Position measurement method, position control method, measurement method, loading method, exposure method and exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method

• US 20070216893A1
• Filed: 04/04/2007
• Published: 09/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Sugihara, Taro, Yasuda, Masahiko
• Application Number:
  US11/730,915
• Publication Number:
  US 20070216893A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 355/72
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70691 Handling of masks or workpieces
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/707 Chucks, e.g. chucking or un-chucking operations or structural details
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70725 control
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70775 Position control, e.g. interferometers or encoders for determining the stage position
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70975 Assembly, maintenance, transport or storage of apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 9/7011 Pre-exposure scan; original with original holder alignment; Prealignment, i.e. workpiece with workpiece holder
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 9/7088 Alignment mark detection, e.g. TTR, TTL, off-axis detection, array detector, video detection
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49002 Electrical device making

Abstract

A part of a plate of a predetermined shape detachably mounted on a moving body is detected by an alignment system while the position of the moving body is measured by a measurement unit that sets a movement coordinate system of the movement body, and based on the detection results and the measurement results of the measurement unit corresponding to the detection results, position information of an outer periphery edge of the plate is obtained. Therefore, even if there are no alignment marks on the moving body for position measurement, the position of the plate, or in other words, the position of the moving body can be controlled on the movement coordinate system set by the measurement unit, based on the position information of the outer periphery edge of the plate.

Claims

1. A method for determining an offset between a center of a substrate and a center of a depression in a chuck, comprising:

providing a test substrate to the depression, the test substrate having a dimension smaller than a dimension of the depression;

measuring a position of an alignment mark of the test substrate while in the depression; and

determining the offset between the center of the substrate and the center of the depression from the position of the alignment mark.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing the test substrate to the depression comprises loading the test substrate inside the depression using a substrate handler.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein measuring the position of the alignment mark of the test substrate comprises measuring the position of the alignment mark relative to a reference mark of the chuck or vice versa.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining a position of the center of the depression relative to a position of a reference mark of the chuck or vice versa; and

determining a position of the center of the test substrate relative to the position of the alignment mark of the test substrate or vice versa.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein measuring the position of the center of the test substrate is performed with a prealigner.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the dimension of the test substrate is such that, when the test substrate is in the depression, a gap between an edge of the test substrate and an edge of the depression is greater than a maximum offset.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein measuring the position of the alignment mark of the test substrate is performed with an optical system.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the optical system comprises an interferometer and an optical alignment system.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising calibrating a substrate handler to take into account the offset.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein calibrating the substrate handler includes shifting a positioning of substrates by the substrate handler to correct for the offset so that a subsequent substrate provided by the substrate handler to the depression is substantially centered inside the depression.

11. A method for determining an offset between a center of a substrate and a center of a depression in a chuck, comprising:

measuring a gap between an edge of the substrate disposed inside the depression and an edge of the depression at a plurality of locations;

determining a center of the substrate using the measurements of the gap;

determining a chuck centering offset of the substrate between the center of the depression and the measured center of the substrate at the chuck;

providing the substrate to a prealigner and determining a center of the substrate at the prealigner;

determining a prealigner centering offset between a nominal center of the substrate and the measured center of the substrate at the prealigner; and

combining the chuck centering offset and the prealigner centering offset to obtain a global centering offset.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising determining a position of the edge of the depression and calculating a center of the depression.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein determining the chuck centering offset comprises determining the position of the center of the substrate relative to the position of the center of the depression.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein measuring the gap comprises scanning the gap across an optical beam and measuring an intensity variation in a reflection of the optical beam.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein determining the center of the substrate using the measurements of the gap comprises determining a position of the edge of the substrate and calculating the position of the center of the substrate from the position of the edge.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein the substrate is disposed inside the depression and removed from the depression using a substrate handler.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising calibrating the substrate handler to take into account the global centering offset.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein calibrating the substrate handler includes shifting positioning of substrates by the substrate handler by an offset to correct for the global centering offset so that a subsequently positioned substrate is substantially centered inside the depression.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein calibrating the substrate handler includes correcting for substrate positioning so that the gap of a subsequently positioned substrate is equally wide inside the depression.

20. A method for determining an offset between a center of a substrate and a center of a depression in a chuck, comprising:

loading the substrate on a pin of the chuck and moving the substrate by translating the pin in a first direction until the substrate reaches an opening of the depression in the chuck;

determining to what extent the substrate should be translated in a plane substantially perpendicular to the first direction to allow the substrate to enter inside the depression without colliding with a surface of the chuck or an edge of the depression in the chuck; and

determining the offset of the substrate relative to the depression from determination of the translation in the plane.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein determining to what extent the substrate should be translated comprises translating the substrate, in the plane on the pin relative to the chuck, translating the chuck, in the plane, relative to the substrate or the pin, or both, until a footprint of the substrate would fit into the depression.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein loading the substrate on a pin of the chuck is performed with a substrate handler.

23. The method according to claim 20, further comprising calibrating the substrate handler to take into account the offset.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein calibrating the substrate handler includes shifting positioning of substrates by of the substrate handler by an amount to correct for the offset so that a subsequently positioned substrate is substantially centered inside the depression.

25. The method according to claim 23, wherein calibrating the substrate handler includes correcting for substrate positioning so that the gap of a subsequently positioned substrate is equally wide inside the depression.

26. A lithographic projection apparatus comprising:

a support structure configured to hold a patterning device, the patterning device configured to pattern a beam of radiation according to a desired pattern;

a substrate table configured to hold a substrate, the substrate table having a depression configured to receive the substrate;

a projection system configured to project the patterned beam onto a target portion of the substrate;

a liquid supply system configured to provide a liquid, through which the patterned beam is to be projected, in a space between the projection system and the substrate;

a sensor configured to measure a position of the substrate, a sensor configured to measure a gap between an edge of the substrate disposed inside the depression and an edge of the depression, or a sensor configured to measure both the position and the gap; and

a substrate handling system in communication with the sensor configured to position the substrate inside the depression such that the gap between the edge of the substrate and the edge of the depression is substantially uniform inside the depression.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the substrate handling system is configured to be calibrated to correct for an offset between the substrate and the depression.

28. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the substrate handling system is configured to determine an offset between a center of the substrate and a center of the depression.

29. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the sensor configured to measure the position of the substrate is configured to measure a position of an alignment mark of a test substrate disposed inside the depression, and wherein the substrate handling system is configured to determine an offset between a center of the test substrate and a center of the depression from the position of the alignment mark measured by the sensor.

30. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the substrate handling system is configured to determine to what extent the substrate should be translated in a plane substantially parallel to the substrate table to allow the substrate to enter inside the depression without colliding with a surface of the substrate table or an edge of the depression.

31. The apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the substrate handling system is configured to determine an offset between the substrate and the depression from determination of the translation in the plane.

32. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the substrate handling system is configured to determine a center of the substrate using measurements of the gap and to determine an offset of the substrate between a center of the depression and the measured center of the substrate.

33. The apparatus according to claim 32, further comprising a prealigner configured to measure a center of the substrate at the prealigner and wherein the substrate handling system is configured to determine a centering offset at the prealigner between a nominal center of the substrate and the measured center of the substrate at the prealigner.

34. The apparatus according to claim 33, wherein the substrate handling system is configured to combine the offset of the substrate and the centering offset to obtain a global centering offset.