KR102078079B1 - Exposure apparatus, exposure method, and article manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

An exposure method for exposing a plurality of exposure areas on a substrate includes obtaining first reference information indicating a reference height of the substrate, measuring a height of a part of the exposure areas of the plurality of exposure areas, and measuring the steps Acquiring temporary height information indicating a temporary height of the substrate, second reference information indicating a reference height of one exposure area among the plurality of exposure areas, and the first reference information based on a measurement result in And exposing the one exposure area after moving the substrate based on the difference between the temporary height information and the temporary height information.

Description

Exposure apparatus, exposure method, and manufacturing method of article {EXPOSURE APPARATUS, EXPOSURE METHOD, AND ARTICLE MANUFACTURING METHOD}

The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus, an exposure method, and a method for producing an article.

When manufacturing a semiconductor device, the projection exposure apparatus which transfers the pattern formed in the original plate (reticle etc.) to a board | substrate (a wafer in which the resist layer was formed on the surface) via a projection optical system is used. The general type projection exposure apparatus includes a step-and-repeat type reduction projection exposure apparatus (stepper) and a step-and-scanner scanning type projection exposure apparatus (scanner). For example, the stepper reduces the original pattern and projects the reduced pattern onto a plurality of exposure areas (shot areas) on the substrate, respectively. However, if the substrate is inclined or the thickness of the substrate is not the same, the deviation (defocus) between the position (height) of the Z-axis direction (the optical axis direction of the projection optical system) of the shot area and the exposure focus occurs. In order to prevent exposure failure due to defocusing, it is necessary to perform focus driving for each shot region, but throughput decreases as the period required for focus driving becomes long.

Therefore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-93813 discloses an exposure method for shortening the period of focus driving. In the exposure method of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-93813, when measuring the alignment mark of the sample shot region, the height of the shot region is also measured, and the alignment adjustment is performed based on the measured value at the same time as the X-Y movement between the exposure shot regions. At the same time adjust the height of the substrate. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-227854 discloses global leveling and chip leveling separately, and adjusts the height of the substrate in accordance with the leveling correction amount of the previous shot region before the chip leveling of the next shot region, and then postures after global leveling. The exposure method to return to is disclosed. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-99562 discloses an exposure method for calculating a correction value of focus adjustment for each of a plurality of shot regions of a second substrate. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-99562, the correction value of the focus adjustment is a measurement value of the height measured in each of the plurality of shot regions of the first substrate, and a predetermined (single) shot of the first and second substrates. It calculates using the difference of the height measurement value measured in the area | region.

However, in the exposure method of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-93813, when attempting to measure the exact height of each shot region, it is necessary to increase the number of sample shot regions in the alignment step, and the measurement period becomes long, thereby reducing the throughput. do. In addition, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-227854, when the unevenness of the substrate surface increases, the driving amount for returning to the post-global leveling posture for each shot region may increase, and throughput may decrease. On the other hand, in the exposure method of JP 2014-99562 A, since a correction value is calculated using the difference between the height measurement values in the predetermined | prescribed shot area | region of a 1st board | substrate and a 2nd board | substrate, the unevenness | corrugation of a board | substrate surface, The inclination may increase the correction error.

The present invention provides an exposure apparatus that is advantageous in terms of focusing accuracy and throughput, for example.

The present invention provides an exposure method for exposing a plurality of exposure areas on a substrate, comprising: acquiring first height information indicating a reference height with respect to a substrate exposed before the target substrate; Measuring a height of an exposure area of a part of the plurality of exposure areas on the target substrate; Acquiring second height information indicating the height of the target substrate based on the measurement result in the measurement step; Calculating the height of one exposure area among the plurality of exposure areas on the target substrate based on the third height information indicating the reference height, the first height information, and the second height information with respect to the one exposure area; ; And exposing the one exposure region on the target substrate after moving the target substrate based on the height of the one exposure region calculated in the calculating step.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the following embodiments (with reference to the attached drawings).

The exposure method of the present invention can shorten the focus drive and improve the throughput without deteriorating the focusing accuracy in the apparatus which sequentially performs a plurality of shot regions in focus.

