Mask supporting device and correction method therefor, and exposure apparatus and device producing method utilizing the same
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A mask supporting device comprising:
- a chuck mechanism for supporting an X-ray mask having a mask substrate provided with a rectangular window on which a mask pattern is formed and a frame for reinforcing said mask substrate; and
a mechanism for applying loads to said frame of the mask from mutually orthogonal directions in a plane parallel with a surface of the mask pattern for deforming and correcting the mask pattern.
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Abstract
There is disclosed a mask supporting device comprising a chuck mechanism for supporting a mask substrate provided with a rectangular window in which a mask pattern is formed, and a frame for reinforcing the mask substrate, and a mechanism for applying, to said frame of the mask, loads from mutually orthogonal directions. The mechanism for applying loads includes a fixed reference contacting two positions on the external periphery of the mask frame and two pressing mechanism for applying loads to the mask frame from two directions respectively opposed to the two contact positions.
70 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A mask supporting device comprising:
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a chuck mechanism for supporting an X-ray mask having a mask substrate provided with a rectangular window on which a mask pattern is formed and a frame for reinforcing said mask substrate; and a mechanism for applying loads to said frame of the mask from mutually orthogonal directions in a plane parallel with a surface of the mask pattern for deforming and correcting the mask pattern. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A mask correcting method comprising the steps of:
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preparing an X-ray mask including a mask substrate provided with a rectangular window in which a mask pattern is formed, and a ring-shaped frame for reinforcing said mask substrate; and correcting the mask pattern by applying loads to the external periphery of said frame from mutually orthogonal directions in a plane parallel with a surface of the mask pattern, for deforming and correcting the mask pattern.
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12. A device producing method comprising the steps of:
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correcting a mask by i) preparing an X-ray mask including a mask substrate provided with a rectangular window in which a mask pattern is formed, and a ring-shaped frame for reinforcing said mask substrate, and ii) correcting the mask pattern by applying loads to the external periphery of said frame from mutually orthogonal directions in a plane parallel with a surface of the mask pattern, for deforming and correcting the mask pattern; and transferring the mask onto a wafer, by irradiating a mask corrected by the mask correcting step with an exposure energy.
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13. An X-ray mask comprising:
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a mask substrate provided with a rectangular window in which a mask pattern is formed; a frame for reinforcing said mask substrate; and a plurality of strain gauges provided on said mask substrate for detecting loads respectively applied to said frame of the mask from mutually orthogonal directions in a plane parallel with a surface of the mask pattern.
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14. An exposure apparatus comprising:
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a mask supporting device comprising, i) a chuck mechanism for supporting an X-ray mask having a mask substrate provided with a rectangular window on which a mask pattern is formed and a frame for reinforcing said mask substrate, and ii) a mechanism for applying loads to said frame of the mask from mutually orthogonal directions in a plane parallel with the surface of the mask pattern for deforming and correcting the mask pattern; and means for irradiating the supported mask with an exposure energy.
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Specification