WO2000011707A1

WO2000011707A1 - Method and apparatus for scanning exposure, and micro device

Info

Publication number: WO2000011707A1
Application number: PCT/JP1999/004285
Authority: WO
Inventors: Masaichi Murakami
Original assignee: Nikon Corporation
Priority date: 1998-08-24
Filing date: 1999-08-09
Publication date: 2000-03-02
Also published as: AU5066799A

Abstract

A scanning exposure device (1) comprises a reticle stage (5) for holding a reticle (R) while moving along a predetermined direction, a substrate stage (6) for holding a substrate (P) while moving along a predetermined direction, and a device (18) for changing the predetermined directions to move the reticle stage (5) and the substrate stage (6) synchronously. The scanning direction can thus be properly changed depending on the exposure conditions, resulting in improved accuracy of the superposition, connection and overlap of patterns.

Description

Specification

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a scanning type exposure apparatus, a scanning type exposure method, and a micro device.

The present invention relates to a scanning type exposure apparatus and a method for exposing a pattern formed on a reticle to the substrate by synchronously moving a reticle and a substrate in a predetermined direction, and a manufacturing method including an exposure step using the scanning type exposure apparatus. Related to microdevices to be used.

This application is based on a patent application to Japan (Japanese Patent Application No. 10-237806), and the contents of the Japanese application are incorporated as a part of this specification. Background art

In recent years, as display elements (microdevices) for personal computers, televisions, and the like, liquid crystal display substrates that can be made thinner have been frequently used. This type of liquid crystal display substrate is manufactured by patterning a transparent thin-film electrode into a desired shape on a photosensitive substrate having a rectangular shape in plan view by photolithography. As an apparatus for this photolithography, an exposure apparatus for exposing a pattern formed on a reticle to a photoresist layer on a photosensitive substrate via a projection optical system is used. By the way, the above-mentioned liquid crystal display substrate (glass plate) has been increasing in size due to the ease of viewing the screen, and recently, a substrate with a size of about 60 Omm x 700 mm is required. An exposure apparatus that responds to this demand is an LCD (Liquid Crystal Disp 1 ay) pattern formed on a reticle by moving a reticle and a glass substrate synchronously in a predetermined direction and scanning the projection optical system. In many cases, a scanning exposure apparatus for sequentially transferring light to an exposure area on a glass substrate is used. In this scanning type exposure apparatus, it has been proposed that so-called “step-and-scan” in which scanning exposure is performed a plurality of times to cope with an increase in the size of a glass substrate. In other words, for this type of scanning exposure apparatus, the use of a screen synthesis method in which the LCD pattern transferred onto a glass substrate is superimposed or divided into multiple patterns for exposure is under consideration. Have been.

This screen synthesis method uses a plurality of reticles corresponding to each of the divided LCD patterns, scans and exposes the reticle pattern to the exposure area of the glass substrate corresponding to one reticle, and then steps the glass substrate. The reticle is moved and exchanged for another reticle, and the reticle pattern is scanned and exposed on the exposure area corresponding to the reticle, thereby forming an LCD pattern in which a plurality of patterns are synthesized on a glass substrate. is there.

However, the conventional scanning exposure apparatus, scanning exposure method, and microdevice as described above have the following problems.

The projection optical system has non-uniform imaging characteristics due to distortion and the like, and has directivity. Therefore, in the above-described scanning exposure apparatus, there are cases where there are directions in which magnification correction is difficult and directions in which scanning of the reticle and the glass substrate are difficult. On the other hand, in the LCD pattern, for example, a pattern for a TFT (ThinFilmTransistor) substrate, there may be a direction in which structural superposition is more important, such as having a large effect on transistor characteristics.

However, in the conventional scanning type exposure apparatus, the scanning direction is limited to one direction regardless of the magnification correction characteristic and the LCD pattern characteristic. As a result, it is not possible to select a scanning direction that is advantageous for exposure, and it is necessary to perform exposure in a situation where accuracy is disadvantageous. As a result, in the area adjacent to the divided pattern, there is a drawing error of the reticle, an aberration of a lens of an aberration system of a projection optical system, a positioning error of a substrate stage for positioning a glass substrate, and the like. Steps may occur at the seams, degrading the characteristics of the device.In addition, when the screen-synthesized divided patterns are superimposed in multiple layers, the overlapping error in the unit area of each layer and the line width difference of the patterns may cause the seams in the patterns. In contrast, in an active matrix liquid crystal device, the contrast changes discontinuously at the pattern joint, and the quality of the device is degraded.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to change a scanning direction according to a situation at the time of exposure to improve overlay accuracy, seam accuracy, and seam accuracy at seam portions. To provide a scanning type exposure apparatus and a scanning type exposure method With the goal. Another object of the present invention is to provide a microphone device that can prevent a decrease in device characteristics. Disclosure of the invention

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following configuration corresponding to FIGS. 1 to 13 showing the embodiment.

The scanning exposure apparatus of the present invention comprises a reticle (R) on which a pattern is formed and a substrate.

