High speed lithography machine and method
First Claim
1. A lithography machine, comprising:
- at least two projection cameras positioned to project images from respective image sources onto a first substrate and a second substrate simultaneously, each projection camera including an independent, multi-axis, alignment system that aligns the respective image with the respective substrate to correct for at least four alignment errors independent of moving a projection optic; and
a stage to (i) carry the first and second substrates and (ii) to move relative to the projection cameras.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A machine and method for high speed production of circuit patterns on silicon wafers or similar substrates may be used for applications including printing Integrated Circuit (IC) packaging patterns onto wafers prior to separating IC chips. Projection camera(s) simultaneously project image(s) onto substrate(s) carried on an X, Y, θ stage. The projection camera(s) may include independent alignment systems, light sources, and control of focus, image placement, image size, and dose. In one embodiment, each camera includes a 6-axis reticle chuck that moves a reticle to correct image-to-substrate overlay errors. In-stage metrology sensors and machine software establish and maintain the correct relationship among the machine'"'"'s coordinate systems. Thus, two or more projection cameras can print simultaneously even when substrates are slightly misplaced on the X, Y, θ stage.
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Citations
102 Claims
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1. A lithography machine, comprising:
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at least two projection cameras positioned to project images from respective image sources onto a first substrate and a second substrate simultaneously, each projection camera including an independent, multi-axis, alignment system that aligns the respective image with the respective substrate to correct for at least four alignment errors independent of moving a projection optic; and a stage to (i) carry the first and second substrates and (ii) to move relative to the projection cameras. - 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)
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33. A method for printing onto substrates, the method comprising:
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positioning a first substrate and a second substrate in a projection region of at least two projection cameras adapted to project respective images from image sources onto respective substrates; moving the images independently relative to the respective substrates to correct for at least four alignment errors between the image sources and the respective substrates independent of moving a projection optic; carrying the first and second substrates on a stage; and moving the stage relative to the projection cameras. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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60. A lithography machine, comprising:
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means for projecting images onto at least two substrates simultaneously; means for correcting for at least four alignment errors between each projection means and respective ones of the at least two substrates in a manner substantially free from moving the at least two substrates and independent of moving the means for projecting images; means for carrying the at least two substrates; and means for moving the at least two substrates relative to the projection means.
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61. A lithography machine, comprising:
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a projection camera including a reticle chuck adapted to hold a reticle having a pattern to be projected as an image onto a substrate; a multi-axis alignment system that moves the image in multiple directions; a stage to carry the substrate and move the substrate relative to the projection camera; an alignment sensor system adapted to measure a position of the substrate relative to the stage for use in projecting the image onto the substrate; and an alignment controller coupled to the stage, alignment sensor system, and multi-axis alignment system that causes the stage to position the substrate in a projection region of the camera for gross alignment and causes the multi-axis alignment system to move the image relative to the substrate for fine alignment to correct for at least four alignment errors independent of moving a projection optic each time the stage moves in the projection region. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71)
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72. A method for printing on a substrate, the method comprising:
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providing a reticle having a pattern to be projected as an image onto a substrate in optical exposure relation with a projection camera; moving the substrate into gross alignment with the reticle as imaged in a projection region of the projection camera; determining a position of the substrate relative to the stage for use in projecting the image onto the substrate; and moving the image in multiple axes to align the image in fine alignment to correct for at least four alignment errors independent of moving a projection optic with the substrate each time the substrate is moved in the projection region; and projecting the pattern onto the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82)
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83. A lithography machine, comprising:
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means for moving a substrate into gross alignment with a reticle as imaged in a projection region of the projection camera, the reticle including a pattern to be projected as an image onto the substrate; means for sensing a position of the substrate relative to the stage for use in projecting the image onto the substrate; and means for fine aligning the image with the substrate each time the substrate is moved in the projection region to correct for at least four alignment errors independent of moving a projection optic; and means for projecting the pattern onto the substrate.
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84. A lithography machine, comprising:
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first and second projection cameras that project images from first and second reticles onto first and second substrates, respectively, the projection cameras including respective alignment systems; first and second reticle chucks configured to move respective reticles in at least one z-axis to adjust magnification of the projected images; first and second alignment microscopes that detect alignment patterns associated with the respective substrates; and at least one alignment compensation controller coupled to outputs of the first and second alignment microscopes that cause the alignment systems to move the images relative to the substrates based on the detected alignment patterns received from the alignment microscopes to correct for at least four alignment errors independent of moving a projection optic. - View Dependent Claims (85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92)
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93. A method for printing onto substrates, the method comprising:
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projecting first and second images from first and second reticles onto first and second substrates, respectively; moving first and second reticles in at least one z-axis to adjust magnification of the projected images; detecting first and second alignment patterns associated with the respective first and second substrates; and causing the first and second images to move relative to the first and second substrates based on the detected alignment patterns to correct for at least four alignment errors independent of moving a projection optic. - View Dependent Claims (94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100)
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101. A lithography machine, comprising:
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means for aligning and projecting images from at least two reticles onto at least two respective substrates simultaneously; means for moving respective reticles in at least one z-axis to adjust magnification of the projected images; means for detecting alignment patterns associated with each of the at least two substrates; and means for moving the projected images relative to the substrates based on the detected alignment patterns to correct for at least four alignment errors independent of moving a projection optic. - View Dependent Claims (102)
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Specification