Exposure apparatus, control method thereof, and article manufacturing method

Abstract

To provide a technique advantageous in improving through-put in an exposure apparatus.SOLUTION: An exposure apparatus that performs scanning exposure of a substrate comprises: a stage which holds the substrate; and a control part which controls driving of the stage according to a driving profile regarding each of a plurality of processing associated with moving of the stage, where the driving profile includes: an acceleration zone for accelerating the stage; a constant speed zone for moving the stage at constant speed; and a deceleration zone for decelerating the stage, the plurality of processing includes scanning exposure in which exposure processing is performed in the constant speed zone, and non-exposure processing in which the scanning exposure is not performed in the constant speed zone, and the control part changes an acceleration profile of the acceleration zone in the driving profile in the exposure processing and the non-exposure processing such that the exposure processing and the non-exposure processing have the same maximum acceleration of the acceleration zone, and the non-exposure processing has shorter acceleration zone than the exposure processing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus, a control method thereof, and a method for manufacturing an article. [Background technology]

[0002] Known lithography apparatuses used in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices and the like include exposure apparatuses (scanning exposure apparatuses) that transfer a pattern image of an original onto a substrate by exposing the substrate while scanning the original and the substrate relatively via a projection optical system. Patent Document 1 describes a method for determining a drive profile of a substrate stage in scanning exposure based on an allowable range for correction residuals of the transferred image in an exposure apparatus that corrects the shape of the transferred image onto the substrate by driving an optical element provided in the projection optical system. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-215482 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Further improvements in throughput are required for exposure apparatuses, but the method described in Patent Document 1 may limit the increase in the drive speed of the substrate stage in scanning exposure due to the tolerance for correction residuals in the transferred image. Therefore, in order to further improve throughput, it is desirable to appropriately control the drive of the substrate stage not only for scanning exposure of the substrate, but also for processes other than the scanning exposure.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a technique that is advantageous in terms of improving the throughput of an exposure apparatus. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, an exposure apparatus as one aspect of the present invention is an exposure apparatus that performs scanning exposure of a substrate, and includes: a stage that holds the substrate; and a control unit that controls driving of the stage in accordance with a drive profile that defines the magnitude of the speed of the stage for each of a plurality of processes that involve movement of the stage, the drive profile including an acceleration section in which the stage accelerates, a constant velocity section after the acceleration section in which the stage moves at a constant velocity, and a deceleration section after the constant velocity section in which the stage decelerates, The acceleration section includes a first section in which the acceleration of the stage is increased to a target acceleration, a second section in which the acceleration of the stage is decreased from the target acceleration after the first section, and a third section in which the acceleration of the stage is kept constant at the target acceleration between the first section and the second section, and the control section The plurality of processes Of Exposure processing in which the scanning exposure is performed in the constant speed section Then, the first profile is used as the driving profile. , Among the plurality of processes Non-exposure processing in which the scanning exposure is not performed in the constant speed section Then, the second profile is used as the driving profile. , The second profile is set so that the peak position of the rate of change of acceleration in the second section is located closer to the constant velocity section than the first profile, and the length of the third section is shortened in accordance with the difference in the peak position. , characterized by:

[0007] Further objects and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, for example, it is possible to provide a technique that is advantageous in terms of improving the throughput of an exposure apparatus. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of an exposure apparatus. [Figure 2] Block diagram of the control system that controls the drive of the substrate stage [Figure 3] Diagram showing the drive profile of the substrate stage [Figure 4] A diagram showing the profile of the rate of change of acceleration (deceleration) in a drive profile to which a precision-priority profile is applied. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a profile of the rate of change of acceleration in an acceleration decrease section in a drive profile to which a precision-priority profile is applied. [Figure 6]A diagram showing the profile of the rate of change of acceleration (deceleration) in a drive profile to which a throughput priority profile is applied. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a profile of the rate of change of acceleration in an acceleration decrease section in a drive profile to which a throughput priority profile is applied. [Figure 8] A diagram showing an example of overlaying a precision-priority profile and a throughput-priority profile. [Figure 9] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a drive profile for each of a plurality of processes. [Figure 10] A diagram showing a drive profile in which the precision-priority profile is applied only to the acceleration decrease section. [Figure 11] A diagram showing a drive profile in which a precision-priority profile is applied only to the deceleration decrease section. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention claimed. Although multiple features are described in the embodiments, not all of these multiple features are necessarily essential to the invention, and multiple features may be combined arbitrarily. Furthermore, in the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0011] FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of an exposure apparatus EX according to one embodiment of the present invention. The exposure apparatus EX (scanning exposure apparatus) has a projection optical system 120 that projects a pattern of an original 112 onto a substrate 114, and performs scanning exposure by exposing the substrate while scanning the original 112 and the substrate 114 relative to each other via the projection optical system 120. As a result, a transfer image corresponding to the pattern of the original 112 is formed on the substrate 114. A photoresist is applied to the upper surface (exposed surface) of the substrate 114, and the transfer image can be formed as a latent image in the photoresist. The latent image can be converted into a resist pattern, which is a physical pattern, by a development process. The transfer image can be easily understood by thinking of it as an image that corresponds to the pattern area of ​​the original 112, for example.