A scanning reticle stage that moves along a predetermined direction while holding a reticle (R) in a scanning exposure apparatus (1) that exposes the pattern onto a substrate (P) by synchronously moving the reticle (P) with the substrate (P). (5), a substrate stage (6) holding the substrate (P) and moving in a predetermined direction, and synchronizing the reticle stage (5) with the substrate stage (6) by changing the predetermined direction. And a change device (18) for moving. Therefore, in the scanning exposure apparatus of the present invention, the direction in which the reticle stage (5) and the substrate stage (6) are synchronously moved is changed by operating the change device (18) according to the situation at the time of exposure. The reticle (R) pattern on the substrate

(P) can be exposed.

In addition, the scanning exposure method of the present invention provides a scanning exposure method in which a reticle (R) on which a pattern is formed and a substrate (P) are synchronously moved in a predetermined direction, and the pattern is exposed on a substrate (P). The method is characterized in that a pattern is exposed on a substrate (P) by changing a predetermined direction and synchronously moving a reticle (R) and a substrate (P). Therefore, in the scanning exposure method of the present invention, the pattern of the reticle (R) is changed to the substrate (P) while the direction in which the reticle (R) and the substrate (P) are synchronously moved is changed according to the situation at the time of exposure. Can be exposed.

Further, the micro device of the present invention is a micro device manufactured through an exposure step of exposing a pattern of a mask to a substrate, wherein the exposure step is performed by the exposure apparatus according to claim 1. It is characterized by being performed. Therefore, in the micro device of the present invention, in the exposure step, the reticle stage (5) and the substrate stage (6) move synchronously by operating the change device (18) according to the situation at the time of exposure. The reticle (R) pattern on the substrate (P) can be exposed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic configuration diagram of a scanning exposure apparatus provided with a control unit, a scanning direction changing unit, and an energy setting unit.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view of a fly-eye integrator that changes an illumination area by rotating.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a reticle stage constituting the scanning exposure apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the direction of distortion of the projection optical system. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the embodiment of the present invention, and is an explanatory diagram for explaining the direction of distortion of the projection optical system when the scanning direction is the Y direction.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the embodiment of the present invention, and is an explanatory diagram for explaining the direction of distortion of the projection optical system when the scanning direction is the X direction.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a TFT / LCD display pixel formed on a glass substrate.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing another configuration of the fly-eye integrator constituting the scanning exposure apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of a substrate stage constituting the scanning exposure apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the substrate stage.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device.

Hereinafter, the scanning exposure apparatus and the scanning exposure method of the present invention, and

The embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. Here, for example, a pattern to be exposed on a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display element (micro device) is formed by a plurality of patterns. A description will be given using an example in which a screen synthesis method in which a pattern is divided into turns and exposure is performed using a reticle corresponding to the divided pattern can be adopted.

[First Embodiment]

First, a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the scanning exposure apparatus 1. The scanning exposure apparatus 1 exposes a pattern formed on a reticle R onto a glass substrate (substrate) P, and includes a mercury lamp 2, which is a light source for exposure, an illumination optical system 3, and a projection optical system. 4, a reticle stage 5, and a substrate stage 6.

The mercury lamp 2 emits a beam B as exposure light. The mercury lamp 2 is provided with an elliptical mirror 7. The elliptical mirror 7 focuses the exposure light emitted from the mercury lamp 2. The illumination optical system 3 is roughly composed of reflection mirrors 8 and 9, a wavelength selection filter (not shown), a fly-eye integrator 10, a blind 11, and a lens system 12. The reflecting mirror 8 reflects the beam B collected by the elliptical mirror 7 toward the wavelength selection filter. The reflection mirror 9 reflects the beam B passing through the blind 11 toward the lens system 12. The wavelength selection filter allows only the wavelength (line ゃ丄) of the beam B necessary for exposure to pass. The lens system 12 forms an image of the illumination area set by the fly-eye integrator 10 and the blind 11 with a reticle: R. The fly eye integrator 10 uniformizes the illuminance distribution of the beam B that has passed through the wavelength selection filter into a band shape, and as shown in Fig. 2, each covers the above-mentioned illumination area. A plurality of lenses 10a-10a. The blind 11 sets a substantially rectangular illumination area in which the beam B passing through the fly-eye integrator 10 illuminates the reticle R.

In addition, the fly-eye integrator 10 and the blind 11 are rotated 90 ° according to the instruction of the scanning direction changing unit (change device) 13, so that the illumination area extends in the X direction (a ) And a position (b) extending in the Y direction. The projection optical system 4 forms an image of a pattern existing in the illumination area of the reticle R on the glass substrate P.

