WO2021001092A1 - Appareil de traitement de surface et procédé pour le traitement de surface de dispositifs de formation de motifs et d'autres substrats - Google Patents

Appareil de traitement de surface et procédé pour le traitement de surface de dispositifs de formation de motifs et d'autres substrats Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2021001092A1
WO2021001092A1 PCT/EP2020/064806 EP2020064806W WO2021001092A1 WO 2021001092 A1 WO2021001092 A1 WO 2021001092A1 EP 2020064806 W EP2020064806 W EP 2020064806W WO 2021001092 A1 WO2021001092 A1 WO 2021001092A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
surface treatment
treatment apparatus
substrates
ultraviolet illumination
substrate
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PCT/EP2020/064806
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Marcus Adrianus Van De Kerkhof
Sander Baltussen
Pär Mårten Lukas BROMAN
Antonius Theodorus Wilhelmus Kempen
Johannes Hubertus Josephina Moors
Original Assignee
Asml Netherlands B.V.
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.)
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Publication date
Application filed by Asml Netherlands B.V. filed Critical Asml Netherlands B.V.
Priority to CN202080048358.5A priority Critical patent/CN114072732A/zh
Priority to KR1020217042612A priority patent/KR20220025748A/ko
Publication of WO2021001092A1 publication Critical patent/WO2021001092A1/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
    • G03F7/708—Construction of apparatus, e.g. environment aspects, hygiene aspects or materials
    • G03F7/70991—Connection with other apparatus, e.g. multiple exposure stations, particular arrangement of exposure apparatus and pre-exposure and/or post-exposure apparatus; Shared apparatus, e.g. having shared radiation source, shared mask or workpiece stage, shared base-plate; Utilities, e.g. cable, pipe or wireless arrangements for data, power, fluids or vacuum
    • 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
    • G03F1/00—Originals for photomechanical production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g., masks, photo-masks, reticles; Mask blanks or pellicles therefor; Containers specially adapted therefor; Preparation thereof
    • G03F1/68—Preparation processes not covered by groups G03F1/20 - G03F1/50
    • G03F1/82—Auxiliary processes, e.g. cleaning or inspecting
    • 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
    • G03F7/70733—Handling masks and workpieces, e.g. exchange of workpiece or mask, transport of workpiece or mask
    • G03F7/7075—Handling workpieces outside exposure position, e.g. SMIF box
    • 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
    • G03F7/708—Construction of apparatus, e.g. environment aspects, hygiene aspects or materials
    • G03F7/70908—Hygiene, e.g. preventing apparatus pollution, mitigating effect of pollution or removing pollutants from apparatus
    • G03F7/70916—Pollution mitigation, i.e. mitigating effect of contamination or debris, e.g. foil traps
    • 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
    • G03F7/708—Construction of apparatus, e.g. environment aspects, hygiene aspects or materials
    • G03F7/70908—Hygiene, e.g. preventing apparatus pollution, mitigating effect of pollution or removing pollutants from apparatus
    • G03F7/70925—Cleaning, i.e. actively freeing apparatus from pollutants, e.g. using plasma cleaning

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a lithographic apparatus and a method of lithography.
  • a lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate.
  • a lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs).
  • a patterning device which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC.
  • This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g. comprising part of, one, or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate.
  • a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned. Lithography is widely recognized as one of the key steps in the manufacture of ICs and other devices and/or structures.
  • imaging may be performed using radiation having a short wavelength. It has therefore been proposed to use an EUV radiation source providing EUV radiation within the range of 13-14 nm, for example. It has further been proposed that EUV radiation with a wavelength of less than 10 nm could be used, for example within the range of 5-10 nm such as 6.7 nm or 6.8 nm. Such radiation is termed extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation or soft x-ray radiation.
  • EUV radiation extreme ultraviolet
  • a surface treatment apparatus for surface treatment of substrates, comprising: one or more support structures for supporting one or more substrates; one or more ultraviolet illumination sources configured to emit ultraviolet illumination, and being operable to treat said at least one surface of said one or more substrates while said one or more substrates being supported by said one or more support structures; wherein said one or more ultraviolet illumination sources are distinct from an exposure source and not operable to emit exposure illumination for exposing a pattern on a wafer
  • a lithographic apparatus comprising a surface treatment apparatus of the first aspect, for treating the surface of one or more substrates prior to performing an exposure.
