Exposure apparatus, exposure method, and device manufacturing method

• US 8,228,482 B2
• Filed: 05/11/2009
• Issued: 07/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Kanaya, Yuho
• Primary Examiner(s): Glick, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): RIDDLE, CHRISTINA A
• Application Number:
  US12/463,586
• Publication Number:
  US 20090284716A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,170 Days
• Field of Search: 355/30, 355/52, 355/53, 355/55, 355 67- 71, 355 72- 74, 355/77, 250/492.1, 250/492.2, 250/492.22, 250/548, 430/5, 430/8, 430/22, 430/30, 430/311, 430/320, 356399-401
• US Class Current: 355/30
• 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 7/70775 Position control, e.g. interferometers or encoders for determining the stage position

Abstract

In an exposure apparatus of a liquid immersion exposure method, there is a case when a wafer table holding a wafer moves, a liquid immersion area formed by liquid supplied in a space between a wafer table and a projection optical system passes over a head mounted on the wafer table. Therefore, for a head over which the liquid immersion area has passed, the residual presence of the liquid is detected based on an amount of light of a reflected light received by the light receiving element which receives the reflected light from the wafer table surface. And, of a plurality of heads, positional information of the wafer table is measured, based on measurement values of a head that had no liquid remaining in the detection.

Claims

1. An exposure apparatus apparatus comprising:

a movable body which holds an object and substantially moves along a predetermined plane;

a liquid supply device which supplies liquid on a surface of the movable body on which the object is mounted including a surface of the object;

a pattern generation device including an optical system which has liquid supplied to a space formed with the surface of the movable body, the pattern generation device irradiating an energy beam on the object via the optical system and the liquid and forming a pattern on the object;

a measurement system which includes an encoder system that has a plurality of encoder heads placed on the surface of the movable body and that measures positional information of the movable body, based on an output of a predetermined number of the encoder heads facing a grating section placed parallel to the predetermined plane external to the movable body; and

a detection device which is connected to the measurement system, and for at least one of the plurality of encoder heads, detects residual information of the liquid on a photodetection section of the encoder head and outputs the detection results to the measurement system, wherein

the encoder system measures positional information of the movable body within the predetermined plane based on an output of the predetermined number of the encoder heads except for an encoder head which was detected to have liquid remaining by the detection device.

2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 wherein

the measurement system further includes an interferometer system which measures positional information of the movable body at least within the predetermined plane.

3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 wherein

the detection device detects the residual information of the liquid by irradiating a measurement beam on a surface of the movable body, receiving a reflected light from the surface, and measuring the light quantity of the reflected light.

4. The exposure apparatus according to claim 3 wherein

the detection device irradiates the measurement beam which is obliquely incident on the surface of the movable body.

5. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 wherein

the detection device is placed external to the movable body.

6. The exposure apparatus according to claim 5 wherein

the detection device has a detection area in a vicinity of a liquid immersion area formed by the liquid.

7. The exposure apparatus according to claim 6 wherein

the detection area surrounds a periphery of the liquid immersion area.

8. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 wherein

the plurality of encoder heads include a first head and a second head whose measurement directions are in a first direction and in a second direction, respectively, which are orthogonal to each other in the predetermined plane, and

the encoder system measures positional information of the movable body within the predetermined plane, based on an output of at least three encoder heads which include at least one of each of the first and second heads.

9. The exposure apparatus according to claim 8 wherein

the grating section includes a first diffraction grating which covers a range where the first head may face and whose periodic direction is in the first direction and a second diffraction grating which covers a range where the second head may face and whose periodic direction is in the second direction.

10. The exposure apparatus according to claim 8 wherein

the grating section includes a two-dimensional grating which covers a range where the first and second heads may face and whose periodic direction is in the first and second directions.

11. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 wherein

the plurality of encoder heads include a two-dimensional head whose measurement directions are both in a first direction and in a second direction, which are orthogonal to each other in the predetermined plane, and

the encoder system measures positional information of the movable body within the predetermined plane based on an output of at least two of the two-dimensional heads.

12. The exposure apparatus according to claim 11 wherein

the grating section includes a two-dimensional grating which covers a range where the two-dimensional head may face and whose periodic direction is in the first and second directions.

13. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, the apparatus further comprising:

a drive system which drives the movable body based on positional information of the movable body within the predetermined plane.

