Method of measuring a lithographic projection apparatus

• US 8,208,122 B2
• Filed: 04/14/2009
• Issued: 06/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ASML Netherlands BV (ASML Holding NV)
• Original Assignee: ASML Netherlands BV (ASML Holding NV)
• Inventors: Staals, Frank, Hofmans, Gerardus Carolus Johannus, Van Der Laan, Hans, Magnusson, Sven Gunnar Krister
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Peter B
• Assistant Examiner(s): RIDDLE, CHRISTINA A
• Application Number:
  US12/423,570
• Publication Number:
  US 20090268182A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,169 Days
• Field of Search: 355/52, 355/53, 355/55, 355 67- 75, 355/77, 250/492.1, 250/492.2, 250/492.22, 250/548, 430/5, 430/22, 430/30, 430/311, 430/8, 430/312, 430/322, 356/124, 356/127, 356399-401
• US Class Current: 355/55
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 27/32 Projection printing apparatus, e.g. enlarger, copying camera
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 27/42 for automatic sequential copying of the same original G03B27/34, G03B27/53 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70633 Overlay, i.e. relative alignment between patterns printed by separate exposures in different layers, or in the same layer in multiple exposures or stitching
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70641 Focus

Abstract

A method of measuring a lithographic projection apparatus is described. The method includes imaging a verification mark of a patterning device onto a radiation-sensitive layer held by a substrate table of a lithographic apparatus, wherein the verification mark includes at least a first, a second and a third verification structure that have a mutually different sensitivity profile for a dose setting, a focus setting and a contrast setting.

Claims

1. A method of measuring a lithographic projection apparatus, the method comprising:

imaging a verification mark provided in a patterning device onto a radiation-sensitive layer held by a substrate table of a lithographic apparatus, wherein the verification mark comprises at least a first, a second and a third verification structure that have a mutually different sensitivity profile for a dose setting, a focus setting and a contrast setting, wherein the first verification structure comprises at least a first and a second verification pattern having mutually different focus settings, and the third verification structure has a focus setting centrally within the range of focus settings of the first and the second verification patterns.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the third verification structure comprises a dense, sub-patterned verification pattern.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first verification structure comprises at least a pair of verification patterns, one of the verification patterns covered by an element to cause a deviation of an incident radiation beam.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the element to cause the deviation is a prism.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the element to cause the deviation is a phase shift mask.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the second verification structure comprises a sparsely, sub-patterned verification pattern.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and the second verification patterns of the first verification structure are arranged mutually transverse to each other, and wherein a projection system used in the imaging has an astigmatic projection error, and wherein a difference is determined between a shift of an image of the first verification pattern and of the second verification pattern at the radiation-sensitive layer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a length of an optical path from the first verification pattern of the first verification structure to the image of the first verification pattern at the radiation sensitive layer differs from a length of an optical path from the second verification pattern of the first verification structure to the image of the second verification pattern at the radiation sensitive layer.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first and the second verification patterns of the first verification structure are arranged at a first and a second level in a direction transverse to a plane of the verification mark.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first and the second verification patterns of the first verification structure are imaged at the radiation-sensitive layer at a respective first and second level in a direction transverse to a plane of the radiation sensitive layer.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

verifying a current dose setting, a current focus setting, a current contrast setting, or any combination thereof from an evaluation of the image formed of the verification mark on the radiation sensitive surface; and

adjusting a setting, a parameter, or both of the apparatus to adapt the dose setting, focus setting, contrast setting, or the combination thereof.

12. A method of measuring a lithographic projection apparatus, the method comprising:

imaging a verification mark provided in a patterning device onto a radiation-sensitive layer held by a substrate table of a lithographic apparatus, wherein the verification mark comprises at least a first verification structure with at least a first verification pattern and a second verification pattern, the first and second verification patterns being imaged at mutually different focus settings, and a second verification structure having a focus setting centrally within the range of focus settings of the first and the second verification patterns.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first verification pattern of the first verification structure is imaged more than one time at a different focus setting.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the first verification structure with the first verification pattern and the image plane are moved in a direction of an optical axis of the lithographic apparatus relative to each other.

