JP5099476B2 - Cleaning apparatus and cleaning system, pattern forming apparatus, cleaning method and exposure method, and device manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device and a cleaning system, a pattern forming device, a cleaning method and an exposure method, and a device manufacturing method, and more particularly, a cleaning device and a cleaning system for cleaning an object holding member, and a pattern on the object holding member. The present invention relates to a pattern forming apparatus for forming an object, a cleaning method for cleaning an object holding member, an exposure method for forming a pattern on an object on an object holding member, and a device manufacturing method using the exposure method.

  Conventionally, in a lithography process for manufacturing a semiconductor element, a liquid crystal display element, or the like, various exposure apparatuses including a projection exposure apparatus such as a stepper and a scanning stepper have been used. In such an exposure apparatus, in order to hold a substrate (wafer) on which a pattern is formed on a substrate stage (wafer stage) in a flat state, the wafer is sucked and held by a wafer holder placed on the wafer stage. Yes.

  At this time, if the wafer is adsorbed in a state where foreign matter such as dust exists between the wafer holder and the wafer, the flatness of the wafer deteriorates due to the foreign matter. The deterioration of the flatness of the wafer causes a positional shift error and a focus error of each shot area of the wafer, and is a major factor that deteriorates the yield when manufacturing semiconductor elements and the like. Therefore, conventionally, the exposure is stopped by stopping the apparatus at regular intervals, moving the wafer holder to a position where the worker can reach, and manually using a grindstone or dust-free cloth. And a mechanism for automatically polishing the entire surface of the wafer holder using a cleaning member (grinding stone or the like) is provided in the exposure apparatus, and the wafer holder is cleaned using the mechanism (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). reference).

  However, when the wafer holder is manually cleaned, the operation takes a long time, so that the time during which actual exposure can be performed is shortened and the throughput may be reduced. In the mechanisms described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a mechanism for placing a cleaning member (grinding stone or the like) on the wafer holder (mechanism for transporting the cleaning member in a horizontal plane or along a vertical direction), a cleaning member, Is provided on the wafer holder, the structure of the mechanism is complicated and the control may be complicated.

Japanese Patent No. 3378274 JP-A-8-32458

The present invention has been made under the circumstances described above. From a first viewpoint, the present invention is a cleaning device that cleans an object holding member that can move at least along a horizontal plane. can be placed cleaning member and to; and a movable member provided movable relative to the object holding member within a range that includes a first movement range and a second movement range in the vertical direction, the vertical direction of A moving device that partially overlaps the movable member and moves the movable member in the vertical direction, and the movable member supports its own weight in the first movement range. The cleaning member moves integrally with the cleaning member, and passes the weight of the cleaning member to the object holding member in accordance with the movement from the first movement range to the second movement range. In the second movement range, the cleaning member Phase along the vertical direction for A cleaning device which movement is allowed.

According to this, it is possible to perform cleaning of the object-holding member at least only comprise constitute a movable member which moves upward downward, together with the mechanism is simplified, it is possible to perform the control easily.

  From a second aspect, the present invention is a cleaning system for cleaning an object holding member capable of moving at least along a horizontal plane, the cleaning device of the present invention; and a monitor for monitoring the surface state of the object holding member Position the object holding member at a predetermined cleaning start position where the cleaning member is positioned above the apparatus and the object holding member, and place the cleaning member on the object holding member via the movable member And a control device that moves the object holding member along a horizontal plane and changes a positional relationship between the object holding member and the cleaning member based on a monitoring result of the monitor device.

  According to this, the control device is in a state in which the cleaning member constituting the cleaning device of the present invention is placed on the object holding member, and the surface state of the object holding member by the monitor device (the foreign matter present on the object holding member). The positional relationship between the object holding member and the cleaning member in the horizontal plane is changed based on the monitoring result of the position etc., and the object holding member is cleaned. Thereby, it becomes possible to perform efficient cleaning as compared with the case where the entire surface of the object holding member is sequentially cleaned.

  From a third aspect, the present invention is a pattern forming apparatus for forming a pattern on an object by irradiation with an energy beam, the patterning apparatus for irradiating the object with the energy beam; 1 is a first pattern forming apparatus comprising: an object holding member capable of moving along a horizontal plane; and a cleaning device of the present invention for cleaning the object holding member.

  According to this, the object holding member is cleaned by the cleaning device of the present invention capable of performing good cleaning of the object holding member, the object is held by the object holding member, and a pattern is formed on the object. Therefore, it is possible to accurately perform pattern formation on the object.

  From a fourth aspect, the present invention is a pattern forming apparatus that forms a pattern on an object by irradiation with an energy beam, the patterning apparatus that irradiates the object with the energy beam; A second pattern forming apparatus comprising: an object holding member capable of moving along a horizontal plane; and the cleaning system of the present invention for cleaning the object holding member.

  According to this, the object holding member is cleaned by the cleaning system of the present invention capable of cleaning the object holding member efficiently and satisfactorily and the object held by the object holding member is irradiated with the energy beam. Therefore, the pattern can be formed on the object with high accuracy.

From a fifth aspect , the present invention is a cleaning method for cleaning an object holding member capable of moving at least along a horizontal plane using the cleaning device of the present invention, wherein the object holding member is disposed below the cleaning member. A step of positioning the member; a step of moving the movable member from the positioned state and supporting the weight of the cleaning member by the object holding member; and the object holding member in a horizontal plane in the supporting state. a first cleaning method comprising; along is moved, process and to change the positional relationship between the object holding member and the cleaning member.

  According to this, the object holding member is positioned below the cleaning member constituting the cleaning device of the present invention, the movable member is moved, and the object holding member supports the dead weight of the cleaning member, and then the object holding member. Is moved along a horizontal plane to clean the object holding member. Therefore, the object holding member can be cleaned only by moving the movable member in the vertical direction at least. As a result, the cleaning operation is simplified and the control can be easily performed. Further, since the object holding member can be cleaned in a state where the entire weight of the cleaning member is applied to the object holding member, the object holding member can be cleaned satisfactorily.

