Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method utilizing movement of clean air to reduce contamination

• US 20070002297A1
• Filed: 06/29/2005
• Published: 01/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ASML Netherlands BV (ASML Holding NV)
• Original Assignee: ASML Netherlands BV (ASML Holding NV)
• Inventors: Stavenga, Marco, Bartray, Petrus, Harink, Thijs, Box, Wilhelmus, Luttikhuis, Bernardus
• Granted Patent: US 7,522,258 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 355/55
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/7075 Handling workpieces outside exposure position, e.g. SMIF box
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70791 Large workpieces, e.g. glass substrates for flat panel displays or solar panels
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70916 Pollution mitigation, i.e. mitigating effect of contamination or debris, e.g. foil traps

Abstract

A lithographic apparatus comprises a substrate table that supports a substrate and a substrate handler that moves the substrate relative to the substrate table. The substrate handler is adapted to load substrates on to and unload substrates from the substrate table before and after exposure. Also, a clean gas supply system supplies a clean gas to at least one location at which the substrate is located. The clean gas supply system is moveably mounted. A device manufacturing method utilizing the lithographic apparatus can be used to manufacture at least one of a flat panel display and an integrated circuit device.

Claims

1. A lithographic apparatus comprising:

a substrate table that supports a substrate;

a substrate handler that moves the substrate relative to the substrate table, the substrate handler being adapted to load substrates on to and unload substrates from the substrate table before and after exposure, and

a clean gas supply system that supplies a clean gas to at least one location at which a substrate is located, wherein the clean gas supply system is moveably mounted.

2. The lithographic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the clean gas supply system is mounted on the substrate handler.

3. The lithographic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the clean gas supply system moves together with the substrate handler.

4. The lithographic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the substrate handler comprises at least one of a loader and an unloader table.

5. The lithographic apparatus of claim 4, wherein the clean gas supply system is mounted on an upper side of the substrate handler and directs clean gas towards a location on the at least one of the loader and unloader table where the substrate is located.

6. The lithographic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the clean gas supply system is mounted on an underside of the substrate handler and directs clean gas towards a location on the substrate table where the substrate is located.

7. The lithographic apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a support that supportably mounts the clean gas supply system on the substrate handler.

8. The lithographic apparatus of claim 7, wherein the support supportably mounts the clean gas supply system on the at least one of the loader and the unloader table.

9. The lithographic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the clean gas supply system comprises:

a filter unit comprising a gas inlet and a clean gas outlet, wherein the filter unit is moveably mounted on the substrate handler.

10. The lithographic apparatus of claim 9, wherein the filter unit is at least one of a particle filter unit and a chemical filter unit.

11. The lithographic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the substrate handler is moveable in a direction substantially perpendicular to a plane in which the substrate is disposed at the location.

12. The lithographic apparatus of claim 4, wherein the substrate handler comprises:

a robot arm for at least one of disposing and removing the substrate on or from, respectively, at least one of the loader and the unloader table.

13. The lithographic apparatus of claim 12, further comprising:

a valve provided between the at least one of the loader and unloader table and the robot arm, the valve selectively allowing the robot arm access to the at least one of the loader and unloader table.

14. The lithographic apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

a seal disposed between the at least one of the loader and unloader table and the valve, the seal performing sealing within an environment in which the substrate is disposed from an outside environment.

15. The lithographic apparatus of claim 14, wherein the clean gas supply system supplies gas to the environment within which the substrate is disposed.

16. The lithographic apparatus of claim 15, wherein the seal allows clean gas to leak from the environment within which the substrate is disposed and to prevent gas from the outside environment from entering the environment within which the substrate is disposed.

17. The lithographic apparatus of claim 16, wherein the seal is formed by creating an overpressure in the environment with respect to an outside environment.

18. The lithographic apparatus of claim 16, wherein the seal comprises a gap dimensioned so that the gas in the environment within which the substrate is disposed has a laminar flow at the gap.

19. The lithographic apparatus of claim 14, wherein the location of the seal with respect to the substrate table moves.

20. The lithographic apparatus of claim 19, wherein during a scanning movement of the substrate table, the moving seal is formed by a front edge of the substrate disposed on the substrate table and the clean gas supply system.

21. The lithographic apparatus of claim 14, wherein the seal comprises a gap formed in the support which supports the clean gas supply system on the substrate handler.

22. The lithographic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the clean gas supply system comprises at least one of a filter unit for filtering a gas, a heat-exchanger for thermally conditioning the gas, a fan unit for determining a flow of the gas, and a chemical filter for chemically filtering the gas.

23. The lithographic apparatus of claim 22, wherein at least one of the heat exchanger, the fan unit, and the chemical filter are remotely located with respect to the filter unit.

24. The lithographic apparatus of claim 23, wherein the at least one of the heat exchanger, the fan unit, and the chemical filter are located within the lithographic apparatus.

25. The lithographic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

an illumination system that conditions a radiation beam;

a patterning device that modulates the radiation beam; and

a projection system that projects the modulated radiation beam onto a target portion of the substrate.

26. A lithographic apparatus, comprising:

an unexposed substrate; and

a clean gas supply system that supplies a clean gas to the unexposed substrate,

wherein the clean gas supply system is configured to be located on a moving support and is configured to supply a clean gas to at least one location at which the unexposed substrate is located.

27. The lithographic apparatus of claim 26, further comprising:

a substrate table constructed to support at least one of the unexposed substrate or at least one other substrate, and

a substrate handler that moves the at least one of the unexposed substrate or at least one other substrate relative to the substrate table, the substrate handler being adapted to load at least one of the unexposed substrate or at least one other substrate on to and unload at least one of the unexposed substrate or at least one other substrate from the substrate table before and after exposure, wherein the substrate handler comprises at least one of a loader and unloader table.

28. The lithographic apparatus of claim 27, wherein the clean gas supply system is disposed above the loader table to supply the clean gas to the unexposed substrate during thermal preconditioning of the unexposed substrate.

29. The lithographic apparatus of claim 30, wherein the clean gas supply system is disposed below the unloader table to supply the clean gas to the unexposed substrate during at least one of scanning and exposing of the unexposed substrate on the substrate table.

30. The lithographic apparatus of claim 26, wherein the clean gas supply system comprises a filter and a valve that provide a clean gas environment around the substrate.

31. The lithographic apparatus of claim 30, wherein the valve is constructed to allow a gas from the clean gas supply system mounted on the loader table to be directed to at least one of the unexposed substrate or at least one other substrate disposed on the unloader table.

32. The lithographic apparatus of claim 31, wherein the valve includes a recess through which the gas passes in order to pass around the loader table, to direct the gas to the unloader table.

33. A device manufacturing method, comprising:

conditioning a radiation beam;

modulating the radiation beam;

supporting a substrate on a substrate table;

projecting the modulated radiation beam onto a target portion of the substrate,

moving the substrate relative to the substrate table, including loading substrates on to and unloading substrates from the substrate table before and after exposure; and

supplying a clean gas supply to at least one location at which one of the substrates is located, wherein the clean gas is supplied by a moveably mounted clean gas system.

34. A flat panel display manufactured according to the method of claim 33.

35. An integrated circuit device manufactured according to the method of claim 33.