WO1998004950A1 - Systeme lithographique sous masque et sans discontinuite comprenant un modulateur spatial de lumiere - Google Patents

Systeme lithographique sous masque et sans discontinuite comprenant un modulateur spatial de lumiere Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1998004950A1
WO1998004950A1 PCT/US1996/012240 US9612240W WO9804950A1 WO 1998004950 A1 WO1998004950 A1 WO 1998004950A1 US 9612240 W US9612240 W US 9612240W WO 9804950 A1 WO9804950 A1 WO 9804950A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
substrate
spatial light
light modulator
radiation
radiation source
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US1996/012240
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Kanti Jain
Thomas J. Dunn
Jeffrey M. Hoffman
Original Assignee
Anvik Corporation
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Anvik Corporation filed Critical Anvik Corporation
Priority to PCT/US1996/012240 priority Critical patent/WO1998004950A1/fr
Priority to EP96925490A priority patent/EP0914626A4/fr
Publication of WO1998004950A1 publication Critical patent/WO1998004950A1/fr
Priority to US09/230,438 priority patent/US6312134B1/en

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B26/00—Optical devices or arrangements for the control of light using movable or deformable optical elements
    • G02B26/08—Optical devices or arrangements for the control of light using movable or deformable optical elements for controlling the direction of light
    • G02B26/0816—Optical devices or arrangements for the control of light using movable or deformable optical elements for controlling the direction of light by means of one or more reflecting elements
    • G02B26/0833—Optical devices or arrangements for the control of light using movable or deformable optical elements for controlling the direction of light by means of one or more reflecting elements the reflecting element being a micromechanical device, e.g. a MEMS mirror, DMD
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
    • G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
    • G03F7/70216—Mask projection systems
    • G03F7/70283—Mask effects on the imaging process
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
    • G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
    • G03F7/70216—Mask projection systems
    • G03F7/70283—Mask effects on the imaging process
    • G03F7/70291—Addressable masks, e.g. spatial light modulators [SLMs], digital micro-mirror devices [DMDs] or liquid crystal display [LCD] patterning devices
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
    • G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
    • G03F7/70216—Mask projection systems
    • G03F7/70358—Scanning exposure, i.e. relative movement of patterned beam and workpiece during imaging
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
    • G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
    • G03F7/70425—Imaging strategies, e.g. for increasing throughput or resolution, printing product fields larger than the image field or compensating lithography- or non-lithography errors, e.g. proximity correction, mix-and-match, stitching or double patterning
    • G03F7/70475—Stitching, i.e. connecting image fields to produce a device field, the field occupied by a device such as a memory chip, processor chip, CCD, flat panel display
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
    • G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
    • G03F7/70691—Handling of masks or workpieces
    • G03F7/70791—Large workpieces, e.g. glass substrates for flat panel displays or solar panels

Definitions

  • This invention relates to high-throughput lithography systems, and, more particularly, this invention relates to a mas less lithography system that provides large-area, seamless patterning using a spatial light modulator capable of being directly addressed by a control system.
  • a critical and common factor in the above applications is the need for a large-area patterning system that is capable of providing the required resolution over the entire substrate with high processing throughput.
  • the patterning technology used determines not only the ultimate performance of the product (e.g., pixel density in a display, minimum device geometry in a chip, or interconnect density in a packaging module), but also the economics of the entire manufacturing process through such key factors as throughput and yield.
  • a contact printer for substrate exposure consists of a fixture to align and hold the board (i.e., the substrate) in contact with the mask, which is then illuminated with high-intensity light to transfer the mask image to the board.
  • Systems that can handle boards as large as 610 mm x 915 mm (24" x 36") are commercially available.
  • a wide range of resolution capabilities is available in contact printers for different applications -- from below a micron for semiconductor device fabrication to roughly 100 microns and larger for printed circuit board applications.
  • a desirable feature of contact printing systems is high throughput; however, the required use of contact masks contains a number of disadvantages.
  • the process of designing and constructing a mask places a significant drag on the time required to build electronic module prototypes.
  • the process of fabricating an electronic module involves the imaging of different layers and requires a different mask for each layer.
