Compensation for errors in off-axis interferometric measurements
First Claim
1. A method for determining the location of an alignment mark on a stage, the method comprising:
- directing a measurement beam along a path between an interferometer and a mirror, wherein at least the interferometer or the mirror is mounted on the stage;
combining the measurement beam with another beam to produce an output beam comprising information about the location of the stage;
measuring from the output beam a location, x1, of the stage along a first measurement axis;
measuring a location, x2, of the stage along a second measurement axis substantially parallel to the first measurement axis;
calculating a correction term, ψ
3, from predetermined information characterizing surface variations of the mirror for different spatial frequencies, wherein contributions to the correction term from different spatial frequencies are weighted differently;
determining a location of the alignment mark along a third axis parallel to the first measurement axis based on x1, x2, and the correction term; and
outputting a signal from an electronic controller based on the determined location of the alignment mark.
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Abstract
In general, in a first aspect, the invention features a method for determining the location of an alignment mark on a stage, which includes directing a measurement beam along a path between an interferometer and a mirror, wherein at least the interferometer or the mirror is mounted on the stage, combining the measurement beam with another beam to produce an output beam comprising information about the location of the stage, measuring from the output beam a location, x1, of the stage along a first measurement axis, measuring a location, x2, of the stage along a second measurement axis substantially parallel to the first measurement axis, calculating a correction term, ψ3, from predetermined information characterizing surface variations of the mirror for different spatial frequencies, wherein contributions to the correction term from different spatial frequencies are weighted differently, and determining a location of the alignment mark along a third axis parallel to the first measurement axis based on x1, x2, and the correction term.
77 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method for determining the location of an alignment mark on a stage, the method comprising:
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directing a measurement beam along a path between an interferometer and a mirror, wherein at least the interferometer or the mirror is mounted on the stage; combining the measurement beam with another beam to produce an output beam comprising information about the location of the stage; measuring from the output beam a location, x1, of the stage along a first measurement axis; measuring a location, x2, of the stage along a second measurement axis substantially parallel to the first measurement axis; calculating a correction term, ψ
3, from predetermined information characterizing surface variations of the mirror for different spatial frequencies, wherein contributions to the correction term from different spatial frequencies are weighted differently;determining a location of the alignment mark along a third axis parallel to the first measurement axis based on x1, x2, and the correction term; and outputting a signal from an electronic controller based on the determined location of the alignment mark. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method comprising:
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correcting measurements of a degree of freedom of a mirror relative to a first axis made using an interferometry system based on information that accounts for surface variations of the mirror for different spatial frequencies, wherein contributions to the correction from the different spatial frequencies are weighted differently; and outputting a signal from an electronic controller based on the corrected measurements. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method comprising:
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interferometrically monitoring locations X1 and X2 of a mirror surface relative to respective parallel axes while translating the mirror surface along a path substantially orthogonal to the parallel axes; determining from the monitored mirror locations contributions from different spatial frequencies to surface imperfections of the mirror; and outputting a signal from an electronic controller based on the determined contributions from the different spatial frequencies to surface imperfections of the mirror. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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27. An apparatus comprising:
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an interferometer configured to produce an output beam comprising a phase related to an optical path difference between two beam paths, at least one of which contacts a mirror surface; and an electronic controller coupled to the interferometer, wherein during operation the electronic controller determines a position, x1, of the mirror with respect to a first measurement axis based on information derived from the output beam and an error correction term that accounts for surface variations of the mirror for different spatial frequencies, wherein contributions to the error correction term from the different spatial frequencies are weighted differently. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A lithography method for use in the fabrication of integrated circuits comprising:
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directing input radiation through a mask to produce spatially patterned radiation; positioning the mask relative to the input radiation; monitoring the position of the mask relative to the input radiation, wherein the monitoring comprises measuring a degree of freedom of a mirror using an interferometry system, where the mirror or a component of the interferometry system is attached to the stage, and correcting the measurement based on information that accounts for surface variations of the mirror for different spatial frequencies, wherein contributions to the correction from the different spatial frequencies are weighted differently; and imaging the spatially patterned radiation onto a wafer.
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37. A lithography method for fabricating integrated circuits on a wafer comprising:
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positioning a first component of a lithography system relative to a second component of a lithography system to expose the wafer to spatially patterned radiation; and monitoring the position of the first component relative to the second component, wherein the first or second component comprises a mirror and the monitoring comprises measuring a degree of freedom of the mirror, wherein the monitoring comprises correcting the measured degree of freedom based on information that accounts for surface variations of the mirror for different spatial frequencies, wherein contributions to the correction from the different spatial frequencies are weighted differently.
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38. An apparatus comprising:
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an interferometer configured to produce an output beam comprising a phase related to an optical path difference between two beam paths, at least one of which contacts a mirror surface; and a means for determining a position, x1, of the mirror with respect to a first measurement axis based on information derived from the output beam and an error correction term that accounts for surface variations of the mirror for different spatial frequencies, wherein contributions to the error correction term from the different spatial frequencies are weighted differently.
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Specification