From a sixth aspect , the present invention is a cleaning method for cleaning an object holding member capable of moving at least along a horizontal plane using the cleaning system of the present invention, wherein the object is detected using the monitor device. Monitoring the surface state of the holding member; positioning the object holding member at a cleaning start position below the cleaning member; and placing the cleaning member on the object holding member from the positioned state. step a; a second cleaning method comprising; the object holding member in a state in which the cleaning member is placed, a process of moving along a horizontal plane.

  According to this, the cleaning member of the present invention that can clean the object holding member satisfactorily is placed on the object holding member, and the surface state of the object holding member by the monitor device (foreign matter present on the object holding member) When the entire surface of the object holding member is sequentially cleaned because the object holding member is cleaned by changing the positional relationship between the object holding member and the cleaning member in the horizontal plane based on the monitoring result of It becomes possible to perform efficient cleaning compared with.

The present invention, from the viewpoint of the seventh, there is provided an exposure method for forming a pattern on an object on the object holding member, using a first or second cleaning how the present invention, cleaning the object holding member And a step of forming the pattern on the object placed on the object holding member.

  According to this, since the object holding member is cleaned and the pattern is formed on the object held by the object holding member by the cleaning method of the present invention capable of satisfactorily cleaning the object holding member, the object is It is possible to perform pattern formation with respect to.

  Further, by performing exposure using the exposure method of the present invention in the lithography process, the productivity of highly integrated microdevices can be improved. Therefore, it can be said that this invention is a device manufacturing method using the exposure method of this invention from another viewpoint.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7B.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an exposure apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The exposure apparatus 100 is a step-and-scan projection exposure apparatus. The exposure apparatus 100 includes a light source and an illumination optical system. The illumination system IOP illuminates the reticle R with the illumination light IL, the reticle stage RST that holds the reticle R, and the illumination light IL emitted from the reticle R on the wafer W. A projection optical system PL for projecting, a wafer stage WST for holding the wafer W via the wafer holder WH, a cleaning device 21 used for cleaning the wafer holder WH, and a main controller 20 for overall control of the entire device are provided.

  The illumination system IOP illuminates a slit-like illumination area extending in the X-axis direction on the reticle R defined by a reticle blind (not shown) with illumination light IL with a substantially uniform illuminance. Here, as the illumination light IL, for example, ArF excimer laser light (wavelength 193 nm) is used.

  On reticle stage RST, reticle R on which a circuit pattern or the like is drawn is fixed, for example, by vacuum suction. Reticle stage RST can be slightly driven in the XY plane perpendicular to the optical axis of illumination system IOP (which coincides with optical axis AX of projection optical system PL described later) by reticle stage drive system 23 for the position control of reticle R. In addition, it can be driven at a scanning speed designated in a predetermined scanning direction (here, the Y-axis direction).

  The position of reticle stage RST in the XY plane is always detected by reticle laser interferometer (hereinafter referred to as “reticle interferometer”) 16 through movable mirror 15 with a resolution of, for example, about 0.5 to 1 nm. Position information of reticle stage RST from reticle interferometer 16 is sent to main controller 20. Main controller 20 drives reticle stage RST via reticle stage drive system 23 based on the position information of reticle stage RST.

  As the projection optical system PL, for example, a refractive optical system including a plurality of lenses (lens elements) having a common optical axis AX in the Z-axis direction is used. This projection optical system PL is, for example, both-side telecentric and has a predetermined projection magnification (for example, 1/4 or 1/5). For this reason, when the illumination area is illuminated by the illumination light IL from the illumination system IOP, the illumination light that has passed through the reticle R arranged so that the first surface (object surface) and the pattern surface of the projection optical system PL substantially coincide with each other. A reduced image of the reticle circuit pattern in the illumination area (a reduced image of a part of the circuit pattern) is disposed on the second surface (image surface side) of the reticle via the projection optical system PL by the IL. It is formed in an area (exposure area) conjugate to the illumination area on the wafer W coated with a resist (photosensitive agent). Then, by synchronous driving of reticle stage RST and wafer stage WST, reticle R is moved relative to the illumination area (illumination light IL) in the scanning direction (Y-axis direction) and at the same time with respect to the exposure area (illumination light IL). By relatively moving the wafer W in the scanning direction (Y-axis direction), scanning exposure of one shot area (partition area) on the wafer W is performed, and a reticle pattern is formed in the shot area. That is, in this embodiment, a pattern is generated on the wafer W by the illumination system IOP, the reticle R, and the projection optical system PL, and the sensitive layer (resist layer) on the wafer W is exposed on the wafer W by the illumination light IL. A pattern is formed.

  Wafer stage WST is driven in the XY two-dimensional plane (including rotation about the Z axis) by a wafer stage drive system 24 including a linear motor, a voice coil motor (VCM), and the like. The position of wafer stage WST in the XY plane is always measured by a wafer laser interferometer 18 (hereinafter abbreviated as “wafer interferometer 18”) via moving mirror 17 with a resolution of, for example, about 0.5 to 1 nm. Has been detected. The position information of wafer stage WST is sent to main controller 20. Main controller 20 controls the position of wafer stage WST based on this position information.

  Wafer stage WST can be tilted in an arbitrary direction with respect to a plane orthogonal to optical axis AX of projection optical system PL by wafer stage drive system 24, and also in optical axis AX direction (Z-axis direction) of projection optical system PL. It is configured to allow fine movement.

  The wafer holder WH is formed of a material having a low coefficient of thermal expansion, such as ceramics (for example, Zerodure (trade name) manufactured by Schott). As the wafer holder WH, an annular convex portion (rim portion) is provided on the upper surface thereof, and a plurality of protruding pin portions 49 provided at predetermined intervals in a circular region surrounded by the annular convex portion. A so-called pin chuck type wafer holder provided with (see FIG. 6A and the like) is used. A configuration similar to this wafer holder WH is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-249542.

