JP2003109895A - Projection exposure method and its device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To utilize exposure light emitted from an exposure light source without any waste by easily selecting and controlling illumination light optimum for various resolution improvement method. SOLUTION: A ring band-like secondary light source is molded by modifying an optical path of an excimer laser emitted from the exposure light source, the excimer laser emitted from the ring band-like secondary light source is irradiated on a mask or a reticle forming pattern, and light transmitting the mask or the reticle by irradiation is image-formed on an object to be exposed through an image formation optical system as a pattern image of the mask or reticle.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for exposure illumination used in a projection type exposure apparatus for semiconductors, and more particularly to the size and shape of a pattern for exposure and detection, or the type of mask or reticle or wafer. The present invention relates to a projection-type exposure apparatus, an illumination method, and an illumination apparatus that control the directivity of illumination light in accordance therewith and enable pattern exposure and pattern detection in an optimum state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The pattern miniaturization of semiconductor integrated circuits has advanced to the extent that the pattern width close to the wavelength of light is approached. A method using X-rays or electron beams is being developed as an alternative exposure method to light, but mass production is inferior to optical exposure, which can expose a large number of integrated circuit chips in a short time, for memories that are in high demand, and it is inexpensive. It is difficult to produce a large amount of memory. Under these circumstances, in recent years, a pattern shifter is provided in a pattern on a mask or reticle used in a conventional i-line reduction projection exposure apparatus (i-line stepper), and the pattern resolution is higher than that of a conventionally used reticle. The development of technology that significantly improves Further, even if such a special reticle is not used, the method disclosed in JP-A-61-91
As described in No. 662, the illumination light illuminating the reticle is shaped like a ring on the entrance pupil of the reduction projection lens, and the high spatial frequency component of the reticle transmitted light passes through the entrance pupil of the exposure imaging lens. By doing so, the development of a technique for improving the resolution of the pattern is also in progress.

[0003]

When attempting to use such a resolution improving method, if the conventionally used semiconductor exposure apparatus (i-line stepper) is used as it is, the illumination directivity of the illumination light for illuminating the reticle is improved. The so-called σ value (σ
(The ratio of the spread of illumination light on the pupil to the pupil diameter of the exposure imaging lens) does not match the σ value that indicates the illumination directivity that is optimal in the above-described resolution improving method.

The object of the present invention is to easily select and control the illumination light which is optimum for various resolution improving methods and solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art without waste of the exposure light emitted from the exposure light source. It is an object of the present invention to provide a projection type exposure apparatus, an illumination method and an illumination apparatus which can be used.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an exposure light source and light emitted from the exposure light source so that the light emitted from the exposure light source is applied to a mask or a reticle. An illumination optical system including an optical fiber comprising a plurality of optical fibers having an incident surface and a plurality of small optical fiber bundles branched from the optical fiber bundle portion and having an emission surface. And a projection exposure system for projecting, as a pattern image of the mask or reticle, the light illuminated by the illumination optical system and transmitted through the mask or reticle onto the object to be exposed. That is, according to the present invention, in a projection type exposure apparatus, light emitted from an exposure light source is collected and irradiated on one incident surface of an optical fiber bundle portion in which a plurality of optical fibers are bundled, and the optical fiber bundle portion is branched to form a plurality of optical fibers. The illumination optical system is configured to have a small bundle of small optical fibers. Moreover, when the light emitted from the plurality of small optical fiber bundles of the optical fiber is applied to the irradiation target object of the mask or reticle, the relative positions of the emission surfaces of the plurality of small optical fiber bundles can be controlled.

Further, a columnar mirror having a symmetry axis parallel to the normal to the incident end face of the optical fiber and having a mirror surface whose surface has a high reflectance for exposure light is incident on the symmetric axis. The light emitted from the light source can be incident on the incident end face of the optical fiber bundle in a ring shape by arranging the end face so as to substantially coincide with the center of the outer shape.
Alternatively, a transparent object that has a rotational symmetry axis parallel to the normal line of the incident end face and has a concave cross section cut by a plane including the normal line is arranged near the incident end face, and the light emitted from the light source is transmitted through the optical fiber bundle. It is possible to make the light incident on the entrance end face in a ring shape. If the exit end of the optical fiber that is illuminated in a ring shape at the entrance end does not come to the center of the exit end of the small fiber bundle, the ring illumination light can be obtained from the exit end. Further, the columnar mirror and the transmissive object having a concave straight line can be automatically inserted and removed near the incident end face of the optical fiber.

With respect to a light source having high coherence and directivity such as an excimer laser, the length of each optical fiber of the optical fiber bundle is adjusted according to the coherence between the positions of the cross section of the laser beam. By changing the length,
It is possible to change the optical path length, reduce the coherence of the irradiation light obtained from the emission end, and obtain uniform illumination light. In addition, when a highly directional laser beam is incident on the incident end face of the fiber bundle, this incident end face is divided into multiple parts, and at each part the incident angle with respect to the incident laser light is made different It is possible to set the directivity of the irradiation light emerging from the end to the desired directivity required for illumination.

That is, according to the present invention, the light emitted from the light source is collected and radiated to one end face of the optical fiber bundle in which a plurality of optical fibers are bundled, and the other end face of the optical fiber bundle is a plurality of small ones. A plurality of small optical fibers of the bundle-an optical fiber configured to form a bundle-controls the relative position of each end face of the bundle to receive the light emitted from the plurality of small optical fibers. It is characterized by irradiating an illumination object.

Further, according to the present invention, the number of the plurality of small optical fiber bundles is set to 5 or more, and the end face is in a desired plane, and the movement of the end face due to the control of the relative position is the desired one. It is characterized in that it is made along the surface of.

The present invention also relates to the above-mentioned plurality of small optical fibers.
It is characterized in that the relative position of the bundle is controlled simultaneously by one drive system.

The present invention also provides a plurality of small optical fibers as described above.
It is characterized in that the relative position of each small optical fiber-end face of the bundle is changed in a similar manner by controlling the relative position of the bundle.

