JP2002359178A - Projection aligning method and projection aligner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To further improve resolution, overlay accuracy and throughput in addition to suppressing an increase in size, complication and an increase in cost of an apparatus. SOLUTION: In projecting and aligning a pattern of an original plate 6 on a substrate 16 by a projection optical system 13, the temperature distribution of the region to be aligned is measured or estimated (2), the temperature is controlled on the basis of the temperature distribution which is measured or estimated (3, 4, 20), and magnification components are computed (20) formed on the original plate after the temperature is controlled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to semiconductor chips such as ICs and LSIs, liquid crystal panels, CCDs, thin-film magnetic heads,
The present invention relates to a projection exposure apparatus used for manufacturing an element having a fine pattern such as a micromachine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An exposure apparatus for projecting and exposing an electronic circuit pattern on a reticle surface onto a wafer surface sequentially through a projection optical system when manufacturing semiconductor devices such as ICs, LSIs, and the like. An exposure apparatus (so-called scanner) for projecting and exposing by sequentially step-and-scan on a wafer surface is known.

In such a projection exposure apparatus, recently, an IC
As the patterns of semiconductor integrated circuits such as LSIs and LSIs become finer, further improvements in resolution, overlay accuracy and throughput are required.

At present, in mass production lines of each LSI maker,
In order to improve productivity, there is a strong tendency to use a high-resolution exposure apparatus for the critical layer and to use a high-throughput exposure apparatus with a low resolution for the rough layer. In this way, mix / mix
In order to cope with the process of the & Match (Mix & Match) method, it is necessary to suppress the shift, the magnification and the rotation error of the shot arrangement in the wafer, as a matter of course.
Fluctuations such as magnification and distortion within a shot must be minimized.

[0005] In particular, with respect to fluctuations within a shot, the problem that the magnification and distortion fluctuate in recent years has become apparent as the reticle absorbs illumination light and thermally expands. Since the reticle uses quartz glass, the exposure light (ArF 193 nm, KrF 243 nm,
Since the absorptance of i-line and the like is 1% or less and the coefficient of linear expansion is as low as 0.5 ppm / ° C., the thermal expansion of the conventional reticle has hardly been a problem. However, the exposure energy absorbed by the Cr pattern on the reticle is large due to the need for higher energy of the illumination light due to the demand for higher throughput, and the fact that the Cr surface is multilayered to prevent flare in the optical system. became. As a result, a phenomenon has been confirmed in which the Cr surface becomes a heat source, the temperature of the quartz glass rises, and thermal expansion causes fluctuations in magnification and distortion within a shot. It is thought that the wavelength of the light source will be further shortened in the future, and the absorption rate of the glass material itself will become a problem, or the exposure process will become difficult in the air atmosphere, and the diffusion of heat into the air will not be expected. ,
The possibility that the problem of heat generation of the reticle will be further raised is increased.

Conventionally, as a countermeasure against the thermal expansion of the reticle, first, an idea for reducing a rise in the temperature of the reticle has been proposed. For example, a method of preventing temperature rise by blowing air-conditioned gas onto a reticle has been conventionally proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-10245).
No. 0, JP-A-09-275070, JP-A-10-22
196, etc.).

As a second countermeasure, various methods have been proposed for correcting thermal expansion of a reticle. For example, based on various exposure parameters (reticle surface illuminance, pattern abundance, etc.), the amount of thermal deformation of the reticle is estimated by numerical calculation such as a difference method or a finite element method, and the magnification and distortion components are corrected by the projection optical system. A correction method using means (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-192317 and others) has been proposed.

As a third countermeasure, a method of performing exposure while keeping a reticle in a thermal steady state (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-32358).
7, JP-A-06-124871, and others). This is based on the principle that magnification and distortion do not occur in the reticle when the balance between the energy that is thermally incident on the reticle and the energy that diffuses to the surroundings is balanced.

[0009]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has an insufficient point as follows. That is,
In a ULSI lithography process, different reticles are used in as many as ten processes. Therefore, since there are various electronic circuit patterns, when the reticle is irradiated with exposure light and generates heat, the temperature distribution may be various. 18 to 21 illustrate this simply. FIG. 18 shows a case where the circuit pattern exists at the center of the reticle, and the temperature distribution is substantially concentric. In the case of such a temperature distribution, since the reticle expands in an axially symmetric manner, correction can be made by using the magnification and distortion correction functions of the conventional projection lens. However, since this deformation includes a third-order or higher-order distortion component in addition to a simple magnification component, it is difficult to perform precise correction. In addition, Cr
When the pattern is unevenly distributed, as shown in FIGS. 19 to 21, heat is generated only in a portion where the pattern density is high, and the temperature distribution becomes asymmetric with respect to the center of the reticle. Therefore, since deformation and distortion also occur locally, it is difficult to correct them.

In a scanner type exposure apparatus, it is said that such an asymmetric component correction is not impossible in principle. However, for each pattern of various asymmetric components, the relative speed and relative parallelism between the reticle stage and the wafer stage can be changed with high precision according to the relative position of the reticle and the wafer, and at the same time, the magnification and tilt magnification of the projection lens In addition, extremely sophisticated control of the stage and the projection lens is required, for example, by changing distortion and the like with high precision, and the apparatus becomes large-sized, complicated, and expensive, and implementation is still difficult.

[0011] In view of the above, the present invention has been made to increase the size of the apparatus,
An object of the present invention is to provide an exposure apparatus capable of further improving resolution, overlay accuracy, and throughput while suppressing complexity and cost increase.

[0012]

To achieve the above object, a projection exposure method according to the present invention is directed to a method of projecting and exposing a pattern on an original onto a substrate via a projection optical system. The temperature of each partial area of the exposure equivalent area is controlled based on a measured or predicted temperature distribution, and a magnification component generated on the original after the temperature control is calculated. It is preferable that the temperature control is individually performed in each of the partial regions.

A first projection exposure apparatus according to the present invention is an apparatus for projecting and exposing a pattern on an original plate onto a substrate via a projection optical system, wherein at least a partial region of an exposure equivalent region on the original plate is exposed. Means for performing at least one of measurement and prediction with respect to the temperature distribution; means for performing temperature control of the original based on the measured or predicted temperature distribution; and means for generating on the original plate after temperature control. Means for calculating a magnification component.