Further, the present invention can provide an exposure apparatus that is advantageous in terms of focusing accuracy and throughput.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a reduced projection exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of exposure position measurement points.
3 is a diagram illustrating various setting screens of the console unit.
4 is a flowchart showing a sequence of the entire processing step.
5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the exposure step.
6 is a diagram showing the contents stored in the storage unit.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing details of the storage contents of FIG. 6.
8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sample shot area in alignment measurement.
9 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process of calculating the difference of the approximate surface information.
10 is a flowchart showing the flow of the predictive exposure position calculation process.
11 is a graph comparing the reference exposure position with the actual exposure position.
12 is a graph comparing the predicted exposure position with the actual exposure position.
It is a figure which shows the exposure sequence of the board of a lot head.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an arrangement relationship between the shot region S2 and the measurement point in FIG. 13.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an exposure sequence of the substrate after the second lot. FIG.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated with reference to drawings. Industrial Applicability The present invention is applicable to an apparatus for sequentially focus driving to a plurality of shot regions, an apparatus for sequentially exposing (scanning projection exposure apparatus, positioning apparatus, etc.), and hereinafter, a reduction projection exposure apparatus (stepper) Explain using an example.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a reduced projection exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment. The reduced projection exposure apparatus includes a reduced projection lens system 1, an illumination optical system, a detection optical system, and a substrate stage 3. The reduced projection lens system 1 reduces and projects the circuit pattern of the reticle (not shown), and forms a circuit pattern image on the focal plane. The optical axis A 'of the reduced projection lens system 1 is parallel to the Z-axis direction (direction perpendicular to the plane of the substrate 2) in FIG.

The illumination optical system includes an illumination light source 4, an illumination lens 5, a mask 6, an imaging lens 7, and a bending mirror 8. The illumination light source 4 is a light emitting diode or a semiconductor laser, for example. The mask 6 has a plurality of pinholes. The light emitted from the illumination light source 4 passes through the illumination lens 5 and becomes a parallel light beam, and passes through the mask 6 to form a plurality of light beams. The light passes through the imaging lens 7 and enters the bending mirror 8, changes direction to the bending mirror 8, and then enters the surface of the substrate 2. At this time, the plurality of pinholes of the mask 6 are formed on the substrate 2 (on the substrate).

The detection optical system (measurement section) includes a bending mirror 9, a detection lens 10, and a position detection element 11. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the exposure position measuring points in the exposure area 100 on the substrate 2. When the plurality of pinholes that the mask 6 has are referred to as a set of five pinholes, the light beam passing through the pinholes irradiates the measurement points 21 to 25 at five positions including the center portion of the exposure area 100, Reflected in position. The measurement point 21 of the center part is arrange | positioned in one position at the distance of the span X in the X-axis direction, and the span Y in the Y-axis direction from another measurement point. After the direction of the reflected light beam is changed by the bending mirror 9, it enters through the detection lens 10 on the position detection element 11 in which elements such as a charge coupling element CD are arranged two-dimensionally. That is, the mask 6, the board | substrate 2, and the position detection element 11 are in an optically conjugate position mutually. In addition, when it is difficult in optical arrangement, you may arrange | position the some position detection element 11 corresponding to each pinhole. The position detection element 11 may independently detect the incidence positions of the plurality of light beams through the plurality of pinholes on the light receiving surface. The position and inclination of the optical axis A 'direction of the substrate 2 with respect to the reduced projection lens system 1 can be detected as a deviation between the incident positions of the plurality of light beams on the position detection element 11.

The substrate stage 3 adsorbs and holds the substrate 2 and is movable in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, the Z-axis direction, and the rotational directions (X, Y and Y) around these axes. Here, the surface along the surface (for example, parallel) of the board | substrate 2 is called a flat plane, and the direction perpendicular | vertical to the flat plane (optical axis A 'direction) is called Z-axis direction. The height of the board | substrate stage 3 (substrate 2) points out the position coordinate of a Z-axis direction. In addition, the magnitude | size (Rad) of the rotation direction X, yxy, and Y indicates the grade of the inclination of the board | substrate stage 3. As shown in FIG. The movement of the substrate stage 3 is performed by the stage driver 12, and the position and inclination of the substrate 2 can be adjusted in accordance with the movement of the substrate stage 3. Here, the board | substrate 2 is a to-be-processed board | substrate with which the photosensitive material was apply | coated to the surface, and many exposure area | regions (shot area | region) are arrange | positioned.

