JP3526780B2 - Exposure apparatus and method of manufacturing semiconductor device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus for a semiconductor device for exposing a photosensitive material on a silicon ball and a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a semiconductor device using a single crystal silicon sphere has been receiving attention.

NIKKEI MICRODEVICES
September 1998 issue PP. 89-90 discloses a semiconductor device exposure apparatus using such a silicon sphere.

The exposure apparatus disclosed in the above publication discloses a 45-sided mirror (45) arranged so as to surround a silicon sphere.
The entire surface of the silicon sphere was exposed by reflecting the light passing through the reduction optical system with a mirror.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the above described device,
Since it is necessary to adjust the positions of the 45 mirrors with respect to the silicon sphere, there is a problem that it takes time to adjust the positions.

In addition, an image cannot be formed at the boundary between the mirrors, and a defective resolution is liable to occur, which is not preferable in miniaturizing the IC pattern.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has a slit for narrowing the light from an illumination optical system lens to make an elongated slit light, and a transfer pattern,
A mask stage that receives the slit light and transforms it into light that corresponds to the transfer pattern, movably in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis, a reduction projection lens that reduces the light from the mask, and expansion of the light from the reduction projection lens. The present invention is characterized in that it has a beam expander, a focusing mirror for focusing the light from the beam expander on a semiconductor sphere, and a means for rotatably supporting the semiconductor sphere.

[0008]

1 is a side view of a main portion of a semiconductor exposure apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the main part of the exposure apparatus of FIG. 1 viewed from the other side.

The exposure apparatus of this embodiment has a light source 1, an illumination optical system lens 2, a slit 3, a reticle stage 4, a reduction projection lens 6, a beam expander 7, a handler 8 and a condenser mirror 9.

The light source 1 and the illumination optical system lens constitute an illumination optical system. The illumination optical system lens 2 is a lens that shapes the light from the light source 1 into parallel light fluxes. The slit 3 is configured as a rectangular parallelepiped and has an elongated opening.
The slit 3 narrows the light from the illumination optical system lens 2 into an elongated slit light by outputting the light from the illumination optical system only through the opening and outputting the light. The reticle stage 4 supports the reticle 5. The reticle stage 4 moves in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis to move the position of the reticle 5 relative to the illumination optical system. The reduction projection lens 6 reduces the light from the reticle 5. The beam expander 7 expands the light output from the reduction projection lens 6. The beam expander 7 has a concave surface on the light output side, which allows the incident light to be expanded. The condenser mirror 9 condenses the light output from the beam expander 7 onto the semiconductor sphere 10.
The surface that reflects light is concave. The handler 8 holds the semiconductor sphere. The two arms of the handler 8 fix the semiconductor sphere 10 from both sides and rotate the semiconductor sphere 10, thereby rotating the semiconductor sphere 10.

Next, the operation of the exposure apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

Light from the illumination optical system enters the slit. The light incident on the slit is output by the slit 3 as elongated slit light. The slit light is applied to a part of the reticle 5 having the transfer pattern, becomes a light projecting a part of the transfer pattern, and is output from the reticle 5. This light is reduced by passing through the reduction projection lens 6, and the reduced light is extended by passing through the beam expander 7 and guided to the condenser mirror 9. The light emitted to the condenser mirror 9 is reflected, and the handler 8
An image is formed on the semiconductor sphere held by.

The reticle stage 4 moves at a constant speed in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis to change the relative position of the reticle 5 with respect to the slit light. As a result, the slit light sequentially illuminates each part of the transfer pattern of the reticle 5, and illuminates the entire surface of the transfer pattern. Further, the transfer pattern is transferred onto the entire surface of the silicon sphere 5 by the handler 8 rotating the silicon sphere 10 in synchronization with the movement of the reticle 5.

According to the present embodiment, since the condenser mirror 9 is used instead of the 45-sided mirror, the positioning with respect to the silicon sphere becomes easy. Further, since the optical system can be simplified, the cost of the exposure apparatus as a whole can be reduced. Further, since the transfer pattern can be continuously formed, it is highly advantageous in miniaturizing the IC.

FIG. 3 is a side view of essential parts of the exposure apparatus according to the second embodiment.

The same or corresponding constituent elements as those of the exposure apparatus of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

The exposure apparatus of this embodiment includes an illumination optical system (not shown), a slit 3, a scanning mirror 11, a reticle stage 4, a reduction projection projection lens 6, a beam expander 7, a cold mirror 12, a condenser mirror 9 and a guide. It has a table 13. The scanning mirror 11 is
The slit light from the slit 3 is reflected. The scanning mirror 11 is adapted to irradiate each part of the reticle 5 with slit light by moving in the optical axis direction. The cold mirror 12 reflects the light from the beam expander 7. The guide table 13 is provided with a groove for rolling a silicon ball.

