Nikon Corporation

Yusaku Uehara

Yasuhiro Omura

Douglas C Watson

Kousuke Suzuki

Alton Hugh Phillips

Katsushi Nakano

Hiromitsu Yoshimoto

An exposure method that uses a substrate (M) held by a holding member () to perform exposure processing, comprising a holding process, which holds a prescribed region (AR) of the substrate as the holding region by means of the holding member, and a deformation process, which selectively deforms one side of the holding region of the substrate held by the holding process with respect to the other side. According to the present invention, a prescribed region of the substrate is held as a holding region by means of a holding member, and one side of the holding region of said held substrate is selectively deformed with respect to the other side, so it is possible to selectively eliminate the nonlinear deformation components attributable to holding of the substrate with respect to one side from among the two sides of the substrate using the holding region as a reference. Since it is possible to put the pattern projected via the substrate into a linearly correctable status, it is possible to reduce warping of the pattern.

Exposure method and device manufacturing method including selective deformation of a mask

An exposure apparatus is provided with an optical system including a liquid, a sensor system for acquiring energy information of an energy beam which is incident on the liquid, and a controller which predicts variation of optical properties of the optical system including the liquid due to energy absorption of the liquid based on the energy information acquired using the sensor system and controls exposure operation with respect to an object based on the prediction results. According to the exposure apparatus, exposure operation without being influenced by the variation of the optical properties of the optical system including the liquid due to the energy absorption of the liquid becomes possible.

Exposure method, exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method

An exposure method which includes illuminating a first object formed with a pattern to be transferred with a first light beam to expose a second object with the first light beam through the first object and a projection optical system; and irradiating the first object and at least one portion of the projection optical system with a second light beam having a wavelength range that is different from that of the first light beam to correct image forming characteristics of the projection optical system.

Growing community of inventors

Ageo, Japan

Yusaku Uehara