JP2006024706A - Aligner, protective method of optical surface and device manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an immersion aligner capable of performing good projection exposure, and preventing the degradation of optical characteristics caused by dirt adhesion on the optical device surface of a projection optical system. <P>SOLUTION: The aligner is provided with an illumination optical system for illuminating reticle with light from a light source, and a projection optical system for projecting the pattern of reticle on a substrate. It is an aligner for exposing the substrate by the pattern via an immersion agent wherewith the gap is filled up between the projection optical system device arranged proximately and the substrate. It comprises an optical surface protective member for protecting the optical surface of an optical device, and the protective member removing mechanism for detaching and attaching the optical surface protective member from/to the projection optical system. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention generally relates to an exposure apparatus that exposes a substrate, and more particularly, for example, a circuit pattern formed on a reticle is exposed on a wafer using a liquid immersion method, and a semiconductor device such as an IC or LSI, an imaging device such as a CCD, The present invention relates to an immersion type projection exposure apparatus for manufacturing various devices such as a display device such as a liquid crystal panel and a detection device such as a magnetic head. The present invention is particularly suitable for protecting the optical surface of an optical element used in the projection optical system of the exposure apparatus.

In recent years, with increasing density and speed of semiconductor integrated circuits, the pattern size of integrated circuits has been further reduced, and higher performance has been required for semiconductor manufacturing methods. In particular, improvement of the resolution in pattern transfer onto a wafer is regarded as the most important, and research and development of various transfer systems is underway. In general, the resolving power (resolution limit) R of the projection optical system is expressed by Rayleigh's equation: R = k1 × λ / NA (1)
It is represented by Here, λ is the wavelength of the exposure light, NA is the numerical aperture of the projection optical system, and k1 is a coefficient relating to the process. As can be seen from equation (1), in order to improve the resolving power, an optical system having a large numerical aperture that uses light having a shorter wavelength as exposure light is designed, and as a result, a phase shift mask, modified illumination, etc. A method such as reducing the coefficient can be considered.

On the other hand, it is conventionally known that the wavelength of exposure light can be substantially shortened by a technique called an immersion method. In the immersion type projection exposure using the principle of immersion, the optical path space facing the final optical element of the projection optical system and the wafer surface has a higher refractive index than air instead of air (here, the refractive index is n). ) The exposure wavelength is substantially reduced to 1 / n by exposing in a state filled with liquid. From the above equation (1), the resolution limit can be 1 / n times that in the case where exposure is performed in the atmosphere using the same exposure wavelength. Moreover, the depth of focus becomes n times larger. Further, the immersion type projection exposure apparatus does not require large changes in the light source and reticle, and the use of the existing product (improvement) can be expected.
As an embodiment of this liquid immersion type projection exposure apparatus, the entire wafer including the wafer chuck is immersed in the liquid immersion agent filled in the water tank, the final lens of the projection optical system, and the wafer surface at the part facing it. There has been proposed one that locally fills only the interval with an immersion agent. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a step-and-repeat type or step-and-scan type exposure apparatus that fills and exposes only the distance between the wafer surface and the final lens of the projection optical system facing the wafer. . In addition, the arrangement of the supply / recovery piping for the immersion agent, the supply direction of the immersion agent during the exposure process, the flow rate, and the like are also disclosed. Further, in the embodiment of Patent Document 1, when the surface of the optical element that comes into contact with the liquid becomes dirty due to adhesion of impurities in the liquid, the optical element needs to be periodically replaced, and the cost In addition, it is described that an optical element to be replaced is a parallel flat plate from the viewpoint of replacement time, that pure water can be used as an immersion agent, and that a lens surface cleaning action with pure water can be expected.
International Publication No. WO99 / 49504 Pamphlet

However, even if the replacement work is easy or the work cost is not high, it is inevitable that the operation efficiency and schedule adjustment of the production line including the exposure apparatus will be affected when the optical element is replaced. In addition, the periodic replacement may cause variations in transfer accuracy depending on the actual degree of contamination. Furthermore, if a means for detecting the degree of contamination is additionally provided as a countermeasure against the transfer accuracy variation, the apparatus configuration becomes complicated and the cost increases. Even if the immersion agent has a cleaning action, after exposure processing (after completion of facing the wafer), if the immersion agent is left attached to the lens surface, water marks will form on the lens surface when the attached immersion agent evaporates. In other words, the surrounding substances are likely to be newly attached as contamination, which adversely affects the optical characteristics of the projection optical system and causes deterioration of the transfer pattern accuracy.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an immersion exposure apparatus that prevents deterioration of optical characteristics due to adhesion of dirt to the optical element surface of a projection optical system and performs good projection exposure. For illustrative purposes. It is another exemplary object of the present invention to provide an immersion exposure apparatus that removes the dirt to recover the optical characteristics and performs good projection exposure even if dirt is attached to the surface of the optical element. .