As shown in FIG. 3, reticle stage 5 holds reticle R. Thus, the linear motors 14 and 14 and the linear motors 15 and 15 can move freely in the X direction and the Y direction which are orthogonal to each other. On the reticle stage 5, movable mirrors 16 and 17 are provided. Laser light is emitted from a laser interferometer (not shown) to the movable mirrors 16 and 17, and the movable mirrors 16 and 17 and the laser interferometer are combined based on the interference between the reflected light and the incident light. , That is, the position in the X direction and the position in the Y direction of the reticle stage 5 are each detected. Each of the reticle stages 5 is provided with a reticle library (not shown) and a reticle exchange device (reticle exchange means). The reticle library accommodates a plurality of reticles each having a pattern obtained by dividing a pattern exposed on a glass substrate P. The reticle exchange device takes out a predetermined reticle R from the reticle library and exchanges it with the reticle on the reticle stage 5. The reticle stage 5 is provided with an opening for projecting the pattern of the reticle R onto the glass substrate P.

The substrate stage 6 holds the glass substrate P, and is movable in the X and Y directions orthogonal to each other by a linear motor (not shown), like the reticle stage 5 described above. A movable mirror (not shown) is provided on the substrate stage 6. Laser light is emitted from a laser interferometer (not shown) to the movable mirror, and the distance between the movable mirror and the laser interferometer, that is, the substrate stage 6 is determined based on the interference between the reflected light and the incident light. In this configuration, the position in the X direction and the position in the Y direction are detected.

The reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 are provided with a control unit (control device) 18. The control unit 18 controls the movement of the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 so that a part of the patterns of the plurality of reticles R are connected and exposed. The scanning direction changing unit 13 is connected to the control unit 18. The scanning direction changing unit 13 changes the scanning direction in which the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 are synchronously moved according to the pattern formed on the reticle R or the imaging characteristics of the projection optical system 4 in the X direction or the X direction. In addition to changing to the Y direction, an instruction to synchronously move in one of these directions and then synchronously move in the other direction is output to the control unit 18. In addition, an energy setting unit (setting device) 19 is attached to the scanning direction changing unit 13. The energy setting unit 19 exposes the pattern of the reticle R on the glass substrate P when the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 are synchronously moved in both the X and Y directions according to the instruction of the scanning direction changing unit 13. For this purpose, an energy amount during the movement in the Y direction (first energy amount) and an energy amount during the movement in the X direction (second energy amount) are set.

Various scanning exposure methods using the scanning exposure apparatus having the above configuration will be described below.

When changing the scanning direction according to the imaging characteristics of the projection optical system>

As shown in FIG. 4, the imaging characteristics of the projection optical system 4, for example, the distortions 4a to 4m of the projection optical system 4 have the directions shown in FIG. When it is at the position shown in (a) (when the scanning direction is the Y direction and the step direction is the X direction), the illumination area becomes a substantially rectangular shape extending in the X direction as shown in FIG. . Therefore, the distortion of the projection optical system 4 at this time has a distribution of 4a to 4f.

On the other hand, when the fly eye integrator 10 is at the position shown in Fig. 2 (b) (when the scanning direction is the X direction and the step direction is the Y direction), the illumination area is as shown in Fig. 6. It becomes a substantially rectangular shape extending in the Y direction. Therefore, the distortion of the projection optical system 4 at this time has a distribution of 4 g to 4 m.

Here, the dispositions 4a to 4c and the dispositions 4d to 4f along the Y direction shown in FIG. 5 are averaged during scanning, respectively, since the scanning direction is the Y direction. Therefore, the position of the pattern of the reticle R exposed through the projection optical system 4 is the average position of the vectors of the distortions 4a to 4c and the distortions 4d to 4f.

Similarly, the distances 4 g to 4 i and distortions 4 j to 4 m along the X direction shown in FIG. 6 are each averaged during scanning since the scanning direction is the X direction. Then, the position of the pattern of the reticle R exposed through the projection optical system 4 is the average position of the vectors of the respective distances 4 g to 4 i and the distances 4 j to 4 m. Here, in FIG. 5 in which the scanning direction is set in the Y direction, focusing on the magnification in the X direction of the distortions 4a to 4f, the distortions 4a to 4c on the left side (−X side) and the right side (+ X The distortion of 4 d to 4 f on the side) differs in the magnification of the average distortion. In general, magnification correction is performed evenly from the center of the lens of the projection optical system 4, so it is difficult to correct different magnifications at the same image height.In many cases, correction with an average value of the different magnifications is difficult. Will be applied.

On the other hand, in Fig. 6 where the scanning direction is set to the X direction, the magnification in the Y direction for the distortion 4 g to 4 m is the upper (+ Y side) distortion 4 g to 4 i and the lower (—Y side) ), The tendency of the multiplication error obtained from the average of the distortions 4 j to 4 m is similar. Therefore, in this case, the correction with the shift offset becomes possible.

Therefore, when the projection optical system 4 has a directionality as shown in FIG. 4, in order to correct the magnification error to a smaller value, as shown in FIG. The scanning direction changing unit 13 rotates the fly-eye integrator 10 and the blind 11 so that the illumination area of the beam passing through the blind 10 and the blind 11 extends in the Y direction. In addition, the scanning direction changing unit 13 issues an instruction to the control unit 18 to change the setting so that the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 move synchronously in the X direction.

