JP2011124400A - Exposure apparatus and exposure method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an exposure apparatus and an exposure method which improve the reproducibility of a reform condition, by automatically correcting the deflection of a substrate, and to uniformize an in-plane distribution of resolution of the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: The exposure device includes a mask holder which fixes a photomask; a chuck which fixes the periphery of the substrate; a work stage having one or more pressure adjustment portions which adjust the pressure to the substrate; an image acquisition portion which obtains the images of the photomask pattern and the substrate; and a control portion which adjusts the pressure of the pressure adjustment portion against the substrate, based on the information from the image acquisition portion. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus and an exposure method for exposing a resist on a substrate using a photomask on which a pattern is formed.

  Conventionally, when a pattern is exposed on a thin plate substrate such as a silicon wafer in the manufacture of an IC, LSI, etc., it is common to expose one side of the substrate. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the substrate 14 is fixed on the work stage 13 by vacuum suction, the photomask 11 is held and fixed to the mask holder 12 above the work stage 13, and the work stage 13 is raised to raise the substrate 14. Is exposed close to or in close contact with the photomask 11. A photoresist film (not shown) is formed on the surface of the substrate 14 in advance, and this photoresist film is exposed to burn the pattern of the photomask 11.

  In order to improve the pattern resolution by exposure, it is necessary to increase the degree of adhesion between the photomask 11 and the substrate 14, and to improve the parallelism in order to improve the in-plane distribution of resolution. Has been done. The first is called soft contact exposure, and is a method in which exposure is performed with the work stage 13 raised until the substrate 14 contacts the photomask 11. The second type is called hard contact exposure. The work stage 13 is raised to bring the substrate 14 into contact with the photomask 11, and a gas such as air is supplied from a vacuum suction hole for holding the substrate 14 on the work stage 13. In this method, the substrate 14 is pushed up by discharging to further increase the degree of adhesion to the photomask 11.

  However, when manufacturing an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, or the like using a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technique, various processes such as exposure are performed not only on the surface of the substrate but also on the back surface. In the case of performing exposure on a substrate on which both front and back surfaces are processed, the back surface of the substrate 14 is damaged and contaminated by contact with the work stage 13 in the configuration shown in FIG. Cannot be used.

  Accordingly, the work stage 21 having the configuration shown in FIG. 14 is used to expose both the front and back surfaces of the substrate 23. The work stage 21 includes an annular chuck 22 that holds the outer periphery of the substrate 23. The chuck 22 is formed with an annular groove 22A. By sucking the annular groove 22 </ b> A with a vacuum pump or the like, the outer periphery of the substrate 23 is adsorbed onto the annular groove 22 </ b> A of the chuck 22. According to the exposure apparatus using the work stage 21, since the back surface of the substrate 23 does not contact the work stage 21 except for the outer peripheral portion thereof, the back surface of the substrate 23 is prevented from being damaged and contaminated.

  In addition, the substrate has a large diameter in order to improve manufacturing efficiency. This increase in the diameter of the substrate causes the following problems when the work stage 21 as shown in FIG. 14 is used. When the large-diameter substrate 23 is fixed to the chuck 22 using the work stage 21 shown in FIG. 14, the substrate 23 is bent as shown in FIG. 14, and the entire substrate 23 is not maintained parallel to the photomask 11. Therefore, there is a problem that accurate alignment cannot be performed. Further, when the parallelism between the substrate 23 and the photomask 11 is deteriorated, the in-plane distribution of resolution is deteriorated.

  As an apparatus for solving such a problem, for example, there is an exposure apparatus described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. 15, this exposure apparatus is provided with a plurality of introduction holes (not shown) in the work stage 31 in order to correct the bending of the substrate 33, and air is introduced into the lower surface side of the substrate 33 through the introduction holes. And the bending of the board | substrate 33 is corrected with the pressure of this air.

  Further, as an apparatus for solving the above problems, for example, there is an exposure apparatus described in Patent Document 2. This exposure apparatus has the same configuration as the exposure apparatus of Patent Document 1, and is provided with an electromagnetic valve, a regulator, and a control unit in a system for supplying air so as to control the timing of introducing air and the pressure of air. ing.

JP 2007-36101 A International Application Publication No. 2008/105226

  However, in the exposure apparatuses described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above, an operator determines whether or not the deflection of the substrate has been corrected. There was a possibility that reproducibility could not be obtained in the degree of correction of deflection.

  In the exposure apparatus described in Patent Document 1 described above, an introduction hole for introducing air for correcting the deflection of the substrate is provided in the work stage 31, and the pressure of the gas is not controlled. For this reason, the pressure of gas and fluid required for correcting the deflection differs depending on the substrate due to the difference in the warp amount, thickness, etc. of the substrate 33, and the exposure apparatus described in Patent Document 1 corrects the deflection for each substrate. It is not possible.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide an exposure apparatus and an exposure method that automatically correct the deflection of the substrate, improve the reproducibility of the correction, and make the internal distribution of the resolution of the substrate uniform. And

  An exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a mask holder that fixes a photomask, a chuck that fixes an outer peripheral portion of a substrate, and a work stage that includes one or more pressure adjustment units that adjust pressure on the substrate. An image acquisition unit that acquires an image of the photomask pattern and the substrate, and a control unit that adjusts the pressure of the pressure adjustment unit on the substrate based on information from the image acquisition unit. And

  In an exposure method according to an embodiment of the present invention, a work stage for fixing an outer peripheral portion of a substrate is disposed at a position facing a photomask, and an image acquisition unit is moved on the photomask to pattern the photomask. And a surface on which the pattern of the photomask is arranged by adjusting the pressure of the one or more pressure adjustment units on the substrate based on information from the image acquisition unit based on information from the image acquisition unit. The distance between the surface and the surface of the substrate facing the surface is adjusted, and the surface of the substrate is exposed through the photomask.

  According to the present invention, the degree of deflection is detected for each substrate, the pressure of the gas, fluid, or solid that corrects the deflection is adjusted according to the degree of deflection, and the deflection of the substrate is automatically corrected to correct the degree of correction. It is possible to provide an exposure apparatus and an exposure method that improve reproducibility and make the internal distribution of the resolution of the substrate uniform.