  In order to achieve the above object, an exposure apparatus according to an exemplary aspect of the present invention includes an illumination optical system that illuminates a reticle with light from a light source, and a projection optical system that projects a pattern of the reticle onto a substrate. An exposure apparatus that exposes a substrate with a pattern via an immersion agent filled in a gap between the optical element disposed closest to the substrate of the projection optical system and the substrate, in order to protect the optical surface of the optical element And a protective member attaching / detaching mechanism for attaching / detaching the optical surface protecting member to / from the projection optical system.

  The exposure apparatus may include a substrate driving system that drives the substrate, and a protective member attaching / detaching mechanism may be provided in the substrate driving system. The optical surface protection member may be attached to and detached from the projection optical system by a lifting and lowering operation of the protection member attaching / detaching mechanism. The optical surface protection member may be detachably coupled to the protection member attaching / detaching mechanism. You may have the immersion agent removal mechanism which removes the immersion agent adhering to the optical surface of an optical element. The optical surface protection member may be capable of immersing the optical surface in the protective liquid by storing the protective liquid. The protective liquid may be the same component as the immersion agent, or may be a cleaning agent having a component different from the immersion agent.

  The exposure apparatus has a selection means for selecting whether to immerse the optical surface in the protective liquid stored in the optical surface protection member or to remove the immersion agent attached to the optical surface by the immersion agent removal mechanism. Also good. The substrate may be capable of being immersed in the protective liquid stored in the optical surface protection member. The substrate drive system has a substrate drive system for driving the substrate, and a supply path for supplying the protection liquid to the optical surface protection member and a recovery path for recovering the protection liquid from the optical surface protection member are provided in the substrate drive system. Also good. Supply liquid switching means for supplying at least two kinds of liquids from the supply path may be provided.

  According to another exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided a non-exposure method for an exposure apparatus in which a reticle is illuminated with light from a light source by an illumination optical system, and a pattern of the reticle is projected onto a substrate by a projection optical system. Sometimes, an optical surface protection member for protecting an optical surface of an optical element disposed closest to the substrate of the projection optical system is moved by a substrate driving system for driving the substrate and positioned immediately below the projection optical system; The optical surface protection member is lifted by a protection member attaching / detaching mechanism which is coupled to the optical surface protection member and lifts and lowers the optical surface protection member to attach / detach the optical surface protection member to / from the projection optical system. And a step of mounting.

  According to still another exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device manufacturing method including a step of exposing a pattern to a substrate by the above-described exposure apparatus, and a step of performing a predetermined process on the exposed substrate. .

  Other objects and further features of the present invention will be made clear by embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  According to the present invention, since the tip including the final optical element surface (optical surface) of the projection optical system can be covered, it can be isolated from the surrounding atmosphere, so that it is possible to prevent dirt from adhering to the final optical element surface. Can do. As a result, it is possible to prevent the optical characteristics of the projection optical system from being deteriorated, and as a result, the exposure by the exposure apparatus using the projection optical system can be performed well and stably. Furthermore, even if dirt is attached to the surface of the final optical element, the dirt can be removed, so that the optical characteristics of the projection optical system can be recovered.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an immersion type projection exposure apparatus (hereinafter referred to as an immersion exposure apparatus) as an exposure apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The liquid immersion exposure apparatus main body 1 is entirely covered with a chamber 2 to maintain a constant atmosphere inside the apparatus. The gantry 3 has a highly rigid structure, and enables highly accurate positioning of the wafer (substrate) 20 and the reticle 10. The reticle 10 is conveyed and held from outside the apparatus to a reticle stage (reticle drive system) 11 by a reticle conveyance system (not shown). The wafer 20 whose surface has been coated with a photosensitive resist is also transferred from the outside of the apparatus to the wafer chuck 21 on the wafer stage 22 and held by a wafer transfer system (not shown). The wafer stage 22 and the wafer chuck 21 constitute a substrate driving system.