  The exposure apparatus 100 of the present embodiment has a light source that is controlled to be turned on and off by the main controller 20, and forms a large number of pinhole or slit images toward the image plane of the projection optical system PL. A multi-point focus of the incident incident system comprising an irradiation system 48 that irradiates the imaged light beam from an oblique direction with respect to the optical axis AX and a light receiving system 50 that receives the reflected light beam on the surface of the wafer W. A position detection system (hereinafter referred to as “focus position detection system”) is provided. A configuration similar to that of the focal position detection system (48, 50) of the present embodiment is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-6-283403. The multipoint focal position detection system described in the publication has a function of pre-reading the undulation of the wafer W in the scanning direction as well as the exposure area IA on the wafer W. The shape of the light beam irradiated by the irradiation system 48 may be a parallelogram or other shapes. In the main controller 20, the Z of the wafer W is adjusted so that the defocus is zero or within the depth of focus based on a defocus signal (defocus signal) from the light receiving system 50, for example, an S curve signal, during scanning exposure or the like. By controlling the position and the inclination with respect to the XY plane via the wafer stage drive system 24, autofocus (automatic focusing) and autoleveling are executed. Main controller 20 samples and stores data relating to the surface state of wafer W, which can be calculated from the detection result of the focal position detection system (48, 50) separately from the control for wafer stage WST. Keep it. This sampling result is used when cleaning the wafer holder WH described later.

  The cleaning device 21 is provided at a position away from the projection optical system PL by a predetermined distance. As shown in FIG. 2 with a part broken away, the cleaning device 21 includes a housing 71 and a drive mechanism 63 provided in the housing 71. The arm 74 includes an arm 74 provided inside the housing 71 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction), and a cleaning member (cleaning head) 75 provided at the lower end of the arm 74.

  The housing 71 is composed of, for example, a substantially cylindrical member, and a first recess 71a having a predetermined depth is formed on the lower surface (the surface on the −Z side), and the bottom surface (+ Z) of the first recess 71a is further formed. A second recess 71b having a predetermined depth is formed from the side surface.

  The drive mechanism 63 includes a cylinder 60 provided in the second recess 71 b of the housing 71 and a piston 61 that is slidable with respect to the cylinder 60. The recess 60 a formed in the cylinder 60 forms a space 80 together with the piston 61. The amount of gas in the space 80 can be changed by a gas supply device provided outside, and the piston 61 is moved in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) according to the amount of gas.

  The arm 74 includes a first member 72 having a substantially L-shape when viewed from the + X side, a second member 66 fixed to a lower end portion (−Z side end portion) of the first member 72, And a slider 69 provided on the surface of the one member 72 on the + Y side. One end (end portion on the −Z side) of the tension spring 67 is fixed to the upper end portion (end portion on the + Z side) of the first member 72. The other end (the end on the + Z side) of this tension spring 67 is fixed to the housing 71 (more specifically, the inner surface of the second recess 71b). For this reason, the urging force in the + Z direction is always applied to the first member 72 by the elastic force of the tension spring 67.

  The second member 66 includes a cylindrical shaft portion 66b having a radius a and a columnar shaft portion having a radius c (> a) provided at the lower end portion (the end portion on the −Z side) of the shaft portion 66b. Holding part 66a. The upper end of the shaft portion 66 b of the second member 66 is inserted into a recess 72 a having a predetermined depth formed on the lower surface (the surface on the −Z side) of the first member 72, and the first member 72 is threaded by a screw 78. It is screwed against.

  The slider 69 is engaged with a guide member 68 fixed to the side wall of the housing 71. By guiding the slider 69 in the Z-axis direction by the guide member 68, the entire arm 74 slides in the Z-axis direction.

  The cleaning member (cleaning head) 75 includes a substantially disc-shaped grindstone 65, a stopper member 64 fixed to the + Z side of the grindstone 65, and three sheets provided on the surface of the stopper member 64 on the + Z side. And a weight member 73.

The grindstone 65 is made of a porous member (for example, alumina (AL ₂ O ₃ ), white ceramics, alkanesus stone, TiO ₂ , ZrO ₂ , ruby, Altech, etc.) and formed from the −Z side surface. A recess 65a having a circular cross section (radius e) and a through-hole 65b having a circular cross section (radius d (<e)) formed in a state penetrating in the Z-axis direction from the center of the bottom surface (+ Z side surface) of the recess 65a. And have.

  A through hole 64 a having a circular cross section (radius b (a <b <c)) is formed in the upper end surface of the stopper member 64. As shown in FIG. 2, the second member 66 of the arm 74 described above is inserted into the through hole 64a. An annular flange 64b is provided at the lower end of the stopper member 64. The flange portion 64b has a size that allows contact with the lower end portion of the housing 71. On the upper surface of the flange portion 64b, silicon rubber that prevents direct contact between the lower end portion of the housing 71 and the flange portion 64b is provided. The buffer material 11 which consists of etc. is provided.

  The weight member 73 has a rectangular frame shape. These weight members 73 are fixed to the upper surface of the stopper member 64 by a fixing mechanism (not shown). In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, three weight members 73 are provided. However, the number of weight members 73 and their weights can be arbitrarily changed. As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to adjust the weight of the entire cleaning member (cleaning head) 75 by adjusting the total weight of the weight member 73.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the main controller 20 includes a workstation (or a microcomputer), and performs overall control of each component of the exposure apparatus 100. The main controller 20 includes an input device 52 including a display device 52 such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display, a joystick 31 that allows a user to change the position of the wafer stage WST, a cleaning start button 28, a cleaning end button 29, and the like. 53 and the like are connected.

  Next, a series of operations including an exposure operation by the exposure apparatus 100 of this embodiment and a cleaning operation by the cleaning apparatus 21 will be described along the flowchart of FIG. 3 with reference to other drawings as appropriate. In the following description, it is assumed that the exposure of the first layer on the wafer has already been completed and the second and subsequent layers are exposed.

  First, in step 101, main controller 20 loads reticle R on which a pattern to be transferred is formed on reticle stage RST via a reticle loader (not shown).

  In the next step 103, main controller 20 performs reticle alignment using a reticle alignment system (not shown) or the like, and baseline measurement of an alignment system using an alignment system (not shown) in the same manner as a normal scanning stepper. Follow the procedure.

  In the next step 105, the wafer on the wafer stage WST is exchanged via a wafer loader (not shown) (however, if no wafer is loaded on the wafer stage WST, the wafer is simply loaded).

  In the next step 107, alignment (for example, enhanced global alignment (EGA) disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-44429) is performed on the wafer. As a result of this alignment, the arrangement coordinates of a plurality of shot areas on the wafer are obtained with high accuracy.