As a result, the exposure light beam B emitted from the mercury lamp 2 has a uniform illuminance distribution by the fly-eye integrator 10 and the blind 11, and the illumination area on the reticle R set by these is adjusted. Light up. When the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 move synchronously with respect to the projection optical system 4 in the X direction, the pattern of the reticle R corresponding to the above-mentioned illumination area is formed through the projection optical system 4 through the glass. The substrate P is exposed.

Next, the reticle exchanging device takes out a predetermined reticle R from the reticle library and exchanges it with the reticle on the reticle stage 5. Then, after the control unit 18 moves the substrate stage 6 in the Y direction stepwise, the patterns of the reticle R before and after replacement are partly joined on the glass substrate P, that is, X Reticle so that adjacent parts of the pattern along the direction are joined and exposed. The stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 are moved synchronously. As a result, a predetermined pattern is exposed on the glass substrate P by a screen synthesis method using a plurality of reticles R. <Case of Changing Scanning Direction According to Characteristics of Pattern Formed on Reticle> FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of a part of a TFT / LCD pattern formed on a glass substrate P. On the glass substrate P, a gate line 20, a signal line 21, a drain 22, and a pixel electrode 23 are formed.

Here, the electrical characteristics of the TFT are affected by the area S 1 where the gate line 20 and the signal line 21 overlap and the area S 2 where the gate line 20 and the drain 22 overlap. You. The gate line 20, the signal line 21, and the drain 22 are formed by overlapping patterns formed on different reticles R. Therefore, when the position of the signal line 21 and the position of the drain 22 are shifted with respect to the gate line 20, the area S 1 and S 2 of the overlapping portion with respect to the shift in the Y direction hardly fluctuate. Is large.

On the other hand, when the position of the signal line 21 and the position of the drain 22 with respect to the gate line 20 are shifted in the X direction, the shift amounts cause variations in the areas S 1 and S 2 of the overlapping portions. As a result, the change in the electrical characteristics of the TFT is manifested as element characteristics of the TFT, for example, flickering and burning of the LCD screen.

Therefore, when the TFT / LCD pattern formed on the glass substrate P has the above characteristics, and the exposure is performed using the reticle R having the pattern corresponding to the signal line 21 and the drain 22, As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the scanning direction changing unit 13 adjusts the fly direction so that the illumination area of the beam passing through the fly-eye integration 10 and the blind 11 extends in the Y direction. Rotate eye integrator 10 and blind 11. In addition, the scanning direction changing unit 13 issues an instruction to the control unit 18 to change the setting so that the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 move synchronously in the X direction.

According to the characteristics of the pattern formed on the glass substrate P and the imaging characteristics of the projection optical system 4, it is also possible to perform scanning in the X and Y directions once, and to perform exposure in a combination of both directions. In this case, the scanning direction changing unit 13 By instructing the substrate stage 6 to move synchronously in both directions, the energy setting section 19 allows the energy amount for exposing the pattern of the reticle R on the glass substrate P to be the energy amount in the Y direction movement and the X direction movement. The energy amount at the time is set.

Here, the energy setting unit 19 calculates the magnification error of the distance in each direction based on the directionality of the distortion in the X direction and the Y direction of the projection optical system 4, and calculates the calculation result. Therefore, the energy amount ratio in each direction, that is, the exposure amount ratio is set so that the energy amount in the direction in which the magnification error is large is reduced. Then, the scanning direction changing unit 13 rotates the fly eye integrator 10 and the blind 11 so that the scanning direction is in the X direction, and issues an instruction to the control unit 18 so that the reticle stage 5 and the substrate The stage 6 moves synchronously with respect to the projection optical system 4 in the X direction. As a result, the pattern of the reticle R is exposed on the glass substrate P with the X direction as the scanning direction with the energy amount at the time of moving in the X direction set by the energy setting unit 19, that is, the exposure amount.

Subsequently, after rotating the fly-eye integrator 10 and the blind 11 so that the scanning direction is in the Y direction, the scanning direction is changed by moving the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 with respect to the projection optical system 4 to Y. Move synchronously in the direction. Here, the pattern of the reticle R is exposed on the glass substrate P using the exposure amount at the time of movement in the Y direction set by the energy setting section 19 with the Y direction as the scanning direction. As a result, the pattern formed on the reticle R is exposed on the glass substrate P by combining the patterns in both the X and Y scanning directions. Here, the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 are configured to synchronously move and expose in the X direction and the Y direction, but may be synchronously moved in the Y direction and the X direction.

