Alignment method and exposure apparatus for use in such alignmen

Radiation imagery chemistry: process – composition – or product th – Registration or layout process other than color proofing

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356400, G03F 900

Patent

active

059069015

ABSTRACT:
In a lithographic process for fabrication of integrated circuit chips, a projection exposure machine is used to print a mask pattern onto each of a plurality of shot areas defined on a substrate, where an alignment method for establishing alignment between each shot area on the substrate and the mask pattern is performed. The alignment method comprises the step of forming on the substrate a regular pattern which comprises a plurality of pattern elements regularly distributed over the plurality of shot areas, and the step of performing an alignment operation based on the position of the regular pattern so as to establish alignment between each of the plurality of shot areas and the mask pattern. An exposure apparatus may be used to form the regular pattern on the substrate. The exposure apparatus comprises a light source for emitting a primary light beam, a beam-splitting optical system for splitting the primary light beam into a plurality of secondary light beams which are coherent with each other, and an objective optical system for modifying each secondary light beam into a substantially plane wave light beam, and for illuminating a region of a photoresist-coated substrate with the secondary light beams at different incident angles, the region of the substrate extending over a plurality of shot areas defined on the substrate, wherein the region is exposed to a regular pattern of light of interference fringes produced on the substrate from the plurality of secondary light beams.

REFERENCES:
patent: 5440138 (1995-08-01), Nishi
patent: 5443932 (1995-08-01), Ohta et al.
patent: 5448333 (1995-09-01), Iwamoto et al.
patent: 5498501 (1996-03-01), Shimoda et al.
patent: 5506684 (1996-04-01), Ota et al.
patent: 5528027 (1996-06-01), Mizutani

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