JP3296528B2 - Semiconductor exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor exposure apparatus and a device manufacturing method for printing a circuit pattern on a wafer by a step-and-repeat method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a semiconductor exposure apparatus for printing a circuit pattern on a reticle onto a semiconductor wafer by a step-and-repeat method, various parameters necessary for executing an exposure job are loaded from an auxiliary storage device. Alternatively, the operator inputs or corrects these parameters and executes the job according to the parameters. At this time, an exposure layout showing how each shot position is arranged on the wafer is displayed on a display. Allows the operator to check the exposure layout. In this exposure layout, the arrangement of each shot is displayed as a grid pattern based on the wafer size, the step pitch in the X and Y directions, the number of shots in the low column direction, and the like in the job parameters. .

[0003]

However, since the actual exposure area in each shot is limited by the opening state of the masking blade, the above-mentioned grid pattern defined by the step pitch is not necessarily the same. In some cases, it cannot be said that the exposure area is correctly reflected. Therefore, there is a problem that a situation may occur in which what is expected from the exposure layout displayed on the display is considerably different from what is actually printed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor exposure apparatus or a device manufacturing method using the same, which can display an exposure layout that accurately indicates an actual exposure area in view of the problems of the prior art. Another object of the present invention is to enable more reliable and efficient operation in semiconductor device manufacturing.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, an apparatus according to the present invention uses a step-and-repeat method to pattern a pattern on a reticle on a wafer while limiting an exposure range with a masking blade in accordance with job parameters. A semiconductor exposure apparatus, comprising: an exposure unit that projects and exposes each of the exposure regions; and a display unit that graphically displays an exposure layout indicating an arrangement of each of the exposure regions based on the job parameters. based graphic showing the actual exposure light area exposure range is limited by the masking blade to the data relating to the opening of the masking blade, wherein each exposure territory of the exposure layout
And wherein the sequence view by overlapping each band.

Further, according to the method of the present invention, a pattern on a reticle is sequentially projected onto each exposure region on a wafer by a step-and-repeat method while exposing an area by a masking blade in accordance with a job parameter. in the device manufacturing method of manufacturing a semiconductor device by an exposure layout showing the arrangement of the respective exposure regions, based on the job parameters, the masking figure indicating the actual exposure light region where the exposure range is limited・ Based on data on blade opening ,
The exposure layout is displayed by being superimposed and displayed for each of the exposure areas in the exposure layout, and the exposure is performed after or while confirming this.

Here, a grid-like or checkerboard-like exposure layout having a repetition pitch corresponding to the step pitch in the X and Y directions is superimposed on the exposure layout of the actual exposure area, or any one of them is displayed. The exposure layout may be selectively displayed.

[0008]

In this configuration, various job parameters required for executing the exposure job are stored in the auxiliary storage device, and are loaded when the job is executed, or the operator can edit or set these parameters. it can. A grid-like exposure layout can be displayed based on information on the step pitch, the number of shots, and the like in the job parameters. However, the exposure layout showing the state of the actual exposure area limited by the masking blade Is displayed using information on the position of each masking blade with respect to the shot center coordinates, for example.

The exposure layout screen displayed in this way is referred to before exposure is started or even after exposure is started, so that the operator can correctly recognize the state of actual exposure and ensure that In addition, semiconductor devices can be manufactured by efficient operations.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a semiconductor exposure apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the semiconductor exposure apparatus includes a temperature control chamber 101 for controlling an environmental temperature of the apparatus main body, an EWS main body 106 disposed therein and having a CPU for controlling the apparatus main body, and
An EWS display device 102 for displaying predetermined information in the device, a monitor TV 105 for displaying image information obtained via imaging means in the device main body, an operation panel 103 for performing predetermined input to the device, and an EWS keyboard 104 And a console unit including the same. In the figure, 107 is an ON-OFF switch, 108 is an emergency stop switch, 109 is various switches, a mouse, etc., 110 is a LAN communication cable, 111 is an exhaust duct for generating heat from the console function, and 112 is an exhaust device for the chamber. . The semiconductor exposure apparatus main body is installed inside the chamber 101.

