Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method

• US 7,548,302 B2
• Filed: 01/22/2007
• Issued: 06/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ASML Netherlands BV (ASML Holding NV)
• Original Assignee: ASML Netherlands BV (ASML Holding NV)
• Inventors: Flagello, Donis George, Greeneich, James Sherwood, Bleeker, Arno Jan, Socha, Robert John, Troost, Kars Zeger
• Primary Examiner(s): Rutledge; Della J.
• Application Number:
  US11/655,999
• Publication Number:
  US 20070273853A1
• Time in Patent Office: 876 Days
• Field of Search: 355/53, 355/67, 355/71, 378/34, 378/35
• US Class Current: 355/67
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 27/54 Lamp housings; Illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70116 Off-axis setting using a programmable means, e.g. liquid crystal display [LCD], digital micromirror device [DMD] or pupil facets
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/705 Modelling or simulating from physical phenomena up to complete wafer processes or whole workflow in wafer productions

Abstract

A method of transferring an image of a pattern layout onto a surface of a substrate including selecting a first illumination profile for a first area of the pattern layout and a second illumination profile for a second area of the pattern layout; switching illumination profile during transfer of the image of the pattern layout such that the first area of the pattern layout is illuminated with the first illumination profile and the second area is illuminated with the second illumination profile; and projecting an image of the illuminated first and second areas onto the surface of the substrate.

Claims

1. A method of transferring an image of a pattern layout onto a surface of a substrate comprising:

selecting a first illumination profile for a first area of the pattern layout and a second illumination profile for a second area of the pattern layout;

switching illumination profile during transfer of the image of the pattern layout, the switching including controlling a programmable illuminator including a micro mirror array having a plurality of moveable mirrors that are configured to redirect a beam of radiation, the plurality of moveable mirrors being separately addressable to form the first and second illumination profiles such that the first area of the pattern layout is illuminated with the first illumination profile and the second area is illuminated with the second illumination profile; and

projecting an image of the illuminated first and second areas onto the surface of the substrate.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second illumination profiles are selected to optimize printing conditions of the first and second areas on the surface of the substrate.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein selection of the first and second illumination profiles is done by simulation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second areas correspond to two different blocks of the pattern layout having different functionalities.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the pattern layout is a system-on-a-chip.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second areas are respectively selected from the group consisting of a memory block, a processor block and a input/output block.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of moveable mirrors is adapted to redirect the beam of radiation onto a pupil plane of the programmable illuminator.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to control a position of each mirror within the micro mirror array so as to control a position of the beam of radiation in the pupil plane.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein an actuation rate of each mirror is in a range from about 50 Hz to 5 kHz.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the switching includes controlling a programmable patterning device such that when the programmable patterning device defines a first field of the first area of the pattern layout, the programmable illuminator illuminates the first field with the first illumination mode and when the programmable patterning device defines a second field of the second area of the pattern layout, the programmable illuminator illuminates the second field with the second illumination mode.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising projecting the first illuminated field and the second illuminated field onto the surface of the substrate.

12. A lithographic apparatus comprising:

a programmable illuminator configured to provide an illumination profile, the programmable illuminator including a micro mirror array having a plurality of moveable mirrors that are configured to redirect a beam of radiation, the plurality of moveable mirrors being separately addressable to form the illumination profile;

a support configured to hold a patterning device, the patterning device configured to provide a pattern layout to be illuminated by the illumination profile;

a substrate table configured to hold a substrate;

a projection system configured to project an image of the pattern layout onto the substrate; and

a controller in communication with the programmable illuminator and configured to switch the illumination profile from a first illumination profile to a second illumination profile during transfer of the image of the pattern layout onto the substrate such that a first area of the pattern layout is illuminated with the first illumination profile and a second area of the pattern layout is illuminated with the second illumination profile.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, configured to select the first and second illumination profiles to optimize printing conditions of the first and second areas on the surface of the substrate.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein selection of the first and second illumination profiles is done by simulation.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first and second areas correspond to two different blocks of the pattern layout having different functionalities.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the controller is configured to control a position of each mirror within the micro mirror array so as to control a position of the beam of radiation in the pupil plane.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein an actuation rate of each mirror is in a range from about 50 Hz to 5 kHz.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the patterning device is a programmable patterning device and wherein the controller is configured to control the programmable patterning device such that when the programmable patterning device defines a first field of the first area of the pattern layout, the programmable illuminator illuminates the first field with the first illumination mode and when the programmable patterning device defines a second field of the second area of the pattern layout, the programmable illuminator illuminates the second field with the second illumination mode.

19. A method for transferring an image of a pattern layout onto a substrate, the pattern layout including a plurality of fields generated by a programmable patterning device, the method comprising:

configuring an illumination profile for each field of the pattern layout, the illumination profile provided by a programmable illuminator, the programmable illuminator including a micro mirror array having a plurality of moveable mirrors that are configured to redirect a beam of radiation, the plurality of moveable mirrors being separately addressable to form the illumination profile;

controlling the programmable illuminator and the programmable patterning device during transfer of the image of the pattern layout onto the substrate such that each field of the pattern layout is illuminated with its associated configured illumination profile; and

projecting an image of each field of the pattern layout onto the substrate to form the image of the pattern layout.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the configuring further includes optimizing the illumination profile and the patterning device for each field of the pattern layout.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the configuring further includes optimizing the illumination profile and the patterning device with a source mask optimization procedure.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the configuring further comprises configuring the programmable patterning device including varying a transmittance by the programmable patterning device.

