Exposure apparatus, method for controlling the exposure apparatus, and method for manufacturing articles

Abstract

To provide a technique for driving a substrate stage in an exposure device which is advantageous in both overlapping accuracy and throughput.SOLUTION: An exposure device has a substrate chuck, a stage, and a control part for controlling drive of the stage. The control part performs first drive of driving the stage in a scan direction according to a first drive profile in parallel with second drive of driving the stage in a non-scan direction according to a second drive profile, and thereby performs step drive of the stage before scan exposure to one shot region. The control part determines the first drive profile and the second drive profile so that synthetic acceleration of the stage when the first drive and the second drive are performed in parallel does not exceed an upper limit value prescribed assuming that positional deviation of the substrate chuck to the stage is not generated in a state where lock between the stage and the substrate chuck is released.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Various exposure systems are used in the lithography process for manufacturing semiconductor devices (integrated circuits) or flat panel display (FPD) display elements. In recent years, with the increasing integration of semiconductor devices, sequential moving exposure systems have become mainstream. Sequential moving projection exposure systems include step-and-repeat reduction projection exposure systems (so-called steppers) and step-and-scan scanning exposure systems (so-called scanning steppers), which are improvements on the stepper. As the miniaturization of patterns progresses with the increasing integration of integrated circuits, scanning exposure systems are now becoming mainstream. Scanning exposure systems have an averaging effect because the master plate and substrate are scanned relative to the projection optical system. Furthermore, scanning exposure systems enable higher precision exposure compared to stationary exposure systems such as steppers due to improvements in distortion and depth of field, and high throughput can be expected due to the reduction in the number of shots by large-field exposure.

[0003] In scanning exposure systems, when processing adjacent shot regions aligned in the non-scanning direction (perpendicular to the scanning direction between the master plate and the substrate) on a substrate, the master plate stage and the substrate stage were generally driven in the scanning and non-scanning directions as follows: The master plate stage and the substrate stage were accelerated to their respective target scanning speeds in the scanning direction, and once they reached a state of constant-speed synchronization, processing was performed on one shot region in the scanning direction. Between the completion of this processing and the start of processing for the next shot region in the scanning direction, the master plate stage and the substrate stage were decelerated in the scanning direction and then accelerated to their target speeds. In parallel with this, step driving between shots was performed to move the substrate stage in the non-scanning direction to the processing start position for the next shot region. Processing refers to processes such as alignment measurement and exposure.

[0004] The master plate and substrate are mounted on a master plate stage and a substrate stage, respectively, which are capable of precise and high-resolution movement as required, and the stage drive for exposure is performed. The master plate stage is equipped with a mechanism for holding the master plate, and the substrate stage is equipped with a mechanism for holding the substrate.

[0005] In successive generations of microlithography systems, while higher stage acceleration is required, the specifications for overlay accuracy are also becoming stricter. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the position of objects (e.g., master plate and substrate) while driving the stage (e.g., master plate stage and substrate stage) and to minimize displacement between objects (e.g., displacement between master plate stage and master plate, and displacement between substrate stage and substrate). Furthermore, in order to further improve throughput, it is necessary to enable stage driving at the highest speed while guaranteeing overlay accuracy.

[0006] Patent Document 1 discloses a device that reduces the slippage of the master plate relative to the chuck surface (the displacement between the master plate stage and the master plate) by suppressing it with a mechanical mechanism. More specifically, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which the master plate is supported by a plurality of pins provided on a master plate chuck for holding the master plate on the master plate stage, and is held and moved by a vacuum chuck.

[0007] Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for suppressing vibrations between the master plate and the substrate (deviation between the master plate and the substrate) by adjusting the acceleration of the master plate stage and the substrate stage during step driving. More specifically, by setting the acceleration and deceleration of the master plate stage and the substrate stage based on a preset scanning speed and step distance, the operation of temporarily stopping both stages in the scanning direction is eliminated. This suppresses vibrations of the support structures that support both stages, which occurred when they were stopped. By suppressing vibrations between the master plate and the substrate, the positional controllability of each stage is improved, and the superposition accuracy is improved.

