Exposure device, control method of exposure device, and article manufacturing method

Abstract

The present invention provides a technology for driving a substrate stage in an exposure apparatus that is advantageous for achieving both superposition precision and throughput. The invention comprises a substrate chuck, a stage, and a control unit for controlling the driving of the stage. The control unit performs a first drive that drives the stage in a scanning direction according to a first drive profile and a second drive that drives the stage in a non-scanning direction according to a second drive profile in parallel, thereby performing a stage step drive before performing scanning exposure for a single shot area. The control unit determines the first drive profile and the second drive profile such that the combined acceleration of the stage when the first drive and the second drive are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit value such that no positional misalignment of the substrate chuck relative to the stage occurs while the lock between the stage and the substrate chuck is released.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus, a method for controlling the exposure apparatus, and a method for manufacturing an article. Background Technology

[0002] Various exposure devices are used in the lithography process for manufacturing semiconductor devices (integrated circuits) or flat panel display (FPD) display devices. In recent years, with the high integration of semiconductor devices, sequential-movement type exposure devices have become the mainstream. Examples of sequential-movement type projection exposure devices include step-and-repeat type reduction projection exposure devices (so-called steppers) and step-and-scan type scanning exposure devices (so-called scanning steppers) which are improvements on these steppers. As the miniaturization of patterns accompanying the high integration of integrated circuits progresses, scanning exposure devices are currently becoming increasingly mainstream. With scanning exposure devices, an averaging effect is achieved by relative scanning of the original plate and the substrate with respect to the projection optical system. In addition, according to the scanning exposure device, higher precision exposure is possible compared to static exposure devices such as steppers due to improvements in distortion and depth of focus, and high throughput can be expected due to the reduction in the number of shots by large field exposure.

[0003] In a scanning-type exposure device, when processing adjacent shot areas arranged on a substrate in a non-scanning direction (a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction of the disc and substrate), the disc stage and the substrate stage were driven in the scanning and non-scanning directions, respectively, as roughly as follows. That is, the disc stage and the substrate stage were accelerated in the scanning direction to their respective target scanning speeds, and once both reached a constant-speed synchronization state, processing in the scanning direction was performed for one shot area. During the period from the completion of this processing until the start of processing in the scanning direction for the next shot area, an acceleration and deceleration operation was performed in which the disc stage and the substrate stage were first decelerated in the scanning direction and then accelerated to the target speed. In parallel with this, an inter-shot step drive was performed to move the substrate stage in the non-scanning direction to the processing start position of the next shot area. Furthermore, "processing" refers to alignment measurement processing or exposure processing, etc.

[0004] The disc and the substrate are each mounted on a disc stage and a substrate stage, respectively, capable of precise and high-precision movement as required, and stage driving is performed according to exposure. The disc stage is equipped with a mechanism for holding and supporting the disc, and the substrate stage is equipped with a mechanism for holding and supporting the substrate.

[0005] In the successive generations of microlithography systems, higher stage acceleration is required, while the specifications for overlap are also becoming more stringent. Consequently, it is necessary to maintain and support the positions of objects (e.g., disks and substrates) during the operation of the stages (e.g., disk stages and substrate stages) and to suppress misalignment between objects (e.g., misalignment between disk stages and disks, and misalignment between substrate stages and substrates). Furthermore, to further improve throughput, it is necessary to enable stage operation at maximum speed while guaranteeing overlap precision.

[0006] Patent Document 1 discloses a device for reducing slippage of a disc against a chuck surface (displacement between the disc stage and the disc) by suppressing it through a mechanical mechanism. More specifically, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a disc is supported by a plurality of pins provided in a disc chuck for holding and supporting the disc on a disc stage, and is held and supported by a vacuum chuck and moved.

[0007] Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for suppressing vibrations of the disc and substrate (misalignment between the disc and substrate) by adjusting the acceleration of the disc stage and the substrate stage during step driving. More specifically, by setting the acceleration and deceleration of the disc stage and the substrate stage based on a preset scanning speed and step distance, the operation of stopping both stages with respect to the scanning direction is eliminated. As a result, vibrations of the support body supporting both stages that occurred during stopping are suppressed. By suppressing vibrations of the disc and substrate, position controllability of each stage is improved, and overlap precision is improved.