The exposure light 5 is irradiated onto the reticle 10 by an illumination system 4 configured to include an ArF excimer laser (λ = 193 nm) light source and an illumination optical system. The exposure light 5 applied to the reticle 10 based on a control command from the light source control unit 43 forms an image on the surface of the wafer 20 via the projection optical system 6 to expose the resist. Of course, the light source is not limited to the ArF excimer laser, and a KrF laser (λ = 248 nm) or an F ₂ laser (λ = 157 nm) may be used.

  The reticle stage 11 is attached to the gantry 3 and can be driven in the X direction, and moves based on a control command from the R stage position control unit 42. The wafer stage 22 can be driven in the X, Y, Z directions and the rotation directions (ωx, ωy, ωz) of the respective axes, and a desired area of the wafer 20 held on the wafer chuck 21 can be moved to a W stage position control unit 41. Is moved directly below the projection optical system 6 or the posture of the wafer 20 is corrected. The reticle stage 11 and the wafer stage 22 can be detected and controlled by a reticle side laser interferometer 12 and a wafer side laser interferometer 23 (a laser interferometer in the Y direction is not shown), respectively. Furthermore, high-precision scanning exposure is possible even in a so-called scan exposure method in which pattern transfer is performed while simultaneously scanning and moving the reticle 10 and the wafer 20.

  At the time of exposure, the gap between the final optical element 7 and the surface of the wafer 20 facing the surface is filled with the immersion agent 24 supplied from the supply / discharge nozzle 25. For example, pure water is used as the immersion agent 24, and the gap size is about 100 μm. The immersion agent 24 and the gap are not limited to this. Here, the final optical element 7 is an optical element closest to the wafer 20 (that is, facing the wafer 20) among the optical elements provided in the projection optical system 6. For example, in the present embodiment, the final lens is used. That is. The gap dimension refers to the distance between the final lens 7 and the surface of the wafer 20.

  A plurality of supply / discharge nozzles 25 are arranged around the tip of the projection optical system. Although two supply / discharge nozzles 25 are illustrated in FIG. 2, the number is not limited to this. Each supply / discharge nozzle 25 has a structure for both supplying and collecting the immersion agent 24 to the surface of the wafer 20, and controls the wafer stage driving direction during exposure under the management of the immersion agent supply / discharge control unit 44. Depending on the conditions, supply, recovery or stop switching and control of the supply / discharge amount of the immersion agent 24 are performed.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view showing the vicinity of the projection optical system 6 and the wafer 20 of the exposure apparatus during exposure. A gap between the projection optical system 6 and the wafer 20 is filled with an immersion agent 24.

When scanning exposure is performed by driving the wafer stage 22 (see FIG. 1) in the direction indicated by the arrow D1, the supply / discharge nozzle 25a supplies the immersion agent 24 to the wafer surface portion serving as an exposure region, and the supply / discharge nozzle 25b performs exposure. Control is made to recover immersion agent 24 on the wafer that is out of area. 2 denotes a lens cover (optical surface protection member) for covering the tip of the projection optical system 6 and isolating the final lens 7 from the ambient atmosphere in the exposure apparatus. Reference numeral 27 denotes the lens cover 26. It is a cover raising / lowering mechanism (protective member attaching / detaching mechanism) for moving up and down.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of the vicinity of the lens cover 26 of the immersion exposure apparatus according to the first embodiment. The lens cover 26 can store a protective liquid 24a having substantially the same components as the immersion agent 24, and is filled with the protective liquid 24a.