A second projection exposure apparatus according to the present invention is a projection exposure apparatus for projecting and exposing a pattern on an original onto a substrate via a projection optical system, and measures a temperature distribution of at least an exposure equivalent area on the original. Or a means for predicting, an original heating means comprising a plurality of heating units and heating to a predetermined temperature for each partial area obtained by dividing the exposure-equivalent area on the original, and measuring or estimating the temperature distribution of the original. Arithmetic operation control means for calculating an operation amount of each heating unit in the original sheet heating means for setting each of the partial regions to the predetermined temperature based on the original sheet, the operation amount generated on the original sheet heated by the original sheet heating means. And an original plate magnification calculating means for calculating the magnification component. As the operation amount of the heating unit, when the heating unit is an electric heating element or an electronic cooling element such as a Peltier element, a current flowing to the electric heating element or the electronic cooling element or a voltage to be applied is used. In the case of a nozzle that blows a heated gas, the temperature or flow rate of the heated gas, the current flowing through a heater or the like for heating the heated gas, and the like can be set.

[0015] As the original plate heating means, one in which a plurality of heating elements are arranged in a matrix in the size of an exposure equivalent area of the original plate is constituted as one plate, and a predetermined electrode of the heating element is connected to a predetermined electrode. By supplying a predetermined current, each can be controlled independently.If the heating temperature of each element is constant, each heating time is controlled.If the heating time of each element is constant, each heating temperature is controlled. A plurality of nozzles capable of spraying an inert heating gas such as air, N ₂ , He, etc., arranged in a matrix with a size equivalent to the original plate, and It is possible to use a non-contact original plate heating means which can be controlled and controls each heating time if the heating gas temperature of each nozzle is constant, and controls each heating temperature if the heating time of each nozzle is constant. . It is preferable that the contact-type original sheet heating means has such a rigidity as to conform to the shape of the original sheet under its own weight when it comes into contact with the original sheet.

As means for measuring or estimating the temperature distribution of the original plate, a temperature-sensitive part of a plurality of contact-type temperature sensors is used.
It is possible to constitute a plate having a size equivalent to the original plate and arranged in a matrix, and to contact the original plate for a predetermined time at an appropriate timing such as every shot or each substrate, and measure a temperature distribution. It is possible to measure the temperature distribution on the original plate at an appropriate timing for each shot or each substrate using a non-contact type thermometer such as a contact-type original plate temperature distribution measuring unit or an infrared thermal image measuring device. By using a non-contact type original plate temperature distribution measuring means, or an original plate temperature distribution table obtained in advance by using the exposure energy absorbed by the original plate and the dissipated energy dissipated in the periphery as parameters, the original plate temperature distribution is It is possible to use a predictable raw material temperature distribution predicting means. It is preferable that the contact-type original plate temperature distribution measuring means has such a rigidity as to conform to the deflection shape of the reticle under its own weight when coming into contact with the original plate.

Particularly, in the scanner, it is preferable that the original sheet heating means and the original sheet temperature distribution measuring means are arranged in a space of an acceleration / deceleration section of the original sheet stage.

[0018] The arithmetic control means may, for example, discretize the original on a plurality of areas on the basis of the temperature distribution measurement result of the original on the basis of the temperature, and calculate a heating location and a heating temperature of the original sheet heating means so as to correspond thereto. I do. More specifically, it is preferable to set a maximum temperature region for a plurality of discretized regions on the original plate, and perform an operation for heating the temperature of the other regions to the temperature of the maximum temperature region.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In a projection exposure apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, even if a reticle absorbs exposure light and a temperature distribution occurs on a reticle surface during projection exposure, whether the temperature distribution is measured or not. , Or by predicting its temperature distribution, and by appropriately heating the low-temperature region, to make the temperature distribution flat,
A function is provided for converting an error component generated in the projected image of the reticle Cr pattern into only a simple magnification component and correcting the component to zero using a magnification correction function of the projection lens. That is, the projection exposure apparatus includes a temperature distribution measuring unit capable of measuring a temperature distribution of a reticle, or a temperature distribution estimating unit capable of predicting a temperature distribution, and only a low-temperature region according to the temperature distribution of a reticle. Heating means capable of heating, calculating means for calculating a magnification component occurring in the heated reticle, and means for correcting the magnification component are provided.

As the reticle temperature distribution measuring means, there can be proposed two kinds of means, a contact type and a non-contact type. The contact type is a type in which a plurality of contact type temperature sensors are arranged in a matrix form as a temperature measurement plate, and can be brought into contact with a reticle at an appropriate timing for a predetermined time to measure a temperature distribution. . The temperature measurement plate has such a rigidity as to conform to the shape of the reticle under its own weight in order to maintain a good contact state when it comes into contact with the reticle. In the case of the non-contact type, the temperature distribution of the reticle is measured by an infrared thermal imaging device or the like.

Next, the reticle heating means is also of a contact type.
Two means can be proposed, the non-contact type. As the contact-type heating means, an electric heater or an electronic cooling / heating element such as a Peltier element is arranged in a matrix in a size of an area corresponding to the exposure of the reticle, and these are configured as a plate, and a current is supplied to each electrode. / OFF
Thus, it is possible to locally heat an arbitrary area on the plate. Then, using a result of the reticle temperature distribution measuring means or the reticle temperature distribution predicting means, a heating point of the heating plate and a heating heat amount are calculated, and a control calculating means for selecting an electrode address and performing a current command is provided. I have. According to the result of this control calculation means,
The heating plate is brought into direct contact with the reticle for a certain period of time and heated. The reticle heating plate has such a rigidity as to conform to the shape of the reticle under its own weight in order to maintain a good contact state when it comes into contact with the reticle.

The non-contact heating means includes:
A plurality of nozzles that can blow inactive heating gas such as air, N ₂ , He, etc. are arranged in a matrix equivalent to the size of a reticle, and ON / OFF of heating gas and temperature control are possible for each nozzle. It has become. Then, using the reticle temperature distribution measured by the reticle temperature distribution measuring means or the reticle temperature distribution predicting means, the heating location of the heating plate and the amount of heat are calculated, and a heat nozzle selection, a heating time, and a heating temperature command are performed. Control arithmetic means is provided.

The reticle can be heated by the reticle heating means so that the reticle having a temperature distribution can be changed to a flat temperature distribution of a constant temperature. Becomes
In the present embodiment, a magnification calculator for calculating the magnification component is provided, and the magnification can be quickly corrected using the magnification correction function of the existing projection lens.

The arrangement of the reticle temperature distribution measuring means and the reticle heating means uses a space in the acceleration / deceleration section of the reticle stage in the scanner, and minimizes a reduction in throughput even when heating the reticle. It is configured to be able to.