1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of an entire exposure apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the process of adjusting the focus position of the microscope based on 1st Embodiment, (A) is a figure which shows the process of adjusting the focus position with respect to the pattern of a photomask, (B) is the focus position with respect to a board | substrate. It is a figure which shows the process to adjust. It is a figure which shows the process of applying a pressure with gas with respect to the board | substrate which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the pressure adjustment process performed by CPU which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of formation of the through-hole of the work stage which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the whole exposure apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the process of applying a pressure with a pressing member with respect to the board | substrate which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the pressure adjustment process performed by CPU which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the process of adjusting the focus position of the microscope in the exposure apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention, (A) is a figure which shows the process of adjusting the focus position with respect to the pattern of a photomask, (B) FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a lowering process of the mask holder. It is a figure which shows the process of applying a pressure with gas with respect to the board | substrate which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the process of adjusting the focus position of the microscope in the exposure apparatus which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention, (A) is a figure which shows the process of adjusting the focus position with respect to the pattern of a photomask, (B) FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a lowering process of the mask holder. It is a figure which shows the process of applying a pressure with gas with respect to the board | substrate which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the conventional work stage. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the exposure apparatus which vacuum-sucks the outer peripheral part of the conventional board | substrate. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the exposure apparatus which corrects the bending of the conventional board | substrate with the pressure of gas.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
<Configuration of exposure apparatus>
First, the configuration of the exposure apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of an exposure apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, an exposure apparatus 100 includes an exposure light source 101, a mask holder 103, a work stage 104, a chuck 106, microscopes 107 and 108, a control unit 119, a pressure adjustment unit PS, and a vacuum exhaust unit VS. And comprising. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 102 denotes a photomask.

  The exposure light source 101 irradiates light from above the photomask 102 onto the substrate 105 and the photomask 102 that have been subjected to the alignment operation. Thereby, the pattern of the photomask 102 is exposed to the resist film 140 formed on the upper surface of the substrate 105. The exposed substrate 105 forms a pattern on the resist film 140 by a subsequent development process. The controller 119 controls the turning on and off of the exposure light source 101.

  The photomask 102 is a transparent glass plate having a pattern for baking on the resist film of the substrate 105. The photomask 102 is placed in the exposure apparatus 100 with its peripheral edge held by the mask holder 103. In the photomask 102 shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that the pattern (for example, Cr film) is arranged on the lower surface in the drawing. The mask holder 103 holds the peripheral edge of the photomask 102.

  The work stage 104 is provided with an annular chuck 106 for holding the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 105 to be processed on both sides on the upper surface. The chuck 106 is formed with an annular groove 106A. At the bottom of the annular groove 106A, vacuum suction holes 104A and 104B communicating with the annular groove 106A are formed. A vacuum exhaust part VS is connected to the vacuum suction holes 104 </ b> A and 104 </ b> B via hoses 121 and 122. The vacuum exhaust unit VS includes a solenoid valve 116, a regulator 117, and a vacuum pump 118. When the air in the annular groove 106A is discharged from the vacuum suction holes 104A and 104B by the vacuum exhaust part VS, the outer peripheral part of the substrate 105 is sucked and held on the chuck 106. The controller 119 controls the opening / closing operation of the electromagnetic valve 116 and the driving and stopping of the vacuum pump 118. Since the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 105 is held by the chuck 106, the contact of the work stage 104 with the back surface (lower surface) is avoided. For this reason, the back surface of the substrate 105 is prevented from being damaged and contaminated.

  In addition, the work stage 104 has a plurality of through holes 104 </ b> C to 104 </ b> E for introducing gas into the back surface space of the substrate 105 in order to apply pressure by the gas to the lower surface side of the substrate 105 in the drawing. A pressure adjusting unit PS is connected to the through holes 104C to 104E via hoses 123 to 125. The pressure adjustment unit PS includes pressure adjustment valves 109 to 111, regulators 112 to 114, and a blower 115. The pressure regulating valve 109 and the regulator 112 are connected to the through hole 104C via the hose 123, the pressure regulating valve 110 and the regulator 113 are connected to the through hole 104D via the hose 124, and the pressure regulating valve 111 and the regulator 114 are connected to the hose 125. Is connected to the through-hole 104E. The regulators 112 to 114 and the blower 115 are connected by a connecting hose 126. When the pressures of the gases introduced into the through holes 104C to 104E are independently adjusted by the pressure adjusting unit PS, the pressures on the portions of the substrate 105 facing the through holes 104C to 104E are independently adjusted. The bending of the substrate 105 is corrected. Details of the pressure adjustment processing for correcting the bending of the substrate 105 will be described later. Each opening / closing operation of the pressure regulating valves 109 to 111 and driving and stopping of the blower 115 are controlled by the control unit 119.

  The substrate 105 is, for example, a silicon wafer used as a material for an acceleration sensor, and predetermined processing is performed on both the front and back surfaces. The substrate 105 used in the first embodiment is a thin disk having a thickness of about 200 μm to 1 mm and a diameter of about 6 inches to 12 inches. A resist film 140 is formed on the upper surface of the substrate 105 before exposure. The substrate 105 is placed in the exposure apparatus 100 while being held horizontally on the work stage 104.

  The microscopes 107 and 108 are used for each alignment operation of the photomask 102 and the substrate 105, and are used as an image acquisition unit that acquires image information for alignment. In the present embodiment, two microscopes 107 and 108 are used for performing an alignment operation at at least two positions on each surface of the substrate 105 and the photomask 102. The microscopes 107 and 108 are respectively moved to predetermined positions above the photomask 102 when performing alignment operations between the photomask 102 and the substrate 105, and are each retracted (for example, from the photomask 102) when the alignment operation is completed. Returned to the off position. The arrangement positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 when performing the alignment operation are determined based on alignment marks arranged in the pattern of the photomask 102, alignment marks arranged in the plane of the substrate 105, and the like. The movement operation of the microscopes 107 and 108 is controlled by the control unit 119. The number of microscopes is not limited to two, and may be one or more than two, depending on the accuracy required when performing the alignment operation. Note that the microscopes 107 and 108 have a built-in imaging device such as a CCD, and have a function of outputting the pattern of the photomask 102 and each image information of the substrate 105 to the control unit 119. Moreover, it is not restricted to a microscope, You may use only image pick-up elements, such as CCD. For the purpose, any pattern can be used as long as the pattern of the photomask 102 and each image information of the substrate 105 can be acquired.

  The exposure apparatus 100 also has a control unit 119 that controls the operation of the entire apparatus. The control unit 119 is connected to the microscopes 107 and 108 via the wirings L1 and L2, is connected to the electromagnetic valve 116 via the wiring L3, is connected to the vacuum pump 118 via the wiring L4, and is connected via the wirings L5 to L7. Are connected to the electromagnetic valves 109 to 111, and are connected to the blower 115 via the wiring L8. The control unit 119 includes a CPU 131 that controls the overall operation of the exposure apparatus 100, a ROM 132 that stores a control program executed by the CPU 131, and a RAM 133 that temporarily stores various parameters related to the control being executed by the CPU 131. .

