Processing system, processing method, measuring device, substrate processing device, and article manufacturing method

Abstract

A processing system, a processing method, a measuring device, a substrate processing device, and an article manufacturing method are provided. The processing system includes a first device and a second device, and processes a substrate, wherein the first device includes a first measurement unit configured to detect a first structure and a second structure different from the first structure provided on the substrate, and measure a relative position between the first structure and the second structure, the second device includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire the relative position measured by the first measurement unit, a second measurement unit configured to detect the second structure and measure a position of the second structure, and a control unit configured to acquire a position of the first structure based on the relative position acquired by the acquisition unit and the position of the second structure measured by the second measurement unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a processing system, a processing method, a measuring device, a substrate processing device, and a method for manufacturing articles. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, with the micropatterning and higher integration of equipment, the demand for improved equipment alignment accuracy has been increasing. To address this issue, Japanese Patent No. 6719729 proposes a technique that, in order to achieve high-precision alignment even when substrate distortion occurs during equipment manufacturing, measures the positions of numerous alignment marks on the substrate and corrects the substrate distortion with high precision. The substrate distortion that can be corrected by this technique includes not only the array shape of multiple sections (areas to be exposed, i.e., irradiation areas) throughout the substrate, but also the shape of each section. For example, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, pre-obtained information about substrate distortion is used to correct the shape of the array of multiple sections on the substrate and the shape of each section.

[0003] To correct the shape of the partition regions on a substrate, it is necessary to detect multiple alignment marks within the partition regions. However, typically, few alignment marks are arranged in the partition regions. Therefore, a method is conceived in which the shape of the partition regions is measured for correction by alternately using multiple overlapping inspection marks arranged in the partition regions on the substrate. However, due to the special shape of the overlapping inspection marks, a dedicated optical system for detecting the overlapping inspection marks is required.

[0004] Another issue related to the shape of the separation regions on the calibration substrate is the increased number of processes, which makes it difficult to detect alignment marks. For example, as devices are stacked, the number of steps using hard masks increases. While hard masks can improve etch resistance by increasing the carbon (C) content, the transmittance of the light illuminating the alignment marks (illumination light) decreases when detecting alignment marks via a hard mask. To prevent this, a method using an alignment detection optics system that increases the selectivity of the illumination light wavelength to enable high-precision detection of alignment marks can be envisioned. However, even with this approach, a dedicated alignment detection optics system is required.

[0005] As mentioned above, a dedicated inspection optical system is required to correct the shape of the separated regions on the substrate. However, from the perspective of layout constraints, mounting such a dedicated inspection optical system on the exposure apparatus is impractical. Furthermore, even if a dedicated inspection optical system could be mounted on the exposure apparatus, it would increase costs. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This invention provides a technique that facilitates substrate alignment.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a processing system is provided, the processing system including a first device and a second device, and processing a substrate, wherein the first device includes a first measuring unit configured to detect a first structure disposed on the substrate and a second structure different from the first structure, and to measure the relative position between the first structure and the second structure; the second device includes: an obtaining unit configured to obtain the relative position measured by the first measuring unit; a second measuring unit configured to detect the second structure and measure the position of the second structure; and a control unit configured to obtain the position of the first structure based on the relative position obtained by the obtaining unit and the position of the second structure measured by the second measuring unit.

[0008] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a processing method is provided, which uses a first device and a second device to process a substrate, wherein, in the first device, a first structure disposed on the substrate and a second structure different from the first structure are detected, and the relative position between the first structure and the second structure is measured; and in the second device, the relative position measured by the first device is obtained, the second structure is detected, and the position of the second structure is measured, and the position of the first structure is obtained based on the relative position and the position of the second structure measured by the second measuring unit.

[0009] According to a third aspect of the present invention, a measuring apparatus is provided, comprising: a measuring unit configured to acquire an image by photographing a first structure disposed on a substrate and a second structure different from the first structure, and to detect the first structure and the second structure, thereby measuring the relative position between the first structure and the second structure; a selection unit configured to select a second structure to be measured by the measuring unit from a plurality of second structures based on the contrast in portions of the image acquired by the measuring unit that correspond to a plurality of second structures respectively; and an output unit configured to output the relative position between the first structure and the second structure selected by the selection unit to a substrate processing apparatus for processing the substrate, the relative position being measured by the measuring unit.

[0010] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate is provided, the substrate processing apparatus comprising: an obtaining unit configured to obtain a relative position between a first structure disposed on the substrate and a second structure different from the first structure, the relative position being measured by an external measuring device; a measuring unit configured to measure the position of the second structure; and a control unit configured to obtain the position of the first structure based on the relative position obtained by the obtaining unit and the position of the second structure measured by the measuring unit.

[0011] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a method for manufacturing an article is provided, the method comprising: a forming step of forming a pattern on a substrate using the aforementioned processing system; a processing step of processing the substrate on which the pattern was formed in the forming step; and a manufacturing step of manufacturing an article from the processed substrate.

[0012] Further aspects of the invention will become clear from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the construction of a processing system according to one aspect of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the exposure apparatus.

[0015] Figure 3 It is shown Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of the detection optical system of the exposure apparatus shown.

[0016] Figure 4 This is a flowchart used to explain the standard exposure process.

[0017] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the measuring device.

[0018] Figure 6 This is a diagram showing an array of multiple partitioned regions on a substrate.

[0019] Figure 7 This is a diagram showing an example of alignment marks configured in the sample area.

[0020] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional view showing a substrate equipped with a first alignment mark and a second alignment mark.

[0021] Figure 9 It is a flowchart used to explain the measurement process in the measuring device.

[0022] Figure 10 This is a flowchart used to explain the processing of the substrate in the exposure apparatus.

[0023] Figure 11 This is a diagram showing an example of overlap check marks and alignment marks configured in the sample area.

[0024] Figure 12 This is a diagram used to explain the overlap check markers.

[0025] Figure 13 It is a flowchart used to explain the measurement process in the measuring device.

[0026] Figure 14This is a flowchart used to explain the processing of the substrate in the exposure apparatus.

[0027] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the exposure apparatus.

[0028] Figure 16 This is a diagram showing an example of alignment marks and device patterns arranged in the sample area.

[0029] Figure 17 This is a diagram showing an example of alignment marks and multiple device patterns arranged in the sample area.

[0030] Figure 18 It is a flowchart used to explain the measurement process in the measuring device.

[0031] Figure 19 This is a flowchart used to explain the processing of the substrate in the exposure apparatus.

[0032] Figure 20 This is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the measuring device.

[0033] Figure 21 It is a flowchart used to explain the measurement process in the measuring device.

[0034] Figure 22 It is an image showing the unique texture of the substrate. Detailed Implementation

[0035] In the following description, embodiments will be illustrated in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Please note that the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention. Several features are described in the embodiments, but this does not limit the invention to requiring all of these features, and multiple such features can be suitably combined. Furthermore, in the drawings, the same reference numerals are given the same or similar constructions, and their redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0036] <First Embodiment>

[0037] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the construction of a processing system 1 according to one aspect of the present invention. The processing system 1 includes a measuring device 100 (first device) and an exposure device 1000 (second device). In the processing system 1, the measuring device 100 pre-measures the position of a structure disposed on a substrate and transmits the position of the substrate to the exposure device 1000, and the exposure device processes the substrate using the position of the structure obtained from the measuring device 100. In this embodiment, the measuring device 100 measures the relative position between two marks that serve as a structure disposed on the substrate, and the exposure device 1000 aligns the substrate to a target position and processes the substrate based on the relative position between the two marks.

