An image sensor for a position sensor apparatus for ascertaining a position of at least one mirror of a lithography apparatus includes: a plurality of integrated optical waveguides; a plurality of incoupling areas; a multiplexer apparatus; and an image reconstruction apparatus.

A method includes exposing number of fields on a substrate, obtaining data about a field and correcting exposure of the field in subsequent exposures. The method includes defining one or more sub-fields of the field based on the obtained data. Data relating to each sub-field is processed to produce sub-field correction information. A subsequent exposure of the one or more sub-fields is corrected using the sub-field correction information. By controlling a lithographic apparatus by reference to data of a particular sub-field within a field, overlay error can be reduced or minimized for a critical feature, rather than being averaged over the whole field. By controlling a lithographic apparatus with reference to a sub-field rather than only the whole field, a residual error can be reduced in each sub-field.

The disclosure provides a control device for controlling at least one manipulator of a microlithographic projection lens by generating a travel command, which defines a change to be undertaken, of an optical effect of at least one optical element of the projection lens by manipulating a property of the optical element via the at least one manipulator along a travel. The control device is configured to generate the travel command for the at least one manipulator from a state characterization of the projection lens by optimizing a merit function. Here, the merit function includes a linear combination of at least two exponential expressions, a setting of the at least one manipulator defining the manipulation of the property of the optical element is represented via a travel variable and the respective base of the at least two exponential expressions contains a function of the travel variable.

A lithographic apparatus comprising a projection system comprising at least one optical component and configured to project a pattern onto a substrate. The lithographic apparatus further comprises a control system arranged to reduce the effects of heating and/or cooling of an optical component in a lithographic process. The control system is configured at least: to select at least one of a plurality of mode shapes to represent a relationship between at least one input in the lithographic process and an aberration resulting from the input and to generate and apply a correction to the lithographic apparatus based on the mode shape.

An immersion lithography apparatus comprises a temperature controller configured to adjust a temperature of a projection system, a substrate and a liquid towards a common target temperature. Controlling the temperature of these elements and reducing temperature gradients may improve imaging consistency and general lithographic performance. Measures to control the temperature may include controlling the immersion liquid flow rate and liquid temperature, for example, via a feedback circuit.

Methods and algorithms are provided, as well as new metrics for misalignment of apertures with respect to the optical axis of a metrology system. The methods comprise aligning aperture(s) to an optical axis of a scatterometry metrology tool using correction term(s) derived by minimizing an overlay variation measure calculated with respect to overlay measurements of a periodic structure. These methods result in highly sensitive misalignment metrics, which may be used in calibration stages or on the fly to align the system's apertures, and enable reducing target size due to the resulting enhanced alignment accuracy.

An exposure apparatus includes: a projection optical system; an adjusting unit configured to adjust imaging characteristics of the projection optical system; and a controller configured to divide the plurality of shot regions into groups based on data of a shift in the pattern of each shot region and an order of the exposure, determine setting amounts of the imaging characteristics for each group, and control the adjusting unit to set the imaging characteristics to the setting amounts for each group. The setting amount is common to a plurality of shot regions in the group and varies among the groups. The controller performs the division such that the shot regions belonging to the same group have a sequential exposure order and all values of the shift in the shot regions belonging to the same group fall within a predetermined range.

The invention relates to a substrate exposure system comprising a frame, a substrate support module for carrying a substrate, an exposure apparatus for exposing said substrate, and adjustment assembly for adjusting the position of the exposure apparatus with respect to the substrate support module. The adjustment assembly comprises a hydraulic actuator, a hydraulic generator and a conduit, wherein the conduit interconnects said hydraulic actuator and said hydraulic generator for forming a hydraulic system. The exposure apparatus, the frame, the adjustment assembly and the substrate support module are arranged as parts of a series of mechanically linked components. A first part of said series of mechanically linked components comprises the exposure apparatus, and a second part comprises the substrate support module. Said hydraulic actuator is arranged between said first part and said second part. Preferably the hydraulic actuator comprises a first bellows and the hydraulic generator comprises a second bellows.

A projection exposure system (10) for microlithography. The system includes projection optics (12) configured to image mask structures into a substrate plane (16), an input diffraction element (28) which is configured to convert irradiated measurement radiation (21) into at least two test waves (30) directed onto the projection optics (12) with differing propagation directions, a detection diffraction element (34; 28) which is disposed in the optical path of the test waves (30) after the latter have passed through the projection optics (12) and is configured to produce a detection beam (36) from the test waves (30) which has a mixture of radiation portions of both test waves (30), a photo detector (38) disposed in the optical path of the detection beam (36) which is configured to record the radiation intensity of the detection beam (36), time resolved, and an evaluation unit which is configured to determine the lateral imaging stability of the projection optics (12) from the radiation intensity recorded.

A projection exposure method for exposing a radiation-sensitive substrate with at least one image of a pattern includes providing the pattern between an illumination system and a projection lens of a projection exposure apparatus so that the pattern is arranged in the region of an object plane of the projection lens and can be imaged via the projection lens into an image plane of the projection lens. The image plane is optically conjugate with respect to the object plane, and imaging-relevant properties of the pattern can be characterized by pattern data. The method also includes illuminating an illumination region of the pattern with an illumination radiation provided by the illumination system in accordance with an illumination setting which is specific to a use case and which can be characterized by illumination setting data.