The position of the substrate 2 in the Z-axis direction detected by the detection optical system, and the inclination with respect to the X-axis and the Y-axis, passes through the surface position detection unit 14 as an output signal (measurement result) from the position detection element 11. It is input to the control part 13. The control unit (creation unit) 13 creates a predetermined command signal (drive command) based on the input signal (measurement value) and sends the predetermined command signal (drive command) to the stage driver 12. In response to the received command signal, the stage driver 12 servo drives the substrate stage 3 to adjust the height and inclination of the substrate 2. The position of the substrate 2 in the X-axis / Y-axis direction and the inclination with respect to the Z-axis are measured using the reference mirror 15 and the laser interferometer 17 provided on the substrate stage 3. Similarly, the stage drive part 12 adjusts the position and inclination on the ＸＹ plane of the board | substrate 2.

The storage unit 18 stores the position of the substrate and the exposure position. In addition, it is assumed that all values that are stored later are stored in the storage unit 18 or the replacement device. The console unit 19 performs parameter setting. In addition, when the reduction projection exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment does not have a user interface as shown in the console unit 19, the control unit 13 can execute each parameter as a fixed value. In this embodiment, a storage medium storing program codes of software for realizing the functions described below is supplied to an exposure apparatus, and a computer (or a central processing unit (CPU) or a main processing unit (MPU)) This is achieved by reading and executing the stored program code.

3 is a diagram illustrating various setting screens in the console unit 19. Parameter 91 is a parameter for determining a method of calculating a value relating to the height of the substrate. The parameter 92 is a parameter for determining the information which is a reference | standard at the time of the process of the 2nd subsequent board | substrate, and the calculation method of a reference exposure position. Thresholds 93 and 94 (predetermined thresholds) are thresholds of the height and inclination of the substrate serving as a reference for determining whether to drive to a predicted exposure position (a predicted position indicating a predicted position). The thresholds 95 and 96 are thresholds for determining the allowable ranges of the error of the position and the tilt in the Z-axis direction of the focus measurement value in the predicted exposure position. The predicted exposure position indicates a predicted position in the height direction of the substrate to be exposed.

4 is a flowchart showing an entire sequence of processing steps for sequentially exposing a plurality of shot regions of a substrate through the reduced projection exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment. First, the sequence in the case where the board | substrate (the number of substrate processing sheets is 1) of a lot is made into processing object is demonstrated. In addition, the change of the thickness of the board | substrate in a lot is about 20 micrometers at maximum, and when the difference between the thickness of a board | substrate is 20 micrometers or less, it is considered that the board | substrate belongs to the same lot. The following sequence is assumed to be performed for each lot. For example, the same pattern is formed on a substrate belonging to the same lot, and various processes (heat treatment, etching, etc.) are performed under the same conditions after exposure. First, the board | substrate 2 is carried in to the board | substrate stage 3 by the board | substrate loading apparatus (not shown) (S101). In S102, it is determined whether or not the number of substrate processing sheets is greater than one. Since this board | substrate is a board | substrate of the head of a lot, it is judged that it is not large and it progresses to the process of S104. In S104, the height and the inclination of the substrate 2 are measured together with the alignment measurement in each sample shot area, and the control unit 13 causes the value of the height of the substrate 2 to be approximated based on the measured values (approximate surface information). Is calculated and the calculation result is stored in the storage unit 18. As a sample shot region, a plurality of shot regions of less than the total number of all shot regions of the substrate 2 are selected. The approximate surface information is information indicating the height of each region of the substrate 2 obtained by performing a calculation for supplementing the height position other than the sample shot region based on the position in the height direction of each sample shot region. . In other words, the approximate surface information is information indicating a distribution of heights.

FIG. 6 is a table which stores the approximate surface information of each substrate, the exposure position of a shot area, etc. stored in the memory | storage part 18. FIG. Tables corresponding to the first, second, third, ..., n-th substrates in the same lot are denoted by reference numerals 60, 61, 62, and 63, respectively. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating data stored in the table 60, for example.

8 is a plan view illustrating an example of a sample shot area during alignment measurement. In this example, the shot areas of S6, S9, S24, and S27 which are some of the exposure areas of the plurality of exposure areas are sample shot areas (sample areas) in alignment measurement. The number or position of sample shot regions may be appropriately set. In this case, in the table 60 of FIG. 6, S6, S9, S24, and S27 are memorize | stored as the SAB system 70, and the measured value in each sample shot area | region (the height of the exposure area of some of several exposure area | regions). The height (approximate surface information) of the board | substrate computed from ()) is memorize | stored as ＷaHIH ｈIrｈteｔ (71).