  • the time required for switching and aligning masks as well as the expense of maintaining an array of masks for the production of a single electronic module represents a significant fraction of the cost of integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing. Eliminating the need for masks would reduce the long development time and minimize the high costs associated with IC production.
  • contact printing requires that, during exposure, the film or glass mask and the resist-coated board be brought in contact or near-contact. Good contact is difficult to produce over a large area. Poor contact, or a proximity gap, results in limited resolution. Frequent contact between the mask and the board causes generation of defects on the board which results in lower yields and causes reduction of the mask life, which leads to higher overall costs. In addition, variations in the gap cause feature size errors. For certain electronic modules, such as flat panel displays (FPDs), the module size can be up to several square feet, requiring masks which are just as large. The technology to manufacture the masks themselves is a real impediment to manufacturing large-area FPDs. Eliminating the dependency on masks would sidestep this barrier; easing the difficulty of making the mask itself would be a great step forward.
  • FPDs flat panel displays
  • a wide variety of projection imaging systems are routinely used in fabrication of various electronic modules.
  • a projection lens with a 1 :1 magnification is used for imaging the mask pattern on the board.
  • the illumination system uses a 1-2 kW mercury-xenon arc lamp, a heat-filtering mirror that filters away wavelengths in the visible and infrared regions, and a condenser to direct the radiation to the mask.
  • All projection printing systems suffer from the limitation that there exists a trade-off between the resolution and the maximum image field size of the projection lens. For example, whereas 25 ⁇ m resolution can be obtained over approximately a 100 cm square field, the imaging area for 1 ⁇ m resolution must be limited to a field diameter no larger than 1-2 cm.
  • step-and-repeat systems use reduction imaging, typically with a 2:1 , 5:1 or 10:1 ratio. Generally, systems with larger reduction ratios provide higher resolution, but also lower throughput.
  • Projection printing also requires the use of masks.
  • masking technology leads to many problems: use of masks does not allow for rapid prototyping of electronic modules; a different mask is required for subsequent layers of an electronic module, adding considerably to the expense of manufacturing; and the production capability of large-area masks does not meet all the current industry requirements for precision and accuracy at low cost and on fast schedules.
  • step- and-repeat imaging in which significantly lower throughputs are obtained than by full-field contact printing.
  • Lower throughputs result because each step involves the operations of load, unload, align, settle and focus.
  • Step-and-repeat imaging also leads to higher costs due to the requirement of several masks and the errors introduced in stitching the different fields together.
  • a focused-beam direct-writing system uses a blue or UV laser in a raster scanning fashion to expose all the pixels, one at a time, on the substrate.
  • the laser beam is focused on to the resist-coated board to the desired spot size.
  • the focused spot is moved across the board in one dimension (say, along the y-axis) with a motor-driven scanning mirror.
  • the stage holding the board is translated in the orthogonal dimension (x-axis) with a high-precision stepping motor.
  • the laser beam is modulated (typically, acousto-optically) to be either directed to the desired location on the board or deflected away.
  • the entire board can be directly patterned.
  • CAD computer aided design
  • the offered resolution varies from 13-25 ⁇ m for printed circuit board patterning to under a micron for systems designed for semiconductor applications. Since transfer of the pattern information in a scanning- spot direct-write tool takes place in a slow, bit-by-bit serial mode, typical processing times for such systems can range from 2 minutes to several hours per sq. ft., depending upon the resolution and the complexity of the pattern data.
  • Direct-write systems avoid the problems associated with using masks, they are extremely slow because transfer of the pattern information takes place in a bit-by-bit serial mode. Due to the large number of pixels (-10 8 - 10 10 ) that must be written on an electronic module, typical processing times with such systems are unacceptably long for cost-effective volume manufacturing. Direct-write systems, therefore, are best suited for applications such as mask fabrication and prototyping.
  • Liquid crystal light valve technology part of a vast field of technology and developed by numerous researchers.
  • Seamless scanning patterning technology invented by K. Jain, achieves the high-resolution, large-area, and high-throughput capabilities by a novel "scan-and- repeat" exposure mechanism. Exposure of arbitrarily large image fields, while maintaining the desired resolution, is made possible by a "seamless" scanning technique using partially overlapping complementary polygonal scans.
  • the Deformable Micromirror Device is an optomechanical system which acts as a spatial light modulator that works in the reflective mode.
  • the device consists of an array of hinged micromirrors which fit on a chip, each micromirror having the capability of tilting in two different rotations about an axis.
  • micromirrors tilt in one direction, they may reflect radiation through an optical system, for imaging; thus these micromirrors are described as turned “on.”
  • Micromirrors that tilt in the other direction reflect radiation so that it does not pass through the optical system. These mirrors are turned “off.”
  • the set of micromirror devices arranged in an array is the object of an imaging system where the "on” mirrors form the bright pixels of the object while the "off” mirrors form the dark pixels.
  • DMD Micromirror Device
  • a Liquid Crystal Light Valve is an electro-optic device which operates as a spatial light modulator in transmissive mode. It is programmable and has an array of pixels which can be directly addressed by a control system. Because the pixels are capable of switching from opaque to transmissive, they can be programmed to display desired images on the array itself. The LCLV thus can be used in transmissive mode to transmit images through an optical system.
  • One embodiment of the invention disclosed integrates the seamless scanning system with Deformable Micromirror Device (DMD) technology, while another embodiment uses the seamless scanning system with Liquid Crystal Light Valve (LCLV) technology.
  • DMD Deformable Micromirror Device
  • LCLV Liquid Crystal Light Valve
  • the invention is a maskless patterning system which is capable of imaging electronic modules by delivering high resolution over a large image field, with high exposure throughput. It is the object of the invention to eliminate the need for masks in the imaging of patterns on electronic modules, through the use of seamless scanning and a spatial light modulator that is directly addressed by a control system. Another object of the invention is to retain choice of light source, including laser and halogen lamp, and choice of spatial light modulator, including a deformable micromirror device (DMD) and an array of liquid crystal light valves (LCLVs).
  • DMD deformable micromirror device
  • LCLVs liquid crystal light valves
  • Another object of the invention is to enable patterning of substrate panels that are several times greater in size than is currently possible. For a given panel size, processing throughput is increased substantially, at the same time that high resolution is maintained over the entire substrate.
  • a feature of the invention is to achieve seamless scanning through electronically programming the spatial light modulator.
  • the DMD or LCLV array is configured to reflect or transmit an image with a particular intensity profile, part of which may be integrated with the intensity profile of an overlapping, adjacent scan.
  • Another feature of the invention is that the entire spatial light modulator may be illuminated so as to allow the modulator itself to generate the intensity profile characteristic of a scanning hexagonal field.
  • An advantage of the invention is that it corrects for image reversal with the stream of data that is loaded onto the spatial light modulator, thus obviating the need for image reversing optics.
  • Another advantage of the invention is its versatility, which enables it to be used in the production of several high-volume electronic products.
  • a further advantage of the invention is that it eliminates the shortcomings of conventional contact, projection, and direct-writing systems.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic presentation of an embodiment of the invention wherein the spatial light modulator is a deformable micromirror device (DMD).
  • DMD deformable micromirror device
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic presentation of a prior art imaging system which uses a conventional mask.
  • FIG. 3 is a diagram of hexagonal overlap seamless scanning according to the prior art imaging system of U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,257.
  • FIG. 4 is a semi-schematic diagram of one micro-mechanical element of a DMD array.
  • FIG. 5 shows an illumination pattern on a DMD chip which allows for seamless scanning.
  • FIG. 6 is a chart showing how light gradients are applied in complementary fashion to achieve seamless optical scanning.
  • FIG. 7 is shows how adjacent optical image fields are exposed in a complementary fashion.
  • FIG. 8 is a stylized drawing showing how the tiling effect is eliminated by complementary scans.
  • FIG. 9 is a schematic presentation of an embodiment of the invention wherein the spatial light modulator is a liquid crystal light valve (LCLV).
  • LCLV liquid crystal light valve
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a preferred embodiment of the maskless lithography system.
  • the illumination for exposure is provided by a radiation source 1 with output beam 2.
  • the output beam 2 then illuminates a spatial light modulator, shown in FIG. 1 as a deformable micromirror device (DMD) 3, which is an array of micromirrors on a chip with electronic logic, memory and control that enable the individual mirrors to tilt in different directions for selective reflection or deflection of individual pixels.
  • the illuminated DMD pixels which are reflective are imaged by a projection lens 4 onto a substrate 5 which rests on a scanning stage 6.
  • the reduction power of the lens determines the resolution of the invention for a particular DMD pixel size. For example, a lens with reduction of 10:1 will produce a pixel size on the substrate which is one tenth the size of an individual micromirror.
  • the substrate is scanned as shown in FIG. 1 along, say, the y-axis.
  • control system 7 feeds a stream of pixel selection data to the DMD array 3, thus causing the micromirror elements to tilt in the correct orientation.
  • the illuminated pixel pattern imaged onto the substrate 5 by the radiation source thus represents an instantaneous snapshot of the set of micromirrors at that moment in time.
  • the pixel selection data stream configuring the DMD array 3 must be synchronized with the motion of the scanning stage 6.
  • the radiation illuminating the DMD array 3 must also be pulsed or shuttered at a repetition rate that is synchronized with the micromirrors on the DMD array 3 and the scanning stage 6.
  • the DMD pixels will already be reset by the pixel selection data to generate a different pattern when imaged to the substrate 5.
  • the stage 6 is moved by a suitable amount along an orthogonal axis (x- axis), following which another scan is generated along the y-axis, and so on.
  • the radiation source 1 is preferably a pulsed laser with a characteristic wavelength that is compatible with the spectral sensitivity of common photoresists, although a continuous wave source, such as a suitably pulsed or shuttered lamp matched to photoresist spectra is acceptable.
  • a pulsed beam such as is produced by a pulsed laser system with a wavelength between 250 nm and 350 nm, has a repetition rate that is timed to be synchronous with the data stream that configures the micromirror array and with the scanning stage. Synchronization is accomplished by control system 7.
  • the preferred radiation source operates at a repetition rate that is close to the rate at which the elements of the spatial light modulator are capable of switching back and forth, in order to maximize throughput.
  • the duration of the illuminating pulse of light, ⁇ t is determined by the following expression: ⁇ t-v « ⁇ y (1 ) where v is the velocity of the stage 6 moving the substrate 5, and ⁇ y is the desired minimum feature size of the projection system 4. If the pulse duration is too large, then the generated image will be blurred. It is possible to compensate for a longer pulse duration by reducing the velocity of the stage. While this reduces the throughput of the system, it could be a lower cost option. Conventional excimer laser systems have pulse durations on the order of 10 - 40 ns. If the substrate is scanned at 250 mm/s, then the product ⁇ t-v would be about 0.01 ⁇ m. This is more than adequate for an imaging system with a desired minimum feature size of 1 ⁇ m.
  • An alternative embodiment of the invention uses more than one radiation source. These sources may be synchronized to pulse alternately in order to increase the repetition rate of the radiation that illuminates the spatial light modulator. Such an embodiment is capable of higher throughput but costs more than an embodiment with one radiation source.
  • a continuous wave (CW) source If a continuous wave (CW) source is used, then the radiation source must be shuttered at the appropriate frequency and with the proper duty cycle to meet the condition given in equation (1) above.
  • CW continuous wave
  • the stage 6 velocity must be reduced to much less than 4 mm/s, assuming that pixel selection data can be fed to the spatial light modulator at 4 kHz. While this represents a system which would have much lower throughput, it would also be a lower cost system.
  • Seamless scanning patterning technology invented by K. Jain, is employed in this invention to obtain high resolution by optimizing the numerical aperture of the projection lens for a reasonable field diameter, and also to deliver that high resolution over practically an unlimited-size exposure area by scanning the length of the board with a beam that is suitably shaped so as to allow adjacent scans to be seamlessly joined.
  • seamless scanning patterning technology has been used with masking technology to expose a desired pattern on an electronic module.
  • this invention eliminates the need for a mask, a preliminary description of seamless scanning when used with a conventional mask will nevertheless aid in understanding the maskless nature of this invention.
  • the means by which this invention eliminates masking technology is discussed more fully later, in the subsection entitled Spatial Light Modulator. Thus, the description which immediately follows describes how the seamless scanning technology has been demonstrated when used with a mask.
  • FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a scan-and-repeat patterning system when used with a mask 9.
  • the substrate 8 and the mask 9 are each held rigidly in a substrate stage 10 and a mask stage 11, respectively. Both the substrate stage 10 and the mask stage 11 move in synchronism with fine precision.
  • the illumination system 12 consists of a source system 13, a relay lens 14, and beam steering optics 15.
  • the source system 13 is such that its effective emission plane, 16, is in the shape of a regular hexagon.
  • the relay lens 14 collects radiation into a certain numerical aperture, NA S , from the effective emission plane and directs it with a certain magnification and numerical aperture, NAc, on the mask 9.
  • the substrate stage 10 scans the substrate 8 across its hexagonal exposure region so as to traverse the length of the substrate in the direction of the scan.
  • the mask stage 11 scans the mask 9 across its hexagonal illuminated region.
  • both stages 10 and 11 move in a direction orthogonal to the scan direction.
  • a new scan is generated by precise movements of the substrate stage 10 and mask stage 11 in the same manner as before.
  • the effective scan width and the illumination source system 12 are designed with such characteristics that in combination, they produce a transition, from one scan to the next, that is "seamless" and free from non-uniformities in intensity.
  • the above exposure process is repeated until the entire substrate is exposed.
  • the projection assembly 17 also incorporates an automatic focus system.
  • a control system 18 is functionally coupled to the illumination system 12, the mask stage 10 and substrate stage 11 , and the projection lens assembly 17. Control system 18 ensures that the mask stage 10 and substrate stage 11 are focused and aligned appropriately with respect to the projection lens assembly 17 at all times, that the mask stage 10 and substrate stage 11 perform the scan and repeat movements with the desired synchronism, and that the illumination system 12 maintains the desired illumination characteristics throughout the exposure of the entire substrate 8.
  • FIG. 2 The hexagon 20 represents the potentially illuminated portion of the substrate 8 at any given moment. (Likewise, a hexagonal illumination appears on the mask, which is seamlessly scanned in a similar fashion, because the mask moves in synchronization with the substrate.) The substrate is scanned across this illumination region from right to left. It is important to note that the illumination beam itself (19 in FIG. 2) is stationary, as is the projection lens assembly.
  • the movement of the substrate 8 across the beam is depicted as the scanning, from left to right, of the hexagonal illumination region across a stationary substrate 8.
  • This movement is depicted by Scan 1 21 in FIG. 3.
  • Scan 1 21 in FIG. 3 Because one side of the hexagon c-h is orthogonal to the scan direction, the region of the substrate that is illuminated by triangular region a-b-c receives a smaller exposure dose than does the part of the substrate that is illuminated by the rectangular portion b-g-h-c of the hexagon.
  • the region in FIG. 3 where triangular areas a-b-c and d-e-f overlap receives an integrated exposure dose that is the same as the dose received by the non-overlapping regions.
  • the transition from Scan 1 to Scan 2 (and therefore across the substrate) is seamless in exposure dose uniformity, because the overlapping doses provided by hexagons 20 and 23 taper in opposite directions, from maximum to zero at outermost points a and d, respectively.
  • a spatial light modulator is incorporated to function as a kind of programmable mask, which makes the invention suitable for rapid prototyping, flexible manufacturing, and mask making. Two preferred embodiments of the spatial light modulator are described below.
  • SLM spatial light modulator
  • DMD deformable micromirror device
  • LCLV liquid crystal light valve
  • DMD Deformable Micromirror Device
  • a DMD is a spatial light modulator array of etched solid state micromirrors.
  • FIG. 4 shows a schematic of one micro-mechanical element 25 of a micromirror array 3.
  • Each micromirror element 25 is suspended above the silicon substrate 26 by torsion hinges 27 from two support posts 28 at two corners of the mirror. Beneath the micromirror element 25 are two address electrodes 29 and two landing pads 30 which are addressed from the memory cell immediately below them.
  • the micromirror 25 and the address electrodes 29 act as a capacitor so that a negative bias applied to the micromirror 25, along with a positive voltage to one of the address electrodes 29, drives the micromirror 25 to the landing electrode 30 adjacent to the positive electrode 29.
  • the torsion hinges 27 suspending the micromirror 25 can twist to allow the micromirror to rotate along the diagonal axis until one comer of the micromirror lands on the landing electrode 30.
  • the micromirror operates in binary digital mode or in trinary digital mode.
  • DMD arrays that function in trinary digital mode have three possible states: “on,” “off,” or “flat.”
  • each micromirror 25 When operating, each micromirror 25 is twisted to the “on” or “off” state; however, when no power is applied to the array it relaxes to the flat state. Thus, in operation, each micromirror stays latched in an "on” or “off” position until a new piece of data is loaded from the memory cell.
  • a micromirror When a micromirror is tilted in one direction, it reflects light through the optical system for imaging and is described as being “on.” In the "off” state, a micromirror is tilted in the other direction and directs light so that it does not pass through the optical system.
  • each pulse that illuminates the DMD array 3 and is imaged onto the substrate 5 will illuminate a different part of the substrate.
  • the DMD 3 operates so that the entire array of micromirrors can be reconfigured for each pulse to form the correct image on the substrate 5.
  • the projection lens assembly 4 is of a conventional design with all refractive elements, it will form a reversed image of the DMD 3 on the substrate 5.
  • special reversing optics were required to correct for image reversal resulting from the projection lens. This invention, however, does not require an image reversing system to properly orient the image on the substrate.
  • the desired image is digitized and loaded onto the DMD array as a stream of data in such a sequence that it corrects for image reversal.
  • the invention also eliminates the need for a scanning translation stage for the mask assembly required by the prior art seamless scanning technology.
  • the physical footprint of the overall lithography system is thus reduced, as are alignment and handling constraints.
  • constraints on the translation stage are also significantly reduced.
  • the DMD performs the role played by the mask in a FIG. 2 imaging projection system by means of the control system, which dynamically addresses the micromirrors for each position of the stage.
  • the desired image on the substrate is digitized and fed to the DMD array as a stream of data in a similar fashion as used in direct-write systems or parallel by pixel group for faster setting.
  • a difference between the invention and conventional direct-write methods is that the parallel processing power of the DMD can be utilized to project images of more than 1 million pixels per frame at a rate that can be greater than several kiloHertz.
  • existing direct-write systems are typically 1000 times slower, because they relay data in a slow, bit by bit fashion.
  • the substrate 5 is illuminated by a beam pattern 31.
  • the illuminated pattern imaged onto the substrate 5 at any given moment represents a particular orientation of the DMD array 3.
  • the stage 6 has moved by an amount that is a fraction of the width of the illumination beam 31.
  • Each point of the substrate 5 that is to be patterned is illuminated by several different pulses as the stage 6 carries the substrate 5 through the illumination beam pattern 31. This effect integrates the energy along the scan direction and improves the uniformity of the delivered dose along that axis.
  • the number of pulses that illuminates a certain point on the substrate 5 is determined by the repetition rate of the laser, the speed of the stage 6, and the size of the illumination area. It is desirable to have a certain minimum number of pulses to illuminate each point on the substrate 5 in order to achieve a uniform integrated dose along the scan direction. It is possible to increase the number of pulses illuminating each point by decreasing the stage 6 speed, but this also reduces the throughput of the system so this is not desirable. In principle it could be achieved by increasing the repetition rate of the laser, but, in practice, this can be difficult. With this invention, it is possible to have more than one spatial light modulator in the object field of the reduction lens 4 to increase the number of pulses illuminating each point of the substrate 5.
  • the same data stream can be fed to each of the spatial light modulator arrays with a temporal delay between the streams determined by the physical separation between the edges of the arrays.
  • This added flexibility is a powerful feature of this invention, making it easier to design lithography tools to meet the industry's demands.
  • the stage 6 moves in a direction orthogonal to the y-direction scan, i.e., in the x direction. Control of the displacement of the stage 6 in the x-direction is important to maintaining seamless exposure from one scan to the next. If the intensity profile across each scan (in the x-direction) were constant, then the stage 6 would have to move in the x-direction by an amount exactly equal to the scan width.
  • stitching errors can be eliminated through the use of a hexagonal illumination pattern (see also FIG. 3). That is, one could illuminate the DMD 3 with a beam whose transverse profile is that of a hexagon which transcribes the array of micromirrors, as shown in FIG. 5. Thus, in FIG. 5, shaded area 32 depicts the laser illumination area on the DMD array 3.
  • other polygonal illumination geometries may be used, such as trapezoids and parallelograms. It is also possible to illuminate the entire DMD array and use the array itself to generate the intensity profile characteristic of, for example, a scanning hexagonal field. Using this method, seamless joining of scans is achieved through electronic programming of the micromirror elements. The elements are individually programmed in such a way as to provide a uniform intensity profile across adjacent scans.
  • an adjacent scan 42 When an adjacent scan 42 is generated, it partially overlaps the previous scan 43, as illustrated in FIG. 7, along area 44, the region of partial overlap. Uniform intensity across the width of the adjacent scans is achieved by integrating the intensities of the edge profiles, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.
  • micromirrors are unlikely to be "on” full-time, because they are needed to generate a pattern on the substrate -- not to illuminate the entire board, as described above.
  • the micromirrors must therefore be programmed to flip "on” or “off” so that the DMD array reflects the appropriate image onto the moving substrate.
  • the preferred method of achieving seamless scanning is the technique described above, in which successive rows of elements that approach the lateral edges of the array are turned "on" for successively shorter periods of time.
  • the advantage of this technique is that it allows for the electronic programming to overcome irregularities in the intensity profile of the reflected pattern, thus ensuring uniform image intensities across successive scans. Irregularities may be caused by gaps between adjacent DMD chips and also by the possibility of micromirror elements that are defective. The errors caused by defective elements that do not flip back and forth can be minimized because each point of the substrate that is to be patterned is illuminated by many pulses that are imaged from the DMD array.
  • LCLV Liquid Crystal Light Valve
  • a liquid crystal light valve is an electro-optic device which is programmable and has an array of optically active pixels that can be directly addressed by a control system.
  • the pattern of modulation that is desired to be sent through the LCLV's output beam is a digital image that has been stored and is fed to the LCLV as a stream of data.
  • the transmission through the liquid crystal medium is modulated, and the modulation is transferred to a beam of radiation transmitted through the light valve to create the pattern which is to be imaged on the substrate.
  • the individual pixels are either transmissive or opaque.
  • the transmissive pixels of the LCLV embodiment are functionally analogous to the micromirrors of the DMD embodiment (described above) that are tilted in the "on" position, because they allow radiation to be imaged on a point of the substrate.
  • the opaque pixels of the LCLV embodiment are the functional equivalent of the "off" micromirrors of the DMD embodiment, because they do not allow radiation to pass through the system for imaging.
  • micromirrors on the DMD that are in the "off” position prevent radiation from passing through the imaging system by deflecting the radiation out of the imaging path.
  • FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of the embodiment of the invention that uses the LCLV 45.
  • the primary difference between FIG. 10 and FIG. 1 other than the choice of spatial light modulator (i.e., the LCLV 45), is the fact that the LCLV embodiment shown in FIG. 10 enables radiation leaving the radiation source 1 to pass through the LCLV for transmission to the projection lens 4, whereas in the DMD embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , radiation leaving the source 1 for imaging is reflected by the DMD 3 toward the projection lens 4.
  • the lithography system disclosed herein has applicability in the fabrication and manufacturing of diverse electronic and opto-electronic products.
  • the invention eliminates the need for masks, it is ideally suited for rapid prototyping and flexible manufacturing of electronic modules.
  • it is particularly useful for mask making, because of the quick turnaround of corrections if the mask pattern does not fit the task in all respects.
  • it provides the capability to pattern large substrates, even continuous substrates such as flat panel displays (FPDs), while maintaining high resolution and high throughput.
  • FPDs flat panel displays
  • This invention eliminates the need for masks; hence, use of the invention would reduce the long development time and minimize the high costs associated with IC production. Overcoming such limitations enables rapid prototyping of electronic modules. All of the information contained within a standard chrome mask is represented by a stream of data which is fed to a spatial light modulator (SLM).
  • SLM spatial light modulator
  • the SLM has the versatility of representing any possible pattern, eliminating the need for multiple masks to image different layers of a semiconductor device.
  • the system can use a projection lens with a moderate numerical aperture and a field size only a fraction of the board size, thereby producing very high resolution over the entire board area.
  • the invention combines performance features such as high resolution, large effective image field size, and high processing throughput.
  • the versatility of this invention also makes it useful in manufacturing systems for high- volume electronic products such as flat-panel displays, printed circuit boards, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and semiconductor integrated circuits.
  • MEMS microelectromechanical systems
  • the spatial light modulator can simulate a mask of unlimited size. This is an important advantage for the production of large FPDs, where the production and handling of large-area masks has represented a significant cost barrier to large FPD production. Also, with its continuous scanning movement and its unique exposure field, the invention can pattern boards of arbitrarily large sizes at fast exposure rates, due to the seamless overlap between adjacent scans. The critical stitching requirements of conventional step-and-repeat tools are thus eliminated. Furthermore, the invention achieves microelectronic patterning significantly faster than focused-beam direct- write systems, which transfer pattern information in a bit-by-bit serial mode. Instead, the invention uses high parallel-processing power to generate any possible pattern, while maintaining high resolution over a large image field.
  • the maskless, large-area, high-throughput lithography system fills a critical need in the manufacturing of numerous electronic products required in diverse applications, such as flat-panel displays, printed circuit boards, and semiconductor ICs.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Sustainable Development (AREA)
  • Exposure And Positioning Against Photoresist Photosensitive Materials (AREA)
  • Exposure Of Semiconductors, Excluding Electron Or Ion Beam Exposure (AREA)

Abstract

Cette invention concerne un système lithographique de projection dans lequel on a remplacé les masques par un modulateur spatial de lumière (MSL) programmable à puissance de traitement parallèle élevée. On illumine le MSL avec une source de rayonnement (1) pour produire sur un substrat (5) une image à motif de plusieurs pixels via un système (4) de projection. Le MSL préféré est un dispositif à micro-miroir déformable (3) qui assure la sélection des pixels par réflexion à l'aide d'un laser à impulsions synchrones. Un autre MSL se présente sous forme d'une valve à cristaux liquides (VCL) (45) qui assure la sélection des pixels passants. La programmation électronique permet de commander la sélection des pixels pour corriger les erreurs des éléments de pixels erronés. La commande de sélection des pixels assure également l'imagerie négative et positive et le développement polygonal de recouvrement complémentaire pour produire un dosage uniforme sans discontinuité. Cette invention permet d'obtenir un mouvement de balayage sans disconuité par recouvrement complémentaire pour égaliser le dosage de rayonnement, afin d'exposer un motif sur un substrat (5) ayant une grande surface. Cette invention est adaptée au prototypage rapide, à la fabrication de dispositifs souples et même à la production des masques.
PCT/US1996/012240 1996-07-25 1996-07-25 Systeme lithographique sous masque et sans discontinuite comprenant un modulateur spatial de lumiere WO1998004950A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/US1996/012240 WO1998004950A1 (fr) 1996-07-25 1996-07-25 Systeme lithographique sous masque et sans discontinuite comprenant un modulateur spatial de lumiere
EP96925490A EP0914626A4 (fr) 1996-07-25 1996-07-25 Systeme lithographique sous masque et sans discontinuite comprenant un modulateur spatial de lumiere
US09/230,438 US6312134B1 (en) 1996-07-25 1999-01-23 Seamless, maskless lithography system using spatial light modulator

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PCT/US1996/012240 WO1998004950A1 (fr) 1996-07-25 1996-07-25 Systeme lithographique sous masque et sans discontinuite comprenant un modulateur spatial de lumiere

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US7573561B2 (en) 2001-06-27 2009-08-11 University Of South Florida Method and apparatus for maskless photolithography
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US7271877B2 (en) 2001-06-27 2007-09-18 University Of South Florida Method and apparatus for maskless photolithography
US6764796B2 (en) 2001-06-27 2004-07-20 University Of South Florida Maskless photolithography using plasma displays
US6998219B2 (en) 2001-06-27 2006-02-14 University Of South Florida Maskless photolithography for etching and deposition
US7468238B2 (en) 2001-06-27 2008-12-23 University Of South Florida Maskless photolithography for using photoreactive agents
US6544698B1 (en) 2001-06-27 2003-04-08 University Of South Florida Maskless 2-D and 3-D pattern generation photolithography
US10415081B2 (en) 2001-10-15 2019-09-17 Bioarray Solutions Ltd. Multiplexed analysis of polymorphic loci by concurrent interrogation and enzyme-mediated detection
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