Immersion Exposure Apparatus Cleaning Partitioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Immersion exposure apparatuses face contamination issues due to foreign matter adhering to liquid contact surfaces, leading to exposure failures and defective device production.
Innovation Solution
An exposure apparatus with a preventive apparatus that prevents cleaning liquid from contacting the optical member, using a partitioning member to separate the cleaning liquid from the optical path, and supplying cleaning liquids to specific spaces to clean the liquid immersion member without contacting the optical member.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If cleaning liquid is supplied to clean the liquid immersion member, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but contamination of the optical member occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the cleaning space into two separate regions using a partitioning member: a first space for supplying cleaning liquid to the liquid immersion member, and a second space for the optical member that remains protected. This segmentation allows cleaning to occur without the cleaning liquid contacting the optical member, resolving the contradiction between cleaning effectiveness and preventing contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The partitioning member acts as an intermediary barrier between the cleaning liquid and the optical member. It allows the cleaning liquid to be supplied to the liquid immersion member while physically blocking the cleaning liquid from reaching the optical member, thus enabling effective cleaning without causing contamination.
2Reliability
If cleaning liquid contacts the liquid immersion member, then foreign matter is removed, but exposure liquid contamination occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the liquid spaces using a partitioning member, creating a first space where cleaning liquid contacts the liquid immersion member to remove foreign matter, while preventing the cleaning liquid from mixing with the exposure liquid in the optical path. This maintains reliability through effective cleaning while avoiding exposure liquid contamination.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If partitioning member is introduced to separate cleaning liquid, then optical member protection is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a partitioning member that divides the cleaning apparatus into two distinct spaces. While this does increase structural complexity compared to a simple single-space design, it provides effective protection for the optical member during cleaning operations, allowing the cleaning liquid to contact the liquid immersion member without risking optical member contamination.
Data Source
AI summary
An exposure apparatus exposes a substrate with exposure light that passes through an exposure liquid. The exposure apparatus comprises: an optical member, which has an emergent surface wherefrom the exposure light emerges; a first supply port, which supplies the exposure liquid; a liquid immersion member, which is capable of forming an immersion space so that an optical path of the exposure light that emerges from the optical member is filled with the exposure liquid; a second supply port, which supplies a cleaning liquid so that it contacts the liquid immersion member; and a preventive apparatus, which prevents the cleaning liquid and the optical member from contacting one another.