The present invention also provides a plurality of small optical fibers as described above.
By controlling the relative position of the bundle, the relative position of each small optical fiber-end face of the bundle is radially changed around a point on the surface formed by the plurality of small optical fibers-end face of the bundle.

According to the present invention, the incident end face, which is one end face of the optical fiber bundle, has a circular or substantially regular outer shape, and is symmetrical near the incident end face and parallel to the normal line of the incident end face. A columnar mirror having an axis, the surface of which is a mirror surface having a high reflectance for the illumination light, is arranged so that the axis of symmetry substantially coincides with the center of the outer shape of the incident end surface, and the light emitted from the light source is arranged. Is incident on the incident end face of the optical fiber bundle in a ring-shaped manner with high light utilization efficiency.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the columnar mirror can be automatically inserted and removed in the vicinity of the incident end face of the optical fiber.

Further, according to the present invention, the incident end face which is one end face of the optical fiber bundle has a circular or substantially regular polygonal outer shape, and is parallel to the normal to the incident end face in the vicinity of the incident end face. A transparent object having a rotational symmetry axis and a cross section cut by a plane including the normal line to be a concave straight line is arranged, and the light emitted from the light source is used as a ring-shaped high light utilization efficiency on the incident end face of the optical fiber-bundle. It is characterized in that it was made incident at.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the transparent object can be automatically inserted and removed in the vicinity of the incident end face of the optical fiber.

According to the present invention, the incident end surface, which is one end surface of the optical fiber bundle, is made of a material having a high light reflectance between the light transmitting portions of the respective optical fibers, and is incident on the incident end surface. It is characterized in that heat generation due to absorption of light is reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, the shape of the part of the incident end surface, which is one end surface of the optical fiber bundle, for transmitting the light of each optical fiber is that of the part for emitting the light of the emitting end of each optical fiber. It is characterized by different shape.

According to the present invention, the light source is a laser light source, the light emitted from the laser light source is made into a desired beam diameter, and then one of a plurality of optical fibers is bundled. The beam is incident on the end face of the.

Further, according to the present invention, the length of each optical fiber of the optical fiber bundle-depending on the coherence of the laser light emitted from the laser light source on the incident end face of the optical fiber bundle. It is characterized in that the illumination is uniformized by changing the thickness to reduce the coherence of the irradiation light obtained from the emission end.

Further, according to the present invention, the optical path length is changed at each portion in the beam section according to the coherence between the positions of the laser light emitted from the laser light source in the beam section. After that, the beam of each part is made to enter the optical fiber bundle.

Further, according to the present invention, a laser emitting a laser light source is used.
After the light is made to have a desired beam diameter, one end face of an optical fiber bundle that bundles a plurality of optical fibers is inserted into the beam optical path, and the optical fiber is emitted from the other end face of the bundle. To do
An illumination method using a beam for illumination, wherein an incident end face of the fiber bundle is composed of a plurality of parts, and each part has an incident direction of a laser beam in which a normal line of the incident end face enters the part. It is characterized in that a desired light directivity in illumination is given to the light emitted from the emission end face by configuring that the angle formed by and the incident angle are different between the respective portions.

By using the above means, it is possible to make an illumination with a relatively high directivity and a small σ suitable for a phase shift reticle, or to make an annular illumination to obtain a high resolution pattern with a normal reticle. Alternatively, the directivity of the conventional lighting can be easily achieved. Further, by using the above means, it becomes possible to irradiate the object to be exposed with the light emitted from the light source with high utilization efficiency.

In the future, the pattern line width will be further reduced,
When an excimer laser or the like is used to reduce the exposure wavelength, it becomes possible to easily solve the problem of uneven illumination due to the coherence and directivity of the laser by the above method, and even in the excimer laser stepper, It is possible to realize various types of illumination easily and with little light loss.

[0024]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an exposure illumination optical system in the projection type exposure apparatus. I emitted from the mercury lamp 24
The linear light is reflected by the ellipsoidal mirror 25, passes through the wavelength selection mirror 26 and the input lens 27, and is collected in the lot lens 28. The light emitted from the lot lens is the output lens 2
The light is reflected by a mirror 26 ′ while being collected at 9, passes through a condenser lens 23, and is then irradiated on the reticle 3. The light that has passed through the pattern of the reticle 3 forms an image of 1/5 times the pattern of the reticle on the wafer 5 fixed to the wafer chuck on the wafer stage 6 by the reduction lens 4 and exposes it. In one exposure, 2 to 3 chips are simultaneously exposed in a 20 to 25 mm square area. The wafer stage is accurately positioned by a laser beam 60 of a laser length measuring machine (not shown) and a plane mirror 61, and a chip pattern is exposed on the entire surface of the wafer.

When the above-mentioned phase shift reticle, for example, is used in this projection type exposure apparatus, it is necessary to have high directivity, that is, to reduce σ. Therefore, it is not conjugate with the entrance pupil of the exposure imaging lens in the exposure illumination system. It is necessary to insert a light shielding plate that shields the outer peripheral portion of the exposure light flux at a place. Therefore, FIG. 4 (b)
The light blocking plate 19 having the opening shown in FIG.
The i-line passing through the relatively small opening 192 in the light-shielding plate 19 provided on the front surface or behind the output lens 29 is used for exposure.

Further, in the above annular illumination, it is necessary to insert a disc that shields the central portion of the exposure light flux at a location conjugate with the entrance pupil. In this case, the opening 193 on the annular zone in the light shielding plate 19 having the opening shown in FIG. 4B is used. Also,
In the case of this annular illumination, it is desirable to expand the exposure light flux at a location conjugate with the entrance pupil of the illumination light flux by about 1.2 to 1.6 times that of the exposure light flux of the conventional semiconductor exposure apparatus.