14. An exposure apparatus comprising:

a movable body which holds an object and substantially moves along a predetermined plane;

a liquid supply device which supplies liquid on a surface of the movable body on which the object is mounted including a surface of the object;

a pattern generation device including an optical system which has liquid supplied to a space formed with the surface of the movable body, the pattern generation device irradiating an energy beam on the object via the optical system and the liquid and forming a pattern on the object;

a measurement system which includes an encoder system that has a plurality of encoder heads placed on the surface of the movable body and that measures positional information of the movable body, based on an output of a predetermined number of the encoder heads facing a grating section placed parallel to the predetermined plane external to the movable body; and

a detection device which is connected to the measurement system, and for at least one of the plurality of encoder heads, detects residual information of the liquid on a photodetection section of the encoder head and outputs the detection results to the measurement system, wherein

the detection device detects the residual information of the liquid for an encoder head which has passed through a liquid immersion area formed by the liquid, based on the positional information of the movable body within the predetermined plane measured by the measurement system.

15. An exposure apparatus comprising:

a movable body which holds an object and substantially moves along a predetermined plane;

a liquid supply device which supplies liquid on a surface of the movable body on which the object is mounted including a surface of the object;

a pattern generation device including an optical system which has liquid supplied to a space formed with the surface of the movable body, the pattern generation device irradiating an energy beam on the object via the optical system and the liquid and forming apattern on the object;

a measurement system which includes an encoder system that has a plurality of encoder heads placed on the surface of the movable body and that measures positional information of the movable body, based on an output of a predetermined number of the encoder heads facing a grating section placed parallel to the predetermined plane external to the movable body; and

a detection device which is connected to the measurement system, and for at least one of the plurality of encoder heads, detects residual information of the liquid on a photodetection section of the encoder head and outputs the detection results to the measurement system, wherein

the detection device is provided in each of the plurality of encoder heads.

16. The exposure apparatus according to claim 15 wherein

the detection device has a detection area on each of the encoder heads.

17. An exposure apparatus comprising:

a movable body which holds an object and substantially moves along a predetermined plane;

a liquid supply device which supplies liquid on a surface of the movable body on which the object is mounted including a surface of the object;

a pattern generation device including an optical system which has liquid supplied to a space formed with the surface of the movable body, the pattern generation device irradiating an energy beam on the object via the optical system and the liquid and forming a pattern on the object;

a measurement system which includes an encoder system that has a plurality of encoder heads placed on the surface of the movable body and that measures positional information of the movable body, based on an output of a predetermined number of the encoder heads facing a grating section placed parallel to the predetermined plane external to the movable body; and

a detection device which is connected to the measurement system, and for at least one of the plurality of encoder heads, detects residual information of the liquid on a photodetection section of the encoder head and outputs the detection results to the measurement system, wherein

the surface of the movable body is covered with a light transmission member which forms a substantially flush surface with the object with a small gap in between, and covers the plurality of encoder heads.

18. An exposure method in which an energy beam is irradiated on an object via an optical system and liquid, and a pattern is formed on the object, the method comprising:

a measurement process in which, of a plurality of encoder heads placed on a surface of a movable body where the object is mounted and that substantially moves along a predetermined plane, positional information of the movable body is measured, based on an output of a predetermined number of the encoder heads facing a grating section placed parallel to the predetermined plane external to the movable body; and

a detection process in which residual information of the liquid on a photodetection section of the encoder head is detected for at least one of the plurality of encoder heads, wherein

in the measurement process, the positional information of the movable body within the predetermined plane is measured, based on an output of the predetermined number of the encoder heads except for an encoder head which was detected to have liquid remaining in the detection process.

19. The exposure method according to claim 18 wherein

the plurality of encoder heads include a first head and a second head whose measurement directions are in a first direction and in a second direction, respectively, which are orthogonal to each other in the predetermined plane, and

in the measurement process, positional information of the movable body within the predetermined plane is measured, based on an output of at least three encoder heads which include at least one of each of the first and second heads.

20. The exposure method according to claim 18 wherein

the plurality of encoder heads include a two-dimensional head whose measurement directions are both in a first direction and in a second direction, which are orthogonal to each other in the predetermined plane, and

in the measurement process, positional information of the movable body within the predetermined plane is measured, based on an output of at least two of the two-dimensional heads.

21. A device manufacturing method, the method including:

a process in which a pattern is formed on the object by the exposure method according to claim 18; and

a process in which the object on which the pattern has been formed is developed.

22. An exposure method comprising:

a measurement process in which, of aplurality of encoder heads placed on a surface of a movable body where an object is mounted and that substantially moves along a predetermined plane positional information of the movable body is measured, based on an output of a predetermined number of the encoder heads facing a grating section placed parallel to the predetermined plane external to the movable body; and

a detection process in which residual information of the liquid on a photodetection section of the encoder head is detected for at least one of the plurality of encoder heads, wherein

in the detection process, residual information of the liquid is detected for an encoder head which has passed through a liquid immersion area formed by the liquid, based on positional information of the movable body within the predetermined plane.