APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR IMMERSION LITHOGRAPHY

• US 20080002164A1
• Filed: 04/06/2007
• Published: 01/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Chang, Ching-Yu, Lin, Burn Jeng
• Granted Patent: US 8,564,759 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 355/30
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 3/12 by sonic or ultrasonic vibrations washing or rinsing machines for crockery or tableware using sonic or ultrasonic waves A47L15/13; of natural teeth, of prostheses using ultrasonic techniques similar to those used for natural teeth A61C17/20; application of ultrasonic vibrations to chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general B01J19/10
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/2041 in the presence of a fluid, e.g. immersion; using fluid cooling means
• 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 7/70925 Cleaning, i.e. actively freeing apparatus from pollutants, e.g. using plasma cleaning

Abstract

A lithography apparatus includes an imaging lens module, a substrate table positioned underlying the imaging lens module and configured to hold a substrate, and a cleaning module adapted to clean the lithography apparatus. The cleaning module comprises one inlet and one outlet for providing a cleaning fluid to and from a portion of the lithography apparatus to be cleaned, and an ultrasonic unit configured to provide ultrasonic energy to the cleaning fluid.

Claims

1. A lithography apparatus, comprising:

an imaging lens module;

a substrate table positioned underlying the imaging lens module and configured to hold a substrate; and

a cleaning module adapted to clean the lithography apparatus, wherein the cleaning module comprises;

at least one inlet and at least one outlet for providing a cleaning fluid to and from a portion of the lithography apparatus to be cleaned; and

an ultrasonic unit configured to provide ultrasonic energy to the cleaning fluid.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an immersion fluid retaining module configured to provide an immersion fluid to a space between the imaging lens module and a substrate on the substrate table.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the cleaning module is operable to clean at least one of the imaging lens module, the substrate table, and the immersion fluid retaining module.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the cleaning module is integrated with at least one of the immersion fluid retaining module and the substrate table.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cleaning module is integrated with a robot.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cleaning module further comprises an air knife and an air extractor for providing hydrodynamic control of the cleaning fluid provided to and from the portion of the lithography apparatus to be cleaned.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic unit is operable to provide an ultrasonic energy with a power ranging between 10 watt to about 1000 watt and a frequency ranging between 1 KHz to about 1 GHz.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cleaning fluid is selected from a group consisting of:

a chemical solution, de-ionized water (DIW), CO₂ water, and combinations thereof.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the chemical solution comprises a material selected from a group consisting of:

a surfactant, solvent, NH₄OH, H₂O₂, O₃, PGME/PGMEA cyclohexanol, IPA, acetone, alcohol, MEA, and combinations thereof.

10. An immersion lithography apparatus, comprising:

an imaging lens module;

a substrate table configured to secure a substrate and positioned under the imaging lens;

a fluid retaining module configured to provide a fluid to a space between the imaging lens module and the substrate on the table; and

a cleaning module configured to clean the immersion lithography apparatus, wherein the cleaning module comprises at least one fluid inlet for providing a cleaning fluid to a cleaning target and at least one fluid outlet for removing the cleaning fluid from the cleaning target.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the cleaning module is positioned 0.1 mm to about 1 cm away from the cleaning target.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the cleaning module further comprises a cleaning scrubber.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the cleaning scrubber comprises a material selected from a group consisting of:

polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polypropylene (PP), mohair, and combinations thereof.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the cleaning module further comprises:

an ultrasonic unit operable to provide ultrasonic energy to the cleaning fluid during a cleaning process; and

a purge line and an extractor line for drying the cleaning target by providing a gas to and from the cleaning target;

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the gas is selected from a group consisting of:

nitrogen, argon, and compressed dry air.

16. A method, comprising:

providing a lithography apparatus having a cleaning module, wherein the cleaning module is configured to include at least one inlet and at least one outlet for providing a cleaning fluid to and from a portion of the lithography apparatus to be cleaned;

performing a cleaning process to the portion of the lithography apparatus by utilizing the cleaning module; and

performing an exposure process to a substrate coated with an imaging layer.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the performing a cleaning process includes providing acoustic energy to the cleaning fluid during the cleaning process, wherein the acoustic energy is configured with a power ranging between 10 watt to about 1000 watt and a frequency ranging between 1 KHz to about 1 GHz.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the performing the cleaning process includes performing the cleaning process for a duration ranging between 2 seconds to about 30 minutes.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the performing the cleaning process includes configuring the cleaning fluid to include a chemical solution, de-ionized water (DIW), CO₂ water, or combinations thereof.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising performing a rinsing process and drying process on the portion of the lithography apparatus that was cleaned.