MOVABLE BODY DRIVE METHOD AND MOVABLE BODY DRIVE SYSTEM, PATTERN FORMATION METHOD AND APPARATUS, DEVICE MANUFACTURING METHOD, AND PROCESSING SYSTEM

• US 20090051895A1
• Filed: 08/21/2008
• Published: 02/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: SHIBAZAKI, Yuichi
• Application Number:
  US12/196,178
• Publication Number:
  US 20090051895A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 355/72
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70775 Position control, e.g. interferometers or encoders for determining the stage position
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/7085 Detection arrangement, e.g. detectors of apparatus alignment possibly mounted on wafers, exposure dose, photo-cleaning flux, stray light, thermal load
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 9/7034 Leveling

Abstract

A position of a stage in a perpendicular direction with respect to a movement plane and a tilt direction is measured, using a surface position sensor and a Z interferometer. And, the stage is driven in a stable manner and also with high precision, by appropriately switching between three control modes; servo control using a measurement result of the surface position sensor (a first control mode), servo control using a measurement result of the Z interferometer (a second control mode), and servo control using measurement results of both measurement systems (a third control mode), or by appropriately switching between two control modes out of the three control modes.

Claims

1. A movable body drive method in which a movable body that moves substantially along a two-dimensional plane is driven wherein

of a first detection device that has one, or more than one measurement points placed in at least a part of an operating area of the movable body and detects positional information of the movable body in a direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane when the movable body is positioned at any one of the measurement points, and a second detection device that irradiates a measurement beam along the two-dimensional plane to the movable body from outside the operating area and detects positional information of the movable body in the direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane, at least two modes out of a first mode using the first detection device, a second mode using the second detection device, and a third mode using both of the devices together, are used depending on a situation of the movable body on servo control of a position of the movable body in at least one of the direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane and a tilt direction with respect to the two dimensional plane.

2. The movable body drive method according to claim 1 wherein

as the first detection device, a device that has a plurality of sensor heads placed in a plane substantially parallel to the two-dimensional plane including a first sensor which follows a surface of a target object and a second sensor which detects displacement from a reference point of the first sensor, and of the plurality of sensor heads, uses a plurality of sensor heads facing an area subject to detection on the movable body to respectively measure positional information of the movable body in the direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane, is used.

3. The movable body drive method according to claim 1 wherein

as the second detection device, an interferometer system is used.

4. The movable body drive method according to claim 1 wherein

switching of the mode is performed depending on contents of current operation of the movable body.

5. The movable body drive method according to claim 1 wherein

switching of the mode is performed depending on current position of the movable body.

6. A pattern formation method to form a pattern on an object wherein

a movable body on which the object is mounted is driven using the movable body drive method according to claim 1 to perform pattern formation to the object.

7. The pattern formation method according to claim 6 wherein

the object has a sensitive layer, and a pattern is formed on the object by an exposure of the sensitive layer by irradiation of an energy beam.

8. A device manufacturing method including a pattern forming process wherein

in the pattern formation process, a pattern is formed on a substrate using the pattern formation method according to claim 6.

9. A movable body drive system that drives a movable body which moves along a substantially two-dimensional plane, the system comprising:

a first detection device that has one, or more than one measurement points placed in at least a part of an operating area of the movable body, and detects positional information of the movable body in a direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane when the movable body is positioned at any one of the measurement points;

a second detection device that irradiates a measurement beam along the two-dimensional plane to the movable body from outside the operating area and detects positional information of the movable body in the direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane; and

a controller that uses at least two modes out of a first mode using the first detection device, a second mode using the second detection device, and a third mode using both of the devices together, depending on a situation of the movable body on servo control of a position of the movable body in at least one of the direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane and a tilt direction with respect to the two dimensional plane.

10. The movable body drive system according to claim 9 wherein

the first detection device has a plurality of sensor heads placed in a plane substantially parallel to the two-dimensional plane including a first sensor which follows a surface of a target object and a second sensor which detects displacement from a reference point of the first sensor, and of the plurality of sensor heads, uses a plurality of sensor heads facing an area subject to detection on the movable body to respectively measure positional information of the movable body in the direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane.

11. The movable body drive system according to claim 9 wherein

the second detection device is an interferometer system.

12. The movable body drive system according to claim 9 wherein

the controller performs switching of the mode depending on contents of current operation of the movable body.

13. The movable body drive system according to claim 9 wherein

the controller performs switching of the mode depending on current position of the movable body.

14. A pattern forming apparatus that forms a pattern on an object, the apparatus comprising:

a patterning device which generates a pattern on the object; and

a movable body drive system according to claim 9, wherein

drive of a movable body on which the object is mounted is performed by the movable body drive system for pattern formation with respect to the object.