[0012] The exposure apparatus EX may be equipped with an adjustment mechanism 150 that adjusts the optical characteristics of the projection optical system 120 so that the shape of the transferred image formed on the substrate 114 is corrected. The adjustment mechanism 150 may include, for example, a drive mechanism 110 that drives the optical element 125 of the projection optical system 120. The drive mechanism 110 may be controlled by the projection system controller 106. The adjustment mechanism 150 may also include a drive mechanism 109 that drives the substrate stage 115 and / or a drive mechanism 108 that drives the original stage 113. The drive mechanism 109 and the drive mechanism 108 may be controlled by the stage controller 107.

[0013] The exposure apparatus EX may include a controller 100 that controls each component of the exposure apparatus EX. The controller 100 is configured by a computer having a processor such as a CPU and memory, and controls each of multiple processes performed by the exposure apparatus EX. The multiple processes may include an exposure process that performs scanning exposure of the substrate 114 and a measurement process that performs position measurement (alignment measurement) of the substrate 114. In this embodiment, the controller 100 includes a main controller 103, a light source controller 104, an illumination system controller 105, a projection system controller 106, and a stage controller 107, and the main controller 103 comprehensively controls the various controllers 104 to 107. For example, the main controller 103 controls the stage controller 107 to control scanning of the substrate 114 and the original 112 based on the tolerance for correction residuals in shape correction of the transfer image formed on the substrate 114. The exposure apparatus EX may also include a user interface 102. A user, such as an operator, can input various information by operating the user interface 102.

[0014] The configuration of the exposure apparatus EX will be described in more detail below. In Figure 1, an xyz coordinate system is defined in which the z-axis is the direction parallel to the optical axis of the projection optical system 120, from the substrate 114 to the original 112, and the x-axis and y-axis are directions perpendicular to the z-axis.

[0015] The light source 101 emits exposure light. The light source 101 can be controlled by a light source control unit 104 under the control of a main control unit 103. The exposure light emitted from the light source 101 is shaped into a predetermined beam shape by a shaping optical system (not shown) of the illumination optical system 122. The shaped beam enters an optical integrator (not shown), which forms multiple secondary light sources to illuminate the original 112 with a uniform illuminance distribution.

[0016] The illumination optical system 122 has an aperture stop 126 that determines the numerical aperture (NA) of the illumination optical system 122. The aperture stop 126 has a substantially circular opening, and the numerical aperture (NA) of the illumination optical system 122 is controlled by the illumination system control unit 105 controlling the diameter of the opening. The ratio of the numerical aperture of the illumination optical system 122 to the numerical aperture of the projection optical system 120 is called the coherence factor (σ value). The illumination system control unit 105 can set the σ value by controlling the aperture stop 126 of the illumination optical system 122 under the control of the main control unit 103.

[0017] A half mirror 121 is disposed on the optical path of the illumination optical system 122, and a portion of the exposure light illuminating the original 112 is reflected and extracted by the half mirror 121. A photosensor 123 is disposed on the optical path of the light reflected by the half mirror 121, and the intensity of the exposure light (exposure energy) is detected by the photosensor 123. Information on the intensity of the exposure light detected by the photosensor 123 is sent to the illumination system control unit 105.

[0018] The original 112 is held by an original stage 113, and is driven in the y-axis direction by driving the original stage 113 in the y-axis direction by a driving mechanism 108. A pattern of a device to be manufactured is formed on the original 112. The projection optical system 120 reduces an image of the pattern of the original 112 illuminated by the illumination optical system 122 by a reduction magnification β and projects it onto the substrate 114. This exposes the photoresist on the substrate 114, and a transferred image (latent image) of the pattern of the original 112 is formed on the photoresist.

[0019] An aperture stop 124 with a nearly circular opening is disposed at the pupil plane of the projection optical system 120 (a Fourier transform plane relative to the plane (object plane) on which the original 112 is disposed), and the diameter of the opening of the aperture stop 124 is controlled by a drive mechanism 111 such as a motor. The projection optical system 120 has an optical element 125, and a drive mechanism 110 serving as an adjustment mechanism 150 drives the optical element 125 to adjust the optical characteristics of the projection optical system 120. The drive mechanisms 110 and 111 are controlled by a projection system control unit 106 under the control of a main control unit 103.

[0020] The substrate 114 is held by a substrate stage 115, which is driven by a drive mechanism 109 in the x-, y-, and z-axis directions and in rotational directions around these axes, thereby being driven in each axial direction and each rotational direction. The drive mechanism 109 that drives the substrate stage 115 and the drive mechanism 108 that drives the original stage 113 are controlled by a stage controller 107 under the control of the main controller 103. In scanning exposure, the stage controller 107 controls the drive mechanisms 108 and 109 so that the substrate stage 115 and the original stage 113 are scanned synchronously. The substrate stage 115 is also provided with a movable mirror 117, and a laser interferometer 116 (detector) detects displacement of the movable mirror 117 in the x-, y-, and z-axis directions, thereby detecting the position of the substrate stage 115 in each axial direction and the rotation angle around each axis. The stage controller 107 can feedback-control the position and rotation angle of the substrate stage 115 based on the detection results of the laser interferometer 116.