[0008] However, the exposure device is equipped with a chuck (substrate holding support) for holding and supporting a substrate on a substrate stage. The chuck holds and supports the substrate by pulling it in by vacuum suction force or electrostatic force. The substrate is fixed on the substrate stage through the chuck. The chuck is driven between the substrate and the substrate stage to release and fix the substrate. The chuck may be equipped with a mechanism capable of driving in the θ direction to determine the position of the substrate and the disc. Even when driving the substrate stage during alignment measurement or shot-in-shot step operation during exposure, the chuck is locked to fix the substrate on the substrate stage, and then the acceleration / deceleration driving of the substrate stage is performed. Prior art literature

[0009] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-537966 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-059806 The problem to be solved

[0010] However, there are cases where step driving is performed while the chuck is insufficiently locked. In such cases, the chuck may become misaligned during alignment due to inertia, which can cause the absolute position of the substrate on the substrate stage to change between alignment and exposure. Such misalignment of the substrate position affects the overlap precision. Although it is possible to wait for the chuck to be fully locked before starting the step driving, this reduces throughput.

[0011] The present invention provides a driving technique for a substrate stage in an exposure apparatus that is advantageous for achieving both superposition precision and throughput. means of solving the problem

[0012] According to a first aspect of the present invention, an exposure device is provided for performing scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot regions on a substrate, comprising a substrate chuck for chucking the substrate, a stage that moves while mounting the substrate chuck, and a control unit for controlling the driving of the stage, wherein the control unit performs a first driving that drives the stage in a scanning direction according to a first driving profile and a second driving that drives the stage in a non-scanning direction according to a second driving profile in parallel, thereby performing step driving of the stage before performing scanning exposure for one shot region, and wherein the control unit determines the first driving profile and the second driving profile such that the combined acceleration of the stage when the first driving and the second driving are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit value such that no positional misalignment of the substrate chuck with respect to the stage occurs when the lock between the stage and the substrate chuck is released.

[0013] According to a second aspect of the present invention, an exposure apparatus for performing scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot areas on a substrate comprises: a substrate chuck for chucking the substrate; a stage that moves while mounting the substrate chuck; a locking mechanism for performing a chuck locking operation to lock the substrate chuck with respect to the stage; and a control unit for controlling the driving of the stage. The control unit, after the start and before the completion of the chuck locking operation, initiates a step driving of the stage prior to performing scanning exposure for one shot area. The step driving comprises performing a first driving in a scanning direction according to a first driving profile and a second driving in a non-scanning direction according to a second driving profile in parallel. The first driving profile and the second driving profile are defined such that the combined acceleration when the first driving and the second driving are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit value such that no positional misalignment of the substrate chuck with respect to the stage occurs when the lock by the locking mechanism is released. An exposure device is provided.

[0014] According to a third aspect of the present invention, a control method is provided for an exposure device that performs scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot areas on a substrate, comprising: a process of determining a driving profile according to a step driving of a stage that holds and supports the substrate before performing scanning exposure for one shot area; and a process of performing the step driving according to the determined driving profile. The step driving includes performing a first driving that drives the stage in a scanning direction according to a first driving profile and a second driving that drives the stage in a non-scanning direction according to a second driving profile in parallel. In the process of determining the driving profile, the first driving profile and the second driving profile are determined such that the combined acceleration of the stage when the first driving and the second driving are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit value such that no positional misalignment of the substrate chuck with respect to the stage occurs when the lock between the stage and the substrate chuck mounted on the stage is released.

[0015] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a control method for an exposure device that performs scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot areas on a substrate is provided, comprising: a process of performing a chuck lock operation to lock a substrate chuck mounted on a stage with respect to the stage; and a process of starting a step drive of the stage before performing scanning exposure for one shot area after the start and before the completion of the chuck lock operation, wherein the step drive includes performing a first drive in the scanning direction of the stage according to a first drive profile and a second drive in the non-scanning direction of the stage according to a second drive profile in parallel, wherein the first drive profile and the second drive profile are defined such that the combined acceleration when the first drive and the second drive are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit value such that no positional misalignment of the substrate chuck with respect to the stage occurs when the lock of the substrate chuck with respect to the stage is released.

