Spatial light modulation unit, illumination optical apparatus, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method

• US 8,144,308 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2008
• Issued: 03/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Muramatsu, Kouji
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hung Henry
• Assistant Examiner(s): Iacoletti, Michelle
• Application Number:
  US12/267,556
• Publication Number:
  US 20090135392A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,236 Days
• Field of Search: 355/67, 359/298, 359/359, 362/342, 356399-401
• US Class Current: 355/67
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70075 Homogenization of illumination intensity in the mask plane by using an integrator, e.g. fly's eye lens, facet mirror or glass rod, by using a diffusing optical element or by beam deflection
• 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

Abstract

This invention relates to an illumination optical apparatus capable of forming a pupil intensity distribution of a desired shape and desired illuminance and, in turn, capable of realizing illumination conditions of great variety. The illumination optical apparatus has a spatial light modulation unit composed of a first spatial light modulator and a second spatial light modulator arranged in an order of incidence of light, and a distribution forming optical system to form a predetermined light intensity distribution on an illumination pupil, based on a beam having traveled via the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator. The first spatial light modulator has a plurality of first optical elements which are two-dimensionally arranged and postures of which each are individually controlled. The second spatial light modulator has a plurality of second optical elements which are two-dimensionally arranged in correspondence to the first optical elements and postures of which each are individually controlled.

Claims

1. An illumination optical apparatus which illuminates an illumination target surface on the basis of light from a light source, the illumination optical apparatus comprising:

a first spatial light modulator arranged in an optical path of the illumination optical apparatus, said first spatial light modulator having a plurality of first optical elements which are arranged two-dimensionally and postures of which each are individually controlled, and modulating light incident thereon to a first light with a first angle distribution;

a second spatial light modulator arranged at a position where the first light having traveled via the first spatial light modulator arrives, said second spatial light modulator having a plurality of second optical elements which are two-dimensionally arranged and postures of which each are individually controlled, and modulating the first light incident thereon to a second light with a second angle distribution; and

a distribution forming optical system arranged in an optical path between the second spatial light modulator and an illumination pupil of the illumination optical apparatus, said distribution forming optical system condensing the second light with the second angle distribution and forming a predetermined light intensity distribution on an illumination pupil of the illumination optical apparatus.

2. The illumination optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of second optical elements are arranged in one-to-one correspondence to the first optical elements.

3. The illumination optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first spatial light modulator has a plurality of first mirror elements arranged two-dimensionally, as the plurality of first optical elements, and a first drive unit to individually vary the postures of the first mirror elements, and

wherein the second spatial light modulator has a plurality of second mirror elements arrayed two-dimensionally, as the plurality of second optical elements, and a second drive unit to individually vary the postures of the second mirror elements.

4. The illumination optical apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first drive unit continuously changes orientations of the first mirror elements so that beams having traveled via the respective first mirror elements are incident to the corresponding second mirror elements arranged two-dimensionally in one-to-one correspondence with the first mirror elements, and

wherein the second drive unit continuously changes orientations of the second mirror elements.

5. The illumination optical apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a control unit for drive-controlling the first and second drive units so that a desired angle is made between a normal to a reference plane as a reference for posture control and a normal to a mirror surface in each of the first and second mirror elements, for each of the first and second mirror elements,

wherein control information about the angle given to each of the first and second drive units by the control unit is defined by rotation angle components around two axes on the reference plane, said two axes passing across the normal to the reference plane and being orthogonal to each other.

6. The illumination optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light arriving once at the first spatial light modulator arrives at the second spatial light modulator from the first spatial modulator, without traveling via any optical member having a power.

7. The illumination optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second spatial modulators are arranged so that a plane where the plurality of first optical elements are two-dimensionally arranged is substantially parallel to a plane where the plurality of second optical elements are two-dimensionally arranged.

8. The illumination optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a spatial light modulation unit, constituted by the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator, is used in combination with a light source which supplies a nearly parallel beam to the first spatial light modulator.

9. The illumination optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distribution forming optical system includes an optical integrator, and a condensing optical system arranged in an optical path between the optical integrator and a spatial light modulation unit constituted by the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator.

