WO1997029403A1 - Procede et appareil permettant de transferer un diagramme reticule par balayage optique sur un substrat d'une grande surface - Google Patents

Procede et appareil permettant de transferer un diagramme reticule par balayage optique sur un substrat d'une grande surface Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1997029403A1
WO1997029403A1 PCT/US1997/001854 US9701854W WO9729403A1 WO 1997029403 A1 WO1997029403 A1 WO 1997029403A1 US 9701854 W US9701854 W US 9701854W WO 9729403 A1 WO9729403 A1 WO 9729403A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
substrate
reticle
chuck
illumination
lens system
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US1997/001854
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Jeffrey G. Knirck
John A. Gibson
Paul A. Swanson
Original Assignee
Megapanel Corporation
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Megapanel Corporation filed Critical Megapanel Corporation
Priority to AU18578/97A priority Critical patent/AU1857897A/en
Publication of WO1997029403A1 publication Critical patent/WO1997029403A1/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
    • G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
    • G03F7/70691—Handling of masks or workpieces
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
    • G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
    • G03F7/70216—Mask projection systems
    • G03F7/70358—Scanning exposure, i.e. relative movement of patterned beam and workpiece during imaging

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the field of photolithographic techniques. More specifically, the present invention provides a method and apparatus which is optimized for fabricating large area substrates such as, for example, flat panel displays and multi-chip modules.
  • the first type of machine is called a contact or proximity printer.
  • Contact printing is the oldest of the three technologies.
  • a reticle and a substrate are in contact or close proximity and are aligned to each other.
  • a flood exposure illuminator illuminates the reticle and thereby exposes the substrate.
  • Contact printers are relatively low in complexity, and relatively low in cost, but have the disadvantage that reticles are ruined after a certain number of uses.
  • products which are processed using contact printers have a relatively high incidence of manufacturing defects.
  • manufacturers who would like to switch to one of the other available technologies are prevented because the cost of doing so is often prohibitive.
  • the second type of machine is commonly referred to as a step-and-repeat camera because it moves to a specified location- and prints a portion of the photosensitive substrate and then moves to another location and typically prints the same image on another portion of the substrate, repeating this process until the entire substrate is printed.
  • steppers were developed for integrated circuit fabrication where high resolution features within small repetitive patterns typify the product.
  • object-to-image magnifications are used by different equipment manufacturers.
  • a stepper is used to expose a large pattern onto a substrate, multiple smaller images must be "stitched" together with high precision to create the desired large product.
  • One major disadvantage of the step-and-repeat technology is the need for very precise alignment to seamlessly stitch adjacent fields together. This typically requires a very expensive stage with a precise metrology system.
  • the third type of machine is called a scanner.
  • the largest available format scanners print a six inch (150 mm) wide image at IX magnification with resolutions down to about 1 micrometer.
  • the scan is a single axis smooth motion of a substrate under a lens system.
  • the scan can be any length, but the illuminated width is limited to the width of the lens field.
  • Hybrid scanners have been built that print two six inch wide images that are aligned adjacent to each other in much the same way as steppers do.
  • Steppers and scanners are complex, expensive and very large, consuming a large area of expensive clean room floor space due to their large lenses and substrate stages.
  • field stitching requires high precision alignments and magnification control of the lenses to minimize gaps or over laps between adjacent image fields, satisfactory product yield is often a problem.
  • a system and method for photolithographically transferring a full field reticle pattern to a large area substrate by two dimensional scanning is described.
  • a reticle is placed between an illumination system and a projection lens.
  • the projection lens is placed between the reticle and a substrate.
  • the projection lens and illuminator system are moved to effect the scanning rather than the substrate and reticle because they are relatively smaller than the substrate and reticle. As will be shown, this feature greatly reduces the size of the apparatus.
  • a significant advantage over previous lithography technologies is realized by the present invention in that a reticle pattern may be transferred to a large area substrate without stitching errors. Moreover, the process may be repeated for numerous substrates quickly with a small, inexpensive and reliable apparatus.
