. The lithographic projection apparatus of 1, wherein the controller comprises:

a device that identifies regions of the patterning device having faults,

wherein when the controller is limiting the portion of the patterning device used, the controller minimizes the number of faults in the portion of the patterning device elements that is used.

9. A method, comprising:

(a) patterning a beam of radiation using a patterning device;

(b) projecting the patterned beam at a target portion of a substrate; and

(c) limiting a portion of the patterning device that is used to generate the patterned beam for at least one of a plurality of sub-exposures that are used to expose a repeating pattern on the substrate.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein a sum of sizes of the sub-exposures, in a given direction, equals a size of the repeating pattern exposed on the substrate, in the given direction.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein a size of the repeated pattern to be exposed on the substrate is an integer multiple of a size of a pattern exposed on the substrate by the patterned beam.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein step (c) comprises:

limiting the portion of the patterning device that is used to generate the patterned beam for a first plurality of the sub-exposures used to expose the repeating pattern; and

not limiting the portion of the pattering device used to generate the patterned beam for a second plurality of the sub-exposures used to expose the repeating pattern.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein all of one of the first and second plurality of sub-exposures are exposed on the substrate consecutively before the remainder of the sub-exposures are exposed.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the first plurality of sub-exposures are interspersed among the remainder of the sub-exposures.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein step (c) comprises:

limiting the portion of the patterning device that is used to generate the patterned beam for all of the sub-exposures used to expose the repeating pattern, such that sizes of the sub-exposures, in a given direction, are the same.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein step (c) comprises:

limiting the portion of the patterning device that is used to generate the patterned beam for only one of the sub-exposures used to expose the repeating pattern.

17. The method of claim 9, wherein step (c) comprises:

setting a pattern on a portion of the patterning device, such that there is substantially no radiation in the corresponding portion of the patterned beam.

18. The method of claim 9, wherein step (c) comprises:

using a movable barrier for substantially preventing a portion of the beam from being received by the patterning device or for substantially preventing a portion of the patterned beam from being projected onto the substrate.

19. The method of claim 9, wherein step (c) comprises:

using another patterning device for substantially preventing a portion of the beam from being received by the patterning device or for substantially preventing a portion of the patterned beam from being projected onto the substrate.

20. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

(d) identifying regions of the patterning device having faults; and

(e) minimizing the portions of the patterning device having the faults from being used to pattern the beam.