A silicon ball 1 is placed on the groove of the guide table 13.
A mechanism as shown in FIG. 4 is provided in order to roll 0 at a constant speed.

One end of the guide table 13 is fixed by a shaft, and the other end of the guide table 13 can move up and down with the shaft as a fulcrum. An eccentric cam 15 rotated by a motor (not shown) is in contact with the lower side of the other end of the guide table 13. The other end of the guide table 13 is pulled downward by a spring 14.

Next, the operation will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, as the eccentric cam 15 rotates, the other end of the guide table 13 moves downward. As a result, the guide table 13 tilts, and the silicon spheres on the grooves of the guide table 13 start rolling. When the silicon ball 10 reaches a predetermined speed, the guide table is made parallel by rotating the eccentric cam 15 as shown in FIG.
To a constant speed rolling motion. The parallelism of the guide table 13 is measured by, for example, a digital micrometer 16.

Further, during the exposure operation, the eccentric cam 15 finely moves to perform focus adjustment in real time.

Next, the operation of the exposure apparatus of this embodiment will be described. Light from the illumination optics passes through the slit,
The scanning mirror 11 is illuminated. The illuminated slit light is reflected by the scanning mirror 11 and enters a part of the reticle 5. The light that has entered the reticle 5 becomes light that is a projection of a part of the transfer pattern.
Is output from. The light from the reticle 5 passes through the reduction projection lens 6 and the beam expander 7, and is reflected by the cold mirror 12. The light reflected by the cold mirror 12 enters the condenser mirror 9 and is further reflected by the condenser mirror 9.
The light reflected by the condenser mirror 9 forms an image on the silicon sphere 10 rolling on the guide table 13.

Further, the scanning mirror 11 moves in the optical axis direction at a constant speed to change the position of the slit light irradiated onto the reticle 5. As a result, the slit light sequentially illuminates each part of the transfer pattern of the reticle 5, and illuminates the entire surface of the transfer pattern. Further, the silicon sphere 10 rolls on the guide table 13 at a constant speed in synchronization with the movement of the scanning mirror 11, so that the transfer pattern is transferred onto the entire surface of the silicon sphere 10.

In the present embodiment, the light from the reduction projection lens 6 is expanded by the beam expander 7 and reflected by the cold mirror 12 to enter the condenser mirror 9.

However, the light from the reduction projection lens 6 is reflected by the cold mirror 12, and the cold mirror 12
The light reflected by the beam expander 7 may be expanded by the beam expander 7 and incident on the condenser mirror 9.

In this embodiment, since the silicon sphere 10 is exposed while rolling on the groove, the silicon sphere 10 can be easily positioned. Further, since the silicon sphere 10 is exposed only by rolling on the guide table 13, the throughput can be expected to be improved.

[0028]

According to the present invention, the positioning of the mirror with respect to the silicon sphere becomes easy. Further, since the optical system can be simplified, the cost of the exposure apparatus as a whole can be reduced. Further, since the transfer pattern can be continuously formed, I
It is possible to provide an exposure apparatus that is highly advantageous in making C fine.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a main part of an exposure apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the main part of the exposure apparatus seen from the other side of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a main part of an exposure apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a mechanism for tilting the guide table.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a mechanism for tilting the guide table.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 light source 2 Illumination optical lens 3 slits 4 Reticle stage 5 reticle 6 Reduction projection lens 7 beam expander 8 handlers 9 Focusing mirror 10 Silicon sphere 11 scanning mirror 12 cold mirror 13 Guide table

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-11-195581 (JP, A) JP-A-11-54406 (JP, A) JP-A-11-54397 (JP, A) JP-A-10- 312945 (JP, A) JP 10-256476 (JP, A) JP 10-256123 (JP, A) JP 6-134586 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/027 G03F 7/20

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A mask having slits for narrowing light from an illumination optical system into elongated slit light and a transfer pattern, and a mask for receiving the slit light and converting the light into light corresponding to the transfer pattern in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis. A movably supporting mask stage, a reduction projection lens for reducing the light from the mask, a beam expander for expanding the light from the reduction projection lens, and the light from the beam expander on a semiconductor sphere. An exposure apparatus having a condenser mirror for condensing light and means for rotatably supporting the semiconductor sphere. 2. A slit for narrowing the light from the illumination optical system into an elongated slit light, and means for irradiating the mask having a transfer pattern while shifting the slit light, and reducing the light from the mask. Reduction projection lens,
An exposure apparatus having a beam expander for expanding the light from the reduction projection lens, a condenser mirror for condensing the light from the beam expander on a semiconductor sphere, and a means for rotatably supporting the semiconductor sphere. . 3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the rotatably supporting means is a guide table having a guide groove in which the semiconductor sphere rolls. 4. The means for irradiating the slit light while shifting it includes a mirror for reflecting the slit light and irradiating the mask while changing the relative position to the mask. Exposure equipment.