Immersion Lithography Liquid Supply System Movable Barrier
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Immersion lithography techniques face reduced throughput due to liquid handling issues, such as turbulence and the need for additional motors to accelerate large volumes of liquid, which can lead to unpredictable effects and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A lithographic apparatus with a liquid supply system that includes a moveable barrier member surrounding the projection system, allowing independent movement relative to the substrate, and a force decoupling member to reduce the transfer of forces through the liquid, thereby maintaining a stable liquid layer and increasing scanning speed without breaking the seal between the liquid supply system and the substrate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a liquid supply system provides liquid on only a localized area of the substrate using a liquid confinement system, then the imaging quality is improved by maintaining a stable liquid layer, but the throughput is reduced due to liquid handling issues and turbulence
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid supply system is divided into multiple independent nozzles arranged in arrays, with each nozzle serving a specific region of the substrate. This segmentation allows liquid to be supplied locally to different areas independently, improving control over liquid distribution while enabling faster processing by parallelizing liquid supply operations across multiple regions simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid supply system employs movable nozzles that can dynamically adjust their positions and orientations based on the substrate's movement and the required liquid distribution patterns. This dynamic capability allows the system to maintain optimal liquid layer stability during high-speed scanning while adapting to varying processing requirements, thereby improving both imaging quality and throughput.
2Manufacturing precision
If a large body of liquid is used for immersion lithography, then the imaging quality is improved by filling the space between the projection system and substrate, but additional motors are required and turbulence occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the liquid supply function from a large-volume immersion system and concentrates it into localized nozzles that deliver liquid precisely where needed. This eliminates the need for large bodies of liquid and the associated complexity of accelerating and controlling such large volumes, while still achieving the required liquid layer for quality imaging.
Solution Approach 2:
The nozzles act as intermediaries between the liquid source and the substrate, delivering liquid in controlled streams rather than requiring a large bulk liquid volume. This intermediary approach enables precise liquid placement without the turbulence and motor complexity associated with moving large quantities of liquid.
3Productivity
If the substrate is scanned at high speed, then the throughput is improved, but the seal between the liquid supply system and substrate may break
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid supply system pre-establishes reliable seals with the substrate before high-speed scanning begins. The nozzles are positioned and sealed to the substrate surface in advance, ensuring that the seal integrity is maintained throughout the high-speed scanning process without breaking during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces traditional mechanical sealing systems with a combination of localized liquid delivery nozzles and controlled liquid pressure. This substitution allows the system to maintain seal integrity at high speeds by using liquid pressure and controlled flow rather than relying solely on mechanical seals that may fail under high-velocity conditions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enhances throughput by allowing faster substrate movement under the projection system while maintaining a stable liquid layer, reducing the relative velocity between the substrate and the liquid supply system, thus preventing seal breakdown and improving imaging quality.
Implementation Method 1
a liquid supply system configured to provide a space between the projection system and the substrate with liquid
Implementation Method 2
a barrier member surrounding the projection system configured to at least partly contain liquid in a volume including a space between the projection system and the substrate
Implementation Method 3
a force decoupling member positioned around the projection system and, in use, in the liquid, to at least reduce transfer of forces from the liquid supply system to the projection system through the liquid
Implementation Method 4
using the projection system to project a patterned beam of radiation onto the substrate
Data Source
AI summary
An immersion lithographic apparatus is disclosed in which at least a part of the liquid supply system (which provides liquid between the projection system and the substrate) is moveable in a plane substantially parallel to a top surface of the substrate during scanning. The part is moved to reduce the relative velocity between that part and the substrate so that the speed at which the substrate may be moved relative to the projection system may be increased.