Exposure Apparatus, Exposure Method, and Producing Method of Microdevice

• US 20070296936A1
• Filed: 01/24/2006
• Published: 12/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Watanabe, Tomoyuki, Kato, Masaki, Toguchi, Manabu, Shimizu, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 7,864,293 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 355/52
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70275 Multiple projection paths, e.g. array of projection systems, microlens projection systems or tandem projection systems
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70308 Optical correction elements, filters or phase plates for manipulating imaging light, e.g. intensity, wavelength, polarisation, phase or image shift
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70791 Large workpieces, e.g. glass substrates for flat panel displays or solar panels

Abstract

An exposure apparatus for exposure-transferring an image of a pattern projected through an optical system having a plurality of optical units L1 to L13 onto an object P, comprises a correcting device which corrects a position of at least one of a plurality of images to be projected onto the object P by the plurality of optical units L1 to L13 so that displacements of the optical units L1 to L13 are compensated.

Claims

1. An exposure apparatus for exposure-transferring an image of a pattern projected through an optical system having a plurality of optical units onto an object, comprising

a correcting device which corrects a position of at least one of a plurality of images projected onto the object by the plurality of optical units so that displacements of the optical units are compensated.

2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the correcting device corrects the position of at least the one image so that a displacement of the plurality of optical units as a whole or a displacement between the plurality of optical units is compensated.

3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a stage on which the object is mounted, wherein the optical unit and the object are relatively moved by the stage, the image of the pattern is exposed on the object, and the correcting device corrects the position of at least the one image based on information concerning a relative positional displacement of the plurality of images.

4. The exposure apparatus according to claim 3, wherein further comprising a measuring device which measures the information, wherein the correcting device corrects the position of at least the one image based on the measured information.

5. The exposure apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the measured information includes information concerning positions or a relative positional relation of the plurality of optical units.

6. The exposure apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the measured information includes at least one of information concerning a deformation of a body on which the plurality of optical units are provided, and information concerning movement of the stage.

7. The exposure apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the correcting device stores correction information of relative positional displacement of the plurality of images, and corrects the position of at least the one image based on the correction information.

8. The exposure apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the correction information is associated with the information concerning the movement of the stage.

9. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a variable forming mask having a spatial light modulator used to form the image of the pattern, and an illumination system which irradiates the variable forming mask with a light beam, wherein the spatial light modulator is controlled in accordance with relative movement between the object and the light beam from the variable forming mask, so as to expose the image of the pattern onto the object.

10. The exposure apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the correcting device corrects the position of at least the one image by at least one of the variable forming mask and the optical system.

11. The exposure apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the correcting device corrects the position of at least the one image by controlling the spatial light modulator.

12. The exposure apparatus according to claim 10, comprising a plurality of the spatial light modulators respectively provided for the plurality of optical units, wherein the correcting device can correct positions of the plurality of images individually by controlling the plurality of spatial light modulators.

13. The exposure apparatus according to claim 9, wherein at least one of the plurality of optical units includes a correcting optical system for correcting a position of an image to be projected onto the object, and the correcting device corrects a position of at least the one image by the correcting optical system.

14. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a variable forming mask used for forming an image of the pattern, wherein the variable forming mask is corrected in accordance with a relative movement between the optical system and the object, and the image of the pattern is exposed onto the object.

15. The exposure apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the correcting device corrects a position of at least the one image by at least one of the variable forming mask and the optical system.

16. The exposure apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the correcting device corrects positions of the plurality of images formed by the variable forming mask individually with respect to each of the plurality of optical units.

17. The exposure apparatus according to claim 14, wherein at least one of the plurality of optical units has a correcting optical system which corrects a position of an image to be projected on the object, and the correcting device corrects a position of at least the one image by the correcting optical system.

18. The exposure apparatus according to claim 9, wherein an amount of light for exposure passing through the plurality of optical units is adjusted when the correcting device corrects a position of at least the one image.

19. The exposure apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the correcting optical system includes a mechanism which corrects at least one of rotation, shift, magnification and a focus position of the image.