As a method of calculating the height of the substrate, there is a method of using a least square plane, for example. If the surface of a board | substrate is represented by the formula of z = a ++ xy + c, the least square plane is a plane which can substitute a, b, and c calculated | required from the least square method to the equation of the said plane. The height of the substrate as the approximate surface information is represented by c on the right side of the equation, and the inclination of the substrate is represented by a and b in the equation. These are stored in the table corresponding to each board | substrate shown in FIG. In addition, these may be calculated by calculating the average value regardless of the least square plane. The calculation method may be selected according to the parameter 91 of the console unit 19.

Hereinafter, the calculation methods of a, b and c according to the least squares method will be described. If the number of sample shot regions is n and the coordinates of the measured sample shot regions are (ｘi, ｙｉ, ｚｉ), the difference between the heights of the heights of the sample shot regions and the heights of the measured sample shot regions obtained by the above equation is It can be represented by the following equation.

ｒｉ = ａｘｉ + ｂｙｉ + c-ｚｉ

The average V of the sum of the squares of r i is expressed as follows.

V = (1 / n) Σ (ｒｉ ² )

= (1 / n) Σ (ａｘｉ + ｂｙｉ + c-ｚｉ) ²

Since a, b, and c at which this X becomes the minimum are found, an extreme value that is partial divided by a, b, and c is zero. The result of partial derivatives is as follows.

(δV / δa) = (2 / n) Σ (ａｘｉ + ｂｙｉ + c-ｚｉ) ｘｉ

= (2 / n) (aΣ (ｘｉ) ² + bΣｘｉｙｉ + cΣｘｉ-Σｘｉｚｉ)

= 0

(δV / δb) = (2 / n) Σ (ａｘｉ + ｂｙｉ + c-ｚｉ) ｙｉ

= (2 / n) (aΣｘｉｙｉ + bΣ (ｙｉ) ² + cΣｙｉ-Σｙｉｚｉ)

= 0

(δV / δc) = (2 / n) Σ (ａｘｉ + ｂｙｉ + c-ｚｉ)

= (2 / n) (aΣｘｉ + bΣｙｉ + ｎｃ-Σｚｉ)

= 0

In this case, each term is substituted as follows to solve the system of equations.

(1 / n) Σ (ｘｉ) ² = X = A

(1 / n) Σ (ｙｉ) ² = Y = B

(1 / n) Σｘｉｙｉ = Z = C

(1 / n) Σｘｉ = x = D

(1 / n) Σｙｉ = y = E

(1 / n) Σｘｉｚｉ = α = F

(1 / n) Σｙｉｚｉ = β = G

(1 / n) Σｚｉ = γ = H

Accordingly, the system of equations is replaced by the following determinant.

Solving this determinant, a, b and c are obtained as follows.

a = (xxxy ++ xxxy) / I

b = (ff + w + wh) / I

c = (xxxy +++ sh) / I

Here, the right side of each formula uses the following substitution.

Ｖｘ = Xx ² = AD ²

Xy = Yy ² = BE ²

Ｖｚ = ｘｙ-Z = DE-C

Ｕｘ = ｘＺ-ｙＸ = DC-EA

Ｕｙ = ｙＺ-ｘＹ = EC-DＢ

Ｕｚ = ＸＹ-Z ² = AＢ-C ²

I = ＶｘＶｙ-Ｖｚ ²

In S104, after the approximate surface information (first reference information indicating the reference height of the substrate) of the first substrate is stored in the storage unit 18, an exposure step (exposure sequence) is executed (S107). 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the exposure process of S107. First, in S201, it is determined whether or not the number of substrate processing sheets is greater than one. Since the substrate is the first substrate of the lot, it is determined that the substrate is not large, and the processing proceeds to step S211. In S211, the substrate 2 is moved to the exposure position of the N-plane. In the example shown in FIG. 8, it moves from the last shot area S27 of alignment measurement to the shot area S1. Next, focus measurement is performed in S212. The position and inclination of the Z-axis direction of the shot region S1 are measured. In S213, focusing driving is performed based on the measured value. The exposure is performed in S214 and the exposure position is stored in the storage unit 18. Here, the exposure position is a position coordinate of the substrate stage 3 (substrate 2) at the time of exposure of each exposure area (shot area) indicated by reference numeral 72 in FIG. 7, and specifically (# _S1 , # _S1 , Z _S1, including a _{Qx S1, Qy S1, Qz S1} ). The exposure apparatus may also reflect the focus alignment error obtained by measuring the focus of one shot region after moving the substrate to the predictive driving position and before exposing the shot region (one exposure region) to be exposed. Next, in S208, it is determined whether or not the processing of all the exposure areas has been completed. If it is determined that the processing has not been completed, the processing returns to S201 and the exposure process is executed again. In the example shown in FIG. 8, it moves from the shot region S1 to the shot region S2, and performs an exposure process on the shot region S2. On the other hand, when it determines with the process of all the exposure area | region being completed, it progresses to the process of S108 of FIG.

