Immersion exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method with no liquid recovery during exposure

• US 8,064,037 B2
• Filed: 02/17/2006
• Issued: 11/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Nagasaka, Hiroyuki, Makinouchi, Susumu, Ishii, Yuuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim; Peter B
• Assistant Examiner(s): LIU, MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US11/355,965
• Publication Number:
  US 20060139593A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,104 Days
• Field of Search: 355/30, 355/53, 356/665
• US Class Current: 355/30
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70341 Details of immersion lithography aspects, e.g. exposure media or control of immersion liquid supply chemical composition of immersion liquids G03F7/2041
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/709 Vibration, e.g. vibration detection, compensation, suppression or isolation

Abstract

An exposure apparatus that by irradiating an exposure light, via a projection optical system and a liquid, on a substrate placed on the image plane side of the projection optical system, exposes the substrate, the exposure apparatus includes: a liquid supply system that supplies the liquid onto the substrate and a liquid recovery system that recovers the liquid having been supplied on the substrate. When the exposure light is being irradiated on the image plane side of the projection optical system, the liquid recovery system does not perform recovery of the liquid.

Claims

1. An exposure apparatus comprising:

a projection optical system having an optical member via which an exposure light is irradiated onto a substrate to expose the substrate;

a liquid supply system including a supply port through which a liquid is supplied onto the substrate;

a liquid recovery system including a recovery port through which the liquid having been supplied onto the substrate is recovered from above the substrate; and

a controller that controls the liquid supply system and the liquid recovery system such that (i) when the exposure light is being irradiated onto an image plane of the projection optical system, the liquid recovery system does not perform recovery of the liquid and the liquid supply system performs the supply of the liquid onto the substrate, and (ii) during at least some times when the exposure light is not being irradiated onto the image plane of the projection optical system, the liquid recovery system performs recovery of the liquid and the liquid supply system simultaneously performs the supply of the liquid onto the substrate.

2. An exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

a plurality of shot areas on the substrate are sequentially exposed and the liquid recovery system performs recovery of the liquid on the substrate at least during a period between completion of exposure of a given shot area of the plurality of shot areas and a beginning of exposure of a next shot area of the plurality of shot areas on a single substrate.

3. An exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the recovery of the liquid by the liquid recovery system is performed intermittently each time after the exposure of a predetermined number of the plurality of shot areas is completed on the single substrate.

4. An exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the recovery of the liquid by the liquid recovery system is performed after completion of exposure of a predetermined shot area of the plurality of shot areas.

5. An exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the period is set to be within an interval when a stepping movement is performed after completion of exposure of the given shot area and before exposure of the next shot area begins.

6. An exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the liquid supply system continues the supply of the liquid during the period when the liquid is recovered between exposure of the given and next shot areas.

7. An exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a liquid holding portion that holds at least a part of the liquid supplied onto the substrate until the recovery of the liquid by the liquid recovery system is initiated.

8. An exposure apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the liquid holding portion holds the liquid by utilizing the capillary phenomenon.

9. An exposure apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the liquid holding portion is the liquid recovery port of the liquid recovery system.

10. An exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid recovery system performs, after completion of exposure of the substrate, recovery of the liquid remaining on the substrate.

11. An exposure apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising

a substrate holding member that is movable while holding the substrate, and wherein

after completion of exposure of the substrate, the liquid remaining on the substrate or on the substrate holding member is recovered, while relatively moving the recovery port, disposed above the substrate, of the liquid recovery system and the substrate holding member.

12. An exposure apparatus according to claim 11, wherein after completion of the exposure of the substrate, the substrate holding member is moved such that the recovery port is moved along an edge of the substrate held by the substrate holding member.

13. A device manufacturing method comprising:

exposing a substrate through the liquid and the projection optical system of the exposure apparatus according to claim 1; and

processing the exposed substrate.

14. An exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the liquid recovery system performs, after completion of exposure of the substrate, recovery of the liquid remaining in a gap formed along a peripheral edge of the substrate.

15. An exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid supply system and the liquid recovery system form a liquid immersion area on the substrate, the liquid immersion area covering an area that is smaller than a surface of the substrate on which the exposure light is irradiated so that only a portion of the surface of the substrate on which the exposure light is irradiated is covered by the liquid.