FIG. 1A shows a state during the exposure process. During the exposure process, the cover lifting mechanism 27 is lowered, and there is no possibility that the lens cover 26 and the tip of the projection optical system 6 interfere with each other. In this state, it is desirable that the lens cover 26 is not yet filled with the protective liquid 24a. In FIG. 1B, the tip of the projection optical system 6 is attached to the lens cover 26 for the purpose of preventing water marks and dust from adhering to the lens surface due to the evaporation of the immersion agent 24 adhering to the surface of the final lens 7. The state covered with is shown.
A procedure from FIG. 1A to FIG. 1B will be described. After the exposure of the wafer 20 is completed, the wafer 20 is removed from the wafer chuck 21 and collected, and the wafer stage 22 is driven so that the lens cover 26 is directly under the projection optical system 6. Next, the cover raising / lowering mechanism 27 is raised upward, that is, in the Z direction so as to approach the projection optical system 6, and the surface of the final lens 7 is immersed in the protective liquid 24a in the lens cover 26 (this state is projected by the lens cover 26) It is said that it was attached to the optical system 6). Here, when the protection liquid 24 a is not filled in the lens cover 26, the immersion liquid 24 is removed from the supply / discharge nozzle 25 disposed around the projection optical system 6 while the cover lifting mechanism 27 is being lifted. 24a is supplied. When removing the lens cover 26 from the final lens 7, it is desirable to collect the protective liquid 24 a in the lens cover 26 by the supply / discharge nozzle 25. By collecting the protective liquid 24a, there is no possibility that the protective liquid 24a may spill out of the lens cover 26 and scatter around when the wafer stage 22 is driven during exposure.

  As a case where the final lens 7 of the projection optical system 6 is covered with the lens cover 26, when the exposure processing instructed in lot units for the plurality of wafers 20 is completed, that is, after the exposure apparatus transitions to a so-called idle state. May be done automatically. Further, when a state where the exposure should be interrupted temporarily occurs during the exposure process, if there is a cover instruction from the operator, or if an interruption over a predetermined time is detected based on a command from the main control unit 40 May automatically cover.

[Embodiment 2]
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram in the vicinity of the lens cover 26 of the immersion exposure apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the lens cover 26 can be separated from the cover lifting mechanism 27 in a state where the lens cover 26 covers the final lens 7. The cover coupling hook 32 is for coupling the lens cover 26 to the cover lifting mechanism 27 or the projection optical system 6. FIG. 4A shows a state during the exposure process, and the cover coupling hook 32 couples the lens cover 26 to the cover lifting mechanism 27. FIG. 4B shows a process of covering the final lens 7 with the lens cover 26 during non-exposure. After the exposure is completed, the wafer 20 is removed from the wafer chuck 21 and collected, and the wafer stage 22 is driven so that the lens cover 26 is directly below the projection optical system 6. Next, the cover elevating mechanism 27 is raised upward, that is, in the Z direction so as to approach the projection optical system 6, and the surface of the final lens 7 is immersed in the protective liquid 24 a in the lens cover 26. Here, when the protective liquid 24 a is not filled in the lens cover 26, the supply / discharge nozzle 25 disposed around the projection optical system 6 in the middle of the raising of the cover elevating mechanism 27 as in the first embodiment. The immersion liquid 24 is supplied as a protective liquid 24a.

  The lens cover 26 is coupled to the projection optical system 6 by driving the cover coupling hook 32 in the direction of the arrow D2 with the lens cover 26 covering the final lens 7, and then the cover lifting mechanism 27 is lowered to lower the lens cover 26. And the cover elevating mechanism 27 are separated. In the first embodiment, since the lens cover 26 is coupled to the wafer stage 22 via the cover lifting mechanism 27, the wafer stage 22 cannot be driven with the final lens 7 covered with the lens cover 26. It was. Therefore, the final lens 7 cannot be protected by the lens cover 26 during the maintenance process in which the exposure light is not irradiated, that is, the projection optical function is not used but the wafer stage 22 is moved.

  In the second embodiment, the wafer stage 22 can be driven without interfering with the wafer chuck 21 and the like even when the lens cover 26 is attached to the final lens 7 as shown in FIG. 4C. Since the maintenance process as described above can be performed in a state where the final lens 7 is protected by the lens cover 26, the possibility of contamination on the lens surface can be further reduced.

  At the start of the exposure process, the wafer stage 22 is driven in the reverse procedure, that is, so that the cover lifting mechanism 27 on the wafer stage 22 is directly below the projection optical system 6 to which the lens cover 26 is attached. The protective liquid 24a is collected to raise the cover lifting mechanism 27, and the cover coupling hook 32 is driven in the direction opposite to the arrow D2 to remove the lens cover 26 from the projection optical system 6. The recovery of the protective liquid 24a can also be performed in parallel with the driving operation of the wafer stage 22 and the subsequent lifting operation of the cover lifting mechanism 27, thereby further reducing the processing time. Can do.

