Method and apparatus for cleaning a semiconductor substrate in an immersion lithography system

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a chamber having a top and a sidewall and a bottom opening, said top transparent to selected wavelengths of light;

an inlet and an outlet in said sidewall of said chamber;

a plate extending outward from a bottom edge of said chamber;

a set of concentric grooves formed in a bottom surface of said plate, said grooves centered about said chamber,

means for applying a vacuum to a first groove and a fourth groove of said set of grooves, said first groove nearest said bottom opening of said chamber;

means for supplying an inert gas or said inert gas and a solvent vapor mixture to a second groove and a fifth groove of said set of grooves, said second groove between said first and said fourth groove and said fifth groove outside of said fourth groove; and

means for supplying a cleaning fluid to a third groove of said set of grooves, said third groove between said second groove and said fourth groove.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , further including:

at least one ultrasonic generator between said third and fourth grooves.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , further including:

a sixth groove of said set of grooves outside of said fifth groove and means for supplying an additional cleaning fluid to said sixth groove;

a seventh groove of said set of grooves outside of said sixth groove and means for applying an additional vacuum to said sixth groove; and

an eighth groove of said set of grooves outside of said seventh groove and means for supplying an additional inert gas or said additional inert gas and an additional solvent vapor mixture to said eighth groove.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , further including:

at least one ultrasonic generator between said third and fourth grooves.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , further including:

one or more additional ultrasonic generators between said sixth and seventh grooves.

6. The apparatus of claim 3 , further including:

at least one ultrasonic generator between said sixth and seventh grooves.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , further including:

a sixth groove of said set of grooves positioned between said fourth groove and said fifth groove and means for supplying an additional cleaning fluid to said sixth groove.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , further including:

at least one ultrasonic generator between said third and fourth grooves, at least one ultrasonic generator between said fourth and sixth grooves, or at least one ultrasonic generator between said third and fourth grooves and at least one ultrasonic generator between said fourth and sixth grooves.

9. An apparatus, comprising:

a circular plate and an opening formed in a bottom surface of said plate;

a set of concentric grooves formed in said bottom surface of said plate, said grooves centered about said opening;

means for supplying a cleaning fluid to said opening;

means for applying a vacuum to a first groove of said set of grooves, said first groove closest to said opening; and

means for supplying an inert gas or said inert gas and a solvent vapor mixture to a second groove of said set of grooves, said second groove outside of said first groove.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , further including:

a third groove of said set of grooves outside of said second groove and means for supplying an additional cleaning fluid to said third groove;

a fourth groove of said set of grooves outside of said third groove and means for applying an additional vacuum to said fifth groove; and

a fifth groove of said set of grooves outside of said fourth groove and means for supplying an additional inert gas or said additional inert gas and an additional solvent vapor mixture to said fifth groove.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , further including:

at least one ultrasonic generator between said opening and said first groove, at least one ultrasonic generator between said third and fourth grooves or at least one ultrasonic generator between said opening and said first groove and at least one ultrasonic generator between said third and fourth grooves.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 , further including:

a third groove of said set of grooves between said first and second grooves and means for supplying an additional cleaning fluid to said third groove.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , further including:

at least one ultrasonic generator between said opening and said first groove, at least one ultrasonic generator between said second and third grooves or at least one ultrasonic generator between said opening and said first groove and at least one ultrasonic generator between said second and third grooves.

14. An immersion exposure system for exposing a photoresist layer on a top surface of a wafer to light, comprising:

a light source, one or more focusing lenses, a mask holder, a slit, an immersion head and a wafer stage, said light source, said one or more focusing lenses, said mask holder, said slit, and said immersion head aligned to an optical axis, said wafer stage moveable in two different orthogonal directions, each said orthogonal direction orthogonal to said optical axis, said mask holder and said slit moveable in one of said two orthogonal directions, said immersion head having a chamber having a top, a sidewall and a bottom opening, said top transparent to selected wavelengths of light;

means for filling said chamber of said immersion head with an immersion liquid, said chamber aligned to said optical axis;

means for cleaning a top surface of said photoresist layer; and

wherein said means for cleaning a top surface of said photoresist layer comprises:

a plate extending outward from a bottom edge of said chamber;

a set of concentric grooves formed in a bottom surface of said plate, said grooves centered about said chamber,

means for applying a vacuum to a first groove and a fourth groove of said set of grooves, said first groove nearest said bottom opening of said chamber;

means for supplying an inert gas or said inert gas and a solvent vapor mixture to a second groove and a fifth groove of said set of grooves, said second groove between said first and said fourth groove and said fifth groove outside of said fourth groove; and

means for supplying a cleaning fluid to a third groove of said set of grooves, said third groove between said second groove and said fourth groove.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , further including:

at least one ultrasonic generator between said third and fourth grooves.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 , further including:

a sixth groove of said set of grooves outside of said fifth groove and means for supplying an additional cleaning fluid to said sixth groove;

a seventh groove of said set of grooves outside of said sixth groove and means for applying an additional vacuum to said sixth groove; and

an eighth groove of said set of grooves outside of said seventh groove and means for supplying an additional inert gas or said additional inert gas and an additional solvent vapor mixture to said eighth groove.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , further including:

at least one ultrasonic generator between said third and fourth grooves.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 , further including:

one or more additional ultrasonic generators between said sixth and seventh grooves.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 , further including:

at least one ultrasonic generator between said sixth and seventh grooves.

20. The apparatus of claim 14 , further including:

a sixth groove of said set of grooves positioned between said fourth groove and said fifth groove and means for supplying an additional cleaning fluid to said sixth groove.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 , further including:

at least one ultrasonic generator between said third and fourth grooves, at least one ultrasonic generator between said fourth and sixth grooves, or at least one ultrasonic generator between said third and fourth grooves and at least one ultrasonic generator between said fourth and sixth grooves.

22. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein said means for cleaning a top surface of said photoresist layer comprises:

a circular plate and an opening formed in a bottom surface of said plate;

a set of concentric grooves formed in said bottom surface of said plate, said grooves centered about said opening;

means for supplying a cleaning fluid to said opening;

means for applying a vacuum to a first groove of said set of grooves, said first groove closest to said opening; and

means for supplying an inert gas or said inert gas and a solvent vapor mixture to a second groove of said set of grooves, said second groove outside of said first groove.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 , further including:

a third groove of said set of grooves outside of said second groove and means for supplying an additional cleaning fluid to said third groove;

a fourth groove of said set of grooves outside of said third groove and means for applying an additional vacuum to said fifth groove; and

a fifth groove of said set of grooves outside of said fourth groove and means for supplying an additional inert gas or said additional inert gas and an additional solvent vapor mixture to said fifth groove.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 , further including:

at least one ultrasonic generator between said opening and said first groove, at least one ultrasonic generator between said third and fourth grooves or at least one ultrasonic generator between said opening and said first groove and at least one ultrasonic generator between said third and fourth grooves.

25. The apparatus of claim 22 , further including:

a third groove of said set of grooves between said first and second grooves and means for supplying an additional cleaning fluid to said third groove.

26. The apparatus of claim 25 , further including:

at least one ultrasonic generator between said opening and said first groove, between said second and third grooves or between said opening and said first groove and between said second and third grooves.