[0021] The alignment measurement system 118 (measurement unit) includes an off-axis scope, and measures the position of the substrate 114 in the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis directions and in the rotational directions around these axes by detecting alignment marks provided on the substrate 114. For example, the alignment measurement system 118 can obtain arrangement information of a plurality of shot areas on the substrate 114 by detecting the alignment marks on the substrate 114. When the position of the substrate 114 is measured by the alignment measurement system 118, the substrate stage 115 is driven by the drive mechanism 109 under the control of the main control unit 103 so that the alignment marks on the substrate 114 are positioned below the alignment measurement system 118.

[0022] The projection optical system 119a and the detection optical system 119b constitute a focus detection system that detects the position of the substrate 114 in the z direction. The projection optical system 119a projects multiple light beams onto the substrate 114, each having a wavelength that does not expose the photoresist of the substrate 114. The multiple light beams projected onto the substrate 114 by the projection optical system 119a are reflected by the substrate 114 and enter the detection optical system 119b. The detection optical system 119b has multiple light receiving elements that receive each of the multiple light beams reflected by the substrate 114, and detects the light receiving positions of each of the multiple light beams. The positional deviation of the substrate 114 in the optical axis direction (z axis direction) of the projection optical system 120 can be found based on the deviation of the light receiving positions of the light beams detected by each of the multiple light receiving elements in the detection optical system 119b.

[0023] [Substrate stage drive profile] Further improvements in throughput are required for the exposure apparatus EX. One method for achieving such improvements is to increase the maximum speed and / or maximum acceleration of the original stage 113 and the substrate stage 115. However, when correcting the shape of the transferred image by driving the optical element 125 of the projection optical system 120 using the drive mechanism 110, the drive of the optical element 125 needs to follow the drive of the substrate stage 115 during scanning exposure of the substrate 114. Therefore, the tolerance for the correction residual of the transferred image may limit the increase in the drive speed of the substrate stage 115 during scanning exposure. Furthermore, the acceleration of the substrate stage 115 for scanning exposure needs to be controlled so as to reduce the impact on the drive accuracy of the substrate stage 115 during scanning exposure (e.g., vibrations caused by acceleration of the substrate stage 115). Therefore, in order to further improve the throughput of the exposure apparatus EX, it is desirable to appropriately control the drive of the substrate stage 115 not only for scanning exposure of the substrate 114 but also for processes other than scanning exposure.

[0024] Therefore, the stage controller 107 of the exposure apparatus EX of this embodiment is configured to control the driving of the substrate stage 115 in accordance with a drive profile that defines the magnitude of the velocity of the substrate stage 115 for each of a plurality of processes that involve movement of the substrate stage 115. The stage controller 107 then changes the drive profile for controlling the driving of the substrate stage 115 depending on the type of process. As described above, the plurality of processes can include an exposure process that performs scanning exposure of the substrate 114 and a measurement process that performs position measurement (alignment measurement) of the substrate 114. The drive profile may also be understood as a position profile that indicates the target position of the substrate stage 115 with respect to time, and a profile obtained by differentiating this position profile becomes a velocity profile that defines the magnitude of the velocity of the substrate stage 115. The drive profile may also be understood as a profile that defines the magnitude of the velocity of the substrate stage 115 when the substrate stage 115 is driven in a predetermined direction (e.g., the x-axis direction or the y-axis direction).

[0025] 2 shows a block diagram of a control system that determines (generates) a drive profile for the substrate stage 115 for each process and controls the drive of the substrate stage 115 in accordance with the determined drive profile. An example will be described below in which one of a profile that prioritizes drive accuracy of the substrate stage 115 (accuracy-priority profile) and a profile that prioritizes throughput (throughput-priority profile) is selected and determined (generated). In addition, although the substrate stage 115 will be described below as an example, the original stage 113 is driven in synchronization with the substrate stage 115, and therefore once the velocity profile of the substrate stage 115 is determined, the velocity profile of the original stage 113 can also be determined accordingly.

[0026] The main control unit 103 outputs a control signal to the stage control unit 107, instructing the destination (target position) of the substrate 114 in the xy plane. The stage control unit 107 may include a profile selection unit 201, a first acquisition unit 202, a second acquisition unit 203, a profile calculation unit 204, a subtractor 205, and a PID compensator 206. The profile selection unit 201 determines what processing is the target for which a drive profile is to be determined, based on the control signal input from the main control unit 103. Then, the profile selection unit 201 selects whether the drive profile is to be an accuracy-priority profile or a throughput-priority profile, depending on the determination result.

[0027] When the profile selection unit 201 selects the accuracy-priority profile, the first acquisition unit 202 acquires arithmetic formula A for calculating the accuracy-priority profile. The profile calculation unit 204 then calculates (determines) the drive profile of the substrate stage 115 using arithmetic formula A acquired by the first acquisition unit 202. On the other hand, when the profile selection unit 201 selects the throughput-priority profile, the second acquisition unit 203 acquires arithmetic formula B for calculating the throughput-priority profile. The profile calculation unit 204 then calculates (determines) the drive profile of the substrate stage 115 using arithmetic formula B acquired by the second acquisition unit 203. Here, each of arithmetic formula A and arithmetic formula B may include an equation for calculating an acceleration profile in an acceleration section of the drive profile and / or an equation for calculating a deceleration profile in a deceleration section of the drive profile. Note that hereinafter, the acceleration profile may also be used to mean a deceleration profile.

