Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method
First Claim
1. A device manufacturing method, comprising:
- patterning a beam of radiation using an array of individually controllable elements;
projecting the patterned beam of radiation onto a target portion of a substrate; and
periodically addressing individual elements of the array of individually controllable elements in an image frame loading operation to set a state of each individually controllable element appropriate to the pattern to be projected, such that only those individually controllable elements that must change state are addressed when a given image frame is loaded.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A lithographic method and apparatus used to pattern an object. An illumination system supplies a beam of radiation. An array of individually controllable elements patterns the beam. The patterned beam is projected by a projection system on to a substrate supported on a substrate table. Individual elements of the array are periodically addressed to load an image frame on to the array appropriate to the pattern to be imparted to the beam at any given instant in time taking into account the image to be projected onto the substrate. In any given frame loading operation, only those individual controllable elements that must change state are addressed to reduce the amount of data required to be transferred during the frame loading operation.
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Citations
63 Claims
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1. A device manufacturing method, comprising:
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patterning a beam of radiation using an array of individually controllable elements; projecting the patterned beam of radiation onto a target portion of a substrate; and periodically addressing individual elements of the array of individually controllable elements in an image frame loading operation to set a state of each individually controllable element appropriate to the pattern to be projected, such that only those individually controllable elements that must change state are addressed when a given image frame is loaded. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A lithographic apparatus, comprising:
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an illumination system that supplies a beam of radiation; an array of individually controllable elements that pattern the beam; a projection system that projects the patterned beam onto a target portion of a substrate; and means for periodically addressing elements of the array of individually controllable elements in an image frame loading operation to set a state of each individually controllable element appropriate to the pattern to be projected, wherein only those individually controllable elements that change state are addressed when a given frame is loaded. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. A device manufacturing method, comprising:
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patterning a beam of radiation using a pattern device comprising an array of individually controllable elements; projecting the patterned beam of radiation onto a target portion of a substrate; providing image data to the pattern device to periodically update the pattern to be projected; periodically addressing individual elements of the array of individually controllable elements in an image frame loading operation to set a state of each individually controllable element appropriate to the pattern to be projected in accordance with the image data, wherein the image data provided to the pattern device comprises data pertaining only to those individually controllable elements that change state from one image frame to the next. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. A lithographic apparatus, comprising:
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an illumination system that supplies a beam of radiation; a pattern device comprising an array of individually controllable elements that patterns the beam; a projection system that projects the patterned beam onto a target portion of a substrate; and means for providing image data to the pattern device for periodic updating of the pattern to be projected, wherein the array of individually controllable elements include means for periodically addressing elements of the array in an image frame loading operation to set a state of each individually controllable element appropriate to the pattern to be projected, and wherein the means for providing image data provides data pertaining only to elements of the array that change state from one image frame to the next. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61)
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62. A device manufacturing method, comprising:
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patterning a beam of radiation using an array of individually controllable elements; and projecting the patterned beam of radiation onto a target portion of a substrate; providing image data to the array from a digital image storage device for periodic updating of the pattern to be projected; and periodically addressing individual elements of the array of individually controllable elements in an image frame loading operation to set a state of each individually controllable element appropriate to the pattern to be projected in accordance with the image data, wherein the image data relates only to elements of the array that change state from one image frame to the next.
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63. A lithographic apparatus, comprising:
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an illumination system that supplies a beam of radiation; an array of individually controllable elements that pattern the beam; a projection system that projects the patterned beam onto a target portion of a substrate; and a data path that provides image data to array from a digital image storage device for periodic updating of the pattern to be projected, wherein the array of individually controllable elements include means for periodically addressing elements of the array in an image frame loading operation to set a state of each individually controllable element appropriate to the pattern to be projected, and wherein the image data comprises data relating only to those elements of the array that change state from one image frame to the next.
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Specification