  • Figure 3 illustrates schematically measurement and exposure processes in a dual-stage lithographic apparatus, according to known practice and modified in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 4 illustrates schematically an apparatus for surface treatment of patterning devices in a modular form, in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 5 illustrates schematically another apparatus for surface treatment of patterning devices in a modular form, in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 6 illustrates schematically an apparatus for surface treatment of patterning devices in an integrated form, in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 1 schematically depicts a lithographic apparatus 100.
  • the apparatus comprises:
  • an illumination system configured to condition a radiation beam B (e.g.
  • a support structure e.g. a mask stage
  • MT constructed to support a patterning device
  • a mask or a reticle e.g. a mask or a reticle
  • a first positioner PM configured to accurately position the patterning device
  • a substrate stage e.g. a wafer stage
  • WT constructed to hold a substrate (e.g. a resist coated wafer) W and connected to a second positioner PW configured to accurately position the substrate;
  • a projection system e.g. a reflective projection system
  • PS configured to project a pattern imparted to the radiation beam B by patterning device MA onto a target portion C (e.g. comprising one or more dies) of the substrate W.
  • the illumination system may include various types of optical components, such as refractive, reflective, magnetic, electromagnetic, electrostatic or other types of optical components, or any combination thereof, for directing, shaping, or controlling radiation.
  • optical components such as refractive, reflective, magnetic, electromagnetic, electrostatic or other types of optical components, or any combination thereof, for directing, shaping, or controlling radiation.
  • the support structure MT holds the patterning device MA in a manner that depends on the orientation of the patterning device, the design of the lithographic apparatus, and other conditions, such as for example whether or not the patterning device is held in a vacuum environment.
  • the support structure can use mechanical, vacuum, electrostatic or other clamping techniques to hold the patterning device.
  • the support structure may include a frame or a table, for example, which may be fixed or movable as required. The support structure may ensure that the patterning device is at a desired position, for example with respect to the projection system.
  • patterning device should be broadly interpreted as referring to any device that can be used to impart a radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section such as to create a pattern in a target portion of the substrate.
  • the pattern imparted to the radiation beam may correspond to a particular functional layer in a device being created in the target portion, such as an integrated circuit.
  • the patterning device may be transmissive or reflective.
  • Examples of patterning devices include masks, programmable mirror arrays, and programmable LCD panels.
  • Masks are well known in lithography, and include mask types such as binary, alternating phase-shift, and attenuated phase-shift, as well as various hybrid mask types.
  • An example of a programmable mirror array employs a matrix arrangement of small mirrors, each of which can be individually tilted so as to reflect an incoming radiation beam in different directions. The tilted mirrors impart a pattern in a radiation beam which is reflected by the mirror matrix.
  • the projection system may include various types of optical components, such as refractive, reflective, magnetic, electromagnetic, electrostatic or other types of optical components, or any combination thereof, as appropriate for the exposure radiation being used, or for other factors such as the use of a vacuum. It may be desired to use a vacuum for EUV radiation since other gases may absorb too much radiation. A vacuum environment may therefore be provided to the whole beam path with the aid of a vacuum wall and vacuum pumps.
  • the apparatus is of a reflective type (e.g. employing a reflective mask).
  • the lithographic apparatus may be of a type having two (dual stage) or more substrate stages (and/or two or more mask stages). In such“multiple stage” machines the additional stages may be used in parallel, or preparatory steps may be carried out on one or more stages while one or more other stages are being used for exposure.
  • the illuminator IL receives an extreme ultra violet radiation beam from the source module SO.
  • Methods to produce EUV light include, but are not necessarily limited to, converting a material into a plasma state that has at least one element, e.g., xenon, lithium or tin, with one or more emission lines in the EUV range.
  • LPP laser produced plasma
  • the required plasma can be produced by irradiating a fuel, such as a droplet, stream or cluster of material having the required line-emitting element, with a laser beam.
  • the source module SO may be part of an EUV radiation system including a laser, not shown in Figure 1, for providing the laser beam exciting the fuel.
  • the resulting plasma emits output radiation, e.g., EUV radiation, which is collected using a radiation collector, disposed in the source module.
  • the laser and the source module may be separate entities, for example when a C02 laser is used to provide the laser beam for fuel excitation.