  Further, the CPU 131 moves the microscopes 107 and 108 to the respective arrangement positions shown in FIG. 1 when performing each alignment operation of the photomask 102 and the substrate 105. When the movement of the microscopes 107 and 108 to the respective arrangement positions is completed, the CPU 131 adjusts the heights of the microscopes 107 and 108 so that the microscopes 107 and 108 with respect to the pattern of the photomask 102 are in focus positions where the image is in focus. Then, the microscopes 107 and 108 are lowered to a predetermined distance with respect to the substrate 105. Thereafter, the CPU 131 receives distance information D1 between the pattern of the photomask 102 (the lower surface side in the drawing) and the upper surface side of the substrate 105 from an image such as an alignment mark on the substrate 105 input from the microscopes 107 and 108. D2 is acquired, and the deflection of the substrate 105 is corrected by independently adjusting the pressure of the gas introduced into the through holes 104C to 104E based on the distances D1 and D2. The parameter at the time of adjustment is not limited to the distance information. For example, the parameter may be adjusted based on the contrast information between the pattern and each image on the substrate 105. Further, the reference distance information D is stored in advance in the ROM 132, the reference distance information D is compared with the acquired distance information D1 and D2, and the pressure of the gas introduced into the through holes 104C to 104E is independently determined based on the comparison result. You may make it adjust by doing. Further, reference contrast information is stored in advance in the ROM 132, the reference contrast information is compared with the acquired contrast information, and the pressure of the gas introduced into the through holes 104C to 104E is independently adjusted based on the comparison result. It may be.

<Exposure method>
Next, each step according to a specific example of the exposure process executed by the exposure apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 to 4. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating a process of adjusting the focus positions of the microscopes 107 and 108. FIG. In FIG. 2A, “Z” indicates the direction in which the microscopes 107 and 108 move when the focus position is adjusted with respect to the photomask 102. In FIG. 2B, “A” indicates the focus position with respect to the substrate 105. The direction in which the microscopes 107 and 108 move when matching is shown. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a process of applying pressure to the substrate 105 with a gas. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a pressure adjustment process executed by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119. Note that in this embodiment mode, proximity exposure in which exposure is performed with a gap provided between the pattern of the photomask 102 and the substrate 105 is applied. The exposure method to which the exposure apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is applied is not limited to proximity exposure, and can also be applied to contact exposure.

(1) Fixing the substrate The substrate 105 is transferred onto the chuck 106 by a transfer mechanism (not shown), and the air in the annular concave groove 106A is discharged from the vacuum suction holes 104A and 104B by the vacuum exhaust unit VS. Is adsorbed on the chuck 106 and fixed. At this time, the opening operation timing of the electromagnetic valve 116 of the vacuum exhaust unit VS, the drive timing of the vacuum pump 118, and the like are controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(2) Microscope movement (see FIG. 2 (A))
The microscope 108 is moved to the approximate center of the substrate 105, and the microscope 107 is moved to the outer periphery of the substrate 105. At this time, the movement operation of the microscopes 107 and 108 to the respective movement positions is controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(3) Focus position adjustment for pattern (see FIG. 2A)
The focus positions in the Z direction shown in the drawings of the microscopes 107 and 108 are adjusted so that the focus positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 match the pattern of the photomask 102. At this time, the focus position adjustment in the Z direction of each of the microscopes 107 and 108 is controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119. The positions for adjusting the focus of the microscopes 107 and 108 may be two places where the pattern of the photomask 102 is different. By adjusting the focus at two different locations, the parallelism between the substrate 105 and the photomask 102 can be further improved, and the in-plane distribution of alignment accuracy and resolution can be improved. It is preferable that the microscope 108 is set at a substantially central portion of the substrate 105 (maximum amount of deflection). The microscope 107 is preferably set at a position as far as possible from the position where the microscope 108 adjusts the focus. Note that in this embodiment, the substantially central portion of the substrate 105 is within 1 cm in diameter from the center of the substrate 105, and the position as far as possible is within 5 cm from the chuck position of the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 105.

(4) Focus position adjustment with respect to the substrate (see FIG. 2B)
Only the microscopes 107 and 108 </ b> A are lowered in the Z direction so that the focus positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 are aligned with the upper surface of the substrate 105. Note that A is a preset distance between the photomask 102 and the substrate 105. At this time, the position adjustment of the microscopes 107 and 108 in the Z direction is controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119. Note that in the case of performing soft contact exposure or hard contact exposure in which the upper surface of the substrate 105 is brought into contact with the photomask 102, it is not necessary to lower the positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 in the Z direction.

(5) Substrate deflection adjustment The positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 in the Z direction are fixed, and the pressure adjustment unit PS allows the through holes 104C to 104C to be adjusted so that the focus positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 are aligned with the upper surface of the substrate 105. The pressure of the gas introduced from 104E is adjusted. At this time, the gas pressure adjustment process for the pressure adjustment unit PS is performed by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

  Here, details of the gas pressure adjustment processing performed by the CPU 131 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a process of applying pressure to the substrate with gas. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a pressure adjustment process performed by the CPU 131. In the pressure adjustment process according to this embodiment, air is used as gas, and distance information between the pattern of the photomask 102 and the upper surface of the substrate 105 is used as a parameter for adjusting the pressure. For this reason, it is assumed that the reference distance information D serving as a reference for the distance information is stored in the ROM 132 in the control unit 119 in advance.

  In FIG. 4, the CPU 131 acquires distance information D2 (see FIG. 1) from the image on the substrate 105 input from the microscope 108, compares the distance information D2 with the reference distance information D stored in the ROM 132, It is determined whether the distance information D2 matches the reference distance information D (step S101). If they do not match (step S101: NG), the CPU 131 controls the opening / closing amount of the pressure adjustment valve 110 to adjust the pressure A shown in FIG. 3 between 0 and 1 bar (step S102). Next, the CPU 131 fixes the pressure A when the distance information D2 from the image on the substrate 105 input from the microscope 108 matches the reference distance information D (step S103). The distance information D2 may be acquired from the alignment mark image arranged on the substrate 105.