[0025]

According to the present invention, even if an original plate having an arbitrary wiring pattern, for example, a reticle absorbs illumination light and the reticle locally generates heat, the reticle surface can be quickly formed by using the above-described means. The above temperature distribution can be made uniform. Therefore, the variation of the asymmetric component of the error of the pattern projection image due to the partial expansion and contraction of the reticle is reduced to zero.
Thus, the error component can be limited to a simple magnification component. This makes it possible to use a known magnification correction function of the projection lens to correct a component error in a shot with high accuracy.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, examples in which the present invention is applied to a step-and-scan type projection exposure apparatus (scanner) will be described. However, the present invention is a step-and-
It is also possible to apply to a repeat type projection exposure apparatus (stepper). Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a projection exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a thermography and a heating plate are used as the temperature distribution measuring means and the heating means of the present invention, respectively.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an illumination system including a light source and an illumination optical system. Reference numeral 6 denotes a reticle on which an electronic circuit pattern is formed, on which a reticle alignment mark (not shown) is drawn. Reference numeral 9 denotes a reticle stage that supports the reticle 6 and enables the reticle 6 to scan in the y direction in FIG. The position of the reticle stage 9 is constantly monitored by the laser interferometer mirror 7 and the laser interferometer 8. 5 is a reticle 6
Is a reticle alignment system for performing positioning on the reticle stage 9.

Reference numeral 2 denotes an infrared thermal image measuring device (thermography) for measuring the temperature distribution of the reticle 6, and when the reticle stage 9 moves to the reticle stage acceleration / deceleration area in the + y direction in FIG. measure.
Reference numeral 3 denotes a heating plate for heating the reticle, and reference numeral 4 denotes a heating plate driving unit that repeats the operation of moving the heating plate 3 up and down, bringing the reticle 6 into contact with the reticle 6 for a predetermined time, and then releasing the reticle 6. Both the heating plate 3 and the heating plate driving means 4 are arranged as reticle heating means in the vicinity of the infrared thermal image measuring device 2 which is a temperature distribution measuring means of the reticle 6. According to the present embodiment, by arranging both the temperature distribution measuring unit and the heating unit, which are the features of the present invention, in the reticle acceleration / deceleration section, the reticle temperature distribution measurement and the heating operation can be performed immediately after the exposure is completed. Will be possible.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a projection lens. Reference numeral 12 denotes a well-known lens drive unit for correcting a change in imaging performance of the projection lens 13, particularly, an axially symmetric component. 11 is TTL (T
A wafer alignment measurement system for performing wafer alignment measurement according to the through the lens (through the lens) method, and a mirror 10 for bending a probe light for alignment measurement.

The light projector 14 and the light receiver 15 constitute a well-known focus and wafer tilt detector. The light beam is emitted from the light projector 14 to the surface of the wafer 16, and the reflected light is photoelectrically detected by the light receiver 15. , The focus position of the projection lens 13 and the inclination of the wafer 16 are detected.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a wafer stage capable of coarse movement and fine movement in the x, y, and θ directions.
8. It is constantly monitored by the laser interferometer 19.
Usually, the scanning operation of the reticle stage 9 and the wafer stage 17 is performed between a scanning speed of the reticle stage and a scanning speed of the wafer stage, where the reduction ratio of the projection lens is 1 / β, the scanning speed of the reticle stage is Vr, and the scanning speed of the wafer stage is Vw. Is Vr /
Synchronous control is performed so that the relationship of Vw = β is established. As described above, the operation control of the entire exposure apparatus including these main units is controlled by the main controller 20.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the reticle processing shown in FIG.
2 shows a configuration of the heat plate 3. In FIG. 2, M₁₁~ M₆₅
Is a heating heater or Peltier arranged in a matrix.
It is an electronic cooling / heating element such as a heating element.
Are used. Matrix size
Is substantially equal to the maximum exposure area of the exposure apparatus. 21
Is a plate that supports these elements, and the reticle
For effective heating, a thin plate with high thermal conductivity, or
It consists of a thin film-like sheet. Also, in FIG.
A_1-6,1~ A_1-6,5And A_1,1-5~ A_6,1-5Haso
Each element (M ₁₁~ M₆₅Address to drive)
A predetermined current flowing through these electrodes is turned ON / OF by the electrodes.
By controlling the temperature of any element on the matrix,
Can be set as desired.

In this embodiment, the temperature of the reticle 6 in the low-temperature region is raised to the temperature in the high-temperature region by bringing the support plate 21 (see FIG. 4) of the heating plate 3 into direct contact with the reticle 6 to obtain a uniform temperature distribution. To Therefore, if the contact between the heating plate and the reticle is not good,
There is a possibility that a large thermal resistance occurs and heating is not performed well. A method for solving this will be described with reference to FIG. The reticle is normally vacuum-adsorbed to the reticle chuck 24 and is deformed under its own weight like the reticle 6 shown in FIG. Is the sum of the amount of deflection depending on the surface accuracy of. Therefore, when the heating plate 3 is brought into contact with the reticle 6, by selecting the rigidity of the support plate 21 so as to follow the bent shape, the contact state can be kept good. Therefore, as described above, the support plate 21 may be made of any material other than metal on a thin plate having a high heat conductivity, as long as heat conduction is performed effectively. FIG.
As shown in (1), the heating plate 3 includes a support plate 21, a heating element 22, a heating plate holder 23, and the like.

The configuration of the reticle heating plate 3 in FIG. 1 has been described above. Next, the heating process when the reticle is brought into contact with the reticle will be described. FIG. 5 shows an example of the temperature distribution of the reticle when a certain time has elapsed after the exposure was started. Originally, the temperature distribution is continuous, T _{1 0} the highest temperature of the region S ₁ of the temperature here
Hereinafter, as the temperature decreases, the temperature of the region S ₂ is discretely considered as T ₂₀ , the temperature of the region S ₃ as T ₃₀ , and the temperature of the region S ₄ as T ₄₀ . Then, the heating elements of the reticle heating plate 3 are made to function corresponding to these four regions.
In the present embodiment, in order to flatten the temperature distribution in the exposure area, as shown in FIG. 6, the elements M ₃₄ , M ₃₅ , M ₄₄ , and M ₄₅ corresponding to the area S ₁ , which is the highest temperature area, The element M ₂₄ corresponding to the region S ₂ having a lower temperature without functioning,
M ₂₅ , M ₅₄ , M ₅₅ and elements M ₁₄ , M corresponding to the region S _3
15 , M ₆₄ , M _65, and elements M ₁₁ -M corresponding to the region S _4.
When M ₆₁ , M _{12 to} M ₆₂ , and M _{13 to} M ₆₃ come into contact with the reticle 6, a predetermined current flows so that the temperature of the reticle 6 becomes T ₁₀ .

