KR20170136447A - Determining method of exposure condition, computer program, information processing apparatus, exposure apparatus, and method of manufacturing article - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a determination method for determining an exposure condition in an exposure device which exposes a substrate by projecting a pattern of a circular plate onto the substrate by a projection optical system, comprising: a setting process of setting components represented by f(r) cos(4n) and f(r) sin(4n) by using (r, ) as a polar coordinate, n as a nature number, and f(r) as a function of r among a plurality of components of a wave front aberration of the projection optical system; and a determination process of determining an exposure condition to allow focus sensitivity, which is a variation of a focus position by the components, to be within a target range.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for determining exposure conditions, a computer program, an information processing apparatus, an exposure apparatus,

The present invention relates to a method for determining exposure conditions, a program, an information processing apparatus, an exposure apparatus, and a method for manufacturing an article.

A display such as a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL panel is manufactured through a lithography process in which a pattern of an original plate (also referred to as a mask or a reticle) is transferred onto a substrate by an exposure apparatus (exposing the substrate through the pattern). 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been a growing demand for high definition of a display built in, for example, a smart phone or a tablet terminal. For this reason, a high resolution is required for an exposure apparatus.

Assuming that the numerical aperture of the projection optical system is NA, the wavelength of the exposure light is?, And the constant (k1 factor) depending on the exposure process is k1, the resolution of the exposure apparatus is expressed by the following equation.

(Resolution) = k1 x lambda / NA (One)

According to the expression (1), in order to improve the resolving power of the exposure apparatus, there are a method of increasing the numerical aperture NA of the projection optical system of the exposure apparatus and a method of shortening the exposure wavelength?. The numerical aperture of the projection optical system of the present exposure apparatus for display manufacturing is about 0.08 to 0.10, and the wavelength of the exposure light is the wavelength from the g line (wavelength 436 nm) to the i line (wavelength 365 nm) of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp. Under these conditions, the resolving power of the exposure apparatus reaches up to about 2 占 퐉 in line width. Even when the numerical aperture of the projection optical system is increased, the aberration of the projection optical system must be suppressed even when the exposure wavelength is shortened. As a method of expressing the aberration, a representation using a Zernike polynomial is generally used. The spherical aberration component is expressed in the form of f (r), the coma aberration component is in the form of f (r) .cosθ and f (r) • It is expressed in the form of sin2θ. Further, there are also f (r) 占 3 3θ and f (r) 揃 sin 3θ components (aberration of the 3θ component), f (r) 揃 cos 4θ and f (r) 揃 sin 4θ component (aberration of the 4θ component). The aberration of the projection optical system is represented by the linear combination of many such components. As is well known, the aberration of the projection optical system affects the shape and dimensions of the pattern transferred to the substrate.

In fact, when transferring the pattern of the original plate onto the substrate using the exposure apparatus, it is necessary to determine the exposure conditions. The exposure conditions include, for example, a pattern of the original plate, illumination conditions, numerical aperture of the projection optical system, and aberration, and the exposure conditions are determined such that a predetermined evaluation index such as a process margin becomes an optimal value or a value within the target range. Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2013-16710 discloses optimization of mask parameters, illumination parameters, and aberration parameters.

In the design of the projection optical system, it is necessary to simultaneously satisfy the dimensions of various components of the projection optical system, the overall dimensions of the projection optical system, and the constraint conditions on the processing shape of the optical element. Even when designing the projection optical system while considering both of the satisfaction of the constraint condition and the reduction of the aberration, aberrations peculiar to the type of the projection optical system remain. The remaining aberration is a factor for lowering the image forming performance such as lowering the contrast of an image projected onto the substrate of the pattern of the original plate or changing the position to be resolved. In the case of an exposure apparatus for producing a display, the configuration of the projection optical system is often an opener type or a Dyson type. However, if a projection optical system having a NA higher than that of a conventional one is designed using these projection optical systems, various aberrations may remain. Of these aberrations, coma aberration, astigmatism, and distortion aberration can be reduced by using a correction optical element such as a correction plate disposed inside the projection optical system. However, it is possible to reduce (4n) There is no way to adjust the vehicle. The 4n theta system aberration causes a deviation between the focal position of the pattern in the vertical direction and the focal position of the pattern in the oblique direction and thus causes a difference in line width of the pattern depending on such a direction. The 4n theta aberration means all or a part of aberration such as 4? System, 8? System, 12? System, and the like.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-16710

The present invention provides a method advantageous for exposure of a substrate by, for example, a projection optical system having a 4n theta system aberration.