In order to realize the above-mentioned various methods for improving the resolution with one semiconductor exposure apparatus, it is necessary to replace various light-shielding plates inside the exposure illumination system 2'whenever the method is changed. Not only that, but the exposure light is wasted by partially blocking the exposure light flux, and as a result, the exposure time of the integrated circuit chip is lengthened and the exposure throughput is significantly reduced. For example, since a phase shift reticle is used, .sigma.
If you try to change it to 4, the exposure energy is 2 of this ratio.
Since it is inversely proportional to the power, it takes 2.25 times the exposure time.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve these problems, and the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an embodiment showing an exposure illumination device 2 of the present invention. The light emitted from the mercury lamp 24 is an ellipsoidal mirror 2.
After being reflected by the wavelength selecting mirror 26 which reflects the desired exposure wavelength, i.e., the i-line, the light passes through the lens 21 and enters the end face AA 'of the optical fiber bundle 1. The incident end face AA 'of the optical fiber is a bundle of many optical fibers. For example, the diameter of one optical fiber is 0.2 mm, and the diameter of the bundle is about 30 mm. The bundled optical fibers are branched into a plurality of small optical fiber bundles at a distance from the entrance end. The small optical fiber bundle relative position varying mechanism 10 having a function of controlling the relative positions of the end surfaces of the plurality of branched small optical fiber bundles allows the small optical fiber bundle emitting end surface to be a surface B-
Change the relative position within B '. Since the emission end of the optical fiber bundle on the BB 'plane serves as a so-called secondary light source, it is possible to change the shape and size of the secondary light source by operating the small optical fiber bundle relative position varying mechanism 10.
The exposure light emitted from the end face of the optical fiber bundle on the BB 'plane passes through the output lens 22 and then passes through the condenser lens 23 to pass through the reticle 3 which is the object to be exposed, similarly to the illumination system used in a normal semiconductor exposure apparatus. Illuminate.

In the case of the semiconductor exposure apparatus, as shown in FIG. 4, in the conventional exposure illumination system 2 ', the secondary light source of the mercury lamp is the emission end of the so-called lot lens, and this emission end is B in FIG.
It corresponds to the exit end of the small optical fiber bundle on the −B ′ plane. The exposure light emitted from the secondary light source passes through the output lens and the condenser lens 23 and illuminates the reticle 3. The light transmitted through the pattern of the reticle is moved by the reduction projection exposure lens 4 in the three-dimensional direction of xyz, and the wafer 5 on the wafer chuck 51 on the wafer stage 6 can be finely and finely moved.
An image of 1/5 times the reticle is formed and exposed on the surface of.

As described above, in the conventional semiconductor exposure apparatus, the pupil 41 of the reduction exposure lens of the secondary light source of the exposure illumination system is used.
The ratio of the diameter d of the image 200 to the pupil diameter D, that is, the partial coherency σ was fixed, but by mounting the exposure illumination system 2 of the present invention on the semiconductor exposure apparatus, the pupil 41 of the reduction exposure lens is adjusted. The size of the image of the secondary light source can be changed by operating the small optical fiber bundle relative position changing mechanism 10.

For example, in the case of a conventional reticle which expresses pattern information by passing or not passing light, σ = 0.6, and when a phase shift reticle is used, σ = 0.4. Small optical fiber bundle relative position variable mechanism 1
0 is driven by using a control system 7 including a drive control circuit.

FIG. 2 is an embodiment of the present invention for explaining the details of the small optical fiber bundle relative position changing mechanism 10 described above.
The optical fiber bundle 1 is branched and has a flexible portion 11 '.
And a portion 11 that follows is surrounded by a rigid metal pipe. The end face 110 of the portion 11 covered with the rigid metal pipe is the emission end, and the emission end is on the plane BB ′. The portion 11 covered with the metal pipe has a shape that is substantially symmetrical with respect to the midpoint in the longitudinal direction,
It is composed of vertical portions (portions in the light traveling direction) 111 'and 111 and inclined portions 112', 112. The inclined part has a smooth surface, and the inclined hole guide slide mechanism 1
2 ', 12 slide along the direction of the holes of each inclined hole guide. The inclined hole guide slide mechanisms 12 ′, 12 have a plurality of slide holes through which the guide rods 16 are passed, and a rotary shaft 14 with a left-right turning screw which is rotationally driven by a motor 19 via gears 15, 15 ′. Rotate to move toward and away from each other. As a result, the optical fiber ends 110 approach each other when approaching, and the partial coherency σ of the illumination decreases, and σ increases when moving away from each other. Inclined hole guide slide mechanism 12 ',
FIG. 3 shows such a change in σ with a change in the interval of 12. FIG. 3A shows the arrangement at the exit end BB ′ of the small optical fiber bundle when the inclined hole guide slide mechanisms 12 ′, 12 are closest to each other. Figure 3
(B) to (d) are inclined hole guide slide mechanisms 12 ', 1
2 represents the arrangement when 2 is gradually separated. In this way, the motor 19 receives the command signal from the control system 7.
It becomes possible to easily set the desired illumination directivity σ in a short time without driving the light of the light source.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention for realizing annular illumination will be described with reference to FIG. The numbers given to the parts in FIG. 6 are shown in FIG.
The same as that of represents the same thing. The light emitted from the mercury lamp 24 is condensed at the incident end of the optical fiber bundle 1.
The incident end face has a circular outer shape or a substantially regular polygonal shape. It has an axis of symmetry parallel to the normal to this incident end face,
A columnar mirror whose surface is a mirror surface having a high reflectance for exposure light is arranged so that the axis of symmetry is substantially coincident with the center of the outer shape of the incident end face of the optical fiber bundle, and the light emitted from the light source is incident on the optical fiber bundle. The light is incident on the end face in a ring shape with high light use efficiency. With such a configuration, FIG.
If the columnar mirror 17 is absent as shown in FIG.
The light is reflected by the surface of No. 7 and is incident on a portion inside the outer circumference of the optical fiber bundle and near the outer circumference, as indicated by the hatched line in FIG. Since the incident angle of this light is almost the same as that of the light incident on the incident end of the optical fiber bundle when the columnar mirror 17 is not provided, the light enters the optical fiber bundle without loss of light and the small optical fiber at the other end. A ring-shaped exposure illumination light is emitted from the bundle. However, in this case, the position of the optical fiber at the incident end and the position of the optical fiber at the outgoing end are not random, and it is clear that the fiber around the incident end is connected only to the peripheral part of the outgoing end.