23. A method for transferring an image of a pattern layout onto a substrate, the pattern layout including a plurality of fields generated by a programmable patterning device, the method comprising:

selecting one of the fields of the pattern layout;

configuring an illumination profile for the selected field of the pattern layout, the illumination profile provided by a programmable illuminator;

configuring the programmable patterning device for each of the fields of the pattern layout using the illumination profile configured for the selected field; and

controlling the programmable illuminator and the programmable patterning device during transfer of the image of the pattern layout onto the substrate such that each field of the pattern layout is generated with its associated patterning device configuration and illuminated with the illumination profile configured for the selected field.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein configuring an illumination profile and the programmable patterning device further includes optimizing the illumination profile and the patterning device for the selected field of the pattern layout.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein configuring an illumination profile and the programmable patterning device further includes optimizing the illumination profile and the patterning with a source mask optimization procedure.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein configuring the programmable patterning device for the selected field includes varying a transmittance by the programmable patterning device.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising configuring the programmable patterning device using interference mapping lithography and/or inverse lithography.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein configuring the programmable patterning device includes placing assist features within one or more fields of the pattern layout.

29. The method of claim 23, further comprising configuring the programmable patterning device by:

(a) mathematically representing a resolvable feature from one or more of the fields of the pattern layout;

(b) generating an interference map representation from (a)

(c) modifying the interference map representation to maximize intensity corresponding to the one or more resolvable features; and

(d) determining one or more assist feature sizes such that intensity side lobes do not print.

30. The method of claim 23, wherein the selected field is a critical field.

31. The method of claim 23, wherein configuring an illumination profile includes configuring an illumination profile and the programmable patterning device for the selected field of the pattern layout and wherein configuring the programmable patterning device includes configuring the programmable patterning device for each of the remaining fields of the pattern layout using the illumination profile configured for the selected field.

32. A computer product having machine executable instructions, the instructions being executable by a machine to perform a method for transferring an image of a pattern layout onto a substrate, the pattern layout including a plurality of fields generated by a programmable patterning device, the method comprising:

configuring an illumination profile for each field of the pattern layout, the illumination profile provided by a programmable illuminator, the programmable illuminator including a micro mirror array having a plurality of moveable mirrors that are configured to redirect a beam of radiation, the plurality of moveable mirrors being separately addressable to form the illumination profile;

controlling the programmable illuminator and the programmable patterning device during transfer of the image of the pattern layout onto the substrate such that each field of the pattern layout is illuminated with its associated configured illumination profile; and

projecting an image of each field of the pattern layout onto the substrate to form the image of the pattern layout.

33. The product of claim 32, wherein the configuring further includes optimizing the illumination profile and the patterning device for each field of the pattern layout.

34. The product of claim 32, wherein the configuring further includes optimizing the illumination profile and the patterning device with a source mask optimization procedure.

35. The product of claim 32, wherein the configuring further comprises configuring the programmable patterning device including varying a transmittance by the programmable patterning device.

36. A computer product having machine executable instructions, the instructions being executable by a machine to perform a method for transferring an image of a pattern layout onto a substrate, the pattern layout including a plurality of fields generated by a programmable patterning device, the method comprising:

selecting one of the fields of the pattern layout;

configuring an illumination profile for the selected field of the pattern layout, the illumination profile provided by a programmable illuminator;

configuring the programmable patterning device for each of the fields of the pattern layout using the illumination profile configured for the selected field; and

controlling the programmable illuminator and the programmable patterning device during transfer of the image of the pattern layout onto the substrate such that each field of the pattern layout is generated with its associated patterning device configuration and illuminated with the illumination profile configured for the selected field.

37. The product of claim 36, wherein configuring an illumination profile and the programmable patterning device further includes optimizing the illumination profile and the patterning device for the selected field of the pattern layout.

38. The product of claim 37, wherein configuring an illumination profile and the programmable patterning device further includes optimizing the illumination profile and the patterning with a source mask optimization procedure.

39. The product of claim 36, wherein configuring the programmable patterning device for the selected field includes varying a transmittance by the programmable patterning device.

40. The product of claim 36, wherein the method further comprises configuring the programmable patterning device using interference mapping lithography and/or inverse lithography.

41. The product of claim 40, wherein configuring the programmable patterning device includes placing assist features within one or more fields of the pattern layout.

42. The product of claim 36, wherein the method further comprises configuring the programmable patterning device by:

(a) mathematically representing a resolvable feature from one or more of the fields of the pattern layout;

(b) generating an interference map representation from (a)

(c) modifying the interference map representation to maximize intensity corresponding to the one or more resolvable features; and

(d) determining one or more assist feature sizes such that intensity side lobes do not print.

43. The product of claim 36, wherein the selected field is a critical field.

44. The product of claim 36, wherein configuring an illumination profile includes configuring an illumination profile and the programmable patterning device for the selected field of the pattern layout and wherein configuring the programmable patterning device includes configuring the programmable patterning device for each of the remaining fields of the pattern layout using the illumination profile configured for the selected field.

45. A method of imaging a substrate comprising:

transferring an image of a pattern layout onto a surface of a substrate; and

switching illumination profile during transfer of the image of the pattern layout onto the surface of the substrate such that a first area of the pattern layout is illuminated with a first illumination profile and a second area of the pattern layout is illuminated with a second illumination profile, the switching including controlling a plurality of moveable mirrors that are configured to redirect a beam of radiation, the plurality of moveable mirrors being separately addressable to form the first and second illumination profiles.