IP Library Granted Patent US 9,110,381
Granted Patent B2
US 9,110,381 · App. 13/067,845 · Granted Aug 18, 2015

Substrate conveyance device and substrate conveyance method, exposure apparatus and exposure method, device manufacturing method

Inventors: Atsushi Ohta (Shibata-gun, JP); Takashi Horiuchi (Kumagaya, JP)
Assignees: NIKON CORPORATION; MIYAGI NIKON PRECISION CO., LTD.
G03F7/70341G03B27/42G03D3/00G03F7/7075G03F7/2041
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,110,381
App. No.
13/067,845
Granted
Aug 18, 2015
Kind
B2
Abstract

A lithographic projection apparatus includes a substrate table configured to hold a substrate, a projection system arranged to project a patterned beam of radiation onto the substrate, a liquid supply system configured to supply liquid to a space between the projection system and the substrate, and a residual liquid detector configured to detect liquid remaining on the substrate and/or the substrate table after an exposure is completed. A device manufacturing method includes projecting, using a projection system of a lithographic apparatus, a patterned beam of radiation through a liquid onto a substrate, the substrate being held by a substrate table, and, after the projecting is complete, detecting residual liquid on the substrate and/or the substrate table.

Claims (32)

1. A lithographic projection apparatus comprising:

a substrate table configured to hold a substrate;

a projection system arranged to project a patterned beam of radiation onto the substrate;

a liquid supply system configured to supply liquid to a space between the projection system and the substrate; and

a residual liquid detector configured to detect liquid remaining on the substrate after an exposure of the substrate is completed, wherein the residual liquid detector detects the remaining liquid on the exposed substrate (i) while the exposed substrate moves, via a path, away from the space under the projection system and (ii) before the exposed substrate is conveyed to a holding table where a drying process is applied to the substrate.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a drying station configured to dry the substrate in the event that liquid is detected by the residual liquid detector.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the residual liquid detector comprises one or more devices selected from the group comprising a camera, an infrared sensor, and a detector to detect scattered light.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the projection system is provided at an exposure station and the residual liquid detector is provided at a measurement station, the measurement station being physically separate from the exposure station.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the residual liquid detector is configured to generate, upon detection of residual liquid, a signal to instruct performance of a drying action.

6. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein positional information of the remaining liquid is detected based on the detection result of the residual liquid detector.

7. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the exposed substrate moves under the liquid detection device.

8. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the remaining liquid on the exposed substrate is detected by relatively moving the residual liquid detector and the exposed substrate.

9. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein path is different from another path via which the substrate table comes to the space.

10. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:

a controller that is configured to:

determine that the exposure of the substrate has been completed; and

instruct the liquid detection device to detect liquid remaining on the substrate based on determining that the exposure of the substrate has been completed.

11. A device manufacturing method comprising:

projecting, using a projection system of a lithographic apparatus, a patterned beam of radiation through a liquid onto a substrate creating an exposed substrate, the exposed substrate being held by a substrate table; and

after the projecting is complete, detecting by a residual liquid detector residual liquid on the exposed substrate,

wherein the remaining liquid on the exposed substrate is detected by the residual liquid detector while the exposed substrate moves, via a path, away from the projection system and before the exposed substrate is conveyed to a holding table where a drying process is applied.

12. The method according to claim 11 , further comprising drying the substrate in the event that residual liquid is detected.

13. The method according to claim 11 , wherein detecting residual liquid is performed by one or more devices selected from the group comprising a camera, an infrared sensor, and a detector to detect scattered light.

14. The method according to claim 11 , wherein projecting the patterned beam of radiation is performed at an exposure station and detecting residual liquid is performed at a measurement station, the measurement station being physically separate from the exposure station.

15. The method according to claim 11 , wherein positional information of the remaining liquid is detected based on the detection result.

16. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the remaining liquid on the exposed substrate is detected by relatively moving a residual liquid detector which detects the remaining liquid and the exposed substrate.

17. The method according to claim 16 , wherein the path is different from another path via which the substrate table comes to the space.

18. A lithographic projection apparatus comprising:

a substrate table configured to hold a substrate;

a projection system arranged to project a patterned beam of radiation onto the substrate;

a liquid supply system configured to supply liquid to a space between the projection system and the substrate; and

a residual liquid detector configured to detect liquid remaining on the substrate after an exposure of the substrate is completed, wherein the residual liquid detector detects the remaining liquid on the exposed substrate (i) while both the residual liquid detector and the exposed substrate are relatively moved and the exposed substrate moves, via a path along an X-direction of an X-Y coordinate system, away from the space under the projection system and (ii) before the exposed substrate is conveyed to a holding table that holds the exposed substrate.

Assignments (1)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Apr 21, 2015
From: ZAO NIKON CO., LTD.
To: MIYAGI NIKON PRECISION CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 035475/0345 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2003-349550 · Oct 8, 2003 · national
Continuity (4)
Continuation 11652015 · Jan 11, 2007
Division 11398572 · Apr 6, 2006
Continuation PCTJP2004014855 · Oct 7, 2004
Related Publication 20110261330A1 · Oct 27, 2011