In the present embodiment, the temperature distribution of the reticle is considered discretely, and the inside of the area is assumed to be uniform, and each area is heated by an individual heating element. Can be simplified as a general transient heating problem of a uniform temperature object. Generally, at time t = 0, temperature T =
Assuming that T ₀ is the initial condition, the temperature change of the object can be expressed by T = (T ₀ −T _∞ ) e− ^τt + T _∞ (1) T _∞ is the temperature of the heating side (T
_∞ > T ₀ ) and τ are time constants dependent on density, specific heat, thermal resistance, and the like. According to this formula, in the present embodiment, by individually setting the set temperatures of the heating elements, it is possible to set the temperature of the reticle to the target temperature within a certain time even if there is a temperature difference in each area. It turns out that it becomes.

This will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, T ₁₀ is the target temperature of heating the reticle whole surface temperature T _10. T ₂ , T ₃ , and T ₄ indicate temperature changes in the respective regions S ₂ , S ₃ , and S ₄ of the reticle, and the temperatures T ₂₀ , T
_30, T ₄₀ is the initial temperature of each of the _{regions, T 1p, T 2p, T} 3p is the set temperature of the heating element for heating those areas. As can be seen from this figure, by controlling the set temperature for each heating element, the areas S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ , S ₃
No. ₄ , only the reticle heating plate 3 is brought into contact with the reticle 6 for a certain period of time (t = ta), so that each region of the reticle 6 can be uniformly heated to the target temperature.

As another method, there is a method in which the set temperature of each heating element is kept constant, and the heating time is individually controlled for each element in each of the discrete temperature regions. In this embodiment, either method may be used as long as the temperature distribution in the reticle plane can be made flat.

Next, the exposure sequence of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. When the exposure sequence is started (Step 30), the reticle 6 is loaded on the reticle stage 9 and aligned (Step 31). next,
The first wafer 16 is loaded on the wafer stage 17 by a transfer system (not shown) and aligned (step 32). The aligned wafer 16 is moved to and positioned at the first shot position according to the alignment measurement value, and the focus drive of the projection lens 13 is performed (step 33). Then, the reticle stage 9 and the wafer stage 17 are driven at a speed according to the magnification ratio of the projection lens 13 to perform scan exposure (step 34). Thereafter, until the exposure of all shots in the wafer 6 is completed,
The above operation is repeated (steps 33 to 35). When the first wafer 16 is processed, the wafer is collected (step 36).

Next, the reticle stage 9 is positioned below the infrared thermal image measuring instrument 2 which is a non-contact temperature measuring means.
The temperature distribution of the reticle irradiated with the exposure energy is measured (step 37). In the present embodiment, this step 3
Operation 7 was performed at intervals of one wafer. However, this operation interval can be arbitrarily set depending on the process. For example, when the reticle has a high Cr pattern density and a large exposure energy, it is performed in shot units. Conversely, if the Cr pattern density is low and the exposure energy is low, then every five or ten wafers may be used. In the present embodiment, the process is performed for each wafer in the sense that the temperature of the reticle is constantly monitored. From the result, it is determined whether the maximum temperature Tmax of the reticle is higher or lower than a set temperature Tp set for each process (step 3).
8). The process setting temperature Tp may be set higher in the rough layer to reduce the number of reticle heating operations and increase the throughput. Conversely, in the critical layer requiring the most advanced accuracy, the Tp may be set lower. It is also conceivable to set and precisely control the reticle temperature distribution. If the maximum temperature Tmax of the reticle is equal to or lower than the process set temperature Tp, the accumulation of the exposure energy is slight and the exposure operation is continued as it is (step 39), and the processing of the second wafer is started.

The above loop (steps 32 to 3)
By repeating step 9), the temperature of reticle 6 gradually increases. When the processing of the N-th wafer is completed and the maximum temperature Tmax is higher than the process set temperature Tp as a result of the temperature distribution measurement of the reticle 6, the reticle stage 9 is positioned below the reticle heating unit 3 and heated. The operation proceeds to an operation sequence (step 41).

First, in step 42, step 37
Discretization of the temperature distribution is performed based on the result of the reticle temperature distribution measurement measured in step. By this calculation, the surface of the reticle 6 is discretized into several regions depending on the temperature. From this result, the set temperature of each heating element corresponding to each temperature region is set based on the equation (1) (step 43).

Next, since the relationship between the set temperature of the heating element and the value of the current flowing through the element is known in advance, a command current is supplied to each element (step 44). Then, the heating plate 3 kept at the set temperature is brought into contact with the reticle 6 by the plate lifting / lowering mechanism 4 (step 45).
After the reticle 6 has been brought into contact with the reticle 6 for a fixed time (t = ta) determined by the equation (1) (step 46), the heating plate 3
Is separated from the reticle 6 (step 47), and the reticle heating operation ends.

Next, the magnification component generated in the reticle 6 is performed by using the magnification correction function of the projection lens. At this point, the entire reticle 6 is in a flat temperature distribution of the temperature T _10, the magnification correction amount Δβ, using the expansion coefficient of the reticle alpha, can be easily determined as follows (step 49). Δβ = α · T ₁₀ Then, using the projection lens magnification correction function 12, this Δ
is corrected to cancel the magnification component generated by the reticle 6 due to thermal expansion (step 50), and the process returns to the main sequence.

Next, assuming that the exposure operation is continued (step 3
9) The operation moves to the (N + 1) th exposure operation. In this way, the temperature distribution of the reticle is constantly monitored, and the maximum temperature Tmax at that time is set at the process set temperature T
Each time it becomes larger than p, a reticle heating operation is performed,
When the magnification component generated at that time is corrected and all wafers to be processed have been exposed, this sequence is completed.

The above is the description of the first embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the description has been given for the scanner.
In the case of a stepper, the reticle temperature distribution measurement unit 2
The present invention is naturally applicable to the extent that the arrangement of the reticle stage 9, the reticle heating unit 3 and the like is different.

