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

• US 20090284724A1
• Filed: 05/11/2009
• Published: 11/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: KANAYA, Yuho
• Granted Patent: US 8,817,236 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 355/53
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70725 control
• 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: Y10T 29/49002 Electrical device making

Abstract

A plurality of heads configuring an encoder system is arranged on a wafer table, and positional information of a wafer table in the XY plane is measured, based on an output of a head opposed to a scale plate (diffraction grating). And, a relative position (including relative attitude and rotation) of each head with the wafer table is measured herein by a measurement system arranged inside the head. Accordingly, by correcting the positional information based on the information of the relative position which has been measured, a highly precise measurement of the positional information of the wafer table becomes possible even in the case when the position (attitude, rotation) of the head changes with the movement of the wafer table.

Claims

1. A movable body system, the system comprising:

a movable body which substantially moves along a predetermined plane;

a measurement device having a plurality of encoder heads provided on a surface of the movable body, and measures positional information of the movable body, based on an output of at least one encoder head which faces a grating section placed parallel with the predetermined plane outside the movable body; and

a drive device which drives the movable body based on the positional information measured by the measurement device, and information on a relative position between an encoder head used in the measurement of the positional information and the movable body.

2. The movable body system according to claim 1, the system further comprising:

a measurement system which measures a relative position at least in the predetermined plane between each of the plurality of encoder heads and the movable body, whereby

the drive device uses information on the relative position between the encoder used to measure the positional information and the movable body measured by the measurement system as the information on the relative position.

3. The movable body system according to claim 2 wherein

each of the plurality of encoder heads has at least a part of a sensor used to measure a relative position with respect to the movable body in the predetermined plane, and

the measurement system includes a part of the sensor which each of the plurality of encoder heads has.

4. The movable body system according to claim 3 wherein

the sensor is a non-contact sensor which measures the relative position in a non-contact manner.

5. The movable body system according to claim 4 wherein

the non-contact sensor is an optical sensor.

6. The movable body system according to claim 2 wherein

the measurement system includes a plurality of acceleration sensors which individually measures acceleration of the plurality of encoder heads at least in the predetermined plane, and computes the relative position based on measurement values of the acceleration sensor.

7. The movable body system according to claim 1 wherein

the movable body is made of a member having a rectangular shape in a planar view, and the encoder head is placed in each of the four corners of the movable body.

8. The movable body system according to claim 1 wherein

the grating section includes one of a one-dimensional and a two-dimensional grating which covers a movement range of the movable body.

9. The movable body system according to claim 1 wherein

information on a relative position between each of the plurality of encoder heads and the movable body are acquired beforehand, and

the drive device uses information on the relative position between the encoder used to measure the positional information and the movable body acquired in advance as the information on the relative position.

10. A pattern formation apparatus that forms a pattern on an object, the apparatus comprising:

the movable body apparatus according to claim 1 in which the object is mounted on the movable body; and

a patterning device which generates a pattern on an object mounted on the movable body.

11. The pattern formation apparatus according to claim 10 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.

12. An exposure apparatus that forms a pattern on an object by an irradiation of an energy beam, the apparatus comprising:

a patterning device that irradiates the energy beam on the object;

the movable body system according to claim 1 in which the object is mounted on the movable body; and

the movable body on which the object is mounted is driven for relative movement of the energy beam and the object.

13. A device manufacturing method, the method including:

exposing an object using the exposure apparatus according to claim 12; and

developing the object which has been exposed.

14. A movable body drive method, the method comprising:

a measurement process in which of a plurality of encoder heads provided on a surface of a movable body that substantially moves along a predetermined plane, positional information of the movable body is measured, based on an output of at least one encoder head which faces a grating section placed parallel with the predetermined plane outside the movable body; and

a drive process in which the movable body is driven, based on the positional information that has been measured, and information on a relative position between an encoder head used in the measurement of the positional information and the movable body.

15. The movable body drive method according to claim 14, the method further comprising:

a relative position measurement process in which a relative position at least in the predetermined plane is measured between each of the plurality of encoder heads and the movable body, whereby

in the drive process, information on the relative position between the encoder head used to measure the positional information and the movable body measured in the relative position measurement process is used as the information on the relative position.

16. The movable body drive method according to claim 15 wherein

in the measurement process measuring the relative position, acceleration of the plurality of encoder heads at least in the predetermined plane is measured individually, and the relative position is computed based on measurement values of the acceleration.

17. The movable body drive method according to claim 14, the method further comprising:

an acquiring process in which a relative position of each of the plurality of encoder heads and the movable body is acquired beforehand, prior to the measurement process; and

in the drive process, information on the relative position between the encoder head used to measure the positional information acquired in the acquiring process and the movable body is used as the information on the relative position.

18. A pattern formation method to form a pattern on an object, the method comprising:

a drive process in which a movable body holding the object is driven along a predetermined plane, using the movable body drive method according to claim 14, to form the pattern.

19. The pattern formation method according to claim 18 wherein

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

20. An exposure method in which a pattern is formed on an object by irradiating an energy beam, the method comprising:

a drive process in which a movable body holding the object is driven, using the movable body drive method according to claim 14, to form the pattern.

21. A device manufacturing method, the method including:

an exposure process in which an object is exposed using the exposure method according to claim 20; and

a developing process in which the object which has been exposed is developed.