Exposure apparatus and device fabrication method

• US 8,169,590 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2006
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Hara, Hideaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Glick, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): Persaud, Deoram
• Application Number:
  US11/635,607
• Publication Number:
  US 20070081136A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,971 Days
• Field of Search: 355/30, 355/53, 355/72, 355/77, 430/30, 430/311
• US Class Current: 355/30
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 27/42 for automatic sequential copying of the same original G03B27/34, G03B27/53 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/2041 in the presence of a fluid, e.g. immersion; using fluid cooling means
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70325 Resolution enhancement techniques not otherwise provided for, e.g. darkfield imaging, interfering beams, spatial frequency multiplication, nearfield lenses or solid immersion lenses
• 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 7/70758 Drive means, e.g. actuators, motors for long- or short-stroke modules or fine or coarse driving
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70833 Mounting of optical systems, e.g. mounting of illumination system, projection system or stage systems on base-plate or ground
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/709 Vibration, e.g. vibration detection, compensation, suppression or isolation

Abstract

An exposure apparatus is provided which can supply and collect a liquid in a prescribed state, and that can suppress degradation of a pattern image projected onto a substrate. The exposure apparatus is provided with a nozzle member (70) having a supply outlet (12) that supplies a liquid (LQ) and a collection inlet (22) that collects a liquid (LQ), and a vibration isolating mechanism (60) that supports the nozzle member (70) and vibrationally isolates the nozzle member (70) from a lower side step part (7) of a main column (1).

Claims

1. A lithographic apparatus, comprising:

a projection system arranged to project a patterned beam of radiation onto a target portion of a substrate;

a liquid supply system member that locally contains a liquid in a space between the projection system and the substrate and that forms an immersion area under the projection system;

a substrate table on which the substrate is held, the substrate table including an upper surface configured to surround the substrate held by the substrate table and the upper surface being substantially flush with a surface of the substrate held by the substrate table; and

a liquid supply system member compensator that applies a force to the liquid supply system member to at least partially compensate for an interaction between the liquid supply system member and the substrate table and that is coupled to a frame that is substantially vibrationally isolated from the projection system.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a liquid supply system member compensator controller and a liquid supply system member position determining device, the liquid supply system member compensator controller applying the force to the liquid supply system member, via the liquid supply system member compensator, based on a position of the liquid supply system member as measured by the liquid supply system member position determining device.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the liquid supply system member position determining device determines a position of the liquid supply system member, relative to the projection system or the frame substantially vibrationally isolated from the projection system, along an axis substantially parallel to an optical axis of the projection system.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the liquid supply system member position determining device determines a position of the liquid supply system member in a direction substantially perpendicular to an optical axis of the projection system.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a liquid supply system member compensator controller that applies the force to the liquid supply system member, via the liquid supply system member compensator, according to data representing the magnitude of the interaction between the liquid supply system member and the substrate table.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid supply system member compensator is coupled to the frame supporting the projection system.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a liquid supply system member compensator controller that determines the magnitude of the interaction between the liquid supply system member and the substrate table.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid supply system member compensator operates by means of at least one mechanism selected from the following list:

an electromagnetic force generator, a bellows, and a mechanical spring.

9. A lithographic apparatus, comprising:

a projection system arranged to project a patterned beam of radiation onto a target portion of a substrate;

a liquid supply system member that contains a liquid in a space between the projection system and the substrate and that forms an immersion area of the liquid under the projection system;

a substrate table on which the substrate is held, the substrate table including an upper surface configured to surround the substrate held by the substrate table and the upper surface being substantially flush with a surface of the substrate held by the substrate table; and

a liquid supply system member compensator that compensates for a force exerted by one of the liquid supply system member and the substrate table toward the other, wherein the liquid supply system member compensator applies the force to the liquid supply system member to at least partially compensate for the force exerted by one of the liquid supply system member and the substrate table toward the other and is coupled to a frame that is substantially vibrationally isolated from the projection system.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a liquid supply system member compensator controller and a liquid supply system member position determining device, the liquid supply system member compensator controller applying the force to the liquid supply system member based on a position of the liquid supply system member as measured by the liquid supply system member position determining device.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a liquid supply system member compensator controller that applies the force to the liquid supply system member according to data representing a magnitude of the force applied by one of the liquid supply system member and the substrate table toward the other.

12. A device manufacturing method, comprising:

locally containing a liquid in a space between a projection system of a lithographic apparatus and a substrate table using a liquid supply system member so as to form an immersion area of the liquid under the projection system;

compensating for an interaction between the liquid supply system member and the substrate table by using a liquid supply system member compensator coupled to a frame that is substantially vibrationally isolated from the projection system; and

projecting a patterned radiation beam through the liquid onto a target portion of the substrate held by the substrate table using the projection system, the substrate table including an upper surface configured to surround the substrate held by the substrate table such that an edge area is exposed through the liquid of the immersion area formed under the projection system.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising adjusting a relative position of the substrate and an image plane of the lithographic apparatus according to data on a surface position of the substrate.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the data is derived from detecting a surface height and a surface tilt the substrate surface, the surface height being defined in a direction substantially parallel to an optical axis of a final element of the projection system and the surface tilt being defined with respect to one or two orthogonal axes of a plane substantially perpendicular to the optical axis of the final element of the projection system.

15. The method according to claim 13, further comprising applying a force to the liquid supply system member to at least partially compensate for the interaction between the liquid supply system member and the substrate table.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the isolated frame supports the projection system.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the force is applied to the liquid supply system member based on a position of the liquid supply system member.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising determining a position of the liquid supply system member, relative to the projection system or the frame substantially vibrationally isolated from the projection system, in a direction substantially parallel to an optical axis of the projection system, and determining a position of the liquid supply system member in a direction substantially perpendicular to the optical axis of the projection system, or both.