  • the reticle is full sized with a unity (IX) magnification image of the entire area to be exposed onto the substrate.
  • the optical system includes a small field unity magnification relay lens system located between the reticle and substrate chucks which produces an erect and noninverted image on the substrate, and an illuminator located on the other side of the reticle chuck from the lens system which covers the field of the lens. The transparent reticle is thus illuminated from its backside.
  • the lens system is composed of two double telecentric unity magnification (lx) relay lenses to provide an erect and noninverted image.
  • the substrate chuck and the reticle chuck hold the substrate and the reticle, respectively, in the vertical plane ⁇ i.e., parallel to the local gravity vector) to eliminate sagging of the substrate or reticle due to gravity.
  • a stage system is employed to move the lens and illuminator systems in unison relative to the large reticle and substrate which are held fixed.
  • image transfer is accomplished by scanning with a stage motion in a two dimensional serpentine pattern.
  • a secondary stage system moves the substrate relative to the reticle for alignment and focus .
  • the secondary stage system has six axes of motion for producing the precise motions required for alignment and focus.
  • an apparatus for transferring a reticle pattern to a substrate includes a frame with substrate and reticle chucks mounted to the frame.
  • An illumination system illuminates the reticle pattern through an aperture in the reticle chuck.
  • a lens system produces erect and noninverted images of portions of the reticle pattern on the substrate. The illumination system and the lens system move substantially in unison to effect transfer of the reticle pattern onto the substrate.
  • Fig. 1 is a front view of a specific embodiment of the invention
  • Fig. 2 is another front view of a specific embodiment of the invention
  • Fig. 3 is a side view of a specific embodiment of the invention
  • Fig. 4 is a top view of a specific embodiment of the invention
  • Fig. 5A-C are representations of the trapezoidal exposure field and the serpentine scanning exposure technique of a specific embodiment of the invention.
  • Fig. 6 is a side view of a specific embodiment of the invention.
  • Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 are a front views of a specific embodiment of a photolithography apparatus designed according to the present invention.
  • Fig. 2 is similar to Fig. l except that the illuminator system, reticle and reticle chuck have been removed so that the lens system, substrate, substrate chuck, and focus and alignment actuators may be more easily seen.
  • a structural frame 12 supports the working elements of the apparatus. Frame 12 is supported and isolated from vibration on vibration isolation mounts 20 from which the frame is suspended. It will be understood that vibration isolation may be achieved in a variety of ways and is not limited to the configuration shown. In the embodiment of Figs.
  • two isolation mounts 20 are sufficient for supporting the apparatus because frame 12 is substantially longer in the vertical dimension than it is in the dimension normal to the planes of substrate 1 and reticle 4 (i.e., into the page) .
  • the working elements of the apparatus are mounted at a slight angle from the vertical with respect to the frame and gravity in order to bias the substrate against the substrate chuck and to thereby make substrate handling and loading easier and more reliable.
  • Fig. 3 is a side view of the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2 which shows a reticle chuck 5 kinematically supported within frame 12 on three balls forming reticle chuck kinematic mounts 23.
  • a reticle chuck kinematic mount 23 can also be seen in Fig. 4, a top view of the apparatus.
  • Reticle chuck 5 is thick, rigid and stable, and has a lapped surface to which a reticle 4 is attached by vacuum.
  • Reticle chuck 5 also has a large reticle chuck aperture 2 by means of which reticle 4 is illuminated and substrate 1 is exposed.
  • Reticle chuck aperture 2 and the image or pattern on reticle 4 (not shown) are substantially the same size as the area of the substrate to be exposed.
  • reticle chuck aperture 2 is beveled to account for the numerical aperture (NA) of the illumination system.
  • Reticle 4 is substantially larger than reticle chuck aperture 2 to provide an area on the perimeter of reticle 4 for secure vacuum attachment of reticle 4 to reticle chuck 5.
  • Reticle 4 is oriented such that the surface containing the image is facing away from reticle chuck 5. If the machine is oriented vertically, and especially if the chucks are disposed at an angle to bias the substrate against the substrate chuck, retaining clips would hold reticle 4 in place in the case of a sudden loss of vacuum.
  • Fig. 4 is a top view of the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2 which shows a substrate chuck 3 which is supported within frame 12 on substrate chuck support flexures 19 which allow substrate chuck 3 to move slightly in the direction of reticle 4 (for focusing) , as well as tilt slightly in two rotational axes (for focus plane leveling) .