Another embodiment of the present invention for realizing annular illumination will be described with reference to FIG. The numbers given to the parts in FIG. 8 are shown in FIG.
The same as that of represents the same thing. The light emitted from the mercury lamp 24 is condensed at the incident end of the optical fiber bundle 1.
The incident end face has a circular outer shape or a substantially regular polygonal shape. A transparent object having a rotational symmetry axis parallel to the normal line of the incident end face and having a substantially straight line having a concave cross section taken along a plane including the normal line is arranged near the front face of the incident end face. Since the light transmitted through this concave transparent object diverges to the outside of the optical axis, if the principal rays of the light flux entering each optical fiber are made substantially parallel by a convex lens, the light emitted from the above light source will be incident on the end face of the optical fiber bundle. It is possible to make the light incident on the ring with high light utilization efficiency. In this way,
As shown in (a), the light does not reach the central part of the incident end face of the optical fiber bundle and is incident on a portion inside the outer periphery of the optical fiber bundle and close to the outer periphery.
The ring-shaped exposure illumination light is emitted as indicated by the hatched line in (b). However, in this case as well, it is clear that the position of the optical fiber at the entrance end and the position of the optical fiber at the exit end have a fixed relationship rather than random.

FIG. 10 is an embodiment showing a means for making the light emitted from the optical fiber bundle 1 have a desired divergence angle. As shown in FIG. 10A, a minute concave lens 122 is arranged in each small optical fiber bundle at the exit end, and the opening angle (divergence angle) θ of the small optical fiber bundle is increased to Θ.
In this embodiment, the concave lens is arranged at the exit end, but it is clear that the object of the present invention can be achieved by using a convex lens.

FIG. 11 is an embodiment showing a means for making the light emitted from the optical fiber bundle 1 have a desired divergence angle. As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, when the optical fiber diameter is gradually changed so that the diameter D at the entrance end and the diameter d at the exit end of the optical fiber bundle are changed, the opening angle θ on the entrance side and the exit angle θ The side opening angle Θ can be different. If the aperture angle on the output side is set to a desired angle Θ, a very desired divergence angle can be obtained without using a concave lens as in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 12 is an embodiment of the present invention showing an enlarged structure of the incident end of the optical fiber bundle 1. In FIG. 12A, the incident end is made of a circular optical fiber, and the gap between the optical fibers is made of a material and a structure having a high reflectance.
Especially as a light source, i-line of ultraviolet mercury lamp or K
When using far-sighted rays such as rF and ArF excimer lasers, use a material with high reflectance in this wavelength range, such as aluminum, to protect the surface and a silicon oxide thin film with a reflection enhancing effect. Good to do. In this way, even if the energy of the exposure light becomes high, the incident end surface of the optical fiber bundle will not absorb the light energy and become high temperature, and the incident end surface of the optical fiber will not be damaged. The optical fiber bundle can be realized. As can be seen from FIG. 12, the smaller the area between the optical fibers is, the higher the light utilization efficiency becomes,
In particular, it is preferable to form the fiber on the incident end face as shown in FIG. 12B so that the area of this gap can be set to 0 in principle. It is apparent that the object of the present invention can be sufficiently achieved if the high-reflecting material filled in the above-mentioned gap is only near the entrance end face of the optical fiber bundle. Further, the surface of the high-reflecting material filled in the gap is formed into a flat surface or a concave surface, and the shape is selected so that the light reflected by this reflecting surface matches the target of the illumination system of the present invention.

FIG. 13 shows that the light source of the illumination device of the present invention is KrF.
This is an example in the case of an ArF excimer laser. The parts having the same part numbers in FIG. 5 and FIG. 5 represent the same parts. The laser light emitted from the light source 24 'has a rectangular beam cross section, but is incident on the optical fiber bundle 1'having the same shape as that of the rectangle and having the same incident end face. At the exit end, as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 10, a small lens is arranged in each small optical fiber bundle so that the exit light has a desired divergence angle. By mounting this illumination system on the projection exposure apparatus of FIG. 5, a projection exposure apparatus with high light utilization efficiency of laser light is realized. The illumination system using this laser light is not limited to the projection exposure apparatus, but is applied to an apparatus that requires uniform illumination of various types of laser light. It is possible to realize illumination with a variable range.

FIG. 14 shows an embodiment of the projection exposure apparatus of the present invention. The parts having the same part numbers in FIG. 5 and FIG. 5 represent the same parts. The exposure light source is KrF or ArF
It is an excimer laser. Since the reduction projection lens used in the reduction exposure apparatus is composed only of synthetic quartz, the narrower the spectral width of the laser light is, for example, about 1 pm,
It is possible to expose a fine pattern without deterioration of resolution due to chromatic aberration due to the dispersion of the refractive index of quartz glass. However, in general, the number of modes tends to decrease as the spectral width becomes narrower. As a result, if the lengths of all the optical fibers of the optical fiber bundle shown in FIG. 13 are all substantially the same, the lights emitted from the small optical fiber bundle are diverged and overlap each other, and interference occurs, causing unevenness in the illumination light on the reticle. . In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 14A to 14E, the incident end face AA ′ has a shape substantially equal to the beam shape of the laser light as shown in FIG. Is divided into 5 parts 1100 to 1500. Each part is divided into a matrix as shown in FIG. Since the portions of this matrix close to each other have strong coherence, the lengths of the optical fibers in each matrix are equal, but the lengths of the optical fibers differ between the matrices. It is desirable that this difference in length be equal to or greater than the coherence length, but even if there is no difference in length, it is sufficiently effective. Regarding each part divided into the above five parts, as shown in FIG.
Locations corresponding to each other, for example, 1111 and 1211, 11
51 and 1251, 1114 and 1214 have the same optical fiber length, and those having the same optical fiber length are connected to 1111 ′ and 1211 ′ of the same small optical fiber end 110 on the emission side.