[0016] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a method for manufacturing an article is provided, characterized by having a process of exposing a substrate using an exposure device according to the first or second aspect and a process of developing the exposed substrate, and manufacturing an article from the developed substrate. Effects of the invention

[0017] According to the present invention, a driving technique for a substrate stage in an exposure apparatus can be provided, which is advantageous for achieving both overlap precision and throughput. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0018] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an exposure device. Figure 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a substrate stage. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the step drive in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of operation according to conventional technology in which throughput is reduced during step driving. FIG. 5 is a drawing showing an example of a driving profile in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a drawing showing an example of a driving profile in a second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the step drive in the second embodiment. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0019] Embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. Furthermore, the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although multiple features are described in the embodiments, not all of these multiple features are essential to the invention, and multiple features may be combined at will. Additionally, in the attached drawings, the same reference number is assigned to identical or similar components, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0020] <First Embodiment>

[0021] First, the configuration of a stage device (holding support device) according to one embodiment of the present invention and a lithography device equipped with the stage device will be described. The stage device according to the present embodiment is employed in a lithography device used in a lithography process in, for example, a manufacturing process for an FPD or semiconductor device, and is capable of holding and supporting a substrate to be processed and moving. Hereinafter, as an example, the stage device according to the present embodiment is described as being employed in an exposure device used in a lithography process in a manufacturing process for an FPD, and the substrate to be processed is described as a glass substrate having a resist (photosensitive material) layer formed on its surface.

[0022] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an exposure device in the present embodiment. The exposure device is an exposure device that performs scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot areas on a substrate. The exposure device is a so-called mirror projection type and is also a scanning projection exposure device that employs a step-and-scan method. Specifically, the exposure device transfers (exposes) a pattern formed on the original plate (3) onto the substrate through a projection optical system (5) while synchronously scanning the original plate (3) and the substrate (6). In this specification and drawings, directions are shown in an XYZ coordinate system in which the horizontal plane is the XY plane. The substrate stage (7) described later holds and supports the substrate (6) so that the surface of the substrate (6) becomes parallel to the horizontal plane (XY plane). Therefore, below, directions that are orthogonal to each other within a plane following the substrate holding support surface of the substrate stage (7) are referred to as the X-axis and Y-axis, and directions perpendicular to the X-axis and Y-axis are referred to as the Z-axis. In addition, below, directions parallel to the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis in the XYZ coordinate system are respectively referred to as the X direction, Y direction, Z direction, etc. The scanning direction of the disc (3) and substrate (6) during exposure is referred to as the Y direction, and the non-scanning direction is referred to as the X direction. In addition, rotation around the X-axis is referred to as Pitch, rotation around the Y-axis as Roll, and rotation around the Z-axis as Yaw or θ.

[0023] The exposure device may be equipped with an illumination optical system (1), an alignment scope (2), a disc stage (4), a projection optical system (5), a substrate stage (7), and a control unit (8). The illumination optical system (1) receives light emitted from a light source, such as a high-pressure mercury lamp, and irradiates the illumination light, which is formed into a slit shape, onto a disc (3) held and supported by the disc stage (4). The alignment scope (2) detects an alignment mark provided on the disc (3) and an alignment mark provided on the substrate (6) held and supported on the substrate stage (7) through the projection optical system (5). The disc (3) is, for example, a glass disc on which a fine pattern (e.g., a circuit pattern) to be exposed is drawn. The disc stage (4) holds and supports the disc (3) and is capable of operating in the XY direction.

[0024] The projection optical system (5) maintains the disc (3), which is held and supported by the disc stage (4), and the substrate (6), which is held and supported by the substrate stage (7), in an optically conjugated relationship, and projects an image of a pattern existing in the illumination area of ​​the disc (3) onto the substrate (6). The projection optical system (5) is composed of a plurality of mirrors and lenses. Slit light from the disc (3) passes through the projection optical system (5) and reaches the substrate (6). The projection area (exposure area) of the projection optical system (5) over the substrate is set to a predetermined shape (e.g., an arc shape).

[0025] The substrate stage (7) is a moving stage device equipped with a substrate chuck (75) (see FIG. 2) that chucks the substrate. The substrate chuck (75) may be, for example, a vacuum chuck that chucks the substrate (6) by vacuum suction. The substrate stage (7) can drive the substrate chuck (75) in, for example, X, Y, Z, Pitch, Roll, and Yaw directions. Additionally, the configuration of the substrate stage (7) will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 2.

