Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method

• Main Authors: STREEFKERK BOB,DONDERS SJOERD NICOLAAS LAMBER,DE GRAAF ROELOF FREDERICK,HOOGENDAM CHRISTIAAN ALEXANDER,JANSEN HANS,LEENDERS MARTINUS HENDRIKUS AN,LIEBREGTS PAULUS MARTINUS MARI,MERTENS JEROEN JOHANNES, IEPEN MICHEL
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 08.11.2006
• Subjects: APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; PHOTOGRAPHY; PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES,e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTORDEVICES; PHYSICS; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

An immersion lithographic apparatus is provided with a barrier member which defines a space for containing liquid between the projection system and the substrate. In order to minimize the crossing of the edge of the substrate which is being imaged (which can lead to inclusion of bubbles in the immersion liquid), the cross-sectional area of the space in a plane parallel to the substrate is made as small as possible. The smallest theoretical size is the size of the target portion which is imaged by the projection system. In some embodiments the shape of the final element of the projection system is also changed to have a similar size and/or shape in a cross-section parallel to the substrate to that of the target portion.