Abstract: An exposure method includes the steps of providing a mask that arranges a contact-hole pattern and a pattern smaller than the contact-hole pattern, and illuminating the mask using plural kinds of light so as to resolve the contact-hole pattern and restrain the smaller pattern from resolving on an object to be exposed via a projection optical system, wherein the following conditions are met A=?1.7k1+C1, 1.2?C1?1.3, 0.5?B?0.55 and B?A?0.1, 0.80???0.9 and ??A+0.1, k1=(L/?) NA, where k1 is resolving power, L is a hole diameter of the contact-hole pattern, ? is a wavelength for exposure, NA is a numerical aperture of the projection optical system, ? is a ratio of a numerical aperture of an illumination optical system to the numerical aperture of the projection optical system, A and B are distances from two orthogonal axes to a boarder of a light-shielding part in an effective light source for illumination of plural kinds of light, the light-shielding part being symmetrical with respect to the two orthogonal axes.

Abstract: An exposure method includes the steps of illuminating a pattern formed on a mask using an illumination system that forms an effective light source having a first part that includes only s-polarized light and a second part that mixes s-polarized light and p-polarized light, and projecting, through a projection optical system, light from the mask onto an object to be exposed.

Abstract: There is provided an exposure method that includes the steps of forming a phase shift mask having a desired pattern and a cyclic dummy pattern overlaid onto the desired pattern, a part of the desired pattern to be resolved by effects of the dummy pattern being thicker than the dummy pattern's line width, illuminating the phase shift mask by using illumination light having a peak near or on an optical axis in an intensity distribution to transfer the desired pattern onto the exposure plane by projecting light having passed through the phase shift mask onto the exposure plane.

Abstract: An exposure method includes the steps of providing a mask that arranges a contact-hole pattern and a pattern smaller than the contact-hole pattern, and illuminating the mask using plural kinds of light so as to resolve the contact-hole pattern and restrain the smaller pattern from resolving on an object to be exposed via a projection optical system, wherein the following conditions are met A=?1.7k1+C1, 1.2?C1?1.3, 0.5?B?0.55 and B?A?0.1, 0.80???0.9 and ??A+0.1, k1=(L/?)NA, where k1 is resolving power, L is a hole diameter of the contact-hole pattern, ? is a wavelength for exposure, NA is a numerical aperture of the projection optical system, ? is a ratio of a numerical aperture of an illumination optical system to the numerical aperture of the projection optical system, A and B are distances from two orthogonal axes to a boarder of a light-shielding part in an effective light source for illumination of plural kinds of light, the light-shielding part being symmetrical with respect to the two orthogonal axes.

Abstract: There is provided an exposure method that includes the steps of forming a phase shift mask having a desired pattern and a cyclic dummy pattern overlaid onto the desired pattern, a part of the desired pattern to be resolved by effects of the dummy pattern being thicker than the dummy pattern's line width, illuminating the phase shift mask by using illumination light having a peak near or on an optical axis in an intensity distribution to transfer the desired pattern onto the exposure plane by projecting light having passed through the phase shift mask onto the exposure plane.

Abstract: An exposure method immerses, in liquid, a surface of an object to be exposed, and a surface of a projection optical system closest to the object, and projects a repetitive pattern formed on a mask via the projection optical system onto the object. The exposure method forms on a pupil of the projection optical system an effective light source that emits, from an axis orthogonal to an optical axis of the projection optical system, light that is parallel to a repetitive direction of the repetitive pattern and has an incident angle ? upon the object, wherein the light includes only s-polarized light in an area of an incident angle ? that satisfies 90°??NA????NA, where ?NA is the largest value of the incident angle ?.

Abstract: An exposure method immerses, in liquid, a surface of an object to be exposed, and a surface of a projection optical system closest to the object, and projects a repetitive pattern formed on a mask via the projection optical system onto the object. The exposure method forms on a pupil of the projection optical system an effective light source that emits, from an axis orthogonal to an optical axis of the projection optical system, light that is parallel to a repetitive direction of the repetitive pattern and has an incident angle ? upon the object, wherein the light includes only s-polarized light in an area of an incident angle ? that satisfies 90°??NA????NA, where ?NA is the largest value of the incident angle ?.

Abstract: An exposure apparatus includes a first exposure device for illuminating a predetermined mask with light of a predetermined wavelength under a first illumination condition, to print a first pattern on a predetermined exposure region, and a second exposure device for illuminating the mask with light of the predetermined wavelength under a second illumination condition, different from the first illumination condition, to print a second pattern on the predetermined exposure region, in which the mask has a desired pattern and an auxiliary pattern having a shape different from that of the desired pattern, and a first exposure by the first exposure device and a second exposure by the second exposure device are carried out prior to a development process.

Abstract: An exposure apparatus including a first exposure device for illuminating a predetermined mask with light of a predetermined wavelength under a first mask-illumination condition, to print a first pattern on a predetermined exposure region, and a second exposure device for illuminating the predetermined mask with light of the predetermined wavelength under a second mask-illumination condition, different from the first mask-illumination condition, to superposedly print a second pattern on the predetermined exposure region where the first pattern has been printed. A first exposure by the first exposure device and a second exposure by the second exposure device are carried out simultaneously, prior to a development process.