  In the next step 109, the wafer stage WST is moved to the scanning start position (acceleration start position) for exposure of each shot area on the wafer based on the result of the wafer alignment, the reticle stage RST and the wafer. A step-and-scan method in which the reticle R is illuminated with the illumination light IL and the pattern of the reticle R is transferred to the shot area on the wafer W while performing relative scanning in the Y-axis direction in synchronization with the stage WST. Exposure. During the relative scanning, particularly during scanning exposure, information on the XY position of reticle stage RST detected by reticle interferometer 16, position information on wafer stage WST detected by wafer interferometer 18, and focus position Based on the Z position and leveling information of the wafer W detected by the detection system (48, 50), the reticle is controlled by the main controller 20 so that the positional relationship between the reticle stage RST and the wafer stage WST is properly maintained. Position control of stage RST and wafer stage WST is performed. Further, main controller 20 calculates and stores data relating to the surface state of the wafer from the detection results detected by the focal position detection system (48, 50) during the exposure.

  Next, in step 111, it is determined whether or not the exposure of a predetermined number of wafers (for example, one lot) has been completed. If this determination is negative, the routine proceeds to step 113.

  In the next step 113, main controller 20 determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the data relating to the surface state of the wafer calculated as described above. In this case, when the surface state of the wafer is normal, the contour lines indicating the surface state of the wafer are substantially flat as shown in FIG. On the other hand, when the surface state of the wafer is abnormal, as shown in FIG. 4B, local irregularities (also referred to as “hot spots”) 77 are formed on part of the contour lines indicating the surface state of the wafer. appear. This hot spot 77 is mainly generated when a foreign substance such as dust (for example, the foreign substance 177 shown in FIG. 7A) is sandwiched between the wafer and the wafer holder WH. That is, it can be said that the surface state of the wafer is the surface state of the wafer holder WH.

  Therefore, the main controller 20 detects the number n or the like of the hot spots, and when the number n or the like does not exceed the predetermined threshold value m (m ≧ 0), the determination here is denied, Returning to step 105, the process or determination of the loop of step 105 → 107 → 109 → 111 → 113 is repeated until the determination in step 111 is affirmed or until the determination in step 113 is affirmed.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step 113 is affirmative, main controller 20 issues a warning to the user that foreign matter is present on wafer holder WH via display device 52 in step 115. This warning may be displayed on the screen of the display device 52, a buzzer or the like may be sounded, or another warning may be issued. In this warning, the wafer surface state (the surface state of the wafer holder WH) shown in FIG. 4B may be displayed on the display device 52.

  Next, in step 117, the process waits until the user starts pressing the cleaning start button 28 included in the input device 53. When the cleaning start button 28 is pressed by the user, the process proceeds to the next step 119.

  In step 119, main controller 20 unloads the wafer from wafer holder WH via a wafer unloader (not shown). Then, at the stage where the unloading of the wafer is completed, main controller 20 moves wafer stage WST to a position directly below cleaning device 21 (also referred to as a cleaning start position) via wafer stage drive system 24.

  Next, main controller 20 displays the positional relationship between wafer holder WH and cleaning member (cleaning head) 75 (grinding wheel 65) along with the surface state of wafer holder WH on display device 52 in step 121 (FIG. 5A). reference).

  Next, in step 122, main controller 20 drives down cleaning head 75 located above the upper surface of wafer holder WH as shown in FIG. 6A, and as shown in FIG. 6B. Then, the cleaning head 75 is placed on the upper surface of the wafer holder WH. More specifically, by supplying a predetermined amount of gas from a gas supply device (not shown) into the cylinder 60 of the drive device 63 constituting the cleaning device 21, the volume of the space 80 is increased, and the piston 61 is moved. Press down (drive to -Z side). As a result, the arm 74 is lowered, so that the grindstone 65 can be brought into contact with the upper surface of the wafer holder WH. Further, even after this contact, the state of FIG. 6B is obtained by further lowering the arm 74. In the state of FIG. 6B, as can be seen from the state of FIG. 6A, the position of the arm 74 with respect to the cleaning head 75 has moved downward. There is no contact between them, and the entire weight of the cleaning head 75 is transferred to the wafer holder WH (the cleaning head 75 is placed on the wafer holder WH).

  Here, although there is a predetermined gap between the outer peripheral surface of the second member 66 (shaft portion 66b) and the through hole 64a of the stopper member 64, it is close to the second member 66 of the cleaning member 75. The movement in the XY plane with respect to is almost constrained.

  When the cleaning head 75 is placed on the wafer holder WH in this way, the main controller 20 controls the position of the wafer stage WST from the joystick 31 of the input device 53 so that the user can control the position of the wafer stage WST in step 123. The state is switched to a state where input is possible (hereinafter, this state is referred to as an “on state”). In step 124, main controller 20 displays on display device 52 that the stage control by the user is possible (indicating that it is in the on state), and in step 125 the user presses cleaning end button 29. Wait until

  The user views the surface state of the wafer holder WH and the positional relationship between the wafer holder WH and the grindstone 65 (see FIG. 5A) displayed on the display device 52 via the input device 53 (joystick 31). As shown in FIG. 5B, wafer stage WST is moved so that the outer edge portion of cleaning member 75 (grinding stone 65) (for example, the portion on the left side of the outer edge portion of the drawing) is positioned in the vicinity of hot spot 77. . In this case, actually, as shown in FIG. 7A, the grindstone 65 is positioned in the vicinity of the foreign material 177 that has caused the hot spot 77.

  Then, from the state of FIGS. 5B and 7A, the user operates the joystick 31, and, for example, the wafer stage WST (wafer holder) in the horizontal direction in FIG. 5B and FIG. WH) is reciprocated a predetermined number of times. Thereby, the foreign material 177 positioned at the hot spot 77 can be dropped between the pin portions 49 of the wafer holder WH as shown in FIG. 7B.

  Thereafter, the user performs the same process for other hot spots, and presses the cleaning end button 29 provided on the input device 53 at the stage of performing the removal operation for the foreign matters located at all the hot spots.

  When the end button 29 is pressed, the determination at step 125 in FIG. 3 is affirmed, and the routine proceeds to the next step 127. In step 127, main controller 20 raises cleaning head 75 (grinding wheel 65) (drives in the + Z direction) to return it to the position shown in FIG. Specifically, main controller 20 raises piston 61 by reducing the gas in space 80 of drive device 63. As a result, the urging force in the + Z direction applied to the arm 74 by the tension spring 67 is greater than the pressing force of the piston 61 pushing the arm 74 downward, so that the cleaning head 75 is moved to its original position (see FIG. 2).