  • the laser is not considered to form part of the lithographic apparatus and the radiation beam is passed from the laser to the source module with the aid of a beam delivery system comprising, for example, suitable directing mirrors and/or a beam expander.
  • the source may be an integral part of the source module, for example when the source is a discharge produced plasma EUV generator, often termed as a DPP source.
  • the illuminator IL may comprise an adjuster for adjusting the angular intensity distribution of the radiation beam. Generally, at least the outer and or inner radial extent (commonly referred to as s-outer and s-inner, respectively) of the intensity distribution in a pupil plane of the illuminator can be adjusted.
  • the illuminator IL may comprise various other components, such as facetted field and pupil mirror devices. The illuminator may be used to condition the radiation beam, to have a desired uniformity and intensity distribution in its cross section.
  • the radiation beam B is incident on the patterning device (e.g., mask) MA, which is held on the support structure (e.g., mask stage) MT, and is patterned by the patterning device. After being reflected from the patterning device (e.g. mask) MA, the radiation beam B passes through the projection system PS, which focuses the beam onto a target portion C of the substrate W. With the aid of the second positioner PW and position sensor PS2 (e.g. an interferometric device, linear encoder or capacitive sensor), the substrate stage WT can be moved accurately, e.g. so as to position different target portions C in the path of the radiation beam B.
  • the second positioner PW and position sensor PS2 e.g. an interferometric device, linear encoder or capacitive sensor
  • An EUV membrane for example a pellicle PE, is provided to prevent contamination of the patterning device from particles within the system. Such pellicles may be provided at the location shown and or at other locations.
  • a further EUV membrane SPF may be provided as a spectral purity filter, operable to filter out unwanted radiation wavelengths (for example DUV). Such unwanted wavelengths can affect the photoresist on wafer W in an undesirable manner.
  • the SPF may also optionally help prevent contamination of the projection optics within projection system PS from particles released during outgassing (or alternatively a pellicle may be provided in place of the SPF to do this). Either of these EUV membranes may comprise any of the EUV membranes disclosed herein.
  • the depicted apparatus could be used in a variety of modes.
  • the patterning device support (e.g., mask stage) MT and the substrate stage WT are scanned synchronously while a pattern imparted to the radiation beam is projected onto a target portion C (i.e., a single dynamic exposure).
  • the speed and direction of the substrate stage WT relative to the patterning device support (e.g., mask stage) MT may be determined by the (de-)magnification and image reversal characteristics of the projection system PS.
  • the maximum size of the exposure field limits the width (in the non-scanning direction) of the target portion in a single dynamic exposure, whereas the length of the scanning motion determines the height (in the scanning direction) of the target portion.
  • Other types of lithographic apparatus and modes of operation are possible, as is well-known in the art. For example, a step mode is known. In so-called“maskless” lithography, a programmable patterning device is held stationary but with a changing pattern, and the substrate stage WT is moved or scanned.
  • Figure 2 shows an embodiment of the lithographic apparatus in more detail, including a radiation system 42, the illumination system IL, the patterning device chamber PD and the projection system PS.
  • the radiation system 42 as shown in Figure 2 is of the type that uses a laser-produced plasma as a radiation source.
  • EUV radiation may be produced by a very hot plasma created from, for example, xenon (Xe), lithium (Li) or tin (Sn).
  • Xe xenon
  • Li lithium
  • Sn tin
  • Sn is used to create the plasma in order to emit the radiation in the EUV range.
  • the radiation system 42 embodies the function of source SO in the apparatus of Figure 1.
  • Radiation system 42 comprises a source chamber 47, in this embodiment not only substantially enclosing a source of EUV radiation, but also collector 50 which, in the example of Figure 2, is a normal-incidence collector, for instance a multi-layer mirror.
  • a laser system 61 is constructed and arranged to provide a laser beam 63 which is delivered by a beam delivering system 65 through an aperture 67 provided in the collector 50.
  • the radiation system includes a target material 69, such as Sn or Xe, which is supplied by target material supply 71.
  • the beam delivering system 65 in this embodiment, is arranged to establish a beam path focused substantially upon a desired plasma formation position 73.
  • the target material 69 which may also be referred to as fuel, is supplied by the target material supply 71 in the form of droplets.
  • a trap 72 is provided on the opposite side of the source chamber 47, to capture fuel that is not, for whatever reason, turned into plasma.
