Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Yuji Kosugi

Takenobu Kobayashi

Yuichi Yamada

Tadao Nakamura

Tomohisa Nakazawa

A foreign substance detection method includes: judging the presence/absence of a foreign substance by measuring a surface condition of a substrate; measuring a surface condition of a second substrate different from the substrate upon replacing the substrate on the chuck with the second substrate, when it is judged in the judging that a foreign substance exists; and determining whether an adhering location of the foreign substance determined to exist in the judging is the substrate, based on a measurement result obtained in the measurement.

Foreign substance detection method, foreign substance detection apparatus, exposure method, and method of manufacturing device

An exposure apparatus is configured to expose a substrate to light while the substrate is scanned. The apparatus comprises a stage configured to hold the substrate and to move, a measuring device configured to measure a position of a surface of the substrate held by the stage, a controller configured to define an arrangement of measurement points with respect to each of a plurality of shot regions arranged along a straight line, and to cause the measuring device to sequentially measure positions of the surface with respect to the defined measurement points in the plurality of shot regions while causing the stage to move to scan the substrate along the straight line. The controller is configured to define the arrangement such that the plurality of shot regions have the arrangement in common with each other.

Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method

An exposure apparatus for exposing a shot region on a substrate includes a movable stage, a projection optical system, a measuring device configured to measure a position of a partial region of a surface of the substrate, and a controller configured to cause the measuring device to measure the position with respect to each of a plurality of measurement points of each of a plurality of shot regions, to determine a global shape of the surface based on the measured positions, to calculate a correction value with respect to each of the plurality of measurement points based on the determined global shape, and to move the stage based on measurement values corrected using the respective correction values corresponding to the respective measurement points.

Exposure apparatus and method for manufacturing device

An exposure apparatus includes a projection optical system for projecting light from a reticle onto a substrate, and exposes a shot region of the substrate to radiant energy via the reticle and the projection optical system. The exposure apparatus comprises a substrate stage configured to hold the substrate and to be moved, a console configured to set a valid area inside the shot region, a measuring device configured to measure a position of a surface of the substrate in a direction parallel to an optical axis of the projection optical system, and a controller configured to control a position of the substrate stage based on the position of the surface measured by the measuring device at a measurement point in the valid area set by the console, the measurement point being determined in accordance with a position of the substrate relative to the measuring device.

Exposure apparatus

A measuring apparatus for measuring a position of a surface of an object while the object is scanned in a scanning direction in an X-Y plane. A detecting unit detects the position of the surface of the object in a Z direction perpendicular to the X-Y plane, a stage scans the object relative to the detecting unit in the scanning direction, and a controller causes the stage to pre-scan the object relative to the detecting unit in two scanning directions, in the X-Y plane, opposite to each other, to detect, using the detecting unit, with respect to each of the two scanning directions, a position of the surface in the Z-direction for each of the same detection points on the surface, to determine, with respect to each of the two scanning directions, a reference surface based on the detected positions of the surface, to calculate an offset value, which is a difference between the detected position and a position of the reference surface in the Z-direction for each of the same detection points with respect to each of the two scanning directions, to calculate a correction value for correcting the calculated offset value in accordance with a corresponding one of the two scanning directions based on a difference, in the Z-direction, between positions of the determined reference surfaces obtained with respect to the two scanning directions.

Surface position measuring method and apparatus

A method of measuring a position of a surface of an object while the object is scanned relative to a detection unit in a scanning direction in an X-Y plane. The detection unit is configured to detect the position of the surface in a Z direction perpendicular to the X-Y plane. The method includes a detecting step of scanning the object relative to the detection unit in two scanning directions opposite to each other, and detecting, with respect to each of the two scanning directions, a position of the surface for the same detection point on the surface, a calculating step of calculating a correction value for correcting a position of the surface position to be detected by the detection unit, based on the positions of the surface detected with respect to the two scanning directions in the detecting step, and a correcting step of correcting the position of the surface detected by the detection unit while the object is scanned relative to the detection unit in one of the two scanning directions, with the correction value obtained in the calculating step.

An exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate. A stage holds and moves the substrate, a measuring device measures a position of a surface of the substrate, and a controller defines an arrangement of measurement points with respect to each of a plurality of shot regions arranged along a straight line, and causes the measuring device to sequentially measure positions of the surface with respect to the defined measurement points in the plurality of shot regions, while the stage moves the substrate along the straight line. A timing at which the measuring device measures a position of the surface is controlled so that a first time interval and a second time interval are different from each other.

An exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate moving in a scan direction to light directed via an original. The apparatus includes a projection optical system configured to image a pattern of the original on the substrate, a substrate stage configured to hold the substrate and to move, and a detector configured to detect a surface position of the substrate, held and moved in the scan direction at a scan speed by the substrate stage, in a direction parallel to an optical axis of the projection optical system over a detection region preset on the substrate. The apparatus further includes a controller configured to preset the detection region, to change a detection time over which the detector detects a surface position of the substrate based on a change in the scan speed of the substrate stage so that the detector detects a surface position of the substrate over the preset detection region, and to control at least one of a position and a tilt of the substrate stage with respect to the direction parallel to the optical axis based on a detection obtained by the detector.

Surface position detection apparatus and method, and exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method using the exposure apparatus

An exposure apparatus has a surface position detection apparatus for measuring the surface position of a measurement area on the surface of a wafer. The surface position detection apparatus scans a shot area on the wafer having a pattern structure and detects the surface position of a measuring point provided within the shot. Prior to detecting the surface position of the measuring points within the shot, drive parameters for the surface position detection apparatus are determined according to a scanning speed employed for the shot in order that a measurement area of the surface position detection apparatus for the measuring points assumes a preset size. The surface position detection apparatus is then driven according to the parameters so determined, measuring the surface position of the measuring point in the shot. The exposure process is then controlled in accordance with the results of those measurements.

A position detection device for detecting position information of a photosensitive substrate when performing projection exposure of a pattern on a surface of an object onto the photosensitive substrate, via a projection optical system, by scanning the pattern includes a device for detecting the position information within a shot region of the photosensitive substrate in the projection optical system, and a device for causing the detection device to detect the position information at a plurality of points arranged so that a first end of the plurality of points coincides with a position to start a scanning exposure and a second end of the plurality of points coincides with a position to end the scanning exposure, in accordance with a size of the shot region.

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Utsunomiya, Japan

Yuji Kosugi