[0026] The control unit (8) is configured, for example, with a computer, and is also connected to each component of the exposure device via a circuit, and can perform operation control and computation processing of each component of the exposure device according to a program, etc. Additionally, for the sake of simplicity of explanation, the control unit (8) is configured to perform all control regarding the substrate stage (7). However, the substrate stage (7) may have a separate dedicated stage control unit different from the control unit (8), and the stage control unit may be configured to receive a command from the control unit (8) and control the operation of the substrate stage (7) based on said command. Additionally, the control unit (8) may be configured integrally with other parts of the exposure device (in a common housing) or separately from other parts of the exposure device (in a different housing).

[0027] Generally, in an exposure device, the scanning precision of the substrate stage (7), changes in position or deformation of the projection optical system (5), deformation of the substrate, temperature fluctuations of the space or device components, vibration of the device components, alignment errors, or process factors may have an undesirable effect on the transfer precision. Accordingly, the exposure device may also be equipped with a correction calculation unit that performs a correction calculation to obtain a desired overlap precision.

[0028] As photolithography equipment is production facility, improvements in throughput are always required. To improve throughput, it is necessary to increase the drive speed of the stage or accelerate the correction measurement system; however, regarding the latter, factors such as waiting for pressure changes after air pressure switching and waiting for changes in the mechanism's state act as hindering factors for throughput improvement.

[0029] In this embodiment, the substrate stage (7) is configured as follows. A schematic diagram of the substrate stage (7) is shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 (A) is a plan view, and FIG. 2 (B) is a side cross-sectional view. An X-Yaw stage (77) is placed on a Y stage (not shown), and a Z-Pitch-Roll drive unit (76) is placed on top of it. A scanning stage ceiling plate (71) is placed on top of the Z-Pitch-Roll drive unit (76).

[0030] A Z displacement sensor (78) is used for measuring the position in the Z direction. An air pad (74) and a rough θ guide (72) are arranged on the ceiling plate (71) of the scanning stage to adsorb and support the substrate chuck (75). The substrate chuck (75) is mounted on the air pad (74). When driving the substrate chuck (75), pressure is applied to the air pad (74), and the movement of the substrate chuck (75) is guided by the rough θ guide (72). When driving the step, in order to prevent the substrate chuck (75) from shifting position, the pressure of the air pad (74) is made negative so that the air pad (74) adsorbs and supports the substrate chuck (75). By doing so, the substrate chuck (75) is fixed to the scanning stage ceiling plate (71) (i.e., the substrate stage (7)) through the air pad (74). Hereinafter, this operation is referred to as the "chuck lock operation." Accordingly, in this embodiment, the air pad (74) forms a locking mechanism that performs a chuck locking operation to lock the substrate chuck (75) with respect to the substrate stage (7). Additionally, a sensor (73) for measuring the relative position with respect to the substrate chuck (75) is disposed on the scanning stage ceiling plate (71).

[0031] Hereinafter, a method for adjusting the acceleration of the substrate stage (7) in the present embodiment is described. According to the prior art, this method is implemented under conditions where the position of the substrate chuck (75) on the substrate stage (7) is misaligned due to the inertial force generated during simultaneous acceleration and deceleration in each XY direction when simultaneous step driving in the XY direction from the first shot area to the second shot area of ​​the substrate.

[0032] When the substrate stage (7) is stopped at a position in the X direction and Y direction and then driven to another position (step driving), it is desirable that the driving time be short from the perspective of throughput. As a conventional technique to realize this requirement, there is a method of performing driving in the X direction and driving in the Y direction in parallel and accelerating and decelerating each to the maximum acceleration and deceleration value.

[0033] However, in the method described above, misalignment of the substrate chuck may occur due to the inertial force generated during simultaneous acceleration and deceleration in each direction. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation according to the prior art in which throughput is reduced during step driving. In the example of FIG. 4, a driving waiting time is set before step driving to prevent positional misalignment of the substrate chuck during acceleration. The chuck lock operation is completed while waiting for the driving waiting time. Since step driving is initiated after the chuck lock operation is completed, positional misalignment of the substrate chuck during acceleration can be reliably prevented. However, because it is necessary to wait for the driving waiting time, throughput is reduced.