  • the laser beam 63 impinges on the droplet and an EUV radiation-emitting plasma forms inside the source chamber 47.
  • this involves timing the pulse of laser radiation to coincide with the passage of the droplet through the position 73.
  • the energetic radiation generated during de-excitation and recombination of these ions includes the wanted EUV which is emitted from the plasma at position 73.
  • the plasma formation position 73 and the aperture 52 are located at first and second focal points of collector 50, respectively and the EUV radiation is focused by the normal-incidence collector mirror 50 onto the intermediate focus point IF.
  • the beam of radiation emanating from the source chamber 47 traverses the illumination system IL via reflectors 53, 54, as indicated in Figure 2 by the radiation beam 56.
  • the reflectors direct the beam 56, via pellicle PE, onto a patterning device (e.g. reticle or mask) positioned on a support (e.g. reticle stage or mask stage) MT in the patterning device chamber PD.
  • a patterned beam 57 is formed, which is imaged by projection system PS via reflective elements 58, 59 onto a substrate carried by wafer stage or substrate stage WT.
  • the substrate W is held on the substrate stage WT by an electrostatic clamp CL.
  • the substrate stage WT with its camp CL is housed in a wafer-stage compartment WSC.
  • the projection system PS has projection optics mounted in a container (box) providing a specific low-pressure environment. This is known as a projection optics box (POB).
  • POB projection optics box
  • the POB and the wafer-stage compartment WSC are separate environments.
  • the photoresist may be outgassing owing to the radiation received from the POB.
  • These gasses should not reach the projection optics as they may contaminate the surfaces of the mirrors (the POB contains reflective optical components in EUV). Contamination may then interfere with the imaging. Therefore, a dynamic gas lock DGL (not shown) is provided to reduce such contamination.
  • illumination system IL and projection system PS may generally be present in illumination system IL and projection system PS.
  • illumination system IL and projection system PS may generally be present in illumination system IL and projection system PS.
  • reference axes X, Y and Z may be defined for measuring and describing the geometry and behavior of the apparatus, its various components, and the radiation beams 55, 56, 57.
  • a local reference frame of X, Y and Z axes may be defined.
  • the Z axis broadly coincides with the direction of optical axis O at a given point in the system, and is generally normal to the plane of a patterning device (reticle) MA when describing the spatial relationships with reference to the patterning device and normal to the plane of substrate W when describing the spatial relationships with reference to the substrate W.
  • the X axis coincides broadly with the direction of fuel stream (69, described below), while the Y axis is orthogonal to that, pointing out of the page as indicated.
  • the local X axis is generally transverse to a scanning direction aligned with the local Y axis.
  • the X axis points out of the page, again as marked.
  • the plasma may produce other wavelengths of radiation, for example in the infrared, visible, UV (ultraviolet) and DUV (deep ultraviolet) ranges. There may also be IR (infrared) radiation present from the laser beam 63.
  • the non-EUV wavelengths are not wanted in the illumination system IF and projection system PS and various measures may be deployed to block the non-EUV radiation.
  • a spectral purity filter SPF may be applied upstream of the virtual source point IF, for IR, DUV and/or other unwanted wavelengths.
  • two spectral purity filters are depicted, one within the source chamber 47 and one at the output of the projection system PS.
  • Figure 3 illustrates the steps to expose target portions (e.g. dies) on a substrate W in a dual stage lithographic apparatus.
  • the two substrate stages also known as wafer stages
  • WSC wafer-stage compartment
  • the substrate starts in a pre-aligner and is transferred to a substrate stage that holds the substrate in the clamp.
  • the substrate is then conveyed along a route indicated by the steps 200, 202, 204, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 210 and 220.
  • the vacuum pre-aligner VPA is part of the wafer handler.
  • the pre-aligner is a robot that puts the substrate W' into the correct orientation (in the local X-Y plane) so that the substrate W' has the correct orientation when transferred to the substrate stage at step 200 and is ready for the measure operation MEA.
  • the previous and or subsequent patterning step may be performed in other lithography apparatuses, as just mentioned, and may even be performed in different types of lithography apparatus.
  • some layers in the device manufacturing process which are very demanding in parameters such as resolution and overlay may be performed in a more advanced lithography tool than other layers that are less demanding. Therefore, some layers may be exposed in an immersion type lithography tool, while others are exposed in a‘dry’ tool or in a vacuum tool. Some layers may be exposed in a tool working at DUV wavelengths, while others are exposed using EUV wavelength radiation.