  Next, the CPU 131 acquires distance information D1 (see FIG. 1) from the image on the substrate 105 input from the microscope 107, compares the distance information D1 with the reference distance information D stored in the ROM 132, and calculates the distance information. It is determined whether D1 and the reference distance information D match (step S104). If they do not match (step S104: NG), the CPU 131 controls the opening / closing amounts of the pressure regulating valves 109 and 111 to adjust the pressure B shown in FIG. 3 between 0 and 1 bar (step S105). Next, the CPU 131 fixes the pressure B when the distance information D1 matches the reference distance information D from the image on the substrate 105 input from the microscope 107 (step S106). The distance information D1 may be acquired from an alignment mark image arranged on the substrate 105.

  Next, the CPU 131 again determines whether the distance information D2 from the image on the substrate 105 input from the microscope 108 matches the reference distance information D (step S107). If they do not match (step S107: NG), the process returns to step S102, and the processes after step S102 are repeatedly executed.

  If the distance information D2 and the reference distance information D match in step S101 (step S101: OK), the process immediately proceeds to step S104. If the distance information D1 and the reference distance information D match (step S104: OK) and the pressure adjustment process is terminated. In step S107, if the distance information D2 and the reference distance information D match (step S107: OK), the pressure adjustment process is terminated.

  As described above, by performing the pressure adjustment process, it is possible to independently adjust the applied pressures A and B according to the amount of bending in the substrate 105. As a result, the parallelism between the pattern of the photomask 102 and the substrate 105 can be improved, and the in-plane distribution of resolution can be improved. Further, the alignment accuracy is improved by increasing the parallelism of the substrate 105 with respect to the photomask 102. Further, since the control unit 119 automatically adjusts the pressure of air applied to the substrate 105 based on the distance information between the photomask 102 and the substrate 105 to correct the deflection of the substrate 105, the correction of the deflection of the substrate 105 is performed. It is not necessary for the operator to check the condition, and the reproducibility of the correction condition of the substrate 105 can be improved. Further, the work stage 104 is formed with through holes 104 </ b> C to 104 </ b> E for introducing gas into the back surface space of the substrate 105 at the substantially central portion of the substrate 105 and the peripheral portion away from the substantially central portion. The gas pressure is adjusted independently at substantially the central part and the peripheral part. For this reason, even when the amount of bending differs due to differences in the amount of warp, thickness, etc. of the substrate 105, it becomes possible to reliably correct the bending and to make the in-plane distribution of the resolution uniform.

(6) Alignment The microscopes 107 and 108 are moved to the position of the alignment mark arranged on the substrate 105, and the alignment of the substrate 105 with respect to the photomask 102 in the horizontal direction is performed. At this time, the alignment of the substrate 105 in the horizontal direction is performed by moving the work stage 104 in the horizontal direction. The horizontal movement of the work stage 104 is performed by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119. This alignment step may be performed in the substrate deflection adjustment step (5).

(7) Exposure The light source 101 for exposure is turned on, and light is irradiated from above the photomask 102 to the photomask 102 and the resist film 140 on the upper surface of the substrate 105. As a result, the pattern of the photomask 102 is exposed on the resist film 140 of the substrate 105. At this time, lighting of the exposure light source 101 and its lighting time are controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(8) Release of vacuum adsorption The pressurization of air by the pressure adjusting unit PS is stopped, and the vacuum adsorption by the vacuum exhaust unit VS is released. At this time, the CPU 131 in the control unit 119 stops the operations of the pressure adjustment unit PS and the vacuum exhaust unit VS. At this time, the microscopes 107 and 108 may be moved to a standby position (for example, a position away from the photomask 102) under the control of the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(9) Transport of substrate The substrate 105 is transported from the chuck 106 to the outside by a transport mechanism.

  Through the above steps, the pattern printing process on the substrate 105 by the exposure apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment is completed. The exposed substrate 105 forms a pattern on the resist film by a subsequent development process.

  In the exposure apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the case where the gas pressure applied to the substrate 105 is adjusted based on the distance information has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the gas pressure may be adjusted based on contrast information between the pattern and each image on the substrate 105. In this case, reference contrast information is stored in advance in the ROM 132, the reference contrast information is compared with the acquired contrast information, and the pressure of the gas introduced into the through holes 104C to 104E is independently adjusted based on the comparison result. You may do it. Further, in the exposure apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the case where air is used as a gas in order to adjust the pressure has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, nitrogen or the like may be used as the gas. Moreover, you may make it use a fluid instead of gas.

  Further, in the exposure apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the case where the work stage 104 has a plurality of through holes 104C to 104E for introducing gas has been shown, but the formation position and number of the through holes are changed as appropriate. May be. FIG. 5 shows another example of forming the through hole. FIG. 5A shows an example in which a through hole 150 is formed in a substantially central portion of the work stage 104. FIG. 5B shows an example in which through-holes 150 are formed in the other four locations in the substantially central portion of the work stage 104 and its peripheral portion. FIG. 5C shows an example in which through-holes 150 are formed at a plurality of locations concentrically with the substantially central portion of the work stage 104. FIG. 5D shows an example in which a plurality of through holes 150 are formed by gradually increasing the diameter from the substantially central portion of the work stage 104 toward the outer peripheral portion. As described above, the formation form of the through-holes may be appropriately changed according to a request when correcting the bending of the substrate 105. The diameter of the through hole is about 1 mm to 10 mm. As shown in FIGS. 5B to 5D, by arranging the through-holes symmetrically with respect to the center of the substrate, it is possible to make the deflection of the substrate uniform in the plane. Further, even if the gas flow rate on the apparatus is limited by reducing the hole diameter in the central part and gradually increasing the hole diameter outside the central part as shown in FIG. Since the pressure applied to the central portion that is most bent can be increased, the width corresponding to the different bending for each substrate is widened. As a result, it is possible to more appropriately correct bending that differs from one substrate to another regardless of the diameter of the substrate.

(Second Embodiment)
<Configuration of exposure apparatus>
First, the configuration of an exposure apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a view showing a schematic configuration of an exposure apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment. In the exposure apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 6, the same components as those of the exposure apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the same components is omitted. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a pressure adjustment mechanism PM, which will be described later, is provided as the pressure adjustment unit, and the pressure on the substrate 105 is adjusted using a pressing member included in the pressure adjustment mechanism PM.

  In FIG. 6, exposure apparatus 200, work stage 104 having a plurality of through holes 104 </ b> C to 104 </ b> E through which pressing members 211 to 213 that apply pressure to substrate 105, and pressure that adjusts the pressure applied to substrate 105. And an adjustment mechanism PM. The pressure adjustment mechanism PM includes pressing members 211 to 213 and driving units 214 to 216 that adjust the pressure applied to the substrate 105 by raising or lowering the pressing members 211 to 213.