[Embodiment 3]
In the first and second embodiments, the final lens 7 is immersed in the protective liquid 24a in the lens cover 26 to prevent dirt and the like from adhering to the surface of the final lens 7, but the embodiment of the present invention. In the immersion exposure apparatus according to No. 3, the immersion agent 24 adhering to the surface of the final lens 7 and causing water marks and dust is positively removed, and the lens surface is isolated from the ambient atmosphere in a dry state (see FIG. See 5).

  In FIG. 5A, the roller 28 is disposed on the side surface of the lens cover 26. The roller 28 functions as an immersion agent removing mechanism on the surface of the final lens 7 at the tip of the projection optical system 6 and wipes the immersion agent 24 attached to the surface of the final lens 7. FIG. 5B shows a process of covering the final lens 7 with the lens cover 26 during non-exposure. After the exposure is completed, the wafer 20 is removed from the wafer chuck 21 and collected, and the wafer stage 22 is driven so that the lens cover 26 is directly below the projection optical system 6. During the driving, the roller 28 relatively moves from the position 28 ′ to the position 28 ″ (see FIG. 5C) while contacting the surface of the final lens 7, thereby cleaning the surface of the final lens 7. After cleaning, the cover lens 26 is moved to a position directly below the projection optical system 6, the cover lifting mechanism 27 is raised, and the final lens 7 is covered with the lens cover 26.

  In the third embodiment, the roller 28 functioning as an immersion agent removing mechanism is wiped by directly contacting the surface of the final lens 7. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, functions as an immersion agent removing mechanism. Alternatively, the air blow nozzle 28a may be configured to blow air onto the surface of the final lens 7 so that the liquid immersion agent 24 on the surface of the final lens 7 is scattered and removed without contact.

[Embodiment 4]
FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of the vicinity of the lens cover 26 of the immersion exposure apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the fourth embodiment, the supply path 29 for supplying the protective liquid 24a into the lens cover 26 and the recovery path 30 for recovering the protective liquid 24a from the lens cover 26 to the lens cover 26 and the cover lifting mechanism 27 side. And are provided.

  Even when the projection optical system 6 is not located directly above the lens cover 26, supply and recovery of the protective liquid 24a into the lens cover 26 can be controlled. Since the attachment / detachment control of the lens cover 26 to the final lens 7 (that is, the drive control of the wafer stage 22) and the supply / recovery control of the protective liquid 24a into the lens cover 26 can be performed separately and independently. It is possible to shorten the time.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the surface of the final lens 7 may be cleaned by flowing the protective liquid 24a while controlling the flow rate of the supply path 29 and the recovery path 30 with the final lens 7 covered with a lens cover. Is possible. Also in the first embodiment, it is possible to clean the surface of the final lens 7 by controlling the flow rate of the supply / discharge nozzle 25 with the lens cover 26 attached (see FIG. 1B). However, in the fourth embodiment, a cleaning liquid having a high cleaning effect with components different from the immersion agent 24 can be flowed to the supply path 29 and the recovery path 30. As a result, a high cleaning effect can be obtained, and the cleaning liquid does not have to flow through the supply / discharge nozzle 25, so that the supply / discharge nozzle 25 is not clogged with the cleaning liquid.

  After cleaning the final lens 7, the cleaning liquid in the lens cover 26 is recovered through the recovery path 30, and an immersion agent 24 as a protective liquid 24 a is supplied from the supply / discharge nozzle 25 to protect the surface of the final lens 7 with the immersion agent 24. Is possible. Further, it is necessary to supply both the cleaning liquid and the immersion liquid 24 as the protective liquid 24a from the supply path 29, and supply the immersion liquid 24 from the supply / discharge nozzle 25 by controlling the supply by switching. Without cleaning, the surface of the final lens 7 can be cleaned and protected.

  In the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the immersion exposure apparatus has a supply path 29 and a recovery path 30 separately. Of course, the cleaning liquid is supplied and recovered by one flow path. It can also be configured to do so. In this case, for example, the surface of the final lens 7 is cleaned by performing control such that the supply operation and the recovery operation of the cleaning liquid are sequentially repeated. The final lens 7 is cleaned every time the lens cover 26 is attached to the final lens 7, or a cleaning function for performing a cleaning operation as a maintenance command is prepared in advance. A case where cleaning is performed based on this is considered.

