JPS62144326A - Production unit for semiconductor device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To correct the inclination of a reticle setting base to a horizontal attitude by mounting a plurality of height adjusting mechanisms supporting a base plate for a reticle by at least three-point support. CONSTITUTION:A reticle 1 is placed on a base 2, positioning in the front and rear and left and right and rotational directions is conducted, and the reticle 1 is fixed onto the base 2 by a vacuum chuck. A semiconductor substrate 6 for a test on a stage 7 on which a photo-resist is applied is test-exposed by beams passed through a reduction projection lens 5 through the reticle 1, and a mounting attitude to the horizontal plane of the reticle 1 is investigated. The reticle setting base is corrected by using a height adjusting mechanism 4 on the basis of the measured value. Accordingly, the height adjusting mechanism 4 is driven separately on the basis of drive controlled variables corresponding to inclinations to the horizontal plane of the reticle by a control section 8, the positions of the height of each support point of the base 2 are regulated, the movements of the support points are measured by sensors 3 for measuring distances, and attitudes to the horizontal plane of the reticle are corrected, controlling the drive of the height adjusting mechanism 4 by the measured values.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, in semiconductor device manufacturing equipment, particularly reduction projection exposure equipment that projects and exposes a reticle pattern onto a semiconductor substrate directly below the reticle by irradiating light, the stand on which the reticle is set is fixed to the main body with screws. To correct the inclination of the table and adjust it to a horizontal position, you can adjust the height position by tightening the screws, or re-scrape the top surface of the table to make it level. was.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In a reduction projection exposure apparatus, if the table on which the reticle is centered is tilted, image tilt occurs. Furthermore, even if the tilt of the stand is perfectly adjusted, if the reticle is fixed with a foreign object between the reticle and the stand, the situation will be similar to that of the stand being tilted, and the image will be A slope occurs. This condition may occur every time the reticle is replaced, and the direction of the tilt is not constant. Therefore, the tilt of the stand must be adjusted every time the reticle is replaced, but only after the reticle is set.

In order to form fine patterns, it is necessary to increase the numerical aperture of the lens of the reduction projection exposure device, but as the numerical aperture of the lens increases, the focus margin becomes smaller and the influence of single-elevation tilt increases. .

Since it takes a long time to adjust the inclination of the table on which the reticle is set in the conventional reduction projection exposure apparatus mentioned above, and it is difficult to adjust the tilt with the reticle set, it is desirable to completely eliminate the misalignment of the reticle with respect to the horizontal plane. The drawback was that it was not possible.

The present invention provides a semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus that can correct the inclination of a table on which a reticle is set to a horizontal position.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention provides an apparatus for projecting and exposing a pattern of a reticle onto a semiconductor substrate by transmitting light through a reticle, which comprises: a plurality of height adjustment mechanisms for supporting a reticle mounting table in a horizontal position by supporting at least three points; A semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus characterized by having a control unit that individually drives a height adjustment mechanism to adjust the height position of each support point of a mounting table and controls the attitude of a reticle on the mounting table. .

〔Example〕 Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, the apparatus according to the present invention supports a mounting table 2 for a reticle 1 at three points by three height adjustment mechanisms 4, 4.4 to keep it in a horizontal position, and each height adjustment mechanism 4 A distance measurement sensor 3 is installed directly above the sensor, and each height adjustment mechanism 4 is individually driven based on the drive control amount corresponding to the tilt attitude of the reticle 1 on the mounting table 2 with respect to the horizontal plane. The apparatus has a control section 8 that adjusts the height position of each support of the mounting table 2 while monitoring measurement signals from the mounting table 3, and controls the attitude of the reticle on the mounting table.

In the embodiment, in order to correct the tilted attitude of the reticle with respect to the horizontal plane, first, before performing product exposure, projection exposure is performed on the test semiconductor substrate, and the attitude of the reticle 1 is grasped. ft, (that is, first, place the reticle 1 on the table 2, and after positioning it in the front-rear, left-right, and rotational directions, fix the reticle with a vacuum chuck or the like) on the table 2.Next, this reticle 1 is fixed on the table 2. A test semiconductor substrate 6 coated with photoresist on a stage 7 is subjected to test exposure using the light passed through the reduction projection lens 5, and the attitude of the reticle 1 relative to the horizontal plane is checked.Based on the measured value, the height Correct using the adjustment mechanism 4. In this case,
A distance measuring sensor 3 is used to increase the correction accuracy to about 0.5Rn or more. That is, the height adjustment mechanism 4 is individually driven by the control unit 8 based on the drive control amount according to the tilt attitude of the reticle with respect to the horizontal plane, and the height position of each support point of the table 2 is adjusted and the amount of movement thereof is adjusted. The distance is measured by the distance measuring sensor 3, and the attitude of the reticle with respect to the horizontal plane is corrected while controlling the drive of the height adjustment mechanism 4 based on the measured value.

After correcting the attitude of the reticle with respect to the horizontal plane as described above, product exposure is performed.

Note that even if the reticle is displaced from the horizontal plane due to a foreign object entering between the reticle and the stand, the attitude of the reticle with respect to the horizontal plane is corrected by performing the same operation.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the present invention, when the reticle is set in the reduction projection exposure apparatus main body before product exposure, the mounting position is corrected, so that the pattern on the reticle can be accurately placed on the semiconductor substrate. It has the effect of being transferable.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a reduction projection exposure apparatus according to the present invention. 1... Reticle 2... Mounting table 3... Distance measurement sensor 4... Height adjustment mechanism 5... Reduction projection lens 6... Semiconductor substrate 7... Stage
8... Control unit patent applicant: NEC Co., Ltd. '5 Go\ Agent: Patent attorney: Toru Kanno, 11)
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Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) An apparatus for projecting and exposing a reticle pattern onto a semiconductor substrate by transmitting light through a reticle, including a plurality of height adjustment mechanisms for supporting a reticle mounting table in a horizontal position by supporting at least three points; 1. A semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a control unit that individually drives a height adjustment mechanism to adjust the height position of each support point of a mounting table, and controls the attitude of a reticle on the mounting table.