15. The pattern formation apparatus according to claim 14 wherein

the object has a sensitive layer, and the patterning device generates a pattern on the object by an exposure of the sensitive layer by irradiation of an energy beam.

16. A movable body drive system that drives a movable body which moves along a substantially two-dimensional plane, the system comprising:

a first detection device that has one, or more than one measurement points placed in at least a part of an operating area of the movable body, and detects positional information of the movable body in a direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane when the movable body is positioned at any one of the measurement points;

a second detection device that irradiates a measurement beam along the two-dimensional plane to the movable body from outside the operating area and detects positional information of the movable body in the direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane; and

a controller that selects any one of a detection result of the first detection device, a detection result of the second detection device, and both of a detection result of the first detection device and a detection result of the second detection device, depending on the position of the movable body within the two-dimensional plane and placement of the measurement point of the first detection device, and controls the position of the movable body in at least the direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane and a tilt direction with respect to the two-dimensional plane, using the selected detection result.

17. The movable body drive system according to claim 16 wherein

when the movable body is at a position moved off of all the measurement points of the first detection device, the controller controls the position of the movable body using the detection result by the second detection device.

18. The movable body drive system according to claim 16 wherein

when the movable body is positioned at any one of the measurement points of the first detection device, the controller controls the position of the movable body using the detection result by the first detection device.

19. The movable body drive system according to claim 16 wherein

when the movable body is positioned at any one of the measurement points of the first detection device, the controller controls the position of the movable body using the detection result by the first detection device, which has been adjusted using the detection result by the second detection device.

20. A pattern forming apparatus that forms a pattern on an object, the apparatus comprising:

a patterning device which generates a pattern on the object; and

a movable body drive system according to claim 16, wherein

drive of a movable body on which the object is mounted is performed by the movable body drive system for pattern formation with respect to the object.

21. The pattern formation apparatus according to claim 20 wherein

the object has a sensitive layer, and the patterning device generates a pattern on the object by an exposure of the sensitive layer by irradiation of an energy beam.

22. A processing system in which processing is applied to an object held on a movable body moved along a substantially two-dimensional plane, the system comprising:

a first detection device that has one, or more than one measurement points placed in at least a part of an operating area of the movable body, and detects positional information of the movable body in a direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane when the movable body is positioned at any one of the measurement points;

a second detection device that irradiates a measurement beam along the two-dimensional plane to the movable body from outside the operating area and detects positional information of the movable body in the direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane; and

a controller that selects any one of a detection result of the first detection device, a detection result of the second detection device, and both of a detection result of the first detection device and a detection result of the second detection device, depending on contents of the processing, and controls the position of the movable body in at least the direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane and a tilt direction with respect to the two-dimensional plane, using the selected detection result.

23. The processing system according to claim 22 wherein

in the case when the processing is an exposure process in which the object is exposed and a pattern is formed on the object, the controller uses the detection result at least by the first detection device, and controls the position of the movable body.

24. The processing system according to claim 22 wherein

in the case when the processing is a measurement process in which information related to the object is measured, the controller uses the detection result by the first detection device, and controls the position of the movable body.

25. The processing system according to claim 24 wherein

the measurement process is a process to measure a surface shape of the object.

26. The processing system according to claim 24 wherein

the measurement process is a process to measure positional information in the two-dimensional plane of a pattern formed on the object.

27. The processing system according to claim 22 wherein

the controller furthermore adjusts detection result by the first detection device, using detection result by the second detection device.

28. The processing system according to claim 22 wherein

in the case when the processing is an unload process in which an object that has undergone processing is removed, the controller uses the detection result by the second detection device, and controls the position of the movable body.

29. A movable body drive system that drives a first movable body and a second movable body which move along a substantially two-dimensional plane, the system comprising:

a first detection device that has one, or more than one measurement points placed in at least a part of an operating area of at least one of the first movable body and the second movable body, and detects positional information of the first movable body or the second movable body in a direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane when the first movable body or the second movable body is positioned at any one of the measurement points;

a second detection device that irradiates a measurement beam along the two-dimensional plane to the first movable body or the second movable body from outside the operating area and detects positional information of the first movable body or the second movable body in the direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane; and

a controller that selects any one of a detection result of the first detection device, a detection result of the second detection device, and both of a detection result of the first detection device and a detection result of the second detection device, depending on whether the drive subject is the first movable body or the second movable body, and controls the position of the movable body which is the drive subject in at least the direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane and a tilt direction with respect to the two-dimensional plane, using the selected detection result.

30. The movable body drive system according to claim 29 wherein

the first movable body is an object stage which moves holding the object on which a pattern is formed, and

the second movable body is a measurement stage on which a reference mark is placed, whereby

in the case the drive subject is the measurement stage, the controller controls the position of the measurement stage using the detection result of the second detection device.