[0028] The subtractor 205 calculates the deviation between the target position of the substrate stage 115 in the drive profile determined by the profile calculation unit 204 and the current position of the substrate stage 115 detected by the laser interferometer 116, and supplies this deviation to a PID compensator 206. Based on the deviation supplied from the subtractor 205, the PID compensator 206 determines the amount of operation of the substrate stage 115 so as to reduce this deviation, and supplies a drive signal (drive command value) corresponding to the determined amount of operation to the substrate stage 115 (drive mechanism 109). This makes it possible to drive the substrate stage 115 in accordance with the drive profile determined by the profile calculation unit 204.

[0029] Next, the drive profile of the substrate stage 115 will be described. Fig. 3 shows an acceleration profile (Fig. 3(a)) and a velocity profile (Fig. 3(b)) as drive profiles of the substrate stage 115. The drive profile is a profile of position, velocity, and acceleration expressed as a function of time (t) from when the drive of the substrate stage 115 starts. As shown in Fig. 3, the drive profile includes an acceleration section T during which the substrate stage 115 is accelerated to a target velocity V. acc and acceleration section T acc After that, the substrate stage 115 is moved at a constant speed V in a constant speed section T M The driving profile includes a constant velocity section T M After that, the substrate stage 115 is decelerated from the target velocity V in a deceleration section T dec Acceleration section T acc , constant velocity section T M and deceleration section T dec are continuous.

[0030] Acceleration section T acc includes an acceleration increasing section T1 (first section) in which the acceleration of the substrate stage 115 is increased, and an acceleration decreasing section T2 (second section) in which the acceleration of the substrate stage 115 is decreased. acc is a constant acceleration section T between the acceleration increasing section T1 and the acceleration decreasing section T2, in which the acceleration of the substrate stage 115 is constant. AIn FIG. 3, the period from 0 to t1 is the accelerating increase period T1, and the period from t1 to t2 is the constant acceleration period T A The period from t2 to t3 is the acceleration decrease section T2. A Maximum acceleration A acc In addition, the period from t3 to t4 is the constant velocity section T M and the constant velocity section T M This gives the target speed V (maximum speed).

[0031] Deceleration section T dec includes a deceleration increasing section T3 (fourth section) in which the deceleration of the substrate stage 115 is increased, and a deceleration decreasing section T4 (fifth section) in which the deceleration of the substrate stage 115 is decreased. dec is a constant deceleration section T between the deceleration increasing section T3 and the deceleration decreasing section T4. B In FIG. 3, the period from t4 to t5 is the deceleration increase period T3, and the period from t5 to t6 is the constant acceleration period T B The period from t6 to t7 is the deceleration decrease section T4. B Maximum deceleration A dec In addition, the period from t7 onwards is the deceleration section T dec After the stop section T S This becomes:

[0032] Here, the deceleration section T dec The deceleration in the acceleration section T accThe acceleration command value can be defined as an acceleration applied in the opposite direction to the direction of acceleration in (T1), i.e., a negative acceleration. Two commonly used types of drive profiles are a trigonometric function profile and a trapezoidal profile. Figure 3 shows a drive profile as a trigonometric function profile. By using a trigonometric function in the section (T1 to T4) where the acceleration and / or deceleration is changed, the acceleration command value phase can be switched smoothly (for example, differentially continuous). This makes it possible to suppress sudden acceleration in driving the substrate stage 115, thereby improving the driving accuracy of the substrate stage 115. In other words, it is possible to generate a drive profile for the substrate stage 115 as an accuracy-priority profile.

[0033] Next, a drive profile to which a precision-priority profile is applied will be described with reference to Figs. 4 and 5. Fig. 4 shows a profile of the rate of change of acceleration (deceleration) in a drive profile to which a precision-priority profile is applied. Fig. 5 shows a profile of the rate of change of acceleration in the acceleration decrease section T2 (the period from t2 to t3) in a drive profile to which a precision-priority profile is applied. The rate of change of acceleration indicates the change in acceleration per unit time, and is sometimes called jerk. The profile of the rate of change of acceleration is expressed by the time derivative of the acceleration profile shown in Fig. 3(a).

[0034] The acceleration command value a and the velocity command value v in the acceleration increase section T1 (the period from 0 to t1) to which the precision-priority profile is applied are expressed by equations (2) and (3), respectively, using equation (1). In the following equations, ω represents angular velocity, and π represents the circular constant.

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[0038] The acceleration command value a and the speed command value v in the acceleration decrease section T2 (period from t2 to t3) to which the accuracy-priority profile is applied are expressed by equations (6) and (7), respectively, using equations (4) and (5).

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[0043] The acceleration command value a and the speed command value v in the deceleration increase section T3 (period from t4 to t5) to which the accuracy-priority profile is applied are expressed by equations (10) and (11), respectively, using equations (8) and (9).

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[0048] Furthermore, the acceleration command value a and the speed command value v in the deceleration decrease section T4 (period from t6 to t7) to which the accuracy-priority profile is applied are expressed by equations (13) and (14), respectively, using equation (12).