In the scanning exposure apparatus and the scanning exposure method according to the present embodiment, the fly-eye integrator 10 and the blind 11 rotate, so that it is possible to cope with either the X direction or the Y direction in the scanning direction. At the same time, since the scanning direction changing unit 13 changes the scanning direction of the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6, the scanning direction changing unit 13 appropriately changes the scanning direction of the reticle R, the imaging characteristics of the projection optical system 4, etc. The scanning direction can be selected. Therefore, in the scanning exposure apparatus and the scanning exposure method of the present embodiment, by selecting a scanning direction that is advantageous for exposure, High-precision exposure can be performed at the joint and at the overlap of the joint. Further, in the scanning exposure apparatus and the scanning exposure method of the present embodiment, the control unit 18 controls the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 so as to connect a part of the patterns of the plurality of reticles R. Therefore, it is possible to easily and reliably perform exposure using a screen composition method for combining a single pattern of the glass substrate P with a plurality of reticle R patterns.

Furthermore, in the scanning exposure apparatus and the scanning exposure method of the present embodiment, the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 are synchronously moved and exposed, and then the scanning direction is changed. By performing scanning in two directions, dispersion and relaxation can be achieved. At this time, the energy setting section 19 calculates and sets the energy amount in each direction when the pattern is exposed on the glass substrate P based on the directional characteristics of the distortion of the projection optical system 4, so that the exposure apparatus is used. Even when the exposure is changed, the exposure can be performed with an appropriate amount of energy each time according to the projection optical system 4 mounted on the apparatus.

The liquid crystal display element that has been subjected to the exposure processing using such a scanning type exposure apparatus 1 has a desired device by superimposing the pattern, splicing, and superimposing the spliced portion with high precision. It becomes possible to express characteristics.

[Second embodiment]

FIG. 9 to FIG. 11 are diagrams showing a second embodiment of the scanning exposure apparatus, the scanning exposure method, and the microphone port device of the present invention. In these drawings, the same elements as those of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 are driven by the electromagnetic force of the planar motor. The reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 have almost the same configuration except that the reticle stage 5 has an opening for projecting (passing) the pattern image of the reticle R. Here, only the substrate stage 6 is shown and described.

As shown in FIG. 9, the substrate stage 6 of the present embodiment includes an air slide (to be described later) via a base 71 and a clearance of about several meters above the upper surface of the base 71. A substrate table (holding unit) 68 is supported by a lifter, and a driving device 50 drives the substrate table 68 two-dimensionally in the XY plane. Here, the driving device 50 includes a stator 60 provided (embedded) on the top of the base 71 and a movable member 51 fixed on the bottom (the base facing surface side) of the substrate table 68. A planar motor is used. The mover 51, the base 71, and the driving device 50 constitute a planar motor device. In the following description, the driving device 50 will be referred to as a plane motor 50 for convenience.

On the substrate table 68, a glass substrate P is fixed by, for example, vacuum suction. A movable mirror 27 for reflecting the laser beam from the laser interferometer 31 is fixed on the substrate table 68, and the laser interferometer 31 disposed outside is used to fix the substrate. The position of the table 68 in the XY plane is constantly detected with a resolution of, for example, about 0.5 to 1 nm. Here, actually, as shown in FIG. 10, a movable mirror 27 Y having a reflecting surface orthogonal to the Y-axis direction on the substrate table 68 and a moving mirror having a reflecting surface orthogonal to the X-axis direction There is a mirror 27X. The position information (or speed information) of the substrate table 68 is sent to the control unit 18 and to the scanning direction changing unit 13 via this. The control unit 18 controls the movement of the substrate table 68 in the XY plane via the plane motor 50 based on the position information (or the speed information) according to the support from the scanning direction changing unit 13. I do.

Here, the components of the substrate stage 6 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 10 to 11, focusing on the plane motor 50 and its neighboring components. FIG. 10 shows a plan view of the substrate stage 6, and FIG. 11 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 10 in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the substrate table 68 is provided with a voice coil motor on the upper surface (the surface opposite to the surface facing the base 71) of the mover 51 constituting the plane motor 50. It is supported at three different points by the support mechanisms 32a, 32b, and 32c, and can be tilted with respect to the XY plane and driven in the Z-axis direction. Although not shown in FIG. 9, the support mechanisms 32 to 32 2 are actually driven and controlled independently by the control unit 18 via a drive mechanism (not shown).

The mover 51 includes an air slider 57, which is an aerostatic bearing, and an air slider A planar magnet 53, a part of which is fitted into the die 57 from above and integrally formed, and a magnetic member 5 made of a magnetic material engaged with the planar magnet 53 from above And 2. Among them, the magnetic member 52 and the planar magnet 53 constitute a magnet unit. A substrate table 68 is provided on the upper surface of the magnetic member 52 via the support mechanisms 32a to 32c.

The air slider 57 has a supply passage for pressurized air, a passage for vacuum, and the like formed therein. The supply path of the pressurized air is connected to an air pump 59 (see FIG. 9) via a tube 33, and a passage for vacuum is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown). On the other hand, on the bottom surface of the air slider 57, an air pad connected to the supply path of the pressurized air and an air pocket connected to the vacuum path are provided.

