MEASUREMENT APPARATUS AND MEASUREMENT METHOD

• US 20130268225A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 10/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: OKUDA, Hiroshi
• Application Number:
  US13/804,006
• Publication Number:
  US 20130268225A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/94
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/14 for measuring distance or clearance between spaced objects or spaced apertures G01B11/26 takes precedence; rangefinders G01C3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 2290/60 Reference interferometer, i.e. additional interferometer not interacting with object
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 2290/70 Using polarization in the interferometer
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 9/02002 using two or more frequencies
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 9/02003 using beat frequencies
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 9/02007 Two or more frequencies or sources used for interferometric measurement using only beat G01B9/02003
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 9/7023 Aligning or positioning in direction perpendicular to substrate surface
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 9/7092 Signal processing

Abstract

A measurement apparatus, which measures a surface position of an object by detecting interfering light between measurement light reflected by the object and reference light reflected by a reference surface, includes: a detector configured to detect the interfering light to output an interference signal; and a processor configured to obtain the surface position based on a sine signal and a cosine signal which are obtained from the interference signal output from the detector and have a phase corresponding to an optical path length difference between the measurement light and the reference light. The processor includes a correction processing unit configured to correct the sine signal and the cosine signal to reduce frequency noise components contained in the sine signal and the cosine signal.

Claims

1. A measurement apparatus which measures a surface position of an object to be measured by detecting interfering light between measurement light reflected by the object to be measured and reference light reflected by a reference surface, the apparatus comprising:

a detector configured to detect the interfering light to output an interference signal; and

a processor configured to obtain the surface position based on a sine signal and a cosine signal which are obtained from the interference signal output from said detector and have a phase corresponding to an optical path length difference between the measurement light and the reference light,

wherein said processor includes a correction processing unit configured to correct the sine signal and the cosine signal to reduce frequency noise components contained in the sine signal and the cosine signal.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

based on at least one of a designed value of a surface shape of the object to be measured, a variation of an intensity of the interference signal output from said detector, and a variation of an intensity of a signal obtained from the interference signal, said processor determines whether to perform correction by said correction processing unit,

when said processor determines to perform the correction, said correction processing unit corrects the sine signal and the cosine signal, and said processor obtains the surface position based on the corrected sine signal and the corrected cosine signal.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said correction processing unit includes at least one filter which reduces the frequency noise component.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

said correction processing unit includes a plurality of filters having different frequency characteristics, and

based on at least one of a designed value of a surface shape of the object to be measured, a variation of an intensity of the detected interference signal, and a variation of an intensity of a signal obtained from the interference signal, said processor switches a filter to be used to reduce the frequency noise component.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the frequency noise components includes a high-frequency noise component.

3. A measurement apparatus which measures a surface position of an object to be measured by detecting interfering light between measurement light reflected by the object to be measured and reference light reflected by a reference surface, the apparatus comprising:

a detector configured to detect the interfering light to output an interference signal; and

a processor configured to obtain the surface position based on a sine signal and a cosine signal which are obtained from the interference signal output from said detector and have a phase corresponding to an optical path length difference between the measurement light and the reference light,

wherein said processor includes a correction processing unit configured to correct the interference signal to reduce a frequency noise component contained in the interference signal.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

based on at least one of a designed value of a surface shape of the object to be measured, a variation of an intensity of the detected interference signal output from said detector, and a variation of an intensity of a signal obtained from the interference signal, said processor determines whether to perform correction by said correction processing unit,

when said processor determines to perform the correction, said correction processing unit corrects the interference signal, and said processor obtains the surface position based on a sine signal and a cosine signal derived from the corrected interference signal.

12. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the frequency noise components includes a frequency noise component other than a beat frequency.

7. A measurement apparatus which measures a surface position of an object to be measured by detecting interfering light between measurement light reflected by the object to be measured and reference light reflected by a reference surface, the apparatus comprising:

a first light source configured to generate first light of a first wavelength;

a second light source configured to generate second light of a second wavelength;

a first detector configured to detect first interfering light generated using the first light, and outputs a first interference signal;

a second detector configured to detect second interfering light generated using the second light, and outputs a second interference signal; and

a processor configured to obtain the surface position based on the first interference signal and the second interference signal,

wherein said processor obtains, from the first interference signal and the second interference signal, a sine signal and a cosine signal having a phase of an interference signal corresponding to a synthetic wavelength of the first wavelength and the second wavelength, corrects the sine signal and the cosine signal to reduce frequency noise components contained in the obtained sine signal and the obtained cosine signal, and obtains the surface position by using the corrected sine signal and the corrected cosine signal, and

the synthetic wavelength is larger than the first wavelength and the second wavelength.

8. A measurement method of measuring a surface position of an object to be measured by detecting interfering light between measurement light reflected by the object to be measured and reference light reflected by a reference surface, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting the interfering light to output an interference signal;

correcting a sine signal and a cosine signal which are obtained from the output interference signal and have a phase corresponding to an optical path length difference between the measurement light and the reference light, to reduce frequency noise components contained in the sine signal and the cosine signal; and

obtaining the surface position based on the corrected sine signal and the corrected cosine signal.

9. A measurement method of measuring a surface position of an object to be measured by detecting interfering light between measurement light reflected by the object to be measured and reference light reflected by a reference surface, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting the interfering light to output an interference signal;

correcting the interference signal to reduce a frequency noise component contained in the output interference signal; and

obtaining, from the corrected interference signal, a sine signal and a cosine signal having a phase corresponding to an optical path length difference between the measurement light and the reference light, and obtaining the surface position based on the obtained sine signal and the obtained cosine signal.

10. A measurement method of measuring a surface position of an object to be measured by detecting interfering light between measurement light reflected by the object to be measured and reference light reflected by a reference surface, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting first interfering light generated using first light of a first wavelength from a first light source to output a first interference signal;

detecting second interfering light generated using second light of a second wavelength from a second light source to output a second interference signal; and

obtaining the surface position based on the first interference signal and the second interference signal;

wherein a sine signal and a cosine signal having a phase of an interference signal corresponding to a synthetic wavelength of the first wavelength and the second wavelength are obtained from the first interference signal and the second interference signal, the sine signal and the cosine signal are corrected so as to reduce frequency noise components contained in the obtained sine signal and the obtained cosine signal, and the surface position is obtained by using the corrected sine signal and the corrected cosine signal, and

the synthetic wavelength is larger than the first wavelength and the second wavelength.