Movable body drive method and movable body drive system, pattern formation method and apparatus, exposure method and apparatus, device manufacturing method, measuring method, and position measurement system

• US 8,218,129 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2008
• Issued: 07/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Shibazaki, Yuichi, Kanaya, Yuho
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Peter B
• Application Number:
  US12/195,923
• Publication Number:
  US 20090051892A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,419 Days
• Field of Search: 355/72, 355/75, 355/77, 355/63, 355/53
• US Class Current: 355/72
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70516 Calibration of components of the microlithographic apparatus, e.g. light sources, addressable masks or detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70775 Position control, e.g. interferometers or encoders for determining the stage position
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/7085 Detection arrangement, e.g. detectors of apparatus alignment possibly mounted on wafers, exposure dose, photo-cleaning flux, stray light, thermal load
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 9/7026 Focusing
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 9/7034 Leveling

Abstract

By moving a wafer stage while monitoring an XY position of a wafer stage WST using an interferometer system, and scanning a Y scale in an X-axis direction and a Y-axis direction using a surface position sensor, an XY setting position of the surface position sensor is measured. Based on information of the setting position obtained, by measuring a position coordinate of the wafer stage in a perpendicular direction with respect to an XY plane and a tilt direction, the wafer stage is driven in a stable manner and with high precision.

Claims

1. A movable body drive method in which a movable body is driven substantially along a two-dimensional plane, the method comprising:

a drive process in which the movable body is moved along a predetermined direction parallel to the two-dimensional plane, and during the movement of the movable body, positional information of the movable body in a direction orthogonal to the two-dimensional plane is measured using a plurality of sensor heads of a position measurement system, and based on the measured positional information of the movable body and positional information within a plane parallel to the two-dimensional plane of at least one sensor head used in measurement of the information, the movable body is driven in at least a tilt direction with respect to the two-dimensional plane; and

a measuring process in which, prior to the drive process, the movable body is moved parallel to the two-dimensional plane, and during the movement, measurement information of the at least one sensor head is acquired, and thereby positional information of the sensor head within the plane corresponding to the measurement information is measured.

2. The movable body drive method according to claim 1 wherein

in the drive process, the movable body is driven in the tilt direction with respect to the two-dimensional plane, based further on information of an error component specific to each sensor head used to measure the positional information of the movable body.

3. The movable body drive method according to claim 1 wherein

the measuring process includes a first head position measuring process in which the movable body is moved in a first direction within the two-dimensional plane so that the movable body passes through a detection area of a sensor corresponding to the sensor head of the position measurement system, and based on a first measurement value of a first measuring device which measures positional information of the movable body in the first direction and a detection signal of the sensor corresponding to the first measurement value that are obtained during the movement, a position of the sensor head in the first direction is computed.

4. The movable body drive method according to claim 3 wherein

the measuring process further includes a second head position measuring process in which the movable body is moved in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction within the two-dimensional plane so that the movable body passes through the detection area of the sensor, and based on a second measurement value of a second measuring device which measures positional information of the movable body in the second direction and a detection signal of the sensor corresponding to the second measurement value that are obtained during the movement, a position of the sensor head in the second direction is computed.

5. The movable body drive method according to claim 4 wherein

the sensor head is arranged external to the movable body, and

the detection area of the sensor includes a first measurement area and a second measurement area on the movable body.

6. The movable body drive method according to claim 5 wherein

the second measurement area includes a pattern for positioning in the second direction.

7. The movable body drive method according to claim 5 wherein

the first measurement area has at least a part which is common with the second measurement area, and the part which is common includes a pattern for positioning in the first and second directions.

8. The movable body drive method according to claim 3 wherein

the sensor head is arranged external to the movable body, and

the detection area of the sensor includes a pattern for positioning in the first direction.

9. A pattern formation method, comprising:

a mount process that includes mounting an object on a movable body that can move along a movement plane; and

a drive process that includes driving the movable body by the movable body drive method according to claim 1, to form a pattern on the object.

10. A device manufacturing method, comprising:

a pattern formation process that includes forming a pattern on a substrate by the pattern formation method according to claim 9.

11. An exposure method in which a pattern is formed on an object by an irradiation of an energy beam, the method comprising:

for relative movement of the energy beam and the object, driving a movable body on which the object is mounted, by the movable body drive method according to claim 1.