[0038] Therefore, in the processing system 1, a high-precision detection optical system included in the measuring device 100 is used to measure the relative position between an alignment mark disposed in the target layer of the substrate and a substitute mark disposed in a layer different from the target layer. Thus, the exposure device 1000 can align the target layer without measuring the position of the alignment mark disposed in the target layer of the substrate.

[0039] Please note that the exposure apparatus 1000 forming the processing system 1 can be replaced with a substrate processing apparatus, in which the substrate, serving as the object, needs to be aligned with the target position and processed. Such a substrate processing apparatus includes, for example, an imprinting apparatus, a drawing apparatus, etc. Here, the imprinting apparatus brings imprinting material disposed on the substrate into contact with a mold and applies curing energy to the imprinting material, thereby forming a pattern of the cured product, the pattern of the mold being transferred to the cured product. The drawing apparatus forms a pattern (latent image pattern) on the substrate by drawing on the substrate with a charged particle beam (electron beam) or a laser beam.

[0040] First, refer to Figure 2 The structure of the exposure apparatus 1000 will be described. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the exposure apparatus 1000. The exposure apparatus 1000 is a substrate processing apparatus that processes a substrate 4 to form a pattern on the substrate 4. In this embodiment, the exposure apparatus 1000 projects the pattern of the original 2 (reticle or mask) onto the substrate 4 via the projection optical system 3 and exposes the substrate 4.

[0041] Exposure apparatus 1 includes: a projection optical system 3 for projecting (reduced projection) a pattern formed on a master 2; and a substrate chuck 5 for holding a substrate 4, on which an underlayer pattern and alignment marks have been formed in a previous step. Exposure apparatus 1000 also includes: a substrate stage 6 for holding the substrate chuck 5 and positioning the substrate 4 at a predetermined position (target position); a detection optical system 7 for measuring the position of the structure indicated by the alignment marks disposed on the substrate 4; and a control unit CU.

[0042] The control unit CU is formed by a computer (information processing device) including, for example, a CPU and memory, and comprehensively controls the various units of the exposure apparatus 1000 according to a program stored in a storage unit or the like. As will be described in detail later, the control unit CU performs the following functions in this embodiment. The control unit CU obtains the measurement results of the measuring device 100 (detection optical system 107), and more specifically, obtains the relative position between a first structure disposed on the substrate 4 and a second structure different from the first structure (used as an obtaining unit). Furthermore, based on the relative position between the first and second structures obtained from the measuring device 100 and the measurement results of the detection optical system 7, and more specifically, based on the position of the second structure, the control unit CU performs control for aligning the substrate 4 with the target position and processing the substrate 4. Note that the processing of the substrate 4 is an exposure process in which the pattern of the original 2 is transferred onto the substrate 4 by exposing the substrate 4 via the original 2.

[0043] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the detection optical system 7. Light from the light source 8 is reflected by the beam splitter 9 and illuminates the alignment marks 11 or 12 disposed on the substrate 4 via the lens 10. The light diffracted by the alignment marks 11 or 12 is detected (received) by the sensor 14 via the lens 10, the beam splitter 9, and the lens 13.

[0044] Reference Figure 4 This section describes the conventional exposure process in the exposure apparatus 1000. Here, an outline of the process prior to aligning and exposing the substrate 4 will be described. In step S101, the substrate 4 is loaded into the exposure apparatus 1000. In step S102, pre-alignment is performed. More specifically, the alignment marks 11 disposed on the substrate 4 for pre-alignment are detected by the detection optical system 7, thereby obtaining the position of the substrate 4 with low precision. At this time, the alignment marks 11 are detected in multiple partitioned regions of the substrate 4 (each partitioned region is a unit region (irradiation area) that serves as the area to be exposed), and the offset and first-order linear components (magnification or rotation) of the entire substrate 4 are obtained. In step S103, fine alignment is performed. More specifically, based on the result of the pre-alignment, the substrate stage 6 is driven to a position where the detection optical system 7 can detect the position of the alignment marks 12 for fine alignment, and the detection optical system 7 detects the alignment marks 12 disposed in each of the multiple partitioned regions of the substrate 4. Then, the offset and first-order linear components (magnification and rotation) of the entire substrate 4 are obtained precisely. In step S104, the substrate 4 is exposed. More specifically, after fine alignment, the pattern of the original 2 is transferred to the respective partitioned areas on the substrate 4 via the projection optical system 3. In step S105, the substrate 4 is unloaded from the exposure apparatus 1000.

[0045] Next, refer to Figure 5The structure of the measuring device 100 will be described. Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram showing the construction of the measuring device 100. The measuring device 100 is formed as a device different from the exposure device 1000 (i.e., a device external to the exposure device 1000). The measuring device 100 is a measuring device that detects structures disposed on a substrate (e.g., a first structure and a second structure different from the first structure) and measures the relative position between the first structure and the second structure.

[0046] The measuring device 100 includes a substrate chuck 105 for holding the substrate 4, and a substrate stage 106 for holding the substrate chuck 105 and positioning the substrate 4 at a predetermined position (target position). The measuring device 100 also includes a control unit 108, an interface 109, and a detection optical system 107 for measuring the position of alignment marks disposed on the substrate 4 with high precision.

[0047] The inspection optical system 107 has a structure basically similar to that of the inspection optical system 7 of the exposure apparatus 1000. However, the inspection optical system 107 is an inspection optical system that achieves higher accuracy and higher functionality than the inspection optical system 7, and has a structure such as a high numerical aperture, high magnification, and a multi-pixel sensor, which enables high-precision measurement of the structure disposed on the substrate 4 represented by the alignment marks. In addition, in order to improve the visibility of the alignment marks, the inspection optical system 107 has a structure that achieves high brightness and high wavelength selectivity of the light (illumination light) illuminating the alignment marks.

[0048] The control unit 108 is formed by a computer (information processing device) including, for example, a CPU and a memory, and comprehensively controls the various units of the measuring device 100 according to a program stored in a storage unit or the like. The control unit 108 controls the measurement process by controlling the operation of the various units of the measuring device 100, which includes the process of measuring the position of the structure disposed on the substrate 4 and the process of measuring the relative position between two structures disposed on the substrate 4.

[0049] Interface 109 is a user interface including a display device, an input device, etc., which transmits information and instructions from the measuring device 100 to the user or from the user to the measuring device 100. In interface 109, when a user inputs necessary information via the input device while referring to a screen provided on the display device, the user can specify among multiple structures disposed on the substrate 4 the structure whose position is to be measured by the measuring device. In this way, in this embodiment, interface 109 is provided to the user to specify the structure to be detected by the detection optical system 107.

[0050] The measurement process performed under the control of the control unit 108 in the measuring device 100 will be described. More specifically, a measurement process will be described in which two alignment marks (a first structure and a second structure different from the first structure) disposed on the substrate 4 are detected and the relative position between the two alignment marks is measured. The two alignment marks are specified by the user via the interface 109 as described above.