[0034] In this embodiment, a method for performing step driving is illustrated without causing positional misalignment (rotational misalignment) of the substrate chuck (75) and without causing throughput reduction due to waiting. In this embodiment, the control unit (8) performs step driving by performing a first drive that drives the substrate stage (7) in the Y direction according to a first drive profile and a second drive that drives the substrate stage (7) in the X direction according to a second drive profile in parallel. The control unit (8) determines the first drive profile and the second drive profile so that the combined acceleration of the substrate stage (7) when the first drive and the second drive are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit value. Here, the predetermined upper limit value is a value that is predetermined such that no positional misalignment of the substrate chuck (75) with respect to the substrate stage (7) occurs when the lock between the substrate stage (7) and the substrate chuck (75) is released.

[0035] Hereinafter, a specific example of step driving in the present embodiment is described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of the operation of driving in the X direction and Y direction during step driving in the present embodiment. In S101, the control unit (8) calculates a provisional acceleration for the acceleration applied during acceleration and deceleration in the X direction and Y direction, respectively. The provisional acceleration is set for each of the X direction and Y direction. Here, the acceleration at which the driving time (step time) in the X direction and the step time in the Y direction become equal is calculated as the provisional acceleration. Specifically, if the step time is T, the acceleration is A, the velocity is V, the driving distance (step distance) is D, and the jerk time is J, the function f representing the step time T of the step driving is expressed as follows.

[0036] T=f(A,V,D,J) … (1)

[0037] The step time in the X direction is denoted as Tx, the step time in the Y direction as Ty, the acceleration in the X direction as Ax, the acceleration in the Y direction as Ay, and the upper limit of the composite acceleration at which no positional misalignment of the substrate chuck (75) occurs as Atol. The control unit (8) obtains Ax and Ay as provisional accelerations for which the following conditions (1) and (2) are satisfied. Here, in condition (1), the X direction velocity Vx, the Y direction velocity Vy, the X direction step distance Dx, the Y direction step distance Dy, the X direction jerk time Jx, and the Y direction jerk time Jy are each set to known values.

[0038] (Condition 1)

[0039] Tx=Ty,

[0040] f(Ax,Vx,Dx,Jx)=f(Ay,Vy,Dy,Jy)

[0041] (Condition 2)

[0042] Atol = √(Ax) ２ +Ay ２ )

[0043] In S102, the control unit (8) determines whether the provisional acceleration Ax calculated in S101 is less than or equal to the upper limit of acceleration in the X direction, MaxAx. Here, if the provisional acceleration Ax is less than or equal to the upper limit of acceleration MaxAx, in S103, the control unit (8) determines whether the provisional acceleration Ay calculated in S101 is less than or equal to the upper limit of acceleration in the Y direction, MaxAy. Here, if the provisional acceleration Ay is less than or equal to the upper limit of acceleration MaxAy, in S104, the control unit (8) refers to the provisional accelerations Ax and Ay calculated in S101 as confirmed accelerations Ax' and Ay', as shown in the following equation.

[0044] Ax'=Ax … (2)

[0045] Ay'=Ay … (3)

[0046] In S102, if it is determined that the provisional acceleration Ax calculated in S101 exceeds the acceleration upper limit MaxAx, the processing proceeds to S105. In S105, the control unit (8) denotes the acceleration upper limit MaxAx in the X direction as the confirmed acceleration Ax' in the X direction, as indicated by the following equations (equations (4) and (5)), and denotes the residual (first residual) of the combined acceleration and the acceleration upper limit in the X direction as the confirmed acceleration Ay' in the Y direction.

[0047] Ax'=MaxAx … (4)

[0048] Ay'=√(Atol ２ -Ma x Ax ２ ) … (5)

[0049] In S103, if it is determined that the provisional acceleration Ay calculated in S101 exceeds the acceleration upper limit MaxAy, the processing proceeds to S106. In S106, the control unit (8) defines the residual (second residual) of the composite acceleration and the acceleration upper limit in the Y direction as the confirmed acceleration Ax' in the X direction, and defines the acceleration upper limit MaxAy in the Y direction as the confirmed acceleration Ay' in the Y direction, as shown by the following equations (equations (6) and (7)).