[0008] Incidentally, the exposure apparatus is equipped with a chuck (substrate holder) for holding the substrate on the substrate stage. The chuck attracts and holds the substrate by vacuum attraction or electrostatic force. The substrate is fixed on the substrate stage via the chuck. The chuck is driven between the substrate and the substrate stage to release and fix the substrate. The chuck may be equipped with a mechanism that can be driven in the θ direction to position the substrate and the master plate. When driving the substrate stage during alignment measurement or inter-shot step operations during exposure, the chuck is locked to fix the substrate to the substrate stage, and then the substrate stage is accelerated / decelerated. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2009-537966 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-059806 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0010] However, step drive may be performed with insufficient chuck locking, in which case the chuck may shift during alignment due to inertia, causing the absolute position of the substrate on the substrate stage to change between alignment and exposure. Such substrate misalignment affects the overlapping accuracy. Waiting for the chuck to fully lock before starting step drive is a possible solution, but this would reduce throughput.

[0011] This invention provides a technology for driving a substrate stage in an exposure apparatus that is advantageous for achieving both overlay accuracy and throughput. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] According to one aspect of the present invention, an exposure apparatus for performing scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot regions on a substrate, comprising a substrate chuck for chucking the substrate, and a stage on which the substrate chuck is mounted and moves, A locking mechanism that performs a chuck locking operation to lock the substrate chuck to the stage, The control unit comprises a control unit that controls the driving of the stage, and the control unit comprises After the chuck lock operation has started and before it has been completed, By performing a first drive in the scanning direction according to a first drive profile and a second drive in the non-scanning direction according to a second drive profile in parallel, the step drive of the stage before scanning exposure for one shot area is performed. Start The control unit determines that the combined acceleration of the stage when the first drive and the second drive are performed in parallel is According to the locking mechanism An exposure apparatus is provided, characterized in that the first drive profile and the second drive profile are determined so as not to exceed a predetermined upper limit so that no misalignment of the substrate chuck relative to the stage occurs when the lock is released. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique for driving a substrate stage in an exposure apparatus that is advantageous for achieving both overlay accuracy and throughput.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014] [Figure 1] A diagram showing the configuration of an exposure apparatus. [Figure 2] A diagram showing the configuration of a substrate stage. [Figure 3] A flowchart for explaining the step drive operation in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] A diagram showing an example of the operation according to the prior art in which throughput decreases during step drive. [Figure 5] A diagram showing an example of a drive profile in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] A diagram showing an example of a drive profile in the second embodiment. [Figure 7] A flowchart for explaining the step drive operation in the second embodiment.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although a plurality of features are described in the embodiments, not all of these plurality of features are essential to the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Further, in the accompanying drawings, the same or similar configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0016] <First Embodiment> First, a stage device (holding device) according to one embodiment of the present invention and the configuration of a lithography apparatus equipped with this stage device will be described. The stage device according to this embodiment is used in a lithography apparatus employed in the lithography process in the manufacturing process of FPDs and semiconductor devices, and is capable of holding and moving a substrate to be processed. Hereinafter, as an example, the stage device according to this embodiment will be described as being used in an exposure apparatus employed in the lithography process in the manufacturing process of FPDs, and the substrate to be processed will be described as a glass substrate with a resist (photosensitive material) layer formed on its surface.

[0017] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the exposure apparatus in this embodiment. The exposure apparatus is an exposure apparatus that performs scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot areas on a substrate. The exposure apparatus is a so-called mirror projection type and is a scanning projection exposure apparatus that employs a step-and-scan method. Specifically, the exposure apparatus synchronously scans the master plate 3 and the substrate 6, and transfers (exposes) the pattern formed on the master plate 3 onto the substrate via the projection optical system 5. In this specification and drawings, directions are indicated in an XYZ coordinate system in which the horizontal plane is the XY plane. The substrate stage 7, described later, holds the substrate 6 so that its surface is parallel to the horizontal plane (XY plane). Therefore, below, the directions that are orthogonal to each other in the plane along the substrate holding surface of the substrate stage 7 are defined as the X axis and the Y axis, and the direction perpendicular to the X axis and the Y axis is defined as the Z axis. Also, below, the directions parallel to the X axis, Y axis and Z axis in the XYZ coordinate system are referred to as the X direction, Y direction and Z direction, respectively. During exposure, the scanning direction of the master plate 3 and substrate 6 is the Y direction, and the non-scanning direction is the X direction. Furthermore, rotation around the X axis is called Pitch, rotation around the Y axis is called Roll, and rotation around the Z axis is called Yaw or θ.

[0018] The exposure apparatus may comprise an illumination optical system 1, an alignment scope 2, a master plate stage 4, a projection optical system 5, a substrate stage 7, and a control unit 8. The illumination optical system 1 receives light emitted from a light source, such as a high-pressure mercury lamp, and irradiates the master plate 3, held by the master plate stage 4, with illumination light formed into a slit shape. The alignment scope 2 detects alignment marks provided on the master plate 3 and alignment marks provided on the substrate 6 held on the substrate stage 7 via the projection optical system 5. The master plate 3 is, for example, a glass master plate on which a fine pattern (e.g., a circuit pattern) to be exposed is drawn. The master plate stage 4 holds the master plate 3 and is movable in the XY direction.