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[0052] Constant speed section T M When the exposure process (scanning exposure of the substrate 114) is performed in the acceleration decrease section T2 (period t2 to t4), as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the accuracy-priority profile can be applied in the acceleration decrease section T2 (period t2 to t3). That is, in the acceleration decrease section T2, the peak position of the rate of change of acceleration is on the opposite side of the constant velocity section from the middle of the acceleration decrease section T2 (i.e., the constant acceleration section T A A drive profile can be generated so that the rate of change of acceleration in the acceleration decreasing section T2 is located on the constant velocity section T M , the scanning exposure can be performed in the constant speed section T M 4, the accuracy-priority profile may also be applied to the acceleration increase section T1 (period from 0 to t1). In other words, in the acceleration increase section T1, the peak position of the rate of change of acceleration is closer to the constant velocity section (i.e., constant acceleration section TA In this case, the driving profile may be generated so that the scanning exposure is performed in the constant velocity section T M This can further improve the driving accuracy of the substrate stage 115 in the above state.

[0053] Similarly, the stop section T S When a measurement process (alignment measurement of the substrate 114) is performed in the deceleration decrease section T4 (period from t6 to t7), as shown in FIG. 4, the accuracy-priority profile can be applied in the deceleration decrease section T4 (period from t6 to t7). That is, in the deceleration decrease section T4, the peak position of the rate of change of the deceleration is on the opposite side to the stop section side from the middle of the deceleration decrease section T4 (i.e., the constant deceleration section T B A drive profile can be generated so that the rate of change of the deceleration in the deceleration decreasing section T4 is located on the side of the stop section T S Therefore, the stopping section T S This allows the vibration of the substrate stage 115 to be quickly reduced, thereby enabling the alignment measurement of the substrate 114 to be performed quickly and accurately. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the accuracy-priority profile may also be applied to the deceleration increase section T3 (period from t4 to t5). In other words, in the deceleration increase section T3, the peak position of the rate of change of the deceleration is closer to the stop section side (i.e., the constant deceleration section T B In this case, the driving profile may be generated so that the stop section T S This allows the vibration of the substrate stage 115 to be reduced more quickly, and allows alignment measurement of the substrate 114 to be performed more quickly and accurately.

[0054] Next, a drive profile to which a throughput priority profile is applied will be described with reference to Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. Fig. 6 shows a profile of the rate of change of acceleration (deceleration) in a drive profile to which a throughput priority profile is applied, and Fig. 6 also shows an accuracy priority profile for comparison. Fig. 7 shows a profile of the rate of change of acceleration in the acceleration decrease section T2 (the period from t2 to t3) in a drive profile to which a throughput priority profile is applied. Maximum acceleration A in the throughput priority profile acc (Maximum deceleration A dec ) is set to be the same as the precision-priority profile in order to facilitate calculation of the drive profile and drive control of the substrate stage 115.

[0055] The acceleration command value a and the speed command value v in the acceleration increase section T1 (the period from 0 to t1) to which the throughput priority profile is applied are expressed by equations (15) and (16), respectively. In the following equations, ω represents angular velocity, and π represents the circular constant.

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[0058] Moreover, the acceleration command value a and the speed command value v in the acceleration decrease section T2 (the period from t2 to t3) to which the throughput priority profile is applied are expressed by equations (17) and (18), respectively.

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[0061] Moreover, the acceleration command value a and the speed command value v in the deceleration increase section T3 (the period from t4 to t5) to which the throughput priority profile is applied are expressed by equations (19) and (20), respectively.

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[0064] Moreover, the acceleration command value a and the speed command value v in the deceleration decrease section T4 (the period from t6 to t7) to which the throughput priority profile is applied are expressed by equations (21) and (22), respectively.

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[0067] The throughput priority profile is, for example, M This can be applied to the acceleration decrease section T2 (period t2 to t3) when scanning exposure of the substrate 114 is not performed (i.e., in the case of non-exposure processing) during the acceleration decrease section T2 (period t3 to t4). In this case, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, during the acceleration decrease section T2, the peak position of the rate of change of acceleration is closer to the constant velocity section side (i.e., constant acceleration section T AA drive profile can be generated so that the peak position of the rate of change of acceleration is positioned on the opposite side of the constant velocity section (i.e., the side opposite to the constant velocity section T1 (period from t1 to t2)). Preferably, a drive profile is generated so that the peak position of the rate of change of acceleration is positioned in the middle of the acceleration decrease section T2. ​​Also, a throughput priority profile may be applied to the acceleration increase section T1 (period from 0 to t1). In this case, in the acceleration increase section T1, as shown in FIG. 6, the peak position of the rate of change of acceleration is positioned on the opposite side of the constant velocity section (i.e., the side opposite to the constant velocity section T1) compared to the accuracy priority profile. A Preferably, the drive profile is generated so that the peak position of the rate of change of acceleration is positioned in the middle of the acceleration increasing section T1.

[0068] Similarly, a throughput-priority profile may be used, for example, for the outage period T S This can be applied to the deceleration decrease section T4 (the period from t6 to t7) when alignment measurement of the substrate 114 is not performed (i.e., in the case of non-measurement processing) in the deceleration decrease section T4 (the period from t6 to t7). In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, in the deceleration decrease section T4, the peak position of the rate of change of the deceleration is closer to the stop section side (i.e., the constant deceleration section T B A drive profile can be generated so that the peak position of the rate of change of the deceleration is positioned in the middle of the deceleration decreasing section T4 (the period from t4 to t5). Also, the throughput priority profile may be applied to the deceleration increasing section T3 (the period from t4 to t5). In this case, in the deceleration increasing section T3, as shown in FIG. 6, the peak position of the rate of change of the deceleration is positioned on the opposite side of the stopping section side (i.e., the constant deceleration section T B Preferably, the drive profile is generated so that the peak position of the rate of change of the deceleration is located in the middle of the deceleration increasing section T3.