  Next, main controller 20 moves wafer stage WST to the wafer loading position in step 129. Thereafter, the process returns to step 105, the next wafer to be exposed is loaded, and when the exposure of the predetermined number of wafers is completed, the determination in step 111 is affirmed, and the series of processing of this routine is ended.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the relative position of the arm 74 and the cleaning head 75 in the Z-axis direction can be changed, and the upper end in the Z-axis direction in the range in which the relative position can be changed. When the arm 74 is positioned at the portion (that is, in the positional relationship shown in FIG. 6A), the holding portion 66a provided at the lower end of the second member 66 of the arm 74 and the stopper of the cleaning member 75 The member 64 comes into contact with the arm 74 and the weight of the cleaning head 75 is supported by the arm 74. On the other hand, when the arm 74 is located at a position other than the end on the upper side in the Z-axis direction of the range in which the relative position can be changed (that is, in the positional relationship shown in FIG. 6B), The weight of the cleaning head 75 is not supported, but is supported by a member (wafer holder WH) positioned below the cleaning head 75. Therefore, in this supporting state, the cleaning head 75 and the wafer holder WH are relatively moved in the XY plane, whereby the upper surface of the wafer holder WH is cleaned well with the total weight of the cleaning head 75 applied to the wafer holder WH. Is possible. In this case, as the cleaning device, the wafer holder WH can be cleaned only with a configuration including at least an arm that moves in the Z-axis direction. Therefore, the mechanism can be simplified and the control can be easily performed. is there.

  In the present embodiment, the focus position detection system (48, 50) can monitor the surface state of the wafer holder WH (for example, the number and position of foreign matter existing on the wafer holder WH). Therefore, based on the monitoring result, The user can clean wafer holder WH by moving wafer stage WST. Thereby, the wafer holder WH can be efficiently cleaned as compared with the case where the entire surface of the wafer holder WH is sequentially cleaned.

  In this embodiment, since the wafer holder WH can be cleaned efficiently and efficiently, the wafer W is held on the cleaned wafer holder WH to perform exposure, thereby accurately forming a pattern on the wafer. Is possible.

  In the present embodiment, the shaft portion 66b substantially restrains the movement of the cleaning head 75 in the XY plane. For this reason, although the total weight of the cleaning head 75 is supported by the wafer holder WH, the wafer holder WH and the cleaning head 75 can be relatively moved in the XY plane by the movement of the wafer holder WH. Thereby, the cleaning of the wafer holder WH can be easily performed using the cleaning head 75.

  In the present embodiment, since the cleaning head 75 includes the weight member 73 that can be attached to and detached from the grindstone 65, the weight of the entire cleaning head 75 can be easily changed. Thereby, since the weight concerning the upper surface of the wafer holder WH can be adjusted, it is possible to clean the wafer holder while applying an optimum force to the grindstone.

  In the present embodiment, as a device for driving the arm 74 in the Z-axis direction, a drive mechanism 63 having a cylinder and a piston, and a tension spring 67 that constantly applies a biasing force in the + Z direction to the arm 74 are provided. Therefore, the arm can be lowered only by supplying a certain amount of gas to the drive mechanism 63, and the position of the arm can be kept constant by keeping the amount of gas in the space 80 of the drive mechanism 63 constant. Can be maintained in position. Further, by reducing the amount of gas in the space 80, the pressing force in the −Z direction by the drive mechanism 63 becomes smaller than the urging force in the + Z direction by the tension spring 67, so that the arm 74 is raised in the + Z direction. Is possible. That is, compared to the case where a drive mechanism such as a voice coil motor is used, it is not necessary to perform control such as constantly supplying current to the drive mechanism, and the current is constantly applied in order to keep the Z position of the arm constant. There is no need to supply it, and it is not affected by the heat generated by the current.

  In this embodiment, since the second member 66 of the arm 74 is screwed to the first member 72 with a screw 78, the cleaning head 75 can be attached and detached simply by removing the screw 78. It is possible to easily replace the cleaning head 75 for maintenance or the like.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the user waits until the user presses the cleaning start button 28 in step 117 of the flowchart of FIG. 3 is not limited to this. For example, the user may not perform cleaning. If the cleaning start button 28 is not pressed for a predetermined time, the sequence may return to step 105 and start the exposure of the next wafer.

  In the above embodiment, the user changes the position of the wafer stage WST and cleans the wafer holder WH based on the detection result by the focus position detection system (48, 50). If the cleaning device 21 of the above embodiment is used instead, the entire surface of the wafer holder WH may be sequentially cleaned without being based on the detection result of the focus position detection system.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the user is involved in cleaning the wafer holder WH, such as the user moving the wafer stage WST via the input device 53 in order to move the wafer holder WH and the cleaning head 75 relative to each other, has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the main controller 20 may automatically clean the wafer holder WH based on the surface state of the wafer holder WH.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the detection result by the focus position detection system (48, 50) is used as a criterion for starting cleaning of the wafer holder WH has been described. May be provided separately, and the measurement result of the measurement device may be used as a criterion for starting cleaning of the wafer holder WH. Further, for example, the number of wafers subjected to exposure may be used as a reference, or the operation time of the exposure apparatus may be used as a reference. In this case, at the beginning of the operation of the exposure apparatus, the detection result (measurement result) of the focus position detection system or another measurement apparatus tends to be based on the detection result (measurement result) of the focus position detection system or another measurement apparatus. If it appears, that is, for example, when a predetermined number of wafers are exposed (or when the exposure apparatus is operated for a predetermined time), a tendency that more than a predetermined number of foreign matters adhere on the wafer holder WH appears, based on the data Thus, the number of wafers and the operation time of the exposure apparatus may be used as a reference for starting cleaning.

  In the above embodiment, the wafer holder WH is cleaned by moving the wafer holder WH side along the XY plane. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a driving device that drives the cleaning device 21 in the horizontal plane is used. It is good also as providing separately and moving the cleaning apparatus side using this drive device. Further, cleaning may be performed by moving the wafer holder WH and the cleaning device in opposite directions.