12. A measuring method that measures positional information within a plane parallel to a two-dimensional plane of a sensor head, which is equipped in a position measurement system that measures positional information in a tilt direction with respect to the two-dimensional plane of a movable body that moves substantially along the two-dimensional plane and which is used to measure positional information of the movable body in a direction orthogonal to the two-dimensional plane, the method comprising:

a first head position measuring process in which the movable body is moved in a first direction within the two-dimensional plane so that the movable body passes through a detection area of a sensor corresponding to the sensor head of the position measurement system, and based on a first measurement value of a first measuring device arranged separately from the position measurement system and measures positional information of the movable body in the first direction and a detection signal of the sensor corresponding to the first measurement value that are obtained during the movement, a position of the sensor head in the first direction is computed.

13. The measuring method according to claim 12, the method further comprising:

a second head position measuring process in which the movable body is moved in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction within the two-dimensional plane so that the movable body passes through the detection area of the sensor, and based on a second measurement value of the second measuring device which measures positional information of the movable body in the second direction and a detection signal of the sensor corresponding to the second measurement value that are obtained during the movement, a position of the sensor head in the second direction is computed.

14. The measuring method according to claim 13 wherein

the sensor head is arranged external to the movable body, and

the detection area of the sensor includes a first measurement area and a second measurement area on the movable body.

15. The measuring method according to claim 14 wherein

the second measurement area includes a pattern for positioning in the second direction.

16. The measuring method according to claim 14 wherein

the first measurement area has at least a part which is common with the second measurement area, and the part which is common includes a pattern for positioning in the first and second directions.

17. The measuring method according to claim 12 wherein

the sensor head is arranged external to the movable body, and

the detection area of the sensor includes a pattern for positioning in the first direction.

18. A movable body drive system in which a movable body is driven substantially along a two-dimensional plane, the system comprising:

a position measurement system that has a plurality of heads which is placed two-dimensionally within a plane parallel to the two-dimensional plane and measures positional information of the movable body in a direction orthogonal to the two-dimensional plane;

a drive device that moves the movable body along a predetermined direction parallel to the two-dimensional plane, and during the movement of the movable body, measures positional information of the movable body in the direction orthogonal to the two-dimensional plane using the plurality of sensor heads of the position measurement system, and based on the measured positional information of the movable body and positional information within a plane parallel to the two-dimensional plane of at least one sensor head used in measurement of the information, drives the movable body in a tilt direction with respect to the two-dimensional plane; and

a measurement device which measures positional information related to the first direction and/or the second direction in the two-dimensional plane of the movable body,

wherein the positional information of the at least one sensor head is based on the positional information of the movable body of when the at least one sensor head generates an output according to a position of the movable body in the direction orthogonal to the two-dimensional plane.

19. The movable body drive system according to claim 18 wherein

the drive device drives the movable body in a direction orthogonal to the two-dimensional plane and a tilt direction with respect to the two-dimensional plane, based further on information of an error component specific to each sensor head used to measure positional information of the movable body.

20. A pattern formation apparatus, comprising:

a movable body on which an object is mounted, and which is movable along a movement plane holding the object; and

a body drive system according to claim 18 which drives the movable body for pattern formation to the object.

21. An exposure apparatus that forms a pattern on an object by an irradiation of an energy beam, the apparatus comprising:

a patterning device that irradiates the energy beam on the object; and

a movable body drive system according to claim 18, whereby

the movable body drive system drives the movable body on which the object is mounted for relative movement of the energy beam and the object.

22. A position measurement system which measures positional information of a movable body that moves substantially along a two-dimensional plane, the system comprising:

a plurality of sensor heads which are installed at a plurality of positions that can face the two-dimensional plane, facing the movable body that moves substantially along the two-dimensional plane and generating an output according to a position of the movable body in a direction orthogonal to the two-dimensional plane; and

a first measurement device which measures first positional information related to a first direction in the two-dimensional plane of the movable body, wherein

at least tilt information with respect to the two-dimensional plane of the movable body is detected, using an output from at least one of the plurality of sensor heads, and information related to a setting position of the at least one sensor head on a plane substantially parallel to the two dimensional plane, and

the information related to the setting position of the at least one sensor head is obtained, using the first positional information of the movable body of when the at least one sensor head generates the output.

23. The position measurement system according to claim 22, the system further comprising:

a second measurement device which measures second positional information related to a second direction perpendicular to the first direction within the two-dimensional plane of the movable body, wherein

the information related to the setting position of the at least one sensor head is obtained, using the second positional information of the movable body of when the at least one sensor head generates the output.

24. The position measurement system according to claim 22 wherein

the plurality of sensor heads is placed two-dimensionally within a plane parallel to the predetermined two-dimensional plane.