[0050] Ax'=√(Atol ２ -MaxAy ２ ) … (6)

[0051] Ay'=MaxAy … (7)

[0052] Based on the above, the fixed acceleration in the X direction and the Y direction, respectively, are determined. Next, in S107, the control unit (8) calculates the driving profile according to the XY step driving using the calculated fixed acceleration. An example of a driving profile is shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 shows a driving profile that defines the time change of the driving speed in the X direction (second driving profile) and a driving profile that defines the time change of the driving speed in the Y direction (first driving profile). FIG. 5 also shows a composite acceleration that combines the driving acceleration in the X direction and the driving acceleration in the Y direction. FIG. 5 also shows the conventional driving speed and composite acceleration shown in FIG. 4 for comparison, in FIG. 5, the conventional driving speed and composite acceleration shown in FIG. 4 are also shown as dashed lines.

[0053] After the drive profile is determined in S107, the control unit (8) performs a chuck lock in S108. Then, the control unit (8) starts a step drive in S109, after the start of the chuck lock operation and before its completion. In this step drive, the acceleration and deceleration of the substrate stage (7) are performed according to the drive profile calculated in S107. Specifically, the step drive may include a first drive that drives the substrate stage (7) in the Y direction according to the first drive profile and a second drive that drives the substrate stage in the X direction according to the second drive profile, performed in parallel. As a result, since the combined acceleration does not exceed an upper limit value, it is possible to eliminate or shorten the drive waiting time before the step drive for the chuck lock.

[0054] In addition, although step driving is used as an example in this embodiment, it is not limited to the case where the driving of the substrate stage (7) in the X direction or Y direction is stopped at the start and end times of the step driving.

[0055] In addition, in this embodiment, the control unit (8) is configured to determine the first driving profile and the second driving profile, but the control unit (8) may also be configured to acquire the first driving profile and the second driving profile determined (calculated) by an external information processing device, etc.

[0056] <Second Embodiment>

[0057] In the second embodiment, a stage driving method is described by causing the driving start timing in each XY direction to be offset. The control unit (8) starts one of the first driving, which is driving in the Y direction, and the second driving, which is driving in the X direction, after the start and before the completion of the chuck lock operation, and also starts the other driving after the end of the acceleration period in the said driving. This method is executed under conditions where, during simultaneous step driving in the XY direction by the substrate stage (7), an offset occurs to an object on the substrate stage due to the inertial force generated during simultaneous acceleration and deceleration in each XY direction.

[0058] Figure 6 illustrates an example of step driving. The reason object misalignment occurs under the above conditions is that the combined acceleration in the X and Y directions exceeds the range of stage acceleration at which object misalignment does not occur. Accordingly, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 6, the driving start timing of the direction with the shorter driving time between driving in the X direction and driving in the Y direction is the acceleration period T in the direction with the longer driving time. Acc It is set to be offset after minutes. As a result, since there is no case where both XY directions accelerate simultaneously, the combined acceleration can be prevented from exceeding the allowable range during drive standby.

[0059] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of the operation for performing step driving in the present embodiment. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, the processing block enclosed by the dashed line (7A) is the same as that of the first embodiment (Fig. 3) (S101 to S109), so the description of its contents is omitted.

[0060] In step driving, the constant speed driving time of the longer driving time between the driving in the X direction and the driving in the Y direction is T Long , the total time of the step drive on the shorter side (total drive time) is T Short (See FIG. 6). In S201, the control unit (8) determines whether to adjust the step drive start timing using the determination formula represented as condition 3 below.

[0061] (Condition 3)

[0062] T ｌｏｎｇ ≫T ｓｈｏｒｔ

[0063] Specifically, the control unit (8) is T long This T short If it is greater than a predetermined value compared to , it is determined that Condition 3 is satisfied, and it is determined that the step drive start timing is adjusted. If Condition 3 is not satisfied, the process proceeds to the aforementioned S101. On the other hand, if Condition 3 is satisfied, the process proceeds to S202. In the example of FIG. 6, between the drive in the X direction and the drive in the Y direction, the drive in the other direction (drive in the Y direction) is completed while the drive in the other direction (drive in the Y direction) is driven at constant speed with the drive in the X direction having a longer drive time (drive in the X direction). The step drive start timing is t start In this case, in S202, the control unit (8) has a provisional drive start timing t in the X direction. Long Calculate according to Equation (8), and the provisional drive start timing t in the Y direction Short We obtain it from equation (9).