For this reason, in the present embodiment, the overall weight of the mover 51, the substrate table 68, etc., and the magnetic force between the planar magnet 53 constituting the magnet unit and a stator yoke 43 described later. A downward force corresponding to the sum of the suction force and the vacuum suction force (pressurized force) by a vacuum pump (not shown), and is supplied from the air pump 59 and blown out toward the upper surface of the pace 71 via the air pad. The upward force caused by the pressure of the pressurized air, that is, the thickness of the air layer is determined by the balance between the static pressure of the air layer between the bottom surface of the mover 5 1 and the top surface of the base 7 1 (so-called gap pressure). That is, the bearing clearance is maintained at a desired value. As described above, the air slider 57 constitutes a kind of a vacuum pressurized air static pressure bearing, and the movable slider 51 and the substrate table 68 are entirely formed on the upper surface of the base 71 by the air slider 57. Is supported above, for example, with a clearance of about 5> m (see Figs. 9 and 11). As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the base 71 is attached to the base body 72 having a square shape in a plan view, and both ends of the base body 72 in the Υ direction. It is composed of a pair of joint mounting members 73 Α and 73 ため for supplying and discharging a coolant for cooling the slave coil 38 to and from the base 71. The base body 72 is engaged with a hollow box-shaped container 35 having a small thickness with an open upper surface and a first stepped portion 35 a formed on the inner side of the peripheral wall of the container 35 from above. Then, the heat disposed parallel to the bottom wall of the container 35 with a predetermined gap (for example, a gap of about 2 mm) separated from the bottom wall of the container 35 A flat stator yoke 43 made of a magnetic material having a high conductivity, specifically, a thermal conductivity of 30 [W / m · K] or more, and an upper end (opening) of the peripheral wall of the container 35 A ceramic plate 36 that engages from above with a second step 35b formed on the inner side of the end) and closes the opening. A moving surface 71 a of the mover 51 is formed on a surface (upper surface) of the ceramic plate 36 opposite to the mover 51.

The internal space of the base 71 formed by the container 35 and the ceramic plate 36 is vertically divided by a stator yoke 43, and a first chamber 41 as a vacuum chamber is formed above the upper part thereof, A second chamber 42 is formed on the side. In this case, the stator shake 43 and the moving surface 71a are parallel. As shown in FIG. 11, in the first chamber 41, a predetermined gap (for example, a gap of about 2 mm) is provided between the first chamber 41 and the ceramic plate 36 and the stator yoke 43. In contact with each other, 81 armature coils 38 are arranged in a matrix of 9 rows and 9 columns in the XY two-dimensional direction along the moving surface 7 la (see FIG. 10). As shown in the figure, a hollow square coil is used as the armature coil 38. In the present embodiment, the stator 60 of the plane motor 50 described above is constituted by the stator yoke 43, the armature coil 38, and the ceramic plate 36.

On the opposite side (lower side) of the moving surface 7 la of the ceramic plate 36, as shown in FIG. 11, there are a large number of (in this case, 144) protrusions 36 a having a circular cross section at predetermined intervals. It is formed. As shown in FIG. 10, when the ceramic plate 36 is assembled to the container 35, these protrusions 36a are located at positions corresponding to the centers of the hollow portions of the armature coils 38. There are 64 pieces each provided at a position corresponding to the space between the adjacent four armature coils 38.

When the glass substrate P is moved on the substrate stage 6 having the above configuration, the scanning direction changing unit 13 is controlled by the armature coil 38 facing the planar magnet 53 through the control unit 18. By controlling at least one of the current value supplied to the substrate and the current direction, the substrate table 68 holding the glass substrate P integrally with the mover 51 can be moved in a desired direction. The coolant for cooling the armature coil 38 may be supplied to the upper surface of the armature coil 38, or may be supplied to both the upper surface and the lower surface of the armature coil. In the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 having the above-described configuration, when changing the scanning direction according to the imaging characteristics and pattern characteristics of the projection optical system 4, the current supplied to the armature coil 38 must be controlled. Can be easily implemented. Therefore, in the scanning exposure apparatus, the scanning exposure method, and the micro device according to the present embodiment, the same operation and effect as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition, in the present embodiment, since the thermal effect on the reticle R and the glass substrate P due to the heat generated by the armature coil 38 can be effectively reduced, the interference for measuring the positions of the reticle R and the glass substrate P can be reduced. Air fluctuation of the measuring beam can be suppressed. Therefore, high-speed and high-precision position control of the reticle R and the glass substrate P can be performed, and as a result, exposure can be performed with high exposure accuracy while improving throughput.

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration is such that the planar module is provided on both the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6, but it may be provided on only one of the stages. Further, the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 are not limited to one, and may be a plurality. By arranging multiple reticle stages 5 and substrate stages 6 in one exposure apparatus, the throughput of the exposure apparatus can be increased.o

Further, in the above embodiment, when the scanning direction is changed according to the imaging characteristics of the projection optical system 4, the pattern of the plurality of reticles R is exposed on the glass substrate P by the screen combining method. The configuration is not limited, and the entire surface of the glass substrate P may be exposed by one reticle R. In the above embodiment, the substrate on which the pattern of the reticle R is exposed is a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display element. However, a wafer for a semiconductor device, a ceramic wafer for a thin film magnetic head, or A configuration in which an original mask (synthetic quartz, silicon wafer) of a mask or a reticle used in an optical device is exposed may be used.

