Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Other

Naoto Sano

Masato Aketagawa

Yoshiyuki Nagai

Tadahiro Ohmi

Yasuyuki Shirai

Masakatsu Ota

Tsutomu Asahina

Chidane Ouchi

Hitoshi Nakano

Takahisa Shiozawa

Hidetoshi Nishigori

A laser oscillation apparatus includes a wavelength change unit for driving a wavelength selection element in a band-narrowing module and changing the oscillation wavelength of a laser beam to a target value, and an oscillation history memory for storing the oscillation state of the laser beam as an oscillation history. The wavelength change unit drives the wavelength selection element on the basis of the oscillation history and changes the oscillation wavelength of the laser beam to the target value.

Laser oscillation apparatus, exposure apparatus, semiconductor device manufacturing method, semiconductor manufacturing factory, and exposure apparatus maintenance method

In a gas laser device, a laser gas sealingly stored in a chamber is excited using a discharging electrode that is electrically discharged. Laser light produced by the electrical discharging is totally reflected by a total reflection mirror. An output window partially reflects the laser light and outputs a portion of the laser light reflected between the total reflection mirror and the output window. A blower circulates the laser gas within the chamber so that the laser gas passing an electrical discharging region of the discharging electrode is circulated in the chamber and is returned to the electrical discharging region of the discharging electrode. The blower is operated according to the state of electrical discharging from the discharging electrode. The blower operation includes operating rotation of the blower in a stand-by state in which no laser gas is excited by the electrical discharging from said discharging electrode so that no laser light is emitted but the gas laser device is in a condition to output the laser light, and operating rotation of the blower in an in-operation state in which the laser gas is excited by the electrical discharging from said discharge electrode and laser light is outputted.

Gas laser device and exposure apparatus using the same

A projection exposure apparatus includes an illumination optical system for illuminating a pattern of a reticle with laser light from a continuous emission excimer laser, a projection optical system projecting the illuminated pattern onto a substrate, an adjusting device for adjusting an optical characteristic of the projection optical system in accordance with a change in wavelength of the laser, and a wavelength stabilizing device for stabilizing the wavelength of the laser light when the adjustment of the optical characteristic of the projection optical system by the adjusting device is insufficient.

Projection exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method using the same

An exposure apparatus comprising (a) irradiating means for illuminating a mask with laser light from an excimer laser and (b) a projection optical system for projecting a pattern of the mask onto a substrate with the laser light, wherein a characteristic of the projection optical system is measured by use of a harmonic of a predetermined laser, and wherein the laser light from the excimer laser has a wavelength corresponding to that of the harmonic of the predetermined laser.

Exposure apparatus with a pulsed laser

A projection exposure apparatus includes an illumination optical system for illuminating a pattern of a reticle with laser light from a continuous emission excimer laser, a projection optical system for projecting the illuminated pattern onto a substrate, wherein the projection optical system includes a lens system being made of a substantially single glass material, a wavelength detecting device for detecting a wavelength of the laser light from the excimer laser and for producing an output, and a displacing device for shifting a mirror for resonance of the excimer laser, in an optical axis direction of the excimer laser, on the basis of the output of the wavelength detecting device.

A semiconductor device manufacturing method includes the steps of providing a projection exposure apparatus, exposing a wafer by using the projection exposure apparatus, the exposing step including projecting a circuit pattern onto the wafer through the projection optical system using light from a first laser, and developing the exposed wafer. Before the providing step, an optical performance of the projection optical system is measured by producing an interference fringe, bearing information related to aberration of the projection optical system, by use of a harmonic of a second laser having a coherency higher than that of the first laser, and then by analyzing the interference fringe. A wavelength of the light from the first laser is registered with that of the harmonic of the second laser.