[0064] t Ｌｏｎｇ =t Ｓｔａｒｔ - Operation waiting time … (8)

[0065] t Ｓｈｏｒｔ =t Ｓｔａｒｔ +t Ａｃｃ -Operation waiting time … (9)

[0066] In S203, the control unit (8) determines whether the composite acceleration is less than a predetermined upper limit value when the driving timing is offset by the provisional driving start timing of each XY direction. If the composite acceleration does not exceed the upper limit value, in S204, the control unit (8) determines the provisional driving start timing of each XY direction obtained from equations (8) and (9) as the confirmed driving start timing. After that, the processing proceeds to S107. If it is determined in S203 that the composite acceleration is greater than or equal to the upper limit value, the processing proceeds to S101, and the control unit (8) performs the processing described in the first embodiment. By doing so, it becomes possible to drive the substrate stage (7) without damaging the overlap precision and without reducing the throughput. Thus, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to perform an operation in which the composite acceleration does not exceed a predetermined upper limit value even without starting the driving of each XY direction simultaneously as in the first embodiment.

[0067] In each of the embodiments described above, step driving between shots was primarily explained. In other words, in each of the embodiments described above, step driving performed between scanning exposure of a first shot area and scanning exposure of a second shot area performed thereafter was explained. However, the processing according to the step driving described above can be similarly applied to step driving performed after the substrate is loaded and before the scanning exposure of the first shot area in the exposure sequence.

[0068] <Effective form of method for manufacturing an article>

[0069] The method for manufacturing an article according to an embodiment of the present invention is suitable for manufacturing articles such as microdevices, such as semiconductor devices, or devices having a microstructure. The method for manufacturing an article according to the present embodiment includes a process of forming a latent image pattern on a photosensitive material coated on a substrate using the exposure device (a process of exposing the substrate), and a process of developing the substrate on which the latent image pattern is formed in the process. In addition, the manufacturing method includes other well-known processes (oxidation, film formation, deposition, doping, planarization, etching, resist stripping, dicing, bonding, packaging, etc.). The method for manufacturing an article according to the present embodiment is advantageous compared to conventional methods in at least one of the performance, quality, productivity, and production cost of the article.

[0070] The invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but various changes and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, claims are attached to clarify the scope of the invention. Explanation of the symbols

[0071] 1: Illumination optical system 2: Alignment scope 3: Disc 4: Disc Stage 5: Projection optical system 6: Substrate 7: Substrate stage 8: Control unit