The EWS display 102 is of a thin flat type such as EL, plasma, liquid crystal, etc., is housed in the front of the chamber 101, and is connected to the EWS main body 106 by a LAN cable 110. Operation panel 10
3. A keyboard 104, a monitor TV 105, and the like are also installed on the front surface of the chamber 101 so that a console operation similar to the conventional console operation can be performed from the front surface of the chamber 101.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 1 shows a stepper as a semiconductor exposure apparatus. In the figure, reference numeral 202 denotes a reticle, and 203 denotes a wafer. When a light beam emitted from a light source device 204 illuminates the reticle 202 through an illumination optical system 205, a pattern on the reticle 202 is exposed by a projection lens 206 to a photosensitive area on the wafer 203. Can be transferred to a layer. The reticle 202 is supported by a reticle stage 207 for holding and moving the reticle 202. Wafer 203
Is exposed while being vacuum-sucked by the wafer chuck 291. The wafer chuck 291 is mounted on the wafer stage 20.
9 allows movement in each axis direction. Above the reticle 202, a reticle optical system 281 for detecting the amount of displacement of the reticle is arranged. Above the wafer stage 209, an off-axis microscope 282 is arranged adjacent to the projection lens 206. Off-axis microscope 282
The main role is to detect the relative position between the internal reference mark and the alignment mark on the wafer 203.
In addition, the reticle library 220 and the wafer carrier elevator 2 which are peripheral devices are adjacent to the stepper body.
The reticle 30 and the necessary reticle and wafer are transferred to the stepper body by the reticle transfer device 221 and the wafer transfer device 231.

The chamber 101 is mainly composed of an air conditioner room 210 for controlling the temperature of air, a filter box 213 for filtering fine foreign matters to form a uniform flow of clean air, and a booth 214 for shutting off the environment of the apparatus from the outside. Have been. In the chamber 101, air whose temperature has been adjusted by the cooler 215 and the reheater 216 in the air conditioner room 210 is supplied into the booth 214 via the air filter g by the blower 217. The air supplied to the booth 214 is returned to the air conditioner room 210 from the return port ra.
And circulates in the chamber 101. Normally, this chamber 101 is not strictly a complete circulation system, and about 10% of the circulating air amount outside the booth 214 is supplied to the outside air provided in the air conditioner room 210 in order to always maintain a positive pressure inside the booth 214. It is introduced from the mouth oa via a blower. In this way, the chamber 101 enables the environment temperature where the apparatus is placed to be kept constant and the air to be kept clean. In addition, the light source device 204 has an intake port sa and an exhaust port e in preparation for cooling of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp and generation of toxic gas when the laser is abnormal.
a is provided, and a part of the air in the booth 214 is forcibly exhausted to the factory equipment via the light source device 204 and the exclusive exhaust fan provided in the air conditioner room 210. Further, a chemical adsorption filter cf for removing chemical substances in the air is provided so as to be connected to the outside air introduction port oa and the return port ra of the air conditioner room 210, respectively.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit configuration of the apparatus shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 321 denotes a main unit C built in the EWS main unit 106, which controls the entire apparatus.
It is a PU and comprises a central processing unit such as a microcomputer or a minicomputer. 322 is a wafer stage driving device, and 323 is the off-axis microscope 28.
2 is an alignment detection system, 324 is a reticle stage driving device, 325 is an illumination system such as the light source device 204, 3
26 is a shutter driving device, 327 is a focus detection system,
Reference numeral 328 denotes a Z drive, which is a main body CPU 32
1 is controlled. 329 is the reticle transport device 2
21, a transfer system such as a wafer transfer device 231. 330
Is a console unit having the display 102, the keyboard 104, etc., for giving various commands and parameters relating to the operation of the exposure apparatus to the main body CPU 321. That is, it is for exchanging information with the operator. Reference numeral 331 denotes a console CPU, and 332 denotes an external memory for storing various job parameters and the like. The job parameters include a mask to be used, an opening of a masking blade, an exposure amount, layout data, and the like.

FIG. 4 shows a display 1 in the apparatus of FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the concept of the exposure layout display on the job selection screen displayed on 02, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing when a job selection command is executed. The operation at the time of job selection will be described with reference to these drawings.

When a job selection command is instructed on a higher-level operation screen displayed on the display 102, the console CPU 331 proceeds to step S501.
Switching to the job selection screen 401, the jobs A, B, C,.
Display a list of. Next, in step S502, any one of the jobs A, B, C,.
It is determined whether or not 10 is instructed, and if there is a job instruction, the process proceeds to step S503. If the scroll button 410 has been instructed, the process returns to step S501 to scroll the job list. These instructions can be given by a mouse or keyboard, or by touching if the display has a touch screen.

In step S503, the external memory 332
The exposure layout 405 is stored in the job list A, based on the layout data in the job parameters corresponding to the job designated in step S502 and the data on the opening of the masking blade.
Displayed to the left of B, C ... The layout data is X,
The information includes information such as the step size in the Y direction, the total number of shots, the center coordinates of each shot, and the wafer size.

Next, in step S504, it is determined whether or not the load button 411 is instructed. If the load button 411 is instructed, the process proceeds to step S505. If the scroll button 410 is operated, the process proceeds to step S501. Return to and scroll the job list. In step S505, the parameters of the job specified in step S502 are loaded from the hard disk of the external memory 332 to the memory 403. Then, in a step S506, it is determined whether or not the end button 412 is instructed. If this is instructed, the job selection command is ended and the process returns to the upper operation screen. If the scroll button 410 has been operated, the process returns to step S501. In this manner, a plurality of job parameters 406, 407,... Can be loaded while checking the exposure layout.

