Asml Holding N.v.

Asml Netherlands B.v.

Daniel Nathan Burbank

Christopher Charles Ward

Mark Josef Schuster

Johannes Onvlee

Daniel Nicholas Galburt

Samir A Nayfeh

Frank Johannes Jacobus Van Boxtel

Earl William Ebert

Justin Matthew Verdirame

Abdullah Alikhan

Peter A Delmastro

Erik Roelof Loopstra

Laurentius Johannes Adrianus Van Bokhoven

Thomas Venturino

Marco Koert Stavenga

Franciscus Godefridus Casper Bijnen

Stephen Roux

Santiago E Del Puerto

Herman Vogel

Jan Steven Christiaan Westerlaken

Yang-Shan Huang

Koen Cuypers

Marinus Jan Remie

Christiaan Louis Valentin

Robertus Nicodemus Jacobus Van Ballegoij

Jean-Philippe Xavier Van Damme

Ronald Peter Albright

Enrico Zordan

Geoffrey Alan Schultz

Lowell Lane Baker

Arindam Sinharoy

Santiago E Delpuerto

Peter James Graffeo

Duncan Harris

Brandon Adam Evans

Duncan Walter Bromley

Ankur Ramesh Baheti

Marcelo Henrique De Andrade Oliveira

Chattarbir Singh

Henricus Anita Jozef Wilhemus Van De Ven

José Nilton Fonseca Junior

An object stage that includes a first structure and a second structure movable relative to the first structure. The second structure is configured to support an object. The object stage also includes a seal plate movably coupled to the first structure or the second structure, but not both. Further, the object stage includes an actuator configured to move the seal plate such that a substantially constant gap is defined between the seal plate and the first structure or second structure that is not coupled to the seal plate.

Particle suppression systems and methods

Systems and methods are disclosed that provide a support system in the Z direction for patterning devices that can function under high acceleration and deceleration with minimal effect on travel and hysteresis in the X and Y directions. A reticle clamping system includes a support device and a holding device. The holding device is configured to releasably couple a reticle to the support device. The holding device includes a plurality of burls. The reticle clamping system further includes a metallic support system coupled to the support device. The metallic support system provides a vacuum path from a vacuum channel to the holding device.

Reticle clamping device

Particle trap assemblies configured to reduce the possibility of contaminant particles with a large range of sizes, materials, travel speeds and angles of incidence reaching a particle-sensitive environment. The particle trap may be a gap geometric particle trap located between a stationary part and a movable part of the lithography apparatus. The particle trap may also be a surface geometric particle trap located on a surface of a particle sensitive environment in lithography or metrology apparatus.

Membrane assembly and particle trap

An apparatus, system, and method cool a patterning device by supplying a non-uniform gas flow. The apparatus and system include a gas supply structure that supplies a gas flow across the first surface of the patterning device. The gas supply structure includes a gas supply nozzle specially configured to create a non-uniform gas flow distribution. A greater volume or velocity of the gas flow is directed to desired portion of the patterning device.

Reticle cooling by non-uniform gas flow

A system is disclosed for reducing overlay errors by controlling gas flow around a patterning device of a lithographic apparatus. The lithographic apparatus includes an illumination system configured to condition a radiation beam. The lithographic apparatus further includes a movable stage comprising a support structure that may be configured to support a patterning device. The patterning device may be configured to impart the radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section to form a patterned radiation beam. In addition, the lithographic apparatus comprises a plate () positioned between the movable stage () and the projection system (). The plate includes an opening () that comprises a first sidewall () and a second sidewall (). The plate may be configured to provide a gas flow pattern () in a region between the movable stage and the projection system that is substantially perpendicular to an optical axis of the illumination system.

Gas flow optimization in reticle stage environment

A patterning device support for controlling a temperature of a patterning device can include a movable component. The movable component can include a gas inlet for supplying a gas flow across a surface of the patterning device and a gas outlet for extracting the gas flow. The patterning device support can also include a gas flow generator coupled to a duct, for recirculating the gas flow from the gas outlet to the gas inlet.

Patterning device support, lithographic apparatus, and method of controlling patterning device temperature

A system () for supporting an exchangeable object () can include a movable structure () and an object holder () configured to be movable relative to the movable structure. The object holder can be configured to hold the exchangeable object. The system can also include a first actuator assembly () and second actuator assembly (). The first actuator assembly can be configured to apply a force to the object holder to translate the exchangeable object generally along a plane. The second actuator assembly can be configured to apply a bending moment to the object holder. The exchangeable object can be a patterning device of a lithographic apparatus.

Patterning device manipulating system and lithographic apparatuses

A patterning device support (), for example, a patterning device () or substrate support, can be configured to release internal stresses of a patterning device loaded thereon. The patterning device support can include a positive pressuring generating interface () or an acoustic vibration generating interface (), or can be configured to oscillate while at least a portion of patterning device is decoupled from the patterning device support. A method of transferring a patterning device between a patterning device handling apparatus and a patterning device support configured to move the patterning device can include positioning the patterning device onto a surface of the patterning device support, and performing a process that releases internal stress of the patterning device.

Patterning device support and lithographic apparatus

A patterning device support () for controlling a temperature of a patterning device () can include a movable component (). The movable component can include a gas inlet () for supplying a gas flow across a surface of the patterning device and a gas outlet () for extracting the gas flow. The patterning device support can also include a gas flow generator () coupled to a duct () for recirculating the gas flow from the gas outlet to the gas inlet.

A system for controlling temperature of a patterning device in a lithographic apparatus is discussed. The system includes a patterning device support configured to support a patterning device and a reticle cooling system configured to provide substantially uniform temperature distribution across the patterning device. The reticle cooling system includes a first and second array of gas inlets configured to provide a first and second gas flow along a first and second direction across a surface of the patterning device, respectively, where first and second directions are opposite to each other. The reticle cooling system further includes a switching control system configured to control operation of the first and second arrays of gas inlets.

Reticle cooling system in a lithographic apparatus

Position and curvature information of a patterning device may be determined directly from the patterning device and controlled based on the determined information. In an embodiment, a lithographic apparatus includes a position determining system operative to determine a relative position of the patterning device. The patterning device may be configured to create a patterned radiation beam from a radiation beam incident on a major surface of the patterning device. The patterning device may have a side surface having an edge in common with the major surface. The position determining system may include an interferometer operative to transmit light to the side surface and to receive the transmitted light after the transmitted light has been reflected at the side surface. The position determining system is operative to determine a quantity representative of the relative position of the patterning device from the received reflected transmitted light.

Determining position and curvature information directly from a surface of a patterning device

Growing community of inventors

Ridgefield, CT, United States of America

Daniel Nathan Burbank