  • alignment measurements using the substrate marks PI (depicted as four crosses) etc. and image sensors (not shown) are used to measure and record alignment of the substrate relative to substrate stages WTa/WTb.
  • alignment sensor AS several alignment marks across the substrate W’ will be measured using alignment sensor AS.
  • These measurements are used in one embodiment to establish a “wafer grid”, which maps very accurately the distribution of marks across the substrate, including any distortion relative to a nominal rectangular grid.
  • a map of wafer height (Z) against X-Y position is measured also using the level sensor LS.
  • the height map is used only to achieve accurate focusing of the exposed pattern.
  • the height map is used only to achieve accurate focusing of the exposed pattern. It may be used for other purposes in addition.
  • recipe data 206 were received, defining the exposures to be performed, and also properties of the wafer and the patterns previously made and to be made upon it.
  • recipe data are added the measurements of wafer position, wafer grid and height map that were made at 202, 204, so that a complete set of recipe data and measurement data 208 can be passed to the exposure station EXP.
  • the measurements of alignment data for example comprise X and Y positions of alignment targets formed in a fixed or nominally fixed relationship to the product patterns that are the product of the lithographic process. These alignment data, taken just before exposure, are used to generate an alignment model with parameters that fit the model to the data.
  • a conventional alignment model might comprise four, five or six parameters, together defining translation, rotation and scaling of the‘ideal’ grid, in different dimensions. Advanced models are known that use more parameters.
  • the patterning device (e.g. reticle or mask) MA is handled in a similar way in which the substrate W is handled.
  • a reticle MA may be loaded into a lithography apparatus (e.g. a EUV system) from a clean and particle-tight reticle storage container, as disclosed in US7839489 and EP1519233B1 (both of which are hereby incorporated by reference).
  • a lithography apparatus e.g. a EUV system
  • EP1519233B1 both of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
  • the reticle MA is mounted onto the reticle stage such that the reticle MA can be accurately positioned, with respect to the path of the radiation beam 56 by using the positioner PM and position sensor PS1.
  • the reticle alignment will be performed at a time point determined by a system controller, for example at step 212. Once requested by the controller, the reticle is automatically aligned with respect to its support MT via one or more reticle markers. When patterns of the reticle are accurately aligned with respect to the desired locations, the system will be ready for lithographic exposure.
  • water molecules are chemisorbed onto a reticle surface via partial dissociation of water molecules into OH and H radicals.
  • the resultant OH and H radical groups are bound tightly to the active sites of the surface.
  • water molecules can remain on such a surface for a very long time.
  • These self-assembled clusters could also combine with each other to form a thin layer of coating, such as a thin layer of water coating or hydrocarbon coating.
  • the water clusters/coating, together with existing salt deposits, could further strengthen the binding between particles and reticle surfaces. Consequently, the typical cleaning method using a gas jet is ineffective for removing these particles.
  • a‘moist’ reticle may be loaded into the lithography apparatus well in advance so as to ensure the reticle will be completely dried by the time lithographic exposures start.
  • a dehumidification process may take an impractical length of time to complete, for example several days.
  • the ‘moist’ reticle is loaded into the lithography apparatus whenever it is needed and subsequently dehumidified by running a dummy lot of wafers.
  • these dummy wafers start to show a consistent CD, indicative of the reticle being completely dry, the lithography apparatus can then be regarded as being ready for running production wafers.
  • a surface treatment apparatus is disclosed herein which provides an efficient way for addressing the aforementioned problems.
  • the apparatus is configured for surface treatment of substrates such as patterning devices/reticles (for patterning a beam to expose a pattern on a wafer) or the wafers on which the pattern is exposed, and comprises one or more support structures for holding one or more substrates, and at least one ultraviolet (UV) light source which is configured to emit UV radiation.
  • substrates such as patterning devices/reticles (for patterning a beam to expose a pattern on a wafer) or the wafers on which the pattern is exposed
  • the surface treatment apparatus may be contained in a housing, box or any type of receptacle which is at least partially enclosed.
  • a surface treatment apparatus which is at least partially enclosed in a receptacle, may comprise a modular unit for a lithography apparatus, such that the surface treatment apparatus is operated within the vacuum environment of the lithography apparatus but can be assembled and/or serviced in a non-vacuum environment, e.g. outside of the lithography apparatus.
