Nikon Corporation

Masayuki Murayama

Kousuke Suzuki

Tetsuo Taniguchi

Yuji Imai

Susumu Mori

Hideaki Hara

Kyoji Nakamura

Taro Ogata

Haruo Ozawa

Pattern transfer can be performed with improved exposure accuracy, by reducing the contamination caused by the attachment of a photosensitive agent or the like on an optical member of a projection optical member or the like. The pattern transfer onto a substrate W is performed after cleaning the objective member OB disposed at a given position by a cleaning deviceat the time when pattern transfer is not performed, or while making flow a gas in a space between the substrate W and the optical member OB by a contamination protection device. Alternatively, the optical member OB disposed at a given position is inspected for contamination by a contamination inspection deviceat the time when pattern transfer is not performed, and the pattern transfer or the cleaning or replacement of the optical member is performed based on the result.

Projection exposure apparatus and method

An optical apparatus having at least one optical element arranged along an optical path of an irradiation light. A first hermetic chamber is defined along the optical path separating the optical path from ambient air and charged with a predetermined gas. A second hermetic chamber is located in the first hermetic chamber separating the optical path from the gas in the first hermetic chamber and retaining the optical elements.

Optical apparatus and exposure apparatus incorporating the apparatus

An exposure apparatus and a method of operating the exposure apparatus. The exposure apparatus includes a light source generating illumination light and a projection optical system. A detector detects illumination light reaching a plurality of measuring positions within an image field of the projection optical system. An illumination area setting and changing device arranged between the light source and the detector sets an illumination area on a mask to illuminate a pattern on the mask, and changes the illumination area during detection of a projected image of the pattern by the detector while illumination light is maintained on the mask. The illumination area setting and changing device changes the illumination area from a first illumination area illuminating a first pattern on the mask to a second illumination area illuminating both the first pattern and a second pattern which differs from the first pattern.

Method for measuring optical feature of exposure apparatus and exposure apparatus having means for measuring optical feature

Air-conditioning is effected in a chamber of an exposure apparatus for transferring a pattern formed on a mask onto a photosensitized substrate by exposure. The chamber houses at least a part of the exposure apparatus. An impurity-removing filter is provided for removing gaseous impurities from a stream of ambient air being introduced into the chamber and/or from a gas stream recirculating in the chamber. A pair of impurity-concentration-measuring devices are disposed upstream and downstream, respectively, of the filter. End-of-life of the filter is determined based on measurements from the impurity-concentration-measuring devices. Introducing the ambient air into the chamber is stopped when the impurity-concentration-measuring device disposed upstream of the filter has indicated a gaseous impurity concentration above a predetermined level. The integrity of the airtightness of the chamber around a negative pressure area in the chamber is sensed. When a failure in airtightness is detected, the failure is indicated and/or the recirculation of a gas stream in the chamber is stopped to prevent the ambient air containing impurities from leaking into the chamber under the influence of the negative pressure. In the exposure apparatus, among others the photosensitized substrate and the illumination optical system are quite sensitive to impurities, so that dehumidified gas is supplied to the areas around them. An air-conditioning apparatus for effecting air-conditioning to the chamber is separated from the chamber, and an impurity-removing filter element is disposed in a gas supply duct in the air-conditioning apparatus.

Exposure apparatus and air-conditioning apparatus for use with exposure apparatus

Pattern transfer can be performed with improved exposure accuracy, by reducing the contamination caused by the attachment of a photosensitive agent or the like on an optical member of a projection optical member or the like. The pattern transfer onto a substrate W is performed after cleaning the objective member OB disposed at a given position by a cleaning device at the time when pattern transfer is not performed, or while making flow a gas in a space between the substrate W and the optical member OB by a contamination protection device Alternatively, the optical member OB disposed at a given position is inspected for contamination by a contamination inspection device at the time when pattern transfer is not performed, and the pattern transfer or the cleaning or replacement of the optical member is performed based on the result.

A disclosed exposure apparatus comprises a photo-electric sensor having a light receiving portion supported by the substrate stage for a shifting movement within the shot area along the plane, a blind disposed between the light source and the project ion optical system and adapted to shield the illumination light reaching the shot area excluding an area surrounding the light receiving portion while the light receiving portion is being shifted along the plane.

A projection exposure apparatus for projecting a pattern image of an illuminated mask onto a substrate. The optical path can be divided into a plurality of hermetic blocks each having an inert gas sealed therein by a plurality of partition devices. According a one aspect of the invention, a hermetic sealing member is disposed in the space between the substrate-side of the projection optical system and the substrate for replacing the atmosphere existing in the optical path of the illuminating light in that space by a substance other than oxygen. According to another aspect of the invention, a plurality of independent chambers are formed in a frame. Lids, piping, and valves in the chambers are opened or closed in response to the value detected by oxygen density sensors.

Projection exposure apparatus

An exposure apparatus comprises a projection optical system, which projects a pattern formed on a mask on a photosensitive substrate, a mounting object table, which holds the photosensitive substrate, a positioning stage, which positions the mounting object table along a 2-dimensional movement coordinate system, a stage coordinate measurement device, which detects the position of the mounting object table in the 2-dimensional movement coordinate system, a height measurement device, which detects the deviation in the optical axis direction of the projection optical system from the surface of the photosensitive substrate to a specified standard surface in a measurement point fixed with regard to the 2-dimensional movement coordinate system, a levelling device, which adjusts the inclination of the mounting object table with regard to the positioning stage, a computation device, which calculates the amount of levelling necessary to match the surface of the photosensitive substrate with the standard surface, a control device, which controls the levelling device based on the calculation results of the computation device, and a memory device, which stores the optical axis direction displacement amount of the mounting object table produced at a measurement point when the positioning stage is moved along the 2-dimensional movement coordinate system corresponding to the position of the mounting object table detected by the stage coordinate measurement device, wherein, the computation device calculates the amount of the levelling necessary based on a value obtained by subtracting the optical axis direction displacement amount of the mounting object table stored in the memory device from the deviation detected by the height measurement device.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa-ken, Japan

Masayuki Murayama