An exposure apparatus includes a first dispersing element for dispersing substantially parallel laser light, from a laser, with respect to the wavelength to provide light beams of wavelength units, a first optical system for collecting each light beam of a wavelength unit from the first dispersing element, a wavelength selecting device for passing a predetermined wavelength region of light, of the light beams of wavelength units each being collected by the first optical system, a second optical system for receiving the light from the wavelength selecting device and providing parallel light beams of wavelength units, and a second dispersing element for combining the parallel light beams of wavelength units from the second optical system, the second dispersing element having substantially the same angular dispersion as that of the first dispersing element and a direction of dispersion opposite to that of the first dispersing element.

Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method using the same

An excimer laser generating system includes a laser chamber whose inner surface is covered with a fluorine-passivated surface. Preferably, the surfaces of a blower and heat exchanger disposed in the laser chamber are also covered with a fluorine-passivated surface. The fluorine-passivated surface may be formed of a wide variety of materials including an aluminum oxide film, a fluoride film containing aluminum fluoride and magnesium fluoride, iron fluoride, and nickel fluoride. Preferably, the excimer laser generation system includes a gas supply system having an inert gas purging system so that gas sources can be replaced without exposing the inside of gas supply pipes to atmosphere. With the above arrangement, the excimer laser generating system can generate a laser beam pulse whose energy and shape are maintained constant for a long period of operation time without encountering serious degradation. The invention also provides a high-reliability step-and-repeat exposure apparatus using the above excimer laser generating system, capable of exposing a very fine pattern.

Excimer laser generator provided with a laser chamber with a fluoride passivated inner surface

A light quantity measuring system and an exposure apparatus using the same, wherein the measuring system includes a light intensity measuring device having a plurality of light receiving elements arrayed at least along a scan direction, a scanning mechanism for scanningly moving the light intensity measuring device relative to a particular region to be examined, and a storing device for storing an intensity of light of each light receiving element, as successively received by the light receiving elements as the light intensity measuring device is scanningly moved relative to the particular region. The light quantity is measured on the basis of information stored in the storing device.

Light quantity measuring system and exposure apparatus using the same

A discharge electrode for an excimer laser oscillator according to the present invention contains oxygen at a content of not more than 10 ppm, and a method of restoring the shape of a discharge electrode according to the present invention comprises introducing an inert gas into a laser chamber, and conducting discharge for several seconds.

Discharge electrode, shape-restoration thereof, excimer laser

An exposure apparatus for transferring, by exposure, a pattern of a mask onto a wafer, includes a pulse light source and a scanning system for relatively and scanningly moving the mask and the wafer relative to an illumination region to be defined by pulses of light to be sequentially provided by the pulse light source, wherein the number of pulses for exposure of the wafer is determined on the basis of information representing a relation between the pulse number and exposure non-uniformness, and wherein the pulse number is expressed by L/.DELTA.X where L is the width of the illumination region in a scan direction and .DELTA.X is the amount of relative displacement of the illumination region moving in the light emission interval of one pulse.

Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method

An exposure apparatus includes a supplying device for supplying a band-narrowed laser beam, an optical system for directing the laser beam to a substrate, a detecting device for detecting a change in bandwidth of the laser beam and a stop provided on a path of the laser beam, the stop including an opening having a size which is variable to substantially compensate for the change in bandwidth of the laser beam. Also, a device is manufactured by a method of exposing a photosensitive layer of a substrate through an optical system with a band-narrowed laser beam to print a circuit pattern on the photosensitive layer, in which a bandwidth of the laser beam is substantially compensated for, upon detecting a change in bandwidth of the laser beam, by adjusting a size of an opening of a stop provided in a path of the laser beam.

Exposure method and apparatus and device produced thereby in which a

A method of exposing a photosensitive substrate with a band-narrowed laser beam from an excimer laser includes providing a stop having an opening in a path of the laser beam; adjusting a size of the opening of the stop to substantially compensate for a change in bandwidth of the laser beam; and exposing after the adjustment the substrate with the laser beam.

Growing community of inventors

Utsunomiya, Japan

Naoto Sano