Abstract: An exposure method in which a multiple exposure process including a first exposure for a first pattern and a second exposure for a second pattern is performed by use of a projection optical system to thereby resolve a desired pattern. The exposure method includes setting a numerical aperture NA1 of the projection optical system for the first pattern exposure and setting a numerical aperture NA2 of the projection optical system for the second pattern exposure to be different from each other.

Abstract: An exposure method immerses, in liquid, a surface of an object to be exposed, and a surface of a projection optical system closest to the object, and projects a repetitive pattern formed on a mask via the projection optical system onto the object. The exposure method forms on a pupil of the projection optical system an effective light source that emits, from an axis orthogonal to an optical axis of the projection optical system, light that is parallel to a repetitive direction of the repetitive pattern and has an incident angle &thgr; upon the object, wherein the light includes only s-polarized light in an area of an incident angle &thgr; that satisfies 90°−&thgr;NA≦&thgr;≦&thgr;NA, where &thgr;NA is the largest value of the incident angle &thgr;.

Abstract: An imaging method for imaging a fine pattern having linear features extending along orthogonal first and second directions, is disclosed which method is characterized by: providing a light source having decreased intensity portions at a center thereof and on first and second axes defined to intersect with each other at the center and defined along the first and second directions, respectively; and illuminating the pattern with light from the light source.

Abstract: An exposure method includes the steps of illuminating a pattern formed on a mask using an illumination system that forms an effective light source having a first part that includes only s-polarized light and a second part that mixes s-polarized light and p-polarized light, and projecting, through a projection optical system, light from the mask onto an object to be exposed.

Abstract: An exposure method includes the steps of providing a mask that arranges a contact-hole pattern and a pattern smaller than the contact-hole pattern, and illuminating the mask using plural kinds of light so as to resolve the contact-hole pattern and restrain the smaller pattern from resolving on an object to be exposed via a projection optical system, wherein the following conditions are met A=−1.7k1+C1, 1.2≦C1≦1.3, 0.5≦B≦0.55 and B≦A−0.1, 0.80≦&sgr;≦0.9 and &sgr;≧A+0.

Abstract: In a projection exposure apparatus for illuminating a reticle with light from an illumination optical system and projecting a pattern of the reticle onto a substrate through a projection optical system. The illumination optical system includes a first optical element for switching a light distribution at a position optically conjugate with the pupil plane of the projection optical system, a second optical element for making the light uniform at the position optically conjugate with the an image plane of the projection optical system, and a third optical element for adjusting a non-uniformity of exposure resulting from switching the light distribution using the first optical element.

Abstract: An exposure method for transferring a device pattern to a resist, wherein the device pattern includes a first element and a second element having a linewidth narrower than the first element. The method includes a first exposure step for exposing the resist by use of an interference fringe, produced by interference of two light beams, through an exposure amount substantially not greater than a threshold of the resist, and a second exposure step for exposing the resist with a light pattern related to the first and second elements.

Abstract: There is provided an exposure method that includes the steps of forming a phase shift mask having a desired pattern and a cyclic dummy pattern overlaid onto the desired pattern, a part of the desired pattern to be resolved by effects of the dummy pattern being thicker than the dummy pattern's line width, illuminating the phase shift mask by using illumination light having a peak near or on an optical axis in an intensity distribution to transfer the desired pattern onto the exposure plane by projecting light having passed through the phase shift mask onto the exposure plane.

Abstract: A multiple exposure method includes a step of exposing a photosensitive material with a first pattern having a periodic pattern, and a step of exposing the photosensitive material with a second pattern different from the first pattern by using a projection optical system, wherein the step of exposing the photosensitive material with the second pattern is performed in each of a plurality of positions of the photosensitive material in an optical axis direction of the projection optical system relative to a focus position of an image of the second pattern, and wherein a desired pattern is formed in the photosensitive material by a multiple exposure including the step of exposing the photosensitive material with the first pattern and the step of exposing the photosensitive material with the second pattern.

Abstract: An exposure method for transferring a device pattern to a resist, wherein the device pattern includes a first element and a second element having a linewidth narrower than the first element. The method includes a first exposure step for exposing the resist by use of an interference fringe, produced by interference of two light beams, through an exposure amount substantially not greater than a threshold of the resist, and a second exposure step for exposing the resist with a light pattern related to the first and second elements.

Abstract: An exposure method for exposing a substrate through a multiple exposure process including a first exposure using a first pattern having fine line elements of different directions, and a second exposure using a second pattern including a periodic pattern, wherein a periodicity direction of the periodic pattern is registered with a direction along which fine line elements of a predetermined direction, of the different directions, are arrayed, while, at least in a portion of the periodic pattern, a pattern or a boundary between adjacent patterns as well as a portion of or the whole of the fine line elements of the particular direction are adapted to be printed at the same location, and wherein the second pattern is so structured that one or those of the fine line elements of the first pattern extending in a particular direction different from the predetermined direction are not superposed with the periodic pattern.