[0069] Here, we will explain why using the above-mentioned throughput priority profile can improve throughput more than the accuracy priority profile. Fig. 8 shows an example in which the accuracy priority profile and the throughput priority profile are superimposed. Fig. 8(a) shows an acceleration profile, and Fig. 8(b) shows a profile of the rate of change of acceleration. In Fig. 8, for ease of explanation, the times t1 to t7 are the same for the throughput priority profile and the accuracy priority profile, but in reality, the drive profile time for the throughput priority profile is shorter than that for the accuracy priority profile.

[0070] In the acceleration profile, the area of ​​the acceleration profile (i.e., the integral value) corresponds to the velocity. Therefore, when the same target velocity V is used in the throughput priority profile and the accuracy priority profile, the area corresponding to the velocity is larger in the acceleration increasing section T1 and the acceleration decreasing section T2 in the throughput priority profile than in the accuracy priority profile. In other words, the area corresponding to the velocity can be made larger in the throughput priority profile than in the accuracy priority profile, and the difference in area D1 (hatched portion in FIG. 8) is used in the constant acceleration section T A Similarly, in the throughput priority profile, the area corresponding to the speed is larger in the deceleration increasing section T3 and the deceleration decreasing section T4 than in the accuracy priority profile. In other words, in the throughput priority profile, the area corresponding to the speed can be made larger than in the accuracy priority profile, and the difference in area D2 (hatched portion in FIG. 8) is the difference in the area between the constant deceleration section T B In this way, the throughput-priority profile can shorten the constant acceleration period T A and constant deceleration section T B This can shorten the time required for the transfer and improve throughput.

[0071] The profile calculation unit 204 calculates the acceleration section T acc When calculating (determining) the driving profile, the acceleration increasing section T1, the acceleration decreasing section T2, and the constant acceleration section T AIn this embodiment, the times of the acceleration increase section T1 and the acceleration decrease section T2 are fixed, so the time of the constant acceleration section T A Similarly, the profile calculation unit 204 calculates the time for the deceleration section T dec When calculating (determining) the drive profile, the deceleration increasing section T3, the deceleration decreasing section T4, and the constant deceleration section T B In this embodiment, the times of the deceleration increase section T3 and the deceleration decrease section T4 are fixed, so that the times of the constant deceleration section T B It is necessary to calculate the time.

[0072] First, the uniform acceleration section T A and constant deceleration section T B A method for calculating (determining) the time will be described below. If tΔ in the above-mentioned formulas (3), (7), (11), and (14) is T1, T2, T3, and T4, respectively, the speeds v1 to v4 in each section T1 to T4 are expressed by the following formulas (23) to (26), respectively.

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[0077] Here, the relationship expressed by the following equations (27) to (28) holds, so the constant acceleration section T A and constant deceleration section T BThe time can be calculated by the following equations (29) and (30). In the equations (29) and (30), the coefficient "3 / 8" is used, but this coefficient is used in the constant velocity section T M or stop section T S This can be set arbitrarily within the range of, for example, 2 / 8 or more and less than 4 / 8, depending on the driving accuracy of the substrate stage 115 in the above.

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[0082] Next, the constant acceleration section T A and constant deceleration section T B A method for calculating (determining) the time will be described below. If tΔ in the above-mentioned equations (16), (18), (20), and (22) is T1, T2, T3, and T4, respectively, the speeds v1 to v4 in each section T1 to T4 are expressed by the following equations (31) to (34), respectively.

[0083]

number

[0084]

number

[0085]

number

[0086]

number

[0087] Here, the relationship expressed by the following equations (35) to (36) holds, so that the constant acceleration section T A and constant deceleration section T B The times can be calculated using the following equations (37) to (38), respectively.

[0088]

number

[0089]

number

[0090]

number

[0091]

number

[0092] Comparing equations (29) to (30) with equations (37) to (38), the throughput-priority profile has a shorter constant acceleration section T A and constant deceleration section T B In other words, the throughput-priority profile has a shorter acceleration period T acc and deceleration section T dec This reduces the time required for the process, thereby improving the throughput.

[0093] [How to determine the drive profile] Next, a method for determining (generating) a drive profile for each of a plurality of processes involving movement of the substrate stage 115 will be described. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing a method for determining a drive profile for each of a plurality of processes. The plurality of processes are performed in a constant velocity section T M The exposure process is performed by scanning the substrate 114, and the stop section T S 9 can include a measurement process for measuring the position (alignment measurement) of the substrate 114. Each step in the flowchart of FIG.

[0094] In step S11, the stage control unit 107 determines, based on the control signal input from the main control unit 103, whether the process for which the drive profile is to be determined is within the constant velocity section T M In step S10, it is determined whether the process is an exposure process that performs scanning exposure of the substrate 114. If the process for which the drive profile is to be determined is an exposure process, the process proceeds to step S12.

