Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A lithographic apparatus, comprising:
- a projection system configured to project a patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of a substrate;
a substrate table configured to hold the substrate;
a liquid supply system configured to at least partly fill a region between the substrate and the projection system with a liquid;
a saturated gas supply system configured to provide substantially saturated gas to a surface of the substrate not covered by liquid; and
a liquid confinement structure not directly attached to the substrate table and movable in a direction substantially parallel to an optical axis of the projection system, the liquid confinement structure configured to at least partly contain the liquid and comprising an extension structure extending substantially radially, with respect to the optical axis, from the liquid confinement structure to restrict substantially saturated gas to a region above an upper surface of the substrate table.
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Abstract
A lithographic apparatus is disclosed wherein a liquid supply system is configured to at least partly fill a region between a substrate and a projection system of the lithographic apparatus with a liquid and having a liquid confinement structure fixed in a plane substantially perpendicular to an optical axis of the projection system and configured to cooperate with a substrate table configured to hold the substrate in order to restrict the liquid to a region above an upper surface of the substrate table so that a side of the substrate to be exposed is substantially covered in the liquid during exposure.
134 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A lithographic apparatus, comprising:
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a projection system configured to project a patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of a substrate; a substrate table configured to hold the substrate; a liquid supply system configured to at least partly fill a region between the substrate and the projection system with a liquid; a saturated gas supply system configured to provide substantially saturated gas to a surface of the substrate not covered by liquid; and a liquid confinement structure not directly attached to the substrate table and movable in a direction substantially parallel to an optical axis of the projection system, the liquid confinement structure configured to at least partly contain the liquid and comprising an extension structure extending substantially radially, with respect to the optical axis, from the liquid confinement structure to restrict substantially saturated gas to a region above an upper surface of the substrate table. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A lithographic apparatus, comprising:
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a substrate table configured to hold a substrate to be exposed; a projection system configured to project a patterned radiation beam onto a target portion on a side of the substrate to be exposed; a liquid supply system configured to at least partly fill a region between the substrate and the projection system with a liquid; a first confinement structure not directly attached to the substrate table and configured to cooperate with the substrate table in order to restrict the liquid to a region above an upper surface of the substrate table; a second confinement structure not directly attached to the substrate table and configured to cooperate with the substrate table in order to restrict substantially saturated gas to a region above an upper surface of the substrate table; a seal configured to substantially prevent flow of substantially saturated gas through a gap between a surface of the second confinement structure and the structure table, wherein the first and second confinement structures and the substrate table are arranged so that a side of the substrate to be exposed is entirely covered with substantially saturated gas except for an area covered with liquid during exposure. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A lithographic apparatus, comprising:
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a substrate table configured to hold a substrate to be exposed; a projection system configured to project a patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of a substrate; a liquid supply system configured to at least partly fill a region between the substrate and the projection system with a liquid; a saturated gas supply system configured to provide substantially saturated gas to a surface of the substrate not covered by liquid; a first confinement structure fixed in a plane substantially perpendicular to an optical axis of the projection system and configured to at least partly contain the liquid; and a second confinement structure fixed in a plane substantially perpendicular to an optical axis of the projection system and movable in a direction substantially parallel to the optical axis, the second confinement structure configured to cooperate with the substrate table in order to restrict substantially saturated gas to a region above an upper surface of the substrate table, wherein the first and second confinement structures and the substrate table are arranged so that a side of the substrate to be exposed is entirely covered with substantially saturated gas except for an area covered with liquid during exposure. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A device manufacturing method, comprising:
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at least partly filling a region between a projection system of a lithographic apparatus and a substrate with a liquid; providing a substantially saturated gas to a surface of the substrate not covered by liquid; projecting a patterned radiation beam through the liquid onto a target portion of the substrate using the projection system; at least partly containing the liquid using a movable liquid confinement structure that is fixed in a plane substantially perpendicular to the optical axis; and restricting the substantially saturated gas to a region above an upper surface of the substrate table using an extension structure of the liquid confinement structure, the extension structure extending substantially radially, with respect to an optical axis of the projection system, from the liquid confinement structure. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A device manufacturing method, comprising:
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restricting a liquid to a region above an upper surface of a substrate table of a lithographic apparatus holding a substrate using a first confinement structure that is fixed in a plane substantially perpendicular to an optical axis of a projection system of a lithographic apparatus and arranged to cooperate with the substrate table; restricting substantially saturated gas to a region above an upper surface of the substrate table using a second confinement structure that is fixed in a plane substantially perpendicular to the optical axis and arranged to cooperate with the substrate table; substantially preventing flow of the substantially saturated gas by sealing through a gap between a surface of the second confinement structure and the substrate table by using a seal; projecting a patterned radiation beam through the liquid onto a target portion of the substrate using the projection system, wherein the first and second confinement structures and the substrate table are arranged so that a side of the substrate to be exposed is entirely covered with the substantially saturated gas except for an area covered in the liquid during exposure. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A device manufacturing method, comprising:
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restricting a liquid to a region between a projection system of a lithographic apparatus and a substrate held on a substrate table of the lithographic apparatus using a first confinement structure that is not directly attached to the substrate table; supplying a substantially saturated gas to a surface of the substrate not covered by liquid; restricting substantially saturated gas to a region above an upper surface of the substrate table using a second confinement structure that is not directly attached to the substrate table and is movable in a direction substantially parallel to the optical axis, the second confinement structure arranged to cooperate with the substrate table; and projecting a patterned radiation beam through the liquid onto a target portion of the substrate using the projection system, wherein the first and second confinement structures and the substrate table are arranged so that a side of the substrate to be exposed is entirely covered with the substantially saturated gas except for an area covered in the liquid during exposure. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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Specification