EP0359370A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Exposure control in X-ray exposure apparatus
Assignee: Canon Inc
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Filing: 1989-07-17
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2009-07-17
Abstract
Abstract Exposure control method and apparatus particularly suitably usable in an X-ray exposure apparatus, for exposing a mask and a wafer to a radiation (X-rays) from a synchrotron to transfer a pattern formed on a mask onto the wafer, is disclosed. Shutter device for controlling passage and interception of the synchrotron radiation is provided between the synchrotron and the wafer. The shutter device includes a blade member having a leading edge and a trailing edge which are rectilinearly movable in a direction in which there exists non-uniformness in illuminance of the radiation. The leading edge is used to determine the timing of start of passage of the radiation to the wafer, while the trailing edge is used to determine the timing of interception of the radiation. The moving speeds of the leading edge and the trailing edge are controlled independently of each other to provide different exposure times for different portions of an exposure region on the wafer, in accordance with the non-uniformness in illuminance. By this, the amount of absorption of radiation by a resist material on the wafer can be uniformized throughout the exposure region.
Inventors
- 👤 Ryuichi Ebinuma
- 👤 Nobutoshi Mizusawa
- 👤 Masayuki Suzuki
- 👤 Shinichiro Uno
- 👤 Tetsuzo Mori
- 👤 Hiroshi Kurosawa
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 14:08
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03F; G03F7/00; G03F7/70; G03F7/70058; G03F7/702; G21; G21K; G21K1/00; G21K1/02; G21K1/04; G21K1/043
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
158 words
An exposure apparatus for exposing a mask and a wafer with a synchrotron radiation to transfer a pattern formed on the mask onto a radiation-sensitive material applied to the wafer, said apparatus comprising: a shutter having a leading edge effective to start exposure of a region on the wafer to the radiation and a trailing edge effective to finish the exposure of the region to the radiation, each of said leading edge and said trailing edge being movable in a direction of non-uniformness in illuminance of the radiation within the region; and control means for controlling said shutter, said control means being operable to control the moving speed of each of said leading edge and said trailing edge, when the same moves through the region, to define different exposure times with respect to different portions of the region, to thereby substantially uniformize, throughout the region, the amount of radiation absorbed by the radiation-sensitive material applied to the wafer.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
158 words
An exposure apparatus for exposing a mask and a wafer with a synchrotron radiation to transfer a pattern formed on the mask onto a radiation-sensitive material applied to the wafer, said apparatus comprising: a shutter having a leading edge effective to start exposure of a region on the wafer to the radiation and a trailing edge effective to finish the exposure of the region to the radiation, each of said leading edge and said trailing edge being movable in a direction of non-uniformness in illuminance of the radiation within the region; and control means for controlling said shutter, said control means being operable to control the moving speed of each of said leading edge and said trailing edge, when the same moves through the region, to define different exposure times with respect to different portions of the region, to thereby substantially uniformize, throughout the region, the amount of radiation absorbed by the radiation-sensitive material applied to the wafer.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
31 words
An apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein said shutter includes a belt member movable in said direction and being formed with an opening having said leading edge and said trailing edge.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
76 words
An apparatus according to Claim 2, wherein said opening satisfies the following relation: L E ≧ max(|Y P -Y₁|, |Y N -Y P |) wherein L E is the distance between said leading edge and said trailing edge, Y₁ is a coordinate position of an end of the region, Y N is a coordinate position of the other end of the region and Y P is a coordinate position of a peak illuminance in the region.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
42 words
An apparatus according to Claim 2, wherein said control means controls the motions of said leading edge and said trailing edge, independently of each other, so that said leading edge and said trailing edge pass through the region with different displacement profiles.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
48 words
An apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein said shutter comprises plural belt members each being movable in said direction and wherein one of said belt members is formed with an opening having said leading edge and another belt member is formed with an opening having said trailing edge.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
148 words
An exposure apparatus for exposing a mask and a wafer with a radiation energy to transfer a pattern formed on the mask onto a radiation-sensitive material applied to the wafer, said apparatus comprising: a shutter having a leading edge effective to start exposure of a region of the wafer to the radiation energy and a trailing edge effective to finish the exposure of the region to the radiation energy, each of said leading edge and said trailing edge being movable in a direction of non-uniformness in illuminance of the radiation energy within the region; and control means for controlling said shutter, said control means being operable to cause said leading edge and said trailing edge of said shutter to pass through the region with different motions so as to substantially uniformize, throughout the region, the amount of radiation energy absorbed by the radiation-sensitive material applied to the wafer.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
148 words
An exposure apparatus for exposing a mask and a wafer with a radiation energy to transfer a pattern formed on the mask onto a radiation-sensitive material applied to the wafer, said apparatus comprising: a shutter having a leading edge effective to start exposure of a region of the wafer to the radiation energy and a trailing edge effective to finish the exposure of the region to the radiation energy, each of said leading edge and said trailing edge being movable in a direction of non-uniformness in illuminance of the radiation energy within the region; and control means for controlling said shutter, said control means being operable to cause said leading edge and said trailing edge of said shutter to pass through the region with different motions so as to substantially uniformize, throughout the region, the amount of radiation energy absorbed by the radiation-sensitive material applied to the wafer.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
31 words
An apparatus according to Claim 6, wherein said shutter comprises a belt member movable in said direction and being formed with an opening having said leading edge and said trailing edge.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
75 words
An apparatus according to Claim 7, wherein said opening satisfies the following relation: L E ≧ max(|Y P -Y₁|, |Y N -Y P |) wherein L E is the distance between said leading edge and trailing edge, Y₁ is a coordinate position of an end of the region, Y N is a coordinate position of the other end of the region and Y P is a coordinate position of a peak illuminance in the region.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
42 words
A shutter for exposing an object to a radiation source having a non-uniform distribution, wherein a leading edge and a trailing edge of the shutter are moved with differrent velocity characteristics in order to compensate for the non-uniformity of the radiation distribution.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
42 words
A shutter for exposing an object to a radiation source having a non-uniform distribution, wherein a leading edge and a trailing edge of the shutter are moved with differrent velocity characteristics in order to compensate for the non-uniformity of the radiation distribution.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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