One aspect of the present invention relates to a determination method for determining an exposure condition in an exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate by projecting a pattern of a disk onto a substrate by a projection optical system, (4n?) And f (r)? Sin (4n?), Where f (r) is a polar coordinate, n is a natural number, and f And a determining step of determining an exposure condition such that the focus sensitivity, which is the amount of change of the focus position by the component, falls within the target range.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a view showing a configuration of an exposure apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig.
2 is a diagram exemplifying a change amount (focus sensitivity) of a focus position of a projection optical system having r ⁴ x cos ^4? Which is one of the 4n? -Type aberration components;
3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram showing a flow of a method of determining an exposure condition executed by an information processing apparatus in accordance with a determination program;
5 is a diagram illustrating a defocus characteristic;
6 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the numerical aperture and the amount of change in focus position (focus sensitivity);
7 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the numerical aperture and the depth of focus;

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a configuration of an exposure apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The exposure apparatus 1 is provided with an illumination optical system 100, a projection optical system 200, an original plate driving mechanism MD, a substrate driving mechanism SD, a control unit 300, a console 400 and an operation unit 500 . The exposure apparatus 1 exposes the substrate P by illuminating the original plate M with the illumination optical system 100 and projecting the pattern shape of the original plate M onto the substrate P by the projection optical system 200 . The exposure apparatus 1 is configured such that the original plate is scanned and driven by an original plate driving mechanism MD and a pattern of the original plate M is projected onto the substrate P And can be configured as a scanning exposure apparatus for transferring.

The illumination optical system 100 includes a light source 101, a wavelength filter 102, an ND filter 103, an optical integrator 104, a condenser lens 105, a beam splitter 106, a light amount detector 107, A masking blade 108, a lens 109, and a reflector 110. The light source 101 generates light such as ultraviolet light. The light source 101 may include, for example, an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp or an excimer laser. Light emitted from the light source 101 travels in the direction of the arrow. The wavelength filter 102 transmits light in a predetermined wavelength range as exposure light and blocks other light. The wavelength filter 102 has a function of changing the wavelength of the light to be transmitted, thereby changing the wavelength of the exposure light irradiated on the substrate P. The wavelength of the exposure light may be changed by controlling the light source 101.

The ND filter 103 adjusts the intensity of the exposure light radiated from the light source 101 and transmitted through the wavelength filter 102. The optical integrator 104 uniformizes the illuminance distribution of the exposure light for illuminating the original plate M. [ The condenser lens 105 condenses the exposure light transmitted through the optical integrator 104. A part of the exposure light transmitted through the condenser lens 105 is split by the beam splitter 106 and is incident on the light amount detector 107. The light amount detector 107 is a monitor for confirming that the illuminance of the exposure light for illuminating the original plate M is within a predetermined range. The masking blade 108 defines an illumination range of the original plate M. [ The lens 109 images the illumination range defined by the masking blade 108b on the original plate M. [ The reflecting mirror 110 bends the optical axis of the exposure light, and the original plate M is illuminated by the exposure light from the reflecting mirror 110. The original plate M is driven in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis by the disc driving mechanism MD.

A pattern is drawn on the pattern surface of the original plate M and an image of this pattern is projected onto the substrate P by the projection optical system 200. [ That is, an image of the pattern of the original M is formed on the substrate P. The projection optical system 200 may be, for example, an opener type projection optical system mainly composed of a concave mirror and a convex mirror, but may be another projection optical system. The projection optical system 200 may include a correction optical element 201, a trapezoidal mirror 202, a concave mirror 203, a convex mirror 204, and an NA stop 205. The correction optical element 201 corrects at least one of, for example, coma aberration, astigmatism, and distortion aberration. In Fig. 1, one correction plate is shown as the correction optical element 201, but correction plates of the same number as the number of aberration to be corrected can be arranged. As a result of the correction by the correcting optical element 201, the main component of the residual aberration of the projection optical system 200 becomes the 4n? Component, and the other components can be reduced to almost negligible level.