[0019] The projection optical system 5 maintains an optically conjugate relationship between the master plate 3, held by the master plate stage 4, and the substrate 6, held by the substrate stage 7, and projects the image of the pattern present in the illumination area of ​​the master plate 3 onto the substrate 6. The projection optical system 5 is composed of multiple mirrors and lenses. Slit light from the master plate 3 passes through the projection optical system 5 and reaches the substrate 6. The projection area (exposure area) of the projection optical system 5 onto the substrate is set to a predetermined shape (for example, an arc shape).

[0020] The substrate stage 7 is a moving stage device equipped with a substrate chuck 75 (see Figure 2) for chucking the substrate. The substrate chuck 75 may be, for example, a vacuum chuck that chucks the substrate 6 by vacuum suction. The substrate stage 7 can drive the substrate chuck 75 in directions such as X, Y, Z, Pitch, Roll, and Yaw. The configuration of the substrate stage 7 will be explained in detail below with reference to Figure 2.

[0021] The control unit 8 is composed of, for example, a computer and is connected to each component of the exposure apparatus via a circuit, and can perform operational control and calculation processing of each component of the exposure apparatus according to a program. For the sake of simplicity, the control unit 8 will also perform all control related to the substrate stage 7. However, the substrate stage 7 may have a separate dedicated stage control unit separate from the control unit 8, and this stage control unit may receive commands from the control unit 8 and control the operation of the substrate stage 7 based on those commands. Furthermore, the control unit 8 may be configured as an integral part of the exposure apparatus (within a common housing) or as a separate unit (within a separate housing).

[0022] In general, in an exposure apparatus, factors such as the scanning accuracy of the substrate stage 7, positional changes and distortions of the projection optical system 5, substrate distortion, temperature fluctuations in the space and apparatus components, vibrations of apparatus components, alignment errors, or process factors can undesirably affect the transfer accuracy. Therefore, the exposure apparatus may also be equipped with a correction calculation unit that performs correction calculations to obtain the desired overlay accuracy.

[0023] Since exposure equipment is production equipment, there is always a demand for improved throughput. To improve throughput, it is necessary to increase the drive speed of the stage and speed up the correction measurement system. However, in the case of the latter, waiting for mechanical state changes, such as waiting for pressure changes after pneumatic switching, is an obstacle to improving throughput.

[0024] In this embodiment, the substrate stage 7 has the following configuration. Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the substrate stage 7. Figure 2(A) is a plan view, and Figure 2(B) is a side cross-sectional view. An X-Yaw stage 77 is placed on a Y stage (not shown), and a Z-Pitch-Roll drive unit 76 is placed on top of it. A scanning stage top plate 71 is placed on top of the Z-Pitch-Roll drive unit 76.

[0025] A Z-displacement sensor 78 is used to measure the position in the Z direction. An air pad 74 and a coarse θ guide 72 are arranged on the scanning stage top plate 71 for adsorbing and holding the substrate chuck 75. The substrate chuck 75 is mounted on the air pad 74. When the substrate chuck 75 is driven, pressure is applied to the air pad 74, and the movement of the substrate chuck 75 is guided by the coarse θ guide 72. During step driving, in order to prevent displacement of the substrate chuck 75, the pressure on the air pad 74 is made negative, so that the air pad 74 adsorbs and holds the substrate chuck 75. In this way, the substrate chuck 75 is fixed to the scanning stage top plate 71 (i.e., the substrate stage 7) via the air pad 74. Hereinafter, this operation will be referred to as the "chuck lock operation". Therefore, in this embodiment, the air pad 74 constitutes a locking mechanism that performs a chuck lock operation to lock the substrate chuck 75 to the substrate stage 7. In addition, a sensor 73 is arranged on the scanning stage top plate 71 to measure the relative position with respect to the substrate chuck 75.

[0026] The following describes a method for adjusting the acceleration of the substrate stage 7 in this embodiment. According to the prior art, this method is performed when, during simultaneous step driving in the XY direction from the first shot area to the second shot area of ​​the substrate, the inertial force generated during simultaneous acceleration and deceleration in each of the XY directions causes a displacement of the substrate chuck 75 on the substrate stage 7.