  The exposure apparatus 200 has a control unit 220 that controls the operation of the entire apparatus. The control unit 220 is connected to the microscopes 107 and 108 via the wires L1 and L2, is connected to the electromagnetic valve 116 via the wire L3, is connected to the vacuum pump 118 via the wire L4, and is connected via the wires L5 to L7. Are connected to the driving units 214 to 216. The control unit 220 includes a CPU 221 that controls the operation of the entire exposure apparatus 200, a ROM 222 that stores a control program executed by the CPU 221, and a RAM 223 that temporarily stores various parameters related to the control being executed by the CPU 221. .

  Further, the CPU 221 moves the placement positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 shown in FIG. 6 when performing alignment operations of the photomask 102 and the substrate 105. When the movement of the microscopes 107 and 108 to the respective arrangement positions is completed, the CPU 221 adjusts the heights of the microscopes 107 and 108 so that the microscopes 107 and 108 with respect to the pattern of the photomask 102 are in focus positions where the image is focused. Then, the microscopes 107 and 108 are lowered to a predetermined distance with respect to the substrate 105. Thereafter, the CPU 221 receives distance information D1 between the pattern of the photomask 102 (the lower surface side in the drawing) and the upper surface side of the substrate 105 from an image such as an alignment mark on the substrate 105 input from the microscopes 107 and 108. D2 is acquired, and the deflection of the substrate 105 is corrected by independently adjusting the pressures of the pressing members 211 to 213 that apply pressure to the substrate 105 through the through holes 104C to 104E based on the distances D1 and D2. To do. The parameter at the time of adjustment is not limited to the distance information. For example, the parameter may be adjusted based on the contrast information between the pattern and each image on the substrate 105. Further, the reference distance information D is stored in the ROM 222 in advance, the reference distance information D is compared with the acquired distance information D1 and D2, and the pressures of the pressing members 211 to 213 are independently adjusted based on the comparison result. You may do it. Further, reference contrast information may be stored in the ROM 222 in advance, the reference contrast information may be compared with the acquired contrast information, and the pressures of the pressing members 211 to 213 may be independently adjusted based on the comparison result. .

<Exposure method>
Next, each step according to a specific example of the exposure process executed by the exposure apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a process of applying pressure to the substrate 105 by the pressing members 211 to 213. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a pressure adjustment process executed by the CPU 221 in the control unit 220. Note that in this embodiment mode, proximity exposure in which exposure is performed with a gap provided between the pattern of the photomask 102 and the substrate 105 is applied. Of the exposure processing steps according to the present embodiment, the description of the steps overlapping those described in the first embodiment is omitted, and the substrate alignment step will be described with reference to FIGS. . The exposure method to which the exposure apparatus 200 of the present embodiment is applied is not limited to proximity exposure, but can also be applied to contact exposure.

  The pressing member 211 introduced from the through holes 104 </ b> C to 104 </ b> E by the pressure adjustment mechanism PM so that the positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 in the Z direction are fixed and the focus positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 are aligned with the upper surface of the substrate 105. Adjust the pressure at ~ 213. At this time, the pressure adjustment process for the pressure adjustment mechanism PM is performed by the CPU 221 in the control unit 220.

  Here, details of the pressure adjustment processing performed by the CPU 221 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a process of applying pressure to the substrate by the pressing members 211 to 213. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the pressure adjustment process performed by the CPU 221. In the pressure adjustment processing according to this embodiment, distance information between the pattern of the photomask 102 and the upper surface of the substrate 105 is used as a parameter for adjusting the pressure. For this reason, it is assumed that the reference distance information D serving as a reference for the distance information is stored in advance in the ROM 222 in the control unit 220.

  In FIG. 8, the CPU 221 acquires distance information D2 (see FIG. 6) from the image on the substrate 105 input from the microscope 108, compares the distance information D2 with the reference distance information D stored in the ROM 222, It is determined whether or not the distance information D2 matches the reference distance information D (step S201). If they do not match (step S201: NG), the CPU 131 controls the drive amount of the drive unit 215 to adjust the pressure A by the pressing member 212 shown in FIG. 7 (step S202). Next, the CPU 221 fixes the pressure A when the distance information D2 from the image on the substrate 105 input from the microscope 108 matches the reference distance information D (step S203). The distance information D2 may be acquired from the alignment mark image arranged on the substrate 105.

  Next, the CPU 221 acquires distance information D1 (see FIG. 6) from the image on the substrate 105 input from the microscope 107, compares the distance information D1 with the reference distance information D stored in the ROM 222, and calculates the distance information. It is determined whether D1 and the reference distance information D match (step S204). If they do not match (step S204: NG), the CPU 221 controls the drive amounts of the drive units 214 and 216 to adjust the pressure B by the pressing members 211 and 213 shown in FIG. 3 (step S205). Next, the CPU 221 fixes the pressure B when the distance information D1 matches the reference distance information D from the image on the substrate 105 input from the microscope 107 (step S206). The distance information D1 may be acquired from an alignment mark image arranged on the substrate 105.

  Next, the CPU 221 again determines whether the distance information D2 from the image on the substrate 105 input from the microscope 108 matches the reference distance information D (step S207). If they do not match (step S207: NG), the process returns to step S202, and the processes after step S202 are repeatedly executed.

  If the distance information D2 and the reference distance information D match in step S201 (step S201: OK), the process immediately proceeds to step S204, and if the distance information D1 and the reference distance information D match (step S204: OK) and the pressure adjustment process is terminated. In step S207, if the distance information D2 and the reference distance information D match (step S207: OK), the pressure adjustment process is terminated.

  As described above, by performing the pressure adjustment process, it is possible to independently adjust the applied pressures A and B according to the amount of bending in the substrate 105. As a result, the parallelism between the pattern of the photomask 102 and the substrate 105 can be improved, and the in-plane distribution of resolution can be improved. Further, the alignment accuracy is improved by increasing the parallelism of the substrate 105 with respect to the photomask 102. Further, since the control unit 220 automatically adjusts the pressure of the air applied to the substrate 105 based on the distance information between the photomask 102 and the substrate 105 to correct the deflection of the substrate 105, the correction of the deflection of the substrate 105 is performed. It is not necessary for the operator to check the condition, and the reproducibility of the correction condition of the substrate 105 can be improved. Further, the work stage 104 is formed with through holes 104 </ b> C to 104 </ b> E for introducing gas into the back surface space of the substrate 105 at the substantially central portion of the substrate 105 and the peripheral portion away from the substantially central portion. The gas pressure is adjusted independently at substantially the central part and the peripheral part. For this reason, even when the amount of bending differs due to differences in the amount of warp, thickness, etc. of the substrate 105, it becomes possible to reliably correct the bending and to make the in-plane distribution of the resolution uniform.

