Cymer, Inc.

USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Bryan George Moosman

Richard G Morton

Thomas D Steiger

Richard C Ujazdowski

Timothy S Dyer

Walter Dale Gillespie

Richard Lee Waters

Tom A Watson

Curtis L Rettig

Alex P Ivaschenko

William N Partlo

Thomas Patrick Duffey

Yoshiho Amada

James A Carmichael

Brian Strate

Richard L Sandstrom

Daniel J W Brown

Richard M Ness

Walter Dean Gillespie

Vladimir B Fleurov

Fedor Trintchouk

Rajasekhar Rao

J Martin Algots

Brett D Smith

Jiping Zhang

Frederick A Palenschat

James J Ferrell

Tae H Chung

Edward P Holtaway

Thomas E McKelvey

Terance Hilsabeck

In one preferred embodiment, a semiconductor photodiode is provided which includes a substrate layer fabricated from a Si32 radioisotope of a first type of conductivity material and a thick-field oxide layer formed on the substrate layer. The oxide layer has a selectively patterned area to form an open region on the substrate layer. The semiconductor photodiode further includes a dopant material of a second conductivity material, which is different from the first conductivity material. The dopant material is formed within the open region on the substrate layer to form a photodiode junction. The semiconductor photodiode further includes an enclosure package enclosing the semiconductor diode for containing any radiation from the radioisotope.

Beta voltaic semiconductor photodiode fabricated from a radioisotope

In one preferred embodiment, a semiconductor diode includes a first layer formed with a p-type semiconductor, a second layer formed with an n-type semiconductor, and a third active depletion layer contained between the first and second layers. The third layer is formed with a radioisotope of the p-type and n-type semiconductors (preferably Si 32) such that initial emission of beta particles begins in the active depletion region and substantially all of the emitted beta particles are contained within the first, second and third layers during operation. The p-type and n-type layers each have sufficient depth to contain substantially all of beta particles emitted from the depletion layer. The depth of each of the p-type and n-type layers is substantially equal to or greater than the maximum beta emission depth of the radioisotope.

Beta voltaic semiconductor diode fabricated from a radioisotope

A system and method of operating a high repetition rate gas discharge laser system. The system includes a gas discharge chamber having a hot chamber output window heated by the operation of the gas discharge laser chamber, an output laser light pulse beam path enclosure downstream of the hot chamber window and comprising an ambient temperature window, a cooling mechanism cooling the beam path enclosure intermediate the output window and the ambient window. The gas discharge chamber can include a longitudinally and axially compliant ground rod, including a first end connected to a first chamber wall, a second end connected to a second chamber wall, the second chamber wall opposite the first chamber wall and a first portion formed into a helical spring, the ground rod providing mechanical support for a preionizer tube.

6 KHz and above gas discharge laser system

One aspect of the disclosed subject matter describes a gas discharge laser chamber. The gas discharge laser chamber includes a discharge region formed between a first electrode and a second electrode, a tangential fan for circulating gas through the discharge region, wherein the fan is proximate to an input side of the discharge region, an input side acoustic baffle proximate to the input side of the discharge region. The input side acoustic baffle includes a vanishing point leading edge, a vanishing point trailing edge, a gas flow smoothing offset surface aligning a gas flow from a surface of the input side acoustic baffle to an input side of a cathode support in the discharge region, a plurality of ridges separated by a plurality of trenches, wherein the plurality of ridges and the plurality of trenches are aligned with a direction of gas flow through the discharge region and wherein the plurality of ridges have a random pitch between about 0.3 and about 0.7 inch.

Gas discharge laser chamber

A method and apparatus if disclosed which may comprise a high power high repetition rate gas discharge laser UV light source which may comprise: a gas discharge chamber comprising an interior wall comprising a vertical wall and an adjacent bottom wall; a gas circulation fan creating a gas flow path adjacent the interior vertical wall and the adjacent bottom wall; an in-chamber dust trap positioned a region of low gas flow, which may be along an interior wall and may comprise at least one meshed screen, e.g., a plurality of meshed screens, which may comprise at least two different gauge meshed screens. The dust trap may extend along the bottom interior wall of the chamber and/or a vertical portion of the interior wall. The dust trap may comprise a first meshed screen having a first gauge; a second meshed screen having a second gauge smaller than the first gauge; and the second meshed screen intermediate the first meshed screen and the interior wall. The chamber may comprise a plurality of dust collecting recesses in at least one of the vertical interior wall and the bottom wall of the chamber which may be selected from a group comprising a one-part recess and a multi-part recess, which may comprise two sections angled with respect to each other. The dust trap may comprise a pressure trap positioned between a portion of a main insulator and an interior wall of the chamber. The chamber may comprise a gas circulating fan comprising a cross-flow fan with a fan cutoff that may comprise a vortex control pocket. The chamber may comprise a preionization mechanism comprising a preionization tub containing a ground rod within an elongated opening in the preionization tube that may comprise a compliant member, an automatic preionization shut-off mechanism, a preionization onset control mechanism and/or a focusing element. The chamber may comprise an elongated baffle plate that may comprise a plurality of pyramidal structures including varying numbers of generally pyramidal elements and oriented in groups of varying numbers of generally pyramidal elements and oriented along and transverse to the longitudinal axis. Acoustic resonances within the chamber may also be reduced by introducing an artificial jitter into the timing of the laser discharges varying the inter-pulse period randomly or in a repeating pattern from pulse to pulse within a burst.