Although the scanning direction of both stages 5 and 6 is set to the X direction or the Y direction, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a so-called multi-lens in which a plurality of rows of projection optical systems are provided in one direction. In the case of the formula, in order to correct the positional deviation of each projection optical system, a configuration may be adopted in which a direction deviated by a small angle from a direction orthogonal to this direction is set as the scanning direction. In the above embodiment, the fly eye integrator 1 Although the direction of the illumination area is changed by rotating 0 by 90 °, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, an optical element in which a lens is arranged so that the illumination area extends in the X direction

24 and an optical element 25 in which a lens is arranged so that the illumination area extends in the Y direction are arranged in parallel in the X direction, and this fly-eye integrator 10 is arranged in the X direction according to the scanning direction. It may be configured to reciprocate. (In this case, the blind-11 has the same configuration.)

The type of the exposure apparatus is not limited to an exposure apparatus for a liquid crystal display device. For example, an exposure apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device, a thin film magnetic head, an imaging device (CCD), or a reticle R is manufactured. Widely applicable to all types of exposure equipment o

The light source of the illumination optical system 3 is a bright line (g-line (4

36 nm), h-line (404.7 nm), i-line (365 nm)}, KrF excimer laser (248 nm), ArF excimer laser (1933) nm), not only the F ₂ laser (1 5 7 nm), it is possible that uses charged particle beams such as X-ray or electron beam. For example, when an electron beam is used, thermionic emission type lanthanum hexaborite (L a B ₆ ) or tantalum (T a) can be used as the electron gun. Further, when an electron beam is used, a configuration using a reticle R may be used, or a configuration in which a pattern is formed directly on the glass substrate P without using the reticle R may be used. Alternatively, a high frequency such as a YAG laser or a semiconductor laser may be used.

The magnification of the projection optical system 4 may be not only the same magnification system but also any of a reduction system and an enlargement system. Further, as the projection optical system 4, using a material which transmits far ultraviolet rays such as quartz and fluorite as the glass material when using far ultraviolet rays such as excimer one The catadioptric system when using the F ₂ laser or X-ray Alternatively, a refraction type optical system may be used (a reticle of a reflection type may be used). When an electron beam is used, an electron optical system including an electron lens and a deflector may be used as the optical system. It goes without saying that the optical path through which the electron beam passes is in a vacuum state. Further, the present invention can also be applied to a proximity exposure apparatus that exposes the pattern of the reticle R to the glass substrate P by bringing the reticle R and the glass substrate P into close contact with each other without using the projection optical system 4.

Reynamo stage (USP5,623,853 or USP) for reticle stage 5 and substrate stage 6 (See P5, 528, 118), either an air levitation type using air pairing or a magnetic levitation type using mouth-Lenz force or reactance force may be used. Each of the stages 5 and 6 may be of a type that moves along a guide, or may be a guideless evening without a guide.

In this case, a reaction force generated by movement of the substrate stage 6 is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-166645 (US Pat. No. 5,528,118) so that the reaction force is not transmitted to the projection optical system 4. As described above, a frame member may be used to mechanically escape to the floor (ground). The present invention is also applicable to a scanning exposure apparatus having such a structure. Also, a reaction force generated by movement of the reticle stage 5 is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H08-330224 (US S / N 08/416, 558) so as not to be transmitted to the projection optical system 4. As described above, the material may be mechanically released to the floor (ground) using a frame member. The present invention is also applicable to a scanning exposure apparatus having such a structure.

In addition, the illumination optical system 3 and the projection optical system 4 were incorporated into the main body of the exposure apparatus for optical adjustment, and the reticle stage 5 and the substrate stage 6 composed of many mechanical parts were attached to the main body of the exposure apparatus, and wiring and piping were connected. Further, by performing comprehensive adjustment (electrical adjustment, operation check, etc.), the scanning exposure apparatus of the present embodiment can be manufactured. It is desirable that the manufacture of this scanning type exposure apparatus be performed in a clean room where the temperature and cleanliness are controlled.

As shown in Fig. 12, the liquid crystal display device has a step 201 for designing the function and performance of the liquid crystal display device, a step 202 for manufacturing a reticle R (mask) based on this design step, quartz, etc. Step 203 of fabricating a wafer from a glass substrate P or a silicon material from a silicon material Step of exposing the pattern of a reticle R to a glass substrate P (wafer) by the scanning exposure apparatus 1 of the above-described embodiment It is manufactured through a step of assembling a liquid crystal display lens (in the case of a wafer, including a dicing step, a bonding step, and a package step) 205, an inspection step 206, and the like.

Industrial applicability

The present invention relates to a scanning type exposure apparatus and method for synchronously moving a reticle and a substrate in a predetermined direction and exposing a pattern formed on the reticle to the substrate, and a scanning exposure apparatus. 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a micro device manufactured through an exposure process using a check type exposure apparatus.