[0051] First, the alignment marks that are disposed on the substrate 4 and serve as the measurement target of the measuring device 100 will be described. Figure 6 This diagram shows an array of multiple partitioned regions on substrate 4. Among the multiple partitioned regions on substrate 4, the partitioned regions that have undergone measurement processing (alignment measurement) are referred to as sample regions 151 to 158. In each sample region 151 to 158, as follows... Figure 7 The first alignment mark 200 (first structure) and the second alignment mark 201 (second structure) are shown. Figure 7 This diagram illustrates an example of alignment marks disposed in each of the sample regions 151 to 158. A first alignment mark 200 and a second alignment mark 201 are disposed in different layers on the substrate 4. The first alignment mark 200 is an alignment mark disposed in a target layer on the substrate 4, and the second alignment mark 201 is an alignment mark disposed in a layer different from the target layer on the substrate 4. Typically, since the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 are not used together for alignment, they are disposed at positions spaced apart from each other. For example, let L be the relative distance between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201, and let S be the size of the second alignment mark 201, satisfying L / S > 3. Note that the target layer is the processing layer to be aligned when patterning is formed on the substrate 4.

[0052] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional view showing the substrate 4 equipped with the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201. (See diagram below.) Figure 8As shown, substrate 4 includes a target layer 210 and a layer 211 different from the target layer 210. The layer that needs to be aligned when forming a pattern on substrate 4 is predetermined, and as described above, this layer is referred to as the target layer. However, if another processing layer has already been formed on the target layer 210, the first alignment mark 200 disposed in the target layer 210 may not be detectable (observable) with high contrast. On the other hand, since there is no shielding layer obscuring the second alignment mark 201, the second alignment mark 201 disposed in the layer 211 different from the target layer 210 can be detected with high contrast. Between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201, there is a positional offset (offset from the design value) corresponding to the alignment error generated when the second alignment mark 201 is formed. Therefore, the second alignment mark 201 cannot be used as a substitute for the first alignment mark 200 disposed in the target layer 210 as a measurement target in alignment measurement.

[0053] Therefore, in this embodiment, the relative position (i.e., the alignment error between the two layers) between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 is measured and determined. Thus, the position of the first alignment mark 200 can be calculated based on the position of the second alignment mark 201, allowing the target layer 210 to be aligned using the second alignment mark 201. The relative position between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 is measured by the measuring device 100.

[0054] Reference Figure 9 The measurement process in the measuring device 100 will be described, and more specifically, the measurement process for measuring the relative position between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 will be described.

[0055] In step S201, the substrate 4 is loaded into the measuring device 100.

[0056] In step S202, pre-alignment is performed. More specifically, the alignment marks 11 disposed on the substrate 4 for pre-alignment are detected by the detection optical system 107, thereby obtaining the position of the substrate 4 with low precision. At this time, the alignment marks 11 are detected in multiple partitioned areas of the substrate 4, and the offset and first-order linear components (magnification or rotation) of the entire substrate 4 are obtained.

[0057] In step S203, the position of the first alignment mark 200 disposed in the target layer 210 in the sample area of ​​the substrate 4 is measured. More specifically, based on the pre-alignment result, the substrate stage 106 is driven to the detection optical system 107 to detect the position of the first alignment mark 200. Then, the detection optical system 107 is used to detect the first alignment mark 200 disposed in the target layer 210 in the sample area of ​​the substrate 4, and the position of the first alignment mark 200 is measured.

[0058] In step S204, the position of a second alignment mark 201 disposed in a layer 211 different from the target layer 210 in the sample region of the substrate 4 is measured. More specifically, based on the pre-alignment result, the substrate stage 106 is driven to the detection optical system 107 to detect the position of the second alignment mark 201. Then, the detection optical system 107 is used to detect the second alignment mark 201 disposed in layer 211 in the sample region of the substrate 4, and the position of the second alignment mark 201 is measured.

[0059] In step S205, the relative position between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 is calculated based on the position of the first alignment mark 200 measured in step S203 and the position of the second alignment mark 201 measured in step S204. For example, let (Ax, Ay) be the position of the first alignment mark 200 measured by the detection optical system 107, and (Bx, By) be the position of the second alignment mark 201 measured by the detection optical system 107. In this case, the relative position (Cx, Cy) between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 is calculated by Cx = Bx - Ax and Cy = By - Ay. The calculation of the relative position between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 can be performed by the control unit 108 or by the detection optical system 107 (which includes an arithmetic unit such as a CPU). In this way, the detection optical system 107 works in cooperation with the control unit 108 or acts alone as a first measurement unit that detects the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 and measures the relative position between the alignment marks 200 and 201.

[0060] In step S206, it is determined whether the relative positions between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 have been obtained for all sample areas of the substrate 4. If the relative positions between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 have not been obtained for all sample areas of the substrate 4, the process returns to step S203 to obtain the relative positions in the next sample area. On the other hand, if the relative positions between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 have been obtained for all sample areas of the substrate 4, the process proceeds to step S207.

[0061] In step S207, the relative position between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 obtained in step S205 is output to the exposure apparatus 1000. At this time, the control unit 108 acts as an output unit, outputting the relative position between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 to the exposure apparatus 1000. Note that in this embodiment, the relative position between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 is output directly from the measuring device 100 to the exposure apparatus 1000, but the invention is not limited thereto. For example, the relative position between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 can be output from the measuring device 100 to the exposure apparatus 1000 via a host device that communicates between the measuring device 100 and the exposure apparatus 1000.

[0062] In step S208, the substrate 4 is unloaded from the measuring device 100.

[0063] Reference Figure 10 The processing of substrate 4 in exposure apparatus 1000 will be described. More specifically, the process of aligning substrate 4 with a target position and exposing substrate 4 using the relative position between first alignment mark 200 and second alignment mark 201 obtained by measuring device 100 will be described.

[0064] In step S301, the substrate 4 is loaded into the exposure apparatus 1000.

[0065] In step S302, the relative position between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 output from the measuring device 100 is obtained. In other words, the relative position between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 measured by the measuring device 100 is obtained from the measuring device 100.

[0066] In step S303, pre-alignment is performed. This pre-alignment is... Figure 4 The pre-alignment in step S102 shown is similar, and its detailed description will be omitted here.

[0067] In step S304, the position of a second alignment mark 201 disposed in a layer 211 different from the target layer 210 in the sample region of the substrate 4 is measured. More specifically, based on the pre-alignment result, the substrate stage 6 is driven to a position where the detection optical system 7 can detect the position of the second alignment mark 201. Then, the detection optical system 7 is used to detect the second alignment mark 201 disposed in layer 211 in the sample region of the substrate 4, and the position of the second alignment mark 201 is measured. In this way, the detection optical system 7 serves as a second measurement unit for detecting the second alignment mark 201 and measuring its position.

[0068] In step S305, the position of the first alignment mark 200 disposed in the target layer 210 in the sample region of the substrate 4 is calculated. More specifically, the position of the first alignment mark 200 is calculated based on the relative position between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 obtained in step S302 and the position of the second alignment mark 201 measured in step S304. For example, let (Bx', By') be the position of the second alignment mark 201 measured by the detection optical system 7. In this case, the position (Ax', Ay') of the first alignment mark 200 is calculated by Ax' = Bx' - Cx = Bx' - (Bx - Ax) and Ay' = By' - Cy = By' - (By - Ay). Note that the calculation of the position of the first alignment mark 200 is performed by the control unit CU.