  In the above embodiment, the device that drives the arm 74 in the Z-axis direction includes a drive mechanism 63 having a cylinder and a piston, and a tension spring 67 that constantly applies a biasing force in the + Z direction to the arm 74. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various configurations can be employed as long as the configuration can drive the arm 74 in the Z-axis direction.

  In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning head 75 and the arm 74 are engaged with the second member 66 of the arm 74 inserted into the through hole 64 a formed in the stopper member 64. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the second member 66 ′ shown in FIG. 8A is adopted as the second member, and the grindstone shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. As shown in FIG. 8B, a substantially cylindrical grindstone 65 ′ in which two concave portions 65a ′ and 65b ′ having a circular cross section are formed in the side wall portion may be employed. Further, the second member 66 ″ shown in FIG. 8C is adopted as the second member, and the cross-section L is reversed on the upper surface thereof as shown in FIGS. 8C and 8D as the grindstone. A substantially cylindrical grindstone 65 ″ provided with letter-shaped convex portions 65a ″ and 65b ″ may be employed. Further, the second member 66 ′ ″ shown in FIG. 8 (E) is adopted as the second member, and the lower end of the grindstone as shown in FIGS. 8 (E) and 8 (F) is used. A substantially cylindrical grindstone 65 ′ ″ having a step portion 65a ′ ″ formed along the outer periphery thereof may be employed. In short, the second member (66 ′, 66 ″, 66 ′ ″) and the grindstone (65 ′, 65 ″, 65 ′ ″) can be moved relative to each other in the Z-axis direction. If the second member is configured to support the weight of the grindstone only when the second member (66 ′, 66 ″, 66 ′ ″) is located at the upper end in the Z-axis direction in the possible range, various Of course, the grindstone is not limited to a substantially cylindrical member, and various shapes can be employed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the cleaning device 21 is provided in a so-called dry type exposure apparatus that exposes the wafer W without using a liquid has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and as illustrated in FIG. It is also possible to provide the cleaning device 21 in the immersion exposure apparatus 100 ′.

  Unlike the exposure apparatus 100 of FIG. 1, the immersion exposure apparatus 100 ′ shown in FIG. 9 supplies and recovers a liquid (pure water) between the projection optical system PL and the wafer W, thereby allowing projection optics to be recovered. Immersion apparatus 130 that forms an immersion region LR between the system PL and the wafer W (however, in FIG. 9, only the liquid supply pipe 25 and the liquid recovery pipe 26 that constitute the immersion apparatus 130 are shown). It is characterized by having Further, on wafer holder WH provided on wafer stage WST, a circular opening which is substantially flush with wafer W placed on wafer holder WH as a whole and is slightly larger than wafer W at the center. An auxiliary plate (water repellent plate) 13 (see FIGS. 9 and 10A) is provided. On this auxiliary plate (water repellent plate) 13, for example, a scale to be measured by an encoder that measures the position in the XY plane of wafer stage WST is formed.

  In such an immersion exposure apparatus 100 ′, the upper surface (scale) of the auxiliary plate (water-repellent plate) 13 is protected from scratches in order to perform the position measurement and position control of the wafer stage WST with high accuracy. There is a need to. For this reason, when cleaning the wafer holder WH, it is necessary to avoid as much as possible that the grindstone 65 of the cleaning device 21 contacts the upper surface of the water repellent plate 13.

  Therefore, in the present modification, main controller 20 restricts the movement range of grindstone 65 on wafer holder WH within restriction range 99 indicated by hatching in FIG. Within the limit range 99, the wafer holder WH can be cleaned using the cleaning device 21 by the same method as in the above embodiment.

  On the other hand, the portion located outside the limit range 99 of the wafer holder WH is cleaned (cleaned) as follows.

  First, using a transfer device such as a wafer loader (not shown), the wafer holder WH is slightly smaller than the wafer W as shown in FIG. A substantially disc-shaped cleaning member 27 is placed (loaded). In this case, as shown in FIG. 10B, a gap G is formed between the auxiliary plate (water repellent plate) 13 and the cleaning member 27. Then, main controller 20 passes wafer stage drive system 24 so that liquid immersion region LR formed by liquid immersion device 130 is located at a part of gap G, as shown in FIG. Then, wafer stage WST is driven.

  From this state, main controller 20 drives wafer stage WST via wafer stage drive system 24 such that, for example, liquid immersion region LR moves along gap G in the direction indicated by arrow L. . Further, during this movement, the liquid supply operation from the liquid supply tube 25 and the liquid recovery operation by the liquid recovery tube 26 are performed in parallel. As a result, the clean liquid continues to be supplied to the gap G portion located on the lower side (−Z side) of the liquid immersion area, and the clean liquid peels off the foreign matter adhering to the wafer holder WH. Along with the liquid, the liquid is recovered by the liquid recovery pipe 26. In this way, the cleaning in the gap G can be completed while the liquid immersion region LR makes one round along the gap G.

  In the cleaning of the wafer holder WH using the liquid, the wafer stage WST (wafer holder WH) may be vibrated together with the supply and recovery of the liquid. This vibration is expected to improve the cleaning effect as compared with the case where the wafer holder WH is cleaned only by supplying and collecting the liquid.

The liquid supplied by the liquid immersion device 130 is not limited to pure water (water), but is, for example, a chemically stable liquid with a high transmittance of the illumination light IL, such as a fluorine-based inert liquid. May be used. As this fluorinated inert liquid, for example, Fluorinert (trade name of 3M, USA) can be used. This fluorine-based inert liquid is also excellent in terms of cooling effect. Further, as the liquid, a liquid having a refractive index higher than that of pure water (refractive index of about 1.44), for example, 1.5 or more may be used as the liquid. Examples of the liquid include predetermined liquids having C—H bonds or O—H bonds such as isopropanol having a refractive index of about 1.50 and glycerol (glycerin) having a refractive index of about 1.61, hexane, heptane, decane, and the like. The predetermined liquid (organic solvent). Alternatively, any two or more of these predetermined liquids may be mixed, or the predetermined liquid may be added (mixed) to pure water. Alternatively, the liquid may be one obtained by adding (mixing) a base or an acid such as H ⁺ , Cs ⁺ , K ⁺ , Cl ⁻ , SO ₄ ²⁻ , PO ₄ ^{2− to} pure water. Further, it may be one obtained by adding (mixing) fine particles such as Al oxide to pure water. These liquids can transmit ArF excimer laser light. As the liquid, the light absorption coefficient is small, the temperature dependency is small, and the projection optical system (tip optical member) and / or the photosensitive material (or protective film (topcoat film) coated on the wafer surface is used. ) Or an antireflection film) is preferable. Further, when the F ₂ laser is used as the light source, fomblin oil may be selected.