The trapezoidal mirror 202 reflects the exposure light transmitted through the correction optical element 201 toward the concave mirror 203. The exposure light reflected by the concave mirror 203 is reflected by the convex mirror 204 and is directed to the concave mirror 203. A NA stop 205 is disposed in the vicinity of the convex mirror 204 and the numerical aperture of the projection optical system 200 can be changed by changing the diameter of the aperture of the NA stop 205 by a drive mechanism not shown. The exposure light reflected by the convex mirror 204 reaches the substrate P after being reflected by the concave mirror 203 and the trapezoidal mirror 202. The substrate P is driven in the direction parallel to the optical axis (z-axis direction) and in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis by the substrate driving mechanism SD. The defocus amount can be changed by moving the substrate in the direction parallel to the optical axis by the substrate driving mechanism SD.

The control unit 300 controls the entire operation of the exposure apparatus 1. The console 400 is used by an operator to provide instructions and information to the exposure apparatus 1. [ The operator can input, for example, information on the numerical aperture of the projection optical system 200, the wavelength of the exposure light, and the transmittance of the ND filter 103 to the console 400. The information input to the console 400 is sent to the control unit 300. The control unit 300 controls the wavelength filter 102 to control the wavelength of the exposure light and controls the ND filter 103 to control the transmittance of the ND filter 103 and controls the NA iris 205, The numerical aperture of the optical system 200 is controlled.

The exposure conditions (for example, the wavelength of the exposure light and the numerical aperture of the projection optical system 200) determined by a determination method to be described later are transmitted to the control unit 300 through the console 400, And the control unit 300 can perform exposure of the substrate P in accordance with the exposure conditions. Alternatively, the calculation unit 500 may execute the determination method described later, thereby determining the exposure conditions, and perform the exposure of the substrate P in accordance with the exposure conditions.

The wave front aberration of the projection optical system 200 can have a plurality of components, but a 4n? -Type component can be exemplified as a component that can not be corrected by the correcting optical element 201. When the (r, θ) is a polar coordinate, n is a natural number, and f (r) is a function of a radius r (wavefront function)

(4n?) and f (r)? sin (4n?).

. Among the 4n? -Type components, especially the component with n = 1,

f (r) 占 cos s (4?) and f (r) 占 sin (4?)

May cause a line width difference of a pattern formed on the substrate P through exposure.

The aberration-free projection optical system in which the 4n? -Type component does not exist and the actual projection optical system in which the 4n? -Type component exists differ in the focus position (for example, the best focus position). In other words, the focus position of the actual projection optical system in which the 4n? -Type component exists is changed with respect to the focus position of the projection optical system of the non-aberration without the 4n? -Component component. The amount of change of the focus position of the projection optical system by the 4n? -Type component can be changed according to the exposure condition (for example, the wavelength of the exposure light, the numerical aperture of the projection optical system). Therefore, the amount of change of the focus position of the projection optical system by the 4n? -Type component is referred to as focus sensitivity. For example, an exposure condition in which the variation amount of the focus position of the projection optical system by the 4n? -Type component is small can be said to be an exposure condition in which sensitivity to focus is small and the line width difference caused by the difference in the direction of the formed pattern is small. On the other hand, the exposure condition in which the variation amount of the focus position of the projection optical system by the 4n? -Type component is large can be said to be an exposure condition in which sensitivity to focus is large and a line width difference caused by a difference in the direction of the formed pattern is large.

2 shows a change amount (focus sensitivity) of the focus position of the projection optical system having r ⁴ x cos ^4? Which is one of the 4n? -Type aberration components. 2, the abscissa is a k1 factor and corresponds to k1 in the equation (1). 2, the vertical axis indicates the amount of change (focus sensitivity) of the focus position with respect to the pattern in the predetermined direction when the component (aberration) of r ⁴ x cos ^{4? Is} given to the projection optical system of aberration difference. In FIG. 2, the amount of change in the focus position is shown for six kinds of exposure conditions consisting of the combination of the line widths of three types of patterns A, B and C and two types of exposure wavelengths? A and? B. The change amount of the focus position is here obtained by changing the numerical aperture NA of the projection optical system. The illumination condition, which is one of the exposure conditions, was annular illumination.