  • the surface treatment apparatus may be fully integrated within the patterning device system PD of the lithography apparatus.
  • the proposed surface treatment apparatus may use high energy UV photons, e.g. in the vacuum UV (VUV) wavelength range of 10 - 200 nm (and more specifically 10-170nm), emitted from the UV light source.
  • the high energy UV photons can effectively break the O-H bonds of the absorbed water (3 ⁇ 40) molecules and photo-dissociate such 3 ⁇ 40 molecules into OH and H radicals.
  • the high energy UV photons can also break the strong bindings formed between the OH and H radical groups and the active sites of the surface.
  • UV radiation also allows certain surface contaminants to be simultaneously removed such that the after treatment, the reticle surfaces will be both dry and clean.
  • Surface contaminants such as small particles (for example having a size ranging from lOnm to 10pm) which are bound to the reticle surface by, for example salt deposits or capillary forces, are difficult to remove by conventional approaches, e.g., using a gas jet to blow away fall-on particles that are loosely bound to the reticle surface.
  • This difficulty can be overcome by exposing the surface to UV radiation, which can 1) dissociate the underlying salt deposits and water molecules and/or 2) break the enhanced bindings formed between particles and such salt deposits and water molecules.
  • the surface cleaning capability of the system can be further extended by introducing particular background gases, such as for example Oxygen (O2) and/or Hydrogen (3 ⁇ 4) molecules, into the system.
  • background gases such as for example Oxygen (O2) and/or Hydrogen (3 ⁇ 4) molecules
  • O2 Oxygen
  • 3 ⁇ 4 Hydrogen
  • the photon energy needed for dissociating O2 molecules is similar to that of H2O molecules which corresponds to a UV wavelength shorter than 170 nm.
  • higher photon energies corresponding to a UV wavelength shorter than 100 nm
  • highly reactive radicals e.g. H and O, are generated; these radicals will react with certain surface contaminants, aiding their removal from the treated surface.
  • the fresh background gas may enter into the system from a gas inlet and after circulating the system, the background gas carrying the released surface substances may exit the system via a gas outlet.
  • the pressure of the surface treatment apparatus may return from the initial vacuum condition to the ambient pressure of the lithography apparatus.
  • 3 ⁇ 4 gas can also be used as a background gas which, when exposed to UV radiation at a suitable UV wavelength (e.g. ⁇ 100 nm), will be dissociated into H radicals.
  • the H radicals can react with organic substances and or particles, or with metal containing substances such as metal particles, and hence remove these from the surface.
  • the number, location and/or arrangement of transport gas supply nozzles and or outlets is not limited to four and will be application dependent.
  • the dry and clean reticle 410 will be transferred (e.g., by a transportation device) from the surface treatment apparatus into the reticle compartment (e.g., patterning device chamber PD).
  • gas nozzles and gas outlets can differ from illustrated and described herein, and be different for different applications.
  • the provision of the background gas can improve the cleaning capability by removing many additional contaminants (e.g. carbon and/or metal containing particles) which cannot be removed by using UV radiation alone. After the UV surface treatment, the vacuum environment of the system should be recovered to allow the after-treatment reticle to be exposed.
  • a reflective reticle 610 is held by a support structure 620 with the front surface facing towards the projection EUV beam.
  • a UV light source 640 (separate from the EUV source) is located at a certain distance to the reflective front surface of the reticle and sits in-between the incident 56 and the reflected 57 EUV beams.
  • the UV light source 640 emits a divergent UV beam 650 toward the top surface of the reticle 610.
  • the spot size of the divergent UV beam 650 is sufficiently large to cover the reticle surface area.
  • Two gas supply nozzles (not shown) located at the two edges of the reticle surface are used to create two gas flows which collide at the center of the reticle surface and move away (downwards) from the surface.
  • the patterning device may be held differently in a different lithography apparatus and hence may desire a different number of nozzles to be placed at different locations.