(Third embodiment)
Next, an exposure apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The configuration of the exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the exposure apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 except that the microscopes 107 and 108 are arranged below the work stage 104. Is omitted. In the present embodiment, a pressure adjustment unit PS that uses gas as a pressure adjustment unit is provided. The pressure adjustment unit PS adjusts the pressure on the substrate 105 using gas.

  As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, exposure apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment applies a pattern of photomask 102 and substrate 105 by microscopes 107 and 108 arranged below work stage 104. It is characterized by performing an alignment operation.

  Each step according to a specific example of the exposure process executed by the exposure apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a process of adjusting the focus positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 and a process of lowering the mask holder 103. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a process of applying pressure to the substrate 105 with gas. Note that in this embodiment mode, contact exposure in which exposure is performed by bringing the substrate 105 into contact with the pattern of the photomask 102 is applied. The exposure method to which the exposure apparatus 300 of the present embodiment is applied is not limited to contact exposure, but can also be applied to proximity exposure.

(1) Lowering of the mask holder (see FIG. 9A)
The mask holder 103 is lowered and the photomask 102 is put on the chuck 106. At this time, the lowered position of the mask holder 103 is controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(2) Microscope movement (see FIG. 9A)
The microscope 108 is moved to the approximate center of the substrate 105, and the microscope 107 is moved to the outer periphery of the substrate 105. At this time, the movement operation of the microscopes 107 and 108 to the respective movement positions is controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(3) Focus position adjustment for pattern (see FIG. 9A)
The positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 in the Z direction shown in the drawing are adjusted so that the focus positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 match the pattern of the photomask 102 (the lower surface side in the drawing). At this time, the position adjustment of the microscopes 107 and 108 in the Z direction is controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119. The positions for adjusting the focus of the microscopes 107 and 108 may be two places where the pattern of the photomask 102 is different. It is preferable that the microscope 108 is set at a substantially central portion of the substrate 105 (maximum amount of deflection). The microscope 107 is preferably set at a position as far as possible from the position where the microscope 108 adjusts the focus.

(4) Storage of alignment mark The position of the alignment mark arranged in the pattern of the photomask 102 is stored in the ROM 132 in the control unit 119 using a cross mark or the like.

(5) Raising the mask holder The mask holder 103 is raised to secure a space for transporting the substrate 105 onto the chuck 106. At this time, the raised position of the mask holder 103 is controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(6) Fixing the substrate The substrate 105 is transferred onto the chuck 106 by a transfer mechanism (not shown), and the air in the annular concave groove 106A is discharged from the vacuum suction holes 104A and 104B by the vacuum exhaust unit VS. Is adsorbed on the chuck 106 and fixed. At this time, the opening operation timing of the electromagnetic valve 116 of the vacuum exhaust unit VS, the drive timing of the vacuum pump 118, and the like are controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(7) Lowering of the mask holder (see FIG. 9B)
The mask holder 103 is lowered to a predetermined position. At this time, the lowered position of the mask holder 103 is controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119. This lowered position is set on the exposure apparatus 300 side.

(8) Adjusting the bending of the substrate (see FIG. 10)
The pressure of the gas introduced from the through holes 104 </ b> C to 104 </ b> E by the pressure adjustment unit PS so that the positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 in the Z direction are fixed and the focus positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 are aligned with the upper surface of the substrate 105. Adjust. At this time, the gas pressure adjustment process for the pressure adjustment unit PS is performed by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119. The pressure adjustment processing performed by the CPU 131 is performed in the same manner as the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 in the first embodiment. For this reason, illustration of a flowchart and detailed description of a process are abbreviate | omitted. By this pressure adjustment process, the applied pressures A and B can be independently adjusted according to the amount of deflection in the substrate 105. As a result, the parallelism between the pattern of the photomask 102 and the substrate 105 can be improved, and the in-plane distribution of resolution can be improved. Further, the alignment accuracy is improved by increasing the parallelism of the substrate 105 with respect to the photomask 102. Further, since the control unit 119 automatically adjusts the gas pressure applied to the substrate 105 based on the distance information between the photomask 102 and the substrate 105 to correct the deflection of the substrate 105, the correction of the deflection of the substrate 105 is performed. It is not necessary for the operator to check the condition, and the reproducibility of the correction condition of the substrate 105 can be improved. Further, the work stage 104 is formed with through holes 104 </ b> C to 104 </ b> E for introducing gas into the back surface space of the substrate 105 at the substantially central portion of the substrate 105 and the peripheral portion away from the substantially central portion. The gas pressure is adjusted independently at substantially the central part and the peripheral part. For this reason, even when the amount of bending differs due to differences in the amount of warp, thickness, etc. of the substrate 105, it becomes possible to reliably correct the bending and to make the in-plane distribution of the resolution uniform.

(9) Alignment The control unit 119 moves the microscopes 107 and 108 to the position of the alignment mark arranged on the substrate 105 based on the position of the alignment mark stored in the ROM 132, and the horizontal direction of the substrate 105 with respect to the photomask 102 Perform position alignment. At this time, the alignment of the substrate 105 in the horizontal direction is performed by moving the work stage 104 in the horizontal direction. The horizontal movement of the work stage 104 is performed by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(10) Exposure The light source 101 for exposure is turned on, and light is irradiated from above the photomask 102 to the photomask 102 and the resist film 140 on the substrate 105. As a result, the pattern of the photomask 102 is exposed on the resist film 140 of the substrate 105. At this time, lighting of the exposure light source 101 and its lighting time are controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(11) Release of vacuum suction The pressurization of air by the pressure adjusting unit PS is stopped, and the vacuum suction by the vacuum exhaust unit VS is released. At this time, the CPU 131 in the control unit 119 stops the operations of the pressure adjustment unit PS and the vacuum exhaust unit VS. At this time, the microscopes 107 and 108 may be moved to a standby position (for example, a position away from the photomask 102) under the control of the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(12) Substrate Transport The substrate 105 is transported from the chuck 106 to the outside by a transport mechanism.

