Substrate processing and alignment

Abstract

A substrate can efficiently be manufactured by separating the alignment and the actual processing when an alignment mark is provided, which is fixed with respect to the substrate and when position information on a position of a process area on the substrate is retrieved with respect to the alignment mark before the substrate is processed. During the processing alignment can then be performed by redetermining the position of the alignment mark only once and by using the stored position information on the position of the process area.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for manufacturing a device using a substrate, the method comprising:
 determining a position of an alignment mark being fixed with respect to the substrate;   determining position information on the position of a process area with respect to the alignment mark using information determined within the process area of the surface of the substrate, and storing the determined position information as stored position information in a computer-readable information structure in form of a memory at a substrate support structure;   redetermining the position of the alignment mark;   aligning the position of the process area using information derived from the redetermined position of the alignment mark and from the position information on the position of the process area; and   processing the process area;   wherein the stored position information are transferrable together with the substrate.   
     
     
         2 . The method in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein transferring the stored position information together with the substrate enables to separate the aligning process from the processing of the process area. 
     
     
         3 . The method in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the stored position information are transferred anytime between determining the position of the alignment mark and processing the process area. 
     
     
         4 . The method in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the process area comprises a first process area and a second process area, the method further comprising:
 determining the position information on the position of the first process area and on the position of the second process area with respect to the alignment mark using topographic information determined within the process areas of the surface of the substrate;   aligning the position of the first process area using information derived from the redetermined position of the alignment mark and from the position information on the position of the first process area;   processing the first process area;   aligning the second process area using information derived from the position information on the position of the second process area; and   processing the second process area.   
     
     
         5 . The method in accordance with  claim 4 , further comprising:
 using a nano-imprinting technique for processing the first process area and the second process area.   
     
     
         6 . The method in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising:
 storing the determined position information on the position of the first process area and on the position of the second process area.   
     
     
         7 . The method in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising:
 storing or transporting the substrate and the alignment mark between the steps of determining the position of the alignment mark and redetermining the position of the alignment mark.   
     
     
         8 . The method in accordance with  claim 1 , in which the step of determining the position of the alignment mark comprises a detection of mechanical structures within the alignment mark by an atomic force microscope. 
     
     
         9 . The method in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing the alignment mark fixing the substrate to a substrate support having applied thereon the alignment mark.   
     
     
         10 . The method in accordance with  claim 9 , in which the fixing is performed by application of a vacuum between the substrate and the substrate support. 
     
     
         11 . The method in accordance with  claim 9 , in which the fixing of the substrate to the substrate support is making use of temporal wafer bonding techniques. 
     
     
         12 . The method in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising:
 generating the alignment mark, on the substrate.   
     
     
         13 . The method in accordance with  claim 1 , in which the step of determining the position information on the position of the second area comprises:
 determining relative position information on a relative position of the second process area with respect to the first process area; and   deriving the position information on the position of the second process area using the position information on the position of the first process area and the relative position information.   
     
     
         14 . The method in accordance with  claim 1 , in which additional tag information of a computer-readable information tag associated to the substrate is stored in the step of storing the position information, to allow for the association of the stored position information to the substrate. 
     
     
         15 . The method in accordance with  claim 1 , in which the step of determining the position information on the position of the first process area and on the position of the second process area comprises:
 identifying the first and the second process area by comparing the determined information with stored reference information.   
     
     
         16 . The method in accordance with  claim 1 , in which the determination of the position information uses optical patterns or nano-structured surfaces as the information determined within the process areas of the surface of the substrate. 
     
     
         17 . A substrate support structure adapted to allow determination of position information on a position of a process area on the surface of a substrate, comprising:
 a substrate support including an alignment mark comprising a surface structure or an optical pattern, the surface structure including information;   a substrate, being reversibly fixed to the substrate support, such that the substrate is in fixed orientation with respect to the alignment mark; and   a computer-readable information structure in form of a memory for storing information associated to the substrate, wherein the stored information comprise determined position information on the position of a process area with respect to the alignment mark, and wherein the stored position information are transferrable together with the substrate.   
     
     
         18 . The substrate support structure in accordance with  claim 17 , in which information on an absolute position of the alignment mark is coded within a pattern of the surface structure of the alignment mark. 
     
     
         19 . The substrate support structure in accordance with  claim 17 , in which the information comprises structure sizes smaller than 100 nm. 
     
     
         20 . An apparatus for processing a substrate, the apparatus comprising:
 a calibration unit for determining the position of the alignment mark;   a position measuring unit for determining information of the surface of the substrate and for deriving the position information on the position of a process area using information on the determined position of the alignment mark and the information determined within the process area, and for storing the determined position information as stored position information in a computer-readable information structure in form of a memory at a substrate support structure, wherein the stored position information are transferrable together with the substrate;   a processing device for processing the process area;   a recalibration unit for redetermining the position of the alignment mark; and   an alignment unit for performing an alignment of the processing device and the process area using information derived from the redetermined position of the alignment mark and from the position information on the position of the process area.   
     
     
         21 . The apparatus in accordance with  claim 20 , wherein the process area comprises a first process area and a second process area,
 wherein the position measuring unit is configured for determining information of the surface of the substrate and for deriving the position information on the position of the first process area and on the position of the second process area using topographic information on the determined position of the alignment mark and the information determined within the process areas;   wherein the processing device is configured for processing the first and the second process areas;   wherein the alignment unit is configured for performing an alignment of the processing device and the first process area using information derived from the redetermined position of the alignment mark and from the position information on the position of the first process area and for performing an alignment of the processing device with the second process area using information derived from the position information on the position of the second process area.   
     
     
         22 . The apparatus in accordance with  claim 21 , wherein the processing device is configured for processing the first and the second process areas using nano-imprinting-techniques. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus in accordance with  claim 21 , in which the position-measuring unit is adapted such that the determining of the position information of the second process area comprises:
 deriving a relative position information on a relative position of the second process area with respect to the position of the first process area; and   deriving the position information on the position of the second process area using the position information on the position of the first process area and the relative position information.   
     
     
         24 . The apparatus in accordance with  claim 21 , in which the position measuring unit is adapted to derive the position information on the position of the first process area and on the position of the second process area by identifying the first and the second process area comparing the determined information with stored reference information. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus in accordance with  claim 21 , in which the position measuring unit is configured to derive the position information using optical patterns or nano-structured surfaces as the information determined within the process areas of the surface of the substrate. 
     
     
         26 . A substrate support structure adapted to allow determination of position information on a position of a process area on the surface of a substrate, comprising:
 a substrate support including an alignment mark comprising a surface structure or an optical pattern, the surface structure including information, the substrate support being configured to reversibly fix a substrate thereto, such that the substrate is in fixed orientation with respect to the alignment mark; and   a computer-readable information structure in form of a memory for storing information associated to the substrate, wherein the stored information comprise determined position information on the position of a process area with respect to the alignment mark, and wherein the stored position information are transferrable together with the substrate.