Gas discharge laser chamber improvements

Fluorine gas discharge laser electrodes and electrode systems that may comprise a plurality of current return tangs extending for less than the respective length of the second elongated gas discharge electrode. In addition electrodes may comprise a first discharge shaping magnet mounted in a first elongated gas discharge electrode and a second discharge shaping magnet mounted in a second elongated gas discharge electrode. Also is an electrode may comprise a crown straddling the centerline axis between the pair of side walls and the pair of end walls, comprising a first material, forming at least a portion of the discharge region of the electrode and a pair of elongated high erosion regions on either side of the crown comprising a second material with a relatively higher erosion rate during gas discharge than that of the first material.

Electrodes for fluorine gas discharge lasers

A gas discharge laser includes a laser chamber containing a halogen laser gas, two electrode elements defining a cathode and an anode, each having a discharge receiving region defining two longitudinal edges and having a region width defining a width of an electric discharge between the electrode elements in the laser gas. The anode comprising a first anode portion comprising a first anode material defining a first anode material erosion rate, located entirely within the discharge receiving region, a pair of second anode portions comprising a second anode material defining a second anode material erosion rate, respectively located on each side of the first anode portion and at least partially within the discharge receiving region; an electrode center base portion integral with the first anode portion; and wherein each of the respective pair of second anode portions is mechanically bonded to the center base portion.

Halogen gas discharge laser electrodes

The present invention provides a gas discharge laser having at least one long-life elongated electrode for producing at least 12 billion high voltage electric discharges in a fluorine containing laser gas. In a preferred embodiment at least one of the electrodes is comprised of a first material having a relatively low anode erosion rate and a second anode material having a relatively higher anode erosion rate. The first anode material is positioned at a desired anode discharge region of the electrode. The second anode material is located adjacent to the first anode material along at least two long sides of the first material. During operation of the laser erosion occurs on both materials but the higher erosion rate of the second material assures that any tendency of the discharge to spread onto the second material will quickly erode away the second material enough to stop the spread of the discharge. In a preferred embodiment the anode is as described above and the cathode is also a two-material electrode with the first material at the discharge region being C26000 brass and the second material being C36000 brass. A pulse power system provides electrical pulses at rates of at least 1 KHz. A blower circulates laser gas between the electrodes at speeds of at least 5 m/s and a heat exchanger is provided to remove heat produced by the blower and the discharges.

High rep-rate laser with improved electrodes

A laser and method for operating a laser and disclosed. The laser may include a first discharge electrode and a second discharge electrode positioned at a distance from the first electrode. A laserable gas may be provided together with a circulation system to flow the gas into a space between the electrodes. A voltage source may be connected to the electrodes for creating a discharge in the space; and a flow guide having a guide surface in contact with the gas may be provided that is guide selectively moveable relative to the first electrode to guide a flow of gas into the space. In one implementation, the flow guide directs flow toward an extremity of the first electrode and is adjustable to direct flow toward the extremity as the first electrode wears.

Adjustable flow guide to accommodate electrode erosion in a gas discharge laser

A method and apparatus for producing a very high repetition rate gas discharge laser system in a MOPA configuration is disclosed which may comprise a master oscillator gas discharge layer system producing a beam of oscillator laser output light pulses at a very high pulse repetition rate; at least two power amplification gas discharge laser systems receiving laser output light pulses from the master oscillator gas discharge laser system and each of the at least two power amplification gas discharge laser systems amplifying some of the received laser output light pulses at a pulse repetition that is a fraction of the very high pulse repetition rate equal to one over the number of the at least two power amplification gas discharge laser systems to form an amplified output laser light pulse beam at the very high pulse repetition rate, which may be positioned in series with respect to the oscillator laser output light pulse beam. The apparatus and method may further comprise a beam delivery unit connected to the laser light output of the power amplification laser system. The apparatus and method may be a very high repetition rate gas discharge laser system in a MOPO configuration. The apparatus and method may comprise a compression head comprising a compression head charge storage device being charged at x times per second; a gas discharge chamber comprising at least two sets of paired gas discharge electrodes; at least two magnetically saturable switches, respectively connected between the compression head charge storage device and one of the at least two sets of paired electrodes and comprising first and second opposite biasing windings having a first biasing current for the first biasing winding and a second biasing current for the second biasing winding and comprising a switching circuit to switch the biasing current from the first biasing current to the second biasing current such that only one of the at least two switches receives the first biasing current at a repetition rate equal to x divided by the number of the at least two sets of paired electrodes while the remainder of the at least two magnetically saturable switches receives the second biasing current. The apparatus and method may be utilized as a lithography tool or for producing laser produced plasma EUV light.

Very high repetition rate narrow band gas discharge laser system

Growing community of inventors

San Marcos, CA, United States of America

Bryan George Moosman