[0027] When the substrate stage 7 is stopped at a certain position in the X and Y directions and then driven to another position (step drive), it is desirable from a throughput standpoint that the time required for driving be as short as possible. A conventional technique that can achieve this requirement is to perform driving in the X and Y directions in parallel, accelerating and decelerating each at the maximum acceleration / deceleration values.

[0028] However, in this method, the inertial force generated during simultaneous acceleration and deceleration in each direction can cause displacement of the substrate chuck. Figure 4 illustrates the operation of the conventional technology, which results in a decrease in throughput during step driving. In the example in Figure 4, a drive waiting time is provided before step driving to prevent displacement of the substrate chuck during acceleration. The chuck lock operation is completed while waiting only for the drive waiting time. Since step driving is started after the chuck lock operation is completed, displacement of the substrate chuck during acceleration can be reliably prevented. However, because it is necessary to wait for the drive waiting time, throughput is reduced.

[0029] This embodiment illustrates a method for performing step driving without causing positional displacement (rotational displacement) of the substrate chuck 75 and without causing a decrease in throughput due to standby. In this embodiment, the control unit 8 performs step driving by performing a first drive in the Y direction according to a first drive profile and a second drive in the X direction according to a second drive profile in parallel. The control unit 8 determines the first drive profile and the second drive profile so that the combined acceleration of the substrate stage 7 when the first drive and the second drive are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit. Here, the predetermined upper limit is a value predetermined so that no positional displacement of the substrate chuck 75 relative to the substrate stage 7 occurs when the lock between the substrate stage 7 and the substrate chuck 75 is released.

[0030] A specific example of step driving in this embodiment will be described below with reference to Figure 3. Figure 3 shows a flowchart of the operation of driving in the X and Y directions during step driving in this embodiment. In S101, the control unit 8 calculates provisional acceleration for the acceleration applied during acceleration and deceleration in the X and Y directions, respectively. The provisional acceleration is set for both the X and Y directions. Here, the provisional acceleration is calculated such that the driving time (step time) in the X direction and the step time in the Y direction are the same. Specifically, if the step time is T, the acceleration is A, the velocity is V, the driving distance (step distance) is D, and the Jerk time is J, then the function f representing the step time T of step driving is expressed as follows.

[0031] T=f(A,V,D,J) ···(1)

[0032] Let Tx be the step time in the X direction, Ty be the step time in the Y direction, Ax be the acceleration in the X direction, Ay be the acceleration in the Y direction, and Atol be the upper limit of the combined acceleration at which no displacement of the substrate chuck 75 occurs. The control unit 8 determines Ax and Ay as provisional accelerations, satisfying the following conditions 1 and 2. Here, the velocity Vx in the X direction, velocity Vy in the Y direction, step distance Dx in the X direction, step distance Dy in the Y direction, jerk time Jx in the X direction, and jerk time Jy in the Y direction in condition 1 are all known values.

[0033] (Condition 1) Tx = Ty, f(Ax,Vx,Dx,Jx)=f(Ay,Vy,Dy,Jy) (Condition 2) Atol = √(Ax 2 +Ay 2 )

[0034] In S102, the control unit 8 determines whether the provisional acceleration Ax calculated in S101 is less than or equal to the upper limit of acceleration in the X direction, MaxAx. If the provisional acceleration Ax is less than or equal to the upper limit of acceleration, MaxAx, then in S103, the control unit 8 determines whether the provisional acceleration Ay calculated in S101 is less than or equal to the upper limit of acceleration in the Y direction, MaxAy. If the provisional acceleration Ay is less than or equal to the upper limit of acceleration, MaxAy, then in S104, the control unit 8 sets the provisional accelerations Ax and Ay calculated in S101 as the final accelerations Ax' and Ay', as shown in the following equation.

[0035] Ax' = Ax ... (2) Ay'=Ay ···(3)

[0036] In S102, if it is determined that the provisional acceleration Ax calculated in S101 exceeds the acceleration upper limit MaxAx, the process proceeds to S105. In S105, the control unit 8 sets the acceleration upper limit MaxAx in the X direction as the definite acceleration Ax' in the X direction, as shown by the following equations (Equations (4) and (5)), and sets the residual difference (first residual difference) between the combined acceleration and the acceleration upper limit in the X direction as the definite acceleration Ay' in the Y direction.

[0037] Ax' = MaxAx ... (4) Ay'=√(Atol 2 -MaxAx 2 ) ···(5)

[0038] In S103, if it is determined that the provisional acceleration Ay calculated in S101 exceeds the acceleration upper limit MaxAy, the process proceeds to S106. In S106, the control unit 8 sets the residual difference between the combined acceleration and the acceleration upper limit in the Y direction (second residual difference) as the definite acceleration Ax' in the X direction, and the acceleration upper limit MaxAy in the Y direction as the definite acceleration Ay' in the Y direction, as shown in the following equations (equations (6) and (7)).