In this way, the laser beams emitted from the respective small optical fiber bundles do not interfere with each other, the variations in illumination intensity on the reticle are almost eliminated, the illuminance is uniform, and the light utilization efficiency is high. Exposure illumination light having a desired directivity can be realized. In this embodiment, since the cross-sectional area of the optical fiber bundle is equal to the cross-sectional area of the beam of the excimer laser and may be about 4 × 20 mm, the number of optical fibers is smaller than that when a high-power mercury lamp is used as the light source (20 to 30 mmφ). It can achieve its purpose and is economical.

In FIG. 15, a part having a function of reducing the coherence of laser light and a function of originally reducing the directivity of the laser and a part having a function of imparting a desired illumination directivity are separated. It is an example of the present invention. That is, the optical fiber bundle 1
As shown in FIG. 16 (a), A ′ is a rectangle whose incident cross section is substantially equal to the cross-sectional shape of the beam of the excimer laser described above, and the emission end face is circular as shown in FIG. 16 (b). Further, the length of the optical fiber is set to about a coherence length or more so that the emitted laser beams do not interfere with each other.
A small lens group is arranged at the emission end of the optical fiber bundle 1A 'to remove the high directivity of the laser light, and the divergent light obtained by this is reflected by the lens to produce a second optical fiber bundle 1B' shown in FIG. 16 (c). Are collected at the incident end face of. The exit end B ₂ B ₂ ′ of the optical fiber bundle 1B ′ is given a desired spread by the small optical fiber bundle relative position varying mechanism 10 as shown in FIG. 16 (d). The optical path after the exit end face of the small optical fiber bundle has the same configuration as that of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 17 shows an embodiment of the exposure illumination system of the projection exposure apparatus of the present invention. A mercury lamp or an excimer laser may be used as the light source. For example, the exposure system of FIG. 5 is equipped with the same illumination system as the structure near the optical fiber entrance end of FIG. The exit end of the optical fiber bundle 1 "is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, it is divided into five small optical fiber bundles, one in the center and the other four in the periphery.
The central small optical fiber bundle is fixed, and the four peripheral optical fiber bundles are fixed to a radially slidable mechanism. When an ordinary reticle is used to expose a relatively wide pattern width, the four small optical fiber bundles on the periphery are relatively moved inward, and the exposure light of all five small optical fiber bundles is used for exposure. When an ordinary reticle is used to expose a relatively narrow pattern width, the columnar mirror 17 is inserted in front of the entrance end of the optical fiber bundle 1 according to a command from the control system 7, and the center of the exit end of the optical fiber bundle 1 is inserted. The light directed to the existing small optical fiber bundle is directed by the side surface of the columnar mirror 17 to the incident end of the optical fiber leading to the four small optical fiber bundles in the periphery. Further, the four small optical fiber bundles on the periphery are brought to the outside by the small optical fiber bundle relative position changing mechanism 10. By doing so, a relatively narrow pattern is exposed by making annular illumination without causing light loss. Next, when exposing a very narrow pattern, the phase shift reticle is used to move the four small optical fiber bundles around to the innermost side by the command of the control system 7 to expose all five small optical fiber bundles. Is used to perform exposure. In this embodiment, with a simple configuration, it is possible to easily change the illumination directivity according to the shape and size of the pattern to be exposed, and to perform exposure without loss of light.

FIG. 18 shows an embodiment of the exposure illumination system of the projection exposure apparatus of the present invention. The output end of the optical fiber bundle 1 "is divided into nine small optical fiber bundles as shown in the figure, one is arranged at the center and four are arranged around the central small optical fiber bundle. The remaining four small optical fiber bundles are arranged around the optical fiber bundle, the central small optical fiber bundle is fixed, and the eight peripheral optical fiber bundles are fixed to a radially slidable mechanism. The bundle is moved as shown in (a), (b) and (c) of FIG. 18, and at the time of the annular illumination of (b), the columnar mirror 17 is inserted as described in FIG. It is possible to realize the desired directivity of the exposure illumination light and the maximum light utilization efficiency according to the type of reticle.

FIG. 19 shows an embodiment of the exposure illumination system of the projection exposure apparatus of the present invention. A laser light source 24 'is emitted
_As shown in FIG. 20A, the laser light of the ₃ A ₃ 'section is long in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 19 and short in the direction of the paper surface. Since the number of modes is small in the direction of this paper surface, the interference is strong. The cylindrical lenses 261 and 262 widen the direction in the plane of FIG. 19 as shown in the A ₄ A ₄ ′ cross section in FIG. The expanded beam is split by an optical path length difference generating prism 250 into six beams with different optical path lengths. Each split beam is incident on the incident end face splitting optical fiber bundle 1C ′ whose incident end face is split into six. The incident end face A ₅ A ₅ ′ has an intensity distribution as shown in FIG. The entrance end of the optical fiber bundle 1C 'is shown in FIG.
As shown in (c), it has six rectangular end faces,
The two fiber ends near the center move as shown by the arrows in the figure. Figure 1 of a total of four moving fiber ends
Fiber ends 101 ″ and 101 ′ shown in FIGS. 9 and 20 are respectively connected to the central portion and the peripheral portion of the fiber output end 122. All other fixed input ends 101 are output ends 122.
It is connected only to the peripheral area. By doing so, normal illumination with variable σ can be realized when light is incident on 101 ″ (position), and annular illumination can be realized when light is incident on 101 ′ (position). It becomes possible.

FIG. 21 shows an embodiment of the exposure illumination system of the projection exposure apparatus of the present invention. The laser light emitted from the laser light source 24 'is the cylindrical lens 26 as in the embodiment of FIG.
1 and 262 expand the light beam to a desired size, and the light path length difference generating prism 250 ′ splits the light beam into six beams with different light path lengths. The difference from FIG. 19 is that the beam size of each split beam is different. The periphery is large and the center is small. The beam emitted from this optical path length difference generation prism reaches the optical path selection prism 120 whose cross section is shown in FIGS. 22 (c), (d) and (e). This prism is 120A,
It consists of two prisms of 120B, and these two prisms are fixed at a certain distance and are integrated into one body, as shown in FIG.
2 (c) to (e), it is possible to move left and right in the plane of the drawing. The light that has passed through the optical path selection prism 120 is incident on the incident end of the optical fiber bundle 1D ′. The entrance end is large at the periphery and small at the center, depending on the size of the beam.
The end face of this fiber is shown in FIG. 21 and FIG.
As shown in (a), the normal direction is inclined with respect to the incident light ray in the peripheral portion and is parallel with the incident light ray in the central portion. The relationship between the angle of incidence on the end of the optical fiber and the angle of the outgoing ray with respect to the normal to the outgoing end face will be described with reference to FIG. The light incident on the optical fibers 101a and 101f that are in the peripheral portion and are inclined by θ _{1 with} respect to the incident light beam is emitted from the output ends 101a ′ and 101f ′ as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the light is emitted with directivity having a certain angle range with respect to the normal line of the emission end. That is, if the angle formed by the outgoing ray with respect to the normal to the outgoing end is θ, then θ1−Δθ ≦ θ ≦ θ1 + Δθ.