[0095] In step S12, the stage control unit 107 controls the acceleration section T acc The drive profile is determined by applying the accuracy-priority profile to the acceleration decrease section T2 of the stage control unit 107. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the stage control unit 107 may determine the drive profile so that the accuracy-priority profile is applied only to the acceleration decrease section T2 (period from t2 to t3). In this case, the throughput-priority profile may be applied to the acceleration increase section T1 (period from 0 to t1), the deceleration increase section T3 (period from t4 to t5), and the deceleration decrease section T4 (period from t6 to t7). The stage control unit 107 may also determine the drive profile so that the accuracy-priority profile is applied to the acceleration increase section T1 as well as the acceleration decrease section T2. ​​In this case, the throughput-priority profile is also applied to the deceleration increase section T3 and the deceleration decrease section T4. By determining the drive profile in this way, the accuracy-priority profile can be applied to the constant velocity section T M This makes it possible to improve the overall throughput of driving the substrate stage 115 while maintaining the driving accuracy of the substrate stage 115 required for scanning exposure of the substrate 114 performed in this way.

[0096] In step S11, the process for determining the drive profile is performed in the constant velocity section T M If the non-exposure process does not involve scanning exposure of the substrate 114, the process proceeds to step S13. In step S13, the stage control unit 107 determines, based on the control signal input from the main control unit 103, that the process for which the drive profile is to be determined is within the stop section T S In step S14, it is determined whether the process is a measurement process for measuring the position (alignment measurement) of the substrate 114. If the process for which the drive profile is to be determined is a measurement process, the process proceeds to step S14.

[0097] In step S14, the stage control unit 107 controls the deceleration section T dec The drive profile is determined by applying the accuracy-priority profile to the deceleration decrease section T4 of the stage control unit 107. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the stage control unit 107 may determine the drive profile so that the accuracy-priority profile is applied only to the deceleration decrease section T4 (period from t6 to t7). In this case, the throughput-priority profile may be applied to the acceleration increase section T1 (period from 0 to t1), the acceleration decrease section T2 (period from t2 to t3), and the deceleration increase section T3 (period from t4 to t5). The stage control unit 107 may also determine the drive profile so that the accuracy-priority profile is applied to the deceleration increase section T3 in addition to the deceleration decrease section T4. In this case, the throughput-priority profile is also applied to the acceleration increase section T1 and the acceleration decrease section T2. ​​In this way, when the process for which the drive profile is to be determined is a non-exposure process, the accuracy-priority profile is applied to the acceleration section T acc Since the throughput priority profile is applied to the acceleration section T acc The driving profile is determined so that the stopping section T S This makes it possible to improve the overall throughput of driving the substrate stage 115 while maintaining the driving accuracy of the substrate stage 115 required for measuring the position of the substrate 114 performed in the above step.

[0098] In step S13, the process for which the drive profile is determined is the stop section T S If the process is a non-measurement process in which the position of the substrate 114 is not measured, the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, the stage control unit 107 determines a drive profile so that a throughput-priority profile is applied to all of the acceleration increase section T1, acceleration decrease section T2, deceleration increase section T3, and deceleration decrease section T4. In this way, if the process for which the drive profile is to be determined is a non-measurement process, the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, the stage control unit 107 determines a drive profile so that a throughput-priority profile is applied to all of the acceleration increase section T1, acceleration decrease section T2, deceleration increase section T3, and deceleration decrease section T4. dec Since the throughput priority profile is applied to the deceleration section T acc The drive profile is determined so that

[0099] As described above, in the exposure apparatus EX of this embodiment, the drive profile for controlling the drive of the substrate stage 115 is changed depending on the type of processing that involves movement of the substrate stage 115. For example, in the constant velocity section T M When the exposure process is performed in the acceleration section T acc The precision-priority profile is applied to the deceleration section T dec The drive profile is determined so that the throughput-priority profile is applied to the stop section T S When measurement processing is performed in the deceleration section T dec The accuracy-priority profile is applied to the acceleration section T acc The drive profile is determined so that the throughput priority profile is applied to the substrate stage 115. This makes it possible to improve the overall throughput of driving the substrate stage 115 while ensuring (maintaining) the drive accuracy of the substrate stage 115 required for the exposure process and / or the measurement process.

[0100] In the above-described embodiment, a drive profile may be determined (selected) for each axis direction (x-axis direction, y-axis direction) depending on the required accuracy in each axis direction. For example, for an axis direction in which the substrate stage 115 is simultaneously driven and which has a short drive time, an accuracy-priority profile may be selected within the drive time of an axis direction with a long drive time, since the overall throughput of driving the substrate stage 115 does not change. This makes it possible to ensure (maintain) the drive accuracy of the substrate stage 115 in the axis direction with a short drive time.

[0101] <Embodiments of manufacturing methods of articles> 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, and elements having a microstructure. The method for manufacturing an article according to this embodiment includes a step of forming a latent image pattern on a photosensitive agent applied to a substrate using the above-described exposure apparatus (a step of exposing the substrate), and a step of developing (processing) the substrate on which the latent image pattern has been formed in this step. Furthermore, this manufacturing method includes other well-known steps (oxidation, film formation, vapor deposition, doping, planarization, etching, resist stripping, dicing, bonding, packaging, etc.). The method for manufacturing an article according to this embodiment is advantageous over conventional methods in at least one of the performance, quality, productivity, and production cost of the article.

