Exposure apparatus, exposure method, and method for producing device

• US 8,208,119 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2005
• Issued: 06/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Naoyuki, Owa, Soichi, Hirukawa, Shigeru, Omura, Yasuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Glick, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): Asfaw, Mesfin T
• Application Number:
  US10/588,297
• Publication Number:
  US 20080106707A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,700 Days
• Field of Search: 355/30, 355/53
• US Class Current: 355/53
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/2041 in the presence of a fluid, e.g. immersion; using fluid cooling means
• 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 7/7075 Handling workpieces outside exposure position, e.g. SMIF box
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70875 Temperature, e.g. temperature control of masks or workpieces via control of stage temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70891 Temperature

Abstract

An exposure apparatus (EX) exposes a substrate (P) by irradiating exposure light (EL) on the substrate (P) through liquid (LQ). The exposure apparatus (EX) has a substrate holder (PH) for holding the substrate (P), a substrate stage (PST) capable of moving the substrate (P) held by the substrate holder (PH), and a temperature adjusting system (60) for adjusting the temperature of the substrate holder (PH). The temperature of the substrate (P) is controlled so that there is no difference in temperature between the substrate (P) and the liquid (LQ), thereby preventing a reduction in exposure accuracy resulting from variation in temperature of the liquid (LQ).

Claims

1. An exposure apparatus which exposes a substrate by radiating an exposure light beam onto the substrate through a liquid, the exposure apparatus comprising:

a flow-passage forming member having a supply inlet from which the liquid is supplied, the flow-passage forming member having a liquid recovery outlet in a lower surface thereof, an upper surface of the substrate facing the lower surface of the flow-passage forming member during an exposure, and the liquid supplied from the supply inlet covering only a portion of the upper surface of the substrate during the exposure;

a temperature sensor provided at the flow-passage forming member;

a substrate stage having a substrate-holding member by which the substrate is held, the substrate-holding member holding the substrate on an underside of the substrate and the substrate-holding member being movable below the supply inlet; and

a temperature adjustment system which performs temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member depending on a temperature of the liquid to be supplied from the supply inlet onto the substrate held by the substrate-holding member.

2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member so that heat transfer is reduced between the substrate and the liquid on the substrate.

3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member so that no temperature change of the liquid is caused by contact between the liquid and the substrate.

4. The exposure apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member so that no temperature distribution is generated in the liquid.

5. The exposure apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a surface position-detecting unit which detects surface position information about a surface of the substrate by emitting a detecting light beam onto the substrate through the liquid and receiving a reflected light beam from the substrate through the liquid, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member to suppress measurement error of the surface position-detecting unit due to the temperature change of the liquid.

6. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member so that no temperature change of the substrate is caused by contact between the liquid and the substrate.

7. The exposure apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a mark-detecting system which detects an alignment mark on the substrate not through the liquid, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member so that no temperature change of the substrate is caused by the contact between the liquid and the substrate after detecting the mark by the mark-detecting system.

8. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature adjustment system uses a liquid which is the same as the liquid to be supplied onto the substrate to perform the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member.

9. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor which measures a temperature of the substrate-holding member.

10. The exposure apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member so that the measured temperature of the substrate-holding member is the same as the temperature of the liquid to be supplied onto the substrate held by the substrate-holding member.

11. A method for producing a device, comprising:

exposing a substrate using the exposure apparatus as defined in claim 1; and

processing the exposed substrate.

12. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member so that the temperature of the substrate-holding member is the same as the temperature of the liquid to be supplied onto the substrate held by the substrate-holding member.

13. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member so that no deformation of the substrate is caused by contact between the liquid and the substrate.

14. An exposure apparatus which exposes a first or a second substrate by radiating an exposure light beam onto the first or second substrate through a liquid, the exposure apparatus comprising:

a flow-passage forming member having a supply inlet from which the liquid is supplied, the flow-passage forming member having a liquid recovery outlet in a lower surface thereof, an upper surface of the substrate facing the lower surface of the flow-passage forming member during exposure;

a temperature sensor provided at the flow-passage forming member;

a first substrate stage having a first substrate-holding member by which the first substrate is held, the first substrate-holding member holding the first substrate on an underside of the first substrate and the first substrate-holding member being movable below the supply inlet;

a second substrate stage having a second substrate-holding member by which the second substrate is held, the second substrate-holding member holding the second substrate on an underside of the second substrate and the second substrate-holding member being movable below the supply inlet;

a measuring station which performs measurement for one of the substrates held by one of the stages;

an exposure station which performs exposure for the substrate held by the other of the stages, the exposure station being provided with the flow-passage forming member having the supply inlet from which the liquid is supplied onto the substrate held by the other of the stages, the supplied liquid covering only a portion of the upper surface of the substrate held by the other of the stages during the exposure; and

temperature adjustment systems which are provided for the first substrate stage and the second substrate stage respectively and which perform temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member of each of the stages depending on a temperature of the liquid to be supplied from the supply inlet of the flow-passage forming member.

15. The exposure apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the measurement for the substrate in the measuring station includes measurement of surface position information about a surface of the substrate.

16. The exposure apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the measurement for the substrate in the measuring station includes detection of an alignment mark on the substrate.

