Methods and systems to compensate for a stitching disturbance of a printed pattern in a maskless lithography system not utilizing overlap of the exposure zones

• US 7,410,736 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2003
• Issued: 08/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ASML Holding NV
• Original Assignee: ASML Holding NV
• Inventors: Cebuhar, Wenceslao A., Bleeker, Arno, Latypov, Azat
• Primary Examiner(s): Young; Christopher G.
• Application Number:
  US10/673,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20050068467A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,778 Days
• Field of Search: 430/5, 430/22, 430/30, 430/312, 430/394, 430/396, 355/52, 355/77
• US Class Current: 430/30
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70291 Addressable masks, e.g. spatial light modulators [SLMs], digital micro-mirror devices [DMDs] or liquid crystal display [LCD] patterning devices
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70475 Stitching, i.e. connecting image fields to produce a device field, the field occupied by a device such as a memory chip, processor chip, CCD, flat panel display

Abstract

A method and system are provided for forming a pattern within an area of a photosensitive surface. An exemplary method includes performing a first exposure of the photosensitive surface in accordance with predetermined image data, wherein the first exposure occurs during a first pass and produces a first image within the area. The image data is adjusted to compensate for identified image deficiencies image deficiencies, the image deficiencies being within a region of the first image. A second exposure, of the photosensitive surface, is performed in accordance with the adjusted image data during a second pass.

Claims

1. A method for forming a pattern within an area of a photosensitive surface, comprising:

performing a first exposure of the photosensitive surface in accordance with predetermined image data;

wherein the first exposure produces a first image within the area;

identifying image deficiencies within a region of the first image;

adjusting the image data to compensate for the identified image deficiencies; and

performing a second exposure of the photosensitive surface in accordance with the adjusted image data;

wherein the step of performing a second exposure includes (i) forming a second image within an object plane including seam thickening and (ii) printing the second image within the area, the printing producing the corrected image in an image plane.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the image data includes pixel modulation information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying step is performed a priority based upon modeling/simulation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying step is performed in real-time based upon image deficiency predictions.

5. The method of claim, 1, wherein the deficiencies include stitching errors.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the region is a stitching seam separating exposure zones.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second exposure step produces a corrected image within the area devoid of the identified image deficiencies.

8. A computer readable medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions for execution by one or more processors to perform a method of a method of forming a pattern within an area of a photosensitive surface, the instructions when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

performing a first exposure of the photosensitive surface in accordance with predetermined image data;

wherein the first exposure produces a first image within the area;

identifying image deficiencies within a region of the first image;

adjusting the image data to compensate for the identified image deficiencies; and

performing a second exposure of the photosensitive surface in accordance with the adjusted image data;

wherein the step of performing a second exposure includes (i) forming a second image within an object plane including seam thickening and (ii) printing the second image within the area, the printing producing the corrected image within an image plane.

9. A method for forming a pattern within an area of a photosensitive surface, comprising:

performing a first exposure of the photosensitive surface in accordance with predetermined image data;

wherein the first exposure produces a first image within the area;

adjusting the image data to compensate for image deficiencies; and

performing a second exposure of the photosensitive surface in accordance with the adjusted image data, the image deficiencies being within a region of the first image;

wherein the step of performing a second exposure includes (i) forming a second image within an object plane including seam thickening and (ii) printing the second image within the area, the printing producing the corrected image within an image plane.