On the upper operation screen, a command for starting a job (exposure processing) based on the loaded job parameters can be instructed. When the job is started, necessary job parameters are transferred to the memory 402 of the main CPU.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the layout display processing in step S503 of the flowchart of FIG. In the layout display processing, as shown in FIG. 6, first, in step S601, an input for designating any of the display modes A, B, and C for the exposure layout is received. Mode A is a mode for displaying a grid-like exposure layout 701 having a repetition pitch corresponding to the step pitch in the X and Y directions, as partially shown in FIG. The mode B is a mode for displaying an exposure layout 702 by a figure corresponding to an actual exposure area whose exposure range is limited by a masking blade. Mode C is a mode in which the exposure layouts 701 and 702 are displayed in an overlapping manner.

Next, in step S602, it is determined whether the designated display mode is A, B, or C. If the display mode is mode A, the process proceeds to step S603, where the step size, total shot number, wafer Display the exposure layout 701 based on the size and the like. In the case of mode B, the center coordinates of each shot,
An exposure layout 702 is displayed based on data on the opening of the blade. In the case of the mode C, the exposure layouts 701 and 702 are displayed in an overlapping manner. The data relating to the opening of the masking blade indicates, for example, the distance from the shot center to each of four blades that form a rectangular opening and limit the exposure range in the X and Y directions.

The exposure layouts 701 and 702
May be arbitrarily switched and displayed based on an operator's instruction. If color display is possible, the exposure layouts 701 and 702 may be displayed in different colors.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, an exposure layout is displayed by a graphic showing an actual exposure area limited by a masking blade. It can be easily grasped whether they are arranged. Therefore, reliable and efficient operation can be performed, and the efficiency of semiconductor device manufacturing can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a semiconductor exposure apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit configuration of the device shown in FIG.

4 is a diagram showing a concept of exposure layout display on a job selection screen in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing when a job selection command is executed in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a layout display process in the flowchart of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a partial view of an exposure layout displayed in the processing of FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

101: temperature control chamber, 102: display device for EWS, 103: operation panel, 104 keyboard for EWS, 105: monitor TV, 106: EWS body, 10
7: ON-OFF switch, 108: emergency stop switch, 109: various switches, mouse, etc. 110: LAN
Communication cable, 111: exhaust duct, 112: exhaust device, 202: reticle, 203: wafer, 204: light source device, 205: illumination optical system, 206: projection lens, 20
7: reticle stage, 209: wafer stage, 28
1: reticle microscope, 282: off-axis microscope, 2
10: air conditioner room, 213: filter box, 214:
Booth, 217: blower, g: air filter, cf: chemical adsorption filter, oa: outside air introduction port, ra: return port, 312: keyboard, 321: main body CPU, 33
0: console, 331: console CPU, 332:
External memory, 401: job selection screen, 402, 40
3: memory, 405: exposure layout, 406, 40
7: job parameter, 410: scroll button, 4
11: Load button, 412: End button, 701: Grid-shaped exposure layout with step pitch, 702:
Exposure layout for masking blades.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/027 G03F 7/20 521

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] An exposure means for projecting a pattern on a reticle onto each exposure area on a wafer by a step-and-repeat method to expose the pattern while limiting an exposure range by a masking blade in accordance with a job parameter; parameter exposure layout showing the arrangement of the respective exposure regions on the basis of a semiconductor exposure apparatus and a display means for displaying graphics, the display means real eXPOSURE area exposure range is limited by the masking blade The exposure is performed based on data relating to the opening of the masking blade.
The layout display should be superimposed for each of the exposure areas in the layout .
And a semiconductor exposure apparatus. Wherein said display means, said relative exposure layout of the actual exposure light region, and displayed superimposed a grid-like or checkerboard-like exposure layout having a repetition pitch corresponding to the step pitch of the X and Y directions, 2. The semiconductor exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the exposure layouts is selectively displayed. 3. A semiconductor device by sequentially projecting and exposing a pattern on a reticle to each exposure area on a wafer by a step-and-repeat method while limiting an exposure range with a masking blade in accordance with job parameters. In the device manufacturing method for manufacturing, an exposure layout indicating an arrangement of each of the exposure areas is limited based on the job parameter, and the exposure range is limited.
The figure shows the actual exposure light region on the basis of the data relating to the opening of the masking blade, prior to the exposure layout
A device manufacturing method characterized in that the exposure is performed after or while confirming and displaying the information by superimposing and displaying the respective exposure regions . 4. When displaying the exposure layout, an operator instructs a display mode.
The relative exposure layout of the actual exposure light region, and displayed superimposed a grid-like or checkerboard-like exposure layout having a repetition pitch corresponding to the step pitch of the X and Y directions, or selectively either the exposed layout 4. The device manufacturing method according to claim 3, wherein the device is displayed.