  Through the above steps, the pattern printing process on the substrate 105 by the exposure apparatus 300 according to the third embodiment is completed. The exposed substrate 105 forms a pattern on the resist film by a subsequent development process.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, an exposure apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The configuration of the exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the exposure apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 except that the microscopes 107 and 108 are arranged below the work stage 104. Is omitted. In the present embodiment, a pressure adjustment unit PS that uses gas as a pressure adjustment unit is provided. The pressure adjustment unit PS adjusts the pressure on the substrate 105 using gas.

  As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, exposure apparatus 400 according to the present embodiment applies a pattern of photomask 102 and substrate 105 to microscopes 107 and 108 arranged below work stage 104. It is characterized by performing an alignment operation. In addition, exposure apparatus 400 according to the present embodiment is characterized in that the movement position of microscope 108 is set at the periphery of photomask 102 during the alignment operation.

  Each step according to a specific example of the exposure process executed by exposure apparatus 400 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a process of adjusting the focus position of the microscopes 107 and 108 and a process of lowering the mask holder 103. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a process of applying pressure to the substrate 105 with gas. Note that in this embodiment mode, contact exposure in which exposure is performed by bringing the substrate 105 into contact with the pattern of the photomask 102 is applied. The exposure method to which the exposure apparatus 400 of the present embodiment is applied is not limited to contact exposure, and can also be applied to proximity exposure.

(1) Lowering of the mask holder (see FIG. 11A)
The mask holder 103 is lowered and the photomask 102 is put on the chuck 106. At this time, the lowered position of the mask holder 103 is controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(2) Microscope movement (see FIG. 11A)
The microscope 108 and the microscope 107 are moved to the outer periphery of the substrate 105. Alignment marks in the pattern of the photomask 102 are arranged at positions where the microscope 108 and the microscope 107 are moved. At this time, the movement operation of the microscopes 107 and 108 to the respective movement positions is controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(3) Focus position adjustment for pattern (see FIG. 11A)
The positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 in the Z direction shown in the drawing are adjusted so that the focus positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 match the pattern of the photomask 102 (the lower surface side in the drawing). At this time, the position adjustment of the microscopes 107 and 108 in the Z direction is controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119. The positions for adjusting the focus of the microscopes 107 and 108 may be two places where the pattern of the photomask 102 is different. It is preferable that the microscope 108 is set at a substantially central portion of the substrate 105 (maximum amount of deflection). The microscope 107 is preferably set at a position as far as possible from the position where the microscope 108 adjusts the focus.

(4) Storage of alignment mark The position of the alignment mark arranged in the pattern of the photomask 102 is stored in the ROM 132 in the control unit 119 using a cross mark or the like.

(5) Raising the mask holder The mask holder 103 is raised to secure a space for transporting the substrate 105 onto the chuck 106. At this time, the raised position of the mask holder 103 is controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(6) Fixing the substrate The substrate 105 is transferred onto the chuck 106 by a transfer mechanism (not shown), and the air in the annular concave groove 106A is discharged from the vacuum suction holes 104A and 104B by the vacuum exhaust unit VS. Is adsorbed on the chuck 106 and fixed. At this time, the opening operation timing of the electromagnetic valve 116 of the vacuum exhaust unit VS, the drive timing of the vacuum pump 118, and the like are controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(7) Lowering of the mask holder (see FIG. 11B)
The mask holder 103 is lowered to a predetermined position. At this time, the lowered position of the mask holder 103 is controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119. This lowered position is set on the exposure apparatus 300 side.

(8) Movement of the microscope (see FIG. 11B)
The microscope 108 is moved to the approximate center of the substrate 105, and the microscope 107 is moved to the outer periphery of the substrate 105. At this time, the positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 in the Z direction are not changed. At this time, the movement operation of the microscopes 107 and 108 to each movement position is controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(9) Substrate deflection adjustment (see FIG. 12)
The pressure of the gas introduced from the through holes 104 </ b> C to 104 </ b> E by the pressure adjustment unit PS so that the positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 in the Z direction are fixed and the focus positions of the microscopes 107 and 108 are aligned with the upper surface of the substrate 105. Adjust. At this time, the gas pressure adjustment process for the pressure adjustment unit PS is performed by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119. The pressure adjustment processing performed by the CPU 131 is performed in the same manner as the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 in the first embodiment. For this reason, illustration of a flowchart and detailed description of processing are omitted. By this pressure adjustment process, the applied pressures A and B can be independently adjusted according to the amount of deflection in the substrate 105. As a result, the parallelism between the pattern of the photomask 102 and the substrate 105 can be improved, and the in-plane distribution of resolution can be improved. Further, the alignment accuracy is improved by increasing the parallelism of the substrate 105 with respect to the photomask 102. Further, since the control unit 119 automatically adjusts the pressure of air applied to the substrate 105 based on the distance information between the photomask 102 and the substrate 105 to correct the deflection of the substrate 105, the correction of the deflection of the substrate 105 is performed. It is not necessary for the operator to check the condition, and the reproducibility of the correction condition of the substrate 105 can be improved. Further, the work stage 104 is formed with through holes 104 </ b> C to 104 </ b> E for introducing gas into the back surface space of the substrate 105 at the substantially central portion of the substrate 105 and the peripheral portion away from the substantially central portion. The gas pressure is adjusted independently at substantially the central part and the peripheral part. For this reason, even when the amount of bending differs due to differences in the amount of warp, thickness, etc. of the substrate 105, it becomes possible to reliably correct the bending and to make the in-plane distribution of the resolution uniform.

(10) Alignment The control unit 119 moves the microscopes 107 and 108 to the position of the alignment mark arranged on the substrate 105 based on the position of the alignment mark stored in the ROM 132, and the horizontal direction of the substrate 105 with respect to the photomask 102 Perform position alignment. At this time, the alignment of the substrate 105 in the horizontal direction is performed by moving the work stage 104 in the horizontal direction. The horizontal movement of the work stage 104 is performed by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(11) Exposure The light source 101 for exposure is turned on, and light is irradiated from above the photomask 102 to the photomask 102 and the resist film 140 on the upper surface of the substrate 105. As a result, the pattern of the photomask 102 is exposed on the resist film 140 of the substrate 105. At this time, lighting of the exposure light source 101 and its lighting time are controlled by the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(12) Release of vacuum adsorption The pressurization of air by the pressure adjusting unit PS is stopped, and the vacuum adsorption by the vacuum exhaust unit VS is released. At this time, the CPU 131 in the control unit 119 stops the operations of the pressure adjustment unit PS and the vacuum exhaust unit VS. At this time, the microscopes 107 and 108 may be moved to a standby position (for example, a position away from the photomask 102) under the control of the CPU 131 in the control unit 119.