[0069] In step S306, it is determined whether the position of the first alignment mark 200 has been obtained for all sample areas of the substrate 4. If the position of the first alignment mark 200 has not been obtained for all sample areas of the substrate 4, the process returns to step S304 to obtain the position of the first alignment mark 200 in the next sample area. On the other hand, if the position of the first alignment mark 200 has been obtained for all sample areas of the substrate 4, the process proceeds to step S307.

[0070] In step S307, the substrate 4 is exposed. More specifically, based on the position of the first alignment mark 200 disposed in the target layer 210 in the sample area of ​​the substrate 4 calculated in step S305, the substrate 4 is aligned with the target position. Then, the pattern of the original 2 is transferred to each partition area on the substrate 4 via the projection optical system 3.

[0071] In step S308, substrate 4 is unloaded from exposure apparatus 1000.

[0072] Therefore, in this embodiment, the position of the second alignment mark 201 disposed in a layer 211 different from the target layer 210 is measured, instead of the first alignment mark 200, which the detection optical system 7 of the exposure apparatus 1000 cannot detect with high precision. Then, the position of the first alignment mark 200 is obtained based on the position of the second alignment mark 201 and the relative position between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 measured by the measuring device 100. Thus, the substrate 4 can be aligned with the target position and exposed while using the position of the first alignment mark 200 disposed in the target layer 210 as a reference.

[0073] Please note that while the calculation of the position of the first alignment mark 200 has been described in this embodiment, it is not mandatory. The substrate 4 can also be aligned with the target position and exposed based on the relative position between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201, and the position of the second alignment mark 201 measured by the detection optical system 7. More specifically, the target position can be obtained directly by shifting the relative position between the first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 to the position of the second alignment mark 201. For example, let (Bx', By') be the position of the second alignment mark 201 measured by the detection optical system 7. In this case, the target position (Dx, Dy) can be obtained using Dx = Bx' - Cx and Dy = By' - Cy.

[0074] Furthermore, there may be a tendency for distortion of the substrate 4 that occurs when the substrate 4 is held, between the substrate chuck 105 of the measuring device 100 and the substrate chuck 5 of the exposure device 1000. In this case, the offset caused by the distortion when holding the substrate 4 can be corrected by reflecting a certain offset amount to the measurement values ​​of each separated region of the substrate 4. In other words, in this embodiment, the matching correction between the measuring device 100 and the exposure device 1000 can be used together.

[0075] Alternatively, the processing of the mark positions in each segmented region of the substrate 4 can be modified to calculate, for example, a statistical alignment correction value (offset of the entire substrate 4 and first linear component) for each mark, and the relative difference between the alignment correction values ​​can be used. Note that the arrangement and number of sample regions to be measured by the measuring device 100 may differ from the arrangement and number of sample regions to be measured by the exposure device 1000. In this case, by using the statistical alignment correction value, the alignment correction value can be used as a reference for conversion to the correction value for the target layer.

[0076] In the measuring apparatus 100, techniques for measuring the position of alignment marks 200 disposed in the target layer 210 with high precision can also be used. These techniques include, for example, super-resolution techniques, which acquire multiple alignment mark images by slightly stepping the substrate stage 106 in the X and Y directions for each sub-pixel of the alignment mark image, and generate pseudo-high-precision alignment mark images. Additionally, this technique includes techniques that acquire multiple alignment mark images by stepping the substrate stage 106 in the Z direction and averaging the measurement values ​​of the alignment marks obtained from each alignment mark image, thereby reducing the influence of aberrations in the detection optical system 107. Furthermore, this technique includes techniques that combine multiple alignment mark images to average the noise components generated when acquiring each alignment mark image.

[0077] <Second Embodiment>

[0078] In this embodiment, a scenario will be described in which the relative position between an alignment mark and an overlap inspection mark is measured, and this relative position is used to align and expose the substrate. More specifically, the relative position between the alignment mark and the overlap inspection mark disposed on the substrate 4 is measured using a high-precision detection optical system 107 included in the measuring apparatus 100. Thus, in the exposure apparatus 1000, the overlap inspection mark can be used as a reference (target) for alignment without measuring the position of the overlap inspection mark disposed on the substrate 4.

[0079] The processing system 1 (measuring device 100 and exposure device 1000) in this embodiment has a similar structure to that in the first embodiment, but the structure of the markings disposed on the substrate 4 is different from that in the first embodiment. For example... Figure 11 As shown, overlap check mark 203 (first structure) and alignment mark 202 (second structure) are disposed in the sample area of ​​substrate 4.

[0080] Alignment mark 202 is a mark used for separate measurement in the X and Y directions, and can be detected by the detection optical system 7 of the exposure apparatus 1000. The main purpose of providing alignment mark 202 is to measure the position of the sample area (separation area). Therefore, multiple alignment marks 202 are rarely arranged in the sample area.

[0081] The overlap inspection mark 203 is a mark used to simultaneously measure the X and Y directions. The overlap inspection mark 203 cannot be detected by the detection optical system 7 of the exposure apparatus 1000. The overlap inspection mark 203 can only be detected by a detection optical system capable of photographing the mark to obtain an image (e.g., the detection optical system 107 of the measuring apparatus 100). Figure 12 As shown, overlap inspection mark 203 is used in conjunction with overlap inspection mark 204, with overlap inspection mark 204 located in the layer corresponding to the target layer that has been exposed and on which overlap inspection mark 203 is disposed. Overlap inspection marks 203 and 204 are marks used to measure the relative position between overlap inspection marks 203 and 204 and to check for positional offset (overlap) between layers. In overlap inspection, the shape of the sample area (separation area) is also an inspection target. Therefore, multiple overlap inspection marks 203 (or 204) are often disposed in the sample area. Accordingly, by using overlap inspection mark 203 for alignment, the shape of the separation area of ​​substrate 4 can be corrected. Note that overlap inspection mark 204 is not formed during the measurement stage performed by measuring device 100 and the alignment stage performed by exposure device 1000. Therefore, in this embodiment, overlap inspection mark 203 is used alone for alignment.

[0082] Reference Figure 3The measurement process in the measuring device 100 will be described, and more specifically, the measurement process for measuring the relative position between the alignment mark 202 and the overlap check mark 203 will be described. Please note that Figure 13 Steps S401, S402, S406, S407, and S408 shown are respectively similar to those in reference. Figure 9 Steps S201, S202, S206, S207, and S208 are described, and their detailed descriptions will be omitted here.

[0083] In step S403, the position of the alignment mark 202 disposed in the sample area of ​​the substrate 4 is measured. More specifically, based on the pre-alignment result, the substrate stage 106 is driven to the detection optical system 107 to detect the position of the alignment mark 202. Then, the detection optical system 107 is used to detect the alignment mark 202 disposed in the sample area of ​​the substrate 4, and the position of the alignment mark 202 is measured.

[0084] In step S404, the position of the overlap inspection mark 203 disposed in the sample area of ​​the substrate 4 is measured. More specifically, based on the pre-alignment result, the substrate stage 106 is driven to the detection optical system 107 to detect the position of each overlap inspection mark 203. Then, the detection optical system 107 is used to detect each overlap inspection mark 203 disposed in the sample area of ​​the substrate 4, and the position of each overlap inspection mark 203 is measured.