On the other hand, the optical fibers 101c and 10 at the center
Light vertically incident on 1d is as shown in FIG.
The chief ray emerges with a slight spread almost perpendicular to the exit end. The optical fibers 101b and 101e located at the intermediate positions between the center and the periphery emit as shown in FIG. 23 (c) with an intermediate spread between (a) and (e).
Since there is such a relationship between the incident angle of the optical fiber and the directivity of the outgoing light, if the following connection between the incoming end and the outgoing end is made, the light of desired uniform directivity will be emitted from each position of the outgoing end. Is obtained on average, and it becomes possible to uniformly illuminate the reticle. That is, as shown in FIG. 22 (a), each entrance end of the optical fiber bundle 1D ', for example, 101a is divided into three parts 101aA, 101aB, and 101aC, and 101aA is an optical fiber exit end as shown in FIG. 22 (f). It is connected to 110A, which is located between the center of 110 and the periphery. Similarly, 101aB becomes 110B and 1 becomes
01aC is connected to 110C. Similarly, for the incident end 101b of the optical fiber, 101bA is 110
A, 101bB is 110B, 101bC is 110C
Connected to each.

When the optical path selecting prism 120 shown in FIG. 21 is in the state shown in FIG. 22 (c), the light emitted from the optical path length difference generating prism 250 'is 10 at the fiber entrance end.
1aB, 101bB, 101cB, 101dB, 101
It is incident on eB and 101fB, and the optical fiber exit end 1
The emitted light comes out only from 01B. Further, as described with reference to FIG. 23, the directivity of the emitted light can obtain a desired directivity even though the directivity of the light to the fiber incident end is high. Moreover, the optical fiber output end 1
Since the light is emitted only from 01B, the exposure optical system is exposed to the phase shift reticle 3 with exposure light having high directivity, that is, small σ.

When the reticle is changed to one having a normal line width, the optical path selecting prism is moved, and the prism 1
20A should be positioned as shown in FIG. 22 (b). By doing so, light is simultaneously incident on the two portions of the optical fiber incident ends 101aA and 101aB. Even if it is attached to another optical fiber incident end, it is incident on two portions in the same manner. Since these two parts are connected to the optical fiber emitting ends 110A and 110B, the relative position of the small optical fiber bundle can be changed so that the illumination light with an intermediate directivity is obtained and the directivity is optimal for the reticle having the above line width. By driving the mechanism 10, optimum exposure can be realized for this line width pattern.

When the reticle 3 which is not a phase shift reticle but includes a pattern whose line width is close to the resolution limit of the reduction lens is mounted in the exposure apparatus, as shown in FIG. Move 120, prism 12
0B enters the optical path and allows light to enter the optical fiber entrance end 101a.
Make it incident on C etc. In this way, the light entering from each optical fiber entrance end is emitted from the outermost circumference 110C of the optical fiber exit end, realizing annular illumination and resolving a pattern close to the resolution limit with a good pattern shape. It will be possible.

Although the reduction exposure apparatus to which the illumination system of the present invention is applied has been described in the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, for example, in an exposure device for a large area liquid crystal television display, a pattern inspection device, various display devices, etc., the illumination light changes its secondary light source to obtain the optimal illumination directivity or the optimal illumination illuminance distribution. Therefore, it can be widely applied to objects to be exposed, detected, or displayed by imaging a pattern. In some cases, it can be applied to exposure (proximity exposure), detection, or display without an imaging system.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. The parts having the same numbers in FIGS. 5 and 6 represent the same parts. Illumination system 2 may be any of the embodiments shown above. The reduction lens 4'is provided with a variable filter 400 capable of partially blocking the light passing through the entrance pupil 41 'only in a desired region or reducing the amount of transmitted light. The variable filter 400 has three parts 401 and 40 as shown in FIG.
24, and can be moved so that each part comes to the pupil of the reduction lens 4, as shown in FIG. In the case of a reticle having a normal pattern line width, the small optical fiber bundle relative position varying mechanism 10 is driven so that σ = 0.5, and the variable filter 400 causes the portion 401 to come on the pupil. Next, when exposure is performed using an ordinary reticle having a narrow pattern line width, the columnar mirror 17 at the entrance end of the optical fiber bundle 1 is inserted into the optical path, and the small optical fiber bundle relative position varying mechanism 10 is driven to output the fiber. Spread the edges,
Use ring lighting. Further, the portion 403 of the variable filter 400 is placed on the pupil. Since 403 has a shape and size that are almost the same as the secondary light source image on the pupil of the annular illumination,
Compared to the case of mere ring-shaped lighting in which 03 is replaced with 401,
With respect to a circuit pattern in which a thin pattern and a thick pattern are mixed, both patterns can be exposed with a relatively high resolution. By providing the variable filter on the pupil of the reduction lens in this way, it becomes possible to deal with various patterns.