[Embodiment 5]
FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of the vicinity of the lens cover of the immersion exposure apparatus according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention. The immersion exposure apparatus includes a roller 28 as an immersion agent removing mechanism and a supply path 29 and a recovery path 30 provided on the cover lifting mechanism 27 side (that is, the wafer stage 22 side). When the cover 26 is attached, the selection means can select whether the surface of the final lens 7 is immersed in the protective liquid 24a or in a dry state. Of course, the supply path 29 and the recovery path 30 are not essential, and the protective liquid 24a may be supplied from the supply / discharge nozzle 25 into the lens cover 26 as in the first embodiment.

  When a series of exposure processes in units of lots is completed, the immersion exposure apparatus enters an idle state, covers the surface of the final lens 7 with the lens cover 26, and isolates the surface of the final lens 7 from the ambient atmosphere. At this time, for example, when the next lot exposure process is scheduled immediately, the protective liquid 24a is filled in the lens cover 26 to keep the surface of the final lens 7 immersed in the protective liquid 24a. When the exposure process for the next lot is not scheduled immediately or when the apparatus is stopped, the immersion agent 24 on the surface of the final lens 7 is removed by the roller 28 and covered with a dry lens cover 26.

[Embodiment 6]
In the first to fifth embodiments, the immersion agent 24 is locally filled between the surface of the wafer 20 facing the final lens 7 and the surface of the final lens 7, and the wafers 20 are sequentially placed in the filled region. It is an immersion exposure apparatus that performs exposure. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, the immersion exposure apparatus according to the sixth embodiment fills an immersion agent 24 in a liquid tank 31 provided so as to surround the wafer holding surface of the wafer chuck 21 to obtain a wafer chuck. The entire wafer 20 held by the substrate 21 is immersed in the liquid immersion agent 24.

  According to the immersion exposure apparatus according to the sixth embodiment, the surface of the final lens 7 can be protected without providing a separate lens cover. That is, even after the wafer 20 is collected after the exposure is completed, the liquid tank 31 is filled with the liquid immersion agent 24, and the final lens 7 is immersed in the liquid immersion agent 24. Can be prevented. Since the liquid tank 31 also functions as a lens cover (optical surface protection member), a control process is performed so that the final lens 7 is immersed in the liquid immersion agent 24 in the liquid tank 31 at the time of non-exposure such as after exposure. Do. Here, at the time of exposure, supply and recovery of the immersion agent 24 are performed by the supply path 29 and the recovery path 30, and at the time of non-exposure, the immersion agent 24 in the liquid tank 31 is recovered, and the supply liquid is switched by the supply liquid switching means. It is also possible to supply the cleaning liquid from 29 into the liquid tank 31. Thereby, the cleaning effect of the surface of the final lens 7 can be improved, and contamination can be prevented from sticking to the lens surface.

[Embodiment 7]
Next, an embodiment of a device manufacturing method using the above-described immersion exposure apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining how to fabricate devices (ie, semiconductor chips such as IC and LSI, LCDs, CCDs, and the like). Here, the manufacture of a semiconductor chip will be described as an example. In step 101 (circuit design), a device circuit is designed. In step 102 (reticle fabrication), a reticle on which the designed circuit pattern is formed is fabricated. In step 103 (wafer manufacture), a wafer (substrate) is manufactured using a material such as silicon. Step 104 (wafer process) is called a pre-process, and an actual circuit is formed on the wafer by lithography using the reticle and wafer. Step 105 (assembly) is called a post-process, and is a process for forming a semiconductor chip using the wafer created in step 104, and includes processes such as an assembly process (dicing and bonding) and a packaging process (chip encapsulation). . In step 106 (inspection), inspections such as an operation confirmation test and a durability test of the semiconductor device created in step 105 are performed. Through these steps, the semiconductor device is completed and shipped (step 107).

  FIG. 10 is a detailed flowchart of the wafer process in Step 104. In step 111 (oxidation), the wafer surface is oxidized. In step 112 (CVD), an insulating film is formed on the surface of the wafer. In step 113 (electrode formation), an electrode is formed on the wafer by vapor deposition or the like. In step 114 (ion implantation), ions are implanted into the wafer. In step 115 (resist process), a photosensitive agent is applied to the wafer. In step 116 (exposure), the circuit pattern of the reticle is exposed onto the wafer by an immersion exposure apparatus. In step 117 (development), the exposed wafer is developed. In step 118 (etching), portions other than the developed resist image are removed. In step 119 (resist stripping), the resist that has become unnecessary after the etching is removed. By repeatedly performing these steps, multiple circuit patterns are formed on the wafer. According to the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, it is possible to manufacture a device with higher quality and higher integration than conventional devices at low cost.