As can be seen from Fig. 2, there is a condition that the variation amount of the focus position in each curve becomes almost zero. This is because the influence of the aberration disturbance when the 0th-order diffracted light and the 1st-order diffracted light of the exposure light from the original plate are incident on the fuse plane of the projection optical system causes the influence of the focus position changing in the direction in which the light advances, Is a result of canceling each other. In the case of annular illumination, there is a condition in which the ratio of the focal length and the sigma varies, but the change amount of the focus position becomes almost zero when the value of the k1 factor is in the vicinity of 0.35 to 0.45. It is possible to find a condition in which the amount of change in focus position becomes almost zero even in the case of normal illumination. 2 shows a projection optical system having a 4? System component (aberration). However, there is also a condition that a change amount of the focus position is almost zero even for a projection optical system having a 4n? System component.

3 shows a configuration of an information processing apparatus 600 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The information processing apparatus 600 is configured as an apparatus for determining exposure conditions. In one example, the information processing apparatus 600 is configured to be capable of communicating with the exposure apparatus 1, and can be configured to provide the determined exposure conditions to the exposure apparatus 1 by communication. The exposure conditions determined by the information processing apparatus 600 may be provided to the exposure apparatus 1 through an operator. Or the function of the information processing apparatus 600 may be incorporated in the calculation unit 500. [

The information processing apparatus 600 may be configured by a general-purpose or dedicated computer. The information processing apparatus 600 may include a CPU 10, an input unit 20, an output unit 30, a memory 40, a communication unit 50, and a program memory 60. The input unit 20 is a device for inputting information and may include, for example, a keyboard, a pointing device, a touch panel, a touch pad, a media driver, and the like. The output unit 30 is a device for outputting information, and may include, for example, a display, a printer, a media driver, and the like. Some of the devices constituting the input unit 20 and the devices constituting the output unit 30 may be common. The memory 40 is a memory that provides a work area for calculation. The communication unit 50 is, for example, a device for communicating with the exposure apparatus 1 and / or another external apparatus. The program memory 60 is a memory medium for storing the determination program 62. [ The determination program 62 may be stored in a medium readable by a device such as a computer and provided to the information processing apparatus 600. [ The information processing apparatus 600 having the determination program 62 incorporated therein or the information processing apparatus 600 operating along with the determination program 62 constitutes an apparatus for determining exposure conditions along with the determination program 62. [ The information processing apparatus 600 in which the determination program 62 is embedded or the information processing apparatus 600 that operates in accordance with the determination program 62 executes the determination method for determining the exposure conditions along with the determination program 62 do.

4 shows a flow of a method of determining an exposure condition executed by the information processing apparatus 600 in accordance with the determination program 62. As shown in Fig. In step S301, the information processing apparatus 600 sets the 4n theta system component (aberration component) as the wavefront aberration of the projection optical system 200 based on the information input through the input unit 20. [ Here, among the plurality of components of the wave front aberration of the projection optical system 200, the spherical aberration component, the coma aberration component, the astigmatism component, and the like are typically corrected to an extent that can be ignored by adjustment of the correction optical element 201 It can be ignored. Therefore, 0 can be set for the spherical aberration component, the coma aberration component, the astigmatism component, and the like. Here, the spherical aberration component is represented by f (r), the coma aberration component is represented by f (r) · cos θ and f (r) · sin θ and the astigmatism component is represented by f (r) - sin < 2 > [theta]. The components other than the 4 < th > -type component (components such as 8 &thetas; system and 12 &thetas;) in the 4 &thetas; system component may be disregarded. In this case, 0 " can be set for the component of " The calculation load can be reduced by setting the components other than the 4n? System to zero.

