Exposure apparatus, method for cleaning member thereof, maintenance method for exposure apparatus, maintenance device, and method for producing device

• US 8,698,998 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2007
• Issued: 04/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Nagasaka, Hiroyuki, Shiraishi, Kenichi, Owa, Soichi, Hirukawa, Shigeru
• Primary Examiner(s): Whitesell Gordon, Steven H
• Application Number:
  US11/822,964
• Publication Number:
  US 20070258072A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,470 Days
• Field of Search: 355/30, 355/53, 355/67, 355/71, 355/72, 355/77, 356/237.4
• 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 7/707 Chucks, e.g. chucking or un-chucking operations or structural details
• 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 7/70925 Cleaning, i.e. actively freeing apparatus from pollutants, e.g. using plasma cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/7095 Materials, e.g. materials for housing, stage or other support having particular properties, e.g. weight, strength, conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70958 Optical materials or coatings, e.g. with particular transmittance, reflectance or anti-reflection properties
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70975 Assembly, maintenance, transport or storage of apparatus

Abstract

An exposure apparatus EXS forms an immersion area AR2 of a liquid LQ on the side of the image plane of a projection optical system PL and performs exposure of a substrate P via the projection optical system PL and the liquid LQ of the immersion region AR2. The exposure apparatus EXS has an optical cleaning unit (80) which irradiates a predetermined irradiation light Lu, having an optical cleaning effect, onto, for example, the upper surface (31) of the substrate stage PST which makes contact with the liquid LQ for forming the immersion area AR2. Thus, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the exposure accuracy and measurement accuracy due to pollution of the member in contact with the liquid in the immersion region.

Claims

1. An exposure apparatus, comprising:

a radiation system that supplies a beam of radiation;

a substrate table that supports a substrate coated with a resist;

a liquid supply system which supplies a liquid from a supply port;

a projection system that projects a patterned beam of radiation onto the substrate through the liquid supplied from the supply port during an exposure process; and

a controller that controls the radiation system and the substrate table to cause the exposure process and a cleaning process to be performed at different times, wherein

at least a part of the substrate table that comprises a sensor is coated with a coating, the coating comprising a metal oxide or a photocatalyst, and the coating is exposed to the liquid supplied from the supply port, and

a cleaning beam is supplied to the substrate table through a liquid when the substrate coated with the resist is not supported by the substrate table in order to clean the substrate table during the cleaning process.

2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a radiation dose sensor or a transmission image sensor.

3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the sensor is the transmission image sensor.

4. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating comprises titanium dioxide.

5. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate table has an area which supports the substrate and the sensor is located outside of the area.

6. The exposure apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the sensor has an upper surface that is coated with the coating.

7. The exposure apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the upper surface of the sensor is substantially co-planar with an upper surface of the substrate supported by the substrate table.

8. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an optical cleaning device which cleans the substrate table by supplying the cleaning beam to the substrate table through the liquid.

9. The exposure apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the cleaning device supplies the cleaning beam to the substrate table when the substrate table is moved away from under the projection system.

10. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a member having at least one of the supply port which supplies immersion liquid and a recovery port which recovers the supplied immersion liquid, and further comprising a sonic transducer which cleans the member.

11. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is mounted on the substrate table.

12. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is coated with the coating.

13. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating comprises the metal oxide.

14. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating comprises the photocatalyst.

15. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning beam is supplied from the radiation system to the substrate table through the liquid supplied from the supply port of the liquid supply system during the cleaning process.

16. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid, through which the cleaning beam is supplied to the substrate table, includes water.

17. A device manufacturing method, comprising:

supplying a liquid from a supply port;

supporting a substrate coated with a resist on a substrate table comprising a sensor, at least a part of the substrate table that comprises the sensor being coated with a coating, the coating comprising a metal oxide or a photocatalyst;

supplying a beam of radiation from a radiation system;

patterning the beam of radiation;

projecting the patterned beam of radiation onto the substrate through the liquid supplied from the supply port during an exposure process; and

cleaning the substrate table when the substrate coated with the resist is not supported by the substrate table by supplying a cleaning beam through the liquid to the substrate table during a cleaning process,

wherein the exposure process and the cleaning process are performed at different times.

18. The device manufacturing method according to claim 17, wherein the sensor is a radiation dose sensor or a transmission image sensor.

19. The device manufacturing method according to claim 17, wherein the coating comprises titanium dioxide.

20. The device manufacturing method according to claim 17, wherein the substrate table has an area which supports the substrate and the sensor is located outside of the area.

21. The device manufacturing method according to claim 20, wherein the sensor has an upper surface that is coated with the coating.

22. The device manufacturing method according to claim 21, wherein the upper surface of the sensor is substantially co-planar with an upper surface of the substrate supported by the substrate table.

23. The device manufacturing method according to claim 17, wherein the coating comprises the metal oxide.

24. The device manufacturing method according to claim 17, wherein the coating comprises the photocatalyst.

25. The device manufacturing method according to claim 17, wherein the sensor is mounted on the substrate table.

26. The device manufacturing method according to claim 17, wherein the sensor is coated with the coating.

27. The device manufacturing method according to claim 17, further comprising:

moving the substrate table away from under a projection system to a position at which the cleaning beam is supplied to the substrate table through the liquid to clean the substrate table.

28. The device manufacturing method according to claim 17, wherein the cleaning beam is supplied from the radiation system to the substrate table through the liquid supplied from the supply port during the cleaning process.

29. The device manufacturing method according to claim 17, wherein the liquid, through which the cleaning beam is supplied to the substrate table, includes water.