EXPOSURE APPARATUS, EXPOSURE METHOD, AND DEVICE MANUFACTURING METHOD

• US 20090263736A1
• Filed: 06/30/2009
• Published: 10/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Kiuchi, Tohru, Inoue, Hideya
• Granted Patent: US 8,605,249 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 430/30
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70225 Optical aspects of catadioptric systems, i.e. comprising reflective and refractive elements
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70291 Addressable masks, e.g. spatial light modulators [SLMs], digital micro-mirror devices [DMDs] or liquid crystal display [LCD] patterning devices
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70441 Optical proximity correction [OPC]
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70525 Controlling normal operating mode, e.g. matching different apparatus, remote control or prediction of failure
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70625 Dimensions, e.g. line width, critical dimension [CD], profile, sidewall angle or edge roughness
• 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: Y10S 438/975 Substrate or mask aligning feature

Abstract

A pattern image generation device generates a pattern image, and at least a part of the pattern image which has been generated or the pattern image which is generated and is formed on an object is photoelectrically detected by a detection system. Then, a correction device corrects design data that should be input to the pattern image generation device based on the detection results. Accordingly, a pattern image is generated on an object by the pattern image generation device corresponding to the input of the design data after the correction, and because the object is exposed using the pattern image, a desired pattern is formed on the object with good precision.

Claims

1-24. -24. (canceled)

25. A device manufacturing method comprising:

forming a pattern image by using a spatial light modulator to which an illumination light is irradiated, based on data corresponding to a device pattern;

detecting the pattern image that has been formed;

correcting the device pattern based on a result of the detection; and

exposing a substrate with a radiation image of the device pattern that has been corrected.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein

the pattern image is an aerial image that is generated on an image plane of a projection system by the projection system having an object plane on which the spatial light modulator is placed.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein

the pattern image is detected by a detection system of an exposure apparatus that has the spatial light modulator and the projection system.

28. The method according to claim 25, wherein

in the forming the pattern image,

a detection system is provided whose photodetection surface is placed on an image plane of a projection system having an object plane on which the spatial light modulator is placed,

a pattern image is generated on the photodetection surface with the spatial light modulator and the projection system, and

the pattern image is detected with the detection system.

29. The method according to claim 25, wherein

the pattern image is an image that is formed on an object by exposing the object with the illumination light from the spatial light modulator.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein

the pattern image is detected by a detection system of an exposure apparatus that has the spatial light modulator.

31. The method according to claim 29, wherein

the pattern image is detected by a measurement device different from an exposure apparatus that has the spatial light modulator.

32. The method according to claim 25, wherein

in the forming the pattern image,

an object is placed on an image plane of a projection system having an object plane on which the spatial light modulator is placed,

the object is exposed with a pattern image that is generated via the spatial light modulator and the projection system, and

the pattern image that has been formed on the object by the exposure is detected.

33. The method according to claim 25, wherein

when quality of the pattern image varies from a predetermined specification, correction of the device pattern is performed.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein

the quality of the pattern image includes an absolute value of a line width error of the pattern image.

35. The method according to claim 25, further comprising:

changing an exposure condition of the substrate based on the result of the detection.

36. The method according to claim 25, wherein

the correction is performed so that a size of at least a part of the device pattern is changed.

37. The method according to claim 25, wherein

the device pattern has an auxiliary pattern used in optical proximity correction, and

in the correction, at least one of a size and a position of the auxiliary pattern is changed.

38. The method according to claim 25, wherein

in the correction, correction of the data based on the result of the detection is performed, and

the exposure is performed with a pattern image, which is generated by the spatial light modulator based on the data that has been corrected, serving as the radiation image of the device pattern that has been corrected.