In step S302, the information processing apparatus 600 sets an initial exposure condition candidate and a calculation condition based on the information input through the input unit 20. [ The initial exposure condition candidates may be provided in combination of initial values of each of a plurality of parameters relating to exposure. Examples of the plurality of parameters include a pattern specification, a numerical aperture of the projection optical system 200, a wavelength of exposure light, an illumination condition, and the like. The specification of the pattern is information on the pattern of the original plate M and may include, for example, the line width and arrangement pitch of the line pattern, the dimensions of the hole pattern, and the like. The pattern specification may include the transmittance of the light shielding portion and the phase difference formed by the light shielding portion and the transmissive portion when the original plate M is a phase shift mask. The numerical aperture of the projection optical system 200 is as described above. The wavelength of the exposure light can be adjusted by the wavelength filter 102 and / or the light source 101. The exposure light may be light having a single wavelength or light having a broad wavelength spectrum distribution. When the exposure light is a light having a broad wavelength spectrum distribution, for example, a center-of-gravity wavelength may be used, or a weighted integration (weighted average) proportional to the intensity of the individual wavelength may be performed after calculation is performed for each individual wavelength.

The calculation condition is a condition for specifying how to perform calculation while changing values of a plurality of parameters constituting an exposure condition candidate in the following steps S303 to S306. In other words, the calculation condition is a condition for designating all the exposure conditions to be calculated in steps S303 and S304. The calculation condition may include, for example, a condition for specifying how to perform calculations while changing the numerical aperture of the projection optical system 200. [

In step S303, the information processing apparatus 600 changes the defocus amount within the range including the best focus position of the projection optical system 200, (Phase characteristics) of the phase. For calculation of the phase characteristics, for example, software for optical calculation or a lithography simulator or the like can be used. The image characteristic may be at least one of, for example, an optical image contrast formed by the projection optical system 200, a normalized image log-slope (NILS), an optical image CD, a resist CD, Thereby, a defocus characteristic indicating the relationship between the defocus amount and the image characteristic is obtained. The defocus characteristic can be obtained by, for example, plotting the defocus amount as a horizontal axis and the vertical axis representing an image characteristic as a vertical axis, . ≪ / RTI > The peak position (position indicating the maximum value or the minimum value) of this curve can be defined as the best focus position (defocus amount = 0) of the projection optical system 200 having the 4n theta system component (aberration).

In step S304, the information processing apparatus 600 calculates a change amount (focus sensitivity) of the focus position based on the defocus characteristic obtained in step S303. Here, the difference between the best focus position when the projection optical system 200 is aberrationless and the best focus position when the projection optical system 200 has the 4n theta system component (aberration) is the amount of change in focus position (focus sensitivity) .

In step S305, the information processing apparatus 600 determines whether or not steps S303 and S304 are completed for all the exposure condition candidates specified by the calculation conditions set in step S302, and branches the process. If steps S303 and S304 are completed for all the parameter values, the information processing apparatus 600 proceeds to step S307; otherwise, it proceeds to step S306. In step S306, the information processing apparatus 600 changes the parameter value (for example, changes the parameter value indicating the numerical aperture of the projection optical system) in accordance with the calculation condition set in step S302, and then returns to step S303.

In step S307, the information processing apparatus 600 determines whether or not a plurality of exposure condition candidates (for example, a plurality of exposure condition candidates) are selected based on the plurality of focus sensitivities (the amount of change in the focus position) obtained for each of the plurality of exposure condition candidates by repeating the steps S303 to S306 One is determined as an exposure condition. Here, when there is one exposure condition candidate in which the focus sensitivity falls within the target range, the information processing apparatus 600 can determine the exposure condition candidate as the exposure condition. On the other hand, when the focus sensitivity falls within the target range for at least two exposure condition candidates among the plurality of exposure condition candidates for which the focus sensitivity calculation has been performed, the information processing apparatus 600 sets one of the at least two exposure condition candidates Can be determined as an exposure condition.

In one example, the information processing apparatus 600 can determine one of the at least two exposure condition candidates as the exposure condition based on the process margin of the pattern formed under the at least two exposure condition candidates. In another example, the information processing apparatus 600 can determine one of the at least two exposure condition candidates as the exposure condition based on the depth of focus (DOF) under the at least two exposure condition candidates . In another example, the information processing apparatus 600 may determine one of the at least two exposure condition candidates as the exposure condition based on the MEEF (Mask Error Enhancement Factor) under the at least two exposure condition candidates.

The information processing apparatus 600 may be understood as an information processing apparatus having a setting unit for executing the process S301 to set the 4n theta component (aberration) and a determining unit for determining the exposure conditions by executing the processes S302 to S307. The functions of the setting unit and the determination unit may be provided by hardware composed of a circuit such as an ASIC.