[Embodiment 2] Next, as a second embodiment of the present invention, an example using a heating closed loop will be described. In the first embodiment, when the reticle 6 is heated as in the reticle heating sequence (steps 41 to 48) of FIG. 8, the magnification correction amount is calculated on the assumption that the reticle 6 has reached a predetermined target temperature. Then, this is corrected by the magnification correction function of the projection lens, and a magnification correction sequence by an open loop is adopted. However, the contact state between the heating plate 3 and the reticle 6 may be caused by some reason, for example, a small amount of dust, so that the thermal resistance increases and the reticle 6 cannot be controlled to a desired temperature. In order to cope with this, in this embodiment, this concern is solved by forming a closed loop in which the temperature distribution of the reticle 6 is measured again after the reticle heating operation is completed, and the result is determined.

The exposure sequence of the scanner to which the second embodiment is applied will be described with reference to FIG. The sequence of steps 30 to 47 has been described in detail with reference to FIG.

In this embodiment, a series of reticle heating operations is completed. At this time, in case the heating area of the reticle has not reached the target temperature for some reason,
The reticle temperature distribution is measured (step 60). It is determined reticle temperature T 'is, with respect to the temperature target value T _10, whether entered the temperature tolerance T ₁₀ ± TTOL set in advance (step 61). If so, the reticle heating operation is terminated (step 4).
8) The reticle magnification component generated at that time is calculated and corrected (steps 49 and 50). Conversely, if the reticle temperature does not fall within the tolerance, step 49
Using the result of the measurement, the process returns to the discretization of the reticle temperature distribution in step 42 again, and the same step (step 43
To 47, 60, 61) are repeated. By repeating this loop a plurality of times, the temperature distribution of the reticle surely falls within the tolerance, so that the reticle heating operation is completed (step 48), and the magnification component of the reticle generated at that time is calculated. Correction is made (steps 49 and 50). Then, the process returns to the main sequence again.

As described above, in this embodiment, after the reticle heating operation is completed, the temperature distribution of the reticle is measured again,
By forming a closed loop in which it is determined whether or not the temperature is within the tolerance, the effects of the present invention can be surely exerted even for various uncertain factors.

[Embodiment 3] Next, a description will be given of a third embodiment in which a temperature measurement plate is used as the temperature distribution measuring means of the present invention. The present embodiment is characterized in that the temperature of the reticle is measured by a contact method. FIG. 10 is a diagram in which a contact-type temperature measuring means, which is a feature of the present embodiment, is configured in the acceleration / deceleration section of the reticle stage in the exposure apparatus. Instead of the infrared thermal image measuring device 2 in FIG. A plate 70 and a drive unit 71 for driving the plate 70 are provided. The units other than these units 70 and 71 are common to those in the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

First, the configuration of the reticle temperature measuring plate 70 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, S ₁₁ to S ₆₅ is a short time the temperature distribution of the reticle, and for precisely measuring the small contact type temperature sensor time constant is obtained by arrangement 30 of 6 × 5 in a matrix. These sensors are embedded in the support plate 72. The size of the matrix is substantially equal to the maximum exposure area of the exposure apparatus.

When actually measuring the temperature distribution of the reticle 6, the reticle 6 and the temperature sensor 70 must be in good contact. If the contact is insufficient, the temperature sensors S _{11 to} S ₆₅
There is a possibility that a large thermal resistance is generated between the reticle 6 and the reticle 6, and the temperature measurement cannot be performed satisfactorily. FIG. 12 shows a method for solving the problem. The reticle is normally deformed under its own weight as shown in the figure, but the amount of deflection is the sum of the amount of deflection when supported on an ideal plane and the amount of deflection depending on the surface accuracy of the vacuum suction surface. Therefore, when the temperature measurement plate 70 supported by the temperature distribution measurement plate holder 73 is brought into contact with the reticle 6, the rigidity of the support plate 72 is appropriately selected so as to conform to the bent shape, thereby improving the contact state. Will be able to keep it. 74 is a sensor lead wire. Regarding the actual measurement operation, when the reticle stage 9 moves to the reticle stage acceleration / deceleration region in the + y direction in FIG. 10, the temperature distribution measurement plate 70 is lowered by the drive unit 71 and contacts the reticle 6 for a predetermined time. Measure the temperature distribution.

As described above, by measuring the temperature distribution of the reticle by the contact method, it is not necessary to precisely measure the emissivity of the reticle surface, which is an unstable factor when measuring using an infrared thermal image measuring device (thermography). Therefore, implementation becomes easier, and improvement in throughput can be expected.

The reticle heating method using the contact-type temperature measuring means and the reticle magnification correction method have the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, and therefore the description thereof is omitted.

Embodiment 4 Next, a fourth embodiment using temperature distribution prediction will be described. In the above-described first to third embodiments, the non-contact type reticle temperature distribution measuring and measuring means using the infrared thermal image measuring device and the like, and the reticle by the contact type temperature measuring plate in which a plurality of temperature sensors are embedded. The example using the temperature distribution measuring unit has been described. However, if the energy absorbed by the reticle and the energy dissipated to the surroundings can be estimated in advance,
The reticle temperature distribution can be predicted only by the numerical operation.

For example, the parameters for determining the reticle absorption energy include a reticle surface illuminance, a Cr pattern distribution, a Cr energy absorption rate, and an exposure duty. The parameters that determine the energy dissipated to the periphery include the flow velocity around the reticle (other than vacuum exposure), the emissivity of the synthetic quartz glass that is the base material of the reticle, and the heat transfer coefficient of the contact portion with the reticle chuck ( Thermal resistance). Therefore, it is possible to obtain the reticle temperature distribution in each case by assuming the exposure process of the actual device and varying these parameters several times and performing experiments or numerical calculations. Then, the result is tabulated in the storage device of the exposure apparatus. In actual exposure, the reticle temperature distribution can be predicted only by referring to this table.

By providing the apparatus with a function capable of referencing the temperature distribution of the reticle in the form of a table, the reticle temperature distribution measuring means can be omitted. As shown in FIG. A simplified device with only the means added is realized.

The reticle heating method using the reticle temperature estimating means and the reticle magnification correction method have the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

[Fifth Embodiment] Next, a fifth embodiment using an air ejection heating means will be described. In the embodiments described above, in order to make the temperature distribution of the reticle flat, the reticle heating plate serving as the heating means is used for the reticle by using the measurement or prediction result of the temperature measurement distribution measuring means or the prediction means described above. By contacting and heating a low temperature region of the reticle, the temperature distribution is eliminated. The present embodiment is characterized in that the heating means is constituted by a non-contact method. This configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.