[0039] Ax'=√(Atol 2 -MaxAy 2 ) ···(6) Ay' = MaxAy ···(7)

[0040] Based on the above, the definite accelerations in the X and Y directions have been determined. Next, in S107, the control unit 8 uses the calculated definite accelerations to calculate the drive profile for the XY step drive. An example of a drive profile is shown in Figure 5. Figure 5 shows the drive profile that defines the time change of the drive speed in the X direction (second drive profile) and the drive profile that defines the time change of the drive speed in the Y direction (first drive profile). Figure 5 also shows the combined acceleration obtained by combining the drive acceleration in the X direction and the drive acceleration in the Y direction. For comparison, the conventional drive speed and combined acceleration shown in Figure 4 are also shown as dashed lines in Figure 5.

[0041] After the drive profile is determined in S107, the control unit 8 performs chuck locking in S108. Then, in S109, the control unit 8 starts step driving after the chuck locking operation has started but before it is completed. In this step driving, the substrate stage 7 is accelerated and decelerated according to the drive profile calculated in S107. Specifically, the step driving may include performing a first drive that drives the substrate stage 7 in the Y direction according to the first drive profile and a second drive that drives the substrate stage in the X direction according to the second drive profile in parallel. As a result, the combined acceleration does not exceed the upper limit, making it possible to eliminate or shorten the drive waiting time before step driving for chuck locking.

[0042] In this embodiment, step drive is used as an example, but it is not limited to the case that the drive of the substrate stage 7 in the X or Y direction is stopped at the start and end of the step drive. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control unit 8 determines the first drive profile and the second drive profile, but the control unit 8 may also acquire the first drive profile and the second drive profile determined (calculated) by an external information processing device or the like.

[0043] <Second Embodiment> In the second embodiment, a stage driving method by shifting the driving start timing in each of the X and Y directions will be described. After the start and before the completion of the chuck lock operation, the control unit 8 starts one of the first drive in the Y direction and the second drive in the X direction, and starts the other drive after the end of the acceleration period in the one drive. This method is executed under the condition that when the XY direction simultaneous step drive is performed by the substrate stage 7, a shift occurs in the object on the substrate stage due to the inertial force generated during the simultaneous acceleration and deceleration in each of the X and Y directions.

[0044] Fig. 6 shows an example of step drive. The factor causing the object shift under the above conditions is that the combined acceleration in the X and Y directions exceeds the range of the stage acceleration where no object shift occurs. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 6, the driving start timing of the shorter one of the driving in the X direction and the driving in the Y direction is shifted backward by the acceleration period T in the longer driving direction. Acc As a result, since both the X and Y directions do not accelerate simultaneously, it is possible to prevent the combined acceleration from exceeding the allowable range during the driving standby.

[0045] Fig. 7 shows a flowchart of the operation for performing the step drive in this embodiment. In the flowchart shown in Fig. 7, the processing block surrounded by the broken line 7A is the same as that in the first embodiment (Fig. 3) (S101 to S109), and thus the description of its content is omitted.

[0046] Let the constant speed driving time of the longer one of the driving in the X direction and the driving in the Y direction in the step drive be T Long and the time of the whole step drive (total driving time) of the shorter one be T Short (see Fig. 6). In S201, the control unit 8 determines whether to adjust the step drive start timing by using the determination formula shown as the following condition 3.

[0047] (Condition 3) T long ≫T short

[0048] Specifically, the control unit 8 is T long is T short If the value is greater than a predetermined value, it is determined that condition 3 is met, and it is determined that the step drive start timing should be adjusted. If condition 3 is not met, the process proceeds to S101 as described above. On the other hand, if condition 3 is met, the process proceeds to S202. In the example in Figure 6, the drive in the Y direction (Y-direction drive) is completed while the drive in the X direction (X-direction drive) is being driven at a constant speed. The step drive start timing is set to t start Therefore, in S202, the control unit 8 sets the provisional drive start timing t in the X direction. Long The result is obtained according to equation (8), and the provisional drive start timing t in the Y direction is determined. Short We can find this from equation (9).