[0085] In step S405, based on the position of the alignment mark 202 measured in step S403 and the positions of each overlapping inspection mark 203 measured in step S404, the relative position between the alignment mark 202 and each overlapping inspection mark 203 is calculated. The calculation of the relative position between the alignment mark 202 and each overlapping inspection mark 203 can be performed by the control unit 108 or by the detection optical system 107 (which includes an arithmetic unit such as a CPU).

[0086] Reference Figure 14 The processing of substrate 4 in exposure apparatus 1000 will be described. More specifically, the process will be described as follows: using the relative position between alignment mark 202 and overlap check mark 203 obtained by measuring device 100, substrate 4 is aligned with a target position, and substrate 4 is exposed. Please note that Figure 14 Steps S501, S502, S503, S506, S507, and S508 shown are respectively similar to those in reference. Figure 10 Steps S301, S302, S303, S306, S307, and S308 are described, and their detailed descriptions will be omitted here.

[0087] In step S504, the position of the alignment mark 202 disposed in the sample area of ​​the substrate 4 is measured. More specifically, based on the pre-alignment result, the substrate stage 6 is driven to a position where the detection optical system 7 can detect the position of the alignment mark 202. Then, the detection optical system 7 is used to detect the alignment mark 202 disposed in the sample area of ​​the substrate 4, and the position of the alignment mark 202 is measured.

[0088] In step S505, the positions of the overlap inspection marks 203 disposed in the sample area of ​​the substrate 4 are calculated. More specifically, the positions of each overlap inspection mark 203 are calculated based on the relative positions between the alignment marks 202 and each overlap inspection mark 203 obtained in step S502 and the positions of the alignment marks 202 measured in step S504. Note that the calculation of the positions of the overlap inspection marks 203 is performed by the control unit CU.

[0089] Therefore, in this embodiment, the position of the alignment mark 202 is measured, rather than the overlap inspection mark 203, which the detection optical system 7 of the exposure apparatus 1000 cannot detect with high precision. Then, the position of the overlap inspection mark 203 is obtained based on the relative position between the alignment mark 200 and the overlap inspection mark 203 measured by the measuring device 100 and the position of the alignment mark 202. Thus, in the exposure apparatus 1000, the substrate 4 can be aligned with the target position and exposed while using the position of the overlap inspection mark 203 as a reference without measuring its position.

[0090] <Third Embodiment>

[0091] In this embodiment, a scenario will be described in which the relative position between an alignment mark and a device pattern is measured, and the substrate is aligned and exposed using this relative position. More specifically, a high-precision detection optical system 107 included in the measuring apparatus 100 is used to measure the relative position between an alignment mark disposed in a target layer of the substrate 4 and a device pattern disposed in a layer different from the target layer. Thus, in the exposure apparatus 1000, alignment can be performed using the alignment mark as a reference (target) without measuring the position of the alignment mark disposed in the target layer of the substrate 4.

[0092] The structure of the measuring device 100 in this embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, but the structure of the exposure device 1000 and the structure of the markings disposed on the substrate 4 are different from those in the first embodiment.

[0093] In this embodiment, as Figure 15As shown, the exposure apparatus 1000 includes a detection optical system 7A, replacing the detection optical system 7. The detection optical system 7A is a detection optical system capable of capturing images of the structure of the device pattern disposed on the substrate 4, as described in this embodiment, and obtaining an image including information about the position of the device pattern. Figure 16 As shown, alignment mark 200A (first structure) and device pattern 205 (second structure) are disposed in the sample area of ​​substrate 4. Alignment mark 200A and device pattern 205 are disposed in different layers on substrate 4. Alignment mark 200A is disposed in the target layer on substrate 4, while device pattern 205 is disposed in a layer on substrate 4 that is different from the target layer.

[0094] In this embodiment, instead of an alignment mark disposed in a layer different from the target layer on substrate 4, a device pattern disposed in a layer different from the target layer is used as a substitute mark. This device pattern can be detected by the detection optical system 7A. If it is difficult to detect the alignment mark 200A disposed in the target layer with high contrast, the structure that can be detected with high contrast may simply be a device pattern disposed in a layer different from the target layer. In this case, this embodiment is useful. Note that when measuring the position of a device pattern with an arbitrary shape, shape information about the shape of the device pattern is obtained in advance, and techniques such as template matching or phase correlation that use shape information as a reference can be used.

[0095] The description of the measurement processing in the measuring apparatus 100 and the processing of the substrate 4 in the exposure apparatus 1000 can be obtained by referring to the first embodiment ( Figure 9 and Figure 10 The second alignment mark 201 described in the document is replaced with the device pattern 205 for simplicity, and its detailed description will be omitted here.

[0096] Therefore, in this embodiment, the position of the device pattern 205 disposed in a layer different from the target layer is measured, instead of the alignment mark 200A, which the detection optical system 7A of the exposure apparatus 1000 cannot detect with high precision. Then, the position of the alignment mark 200A is obtained based on the relative position between the alignment mark 200A and the device pattern 205 measured by the measuring device 100 and the position of the device pattern 205. Thus, in the exposure apparatus 1000, the position of the alignment mark 200A can be used as a reference while aligning the substrate 4 with the target position and exposing the substrate 4 without measuring the position of the alignment mark 200A disposed in the target layer.

[0097] <Fourth Embodiment>

[0098] In this embodiment, when detecting a device pattern disposed on a layer different from the target layer on the substrate, a high-precision detection optical system 107 included in the measuring device 100 is used to search for (select) a device pattern that can be detected with high contrast.

[0099] The processing system 1 (measuring device 100 and exposure device 1000) in this embodiment has a similar structure to that in the third embodiment, but the structure of the markings disposed on the substrate 4 is different from that in the third embodiment. For example... Figure 17 As shown, alignment mark 200A (first structure) and multiple device patterns 205 and 206 (second structure) as alternative mark candidates are disposed in the sample area of ​​substrate 4. Alignment mark 200A and multiple device patterns 205 and 206 are disposed in different layers on substrate 4. Alignment mark 200A is disposed in the target layer on substrate 4. Multiple device patterns 205 and 206 can be detected by detection optics system 7A and disposed in layers on substrate 4 different from the target layer. In this embodiment, the device pattern to be measured by detection optics system 7A is selected while comparing the contrast of the portions of the image obtained by detection optics system 107 that correspond to the multiple device patterns 205 and 206 respectively.

[0100] Reference Figure 18 The measurement process in the measuring device 100 will be described, and more specifically, the measurement process for measuring the relative position between the alignment mark 200A and the device pattern 205 or 206 will be described. Please note that Figure 18 Steps S601, S602, and S606 to S608 shown are respectively similar to those in reference. Figure 9 Steps S201, S202, and S206 to S208 are described herein, and their detailed description will be omitted here. Note that for steps S603 and S604, in the first embodiment ( Figure 9 The first alignment mark 200 and the second alignment mark 201 described in the document are replaced with alignment mark 200A and device pattern 205 or 206, respectively.

[0101] In step S602-1, device patterns 205 and 206 surrounding alignment marks 200A disposed in the target layer of substrate 4 are photographed to obtain an image including device patterns 205 and 206.