  In the above-described embodiment, the moving mirrors 17 and 15 are provided on the wafer stage WST and the reticle stage RST. However, instead of this, a reflecting surface may be formed on the wafer stage WST and the reticle stage RST.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a scanning exposure apparatus such as a step-and-scan method has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is applied to a stationary exposure apparatus such as a stepper. May be. The present invention can also be applied to a step-and-stitch type exposure apparatus that synthesizes a shot area and a shot area. Further, for example, JP-A-10-163099 and JP-A-10-214783 (corresponding US Pat. No. 6,590,634), JP 2000-505958 (corresponding US Pat. No. 5,969,441). As disclosed in US Pat. No. 6,208,407 and the like, the present invention can also be applied to a multi-stage type exposure apparatus having a plurality of wafer stages. Further, it is possible to employ a stage apparatus including a wafer stage and a measurement stage as disclosed in, for example, the pamphlet of International Publication No. 2005/0774014.

  Further, the magnification of the projection optical system in the exposure apparatus of the above embodiment may be not only a reduction system but also an equal magnification and an enlargement system, and the projection optical system is not only a refraction system but also a reflection system or a catadioptric system. The projected image may be either an inverted image or an erect image.

The illumination light IL is not limited to ArF excimer laser light (wavelength 193 nm), but may be ultraviolet light such as KrF excimer laser light (wavelength 248 nm) or vacuum ultraviolet light such as F ₂ laser light (wavelength 157 nm). . For example, as disclosed in WO99 / 46835 pamphlet (corresponding US Pat. No. 7,023,610), the infrared region oscillated from the DFB semiconductor laser or the fiber laser as the vacuum ultraviolet light or the single region in the visible region is used. For example, a single wavelength laser beam may be amplified with a fiber amplifier doped with erbium (or both erbium and ytterbium), and a harmonic wave converted into an ultraviolet region using a nonlinear optical crystal may be used.

  In the above embodiment, it is needless to say that the illumination light IL of the exposure apparatus is not limited to light having a wavelength of 100 nm or more, and light having a wavelength of less than 100 nm may be used. For example, in recent years, in order to expose a pattern of 70 nm or less, EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) light in a soft X-ray region (for example, a wavelength region of 5 to 15 nm) is generated using an SOR or a plasma laser as a light source, and its exposure wavelength Development of an EUV exposure apparatus using an all-reflection reduction optical system designed under (for example, 13.5 nm) and a reflective mask is underway. In this apparatus, since a configuration in which scanning exposure is performed by synchronously scanning the mask and the wafer using arc illumination is conceivable, the present invention can also be suitably applied to such an apparatus. In addition, the present invention can be applied to an exposure apparatus using a charged particle beam such as an electron beam or an ion beam.

  In the above embodiment, a light transmissive mask (reticle) in which a predetermined light shielding pattern (or phase pattern / dimming pattern) is formed on a light transmissive substrate is used. Instead of this reticle, for example, As disclosed in US Pat. No. 6,778,257, an electronic mask (also called a variable shaping mask) that forms a transmission pattern, a reflection pattern, or a light emission pattern based on electronic data of a pattern to be exposed. For example, a DMD (Digital Micro-mirror Device) which is a kind of non-light-emitting image display element (spatial light modulator) may be used.

  The present invention also relates to an exposure apparatus (lithography system) that forms a line and space pattern on a wafer by forming interference fringes on the wafer as disclosed in International Publication No. 2001/035168. Can be applied.

  Further, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese translations of PCT publication No. 2004-51850 (corresponding US Pat. No. 6,611,316), two reticle patterns are synthesized on a wafer via a projection optical system, and The present invention can also be applied to an exposure apparatus that performs double exposure of one shot area on a wafer almost simultaneously by scanning exposure. The apparatus for forming a pattern on an object is not limited to the above-described exposure apparatus (lithography system), and the present invention can also be applied to an apparatus for forming a pattern on an object by, for example, an inkjet method.

  In the above embodiment, the object on which the pattern is to be formed (the object to be exposed to which the energy beam is irradiated) is not limited to the wafer, but may be another object such as a glass plate, a ceramic substrate, or a mask blank.

  The use of the exposure apparatus is not limited to the exposure apparatus for semiconductor manufacturing, but for example, an exposure apparatus for liquid crystal that transfers and forms a liquid crystal display element pattern on a square glass plate, an organic EL, a thin magnetic head, an imaging The present invention can be widely applied to an exposure apparatus for manufacturing elements (CCD, etc.), micromachines, DNA chips and the like. Further, in order to manufacture reticles or masks used in not only microdevices such as semiconductor elements but also light exposure apparatuses, EUV exposure apparatuses, X-ray exposure apparatuses, electron beam exposure apparatuses, etc., glass substrates or silicon wafers, etc. The present invention can also be applied to an exposure apparatus that transfers a circuit pattern.

  Further, the exposure apparatus of the above embodiment is manufactured by assembling various subsystems including the respective constituent elements recited in the claims of the present application so as to maintain predetermined mechanical accuracy, electrical accuracy, and optical accuracy. Is done. In order to ensure these various accuracies, before and after assembly, various optical systems are adjusted to achieve optical accuracy, various mechanical systems are adjusted to achieve mechanical accuracy, and various electrical systems are Adjustments are made to achieve electrical accuracy. The assembly process from the various subsystems to the exposure apparatus includes mechanical connection, electrical circuit wiring connection, pneumatic circuit piping connection and the like between the various subsystems. Needless to say, there is an assembly process for each subsystem before the assembly process from the various subsystems to the exposure apparatus. When the assembly process of the various subsystems to the exposure apparatus is completed, comprehensive adjustment is performed to ensure various accuracies as the entire exposure apparatus. The exposure apparatus is preferably manufactured in a clean room where the temperature, cleanliness, etc. are controlled.