[0049] t Long =t Start - Operating standby time ···(8) t Short =t Start +t Acc - Operating standby time ···(9)

[0050] In S203, the control unit 8 determines whether the combined acceleration when the drive timing is shifted by the provisional drive start timing in each X and Y direction is less than a predetermined upper limit. If the combined acceleration does not exceed the upper limit, in S204, the control unit 8 determines the provisional drive start timing in each X and Y direction, obtained by equations (8) and (9), as the final drive start timing. The process then proceeds to S107. If it is determined in S203 that the combined acceleration is greater than or equal to the upper limit, the process proceeds to S101, and the control unit 8 performs the process described in the first embodiment. This makes it possible to drive the substrate stage 7 without impairing the superposition accuracy and without reducing throughput. Thus, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to operate in such a way that the combined acceleration does not exceed a predetermined upper limit even without simultaneously starting the drive in each X and Y direction as in the first embodiment.

[0051] In the embodiments described above, the step drive between shots was primarily explained. In other words, in the embodiments described above, the step drive performed between scanning exposure of the first shot area and scanning exposure of the second shot area was explained. However, the process related to the step drive described above is also applicable to step drives performed after substrate loading, where the exposure sequence precedes the scanning exposure of the first shot area.

[0052] <Embodiment of Article Manufacturing Method> The article manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention is suitable for manufacturing articles such as microdevices, semiconductor devices, and elements having a microstructure. The article manufacturing method of this embodiment includes the steps of forming a latent image pattern on a photosensitive agent coated on a substrate using the above-described exposure apparatus (a step of exposing the substrate) and developing the substrate on which the latent image pattern was formed in the above 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 article manufacturing method of this embodiment is advantageous over conventional methods in at least one of the performance, quality, productivity, and production cost of the article.