FIG. 25 shows an embodiment in which the illumination system of the present invention is applied to a pattern inspection device. Part numbers in this figure and Figure 5,
6 and 24 that are equal represent the same. The light emitted from the output end of the optical fiber is reflected by the half mirror 91 by the condenser lens 23 ″, and then an image of the output end of the optical fiber is formed on the pupil 41 ″ of the objective lens 4 ″. The ratio σ to the pupil diameter becomes the partial coherency of the illumination in pattern detection.When the spread of the optical fiber emission end is changed by driving the small optical fiber bundle relative position varying mechanism 10, the above σ
Can be changed. For example, when the surface has a granular pattern, σ is set close to 1 and the directivity of the illumination light is lowered, whereby small noise can be detected. Further, for a pattern having a small step, by reducing σ, low contrast can be increased and a signal can be easily detected. Further, when it is desired to detect the edge of the pattern by emphasizing it, the columnar mirror 17 is inserted into the optical path so that an annular illumination can be achieved, and the edge portion is emphasized. Although not shown in the figure, if a ring-shaped stopper as shown by 403 in FIG. 24 (b) is inserted at the pupil position of this objective lens as in the embodiment of FIG. A dark field image in which only the pattern edge is bright is obtained. As described above, by using the illumination device of the present invention in the pattern detection system, it is possible to easily realize the optimum illumination according to the type of the detection pattern by the command of the control system 7 ′ with a small loss of light. Become.

The small optical fiber bundle relative position changing mechanism 10 of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and for example, by driving it, the optical system for annular illumination shown in FIGS. 6 and 8. It is also possible to realize all desired illumination directivities only by the small optical fiber bundle relative position changing mechanism without carrying in / out the parts. Further, it is obvious that the positional change of the small fiber bundle due to this driving is not limited to the radial movement shown in the above-mentioned embodiment, but may be a spiral movement or a non-linear movement.

[0056]

As described above with reference to the embodiments, in the illumination system used for exposing, inspecting or displaying a pattern according to the present invention, the shape and size of the pattern to be exposed, inspected or displayed and this exposure. It is not only easy to obtain the optimum illumination in relation to the optical system used for inspection or display with a relatively simple configuration, but also with changes in the shape and dimensions of the pattern and changes in the optical system. It is possible to easily realize the change of the optimum illumination. As a result, it is not necessary to partially block the illumination light in the conventionally fixed illumination system, and it becomes possible to realize a desired illumination directivity or illumination light distribution without lowering the light utilization efficiency, and to improve throughput. A large exposure apparatus or inspection apparatus is realized. In addition, when it is possible to achieve a bright display on a display device and to achieve the same brightness,
A light source with a small output is sufficient.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an optical system of an exposure illuminating device using a mercury lamp as a light source, which is used in a projection type exposure device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a small optical fiber bundle relative position changing mechanism of the lighting device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an arrangement of small optical fiber bundle ends of the small optical fiber bundle relative position varying mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a case where various illumination methods are realized by a projection type exposure apparatus using an illumination optical system according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a projection type exposure apparatus provided with the illumination optical system of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a first embodiment for realizing annular illumination with an illuminating device used in the projection type exposure apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing details of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a second embodiment for realizing annular illumination with an illuminating device used in the projection type exposure apparatus of the present invention.

9 is a diagram showing details of the embodiment in FIG. 8. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which a light diffusing optical component is mounted on the emitting end of a small optical fiber bundle in an illuminating device used in the projection type exposure apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example in which the diameter of an optical fiber is changed.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example in which a portion between adjacent fibers at an optical fiber incident end is made of a highly reflective material.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a first embodiment when a laser is used as a light source.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a relationship between an incident end and an emitting end of an optical fiber in an example in which a laser is used as a light source.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example in which two optical fiber bundles are used.

16 is a diagram showing a cross section of an optical path in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a situation where the emitting end of the small optical fiber bundle of the present invention is changed by the small optical fiber bundle relative position changing mechanism.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a situation in which the emitting end of the small optical fiber bundle of the present invention is changed by the small optical fiber bundle relative position changing mechanism.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a second embodiment when a laser is used as a light source.

20 is a diagram showing a cross section of an optical path in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a third embodiment when a laser is used as a light source.

22 is a diagram showing a cross section of an optical path in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an incident angle of incident light and an emission angle of emitted light (a situation of divergent light) of the optical fiber, which shows the principle of the embodiment of FIGS.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a reduction projection exposure apparatus of the present invention in which a variable filter is mounted at the position of the entrance pupil of the reduction exposure lens.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example in which the illumination device of the present invention is applied to a pattern inspection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 1 ', 1A', 1B ', 1C', 1D '... Optical fiber bundle, 10 ... Small optical fiber bundle Relative position variable mechanism, 1
7 ... Columnar mirror, 2 and 2 '... Illumination optical system, 24 ... Mercury lamp light source, 24' ... Laser light source, 3 ... Reticle 4, 4 '...
Reduction projection (exposure) lens, 4 ″ ... Objective lens, 400 ...
Variable filter, 5 ... Wafer, 6 ... Wafer drive stage,
60 ... Laser beam for length measurement, 7, 7 '... Control system.

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[Submission date] July 31, 2002 (2002.7.3)
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor projection type exposure method and apparatus, and more particularly, to directing illumination light according to the size and shape of a pattern for exposure and detection, or the type of mask, reticle or wafer. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a projection type exposure method and an apparatus therefor, which control pattern property and enable pattern exposure in an optimum state.

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The object of the present invention is to easily select and control the illumination light which is optimum for various resolution improving methods and solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art without waste of the exposure light emitted from the exposure light source. It is an object of the present invention to provide a projection type exposure method and an apparatus thereof that can be used.

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In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, an exposure light source for emitting exposure light, and an illumination for irradiating the exposure light emitted from this exposure light source to a mask or reticle on which a pattern is formed. In a projection type exposure apparatus including an optical system and an exposure image forming lens system that forms an image of light, which is irradiated by the illumination optical system and transmitted through a mask or reticle, as a pattern image of the mask or reticle on an object to be exposed, The illumination optical system forms the shape of the secondary light source of the illumination optical system at the position conjugate with the pupil without blocking the exposure light emitted from the exposure light source and incident on the position conjugate with the pupil of the exposure imaging lens system. A switching means for switching and setting any one of the shape, the light flux shape divided into four or more and the one light flux shape to another shape, and the switching means separates into the annular shape and four or more. Shi And configured to irradiate the light shaping and one of either the mask or reticle set the exposure light to form a pattern from the secondary light sources in the shape of the light beam shape.