[0102] <Other Examples> The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0103] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0104] 100: control unit, 107: stage control unit, 112: original, 113: original stage, 114: substrate, 115: substrate stage, 120: projection optical system, EX: exposure apparatus

Claims

1. An exposure apparatus that performs scanning exposure of a substrate, a stage for holding the substrate; a control unit that controls driving of the stage in accordance with a driving profile that defines the magnitude of the velocity of the stage for each of a plurality of processes involving movement of the stage; Equipped with the drive profile includes an acceleration section in which the stage is accelerated, a constant velocity section in which the stage is moved at a constant velocity after the acceleration section, and a deceleration section in which the stage is decelerated after the constant velocity section, the acceleration section includes a first section in which the acceleration of the stage is increased to a target acceleration, a second section in which the acceleration of the stage is decreased from the target acceleration after the first section, and a third section in which the acceleration of the stage is kept constant at the target acceleration between the first section and the second section, the control unit uses a first profile as the drive profile in an exposure process in which the scanning exposure is performed in the constant velocity section among the plurality of processes, and uses a second profile as the drive profile in a non-exposure process in which the scanning exposure is not performed in the constant velocity section among the plurality of processes, An exposure apparatus characterized in that the second profile is set so that, compared to the first profile, the peak position of the rate of change of acceleration in the second section is located on the side of the constant velocity section, and the length of the third section is shortened depending on the difference in the peak position.

2. An exposure apparatus as described in Claim 1, characterized in that the target acceleration is the same for the first profile and the second profile.

3. 3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the second profile, a peak position of the rate of change of acceleration in the second section is located in the middle of the second section.

4. An exposure apparatus as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the second profile is set so that, compared to the first profile, the peak position of the rate of change of acceleration in the first section is located on the opposite side to the constant velocity section.

5. 5. The exposure apparatus according to claim 4, wherein in the second profile, the peak position of the rate of change of acceleration in the first section is located in the middle of the first section.

6. the drive profile includes a stop section that maintains the stage stopped after the deceleration section, the plurality of processes include, as the non-exposure processes using the second profile, a measurement process in which position measurement of the substrate is performed in the stop section, and a non-measurement process in which position measurement of the substrate is not performed in the stop section; An exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the second profile used in the non-measurement process is set so that the maximum deceleration in the deceleration section is the same as that of the second profile used in the measurement process, and so that the deceleration section is shorter.

7. the deceleration section includes a fourth section in which the deceleration of the stage is increased to a target deceleration, a fifth section in which the deceleration of the stage is decreased from the target deceleration after the fourth section, and a sixth section in which the deceleration of the stage is kept constant at the target deceleration between the fourth section and the fifth section, The exposure apparatus of claim 6, characterized in that the second profile used in the non-measurement process is set so that the peak position of the rate of change of deceleration in the fifth section is located on the side of the stop section compared to the second profile used in the measurement process, and the length of the sixth section is shortened depending on the difference in the peak position.

8. An exposure apparatus as described in Claim 7, characterized in that in the second profile used in the non-measurement processing, the peak position of the rate of change of deceleration in the fifth section is located in the middle of the fifth section.

9. An exposure apparatus as described in Claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the second profile used in the non-measurement process is set so that the peak position of the rate of change of deceleration in the fourth section is located on the opposite side to the stop section, compared to the second profile used in the measurement process.

10. 10. The exposure apparatus according to claim 9, wherein in the second profile used in the non-measurement process, the peak position of the rate of change of the deceleration in the fourth section is located in the middle of the fourth section.

11. 1. A control method for controlling driving of a stage that holds a substrate in an exposure apparatus that performs scanning exposure of the substrate, comprising: a determining step of determining a drive profile that defines the magnitude of the velocity of the stage for each of a plurality of processes involving movement of the stage; a control step of controlling driving of the stage in each of the plurality of processes in accordance with the driving profile determined in the determination step; Including, the drive profile includes an acceleration section in which the stage is accelerated, a constant velocity section in which the stage is moved at a constant velocity after the acceleration section, and a deceleration section in which the stage is decelerated after the constant velocity section, the acceleration section includes a first section in which the acceleration of the stage is increased to a target acceleration, a second section in which the acceleration of the stage is decreased from the target acceleration after the first section, and a third section in which the acceleration of the stage is kept constant at the target acceleration between the first section and the second section, In the determination step, a first profile is determined as the drive profile to be used in an exposure process among the plurality of processes in which the scanning exposure is performed in the constant velocity section, and a second profile is determined as the drive profile to be used in a non-exposure process among the plurality of processes in which the scanning exposure is not performed in the constant velocity section, The second profile is set so that, compared to the first profile, the peak position of the rate of change of acceleration in the second section is located closer to the constant velocity section, and the length of the third section is shortened depending on the difference in the peak position.

12. an exposure step of performing scanning exposure of the substrate; a processing step of processing the substrate exposed in the exposure step; a manufacturing process for manufacturing an article from the substrate processed in the processing process; Including, The method for manufacturing an article, wherein in the exposure step, driving of a stage that holds the substrate is controlled using the control method according to claim 11.

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