[0053] The disclosures herein include at least the following exposure apparatus, exposure method, and article manufacturing method. (Item 1) An exposure apparatus that performs scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot regions on a substrate, A substrate chuck for chucking the aforementioned substrate, A stage that moves with the aforementioned substrate chuck mounted on it, A control unit that controls the driving of the aforementioned stage, It has, The control unit performs a step drive of the stage before scanning exposure for one shot area by simultaneously performing a first drive that drives the stage in the scanning direction according to a first drive profile and a second drive that drives the stage in the non-scanning direction according to a second drive profile. The control unit determines the first drive profile and the second drive profile so that the combined acceleration of the stage when the first drive and the second drive are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit that prevents misalignment of the substrate chuck relative to the stage when the lock between the stage and the substrate chuck is released. An exposure apparatus characterized by the following features. (Item 2) The exposure apparatus according to item 1, characterized in that the control unit simultaneously starts the first drive and the second drive after the start and before the completion of the chuck locking operation that locks the substrate chuck to the stage. (Item 3) Let Tx be the drive time of the second drive, Ty be the drive time of the first drive, Ax be the acceleration in the non-scanning direction, Ay be the acceleration in the scanning direction, and Atol be the upper limit. When Vx is the speed in the non-scanning direction, Vy is the speed in the scanning direction, Dx is the drive distance in the non-scanning direction, Dy is the drive distance in the scanning direction, Jx is the Jerk time in the non-scanning direction, Jy is the Jerk time in the scanning direction, and f is a function representing the drive time of the step drive, The control unit, Tx = Ty, f(Ax,Vx,Dx,Jx)=f(Ay,Vy,Dy,Jy), and, Atol = √(Ax 2 +Ay 2 ) Determine Ax and Ay such that the following conditions hold. The exposure apparatus according to item 2, characterized in that (Item 4) The control unit, If the determined acceleration Ax in the non-scanning direction exceeds a predetermined upper limit MaxAx of acceleration in the non-scanning direction, the acceleration Ax is changed to the upper limit MaxAx of acceleration, and the acceleration Ay in the scanning direction is changed to a first residual difference which is the residual difference between the combined acceleration and the upper limit MaxAx of acceleration in the non-scanning direction. If the determined acceleration Ay in the scanning direction exceeds a predetermined upper limit MaxAy of acceleration in the scanning direction, the acceleration Ay is changed to the upper limit MaxAy of acceleration, and the acceleration Ax in the non-scanning direction is changed to a second residual, which is the residual difference between the combined acceleration and the upper limit MaxAy of acceleration in the scanning direction. The exposure apparatus according to item 3, characterized by the features described herein. (Item 5) The residual difference in Previous 1 is: √(Atol 2 -MaxAx 2 ) It is represented as, The second residual difference is, √(Atol 2 -MaxAy 2 ) Represented by, The exposure apparatus according to item 4, characterized by the features described herein. (Item 6) The exposure apparatus according to item 1, characterized in that the control unit starts driving one of the first drive and the second drive after the start and before the completion of the chuck locking operation that locks the substrate chuck to the stage, and starts driving the other drive after the end of the acceleration period in the first drive. (Item 7) The exposure apparatus according to item 6, characterized in that the total driving time of the other drive is shorter than the constant speed driving time of the one drive. (Item 8) The exposure apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 7, characterized in that the step drive is performed after the substrate is loaded and before the exposure sequence is scanned exposure for the first shot area. (Item 9) The exposure apparatus according to item 8, further characterized in that the step drive is performed between scanning exposure of a first shot area and scanning exposure of a second shot area performed thereafter. (Item 10) An exposure apparatus that performs scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot regions on a substrate, A substrate chuck for chucking the aforementioned substrate, A stage that moves with the aforementioned substrate chuck mounted on it, A locking mechanism that performs a chuck locking operation to lock the substrate chuck to the stage, A control unit that controls the driving of the aforementioned stage, It has, The control unit starts step-driving the stage before scanning exposure for one shot area, after the chuck lock operation has started and before it has finished. The step drive includes performing in parallel a first drive that drives the stage in the scanning direction according to a first drive profile and a second drive that drives the stage in the non-scanning direction according to a second drive profile. The first drive profile and the second drive profile are defined such that the combined acceleration when the first drive and the second drive are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit that prevents misalignment of the substrate chuck relative to the stage when the lock by the locking mechanism is released. An exposure apparatus characterized by the following features. (Item 11) Control of an exposure apparatus that performs scanning exposure on each of multiple shot regions on a substrate, A step of determining the drive profile for step driving of the stage that holds the substrate before performing scanning exposure on a single shot area, A step of performing the step drive according to the determined drive profile, It has, The step drive includes performing in parallel a first drive that drives the stage in the scanning direction according to a first drive profile and a second drive that drives the stage in the non-scanning direction according to a second drive profile. In the step of determining the drive profile, the first drive profile and the second drive profile are determined such that the combined acceleration of the stage when the first drive and the second drive are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit that prevents misalignment of the substrate chuck relative to the stage when the lock between the stage and the substrate chuck mounted on the stage is released. A control method characterized by the following: (Item 12) A control method for an exposure apparatus that performs scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot regions on a substrate, A step of performing a chuck lock operation to lock a substrate chuck mounted on a stage to the stage, The steps include: starting the step drive of the stage before performing scanning exposure on one shot area, after the chuck lock operation has started but before it has been completed; It has, The step drive includes performing in parallel a first drive that drives the stage in the scanning direction according to a first drive profile and a second drive that drives the stage in the non-scanning direction according to a second drive profile. The first drive profile and the second drive profile are defined such that the combined acceleration when the first drive and the second drive are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit that prevents misalignment of the substrate chuck relative to the stage when the substrate chuck is unlocked relative to the stage. A control method characterized by the following: (Item 13) A step of exposing a substrate using an exposure apparatus described in any one of items 1 to 10, The process of developing the exposed substrate, A method for manufacturing articles, characterized by having a developed substrate and manufacturing an article from the developed substrate.

[0054] The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, claims are attached to disclose the scope of the invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0055] 1: Illumination optics, 2: Alignment scope, 3: Master plate, 4: Master plate stage, 5: Projection optics, 6: Substrate, 7: Substrate stage, 8: Control unit

Claims

1. An exposure apparatus that performs scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot regions on a substrate, A substrate chuck for chucking the aforementioned substrate, A stage that moves with the aforementioned substrate chuck mounted on it, A locking mechanism that performs a chuck locking operation to lock the substrate chuck to the stage, A control unit that controls the driving of the aforementioned stage, It has, The control unit starts step driving of the stage before scanning exposure for one shot area by performing a first drive in the scanning direction according to a first drive profile and a second drive in the non-scanning direction according to a second drive profile in parallel after the start and before the completion of the chuck lock operation. The control unit determines the first drive profile and the second drive profile such that the combined acceleration of the stage when the first drive and the second drive are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit that prevents misalignment of the substrate chuck relative to the stage when the lock by the locking mechanism is released. An exposure apparatus characterized by the following features.

2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit simultaneously starts the first drive and the second drive after the start and before the completion of the chuck lock operation.