In the above example, the focus sensitivity is calculated for a plurality of predetermined exposure condition candidates, and then the exposure conditions in which the focus sensitivity falls within the target range are determined. Instead of this method, for example, the focus sensitivity may be calculated while changing the exposure condition candidate, and the exposure condition candidate at the time when the focus sensitivity enters the target range may be determined as the exposure condition.

Fig. 5 illustrates the defocus characteristic obtained in step S303. 5, the abscissa axis represents the defocus amount, and the ordinate axis represents the phase characteristic, specifically, the optical contrast formed by the projection optical system 200. In Fig. In this example, a plurality of parameters constituting the exposure conditions are set such that the line width is set to a repetition pattern of 1.5 mu m, the wavelength of the exposure light is set to i line (365 nm), the illumination condition is set to annular illumination, the numerical aperture NA of the projection optical system 200 Was set to 0.08 to 0.12. In this example, for the sake of simplicity, the numerical aperture of the projection optical system 200 is targeted for optimization. Further, a representative 4? -Type component (aberration) was set. 5, the defocus amount = 0 indicates the best focus position in a projection optical system of the aberration degree, and the defocus amount, which indicates the maximum contrast value, is the change amount (focus sensitivity) of the focus position due to the 4 & .

FIG. 6 is a graph plotting the change amount (focus sensitivity) of the focus position at the numerical aperture (NA) = 0.08 to 0.12 obtained from FIG. For example, when the numerical aperture is 0.09, the focus sensitivity is about 1.3 mu m. Here, it is assumed that the line pattern in the vertical direction and the line pattern best focus position in the horizontal direction are changed by + 1.3 占 퐉 by the 4? System component (aberration). In this case, since the best focus position is changed by -1.3 占 퐉 with respect to these lines and oblique lines in the 45 占 direction, the total difference is 2.6 占 퐉. Fig. 7 is a graph plotting the result of calculating the defocus range (depth of focus (DOF)) at which a contrast of 0.5 or more is obtained from the results of Fig. 5, with the numerical aperture as the abscissa axis. Here, when a contrast of 0.5 or more is obtained, the threshold value of contrast is set to 0.5 in accordance with a criterion that good resolution performance is obtained. 6 and 7, it is determined that the numerical aperture is 0.10, and the exposure condition with the largest depth of focus is hardly affected by the change of the focus position caused by the 4? System component (aberration) of the projection optical system.

In this example, the optimal numerical aperture is determined by evaluating the phase characteristics while varying the numerical aperture of the projection optical system. Actually, however, there are various parameters such as the illumination condition, the wavelength of the exposure light, and the pitch of the pattern. The influence of the remaining aberration is confirmed while changing the values of these parameters, and the optimum exposure condition is searched. In this case, there is a possibility that an enormous amount of time, for example, several days to ten days, may be required. However, by narrowing the k1 factor to, for example, about 0.35 to about 0.45, and various parameters to a value smaller by the influence of the 4 &thetas; system component and setting the other aberration component to 0, .

In determining the exposure condition, it is preferable to search for an exposure condition in which the amount of change (focus sensitivity) of the focus position by the 4n theta system component is substantially zero. However, the amount of change in the focus position is, for example, 20% can be tolerated. Therefore, the target range of the change amount of the focus position by the 4n? -Type component can be appropriately determined in accordance with the target specification, for example, within 20% of the depth of focus.

The method for determining the exposure conditions is suitable for the production of articles such as semiconductor devices. A method of manufacturing an article, such as a semiconductor device, may include a preparation step, an exposure step, a development step, and a treatment step. In the preparation step, the exposure conditions are determined according to the above-mentioned determination method. In the exposure step, the substrate is exposed in accordance with the exposure conditions determined in the preparation step. In the development process, the exposed substrate in the exposure process is developed. In the processing step, the developed substrate is processed in the developing step. This treatment may include, for example, etching, ion implantation, oxidation, or the like.

The present invention is characterized in that a program for realizing one or more functions of the above-described embodiment is supplied to a system or an apparatus via a network or a storage medium and one or more processors in the computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program . It is also possible to realize a circuit (for example, an ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. It is to be understood that the scope of the claims is to be interpreted broadly as embracing such modifications and equivalent structures or functions.