  As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these, A various deformation | transformation and change are possible within the range of the summary.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the lens cover vicinity of the immersion exposure apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the whole structure of the immersion exposure apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view showing an enlarged view of a projection optical system and the vicinity of a wafer during exposure by the immersion exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 1. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the lens cover vicinity of the immersion exposure apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the lens cover vicinity of the immersion exposure apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the lens cover vicinity of the immersion exposure apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the lens cover vicinity of the immersion exposure apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 5 of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the lens cover vicinity of the immersion exposure apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 6 of this invention. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a device manufacturing method by the exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 10 is a detailed flowchart of step 104 shown in FIG. 9.

Explanation of symbols

1: Immersion exposure apparatus body 4: Illumination system 6: Projection optical system 7: Final optical element (final lens)
10: Reticle 11: Reticle stage (reticle drive system)
20: Wafer (substrate)
21: Wafer chuck (part of wafer drive system)
22: Wafer stage (part of wafer drive system)
24: immersion liquid 24a: protective liquid 25, 25a, 25b: supply / discharge nozzle 26: lens cover (optical surface protection member)
27: Cover lifting mechanism (protective member attaching / detaching mechanism)
28: Roller (immersion agent removal mechanism)
29: Supply path 30: Collection path 40: Main controller 41: W stage position controller 42: R stage position controller 43: Light source controller 44: Immersion agent supply / discharge controller

Claims (14)

An illumination optical system that illuminates a reticle with light from a light source; and a projection optical system that projects a pattern of the reticle onto a substrate; and an optical element disposed closest to the substrate of the projection optical system and the substrate An exposure apparatus that exposes the substrate with the pattern via an immersion agent filled in a gap between
An optical surface protection member for protecting the optical surface of the optical element;
An exposure apparatus comprising: a protective member attaching / detaching mechanism for attaching / detaching the optical surface protecting member to / from the projection optical system.   The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a substrate driving system that drives the substrate, wherein the protective member attaching / detaching mechanism is provided in the substrate driving system.   The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optical surface protection member is attached to and detached from the projection optical system by an elevating operation of the protection member attaching / detaching mechanism.   2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optical surface protection member is detachably coupled to the protection member attaching / detaching mechanism.   The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an immersion agent removing mechanism that removes the immersion agent attached to the optical surface of the optical element.   The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optical surface protection member is capable of immersing the optical surface in the protective liquid by storing the protective liquid.   The exposure apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the protective liquid is the same component as the immersion agent.   The exposure apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the protective liquid is a cleaning agent having a component different from that of the immersion agent.   And a selection means for selecting whether to immerse the optical surface in the protective liquid stored in the optical surface protection member or to remove the immersion agent attached to the optical surface by an immersion agent removal mechanism. The exposure apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that:   The exposure apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the substrate can be immersed in the protective liquid stored in the optical surface protection member. A substrate driving system for driving the substrate;
The substrate driving system is provided with a supply path for supplying the protective liquid to the optical surface protection member and a recovery path for recovering the protective liquid from the optical surface protection member. Item 7. The exposure apparatus according to Item 6.   12. The exposure apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising supply liquid switching means for supplying at least two kinds of liquids from the supply path. At the time of non-exposure of an exposure apparatus that illuminates a reticle with light from a light source by an illumination optical system and projects a pattern of the reticle onto a substrate by a projection optical system,
An optical surface protection member for protecting an optical surface of an optical element disposed closest to the substrate of the projection optical system is moved by a substrate driving system for driving the substrate and is positioned immediately below the projection optical system. Steps,
The projection optical system is coupled with the optical surface protection member and lifts the optical surface protection member to raise and lower the optical surface protection member by a protection member attaching / detaching mechanism for attaching / detaching the optical surface protection member to / from the projection optical system. Attaching the optical surface protection member to the optical surface. A step of exposing a pattern to the substrate by the exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12,
And a step of performing a predetermined process on the exposed substrate.