3. Let Tx be the drive time of the second drive, Ty be the drive time of the first drive, Ax be the acceleration in the non-scanning direction, Ay be the acceleration in the scanning direction, and Atol be the upper limit. When Vx is the speed in the non-scanning direction, Vy is the speed in the scanning direction, Dx is the drive distance in the non-scanning direction, Dy is the drive distance in the scanning direction, Jx is the Jerk time in the non-scanning direction, Jy is the Jerk time in the scanning direction, and f is a function representing the drive time of the step drive, The control unit, Tx = Ty, f(Ax, Vx, Dx, Jx) = f(Ay, Vy, Dy, Jy), and, _____________________________________ ２ __ ２ ) Determine Ax and Ay such that the following conditions hold true. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The control unit, If the determined acceleration Ax in the non-scanning direction exceeds a predetermined upper limit MaxAx of acceleration in the non-scanning direction, the acceleration Ax is changed to the upper limit MaxAx of acceleration, and the acceleration Ay in the scanning direction is changed to a first residual difference which is the residual difference between the combined acceleration and the upper limit MaxAx of acceleration in the non-scanning direction. If the determined acceleration Ay in the scanning direction exceeds a predetermined upper limit of acceleration MaxAy in the scanning direction, the acceleration Ay is changed to the upper limit of acceleration MaxAy, and the acceleration Ax in the non-scanning direction is changed to a second residual difference, which is the residual difference between the combined acceleration and the upper limit of acceleration MaxAy in the scanning direction. The exposure apparatus according to feature 3.

5. The previous first residual difference is, √(Atoll ２ -Max Ax ２ ) It is represented as, The second residual difference is, √(Atoll) ２ -MaxAy ２ ) Represented by, The exposure apparatus according to feature 4.

6. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit starts driving one of the first drive and the second drive after the start and before the completion of the chuck lock operation, and starts driving the other drive after the end of the acceleration period in the first drive.

7. The exposure apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the total driving time of the other drive is shorter than the constant speed driving time of the one drive.

8. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the step drive is performed after the substrate is loaded and before the exposure sequence is scanned exposure for the first shot area.

9. The exposure apparatus according to claim 8, further characterized in that the step drive is performed between scanning exposure of a first shot area and scanning exposure of a second shot area performed thereafter.

10. An exposure apparatus that performs scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot regions on a substrate, A substrate chuck for chucking the aforementioned substrate, A stage that moves with the aforementioned substrate chuck mounted on it, A locking mechanism that performs a chuck locking operation to lock the substrate chuck to the stage, A control unit that controls the driving of the aforementioned stage, It has, The control unit starts step driving of the stage before scanning exposure for one shot area after the chuck lock operation has started and before it has finished, The step drive includes performing in parallel a first drive that drives the stage in the scanning direction according to a first drive profile and a second drive that drives the stage in the non-scanning direction according to a second drive profile. The first drive profile and the second drive profile are defined such that the combined acceleration when the first drive and the second drive are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit that prevents misalignment of the substrate chuck relative to the stage when the lock by the locking mechanism is released. An exposure apparatus characterized by the following features.

11. Control of an exposure apparatus that performs scanning exposure on each of multiple shot regions on a substrate, A step of performing a chuck lock operation to lock a substrate chuck mounted on a stage to the stage, A step of determining the drive profile for step driving of the stage before performing scanning exposure for one shot area, A step of starting the step drive according to the determined drive profile after the start and before the completion of the chuck lock operation, It has, The step drive includes performing in parallel a first drive that drives the stage in the scanning direction according to a first drive profile and a second drive that drives the stage in the non-scanning direction according to a second drive profile. In the step of determining the drive profile, the first drive profile and the second drive profile are determined such that the combined acceleration of the stage when the first drive and the second drive are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit that prevents misalignment of the substrate chuck relative to the stage when the substrate chuck is unlocked relative to the stage. A control method characterized by the following:

12. A control method for an exposure apparatus that performs scanning exposure on each of a plurality of shot regions on a substrate, A step of performing a chuck lock operation to lock a substrate chuck mounted on a stage to the stage, The steps include: starting the step drive of the stage before performing scanning exposure on one shot area, after the chuck lock operation has started but before it has been completed; It has, The step drive includes performing in parallel a first drive that drives the stage in the scanning direction according to a first drive profile and a second drive that drives the stage in the non-scanning direction according to a second drive profile. The first drive profile and the second drive profile are defined such that the combined acceleration when the first drive and the second drive are performed in parallel does not exceed a predetermined upper limit that prevents misalignment of the substrate chuck relative to the stage when the substrate chuck is unlocked relative to the stage. A control method characterized by the following:

13. A step of exposing a substrate using an exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, The process of developing the exposed substrate, It has, A method for manufacturing an article, characterized by manufacturing an article from the developed substrate.

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