(13) Transport of substrate The substrate 105 is transported from the chuck 106 to the outside by a transport mechanism.

  Through the above steps, the pattern printing process on the substrate 105 by the exposure apparatus 400 according to the fourth embodiment is completed. The exposed substrate 105 forms a pattern on the resist film by a subsequent development process.

  In the third and fourth embodiments, the case where the deflection of the substrate is corrected by adjusting the pressure of the gas is shown. However, the pressure adjustment mechanism PM shown in FIG. 6 in the second embodiment is used. May be applied to correct the bending of the substrate. In the first and second embodiments, the microscopes 107 and 108 are arranged above the photomask 102. In the third and fourth embodiments, the microscopes 107 and 108 are mounted on the substrate 150. Although the case where it arrange | positions more downward was shown, it is not limited to these structures. You may adjust a parallelism of a board | substrate by arrange | positioning a microscope to both upper and lower sides. In the first to fourth embodiments, the case where the substrate is pressed to correct the bending has been described. However, when the substrate is bent upward, the substrate is bent and suction is corrected. May be.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100,200,300,400 ... Exposure apparatus, 102 ... Photomask, 103 ... Mask holder, 104 ... Work stage, 104C-104E ... Through-hole, 105 ... Substrate, 106 ... Chuck, 107, 108 ... Microscope, 109-111 ... pressure adjusting valve, 112 to 114 ... regulator, 115 ... blower, 119, 220 ... control unit, 131, 221 ... CPU, 132, 222 ... ROM, 133, 223 ... RAM, 211 to 213 ... pressing member, 214 to 216 ... Drive unit, PS ... Pressure adjustment unit, PM ... Pressure adjustment mechanism.

Claims (14)

A mask holder for fixing the photomask;
A work stage having a chuck for fixing an outer peripheral portion of a substrate and one or more pressure adjusting portions for adjusting a pressure on the substrate;
An image acquisition unit for acquiring a pattern of the photomask and an image of the substrate;
An exposure apparatus comprising: a control unit that adjusts the pressure of the pressure adjustment unit against the substrate based on information from the image acquisition unit. The pressure adjusting unit includes two or more through holes that allow gas to pass through the substrate, and two or more gas pressure adjusting units that adjust the pressure of the gas passing through the through holes.
The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit adjusts the pressure of the gas with respect to the substrate independently for each of the gas pressure adjustment units based on information from the image acquisition unit. The pressure adjusting unit has two or more through holes through which a member for applying pressure to the substrate is passed, and two or more pressure adjusting mechanisms for adjusting the pressure of the member on the substrate,
The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller adjusts the pressure on the substrate independently for each of the pressure adjustment mechanisms based on information from the image acquisition unit. The image acquisition unit adjusts the focus position at a plurality of positions with respect to the pattern of the photomask and the substrate, acquires distance information for the image for each focus position,
4. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit adjusts a pressure applied to the substrate independently for each of the pressure adjustment units based on the distance information for each focus position from the image acquisition unit. An exposure apparatus according to claim 1.   The control unit includes a storage unit that stores, as reference distance information, a distance set between a surface on which the pattern of the photomask is disposed and a surface of the substrate facing the surface, and the image acquisition unit 5. The exposure according to claim 4, wherein the distance information from the base station is compared with the reference distance information stored in the storage unit, and the pressure of the pressure adjusting unit on the substrate is adjusted based on a comparison result. apparatus. The image acquisition unit adjusts the focus position at a plurality of positions with respect to the pattern of the photomask and the substrate, acquires contrast information for the image for each focus position,
6. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit adjusts the pressure applied to the substrate independently for each of the pressure adjustment units based on the contrast information for each focus position from the image acquisition unit. An exposure apparatus according to claim 1.   The control unit includes a storage unit that stores reference contrast information for the photomask pattern and the image of the substrate, and the contrast information from the image acquisition unit and the reference contrast information stored in the storage unit The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure of the pressure adjusting unit on the substrate is adjusted based on the comparison result. Place a work stage to fix the outer periphery of the substrate at a position facing the photomask,
Move the image acquisition unit on the photomask to acquire the pattern of the photomask and the image of the substrate,
Based on the information from the image acquisition unit, the control unit adjusts the pressure of one or more pressure adjustment units on the substrate, and the surface on which the photomask pattern is arranged and the substrate facing the surface Adjust the distance to the surface,
An exposure method comprising exposing the surface of the substrate through the photomask. The pressure adjusting unit includes two or more through holes that allow gas to pass through the substrate, and one or more gas pressure adjusting units that adjust the pressure of the gas passing through the through holes.
9. The exposure method according to claim 8, wherein, based on information from the image acquisition unit, the control unit adjusts the gas pressure to the substrate independently for each gas pressure adjustment unit. The pressure adjusting unit has two or more through holes through which a member for applying pressure to the substrate is passed, and one or more pressure adjusting mechanisms for adjusting the pressure of the member on the substrate,
The exposure method according to claim 8, wherein the pressure on the substrate is adjusted independently for each of the pressure adjustment mechanisms by the control unit based on information from the image acquisition unit. Moving the image acquisition unit on the photomask to adjust the focus position at a plurality of positions with respect to the pattern and the substrate to acquire distance information for the image for each focus position;
11. The pressure on the substrate is independently adjusted for each of the pressure adjustment units by the control unit based on the distance information for each focus position from the image acquisition unit. The exposure method according to one item. The control unit includes a storage unit that stores, as reference distance information, a distance set between a surface on which the pattern of the photomask is arranged and a surface of the substrate facing the surface.
The distance information from the image acquisition unit is compared with the reference distance information stored in the storage unit, and the pressure of the pressure adjustment unit with respect to the substrate is adjusted based on a comparison result. The exposure method according to any one of 8 to 11. Moving the image acquisition unit on the photomask to adjust the focus position at a plurality of positions with respect to the pattern and the substrate, acquiring contrast information for the image for each focus position;
The pressure on the substrate is independently adjusted for each of the pressure adjustment units by the control unit based on the contrast information for each focus position from the image acquisition unit. The exposure method according to one item. The control unit includes a storage unit that stores reference contrast information for the image of the pattern and the substrate,
The contrast information from the image acquisition unit and the reference contrast information stored in the storage unit are compared, and the pressure of the pressure adjustment unit on the substrate is adjusted based on a comparison result. The exposure method according to any one of 8 to 13.