A light spot arrangement, a surface profile measuring method and a method for calculating control data for an exposure field are disclosed. The light spot arrangement includes a plurality of measuring light spots (100) which define at least one set of orthogonal line segments, wherein the measuring light spots (100) lying on the orthogonal line segments radiate outward from a center, with each of the orthogonal line segments defined by at least four measuring light spots. The measuring light spots (100) are used to measure a profile of a planer surface. With this light spot arrangement comprising at least one set of orthogonal line segments defined by measuring light spots radiating outward from a center, readings of multiple ones of the light spots (100) can be acquired in real time, and exposure can be performed with real-time focusing and leveling based on a surface profile of the wafer (200) derived from a surface fitting process carried out on the readings. Specifically, during a scan performed by moving a wafer stage (300), readings of valid ones of the light spots are acquired as original surface profile data of the wafer (200), which are then processed to obtain leveling and focusing control data for the exposure field of the wafer stage (300).

There is provided a condensing point position detecting method of detecting a position in an optical axis direction of a condensing point of a laser beam condensed by a condenser of a laser processing apparatus. The condensing point position detecting method includes: an irradiation mark forming step of forming a plurality of irradiation marks in a substrate by irradiating the substrate held by a chuck table with the laser beam while moving the condenser in the optical axis direction with respect to the substrate; and a condensing point position detecting step of detecting an irradiation mark having a proper shape from the plurality of irradiation marks formed in the substrate, and detecting the position of the condensing point forming the proper irradiation mark as a position of an accurate condensing point.

Provided is a process for reducing the number of defects of an ordered film of a diblock copolymer on a surface. The process includes curing, on a surface, a composition including a diblock copolymer at a structuring temperature between the Tg of the diblock copolymer and the decomposition temperature of the diblock copolymer to form an ordered film of the diblock copolymer on the substrate. The composition has a product Xeffective*N of between 10.5 and 40 at the structuring temperature, where Xeffective is the Flory-Huggins parameter of the diblock copolymer and N is the total degree of polymerization of the blocks of the diblock copolymer.

An imaging apparatus for exposing a pattern onto a substrate has an illumination source that is energizable to generate a polarized exposure illumination beam of an actinic wavelength range and a mask disposed to impart the pattern to the polarized exposure illumination beam. A polarization beam splitter defines an illumination path that conveys the generated polarized exposure illumination beam through a quarter wave plate and plano-convex lens and toward a concave mirror and further conveys a reflected exposure illumination beam from the concave mirror toward an exposure plane for exposing the imparted pattern onto the substrate. The exposure plane is defined by the concave mirror, the plano convex lens, and the polarization beam splitter.

There is provided a condensing point position detecting method of detecting a position in an optical axis direction of a condensing point of a laser beam condensed by a condenser of a laser processing apparatus. The condensing point position detecting method includes: an irradiation mark forming step of forming a plurality of irradiation marks in a substrate by irradiating the substrate held by a chuck table with the laser beam while moving the condenser in the optical axis direction with respect to the substrate; and a condensing point position detecting step of detecting an irradiation mark having a proper shape from the plurality of irradiation marks formed in the substrate, and detecting the position of the condensing point forming the proper irradiation mark as a position of an accurate condensing point.

An initialization method including estimating a characteristic of a property of an object based on a plurality of measurements by the sensor of the property using a respective plurality of different measurement parameters, different ones of the measurements using different measurement parameters, the characteristic including a combination of respective outcomes of respective ones of the measurements weighted by a respective weighting coefficient; performing, for each of a plurality of models of the object, each model configured to enable respective simulation of the performing of the measurements, a respective simulation, the respective simulation including simulating the measurements under control of a respective plurality of different simulation parameters to obtain a respective plurality of simulated characteristics of the property, the different simulation parameters being indicative of the different measurement parameters; determining, for each of the models, a respective bias representative of a respective difference between a respective theoretical characteristic of the property in accordance with the respective model and a respective further combination of the simulated characteristics of the property in the respective model, the respective further combination of the simulated characteristics including the weight coefficients, each particular one of the weight coefficients associated with a particular one of the different simulation parameters; using a cost function configured to optimize a correspondence between the simulated characteristic of the property and the theoretical characteristic of the property, the cost function being a function of the respective biases of the models; and optimizing the cost function to derive the weight coefficients from the cost function; and using the weight coefficients and the associated simulation parameters in a controller associated with the sensor.

A method of determining a position of a product feature on a substrate, the method includes: obtaining a plurality of position measurements of one or more product features on a substrate, wherein the measurements are referenced to either a positioning system used in displacing the substrate in between measurements or a plane parallel to the surface of the substrate; and determining a distortion component of the substrate based on the position measurements.

The present invention provides an exposure apparatus which transfers a pattern of a mask onto a substrate by exposing the substrate while scanning the mask and the substrate, the apparatus including a stage configured to hold the substrate and move, a control unit configured to control movement of the stage, a first measurement unit configured to measure a position, in a height direction, of a shot region of the substrate held by the stage before the shot region reaches an exposure area where the shot region is exposed, and a second measurement unit configured to measure the position of the shot region in the height direction prior to the first measurement unit.

A measurement device is equipped with a surface plate, a slider which holds a substrate and which is movable relative to the surface plate, a drive system that moves the slider, a first position measurement system which measures the slider's first position information relative to the surface plate, a measurement unit having a mark detection system that detects a mark on a substrate, a second position measurement system which measures a relative second position information between the mark detection system and substrate, and a controller which obtains the first position information from the first position measurement system and second position information from the second position measurement system while controlling the slider's movement by the drive system, and obtains position information of a plurality of marks based on detection signals of the mark detection system having detected marks on the substrate, the first position information, and the second position information.

A lithography apparatus includes a measuring station that includes a first measuring device configured to measure a height of a substrate holder, and a second measuring device configured to measure a height of a surface of a substrate held by the holder, and a patterning station that includes a third measuring device configured to measure a height of the holder, and patterns the substrate held by the holder based on an output of the second measuring device. The patterning station includes a fourth measuring device configured to measure a height of a surface of a substrate held by the holder. The lithography apparatus includes a controller configured to obtain a correction value for an output obtained from at least one of the first and third measuring devices based on outputs of the second and fourth measuring devices with respect to a substrate held by the holder.