Nikon Corporation

Nikon Corooration

Nobuyuki Irie

Shigeru Hirukawa

Naomasa Shiraishi

Nobutaka Magome

Yasuaki Tanaka

Hiroki Tateno

Yoshichika Iwamoto

Eiji Takane

Katsuaki Ishimaru

Ryoichi Kaneko

Fine patterns with the targeted line widths are formed with a high accuracy by correcting any change in image of a light-attenuating part of a density filter on a substrate arising along with a change in illumination conditions on a reticle by adjusting an amount of defocus of the density filter with respect to a reticle conjugate plane.

Exposure apparatus and exposure method

An exposure method for preventing accumulation of process error for substrates processed by an apparatus designed for multiprocessing and producing high quality semiconductor chips. A semiconductor integrated circuit production line polishes wafers of individual lots at a first processing system and second processing system of a CMP system two at a time. Wafer processing information indicating at which processing system of the first processing system and second processing system each wafer has been processed is transmitted through a communication line to a later processing apparatus including an exposure apparatus. The wafers of a lot loaded in the exposure apparatus are allocated to a plurality of processing systems of the exposure apparatus so that wafers processed by the same processing system are processed by the same processing system among the two processing systems of the exposure apparatus and are exposed at those processing systems.

Exposure method, exposure apparatus, and method of production of device

A stitching type exposure apparatus for successively exposing an image of a pattern of a reticle (Ri) on different areas of a surface of a substrate () while overlaying parts of the same, wherein a density filter (Fj) having a light attenuating part for reducing the amount of light of overlaid parts of the image of the pattern in a sloping manner is provided in the vicinity of the reticle (Ri), the density filter (Fj) is held at a filter stage (FS) for adjusting the posture, the posture of the density filter (Fj) is detected by an illumination uniformity sensor () on the substrate stage (), and the posture of the density filter (Fj) is matched with the posture of the reticle (Ri) by the filter stage (FS).

Exposure apparatus, microdevice, photomask, method of exposure, and method of production of device

A pattern enlarged from a transfer pattern is divided into patterns (Pi) of a plurality of master reticles (Ri). Images of the patterns (Pi) of the plurality of master reticles (Ri) reduced by a projection optical system are successively-projected and exposed on the surface of a blank (mask substrate) while stitching. Marks (M , M ) indicating identification information for identifying a master reticle from another master reticle, transfer positions, etc. are formed on the master reticles (Ri). These marks (M , M ) are detected before the exposure and exposure is performed in accordance with the information on the transfer position etc. shown by the marks (M , M ) or reticle information (exposure conditions, various correction values, etc.) relating to the master reticles stored and held in advance corresponding to the identification information. The number of work steps when producing a working reticle using the plurality of master reticles is reduced and occurrence of work errors can be prevented.

Exposure method and exposure apparatus

A method of exposure while gradually reducing the exposure at peripheral parts when transferring patterns to a plurality of areas on a substrate where the peripheral parts are partially superposed, including exposing one shot area of the substrate through a density filter set so that the energy at the peripheral parts becomes a predetermined first distribution, measuring the distribution of exposure at portions corresponding to the peripheral parts on the substrate, determining a second distribution where the exposure at the peripheral parts becomes a target value based on the measured distribution of exposure, and exposes the shot areas adjoining the one shot area through a density filter set to give the second distribution.

Exposure method of production of density filter

An exposure apparatus exposes, for example, a substrate for production of a working reticle through a master reticle on which a pattern is formed. The apparatus is provided with three support members for supporting the substrate substantially horizontally at three locations outside illuminated areas of the substrate, e.g., a pattern area, alignment mark areas, and information mark areas.

Exposure apparatus, microdevice, photomask, and exposure method

A method of exposure projecting and exposing a pattern formed on a mask on to a photosensitive substrate through a projection optical system, comprising the steps of measuring a position of an image projected by said projection optical system; and projecting and exposing said pattern of the mask in a state with imaging characteristics corrected to reduce an amount of offset of a position of said projected image from an ideal position.

Method of exposure, photomask, method of production of photomask, microdevice, and method of production of microdevice

A projection exposure apparatus which can perform superior observation or projection of a selected mark when the mark is observed or projected through a projection optical system in which a pupil filter is set. The projection exposure apparatus which projects a pattern on a mask through a projection optical system onto a photosensitive substrate held on a substrate stage movable in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the projection optical system and which has a pupil filter (optical correction plate) placed on or near the pupil plane of the projection optical system, a reference mark formed on the substrate stage in a scale factor according to the shape of the pupil filter, illuminating means for illuminating the reference mark with illumination light, and light-receiving means for receiving the illumination light having emerged from the reference mark and thereafter having passed the projection optical system.

Projection exposure apparatus having a filter arranged in its projection

A substrate has a plurality of areas, from which several specific areas are selected. The coordinate positions of the specific areas on a static coordinate system are measured and the coordinate positions of the specific areas on the static coordinate system are calculated by the statistic calculation. For the respective specific areas, the calculated coordinate positions are subtracted from the measured coordinate positions to obtain the respective nonlinear position errors of the specific areas. When there is a peculiar area where the nonlinear position error exceeds an allowed value, the coordinate position of at least one area around the peculiar area is measured to obtain the nonlinear position error thereof. Prior to calculating the coordinate positions of the areas on the substrate on the static coordinate system by the use of the coordinate positions of the specific areas, it is judged based on the nonlinear position errors of the peculiar area and the area around the peculiar area whether the coordinate position of the peculiar area is used.

Alignment method

Measured is a coordinate position, on a static coordinate system, of each of some specified areas selected from a plurality of areas on a substrate. The coordinate positions of some specified areas undergo a weighted averaging process by use of such a weight that it decreases with a larger distance between the specified areas. The coordinate position is thereby smoothed per specified area. The weight is given to each of some smoothed coordinate positions, and, thereafter, a statistic calculation is effected. The coordinate position, on the static coordinate system, of the area on the substrate is thereby obtained. The substrate is sequentially located based on the obtained coordinate position, and each area on the substrate is thus aligned to a predetermined position.

Method for aligning processing areas on a substrate with a predetermined

A method of aligning each of a plurality of processing areas regularly aligned on a substrate according to designed alignment coordinates to a predetermined reference position in a static coordinate system for defining the moving position of the substrate is disclosed. The coordinate positions, on the static coordinate system, of at least three processing areas selected in advance as specific processing areas from the plurality of processing areas are measured. The coordinate positions, on the static coordinate system, of the plurality of processing areas on the substrate are determined by weighting the coordinate positions, on the static coordinate system, of the at least three specific processing areas according to the distances between a processing area of interest and each of the at least three specific processing areas in units of processing areas on the substrate, and executing a statistic calculation using the plurality of weighted coordinate positions.

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Tokyo, Japan

Nobuyuki Irie