10. The illumination optical apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sending optical system for guiding the beam from the light source to a first spatial light modulation unit constituted by the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator,

wherein the sending optical system comprises a second spatial light modulation unit having the same structure as the first spatial light modulation unit.

11. The illumination optical apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

a distribution measuring unit to perform measurement of a light intensity distribution of the beam incident from the light source to the second spatial light modulation unit; and

a control unit for controlling the second spatial light modulation unit, based on a result of the measurement by the distribution measuring unit.

12. An exposure apparatus comprising the illumination optical apparatus as set forth in claim 1 for illuminating a predetermined pattern, the exposure apparatus performing exposure of the predetermined pattern on a photosensitive substrate.

13. The illumination optical apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a coupling optical system arranged in an optical path between the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator and optically coupling the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator.

14. The illumination optical apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the plurality of second optical elements of the second spatial light modulator are two-dimensionally arranged in correspondence to the respective first optical elements.

15. The illumination optical apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a stop arranged in an optical path between the second light modulator and the distribution forming optical system through which the second spatial light modulator is optically coupled to the distribution forming optical system.

16. The illumination optical apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control system operative to control the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator so as to produce at least one of an annular light intensity distribution and a multi-polar light intensity distribution on the illumination pupil.

17. A device manufacturing method comprising:

providing an exposure apparatus including an illumination optical apparatus for illuminating a predetermined pattern to perform exposure of the predetermined pattern on a photosensitive substrate,

the illumination optical apparatus comprising;

a first spatial light modulator arranged in an optical path of the illumination optical apparatus, said first spatial light modulator having a plurality of first optical elements which are arranged two-dimensionally and postures of which each are individually controlled, and modulating light incident thereon to a first light with a first angle distribution;

a second spatial light modulator arranged at a position where the first light having traveled via the first spatial light modulator arrives, said second spatial light modulator having a plurality of second optical elements which are two-dimensionally arranged and postures of which each are individually controlled, and modulating the first light incident thereon to a second light with a second angle distribution; and

a distribution forming optical system arranged in an optical path between the second spatial light modulator and an illumination pupil of the illumination optical apparatus, said distribution forming optical system condensing the second light with the second angle distribution and forming a predetermined light intensity distribution on an illumination pupil of the illumination optical apparatus;

effecting the exposure of the predetermined pattern on the photosensitive substrate, using the exposure apparatus

developing the photosensitive substrate onto which the predetermined pattern has been transferred, and then forming a mask layer in a shape corresponding to the predetermined pattern on a surface of the photosensitive substrate; and

processing the surface of the photosensitive substrate through the mask layer.

18. The device manufacturing method according to claim 17, wherein the illumination optical apparatus further comprises a control system operative to control the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator so as to produce at least one of an annular light intensity distribution and a multi-polar light intensity distribution on the illumination pupil.

19. An illumination optical apparatus which illuminates an illumination target surface on the basis of light from a light source, the illumination optical apparatus comprising:

a first spatial light modulator arranged in an optical path of the illumination optical apparatus, said first spatial light modulator having a plurality of first optical elements which are arranged two-dimensionally and postures of which each are individually controlled, and modulating light incident thereon to a first light with a first angle distribution;

a second spatial light modulator arranged at a position where the first light having traveled via the first spatial light modulator arrives, said second spatial light modulator having a plurality of second optical elements which are two-dimensionally arranged and postures of which each are individually controlled, and modulating the first light incident thereon to a second light with a second angle distribution;

a distribution forming optical, system arranged in an optical path between the second spatial light modulator and an illumination pupil of the illumination optical apparatus, said distribution forming optical system condensing the second light with the second angle distribution and forming a predetermined light intensity distribution on an illumination pupil of the illumination optical apparatus; and

a stop arranged in an optical path between the second light modulator and the distribution forming optical system and through which the second spatial light modulator is optically coupled to the distribution forming optical system.

20. The illumination optical apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising a control system operative to control the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator so as to produce at least one of an annular light intensity distribution and a multi-polar light intensity distribution on the illumination pupil.