  • Substrate chuck 3 is thick, rigid and stable, and has a lapped surface facing reticle 4 to which a typically thin substrate 1 is attached by vacuum.
  • the position of substrate chuck 3 may be adjusted in the focus axis (i.e., the direction normal to the plane of reticle 4) by three focus actuators 17 that are attached to frame 12. Pure focus motion toward and away from reticle 4 is accomplished by driving focus actuators 17 in unison and thereby exerting force on focus actuator couplings 18. Focus actuators 17 are located outside the perimeter of reticle chuck 5 to allow lens system 10 and illuminator system 11 a full range of motion between reticle 4 and substrate 1. Two axes of tilt adjustment of substrate chuck 3 are accomplished by driving focus actuators 17 differentially.
  • substrate alignment actuators 16 are mounted to substrate chuck 3.
  • Substrate alignment actuators 16 move substrate 1 via alignment levers 15 that are also mounted to substrate chuck 3.
  • Alignment levers 15 provide a bearing surface that contacts substrate 1, and are characterized by an actuation ratio which provides higher resolution motion.
  • the actuation ratio can be produced, for example, by a cam, a lever, or both together.
  • motorized micrometer screws (not shown) are used for substrate alignment actuators 16 to provide further precision and resolution of motion.
  • the alignment mechanisms act as movable reference points for the substrate.
  • Retractable substrate forcers 28, like pistons, can be used to push the substrate against the alignment mechanisms. If the system is oriented vertically the substrate is naturally preloaded against the lower alignment mechanisms.
  • Small field unity magnification relay lens system 10 produces an erect and noninverted image and is mounted on a two axis stage between reticle chuck 5 and substrate chuck 3.
  • a small field is specified to keep lens system 10 and illuminator 11 small enough such that they can be moved quickly and easily.
  • Fig. 1 shows a superposition of lens system 10 and illuminator 11 with their trapezoidal exposure fields 24 aligned.
  • lens system 10 employs two cascaded double telecentric unity magnification (lx) Wynn-Dyson relay lenses. Two lenses produce an image which is both erect and noninverted. This specific type of lens system produces a semicircular field in which trapezoidal exposure field 24 fits efficiently.
  • Illuminator 11 is provided to illuminate the reticle.
  • the illuminator contains a mercury arc lamp, and an optical relay section to project the illumination through reticle aperture 2, through reticle 4, and into lens system 10.
  • Lens system 10 is transported horizontally by a lens system motor 22 which rides on a lens system motor platen 21.
  • illuminator 11 is transported horizontally by an illuminator motor 9 which rides on an illuminator motor platen 8.
  • Lens system motor platen 21 and illuminator motor platen 8 are linked at their ends and are mounted to two vertical motors 7 which provide transportation for both lens system 10 and illuminator 11 simultaneously in the vertical axis.
  • Vertical motors 7 move on two vertical motor platens 6 mounted adjacent and parallel to the sides of reticle chuck 5.
  • Fig. 5a shows a trapezoidal illumination field 14 from illuminator 11 which is slightly larger than the lens image field which determines the size of trapezoidal exposure field 24. This feature allows for a slight misalignment or stage tracking error between lens system 10 and illuminator 11.
  • Figs. 5b and 5c show how trapezoidal exposure field 24 is overlapped during multiple adjacent sequential scans in the serpentine scanning process. The overlapping portions of adjacent scans add to produce a substantially constant dose equivalent to the non-overlapped portions.
  • FIG. 5b shows the serpentine scan path, with constant velocity horizontal scans 25 during which exposure occurs. Between scans offset steps 26 equal to the mean width of trapezoidal exposure field 24 are executed beyond the exposure area of reticle 4 and substrate 1 to produce a precise overlapping illumination pattern (Fig. 5c) which in turn produces a uniform exposure of the entire substrate.
  • the motors which move the lens system and illuminator are Sawyer type linear stepper motors.
  • the motors ride on their respective platens on air bearings.
  • the motors and air bearings are loaded against their platens with permanent magnets.
  • the technique of two dimensional scanning of IX images with overlapping scan fields greatly reduces any requirement for stage position precision.
  • Double telecentricity of the lens system means that focus is determined by the distance between the reticle and substrate planes and their parallelism, the position of the lens system between the substrate and reticle planes being unimportant. Therefore, position variations of the lens system in the focus axis (normal to the substrate or reticle planes) has no effect on the quality of the exposed image.