Abstract

L'invention concerne un appareil de traitement de surface et un procédé pour le traitement de surface de substrats tels que des tranches ou des substrats. L'appareil de traitement de surface comprend une ou plusieurs structures de support pour porter un ou plusieurs substrats et une ou plusieurs sources d'éclairage par ultraviolets configurées pour émettre un éclairage ultraviolet, et étant utilisable pour traiter ladite au moins une surface desdits un ou plusieurs substrats alors que lesdits un ou plusieurs substrats sont portés par lesdites une ou plusieurs structures de support. Lesdites une ou plusieurs sources d'éclairage par ultraviolets sont distinctes d'une source d'exposition et ne sont pas utilisables pour émettre un éclairage d'exposition pour exposer un motif sur une tranche.
PCT/EP2020/064806 2019-07-01 2020-05-28 Appareil de traitement de surface et procédé pour le traitement de surface de dispositifs de formation de motifs et d'autres substrats WO2021001092A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN202080048358.5A CN114072732A (zh) 2019-07-01 2020-05-28 用于对图案化装置和其他衬底进行表面处理的表面处理设备和方法
KR1020217042612A KR20220025748A (ko) 2019-07-01 2020-05-28 패터닝 디바이스와 기타 기판의 표면 처리를 위한 표면 처리 장치 및 방법

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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EP19183607.1 2019-07-01
EP19183607 2019-07-01

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WO2021001092A1 true WO2021001092A1 (fr) 2021-01-07

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KR (1) KR20220025748A (fr)
CN (1) CN114072732A (fr)
TW (1) TW202115503A (fr)
WO (1) WO2021001092A1 (fr)

Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2001061409A2 (fr) * 2000-02-15 2001-08-23 Asml Us, Inc. Appareil et procede permettant de nettoyer des reticules utilises dans un outil de lithographie
WO2002052345A1 (fr) * 2000-12-22 2002-07-04 Nikon Corporation Procede et dispositif de nettoyage de masque et systeme de fabrication dudit dispositif
JP2004170802A (ja) 2002-11-21 2004-06-17 Semiconductor Leading Edge Technologies Inc レチクル乾燥装置、露光装置、半導体装置および露光方法
US6828569B2 (en) * 2001-11-19 2004-12-07 Asml Netherlands B.V. Lithographic projection apparatus, device manufacturing method and device manufactured thereby
US6842221B1 (en) * 1999-03-12 2005-01-11 Nikon Corporation Exposure apparatus and exposure method, and device manufacturing method
US7839489B2 (en) 2003-10-27 2010-11-23 Asml Netherlands B.V. Assembly of a reticle holder and a reticle
EP1519233B1 (fr) 2003-09-29 2011-11-16 ASML Netherlands BV Appareil lithographique et méthode de fabrication d'un dispositif
US20170045832A1 (en) * 2014-05-01 2017-02-16 Asml Netherlands B.V. Cleaning Apparatus and Associated Low Pressure Chamber Apparatus
WO2018041599A1 (fr) 2016-09-02 2018-03-08 Asml Netherlands B.V. Appareil lithographique

Patent Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6842221B1 (en) * 1999-03-12 2005-01-11 Nikon Corporation Exposure apparatus and exposure method, and device manufacturing method
WO2001061409A2 (fr) * 2000-02-15 2001-08-23 Asml Us, Inc. Appareil et procede permettant de nettoyer des reticules utilises dans un outil de lithographie
WO2002052345A1 (fr) * 2000-12-22 2002-07-04 Nikon Corporation Procede et dispositif de nettoyage de masque et systeme de fabrication dudit dispositif
US6828569B2 (en) * 2001-11-19 2004-12-07 Asml Netherlands B.V. Lithographic projection apparatus, device manufacturing method and device manufactured thereby
JP2004170802A (ja) 2002-11-21 2004-06-17 Semiconductor Leading Edge Technologies Inc レチクル乾燥装置、露光装置、半導体装置および露光方法
EP1519233B1 (fr) 2003-09-29 2011-11-16 ASML Netherlands BV Appareil lithographique et méthode de fabrication d'un dispositif
US7839489B2 (en) 2003-10-27 2010-11-23 Asml Netherlands B.V. Assembly of a reticle holder and a reticle
US20170045832A1 (en) * 2014-05-01 2017-02-16 Asml Netherlands B.V. Cleaning Apparatus and Associated Low Pressure Chamber Apparatus
WO2018041599A1 (fr) 2016-09-02 2018-03-08 Asml Netherlands B.V. Appareil lithographique

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TW202115503A (zh) 2021-04-16
KR20220025748A (ko) 2022-03-03

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