16. An exposure method comprising:

supplying a liquid to a space between a projection optical system and a substrate using a liquid supply system;

exposing the substrate by irradiating an exposure light onto the substrate via the projection optical system and the liquid; and

recovering the liquid having been supplied onto the substrate from above the substrate using a liquid recovery system, wherein

(i) when the exposure light is being irradiated onto an image plane of the projection optical system, the liquid recovery system does not perform recovery of the liquid and the liquid supply system performs the supply of the liquid onto the substrate, and

(ii) during at least some times when the exposure light is not being irradiated onto the image plane of the projection optical system, the liquid recovery system performs recovery of the liquid and the liquid supply system simultaneously performs the supply of the liquid onto the substrate.

17. An exposure method according to claim 16, wherein

a plurality of shot areas on the substrate are sequentially exposed and the liquid recovery system performs recovery of the liquid on the substrate at least during a period between completion of exposure of a given shot area of the plurality of shot areas and a beginning of exposure of a next shot area of the plurality of shot areas on a single substrate.

18. An exposure method according to claim 17, wherein

the recovery of the liquid by the liquid recovery system is performed intermittently each time after the exposure of a predetermined number of the plurality of shot areas is completed on the single substrate.

19. An exposure method according to claim 17, wherein

the recovery of the liquid by the liquid recovery system is performed after completion of exposure of a predetermined shot area of the plurality of shot areas.

20. An exposure method according to claim 17, wherein

the period is set to be within an interval when a stepping movement is performed after completion of exposure of the given shot area and before exposure of the next shot area begins.

21. An exposure method according to claim 17, wherein

the liquid supply system continues the supply of the liquid during the period when the liquid is recovered between exposure of the given and next shot areas.

22. An exposure method according to claim 16, further comprising

recovering the liquid remaining on the substrate or on a substrate holding member after completion of exposure of the substrate.

23. An exposure method according to claim 22, further comprising

relatively moving the substrate and a recovery port of the liquid recovery system, to recover the liquid remaining on the substrate or on the substrate holding member after completion of the exposure of the substrate.

24. An exposure method according to claim 23, wherein after completion of the exposure of the substrate, the substrate holding member is moved such that the recovery port is moved along an edge of the substrate held by the substrate holding member.

25. An exposure method according to claim 16, wherein the liquid supply system and the liquid recovery system form a liquid immersion area on the substrate, the liquid immersion area covering an area that is smaller than a surface of the substrate on which the exposure light is irradiated so that only a portion of the surface of the substrate on which the exposure light is irradiated is covered by the liquid.

26. An exposure apparatus comprising:

a projection optical system having an optical member via which an exposure light is irradiated onto a substrate to expose the substrate;

a liquid supply system including a supply port through which a liquid is supplied onto the substrate;

a liquid recovery system including a recovery port through which the liquid having been supplied onto the substrate is recovered from above the substrate; and

a controller that controls the liquid supply system and the liquid recovery system such that when the exposure light is being irradiated onto an image plane of the projection optical system, the liquid recovery system does not perform recovery of the liquid and the liquid supply system performs the supply of the liquid onto the substrate,

wherein the liquid supply system and the liquid recovery system form a liquid immersion area on the substrate, the liquid immersion area covering an area that is smaller than a surface of the substrate on which the exposure light is irradiated so that only a portion of the surface of the substrate on which the exposure light is irradiated is covered by the liquid.

27. An exposure method comprising:

supplying a liquid to a space between a projection optical system and a substrate using a liquid supply system;

exposing the substrate by irradiating an exposure light onto the substrate via the projection optical system and the liquid; and

recovering the liquid having been supplied onto the substrate from above the substrate using a liquid recovery system, wherein

when the exposure light is being irradiated onto an image plane of the projection optical system, the liquid recovery system does not perform recovery of the liquid and the liquid supply system performs the supply of the liquid onto the substrate, and

wherein the liquid supply system and the liquid recovery system form a liquid immersion area on the substrate, the liquid immersion area covering an area that is smaller than a surface of the substrate on which the exposure light is irradiated so that only a portion of the surface of the substrate on which the exposure light is irradiated is covered by the liquid.