Abstract: To prevent a substrate from expanding significantly to generate overlay errors an exposure operation takes place in two parts. A first part exposes boundary areas and a second part exposes the larger, bulk areas. In one example, a portion of the substrate is fixed and the substrate is exposed progressively from parts furthest from the fixed portions towards the fixed portion. In another example, a plurality of high velocity scans take place instead of a single slow scan, and the substrate is allowed to cool between the high velocity scans. In another example, a lithographic apparatus is heated in order to maintain a temperature differential between the apparatus and the surrounding environment, and to minimize any fluctuation due to the exposing radiation.

Abstract: A lithographic apparatus comprises an illumination system, a support constructed to support a patterning device, and a projection system. In pixel grid imaging, a large number of small optical spots are imaged onto the substrate surface using a micro-lens array (MLA). The z position of the MLA is adjustable in order to focus the spots on the substrate surface and/or to compensate for differences in height of the substrate surface. The focusing adjustment is based on an output of an ultrasonic distance sensor provided in the vicinity of the substrate surface.

Abstract: A lithographic apparatus having a radiation beam inspection device including a barrier to the beam of radiation, the barrier having an aperture through which a portion of the beam of radiation passes; and a radiation sensor that determines the intensity of the radiation passing through the aperture and the position, relative to the aperture, of the point at which the radiation is incident on the radiation sensor.

Abstract: A method and apparatus of correcting thermally-induced field deformations of a lithographically exposed substrate, is presented herein. In one embodiment, the method includes exposing a pattern onto a plurality of fields of a substrate in accordance with pre-specified exposure information and measuring attributes of the fields to assess deformation of the fields induced by thermal effects of the exposing process. The method further includes determining corrective information based on the measured attributes, and adjusting the pre-specified exposure information, based on the corrective information, to compensate for the thermally-induced field deformations. Other embodiments include the use of predictive models to predict thermally-induced effects on the fields and thermographic imaging to determine temperature variations across a substrate.

Abstract: A lithographic apparatus comprises an illumination system, an array of individually controllable elements, a projection system, a substrate table, and a sensor system. The illumination system supplies a beam of radiation. The array of individually controllable elements patterns the beam. The projection system projects the patterned beam onto a target plane, the patterned beam comprising an array of radiation spots. The substrate table supports a substrate, such that a target surface of the substrate is substantially coincident with the target plane. The sensor system comprises an array of detector elements arranged to receive at least one of the spots. The sensor system measures an energy of the or each received spot and provides an output signal indicative of the energy of the or each received spot.

Abstract: An apparatus and system that form a hexagonal exposed spot grid on a substrate. This is accomplished by using a patterning device that directs a patterned beam onto a microlens array, which forms Fourier transformed spots of the pattered beam at the substrate. Through at least one of (a) moving of the substrate that is patterned by the patterning device and/or changing a frequency of a beam of radiation or (b) through a hexagonal configuration of the patterning device and the microlens array, the spots from the microlens array form the hexagonal exposed spot grid on the substrate.

Abstract: A lithography apparatus having variable lenses.

Abstract: A lithographic apparatus in which a size and/or a position of features formed on a substrate are adjusted by adjusting an intensity of radiation at boundaries of pattern features.