[0102] In step S602-2, based on the image obtained in step S602-1, a device pattern to be measured by the detection optical system 7A is selected from a plurality of device patterns 205 and 206. More specifically, the contrast of the portions of the image obtained in step S602-1 corresponding to device patterns 205 and 206, respectively, is calculated, and based on this contrast, a device pattern to be measured by the detection optical system 7A is selected. In this embodiment, the contrast of the portions corresponding to device patterns 205 and 206 is compared, and the device pattern 205 corresponding to the portion with the highest contrast is selected as the device pattern to be measured by the detection optical system 7A. This contrast calculation and the selection of the device pattern corresponding to the portion with the highest contrast is performed, for example, by the control unit 108 (which serves as a selection unit for selecting the device pattern to be measured by the detection optical system 7A).

[0103] In step S602-3, the image obtained in step 602-1 and the position information indicating the position of the device pattern 205 selected in step S602-2 are output to the exposure apparatus 1000. When measuring the position of the device pattern 205 in the exposure apparatus 1000, the image obtained in step 602-1 and the position of the device pattern 205 selected in step S602-2 serve as the reference image and reference position, respectively. This output of the image and position information is performed, for example, by the control unit 108 (which serves as the output unit for outputting the image and position information).

[0104] Reference Figure 19 The processing of substrate 4 in exposure apparatus 1000 will be described. More specifically, the process will be described as follows: using the relative position between alignment mark 200A and device pattern 205 obtained by measuring device 100, substrate 4 is aligned with a target position, and substrate 4 is exposed. Please note that Figure 19 Steps S701, S703, and S706 to S708 shown are respectively similar to those in reference. Figure 10 Steps S301, S303, and S306 to S308 are described, and their detailed descriptions will be omitted here.

[0105] In step S702, the relative position between the alignment mark 200A and the device pattern 205, an image of the device pattern 205, and position information output from the measuring device 100 indicating the position of the device pattern 205 are obtained. In this embodiment, in addition to the relative position between the alignment mark 200A and the device pattern 205, an image of the device pattern 205 and position information indicating the position of the device pattern 205 are also obtained.

[0106] In step S704, based on the image including the device pattern 205 and the position information indicating the position of the device pattern 205 obtained in step S702, the position of the device pattern 205 disposed in a layer different from the target layer in the sample region of the substrate 4 is measured. More specifically, based on the position information obtained in step S702, the device pattern 205 selected in step S602-2 is photographed. Then, based on the image including information about the position of the device pattern 205 and the image including the device pattern 205 obtained in step S702, the position of the device pattern 205 is obtained.

[0107] In step S705, the position of the alignment mark 200A disposed in the target layer in the sample area of ​​the substrate 4 is calculated. More specifically, the position of the alignment mark 200A is calculated based on the relative position between the alignment mark 200A and the device pattern 205 obtained in step S702 and the position of the device pattern 205 measured in step S704.

[0108] Therefore, in this embodiment, the position of the device pattern 205 disposed in a layer different from the target layer is measured, rather than the alignment mark 200A, which the detection optical system 7A of the exposure apparatus 1000 cannot detect with high precision. At this time, the device pattern 205 that can be detected with high contrast by the detection optical system 7A is automatically selected from multiple device patterns 205 and 206, and it is set as the device pattern to be measured by the detection optical system 7A. Then, the position of the alignment mark 200A is obtained based on the position of the device pattern 205 and the relative position between the alignment mark 200A measured by the measuring device 100 and the device pattern 205. Thus, in the exposure apparatus 1000, the substrate 4 can be aligned with the target position and exposed using the position of the alignment mark 200A as a reference without measuring the position of the alignment mark 200A disposed in the target layer. Note that the device pattern to be measured by the detection optical system 7A can be selected for each separated region of the substrate 4.

[0109] <Fifth Embodiment>

[0110] In this embodiment, the distortion difference (aberration effect) between the detection optical system 107 included in the measuring device 100 and the detection optical system 7A included in the exposure device 1000 is considered and corrected. Note that the construction of the processing system 1 (measuring device 100 and exposure device 1000) in this embodiment is similar to that in the fourth embodiment.

[0111] The measurement processing in the measuring apparatus 100 and the processing of the substrate 4 in the exposure apparatus 1000 are the same as in the fourth embodiment. Figure 18 and Figure 19The basic structure is similar to that in the previous step. However, the correction amounts for distortion caused by aberrations of the detection optical system 107 included in the measuring device 100 and the correction amounts for distortion caused by aberrations of the detection optical system 7A included in the exposure device 1000 are obtained in advance. Then, in the measuring device 100, in step S602-3, distortion correction is performed on the image obtained in step S602-1 to generate a corrected image in which the distortion effect of the detection optical system 107 has been removed. On the other hand, in the exposure device 1000, in step S704, after distortion correction is performed on the image obtained by capturing the device pattern 205 to remove the distortion effect of the detection optical system 7A, the position of the device pattern 205 is obtained.

[0112] Therefore, in this embodiment, in the measuring apparatus 100, a corrected image is generated by removing the influence of aberrations of the detection optical system 107 from the image obtained by the detection optical system 107 (making the control unit 108 serve as the generation unit). In the exposure apparatus 1000, the influence of aberrations of the detection optical system 7A is removed from the image obtained by the detection optical system 7A, and the position of the device pattern 205 is obtained based on the removed image and the corrected image. Thus, the position of the device pattern 205 can be measured while reducing the influence of aberrations of the detection optical system 7A.

[0113] <Sixth Embodiment>

[0114] This embodiment enables high-speed processing while taking into account and correcting for the distortion difference (effect of aberration) between the detection optical system 107 included in the measuring device 100 and the detection optical system 7A included in the exposure device 1000. Note that the construction of the processing system 1 (measuring device 100 and exposure device 1000) in this embodiment is similar to that in the fourth embodiment.

[0115] The measurement processing in the measuring apparatus 100 and the processing of the substrate 4 in the exposure apparatus 1000 are the same as in the fourth embodiment. Figure 18 and Figure 19 The basic structure is similar to that in the previous embodiment. However, the correction amounts for distortion caused by the aberrations of the detection optical system 107 included in the measuring device 100 and the correction amounts for distortion caused by the aberrations of the detection optical system 7A included in the exposure device 1000 are obtained in advance. In this embodiment, in step S602-3, the image obtained in step S602-1 is subjected to distortion correction for the detection optical system 107, and then inverse correction of the distortion of the detection optical system 7A is performed to generate a corrected image. Thus, in the exposure device 1000, when the measuring device pattern 205 is in position, the image containing the distortion of the detection optical system 7A (corrected image) is used as a reference. Therefore, distortion correction is not required in the exposure device 1000.

[0116] Therefore, in this embodiment, in the measuring device 100, a corrected image is generated by removing the aberration effects of the detection optical system 107 from the image obtained by the detection optical system 107 and adding the aberration effects of the detection optical system 107A. Then, in the exposure device 1000, the position of the device pattern 205 is obtained based on the corrected image and the image obtained by the detection optical system 7A. Thus, the position of the device pattern 205 can be measured while reducing the aberration effects of the detection optical system 7A. In addition, although distortion correction usually takes time, by performing distortion correction in the measuring device 100, the impact on the throughput of the exposure device 1000 is reduced, thereby achieving high-speed processing in the exposure device 1000.