1: Exposure device 100: Illumination optical system
200: projection optical system M: original plate
P: substrate 201: correction optical element
300: control unit 400: console
500: operation unit 600: information processing device

Claims (17)

A method of determining an exposure condition in an exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate by projecting a pattern of a disk onto a substrate by a projection optical system,
Cos (4n?) And f (r)? Sin (r) as a function of a polar coordinate, n is a natural number, and f (r) is a function of r, among the plurality of components of the wave front aberration of the projection optical system. (4n &thetas;),
And determining the exposure condition so that the focus sensitivity, which is the amount of change of the focus position by the component, falls within the target range. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein said determining step determines said exposure condition such that a focus sensitivity due to a component when n = 1 among said components falls within said target range. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the numerical aperture of the projection optical system is determined as the exposure condition in the determining step. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein said determining step determines the wavelength of light used for said exposure as said exposure condition. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein said determining step determines the numerical aperture of said projection optical system and the wavelength of light used for said exposure as said exposure condition. The method according to claim 1,
In the setting step, a component other than the component represented by f (r) .cos (4n?) And f (r) sin (4n?) Among the plurality of components of the wave front aberration of the projection optical system is set to zero ≪ / RTI > The method according to claim 1,
The above-
A first step of calculating, for each of a plurality of exposure condition candidates, a defocus characteristic which is a relationship between a defocus amount of the projection optical system and an image characteristic formed by the projection optical system;
A second step of calculating the focus sensitivity based on the defocus characteristic of each of the plurality of exposure condition candidates calculated in the first step;
And a third step of determining the exposure conditions based on the focus sensitivity for each of the plurality of exposure condition candidates calculated in the second step. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein in the determination step, when the focus sensitivity calculated for at least two exposure condition candidates out of the plurality of exposure condition candidates falls within the target range, based on the process margin under the at least two exposure condition candidates, Wherein one of the two exposure condition candidates is determined as an exposure condition. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein in the determination step, when the focus sensitivity calculated for at least two exposure condition candidates out of the plurality of exposure condition candidates falls within the target range, based on the depth of focus under the at least two exposure condition candidates, Wherein one of the two exposure condition candidates is determined as an exposure condition. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein in the determination step, when the focus sensitivity calculated for at least two exposure condition candidates out of the plurality of exposure condition candidates falls within the target range, based on the illuminance of the substrate under the at least two exposure condition candidates, Characterized in that one of at least two exposure condition candidates is determined as an exposure condition. 8. The method of claim 7,
In the determination step, when the focus sensitivity calculated for at least two exposure condition candidates among the plurality of exposure condition candidates falls within the target range, a MEEF (Mask Error Enhancement Factor) under the at least two exposure condition candidates Wherein one of said at least two exposure condition candidates is determined as an exposure condition. The method according to claim 1,
The above-
A first step of calculating a defocus characteristic which is a relationship between a defocus amount of the projection optical system and a characteristic of an image formed by the projection optical system;
A second step of calculating the focus sensitivity based on the defocus characteristic calculated in the first step;
And a third step of determining the exposure condition based on the focus sensitivity calculated in the second step. 13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12,
Wherein the projection optical system is an opener type projection optical system. 13. A computer program stored in a recording medium for causing a computer to execute the determination method according to any one of claims 1 to 12. An information processing apparatus for determining an exposure condition in an exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate by projecting a pattern of a disk onto a substrate by a projection optical system,
Cos (4n?) And f (r)? Sin (r) as a function of a polar coordinate, n is a natural number, and f (r) is a function of r, among the plurality of components of the wave front aberration of the projection optical system. (4n &thetas;),
And a determination unit that determines an exposure condition such that a focus sensitivity, which is a change amount of a focus position by the component, falls within a target range. An exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate by projecting a pattern of an original plate onto a substrate by a projection optical system,
An information processing apparatus according to claim 15,
And a control unit for controlling the exposure in accordance with an exposure condition determined by the information processing apparatus. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of: determining an exposure condition according to the crystallization method according to any one of claims 1 to 12;
And exposing the substrate in accordance with the exposure conditions determined in the process,
Wherein the substrate on which exposure has been performed is treated to produce an article.

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