17. The exposure apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the first substrate-holding member before performing the measurement for the first substrate and performs the temperature adjustment for the second substrate-holding member before performing the measurement for the second substrate.

18. The exposure apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs, after the measurement for the substrate in the measuring station, the temperature adjustment for the respective substrate-holding member to suppress temperature change of the substrate in the measuring station.

19. The exposure apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a projection optical system which projects an image of a pattern through the liquid onto the substrate being exposed, wherein the exposure station is provided with the projection optical system.

20. A method for producing a device, comprising:

exposing a substrate using the exposure apparatus as defined in claim 14; and

processing the exposed substrate.

21. An exposure method comprising:

holding a substrate by a substrate-holding member on an underside of the substrate;

supplying a liquid from a supply inlet onto an upper surface of the substrate held by the substrate-holding member so that the supplied liquid covers only a portion of the upper surface of the substrate held by the substrate-holding member;

moving the substrate below the supply inlet;

exposing the substrate by radiating an exposure light beam onto the substrate through the liquid covering the portion of the upper surface of the substrate; and

measuring a temperature of the liquid supplied from the supply inlet; and

controlling a temperature of the substrate-holding member depending on the measured liquid temperature.

22. The exposure method according to claim 21, wherein the temperature of the substrate-holding member is controlled so that heat transfer between the substrate and the supplied liquid is prevented.

23. The exposure method according to claim 21, wherein the temperature of the substrate-holding member is controlled so that temperature change of the liquid on the substrate is prevented.

24. The exposure method according to claim 21, wherein the temperature of the substrate-holding member is controlled so that temperature change of the substrate due to contact between the supplied liquid and the substrate is prevented.

25. The exposure method according to claim 24, further comprising detecting an alignment mark on the substrate held by the substrate-holding member not through the liquid, wherein the temperature of the substrate-holding member is controlled so that the temperature change of the substrate caused after detecting the mark is prevented.

26. The exposure method according to claim 21, wherein the temperature of the substrate-holding member is controlled using a liquid which is the same as the liquid to be supplied onto the substrate.

27. The exposure method according to claim 26, wherein the temperature of the substrate-holding member is controlled by flowing the liquid in the substrate-holding member.

28. The exposure method according to claim 21, further comprising measuring the temperature of the substrate-holding member, wherein the temperature of the substrate-holding member is controlled so that the measured temperature of the substrate-holding member is the same as the temperature of the liquid to be supplied onto the substrate held by the substrate-holding member.

29. The exposure method according to claim 21, wherein the temperature of the substrate-holding member is controlled so that the temperature of the substrate-holding member is the same as the temperature of the liquid to be supplied onto the substrate held by the substrate-holding member.

30. The exposure method according to claim 21, wherein the temperature of the substrate-holding member is controlled so that deformation of the substrate due to contact between the supplied liquid and the substrate is prevented.

31. An exposure apparatus which exposes a substrate by radiating an exposure light beam onto the substrate through a liquid, the exposure apparatus comprising:

a flow-passing forming member having a supply inlet from which the liquid is supplied, the flow-passage forming member having a liquid recovery outlet in a lower surface thereof, an upper surface of the substrate facing the lower surface of the flow-passage forming member during an exposure, and the liquid supplied from the supply inlet covering only a portion of the upper surface of the substrate during the exposure;

a temperature sensor provided at the flow-passage forming member;

a substrate stage having a substrate-holding member by which the substrate is held, the substrate-holding member holding the substrate on an underside of the substrate and the substrate-holding member being movable below the supply inlet; and

a temperature adjustment system which performs temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member so that a temperature of the substrate-holding member is the same as a temperature of the liquid to be supplied onto the substrate held by the substrate-holding member.

32. The exposure apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member so that heat transfer is reduced between the substrate and the liquid on the substrate.

33. The exposure apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member so that no temperature change of the liquid is caused by contact between the liquid and the substrate.

34. The exposure apparatus according to claim 33, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member so that no temperature distribution is generated in the liquid.

35. The exposure apparatus according to claim 33, further comprising a surface position-detecting unit which detects surface position information about a surface of the substrate by emitting a detecting light beam onto the substrate through the liquid and receiving a reflected light beam from the substrate through the liquid, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member to suppress measurement error of the surface position-detecting unit due to the temperature change of the liquid.

36. The exposure apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member so that no temperature change of the substrate is caused by contact between the liquid and the substrate.

37. The exposure apparatus according to claim 36, further comprising a mark-detecting system which detects an alignment mark on the substrate not through the liquid, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member so that no temperature change of the substrate is caused by the contact between the liquid and the substrate after detecting the mark by the mark-detecting system.

38. The exposure apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the temperature adjustment system uses a liquid which is the same as the liquid to be supplied onto the substrate to perform the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member.

39. The exposure apparatus according to claim 31, further comprising a temperature sensor which measures a temperature of the substrate-holding member.

40. The exposure apparatus according to claim 39, wherein the temperature adjustment system performs the temperature adjustment for the substrate-holding member so that the measured temperature of the substrate-holding member is the same as the temperature of the liquid to be supplied onto the substrate held by the substrate-holding member.