  • Absolute position errors of the lens system in the vertical axis also have no effect. Errors in the size of offset steps 26 produce an illumination nonuniformity. Errors in the constant velocity horizontal scans 25 cause exposure intensity errors. The constant velocity horizontal scans 25 begin at the extreme ends of the horizontal stages beyond the exposed area of the substrate and reticle so small absolute position errors of the lens system have no effect.
  • the tracking of the illuminator to the lens system is important to illumination uniformity. Slight tracking errors are allowed to the degree that the trapezoidal illumination field 14 is larger than the trapezoidal exposure field 24.
  • the use of stepper motors inherently provides both the position and velocity precision required by the system without the use of an expensive and elaborate metrology system.
  • the apparatus is mounted with the substrate and reticle in a substantially vertical plane to eliminate sagging, primarily of the reticle, due to gravity.
  • a substrate and reticle may be loaded into the apparatus from the top, bottom or a side as viewed from the front (see Fig. l) .
  • Access to the substrate or reticle for loading or unloading may also be accomplished by opening or separating the frame on flexures or a hinge 29 at or near the plane of the substrate as shown in Fig. 6.
  • the various features of the embodiment of Fig. 6 are described above with reference to Figs. 1-4. It will be understood that to load or unload substrate 1 or reticle 4, lens system 10 and illuminator assembly 11 must be moved to extreme positions to allow clear access.
  • focus and alignment may be performed by a variety of focus and alignment measurement and movement techniques which move the substrate chuck and substrate to the optimum position relative to the reticle in six axes; three focus and three alignment.
  • the exposure operation is performed by scanning the lens system and illuminator synchronously.
  • the predominant scan axis is the horizontal axis so that the motors do not need to fight an asymmetric gravity vector while trying to maintain constant velocities.
  • the scan is executed back and forth in the horizontal axis at a constant velocity to produce a constant illumination dose rate.
  • the vertical stage is incremented by vertical step 26 as depicted in Fig. 5b.
  • the horizontal scan is repeated in the opposite direction.
  • This serpentine scanning sequence is repeated until the entire reticle pattern is transferred to the substrate.
  • variations of the apparatus described above enhance different aspects of system performance. For example, to increase throughput, the field size of the lens system is increased thereby increasing the light power relayed through it and reducing the number of scans required to cover a given substrate area.
  • the numerical aperture of the lens system and illuminator is increased thereby increasing the light power transferred through the lens system.
  • a higher power lamp source achieves the same result. More light could also be transferred to a substrate with a given size lens system by ganging multiple lens systems and corresponding illuminators onto a scanning stage system.
  • higher throughput is achieved with a single lithography machine with only an incremental cost increase by employing more than one lithography engine within the single lithography machine, i.e., multiple pairs of reticle and substrate chucks, each pair having its own lens and illuminator systems.
  • more than one pair of reticle and substrate chucks are employed within a single lithography machine with a single lens system and a single mounted on an extended horizontal scanning stage.
  • the lens and illuminator systems are time shared by the different pairs of reticle and substrate chucks such that each scan exposes similarly disposed regions for two different substrates on the respective substrate chucks.
  • stage types can be used to transport the lens system and illuminator.
  • Other types of linear motors could be used, such as DC or synchronous.
  • the stages could also be belt driven on linear bearings by rotary motors.
  • the lens system and illuminator could also be cantilevered on a "U" shaped bracket from an externally mounted two-axis stage system.
  • a variety of materials of construction could be used for the various components if chosen carefully.
  • the invention can be mounted in various orientations, and with a variety of physical mounting techniques.
  • a more conventional design in which the substrate and reticle chucks are oriented substantially horizontally could be built if the sag of the reticle is either compensated or otherwise unimportant.
  • the apparatus can incorporate various sensors to facilitate operation or safety. Different operating sequences can also be used to tailor the operation of the invention to a particular application. This invention may also be incorporated into many different types of equipment. The scope of the invention should therefore be determined not just with reference to the above description, but instead should be determined with reference to the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Exposure And Positioning Against Photoresist Photosensitive Materials (AREA)
  • Exposure Of Semiconductors, Excluding Electron Or Ion Beam Exposure (AREA)