Claims

Claim 1 An exposure device for performing scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot areas on a substrate, comprising a substrate chuck for chucking the substrate, a stage that moves while mounting the substrate chuck, and a control unit for controlling the driving of the stage, wherein the control unit performs a first driving that drives the stage in a scanning direction according to a first driving profile and a second driving that drives the stage in a non-scanning direction according to a second driving profile in parallel, thereby performing a step driving of the stage before performing scanning exposure for one shot area, and wherein the control unit determines the first driving profile and the second driving profile such that the combined acceleration of the stage when the first driving and the second driving are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit value such that no positional misalignment of the substrate chuck relative to the stage occurs when the lock between the stage and the substrate chuck is released. Claim 2 An exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit simultaneously initiates the first drive and the second drive after and before the completion of the chuck lock operation of locking the substrate chuck with respect to the stage. Claim 3 In paragraph 2, let Tx be the driving time of the second drive, Ty be the driving time of the first drive, Ax be the acceleration in the non-scanning direction, Ay be the acceleration in the scanning direction, and Atol be the upper limit; let Vx be the velocity in the non-scanning direction, Vy be the velocity in the scanning direction, Dx be the driving distance in the non-scanning direction, Dy be the driving distance in the scanning direction, Jx be the jerk time in the non-scanning direction, Jy be the jerk time in the scanning direction, and f be the function representing the driving time of the step drive. Then, the control unit comprises: Tx=Ty,f(Ax,Vx,Dx,Jx)=f(Ay,Vy,Dy,Jy), and Atol=√(Ax ２ +Ay ２ An exposure apparatus characterized by determining Ax and Ay such that ). Claim 4 An exposure apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control unit, when the determined acceleration Ax of the non-scanning direction exceeds a predetermined upper limit value of acceleration MaxAx of the non-scanning direction, changes the acceleration Ax to the upper limit value of acceleration MaxAx and changes the acceleration Ay of the scanning direction to a first residual which is the residual of the composite acceleration and the upper limit value of acceleration MaxAx of the non-scanning direction, and when the determined acceleration Ay of the scanning direction exceeds a predetermined upper limit value of acceleration MaxAy of the scanning direction, changes the acceleration Ay to the upper limit value of acceleration MaxAy and changes the acceleration Ax of the non-scanning direction to a second residual which is the residual of the composite acceleration and the upper limit value of acceleration MaxAy of the scanning direction. Claim 5 In paragraph 4, the first residual is √(Atol) ２ -Ma x Ax ２ It is indicated as ), and the above second residual is, √(Atol) ２ -MaxAy ２ An exposure device characterized by being indicated by ). Claim 6 An exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit initiates one of the first drive and the second drive after the start and before the completion of a chuck lock operation for locking the substrate chuck with respect to the stage, and initiates the other drive after the end of the acceleration period in the said drive. Claim 7 An exposure device according to claim 6, characterized in that the total driving time of the other drive is shorter than the constant speed driving time of the one drive. Claim 8 An exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the step drive is performed after the substrate is loaded and the exposure sequence is performed before the scanning exposure for the first shot area. Claim 9 An exposure device according to claim 8, wherein the step drive is also performed between scanning exposure for a first shot area and scanning exposure for a second shot area performed thereafter. Claim 10 An exposure device for performing scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot areas on a substrate, comprising: a substrate chuck for chucking the substrate; a stage that moves while mounting the substrate chuck; a locking mechanism for performing a chuck locking operation to lock the substrate chuck with respect to the stage; and a control unit for controlling the driving of the stage, wherein the control unit initiates a step driving of the stage before performing scanning exposure for one shot area after the start and before the completion of the chuck locking operation, and the step driving includes performing a first driving that drives the stage in a scanning direction according to a first driving profile and a second driving that drives the stage in a non-scanning direction according to a second driving profile in parallel, wherein the first driving profile and the second driving profile are defined such that the combined acceleration when the first driving and the second driving are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit value such that no positional misalignment of the substrate chuck with respect to the stage occurs when the lock by the locking mechanism is released. Claim 11 A control method for an exposure device that performs scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot areas on a substrate, comprising: a process of determining a driving profile according to a step driving of a stage that holds and supports the substrate before performing scanning exposure for one shot area; and a process of performing the step driving according to the determined driving profile, wherein the step driving includes performing a first driving that drives the stage in a scanning direction according to a first driving profile and a second driving that drives the stage in a non-scanning direction according to a second driving profile in parallel, wherein in the process of determining the driving profile, the first driving profile and the second driving profile are determined such that the combined acceleration of the stage when the first driving and the second driving are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit value such that no positional misalignment of the substrate chuck with respect to the stage occurs when the lock between the stage and the substrate chuck mounted on the stage is released. Claim 12 A control method for an exposure device that performs scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot areas on a substrate, comprising: a process of executing a chuck lock operation in which a substrate chuck mounted on a stage is locked to the stage; and a process of initiating a step drive of the stage before performing scanning exposure for one shot area after the start and before the completion of the chuck lock operation, wherein the step drive includes a first drive that drives the stage in a scanning direction according to a first drive profile and a second drive that drives the stage in a non-scanning direction according to a second drive profile in parallel, wherein the first drive profile and the second drive profile are defined such that the combined acceleration when the first drive and the second drive are executed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit value such that no positional misalignment of the substrate chuck with respect to the stage occurs when the lock of the substrate chuck with respect to the stage is released. Claim 13 A method for manufacturing an article characterized by having a process of exposing a substrate using an exposure device described in any one of claims 1 to 10, and a process of developing the exposed substrate, and manufacturing an article from the developed substrate.

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