In these figures, N _{11 to} N ₆₅ are nozzles for blowing out heated gas, and are arranged in a matrix. Reference numeral 80 denotes a plate that supports those nozzles. The size of the nozzle matrix is substantially equal to the maximum exposure area of the exposure apparatus. When heating the reticle 6, as shown in FIG. 15, the support plate holder 81 is brought close to the reticle 6 to a predetermined distance, and the gas heated to a predetermined temperature from a predetermined nozzle is discharged according to the measurement or prediction result of the reticle temperature distribution. By blowing out, the low temperature region of the reticle 6 is heated. As the heating gas, an inert gas such as air, N ₂ and He can be considered, but H 2 having a higher heat transfer efficiency can be used.
e gas is preferred. In this embodiment, the number of nozzles is 5.times.6 = 30. However, any number of nozzles may be used as long as the reticle can be satisfactorily heated based on the temperature distribution of the reticle.

Next, the heating process when a heating gas is blown onto the reticle will be described. FIG. 10 shows an example of the temperature distribution of the reticle, as in the first embodiment. A gas at a predetermined temperature is blown from a predetermined nozzle of the reticle heating plate corresponding to the four discretized areas. In this embodiment, in order to flatten the temperature distribution in the exposure area, the nozzle N _34, N _35, N ₄₄ corresponding to the area S ₁ as shown in FIG. 16, N ₄₅
Does not function, and gas of a predetermined temperature is flowed from all the other nozzles.

The method of heating the reticle can be explained according to the equation (1) as in the first embodiment. In other words, the temperature of the reticle is set to the target temperature by setting the set temperature of the heated gas uniformly for each nozzle and individually setting the heating time for each nozzle.

This situation will be described with reference to FIG. Same figure
And T_TenIs T over the entire reticle_TenFor heating to the temperature of
This is the target temperature. T_Two, T_Three, T_FourIs each area of the reticle
S_Two, S _Three, S_FourAnd the temperature T₂₀, T
₃₀, T₄₀Is the initial temperature for each area, and Tn is the setting of the heated gas
Temperature. From this figure, S₂₀The nozzle corresponding to the area
Time tb, S₃₀The nozzle corresponding to the region is at time tc, S₄₀
The nozzle corresponding to the area is time td, etc.
If the heating time is set, each area is uniformly set to the target temperature T_Ten
It can be seen that heating is possible up to.

As another method, there is a method in which the temperature of the heated gas ejected from the nozzle is controlled for each nozzle to make the heating time constant. In this embodiment, either method may be used as long as the temperature distribution in the reticle plane can be made flat.

The configuration of the non-contact reticle heating plate of this embodiment has been described above. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to avoid adhesion of particles to the reticle, which is a concern in the contact-type heating plate, and it is possible to improve the yield of products.

The reticle magnification correction method using the reticle heating means has the same configuration as that of the above-described embodiments, and therefore the description thereof is omitted.

[0067]

[Embodiment of semiconductor production system] Next, semiconductor devices (semiconductor chips such as IC and LSI, liquid crystal panels, CCs)
D, a thin-film magnetic head, a micromachine, etc.). In this system, maintenance services such as troubleshooting and periodic maintenance of a manufacturing apparatus installed in a semiconductor manufacturing factory or provision of software are performed using a computer network outside the manufacturing factory.

FIG. 22 shows the whole system cut out from a certain angle. In the figure, reference numeral 101 denotes a business establishment of a vendor (apparatus supply maker) that provides a semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus. As an example of a manufacturing apparatus, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for various processes used in a semiconductor manufacturing plant, for example,
Pre-process equipment (lithography equipment such as exposure equipment, resist processing equipment, etching equipment, heat treatment equipment, film formation equipment,
A flattening device, etc.) and post-process equipment (assembly device, inspection device, etc.) are assumed. In the business office 101, a host management system 10 for providing a maintenance database of manufacturing equipment
8. It has a plurality of operation terminal computers 110 and a local area network (LAN) 109 connecting these to construct an intranet. Host management system 10
Reference numeral 8 includes a gateway for connecting the LAN 109 to the Internet 105, which is an external network of the business office, and a security function for restricting external access.

On the other hand, reference numerals 102 to 104 denote manufacturing factories of a semiconductor manufacturer as users of the manufacturing apparatus. The manufacturing factories 102 to 104 may be factories belonging to different manufacturers or factories belonging to the same manufacturer (for example, a factory for a pre-process, a factory for a post-process, etc.). In each of the factories 102 to 104, a plurality of manufacturing apparatuses 106, a local area network (LAN) 111 connecting them to construct an intranet, and a host management unit as a monitoring apparatus for monitoring the operation status of each manufacturing apparatus 106. A system 107 is provided. Each factory 10
The host management systems 107 provided in 2 to 104 are:
It has a gateway for connecting the LAN 111 in each factory to the Internet 105 which is an external network of the factory. As a result, access from the LAN 111 of each factory to the host management system 108 on the vendor 101 side via the Internet 105 is possible, and only users limited by the security function of the host management system 108 are permitted to access. More specifically, the factory notifies the vendor of status information (for example, symptoms of the manufacturing apparatus in which a trouble has occurred) indicating the operating status of each manufacturing apparatus 106 via the Internet 105.
Response information corresponding to the notification (for example, information instructing a coping method for a trouble, software and data for coping), and maintenance information such as the latest software and help information can be received from the vendor. Each factory 10
For data communication between the vendors 2 to 104 and the vendor 101 and data communication on the LAN 111 in each factory, a communication protocol (TCP) generally used on the Internet is used.
/ IP) is used. Instead of using the Internet as an external network outside the factory, it is also possible to use a dedicated line network (such as ISDN) that cannot be accessed by a third party and has high security. Further, the host management system is not limited to the one provided by the vendor, and a user may construct a database and place it on an external network, and permit access from a plurality of factories of the user to the database.

FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram showing the whole system of this embodiment cut out from another angle than that of FIG. In the above example, a plurality of user factories each having a manufacturing device and a management system of a vendor of the manufacturing device are connected via an external network, and the production management of each factory and at least one device are connected via the external network. The data of the manufacturing apparatus was communicated. On the other hand, in this example, a factory equipped with manufacturing equipment of a plurality of vendors is connected to a management system of each of the plurality of manufacturing equipments via an external network outside the factory, and maintenance information of each manufacturing equipment is stored. It is for data communication. In the figure, reference numeral 201 denotes a manufacturing plant of a manufacturing apparatus user (semiconductor device manufacturer), and a manufacturing line for performing various processes, for example, an exposure apparatus 202, a resist processing apparatus 203;
A film forming apparatus 204 is introduced. Although only one manufacturing factory 201 is illustrated in FIG. 23, actually, a plurality of factories are similarly networked. Each device in the factory is connected by a LAN 206 to form an intranet, and the host management system 205 manages the operation of the production line. On the other hand, each business establishment of a vendor (apparatus supply maker) such as an exposure apparatus maker 210, a resist processing apparatus maker 220, and a film formation apparatus maker 230 has a host management system 21 for remote maintenance of the supplied equipment.
1, 221 and 231, which comprise a maintenance database and an external network gateway as described above. A host management system 205 for managing each device in the user's manufacturing plant, and a vendor management system 2 for each device
11, 221, and 231 are connected via the Internet or a dedicated line network that is the external network 200. In this system, if a trouble occurs in any of a series of manufacturing equipment on the manufacturing line,
Although the operation of the production line is suspended, quick response is possible by receiving remote maintenance via the Internet 200 from the vendor of the troubled device, and the suspension of the production line can be minimized.

Each of the manufacturing apparatuses installed in the semiconductor manufacturing factory includes a display, a network interface, and a computer that executes network access software and apparatus operation software stored in a storage device. The storage device is a built-in memory, a hard disk, a network file server, or the like. The network access software includes a dedicated or general-purpose web browser, and provides, for example, a user interface having a screen as shown in FIG. 24 on a display. The operator who manages the manufacturing equipment in each factory refers to the screen and refers to the manufacturing equipment model (401), serial number (402), trouble subject (403), date of occurrence (404), and urgency (40).
5), symptom (406), coping method (407), course (40)
8) Input information such as in the input items on the screen. The input information is transmitted to the maintenance database via the Internet, and the resulting appropriate maintenance information is returned from the maintenance database and presented on the display. Further, the user interface provided by the web browser further realizes a hyperlink function (410 to 412) as shown in the figure, so that the operator can access more detailed information of each item or use the software library provided by the vendor for the manufacturing apparatus. The latest version of software to be extracted can be extracted, and an operation guide (help information) can be extracted for reference by a factory operator.

Here, the maintenance information provided by the maintenance database includes information on the management of the offset value generated by the combination of the reticle and the pellicle described above, and the software library has the latest information for realizing the above management. Software is also provided.

Next, a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device using the above-described production system will be described. FIG. 25 shows the flow of the whole semiconductor device manufacturing process.
In step 1 (circuit design), the circuit of the semiconductor device is designed. Step 2 is a process for making a mask on the basis of the circuit pattern design. Step 3
In (wafer manufacture), a wafer is manufactured using a material such as silicon. Step 4 (wafer process) is called a pre-process, and an actual circuit is formed on the wafer by lithography using the prepared mask and wafer. The next step 5 (assembly) is called a post-process, and step 4
This is a process of forming a semiconductor chip using the wafer produced by the above-described process, and includes an assembly process such as an assembly process (dicing and bonding) and a packaging process (chip encapsulation). In step 6 (inspection), inspections such as an operation confirmation test and a durability test of the semiconductor device manufactured in step 5 are performed. Through these steps, a semiconductor device is completed and shipped (step 7). The pre-process and the post-process are performed in separate dedicated factories, and maintenance is performed for each of these factories by the above-described remote maintenance system. Further, information for production management and apparatus maintenance is also communicated between the pre-process factory and the post-process factory via the Internet or a dedicated line network.

FIG. 26 shows a detailed flow of the wafer process. Step 11 (oxidation) oxidizes the wafer's surface. Step 12 (CVD) forms an insulating film on the wafer surface. Step 13 (electrode formation) forms electrodes on the wafer by vapor deposition. In step 14 (ion implantation), ions are implanted into the wafer. Step 1
In 5 (resist processing), a photosensitive agent is applied to the wafer. Step 16 (exposure) uses the above-described exposure apparatus to print and expose the circuit pattern of the mask onto the wafer. Step 17 (development) develops the exposed wafer. In step 18 (etching), portions other than the developed resist image are removed. In step 19 (resist stripping), unnecessary resist after etching is removed. By repeating these steps, multiple circuit patterns are formed on the wafer. Since the manufacturing equipment used in each process is maintained by the remote maintenance system described above, troubles can be prevented beforehand, and if troubles occur, quick recovery is possible. Productivity can be improved.

[0075]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
A reticle with an arbitrary wiring pattern absorbs the exposure light,
Even if the reticle generates heat locally, it measures or predicts it promptly, and executes temperature control such as heating the low-temperature area according to the result to correct the temperature distribution on the reticle surface (for example, to make it flatter). ). In a state where this temperature distribution is corrected, the reticle mainly has only a magnification component as a main error component, and this component can be easily corrected by using a magnification correction function of the projection lens. Become.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an exposure apparatus according to first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an arrangement diagram of heating elements of a heating plate in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an electrode diagram of a heating element in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a state where the heating plate of FIG. 2 is brought into contact with a reticle.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a temperature distribution of the reticle in FIG. 1;

6 shows an active heating element of the heating plate of FIG. 2 corresponding to the temperature distribution of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a temperature change in each region of the reticle heated by the heating element of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an exposure sequence according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an exposure sequence according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of an exposure apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a plan view of the contact-type reticle temperature distribution measurement plate in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a side view of the measurement plate of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of an exposure apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a reticle heating plate according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a side view of the heating plate of FIG. 14;

16 shows the active nozzles of the heating plate of FIG. 14 corresponding to the temperature distribution of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a temperature change in each region of the reticle heated by the heating gas blown from the nozzle of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a diagram schematically illustrating temperature distributions of various reticles having different pattern shapes.

FIG. 19 is a diagram schematically illustrating temperature distributions of various reticles having different pattern shapes.

FIG. 20 is a diagram schematically illustrating temperature distributions of various reticles having different pattern shapes.

FIG. 21 is a diagram schematically illustrating temperature distributions of various reticles having different pattern shapes.

FIG. 22 is a conceptual view of a semiconductor device production system as viewed from a certain angle.

FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram of a semiconductor device production system viewed from another angle.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a user interface.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a flow of a device manufacturing process.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating the wafer process of FIG. 25.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2: Non-contact reticle temperature distribution measuring instrument, 3: Contact type
Reticle heating plate 4: Reticle heating plate drive
Dynamic unit, 6: reticle, M₁₁~ M₆₅: Reticle heating
Heating element on plate, 21: support for supporting heating element
Plate, 70: Contact-type reticle temperature distribution measurement play
G, 71: Drive of contact-type reticle temperature distribution measurement plate
Unit, S₁₁~ S₆₅: On the reticle temperature measurement plate
Contact type temperature sensor, 72: support for supporting temperature sensor
Plate, N ₁₁~ N₆₅: Heating on reticle heating plate
Gas ejection nozzle, 80: support nozzle supporting nozzle
To

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (Reference) H01L 21/30 516E

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. A method of projecting and exposing a pattern on an original onto a substrate via a projection optical system, wherein at least each partial area of an exposure equivalent area on the original is measured or temperature controlled based on an estimated temperature distribution. And a magnification exposure component generated on the original after the temperature is controlled. 2. The projection exposure method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature control is individually performed on each of the partial areas. 3. An apparatus for projecting and exposing a pattern on an original onto a substrate via a projection optical system, wherein at least one of measurement and prediction is performed on a temperature distribution of at least each partial region of the exposure equivalent region on the original. Means for performing temperature control of the original based on a measured or predicted temperature distribution; and means for calculating a magnification component generated on the original after the temperature is controlled. A projection exposure apparatus. 4. A projection exposure apparatus for projecting and exposing a pattern on an original onto a substrate via a projection optical system, comprising: means for measuring or predicting a temperature distribution of at least an exposure-corresponding area on the original; An original plate heating means which comprises a unit and heats each of the partial regions obtained by dividing an exposure-equivalent region on the original plate to a predetermined temperature; and Calculation control means for calculating an operation amount of each heating unit in the original sheet heating means for setting the temperature of the original sheet; and original sheet magnification calculation for calculating a magnification component generated on the original sheet heated by the original sheet heating means. Projection exposure apparatus comprising: 5. The original plate heating means comprises a single plate in which a plurality of heating elements are arranged in a matrix in the size of an exposure-equivalent area of the original plate as a single plate. By supplying a predetermined current, each heating element is independently controlled, and each heating time is controlled with the heating temperature of each element constant, or each heating temperature is controlled with the heating time of each element constant. 5. The projection exposure apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: 6. The projection exposure apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the original heating means has such a rigidity as to conform to the shape of the original weight of the original when it comes into contact with the original. 7. The original plate heating means includes air, N ₂ , He.
A plurality of nozzles capable of spraying an inert heating gas such as are arranged in a matrix in a size corresponding to the size of the original plate, each nozzle is independently controlled, and the heating gas temperature of each nozzle is kept constant. The projection exposure apparatus according to claim 4, wherein each heating temperature is controlled by controlling a heating time or by keeping a heating time by each nozzle constant. 8. The means for measuring or estimating the temperature distribution of the original plate may be a unit in which the temperature-sensitive portions of a plurality of contact-type temperature sensors are arranged in a matrix in a size equivalent to the original plate.
8. An original plate temperature distribution measuring means configured as a single plate, and the temperature distribution is measured by bringing the plate into contact with the original plate for a predetermined time at an appropriate timing such as for each shot or each substrate. 4. The projection exposure apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims. 9. The projection exposure apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the original plate temperature distribution measuring means has a rigidity along the self-weight deflection shape of the reticle when coming into contact with the original plate. . 10. The means for measuring or estimating the temperature distribution of the original plate uses a non-contact type thermometer such as an infrared thermal image measuring device and the like. The projection exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the projection exposure apparatus is an original plate temperature distribution measuring unit that measures a temperature distribution. 11. The original sheet temperature distribution measuring means and the original sheet heating means are arranged in a space of an acceleration / deceleration section of an original sheet stage.
A projection exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 12. The means for measuring or estimating the temperature distribution of the original plate uses an original plate temperature distribution table obtained in advance using the exposure energy absorbed by the original plate and the dissipated energy dissipated to the periphery as parameters. The projection exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the projection exposure apparatus is an original plate temperature distribution estimating unit that estimates an original plate temperature distribution. 13. The heating control unit and the heating unit of the original plate heating unit, based on a measurement or prediction result of the temperature distribution of the original plate, discretize the original plate into a plurality of regions based on a temperature. 13. The projection exposure apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a temperature is calculated. 14. The arithmetic and control unit sets a maximum temperature region for a plurality of discretized regions on the original plate, and heats the other regions so that the temperature of the other regions becomes the temperature of the maximum temperature region. 14. The operation of claim 13
Projection exposure equipment. 15. A step of installing a group of manufacturing apparatuses for various processes including the projection exposure apparatus according to claim 3 in a semiconductor manufacturing plant, and a plurality of processes using the group of manufacturing apparatuses. Manufacturing a semiconductor device by using the method. 16. A step of connecting the manufacturing equipment group by a local area network, and data communication between at least one of the manufacturing equipment group between the local area network and an external network outside the semiconductor manufacturing factory. 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of: 17. A method for accessing a database provided by a vendor or a user of the projection exposure apparatus via the external network to obtain maintenance information of the manufacturing apparatus by data communication, or a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus different from the semiconductor manufacturing factory. 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein data is communicated with a factory via the external network to control production. 18. A manufacturing apparatus group for various processes including the projection exposure apparatus according to claim 3,
A local area network connecting the group of manufacturing apparatuses, and a gateway that enables the local area network to access an external network outside the factory;
A semiconductor manufacturing factory which is capable of performing data communication of information on at least one of the manufacturing apparatuses. 19. The semiconductor device according to claim 3, which is installed in a semiconductor manufacturing plant.
14. The maintenance method for a projection exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 14, wherein a vendor or a user of the projection exposure apparatus
A step of providing a maintenance database connected to an external network of a semiconductor manufacturing plant; a step of permitting access to the maintenance database from within the semiconductor manufacturing plant via the external network; and maintenance stored in the maintenance database. Transmitting the information to the semiconductor manufacturing factory via the external network. 20. The projection exposure apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a display, a network interface, and a computer for executing network software, wherein maintenance information of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is provided. A projection exposure apparatus which enables data communication via a computer network. 21. The network software,
Provided on the display is a user interface for accessing a maintenance database provided by a vendor or a user of the projection exposure apparatus connected to an external network of a factory where the projection exposure apparatus is installed, and providing the user interface via the external network. 21. The device according to claim 20, which allows obtaining information from a database.