Abstract

Cette invention concerne un appareil permettant de transférer un diagramme réticulé (4) sur un substrat (1), lequel appareil comprend un cadre (12) avec un substrat ainsi que des systèmes de maintien (3, 5) du réticule montés sur le cadre (12). Un système d'éclairage (11) va illuminer le diagramme réticulé à travers une ouverture (2) pratiquée dans le système de maintien (5) du réticule. Un système de lentilles (10) va produire sur le substrat des images dressées et non inversées de parties du diagramme réticulé. Le système d'éclairage (11) et le système de lentilles (10) se déplacent pratiquement à l'unisson de manière à effectuer le transfert du diagramme réticulé sur le substrat.
PCT/US1997/001854 1996-02-08 1997-02-06 Procede et appareil permettant de transferer un diagramme reticule par balayage optique sur un substrat d'une grande surface WO1997029403A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU18578/97A AU1857897A (en) 1996-02-08 1997-02-06 Method and apparatus for transferring a reticle pattern to large area substrate by scanning

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US60009696A 1996-02-08 1996-02-08
US08/600,096 1996-02-08

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1997029403A1 true WO1997029403A1 (fr) 1997-08-14

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US1997/001854 WO1997029403A1 (fr) 1996-02-08 1997-02-06 Procede et appareil permettant de transferer un diagramme reticule par balayage optique sur un substrat d'une grande surface

Country Status (2)

Country Link
AU (1) AU1857897A (fr)
WO (1) WO1997029403A1 (fr)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2005064400A2 (fr) * 2003-12-24 2005-07-14 Asml Netherlands B.V. Appareil lithographique et procede de fabrication de dispositifs

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5187519A (en) * 1990-10-05 1993-02-16 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Exposure apparatus having mount means to suppress vibrations
US5204711A (en) * 1990-06-08 1993-04-20 Nippon Seiko Kabushiki Kaisha Projection exposure device
US5285236A (en) * 1992-09-30 1994-02-08 Kanti Jain Large-area, high-throughput, high-resolution projection imaging system

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5204711A (en) * 1990-06-08 1993-04-20 Nippon Seiko Kabushiki Kaisha Projection exposure device
US5187519A (en) * 1990-10-05 1993-02-16 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Exposure apparatus having mount means to suppress vibrations
US5285236A (en) * 1992-09-30 1994-02-08 Kanti Jain Large-area, high-throughput, high-resolution projection imaging system

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2005064400A2 (fr) * 2003-12-24 2005-07-14 Asml Netherlands B.V. Appareil lithographique et procede de fabrication de dispositifs
WO2005064400A3 (fr) * 2003-12-24 2006-03-09 Asml Netherlands Bv Appareil lithographique et procede de fabrication de dispositifs
US7119884B2 (en) 2003-12-24 2006-10-10 Asml Netherlands B.V. Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU1857897A (en) 1997-08-28

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