[0117] <Seventh Embodiment>

[0118] In this embodiment, when detecting device patterns, the high-precision detection optical system 107 included in the measuring device 100 is used to search for (select) device patterns that can be detected with high contrast by the detection optical system 7A included in the exposure device 1000. Note that the construction of the processing system 1 (measuring device 100 and exposure device 1000) in this embodiment is similar to that in the fourth embodiment.

[0119] The measurement processing in the measuring apparatus 100 and the processing of the substrate 4 in the exposure apparatus 1000 are the same as in the fourth embodiment. Figure 18 and Figure 19 The basic structure is similar to that in step S602-1. However, in step S602-1, when capturing images of device patterns 205 and 206, the detection conditions of the detection optical system 107 included in the measuring device 100 are changed (set) to match the detection conditions of the detection optical system 7A included in the exposure device 1000. For example, the wavelength of the light used to illuminate the alignment mark 200A and device patterns 205 and 206, as well as the numerical aperture of the detection optical system 107, are set to match these items of the detection optical system 7A. Note that the detection optical system 107 has a configuration that allows the settings of the detection conditions to be changed as described above.

[0120] Therefore, in this embodiment, the detection optical system 107 detects the alignment mark 200A and the device patterns 205 and 206 under the same detection conditions as the detection optical system 7A detects the device patterns 205 or 206. Thus, the device pattern that the detection optical system 7A of the exposure apparatus 1000 can detect with the highest contrast can be selected as the device pattern to be measured by the detection optical system 7A.

[0121] <Eighth Embodiment>

[0122] In this embodiment, a scenario is described in which the relative position between a replacement mark and an alignment mark disposed in a target layer beneath the non-transparent layer is measured, and the substrate is aligned and exposed using this relative position. More specifically, a first measuring device with special functions and a high-precision second measuring device (both included in the measuring apparatus 100) are used to measure the relative position between the replacement mark and the alignment mark disposed in the target layer beneath the non-transparent layer. Thus, in the exposure apparatus 1000, alignment can be performed using the alignment mark as a reference (target) without measuring the position of the alignment mark disposed in the target layer of the substrate 4.

[0123] The exposure apparatus 1000 in this embodiment has the same structure as that in the first embodiment, but the structure of the measuring apparatus 100 is different from that in the first embodiment. Figure 20 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of the measuring device 100 in this embodiment. In addition to the substrate chuck 105, substrate stage 506, detection optical system 107, and control unit 108, the measuring device 100 also includes a special detection optical system 507 with special functions. The special detection optical system 507 serves as a first measuring device, detecting and measuring the position of a first structure disposed on the substrate 4; and it also serves as a second measuring device, detecting and measuring the position of a second structure disposed on the substrate 4. Note that the special functions include, for example, detecting alignment marks disposed in a layer below the non-transmissive layer using infrared light, X-rays, ultrasound, etc., which are difficult to detect using ordinary light. Furthermore, a reference mark 508 is arranged on the substrate stage 506, which is used to manage and calibrate the relative position between the detection optical system 107 and the special detection optical system 507.

[0124] Reference Figure 21 The measurement process in the measuring device 100 will be described, and more specifically, the measurement process that measures the relative position between an alignment mark disposed in a target layer of the substrate 4 and a substitute mark disposed in a layer different from the target layer will be described.

[0125] In step S801, the substrate 4 is loaded into the measuring device 100.

[0126] In step S801-1, calibration is performed. More specifically, each of the detection optical system 107 and the special detection optical system 507 detects the reference mark 508 arranged on the substrate stage 506 to manage the relative position of the detection optical system 107 and the special detection optical system 507.

[0127] In step S802, pre-alignment is performed. More specifically, the alignment marks 11 disposed on the substrate 4 for pre-alignment are detected by the detection optical system 107, thereby obtaining the position of the substrate 4 with low precision. At this time, the alignment marks 11 are detected for multiple partitioned areas on the substrate 4, and the offset and first-order linear components (magnification or rotation) of the entire substrate 4 are obtained.

[0128] In step S803, the position of an alignment mark disposed in the target layer in the sample area of ​​the substrate 4 is measured. More specifically, based on the pre-alignment result, the substrate stage 506 is driven to a position where the detection optical system 507 can detect the position of the alignment mark. Then, the alignment mark disposed in the target layer in the sample area of ​​the substrate 4 is detected using the special detection optical system 507, and the position of the alignment mark is measured.

[0129] In step S804, the position of a substitute mark disposed in a layer different from the target layer in the sample region of the substrate 4 is measured. More specifically, based on the pre-alignment result, the substrate stage 506 is driven to a position where the detection optical system 107 can detect the substitute mark. Then, the detection optical system 107 is used to detect the substitute mark disposed in a layer different from the target layer in the sample region of the substrate 4, and the position of the substitute mark is measured.

[0130] In step S805, the relative position between the alignment mark and the replacement mark is calculated based on the position of the alignment mark measured in step S803 and the position of the replacement mark measured in step S804. At this time, the relative position between the alignment mark and the replacement mark is calculated taking into account the calibration performed in step S801-1.

[0131] In step S806, it is determined whether the relative positions between alignment marks and replacement marks have been obtained for all sample areas of substrate 4. If the relative positions between alignment marks and replacement marks have not been obtained for all sample areas of substrate 4, the process returns to step S803 to obtain the relative positions in the next sample area. On the other hand, if the relative positions between alignment marks and replacement marks have been obtained for all sample areas of substrate 4, the process proceeds to step S807.

[0132] In step S807, the relative position between the alignment mark and the replacement mark obtained in step S805 is output to the exposure device 1000.

[0133] In step S808, the substrate 4 is unloaded from the measuring device 100.

[0134] The description of the processing of the substrate 4 in the exposure apparatus 1000 can be derived from the first embodiment ( Figure 9 and Figure 10The second alignment mark 201 described in ) is replaced with an alternative mark to obtain it simply, so that its detailed description will be omitted here.

[0135] Therefore, in this embodiment, the position of the replacement mark disposed in a layer different from the target layer is measured, rather than the alignment mark disposed in the target layer below the non-transparent layer. The detection optical system 7 of the exposure apparatus 1000 cannot detect this alignment mark. Then, the position of the alignment mark is obtained based on the relative position between the alignment mark and the replacement mark measured by the measuring device 100 and the position of the replacement mark. Thus, in the exposure apparatus 1000, the substrate 4 can be aligned with the target position and exposed using the position of the alignment mark as a reference without measuring the position of the alignment mark disposed in the target layer. Note that in this embodiment, the replacement mark is detected by the detection optical system 107 in the measuring device 100; however, if the special detection optical system 507 can detect the replacement mark, then the special detection optical system 507 can detect the replacement mark.

[0136] <Ninth Embodiment>

[0137] In this embodiment, if there are no alignment marks, overlap inspection marks, device patterns, etc. that can be detected as alternative marks, the unique texture of the substrate 4 can be detected instead of the alternative marks. Figure 22 This is an image showing a unique texture including substrate 4. The unique texture of substrate 4 includes, for example, polishing marks, grain boundaries, edges, or notches. Similar to alignment marks and device patterns, the location of the unique texture of substrate 4 can be measured using measurement methods such as phase correlation.