According to the scanning type exposure apparatus and the scanning type exposure method of the present invention, the reticle stage holding the reticle and the substrate stage holding the substrate are synchronously moved to expose the pattern formed on the reticle onto the substrate in a predetermined direction. Since the changing device changes the scanning direction, it is possible to appropriately change the scanning direction according to the situation at the time of exposure, and it is possible to improve each accuracy in the overlapping of the patterns, the joining, and the overlapping of the joining portions. In addition, since the changing device changes the predetermined direction according to the pattern formed on the reticle, the scanning direction can be changed as appropriate according to the pattern of the reticle. Each accuracy is improved in the superposition. The projection optical system is arranged between the reticle and the substrate, and the changing device is configured to change the predetermined direction according to the imaging characteristics of the projection optical system. The scanning direction can be appropriately changed according to the characteristics, and the accuracy of each of the overlapping of the patterns, the joining, and the overlapping of the joints is improved. Further, since the changing device synchronously moves the reticle stage and the substrate stage in a predetermined direction and then changes the predetermined direction to synchronously move the reticle stage and the substrate stage, a magnification error in one direction is obtained. Dispersion and relaxation can be achieved by scanning in two directions. Further, the setting device determines a first energy amount for exposing the pattern to the substrate during the synchronous movement in the predetermined direction and a second energy amount for exposing the pattern to the substrate during the synchronous movement in the predetermined direction. Since the setting is made, for example, even when exposing by changing the exposure apparatus, it is possible to perform exposure with an appropriate energy amount each time according to the projection optical system mounted on the apparatus. Since the control device controls the reticle stage and the substrate stage so as to connect a part of the patterns of the plurality of reticles, a screen combining method for combining one pattern of the substrate with the patterns of the plurality of reticles is used. Exposure by adoption can be performed easily and reliably. In addition, since at least one of the reticle stage and the substrate stage is provided with a plane motor that drives the reticle or the substrate along the base via the holding unit, the position of the reticle is measured. Air fluctuations of the interferometer beam can be suppressed. Accordingly, high-speed and high-accuracy position control of the reticle and the substrate can be performed, and as a result, exposure can be performed with high exposure accuracy while improving throughput. On the other hand, according to the microdevice of the present invention, since the microdevice is manufactured through the exposure process by the above-mentioned scanning exposure apparatus, the pattern is superimposed, spliced, and superimposed at the spliced portion with high accuracy. Desired device characteristics can be exhibited without deteriorating device characteristics.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A scanning exposure apparatus that synchronously moves a reticle on which a pattern is formed and a substrate in a predetermined direction and exposes the substrate to the pattern.

A reticle stage holding the reticle and moving along the predetermined direction; a substrate stage holding the substrate and moving along the predetermined direction; changing the predetermined direction, the reticle stage and the substrate A scanning exposure apparatus, comprising: a changing device that moves the stage synchronously.

2. The scanning exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the changing device changes the predetermined direction according to the pattern.

3. A projection optical system for projecting the pattern on the substrate is provided between the reticle and the substrate,

2. The scanning exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the changing device changes the predetermined direction according to an imaging characteristic of the projection optical system.

4. The changing device, after synchronously moving the reticle stage and the substrate stage in the predetermined direction, changing the predetermined direction and synchronously moving the reticle stage and the substrate stage. The feature described in claim 1

5. A first energy amount for exposing the pattern to the substrate during the synchronous movement in the predetermined direction, and a second energy amount for exposing the pattern to the substrate during the synchronous movement changing the predetermined direction. 5. The scanning exposure apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a setting device for setting the scanning exposure apparatus.

6. A reticle exchange device for exchanging the reticle,

The reticle step is carried out so that a part of a plurality of reticle patterns are joined. 3. The scanning exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control device for controlling the edge and the substrate stage.

7. At least one stage of the reticle stage and the substrate stage includes a base, a holding portion that holds the reticle or the substrate and is supported above the base and floats the holding portion, and 2. The scanning type exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a planar motor that drives a plane along the plane.

8. A scanning exposure method for synchronously moving a reticle on which a pattern is formed and a substrate in a predetermined direction and exposing the pattern to the substrate,

A scanning exposure method, wherein the predetermined direction is changed, and the reticle and the substrate are moved synchronously to expose the pattern to the substrate.

9. The scanning exposure apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined direction is changed according to the pattern.

10. The pattern is projected onto the substrate by a projection optical system,

9. The scanning exposure apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined direction is changed according to an imaging characteristic of the projection optical system.

9. The scanning exposure apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said pattern is formed by joining a part of patterns of a plurality of reticles.

12. The scanning exposure apparatus according to claim 8, wherein at least one of the movement of the reticle and the movement of the substrate is performed by using an electromagnetic force.

1 3. A microphone device manufactured through an exposure step of exposing a mask pattern to a substrate,

Claims that the exposure step is performed by the exposure apparatus according to claim 1. Characteristic micro device.