Exposure method and exposure apparatus

• US 6,645,701 B1
• Filed: 08/01/2000
• Issued: 11/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Takagi, Shin-ichi, Ota, Kazuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Huff, Mark F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sagar, Kripa
• Application Number:
  US09/630,548
• Time in Patent Office: 1,197 Days
• Field of Search: 430/311, 430/327, 355/30
• US Class Current: 430/311
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70716 Stages
• 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 7/70858 Environment aspects, e.g. pressure of beam-path gas, temperature pollution aspects G03F7/70916
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/2001 Maintaining constant desired temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/31767 Step and repeat

Abstract

Prior to an exposure process in which a pattern formed on a mask is transferred by exposure onto photo-sensitized substrates, the temperature of the mask and/or the temperature of the photosensitized substrate is/are adjusted to an equilibrium temperatures which would be established during an exposure process, so that any inconvenience may be avoided, which may otherwise arise due to temperature changes with time in the environment of the exposure apparatus. Further, in a waiting interval during which no control sequence for exposure of a substrate is performed, a substrate stage for carrying a substrate is caused to wait at a position in the exposure apparatus at which stability against heat is obtained, so that any adverse effects may be minimized, which could occur due to changes in the temperature gradients prevailing in the exposure apparatus.

Claims

1. An exposure method for transferring a pattern formed on a mask onto a plurality of substrates, wherein each substrate is supported on a substrate stage in order, said method comprising the steps of:

controlling a position of the substrate stage in accordance with an exposure control operation for the respective substrate; and

positioning the substrate stage in a thermally stabilized position in a moving area of the substrate stage during a waiting interval in which the exposure control operation with respect to the substrate stage is not performed.

2. An exposure method according to claim 1, wherein:

the thermally stabilized position is a position under the same temperature conditions as experienced during which the exposure control operation for exposure of a substrate is performed.

3. An exposure method according to claim 1, further comprising:

positioning a mask stage that holds the mask in the thermally stabilized position in the moving area of the mask stage during a waiting interval in which the exposure control operation with respect to the mask stage is not performed.

4. An exposure method according to claim 1, wherein:

the thermally stabilized position corresponds to the temporal average of the positions of the substrate stage over the time during which the exposure control operation for exposure of a substrate is performed.

5. An exposure method according to claim 1, wherein:

said exposure method is a scanning type in which relative movement between the mask and the substrate is effected with respect to exposure light so that a plurality of images of the pattern formed on the mask are transferred onto the substrate.

6. A method for producing a semiconductor device comprising projecting a pattern of a mask onto the substrate through a projection system using the exposure method as claimed in claim 1.