[0138] <Tenth Embodiment>

[0139] The article manufacturing method according to embodiments of the present invention is applicable, for example, to the manufacture of articles such as devices (semiconductor devices, magnetic storage media, liquid crystal display devices, etc.). The manufacturing method includes: a step of forming a pattern on a substrate using a processing system 1 (exposure apparatus 1000), a step of processing the substrate on which the pattern has been formed, and a step of manufacturing an article from the processed substrate. Additionally, the manufacturing method may include other well-known steps (oxidation, film formation, deposition, doping, planarization, etching, resist removal, dicing, bonding, encapsulation, etc.). Compared with conventional methods, the article manufacturing method of this embodiment is more advantageous in at least one of the following aspects: article performance, quality, productivity, and production cost.

[0140] While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the appended claims is to be interpreted in the broadest possible sense to cover all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims

1. A processing system comprising a first device and a second device, wherein, a substrate is processed, The first device includes: The first measuring unit is configured to detect a first structure disposed on a substrate and a second structure different from the first structure, and to measure the relative position between the first structure and the second structure. The second device includes: A receiving unit is configured to obtain the relative position measured by the first measuring unit; The second measuring unit is configured to detect only the second structure and not the first structure, and measures the position of the second structure; and The control unit is configured to obtain the position of the first structure based on the relative position obtained by the obtaining unit and the position of the second structure measured by the second measuring unit.

2. The processing system according to claim 1, wherein, The control unit controls the alignment of the substrate with the target position and processes the substrate based on the position of the first structure.

3. The processing system according to claim 1, wherein, The first structure and the second structure are disposed in different layers on the substrate.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein, The first structure includes alignment marks disposed on the target layer to be aligned on the substrate, and The second structure includes alignment marks disposed in a layer on the substrate that is different from the target layer.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein, The first structure includes an overlap inspection mark disposed on the substrate, and The second structure includes alignment marks disposed on the substrate.

6. The processing system according to claim 1, wherein, The second measuring unit captures images of the second structure and obtains images including information about the location of the second structure. The first structure includes alignment marks disposed on the target layer to be aligned on the substrate, and The second structure includes a device pattern disposed in a layer on the substrate that is different from the target layer.

7. The processing system according to claim 6, wherein, The first measurement unit acquires images by photographing a first structure and multiple second structures, wherein the multiple second structures exist around the first structure and are disposed in different layers, and... The first device further includes a selection unit configured to select, based on the contrast of portions of the image obtained by the first measurement unit that correspond to the plurality of second structures, a second structure to be measured by the second measurement unit. The acquiring unit obtains position information indicating the position of the second structure selected by the selection unit and an image obtained by the first measurement unit, and The second measurement unit takes a picture of the second structure selected by the selection unit based on the position information obtained by the acquisition unit, and obtains the position of the second structure selected by the selection unit based on the image including information about the position of the second structure and the image obtained by the first measurement unit.

8. The processing system according to claim 7, wherein, The selection unit compares the contrast of the portions of the image obtained by the first measurement unit that correspond to the plurality of second structures, and selects the second structure corresponding to the portion with the highest contrast as the second structure to be measured by the second measurement unit.

9. The processing system according to claim 7, wherein, The first apparatus further includes a generation unit configured to generate a corrected image by removing the influence of aberrations of the first measurement unit from an image obtained by the first measurement unit. The obtaining unit acquires the corrected image generated by the generating unit as the image acquired by the first measuring unit, and The second measurement unit takes a picture of the second structure selected by the selection unit based on the position information obtained by the acquisition unit, and obtains the position of the second structure selected by the selection unit based on the corrected image and the image obtained by removing the influence of the aberration of the second measurement unit from the image including information about the position of the second structure.

10. The processing system according to claim 7, wherein, The first apparatus further includes a generation unit configured to generate a corrected image by removing the influence of aberrations from the first measurement unit and adding the influence of aberrations from the second measurement unit to the image obtained by the first measurement unit. The obtaining unit obtains the corrected image generated by the generating unit as the image obtained by the first measuring unit.

11. The processing system according to claim 1, wherein, The first measuring unit detects the first structure and the second structure under the same detection conditions as the second measuring unit detects the second structure.

12. The processing system according to claim 1, wherein, The first measurement unit includes: A first measuring device, configured to detect the first structure and measure its position; and The second measuring device is configured to detect the second structure and measure its position.

13. The processing system according to claim 12, wherein, The first measuring device uses one of infrared light, X-rays, and ultrasound to detect the first structure.

14. The processing system according to claim 1, wherein, The second structure includes the substrate's unique texture.

15. The processing system according to claim 14, wherein, The distinctive textures include one of the following: polishing marks, grain boundaries, edges, and notches.

16. A processing method comprising processing a substrate using a first device including a first measuring unit and a second device including a second measuring unit, wherein, In the first device, The first measuring unit detects a first structure disposed on the substrate and a second structure different from the first structure, and measures the relative position between the first structure and the second structure. In the second device, Obtain the relative position measured by the first device. The second measuring unit detects only the second structure and not the first structure, and measures the position of the second structure. The position of the first structure is obtained based on the relative position and the position of the second structure measured by the second device.

17. A measuring device, comprising: The first measuring unit is configured to detect a first structure disposed on a substrate and a second structure different from the first structure, and to measure the relative position between the first structure and the second structure. as well as An output unit configured to output the relative position between a first structure and a second structure, measured by a first measurement unit, to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate. in, The substrate processing apparatus includes: A receiving unit is configured to obtain the relative position output from the output unit; The second measuring unit is configured to detect only the second structure and not the first structure, and measures the position of the second structure; and The control unit is configured to obtain the position of the first structure based on the relative position obtained by the obtaining unit and the position of the second structure measured by the second measuring unit.

18. The measuring device according to claim 17, wherein, Let L be the relative distance between the first structure and the second structure, and S be the dimension of the second structure. Then L / S > 3.

19. The measuring device according to claim 17, further comprising: The user uses the interface to specify the first and second structures to be detected by the first measurement unit.

20. The measuring device according to claim 17, further comprising: The selection unit is configured to select, based on the contrast of portions of the image obtained by the measurement unit that correspond to a plurality of second measurement targets, a second measurement target to be measured by the second measurement unit. The output unit outputs the relative position between the first measurement target and the second measurement target selected by the selection unit to the substrate processing device, and The second measurement unit detects the second measurement target selected by the selection unit and measures the position of the second measurement target.

21. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, the substrate processing apparatus comprising: A unit is configured to obtain the relative position between a first structure disposed on a substrate and a second structure different from the first structure, the relative position being measured by an external measuring device. The measuring unit is configured to detect only the second structure and not the first structure, and to measure the position of the second structure; as well as The control unit is configured to obtain the position of the first structure based on the relative position obtained by the obtaining unit and the position of the second structure measured by the measuring unit.

22. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein, The obtaining unit acquires information about the second structure among multiple second structures to be measured by the measuring unit, and The measuring unit measures the position of the second structure selected based on the information of the second structure obtained by the obtaining unit.

23. A method for manufacturing an article, comprising: The forming step involves forming a pattern on a substrate using the processing system defined in claim 1; The processing step involves processing the substrate on which the pattern has been formed in the forming step; as well as The manufacturing process involves producing an article from the processed substrate.

Images