  In addition, a semiconductor device is used as a reticle by using a step of performing a function / performance design of the device, a step of manufacturing a reticle based on the design step, a step of manufacturing a wafer from a silicon material, and the exposure apparatus of each of the above embodiments. It is manufactured through a lithography step for transferring the formed pattern onto an object such as a wafer, a device assembly step (including a dicing process, a bonding process, and a packaging process), an inspection step, and the like. In this case, since the device pattern is formed on the object using the exposure apparatus of the above embodiment in the lithography step, the productivity of a highly integrated device can be improved.

  As described above, the cleaning device, the cleaning system, and the cleaning method of the present invention are suitable for cleaning the object holding member. The pattern forming apparatus, exposure method, and device manufacturing method of the present invention are suitable for manufacturing semiconductor elements.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the exposure apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a partially broken view of the cleaning device of FIG. 1. It is a flowchart for demonstrating a series of operation | movement at the time of cleaning a wafer holder using a cleaning apparatus. 4A and 4B are views showing a state in which the surface state of the wafer holder is displayed via the display device. FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing the results of displaying the positional relationship between the wafer holder and the grindstone on the display device when the wafer holder is cleaned. FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the cleaning device when the grindstone is placed on the wafer holder. FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the wafer holder when the foreign matter is removed. FIGS. 8A and 8B are views (No. 1) for explaining a modified example of the grindstone and the second member. FIGS. 8C and 8D show the grindstone and the second member. It is a figure (the 2) for explaining the modification of 2 members, and Drawing 8 (E) and Drawing 8 (F) are the figures for explaining the modification of a grindstone and the 2nd member (the 3). is there. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the exposure apparatus (immersion exposure apparatus) which concerns on a modification. FIG. 10A to FIG. 10C are views for explaining the cleaning of the vicinity of the peripheral portion of the wafer holder using the liquid immersion device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 ... Cleaning device, 48, 50 ... Multipoint focus position detection system (monitor device), 52 ... Display device, 63 ... Drive mechanism (piston device), 67 ... Tension spring (biasing device), 73 ... Weight member, 74 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Arm (movable member), 75 ... Cleaning head (cleaning member), 100 ... Exposure apparatus (pattern formation apparatus), 130 ... Immersion apparatus, IOP ... Illumination system (optical system), WH ... Wafer holder (object holding member).

Claims (15)

A cleaning device for cleaning an object holding member capable of moving at least along a horizontal plane,
A cleaning member that can be placed on the object holding member;
A movable member provided to be movable relative to the object holding member within a range including a first movement range and a second movement range along a vertical direction;
A moving device that partially overlaps the movable member in the vertical direction and moves the movable member in the vertical direction ;
The movable member is
In the first movement range, the weight of the cleaning member is supported and moved integrally with the cleaning member,
Passing the weight of the cleaning member to the object holding member in response to the movement from the first movement range to the second movement range;
In the second movement range, a cleaning device in which relative movement along the vertical direction with respect to the cleaning member is allowed.   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the weight of the cleaning member is supported by the object holding member in a state where the cleaning member is placed on the object holding member.   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the movable member restrains the movement of the cleaning member in a horizontal plane while the cleaning member is placed on the object holding member.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a weight member that is detachable from the cleaning member. The mobile device is
A piston device for moving the movable member vertically downward;
Relative to the movable member, possess a biasing device which exerts a biasing force in the vertical upward direction at all times, and
The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein a part of the piston device and a position of the movable member in the vertical direction overlap each other . A cleaning system for cleaning an object holding member capable of moving at least along a horizontal plane,
A cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ;
A monitor device for monitoring the surface state of the object holding member;
The object holding member is positioned at a predetermined cleaning start position where the cleaning member is positioned above the object holding member, and the cleaning member is placed on the object holding member via the movable member, and And a control device configured to move the object holding member along a horizontal plane and change a positional relationship between the object holding member and the cleaning member based on a monitoring result of the monitor device. The controller is
The cleaning system according to claim 6 , wherein the position of the cleaning member on the object holding member in a state where the cleaning member is placed on the object holding member is limited to be within a predetermined range. A pattern forming apparatus for forming a pattern on an object by irradiation with an energy beam,
A patterning device for irradiating the object with the energy beam;
An object holding member that holds the object and is movable at least along a horizontal plane;
Cleaning apparatus and according to any one of claims 1 to 5 for cleaning the object holding member; patterning device comprising a. A pattern forming apparatus for forming a pattern on an object by irradiation with an energy beam,
A patterning device for irradiating the object with the energy beam;
An object holding member that holds the object and is movable at least along a horizontal plane;
A pattern forming apparatus comprising: the cleaning system according to claim 6 or 7 , wherein the object holding member is cleaned. The patterning apparatus comprises:
An optical system for irradiating the object with an energy beam;
An immersion device for supplying a liquid between the optical system and the object,
Using a liquid of the immersion apparatus, a pattern forming apparatus according to claim 8 or 9 performs part of the cleaning of the object holding member. A cleaning method for cleaning an object holding member capable of moving at least along a horizontal plane using the cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
Positioning the object holding member below the cleaning member;
Moving the movable member from the positioned state to allow the object holding member to support its own weight of the cleaning member;
A step of changing the positional relationship between the cleaning member and the object holding member by moving the object holding member along a horizontal plane in the supporting state. A cleaning method for cleaning an object holding member capable of moving at least along a horizontal plane using the cleaning system according to claim 6 or 7 ,
Monitoring the surface state of the object holding member using the monitoring device;
Positioning the object holding member at a cleaning start position below the cleaning member;
Placing the cleaning member on the object holding member from the positioned state;
A step of moving the object holding member in a state where the cleaning member is placed along a horizontal plane. Prior to the positioning step, the method further includes a step of displaying a monitoring result by the monitoring device,
The cleaning method according to claim 12 , wherein the positioning step is started in response to an instruction from a user. An exposure method for forming a pattern on an object on an object holding member,
A step of cleaning the object holding member using the cleaning method according to any one of claims 11 to 13 ;
Forming the pattern on the object placed on the object holding member. A device manufacturing method including a lithography step of exposing an object using the exposure method according to claim 14 and forming a pattern on the object.

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