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According to the present invention, in the projection exposure method, the optical path of the exposure light emitted from the exposure light source is changed to select one of the annular shape, the light flux shape divided into four or more, and the one light flux shape. Mold a secondary light source in the shape of
The exposure light emitted from the secondary light source is applied to a mask or reticle on which a pattern is formed, and the light transmitted through the mask or reticle by this irradiation is transferred onto the object to be exposed via an imaging optical system to form a pattern image of the mask or reticle. To form an image.

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   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yukihiro Shibata             Stock, 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa             Production Engineering Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Shigemi Ishii             882 Ichige, Iwaki, Katsuta City, Ibaraki Japan             Tate Works Measuring Instruments Division (72) Minoru Noguchi, Inventor             Stock, 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa             Production Engineering Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Tsuneo Terasawa             Stock, 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa             Production Engineering Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Makoto Murayama             Stock, 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa             Production Engineering Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. F term (reference) 2H097 BB01 CA06 CA13 EA01 GB01                       GB02 LA10                 5F046 BA04 CA04 CB04 CB23 CB27

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An exposure light source that emits exposure light, an illumination optical system that illuminates the exposure light emitted from the exposure light source to a patterned mask or reticle, and the mask or reticle that is illuminated by the illumination optical system. A projection type exposure apparatus that forms an image of the light transmitted through the object as an image pattern of the mask or reticle on the object to be exposed, wherein the exposure light source emits an excimer laser as the exposure light. The illumination optical system includes a means for reducing the coherence of the excimer laser, a secondary light source of the illumination optical system having an annular shape, a luminous flux shape in which four or more are separated, and one luminous flux shape. And a switching means for switching and setting from any one of the above shapes to another shape, and any one of the annular shape, the light flux shape separated into four or more and one light flux shape by the switching means. Shape of Projection exposure apparatus and then irradiating an excimer laser set the coherence is reduced to a mask or reticle to form the pattern from the secondary light source. 2. The illumination optical system can switch a ratio (σ) of spread on the entrance pupil of the exposure light with which the mask or reticle is irradiated with respect to a diameter of the entrance pupil of the exposure imaging lens system. A switching means is provided, The said 1st characterized by the above-mentioned.
The projection exposure apparatus described. 3. The switching means changes the σ value from 0.4 to 0.6.
The projection exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the projection exposure apparatus is switchable between the two. 4. An exposure light source for emitting exposure light, an illumination optical system for irradiating the exposure light emitted from the exposure light source to a patterned mask or reticle, and the mask or reticle illuminated by the illumination optical system. A projection type exposure apparatus that forms an image of the light transmitted through the object as an image pattern of the mask or reticle on the object to be exposed, wherein the exposure light source emits an excimer laser as the exposure light. The illumination optical system has a means for reducing the coherence of the excimer laser, and a luminous flux shape of the exposure light at a location conjugate with the entrance pupil of the exposure and imaging lens system to be a ring shape.
A switching means for switching and setting any one of one or more light beam shapes and one light beam shape to another light beam shape, and at a location conjugate with the entrance pupil of the exposure imaging lens system. A mask in which the pattern is formed by the excimer laser with reduced coherence, which is set to any one of a ring shape, a light flux shape divided into four or more and one light flux shape by the switching means. Alternatively, a projection exposure apparatus which irradiates a reticle. 5. An exposure light source that emits exposure light, an illumination optical system that irradiates the mask or reticle on which a pattern is formed with the exposure light emitted from the exposure light source, and the mask or reticle that is illuminated by the illumination optical system. A projection type exposure apparatus that forms an image of the light transmitted through the object as an image pattern of the mask or reticle on the object to be exposed, wherein the exposure light source emits an excimer laser as the exposure light. The illumination optical system includes a means for reducing the coherence of the excimer laser, a luminous flux shape of a secondary light source of the illumination optical system, an annular shape, and a luminous flux shape obtained by dividing the luminous flux shape into four or more and one luminous flux shape. And a switching means for switching and setting from any one of the above shapes to another shape, and any one of the annular shape, the luminous flux shape divided into four or more and one luminous flux shape by the switching means. Or Projection exposure apparatus and then irradiating an excimer laser through a means for reducing the coherence, which is set for constant to mask or reticle to form the pattern from the secondary light source. 6. The means for reducing the coherence of the excimer laser is an optical fiber bundle, and the optical fiber bundle is formed by combining a plurality of optical fibers having different optical path lengths. Item 6. The projection exposure apparatus according to item 1, 4 or 5. 7. The switching means converts the optical path of the exposure light to change the shape of the exposure light at a position conjugate with the entrance pupil of the exposure imaging lens system to a ring shape or four or more. 6. The projection exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a configuration capable of switching any one of the separated light beam shape and one light beam shape to another shape. 8. The switching means has a light shielding plate installed at a position conjugate with the position of the secondary light source or the entrance pupil of the exposure imaging lens system, and the light shielding plate has a ring-shaped opening. And 4
The projection exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one or more openings and one or more openings separated from each other are formed. 9. An excimer laser emitted from an exposure light source is shaped into an annular shape by using a lens means, and the excimer laser formed into the annular shape is irradiated on a patterned mask or reticle, and the mask or reticle is irradiated by the irradiation. A projection exposure method, wherein the light transmitted through the reticle is imaged as a pattern image of the mask or reticle on an object to be exposed through an imaging optical system. 10. A ring-shaped secondary light source is formed by changing the optical path of an excimer laser emitted from an exposure light source, and the excimer laser emitted from the ring-shaped secondary light source is applied to a mask or reticle on which a pattern is formed. A projection exposure method, which comprises irradiating, and forming the light transmitted through the mask or reticle by the irradiation as a pattern image of the mask or reticle on an object to be exposed through an imaging optical system. 11. The projection exposure method according to claim 9, wherein the excimer laser with which the mask or reticle is irradiated for irradiation has reduced coherence. 12. The projection exposure method according to claim 11, wherein coherence is reduced by causing the excimer lasers formed in the annular shape to enter optical fibers having different lengths.