Projection exposure method and apparatus

• US 5,710,620 A
• Filed: 07/24/1995
• Issued: 01/20/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Taniguchi, Tetsuo
• Primary Examiner(s): MALLEY, DANIEL PATRICK
• Application Number:
  US08/505,996
• Time in Patent Office: 911 Days
• Field of Search: 355/53, 355/67, 355/71, 430/5
• US Class Current: 355/53
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70091 Illumination settings, i.e. intensity distribution in the pupil plane or angular distribution in the field plane; On-axis or off-axis settings, e.g. annular, dipole or quadrupole settings; Partial coherence control, i.e. sigma or numerical aperture [NA]
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70241 Optical aspects of refractive lens systems, i.e. comprising only refractive elements
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/7025 Size or form of projection system aperture, e.g. aperture stops, diaphragms or pupil obscuration; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70891 Temperature

Abstract

An exposure apparatus comprises an illumination optical system for irradiating an illuminating light onto a mask having a plurality of patterns for which pattern forming conditions differ from one another, and a projection optical system for projecting images of said plurality of patterns onto a photosensitive substrate, a device for compensating imaging errors of pattern images to be projected onto said substrate, and a control system for controlling the operation of said compensating device in accordance with imaging errors of said plurality of pattern images so that said plurality of pattern images may be projected in specified imaging characteristics.

Claims

1. A projection exposure apparatus, comprising:

an illumination optical system for irradiating illuminating light to a mask having a plurality of patterns, of which forming conditions are different from each other;

a projection optical system for projecting images of said plurality of patterns simultaneously onto a photosensitive substrate;

a correcting device for simultaneously correcting imaging errors of said pattern images; and

a controller for controlling an operation of the correcting device such that each of the imaging errors is corrected so as not to exceed a predetermined value.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said mask includes a pattern comprising a light transparent part and a light shielding part, and a pattern having a phase shifting member which shifts a phase of said illuminating light by about an odd number multiple of ρ

.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of patterns on said mask have finesses which are different from each other.

4. All apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an input device for inputting information corresponding to each of said forming conditions of said patterns, said controller including a calculator which calculates the imaging errors of said pattern images based on the inputted information.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said correcting device includes a device to relatively move an image plane of said projection optical system and said photosensitive substrate in a direction of an optical axis of said projection optical system.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said correcting device includes at least one of an optical element of said projection optical system and a driving device for moving said mask.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controller includes a calculator which calculates a correction amount of a single imaging error common to said plurality of pattern images, and an exposing operation is stopped when the common correction amount does not exist.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controller includes a calculator which calculates variation of the imaging errors of said pattern images, and which determines a correction amount of a single imaging error common to said plurality of pattern images in accordance with the calculation result.

9. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a device for changing a distribution of intensity of the illumination light on a pupil plane of said illuminating optical system in accordance with the pattern forming conditions on said mask, said controller including a calculator which calculates imaging errors of said pattern images based on a distribution of intensity of the illumination light corresponding to the pattern forming conditions.

16. A microdevice manufactured using an apparatus as defined in claim 1.

10. A projection exposure apparatus, comprising:

a projection optical system for projecting a plurality of pattern images of a mask simultaneously onto a photosensitive substrate, said pattern images having respective distribution states of imaging beams on a pupil plane that are different from each other;

a device for detecting a correction amount of a single imaging error common to said pattern images, based on the distribution states of the imaging beams; and

an adjusting device for simultaneously changing the imaging conditions of said pattern images in accordance with the detected correction amount.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said detecting device includes a calculator which calculates imaging errors of said pattern images in accordance with the distribution states of the imaging beams and aberration of said projection optical system, said correction amount being determined based on the calculated imaging errors.

12. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said adjusting device includes a device to relatively move an image plane of said projection optical system and said photosensitive substrate in a direction of an optical axis of said projection optical system.

13. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said adjusting device includes at least one of an optical element of said projection optical system and a driving device for moving said mask.

14. An apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a controller for stopping an exposing operation when the correction amount common to said pattern images does not exist.

15. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said detecting device includes a calculator which calculates variation of the imaging errors of said pattern images, said controller controlling the exposing operation in accordance with a calculation result obtained by said calculator.

17. A microdevice manufactured using an apparatus as defined in claim 10.

18. A projection exposure apparatus, comprising:

a projection optical system for projecting images of plural patterns of a mask simultaneously onto a substrate, said patterns having imaging light distributions on a pupil plane that are different from each other; and

a device for moving at least one of said mask, an optical element of said projection optical system, and said substrate in accordance with a single correction amount common to said images so as to correct different errors of said images.