Exposure Apparatus, Exposure Method, and Method for Producing Device

• US 20080032234A1
• Filed: 09/16/2005
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Mizutani, Takeyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,675,174 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 430/311
• 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 7/709 Vibration, e.g. vibration detection, compensation, suppression or isolation

Abstract

An exposure apparatus includes a nozzle member which has at least one of a supply port for supplying a liquid and a recovery port for recovering the liquid, and a nozzle adjusting mechanism which adjusts at least one of a position and a posture of the nozzle member depending on a position or a posture of a substrate. The exposure apparatus forms an immersion area of the liquid on the substrate, and performs exposure for the substrate through the liquid in the immersion area. Accordingly, the liquid is satisfactorily retained between the projection optical system and the substrate, thereby making it possible to realize the exposure highly accurately.

Claims

1. An exposure apparatus which exposes a substrate through a liquid of a liquid immersion area, the exposure apparatus comprising:

a nozzle member which has at least one of a supply port for supplying the liquid and a recovery port for recovering the liquid; and

a nozzle-adjusting mechanism which adjusts at least one of a position and an inclination of the nozzle member depending on a position of a surface of an object arranged opposite to the nozzle member.

2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a projection optical system, wherein the substrate is exposed via the projection optical system and the liquid of the liquid immersion area.

3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the nozzle member has a lower surface which is opposed to the surface of the object; and

the nozzle-adjusting mechanism adjusts at least one of a relative distance and a relative inclination between the lower surface of the nozzle member and the surface of the object.

4. The exposure apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the nozzle-adjusting mechanism adjusts at least one of the relative distance and the relative inclination to maintain at least one of the relative distance and the relative inclination in a predetermined state.

5. The exposure apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:

the nozzle member is formed to have an annular shape to surround the projection optical system; and

the liquid immersion area is formed between the surface of the object and the lower surface of the nozzle member and between the surface of the object and a lower surface of the projection optical system.

6. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

the object includes the substrate; and

the substrate is subjected to scanning exposure while being moved in a predetermined direction, and the nozzle-adjusting mechanism adjusts the nozzle member during the scanning exposure.

7. The exposure apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a focus-adjusting mechanism which adjusts a positional relationship between a surface of the substrate and an image plane of the projection optical system, wherein;

the focus-adjusting mechanism changes one of a position and a posture of the substrate during the scanning exposure to adjust the positional relationship; and

the nozzle-adjusting mechanism adjusts the nozzle member to follow a change in a surface position of the surface of the substrate during the scanning exposure.

8. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle-adjusting mechanism adjusts the nozzle member based on surface position information of the surface of the object.

9. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a detecting system which detects surface position information of the surface of the object, wherein;

the nozzle-adjusting mechanism adjusts the nozzle member based on a detection result of the detecting system.

10. The exposure apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

a support member which supports the nozzle member; and

a driving mechanism which drives the nozzle member with respect to the support member, wherein;

the driving mechanism drives the nozzle member based on the detection result of the detecting system.

11. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the liquid immersion area is formed locally on the object; and

the nozzle-adjusting mechanism includes a gas blow mechanism having a blow port from which a gas is blown against a portion, of the surface of the object, located outside the liquid immersion area to maintain, in a predetermined state, at least one of a relative distance and a relative inclination between a lower surface of the nozzle member and the surface of the object.

12. The exposure apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the gas blow mechanism has a blow member which is connected to a periphery of the nozzle member and which has a lower surface opposed to the surface of the object, and the blow port is provided on the lower surface of the blow member.

13. The exposure apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the blow port is provided as a plurality of blow ports to surround the nozzle member.

14. The exposure apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the blow port is formed on the lower surface of the nozzle member.

15. The exposure apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the gas blow mechanism blows the gas against a portion in the vicinity of an edge portion of the liquid immersion area.

16. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the recovery port is provided further outside, with respect to an optical axis of the projection optical system, than the supply port.

17. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

the nozzle member includes a first nozzle member which is provided to surround the projection optical system and which has the supply port, and a second nozzle member which is provided to surround an outer side of the first nozzle member and which has the recovery port; and

the nozzle-adjusting mechanism adjusts the second nozzle member.

18. The exposure apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the first nozzle member is connected to a holding member which holds an optical element constructing the projection optical system.

19. The exposure apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the first nozzle member is included in a holding member which holds an optical element constructing the projection optical system.

20. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a first nozzle member which is provided in the vicinity of a side of an image plane of the projection optical system and which has the supply port for supplying the liquid;

a second nozzle member which is provided outside the first nozzle member with respect to an optical axis of the projection optical system, and which has the recovery port for recovering the liquid; and

a support mechanism which supports the second nozzle member in a state that the second nozzle member is away from the first nozzle member, wherein;

the first nozzle member holds a first optical element which is included in a plurality of optical elements constructing the projection optical system and which is arranged at a position closest to the side of the image plane among the optical elements.

21. The exposure apparatus according to claim 20, wherein:

the first nozzle member is formed to have an annular shape to surround the projection optical system; and

the second nozzle member is formed to have an annular shape to surround an outer side of the first nozzle member.

22. The exposure apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the support mechanism has a support member which supports the second nozzle member, and an anti-vibration mechanism which prevents vibration of the second nozzle member from being transmitted to the support member.

23. The exposure apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the support member also supports the projection optical system, and the anti-vibration mechanism prevents the vibration of the second nozzle member from being transmitted to the projection optical system.

24. The exposure apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the anti-vibration mechanism includes a passive anti-vibration mechanism which passively performs vibration-prevention for the second nozzle member with respect to the support member.

25. The exposure apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the anti-vibration mechanism includes an active anti-vibration mechanism which actively performs vibration-prevention for the second nozzle member with respect to the support member.

26. The exposure apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising:

a holding member which holds an optical element other than the first optical element held by the first nozzle member, the optical element being included in the plurality of optical elements constructing the projection optical system, wherein;

the first nozzle member is connected to the holding member and integrated with the holding member as one body.

27. The exposure apparatus according to claim 20, wherein:

the first nozzle member has a lower surface which is opposed to a surface of the substrate; and

the lower surface of the first nozzle member is substantially flush with a lower surface of the first optical element held by the first nozzle member.

28. The exposure apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the supply port is provided on the lower surface of the first nozzle member.

29. The exposure apparatus according to claim 20, wherein a part of the liquid supplied from the supply port forms a flow of the liquid directed outwardly from the supply port.

30. The exposure apparatus according to claim 20, wherein:

the first nozzle member is provided to surround the first optical element; and

a seal member is provided to suppress inflow of the liquid into a gap between the first nozzle member and the first optical element.

31. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a barrel which holds optical elements constructing the projection optical system; and

an annular member which is provided away from the barrel to surround the barrel in the vicinity of a side of an image plane of the projection optical system, wherein;

the supply port for supplying the liquid is provided on a lower surface, of the barrel, opposed to the substrate, and the recovery port for recovering the liquid is provided on the annular member.

32. The exposure apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the lower surface of the barrel is substantially flush with a lower surface of a first optical element which is arranged at a position closest to the side of the image plane among the optical elements constructing the projection optical system.

33. A method for producing a device, comprising using the exposure apparatus as defined in claim 1.

34. An exposure method for exposing a substrate through a liquid on the substrate, the exposure method comprising:

providing the liquid to a space between the substrate and a nozzle member having at least one of a supply port for supplying the liquid and a recovery port for recovering the liquid;

adjusting at least one of a position and an inclination of the nozzle member depending on a position of a surface of an object arranged opposite to the nozzle member; and

exposing the substrate through the liquid.

35. The exposure method according to claim 34, wherein the object is the substrate, and at least one of the position and the inclination of the nozzle member is adjusted while exposing the substrate.

36. The exposure method according to claim 34, further comprising detecting the position of the surface of the object arranged opposite to the nozzle member, wherein at least one of the position and the inclination of the nozzle member is adjusted based on a result of the detection.

37. The exposure method according to claim 34, wherein:

the nozzle member has a surface opposed to the surface of the object; and

at least one of a relative distance and a relative inclination between the surface of the nozzle member and the surface of the object is detected to adjust at least one of the position and the inclination of the nozzle member based on a result of the detection.

38. The exposure method according to claim 34, wherein a gas is blown against a portion, of the surface of the object, located outside an area to which the liquid is provided, from one of the nozzle member and a member connected to the nozzle member to adjust at least one of the position and the inclination of the nozzle member.

39. A method for producing a device, comprising:

exposing a substrate by the exposure method as defined in claim 35;

developing the exposed substrate; and

processing the developed substrate.