15. A patterning device configured to pattern a beam of radiation in a lithographic projection apparatus according to a desired pattern, the patterning device comprising a verification mark, wherein the verification mark comprises at least a first, a second and a third verification structure that have a mutually different sensitivity profile for a dose setting, a focus setting and a contrast setting, wherein the first verification structure comprises at least a first and a second verification pattern having mutually different focus settings, and the third verification structure has a focus setting centrally within the range of focus settings of the first and the second verification patterns.

16. The patterning device of claim 15, wherein the third verification structure comprises a dense, sub-patterned verification pattern.

17. The patterning device of claim 16, wherein the first verification structure comprises at least a pair of verification patterns, one of the verification patterns covered by an element to cause a deviation of an incident radiation beam, the verification patterns having mutually the same focus setting.

18. The patterning device of claim 16, wherein the first and the second verification patterns are arranged at a first and a second level in a direction of an axis transverse to a plane of the verification mark.

19. The patterning device of claim 18, wherein the first and the second verification patterns of the first verification structure have substantially the same orientation.

20. The patterning device of claim 18, wherein the second verification structure comprises at least a third and a fourth verification pattern that are arranged at different levels in a direction of an axis transverse to a plane of the verification mark, and wherein the fourth verification pattern has an orientation with respect to the third verification pattern that is rotated substantially 180 degrees around the axis.

21. The patterning device of claim 18, further comprising an additional first verification structure with an additional first and an additional second verification pattern that are arranged at different levels in a direction of the axis, the additional first and the additional second verification pattern having an orientation with respect to the first verification pattern that is rotated substantially 90 degrees around the axis.

22. The patterning device of claim 21, wherein the additional first and the additional second verification pattern of the additional first verification structure have substantially the same orientation.

23. The patterning device of claim 21, wherein the level of the additional first verification pattern coincides with the first level and the level of the additional second verification pattern coincides with the second level.

24. A patterning device configured to pattern a beam of radiation in a lithographic projection apparatus according to a desired pattern, the patterning device comprising a verification mark, the verification mark comprising at least a first verification structure that comprises at least a first and a second verification pattern that are arranged at a mutually different level in a direction of an axis transverse to a plane of the verification mark and having mutually different focus settings, and the verification mark comprising a second verification structure having a focus setting centrally within the range of focus settings of the first and the second verification patterns.

25. A lithographic projection apparatus comprising:

a substrate table configured to hold a substrate;

a patterning device configured to pattern a beam of radiation according to a desired pattern, the patterning device comprising a verification mark to be imaged onto a radiation-sensitive layer held by the substrate table, wherein the verification mark comprises at least a first, a second and a third verification structure that have a mutually different sensitivity profile for a dose setting, a focus setting and a contrast setting, wherein the first verification structure comprises at least a first and a second verification pattern having mutually different focus settings, and the third verification structure has a focus setting centrally within the range of focus settings of the first and the second verification patterns;

a projection system configured to image the patterned beam onto the radiation-sensitive layer.

26. A device manufacturing method, comprising:

using a patterning device to endow a beam of radiation with a pattern in its cross-section;

projecting the patterned beam of radiation onto a substrate that is at least partially covered by a layer of radiation-sensitive material using a lithographic apparatus; and

prior to the projecting, verifying the lithographic apparatus by imaging a verification mark provided in a patterning device onto a radiation-sensitive layer held by a substrate table of a lithographic apparatus, wherein the verification mark comprises at least a first, a second and a third verification structure that have a mutually different sensitivity profile for a dose setting, a focus setting and a contrast setting, wherein the first verification structure comprises at least a first and a second verification pattern having mutually different focus settings, and the third verification structure has a focus setting centrally within the range of focus settings of the first and the second verification patterns.