Exposure apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A scanning exposure apparatus in which a sensitive substrate is exposed by projecting a pattern onto the sensitive substrate with an exposure beam while moving the sensitive substrate, the apparatus comprising:
- a projection system, disposed in a path of the exposure beam, which projects a pattern image onto the sensitive substrate;
a stage system, disposed on an image plane side of the projection system and provided in a measurement region different from an exposure region in which the pattern image is projected via the projection system, which has a first stage and a second stage, each of which is movable independently in a plane while holding the sensitive substrate;
a first detector, functionally associated with the stage system, which detects focusing information of a vicinity of an outer circumference of the sensitive substrate during a detecting operation prior to an exposure operation of the sensitive substrate in the exposure region;
a control system, functionally associated with the stage system, which controls the stage system to perform the detecting operation with the first stage, while performing a first exposure operation with the second stage, the sensitive substrate held by the second stage being exposed in the first exposure operation; and
wherein after finishing the first exposure operation, a second exposure operation for the sensitive substrate on the first stage is performed, in which a shot area in the vicinity of the outer circumference of the sensitive substrate held by the first stage is exposed by moving the first stage in a scanning direction so that the exposure beam scans the sensitive substrate from the outside to the inside of the sensitive substrate while adjusting a surface position of the sensitive substrate held by the first stage on the basis of the detected focusing information.
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Abstract
A scanning exposure apparatus includes a projection system, a stage system, a first detector and a control system. The stage system has first and second stages, each of which is movable independently in a plane while holding a substrate. The first detector detects focusing information of a vicinity of an outer circumference of the substrate during a detecting operation. The control system controls the stage system to perform the detecting operation with the first stage, while performing a first exposure operation on the substrate held by the second stage. After the first exposure operation, a second exposure operation for the substrate held on the first stage is performed, in which a shot area in the vicinity of the outer circumference of the substrate is exposed by moving the first stage while adjusting a position of the substrate surface held by the first stage using the detected focusing information.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A scanning exposure apparatus in which a sensitive substrate is exposed by projecting a pattern onto the sensitive substrate with an exposure beam while moving the sensitive substrate, the apparatus comprising:
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a projection system, disposed in a path of the exposure beam, which projects a pattern image onto the sensitive substrate; a stage system, disposed on an image plane side of the projection system and provided in a measurement region different from an exposure region in which the pattern image is projected via the projection system, which has a first stage and a second stage, each of which is movable independently in a plane while holding the sensitive substrate; a first detector, functionally associated with the stage system, which detects focusing information of a vicinity of an outer circumference of the sensitive substrate during a detecting operation prior to an exposure operation of the sensitive substrate in the exposure region; a control system, functionally associated with the stage system, which controls the stage system to perform the detecting operation with the first stage, while performing a first exposure operation with the second stage, the sensitive substrate held by the second stage being exposed in the first exposure operation; and wherein after finishing the first exposure operation, a second exposure operation for the sensitive substrate on the first stage is performed, in which a shot area in the vicinity of the outer circumference of the sensitive substrate held by the first stage is exposed by moving the first stage in a scanning direction so that the exposure beam scans the sensitive substrate from the outside to the inside of the sensitive substrate while adjusting a surface position of the sensitive substrate held by the first stage on the basis of the detected focusing information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification