An exposure apparatus including an optical device set and a substrate carrying platform is provided. The optical device set includes a plurality of light sources, at least one rotating beam deflector and at least one deflector set. The plurality of light sources are configured to emit a plurality of beams. Each deflector set includes a plurality of deflectors. The substrate carrying platform is configured to move an exposed substrate disposed on the substrate carrying platform relative to the optical device set along a relative movement direction. The plurality of beams sequentially travel through the at least one rotating beam deflector and the plurality of deflectors to be projected on the exposed substrate. Trajectories of the plurality of beams projected on the exposed substrate form a plurality of scan lines through rotation of the at least one rotating beam deflector.

Embodiments described herein provide a method of large area lithography to decrease widths of portions written into photoresists. One embodiment of the method includes projecting an initial light beam of a plurality of light beams at a minimum wavelength to a mask in a propagation direction of the plurality of light beams. The mask has a plurality of dispersive elements. A wavelength of each light beam of the plurality of light beams is increased until a final light beam of the plurality of light beams is projected at a maximum wavelength. The plurality of dispersive elements of the mask diffract the plurality of light beams into order mode beams to produce an intensity pattern in a medium between the mask and a substrate having a photoresist layer disposed thereon. The intensity pattern having a plurality of intensity peaks writes a plurality of portions in the photoresist layer.

The present invention is directed to adjusting a light intensity distribution on an irradiation target surface into a desired distribution with use of a light source apparatus including a light emitting diode (LED) array. A light source apparatus includes an LED array including a plurality of LED chips, and a controller configured to control the plurality of LED chips. A light intensity distribution acquired from each of the plurality of LED chips is superimposed on a light intensity distribution oriented in a different direction from each other on a predetermined surface. The controller controls an output of at least one of the plurality of LED chips, thereby changing the light intensity distribution that the plurality of LED chips forms on the predetermined surface.

A radiation system includes a beam splitting apparatus configured to split a main radiation beam into a plurality of branch radiation beams and a radiation alteration device arranged to receive an input radiation beam and output a modified radiation beam, wherein the radiation alteration device is configured to provide an output modified radiation beam which has an increased etendue, when compared to the received input radiation beam, wherein the radiation alteration device is arranged such that the input radiation beam which is received by the radiation alteration device is a main radiation beam and the radiation alteration device is configured to provide a modified main radiation beam to the beam splitting apparatus, or wherein the radiation alteration device is arranged such that the input radiation beam which is received by the radiation alteration device is a branch radiation beam output from the beam splitting apparatus.

An exposure apparatus includes: a first light source that generates first exposure light, a diaphragm having plurality of openings positioned between the first light source and an exposure photomask, a plurality of first projection optical systems that individually project an optical image realized by the first exposure light transmitted through each of the plurality of openings on an exposure target, a second light source that generates second exposure light, and a correction stepper. The correction stepper irradiates a light amount correction region with the second exposure light so as to limit an irradiation range of the exposure target to be irradiated with the second exposure light transmitted through the exposure photomask, and the light amount correction region is a region extending in a first direction by a width of a multi-opening region in a second direction in a plan view.

A radiation alteration device includes a continuously undulating reflective surface, wherein the shape of the continuously undulating reflective surface follows a substantially periodic pattern.

A purge system includes a purge gas distribution manifold that includes at least one port through which light beam from an optical metrology or inspection head is transmitted. The purge gas distribution manifold includes a bottom surface having one or more apertures through which purge gas is expelled. The bottom surface is held in close proximity to the top surface of the substrate and the apertures may be distributed over the bottom surface of the purge gas distribution manifold so that purge gas is uniformly distributed over the entirety of the top surface of the substrate at all measurement positions of the substrate with respect to the optical metrology or inspection head.

An illuminance distribution response amount as the change amount of the illuminance distribution pattern, associating the position in the irradiation region in the lengthwise direction with the change amount of the illuminance with respect to the change in the drive current, has previously been acquired and stored in a storage unit for each light-emitting block. There is provided an arithmetic processing unit that determines (estimates) a current command value of each of the light-emitting blocks based on a present current command value of each of the light-emitting blocks and the change amount of the illuminance distribution pattern of each light-emitting block in order to bring a present illuminance distribution pattern in the irradiation region in a lengthwise direction close to a target illuminance distribution pattern.

A light combiner (500) for use in a metrology tool includes a plurality of light sources (LED 1, LED 2, LED 3, LED 4, LED 5), a first filter (502), and a second filter (504). The first filter is designed to substantially reflect light generated from a first source of the plurality of light sources, and to substantially transmit light generated from a second source of the plurality of light sources. The second filter is designed to substantially reflect light generated from the first source and the second source of the plurality of light sources, and to substantially transmit light generated from a third source of the plurality of light sources. An angle of incidence of the light generated from the first source on a surface of the first filter is less than 30 degrees.

Method for exposing a relief precursor, using a first light source to expose a first side of a relief precursor, a movable second light source to expose a second side of the relief precursor opposite the first side during one or more second exposure periods of one or more second exposure steps, said method comprising the steps of receiving through an operator interface at least one first characteristic representative for the first exposure period and/or at least one second characteristic representative for the one or more second exposure periods determining a sequence of operation for the first light source and the second light source based on the at least one first and/or second characteristic, said sequence being such that each of said one or more second exposure periods either fully overlaps with the first exposure period or does not overlap with the first exposure period.