In S108, the board | substrate 2 is carried out from the board | substrate stage 3 to the board | substrate carrying apparatus (not shown). In S109, it is determined whether all lots have been completed, and when it is determined that all lots have been completed, the entire processing step is terminated. On the other hand, in the case where it is determined that all lots have not been completed, the process is repeated from S101.

The information stored in the above steps, that is, the approximate surface information of the first substrate and the exposure position of each shot region are used when the second and subsequent substrates (second substrate) are referred to as substrates to be exposed. The exposure position includes at least the position in the height direction. In addition, when the approximation surface information of a board | substrate and the exposure position of each shot area | region are previously memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 18, the sequence which makes the 2nd board | substrate shown below into a process object from a 1st board | substrate is not performed. You may run it.

Next, the sequence in the case where the lot 2nd board | substrate (the number of substrate processes is 2) is made into process object is demonstrated. First, the board | substrate loading apparatus (not shown) carries in the board | substrate 2 which is the next process object to the board | substrate stage 3 (S101). Next, in S102, it is determined whether or not the number of substrate processing sheets is greater than one. Since the substrate is the second substrate in the lot, it is determined that the substrate is large, and the processing proceeds to step S103. In S103, the approximate surface information (temporary height information indicating the temporary height of the substrate) of the second substrate is compared with the approximate surface information of the first substrate, and the first reference information and the temporary height of the approximate surface information (the height of the substrate) are compared. The difference between the information is calculated. The difference between the approximate plane information is also information indicating a distribution of the difference between the thickness of the first substrate and the thickness of the second substrate. In FIG. 9, the detail of this process is demonstrated. First, as in S104, the height of the substrate is measured in parallel with the alignment measurement in each sample shot area of the second substrate, and a value (approximate surface information) relating to the height of the substrate is calculated and calculated based on each measurement value. The result is stored in the storage unit 18 (S301). Next, the control unit 13 obtains the approximate surface information of the first substrate and the approximate surface information of the second substrate stored in the storage unit 18 (S304). The control part 13 compares the approximation surface information of a 1st board | substrate with the approximation surface information of a 2nd board | substrate, and calculates the difference of approximation surface information (S305). In the case where the third and subsequent substrates of the same lot are processed, the method of calculating the approximate plane information (reference value) serving as a comparison reference is determined before S304 (S302). In addition, the approximate surface information (reference value) calculated based on the determined calculation method is stored in the storage unit 18 (S303).

The determination method of the calculation method of S302 is performed according to the input content of the parameter 92 of the console part 19. As shown in FIG. As the calculation method, for example, the average value or the median value of the approximate plane information (height) of a plurality of substrates on which the processing of the same lot is completed, or the approximate plane information of the substrate on which the processing is completed one sheet before the same lot. I think how to use or. In addition, the approximate surface information of the processed board | substrate is the value calculated by S301 and S104, and memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 18. FIG.

The difference between the approximate surface information calculated in S103 is compared with the threshold 93 (height) and the threshold 94 (tilt) input to the console unit 19 in S105. That is, it is determined whether the difference between the approximate surface information of the first substrate and the approximate surface information of the second substrate is within the allowable range. Based on the determination result, ON / OFF is determined of a flag (hereinafter referred to simply as a "stop flag") indicating the stop of driving to the predicted exposure position. When it is determined that the difference exceeds the threshold (outside the allowable range), it is determined that the exposure position of the substrate 2 stored in the storage unit 18 cannot be used, and the stop flag is turned ON in S106.

When it is determined in S105 that the difference does not exceed the threshold (within the allowable range), the exposure sequence shown in FIG. 5 is executed in S107 following S106. When it is determined in S105 that the difference is less than the threshold, the exposure sequence shown in FIG. 5 is executed in S107 following S105. First, in S201, it is determined whether or not the number of substrate processing sheets is greater than one. In this case, since the second substrate of the lot is processed, it is determined to be larger than 1, and the process proceeds to S202. In S202, it is determined whether or not the stop flag is OFF. If it is determined that the stop flag is ON, the same sequence as in the case of exposing the first substrate of the lot is executed. On the other hand, when determining that the stop flag is OFF, the process shifts to S203.

In S203, the predicted exposure position of the shot region of the second substrate is calculated based on the difference between the exposure position of the shot region of the first substrate stored in the storage unit 18 in S214 and the approximate surface information obtained in S103. In FIG. 10, the detail of this process is demonstrated. A case where the first shot region (for example, the shot region S1 shown in FIG. 8) of the second substrate is exposed is considered. In S401, the exposure position of the shot region S1 of the first substrate stored in the storage unit 18 is read in S214. In S404, the exposure position of the shot region S1 of the read first substrate is set as the reference exposure position (second reference information indicating the reference height of one exposure region among the plurality of exposure regions) and approximated in S103 from the reference exposure position. The predicted exposure position is calculated by subtracting the difference between the surface informations.

From the third substrate, the following steps S402 and S403 are required. In S402, a calculation method of the reference exposure position (reference value) is determined. In S403, the reference exposure position (reference value) is calculated from the exposure position acquired from the storage unit 18 in S401 based on the determined calculation method. Here, the exposure position to be read includes not only the exposure position of the first substrate stored in S214, but also the exposure position of the second and subsequent substrates stored in S207 and S210. In addition, determination of the calculation method of S402 is performed according to the input content of the parameter 92 of the console part 19 like S302. Here, when using an average or median value in S302, the calculation method selected in S402 is preferably the same.

FIG. 11 is a graph comparing the actual exposure position (solid line) when the reference exposure position (dotted line) and the difference obtained in S103 are not taken into account, that is, when driving to the predicted exposure position is not performed. In FIG. 11, the vertical axis | shaft has shown the Z-axis coordinate of an exposure position, and the horizontal axis has shown the number of exposure area | region (shot area). It can be seen from FIG. 11 that there is an error between the reference exposure position and the actual exposure position.

12 is a graph comparing the predicted exposure position (dotted line) calculated in S404 with the actual exposure position (solid line) when the difference ＺiＺ obtained in S103 is taken into consideration, that is, for driving to the predicted exposure position. It can be seen from FIG. 12 that the error is small. In other words, the focusing accuracy is improved.

In S204, the substrate stage 3 (substrate 2) is moved to the predicted exposure position calculated in S203. The predicted exposure position is obtained for six degrees of freedom of X, Y, Z, X, Y, and X. Therefore, with respect to the board | substrate 2, the movement in a flat plane (planar direction along the surface of the board | substrate 2, the plane direction which crosses the height direction of some exposure area | region), the movement to Z-axis direction, and rotation of each axis | shaft Movement in the direction can be performed simultaneously. In S205, focus measurement is executed. Compare the focus measurement value with each of the values entered in the threshold values 95 (Z-axis direction) and 96 (tilt threshold value) of the console unit 19, and shift to either S207 or S209 based on the comparison result. It is determined whether or not (S206). When it is determined that the focus measurement value is within the threshold value, the exposure process is executed in S207 and the exposure position is stored in the storage unit 18. On the other hand, when it is determined that the focus measurement value exceeds the threshold value, the focusing drive is performed in S209, the exposure process is executed in S210, and the exposure position is stored in the storage unit 18. In addition, the value memorize | stored in S207 or S210 is a position coordinate similar to S214, and may be a value which reflected the focus error obtained by performing focus measurement at the time of exposure. Finally, in S208, it is determined whether the processing of all the exposure areas is completed. If it is determined that the processes of all the exposure areas have not been completed, the process returns to S201 and the exposure process is executed again. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the process moves from the shot region S1 to the shot region S2, and an exposure process is performed on the shot region S2. On the other hand, when it determines with the process of all the exposure area | region being completed, it progresses to the process of S108 of FIG. In addition, the process after S108 is as above-mentioned.

Next, the order of exposing the shot region of the substrate will be described. It is a figure which shows the exposure order of the 1st board | substrate of a lot. In the board | substrate of the head of a lot, exposure is performed in order of shot area | region S1, S2, ... of FIG. As shown in Fig. 14, in the shot area S2 located at the end of the arrangement direction, measurement can be made only at two measurement points among the five measurement points (reference numerals 21 to 25 in Fig. 2). Therefore, the inclination of the predetermined direction cannot be measured. Therefore, the shot area S1 capable of measuring the height at three or more measurement points, that is, the tilt measurement is first exposed, and the shot area S2 is exposed after focus driving is performed using the measured values obtained at the time of exposure. Exposure is performed in the order of S4.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an exposure sequence of the substrate after the second lot. FIG. In the second and subsequent substrates, exposure is performed in the order of the shot regions S1, S2, ... in FIG. In FIG. 15, the exposure can be sequentially performed from the shot regions located at the ends of the arrangement direction, thereby improving throughput more than the exposure sequence of FIG. 13. In addition, since the predicted exposure position is calculated and used for the correction driving as described above, both throughput and focus accuracy can be satisfied.

(Article manufacturing method)

The article manufacturing method according to the embodiment of the present invention is preferable when manufacturing an article such as a micro device such as a semiconductor device or a component having a microstructure. The article manufacturing method includes the steps of forming a latent image pattern of a subject using the above-described exposure apparatus (for example, exposure processing); And developing the subject in which the latent image pattern is formed in the previous step. The article manufacturing method may also include other known steps (oxidation, film formation, deposition, doping, planarization, etching, resist stripping, dicing, bonding, packaging, etc.). The device manufacturing method of this embodiment has an advantage in at least one of the performance, quality, productivity, and production cost of the device, as compared with the conventional device manufacturing method.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed above. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

This application claims the advantages of Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-083484, filed April 15, 2015, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-067408, filed March 30, 2016, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. To claim.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Zoom-out projection lens system 2: Board | substrate 3: Board | substrate stage 4: Light source for illumination 5: Light lens 6: Mask 7: Image forming lens 8: Bending mirror 9: Bending mirror 10: Detection lens 11: Position detecting element 21-25: Measuring point 100 : Exposure area

Claims (23)

An exposure method for exposing a plurality of exposure areas on a substrate,
Acquiring first height information indicating a reference height of the substrate exposed before the target substrate;
Measuring a height of an exposure area of a part of the plurality of exposure areas on the target substrate;
Acquiring second height information indicating the height of the target substrate based on the measurement result in the measurement step;
Calculating the height of one exposure area among the plurality of exposure areas on the target substrate based on the third height information indicating the reference height, the first height information, and the second height information with respect to the one exposure area; ; And
And exposing said one exposure region on said target substrate after moving said target substrate based on the height of said one exposure region calculated in said calculating step.
The method of claim 1,
Determining whether a difference between the first height information and the second height information is within an allowable range,
The calculating step is performed when the difference is within the allowable range.
The method of claim 1,
The said measuring step is performed in parallel with the measurement of the position of the planar direction which cross | intersects the height direction of some exposure area | region.
The method of claim 1,
And the first height information is information calculated using an average value or a median value of heights of a plurality of substrates exposed before the target substrate.
The method of claim 1,
And the third height information is information calculated based on a height of one exposure area on the substrate exposed before the target substrate at a position corresponding to the one exposure area on the target substrate.
The method of claim 1,
The third height information is an average value of a plurality of values indicating the height of one exposure region of each substrate exposed before the target substrate at a position corresponding to one exposure region on the target substrate among the plurality of substrates, or An exposure method, calculated using one of a plurality of values.
The method of claim 4, wherein
And the plurality of substrates are included in the same lot.
The method of claim 7, wherein
When the height cannot be measured at three or more measurement points of the exposure area located at the end of the predetermined array direction in the first substrate of the lot, the exposure area is different from the exposure area at the end and can measure the height at three or more measurement points. Is exposed first and determines an exposure order such that the exposure area located at the end is exposed first on the second substrate of the lot.
The method of claim 1,
The exposure step,
Measuring the height of the one exposure region after moving the target substrate to the height of the one exposure region calculated in the calculating step; And
And determining whether to move the target substrate again based on the measurement result of measuring the height of the one exposure area before exposing the one exposure area.
An exposure method for exposing a plurality of exposure areas on a substrate,
Acquiring first height information of the first substrate that is exposed before the second substrate different from the first substrate, based on the height information of at least some of the exposure regions on the first substrate;
Acquiring second height information of the second substrate based on height information of at least some of the exposure regions of the plurality of exposure regions on the second substrate;
On the second substrate, at a position corresponding to the first exposure region among the plurality of exposure regions on the first substrate, based on the height information of the first exposure region, the first height information, and the second height information. Calculating a predicted height of a second exposure area among the plurality of exposure areas; And
Exposing the second exposure area after moving the second substrate to the predicted height calculated in the calculating step. The method of claim 1,
And said height of said one exposure area is calculated based on the difference between said first height information and said second height information in said calculating step and said third height information.
The method of claim 10,
And the predicted height is calculated based on the difference between the first height information and the second height information in the calculating step and the height information of the first exposure area.
The method of claim 10,
Determining whether a difference between the first height information and the second height information is within an allowable range,
The calculating step is performed when the difference is within the allowable range.
The method of claim 10,