20. The exposure apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the correcting optical system adjusts resolutions of the plurality of optical units.

21. The exposure apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the correcting device corrects a position of at least the one image while at least one of the variable forming mask and the correcting optical system is used as a roughly-correcting device and the other thereof is used as a finely-correcting device.

22. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a measuring device which measures information concerning positions or a relative positional relation of the plurality of optical units, wherein the correcting device corrects a position of at least the one image based on the measured information.

23. The exposure apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the measured information includes attitudes of the plurality of optical units, or information concerning a relative attitude between the plurality of optical units.

24. The exposure apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the information concerning the attitude is obtained based on information concerning a deformation of a body on which the plurality of optical units are provided, or information concerning a relative position of the object with respect to the plurality of optical units.

25. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein adjacent images of the plurality of images to be projected onto the object by the plurality of optical units are formed such that portions of the adjacent images are overlapped with each other.

27. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image of the pattern is exposed onto the object by a relative movement between the optical system and the object, a first optical unit including portions of the plurality of optical units and a second optical unit including an optical unit different from the first optical unit are disposed such that positions of the images by the optical units are different from each other with respect to a scanning direction in which the first optical unit and the second optical unit are relatively moved, and wherein

the exposure apparatus further comprises a displacement amount measuring device for measuring a relative displacement amount between the first and second optical units, and the correcting device corrects the position of the image of at least one of the first and second optical units based on the measured relative displacement amount.

28. The exposure apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the displacement amount measuring device measures at least one of a relative translation amount and an attitude difference between the first and second optical units.

29. The exposure apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the displacement amount measuring device measures a relative displacement amount between the first and second optical units concerning at least one of the scanning direction and a direction intersecting with the scanning direction.

30. The exposure apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the optical system is to form an erect image, and the displacement amount measuring device measures a difference in inclination amounts between the first and second optical units.

31. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image of the pattern is exposed onto the object by a relative movement between the optical system and the object,

the exposure apparatus further comprise a support section provided such that positions of images by the optical units are different from each other in a scanning direction in which a first optical unit having portions of the plurality of optical units and a second optical unit having an optical unit different from the first optical unit are relatively moved, and a measuring device for measuring information concerning a deformation of the support section,

the correcting device corrects a position of the image of at least one of the first and second optical units based on the information concerning the measured deformation.

32. The exposure apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the correcting device calculates a relative displacement amount between the first and second optical units based on the information concerning the measured deformation, and the calculated relative displacement amount is used for correcting the position of the image.

33. The exposure apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the measuring device measures information concerning a deformation of the support section in at least one of the scanning direction and a direction intersecting with the scanning direction.

34. The exposure apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the correcting device corrects the position of the image of at least one of the first and second optical units by controlling an attitude of the object.

35. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object is a photosensitive substrate having an outer diameter of greater than 500 mm.

36. A producing method of a microdevice comprising

exposing and transferring the image of the pattern using the exposure apparatus according to claim 1, and

developing the pattern on the object which has exposed and transferred.

26. A scanning type exposure apparatus comprising

a first exposure unit including a first variable forming mask which modulates a light beam emitted from a light source in accordance with image data, and

a second exposure unit including a second variable forming mask which modulates a light beam emitted from a light source in accordance with image data, the second exposure unit being different from the first exposure unit, wherein

a stage on which an object is mounted is relatively scanned with respect to the first variable forming mask and the second variable forming mask, so that images produced by the first exposure unit and the second exposure unit is exposure-transferred onto the object,

the stage is provided thereon with a beam intensity measuring system which measures beam intensity of the first exposure unit and the second exposure unit in a region where overlap exposure is carried out by the first exposure unit and the second exposure unit, and

the beam intensity of at least one of the first exposure unit and the second exposure unit is adjusted based on a measurement result of the beam intensity measuring system.

37. An exposure method for exposure-transferring an image of a pattern projected through an optical system having a plurality of optical units onto an object, comprising

correcting a position of at least one of a plurality of images projected onto the object by the plurality of optical units so that displacement of the optical units are compensated while exposure is carried out.