And the first substrate and the second substrate are included in the same lot.
The method of claim 10,
The exposure step,
Measuring the height of the second exposure area after moving the second substrate to the predicted height; And
And determining whether to move the second substrate again based on the measurement result of the measuring step before exposing the second exposure area.
An exposure apparatus that exposes a plurality of exposure regions on a substrate,
A stage for holding and moving the substrate;
A driving unit driving the stage;
A generating unit generating a driving command of the driving unit; And
It has a measuring part which measures the height of some exposure area among the some exposure area on a target substrate,
The generation unit,
First height information indicating a reference height and second height information indicating a height of the target substrate based on a measurement result by the measurement unit, with respect to the substrate exposed before the target substrate;
The height of one exposure area among the plurality of exposure areas on the target substrate is calculated based on the third height information indicating the reference height, the first height information, and the second height information with respect to the one exposure area,
Generate a driving command of the driving unit based on the calculated height of the one exposure area,
And the one exposure area is exposed after the drive portion moves the substrate based on the drive instruction generated by the generation portion.
The method of claim 16,
And the first height information is information calculated using an average value or a median value of heights of a plurality of substrates exposed before the target substrate.
As a method of manufacturing an article,
Exposing a substrate using an exposure apparatus that sequentially exposes a plurality of exposure regions on the substrate; And
Developing the substrate exposed in the exposing step,
The exposure apparatus,
A stage for holding and moving the substrate;
A driving unit driving the stage;
A generating unit generating a driving command of the driving unit; And
It is provided with the measuring part which measures the height of the exposure area of some of the some exposure area on the target substrate,
The generation unit,
First height information indicating a reference height and second height information indicating a height of the target substrate based on a measurement result by the measurement unit, with respect to the substrate exposed before the target substrate;
The height of one exposure area among the plurality of exposure areas on the target substrate is calculated based on the third height information indicating the reference height, the first height information, and the second height information with respect to the one exposure area,
Generate a driving command of the driving unit based on the calculated height of the one exposure area,
The one exposure area is exposed after the drive unit moves the substrate based on the drive command generated by the generation unit.
The method of claim 18,
Wherein the first height information is information calculated using an average value or a median value of heights of a plurality of substrates exposed before the target substrate;
An exposure apparatus that exposes a plurality of exposure regions on a substrate,
A stage for holding and moving the substrate;
A driving unit driving the stage; And
A generation unit for generating a driving instruction of the drive unit;
The generation unit,
Based on height information of at least some of the exposure regions on the first substrate, first height information of the first substrate, which is exposed before the second substrate different from the first substrate, is obtained;
Based on height information of at least some of the exposure regions of the plurality of exposure regions on the second substrate, second height information of the second substrate is obtained;
On the second substrate, at a position corresponding to the first exposure region among the plurality of exposure regions on the first substrate, based on the height information of the first exposure region, the first height information, and the second height information. A predicted height of a second exposure region is calculated among the plurality of exposure regions,
Driving the driver based on the calculated estimated height of the second exposure area; Configured to generate instructions,
And the second exposure area is exposed after the drive part moves the second substrate based on the drive command generated by the generation part.
The method of claim 20,
And the predicted height is calculated based on the height information of the first exposure area and the difference between the first height information and the second height information in the calculating step.
As a method of manufacturing an article,
Exposing a substrate using an exposure apparatus that sequentially exposes a plurality of exposure regions on the substrate; And
Developing the substrate exposed in the exposing step,
The exposure apparatus,
A stage for holding and moving the substrate;
A driving unit driving the stage; And
A generation unit for generating a driving instruction of the drive unit;
The generation unit,
Obtaining first height information of the first substrate, which is exposed before the second substrate different from the first substrate, based on height information of at least some of the exposure regions on the first substrate,
Based on height information of at least part of the exposure area of the plurality of exposure areas on the second substrate, second height information of the second substrate is obtained;
On the second substrate, at a position corresponding to the first exposure region among the plurality of exposure regions on the first substrate, based on the height information of the first exposure region, the first height information, and the second height information. A predicted height of a second exposure region is calculated among the plurality of exposure regions,
Generate a driving command of the driving unit based on the calculated estimated height of the second exposure area,
And the second exposure region is exposed after the drive portion moves the second substrate based on the drive instruction generated by the generation portion.
The method of claim 22,
And the predicted height is calculated based on the height information of the first exposure area and the difference between the first height information and the second height information in the calculating step.

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