Gigaphoton Inc.

Fumio Iwamoto

Tsukasa Hori

Yutaka Shiraishi

Osamu Wakabayashi

Takayuki Yabu

Masaki Nakano

Takashi Saito

Toshiyuki Hirashita

Kazukiyo Kamikanna

Hideo Hoshino

Toshihiro Nishisaka

Atsushi Ueda

Hiroshi Umeda

Yuta Takashima

Takuya Ishii

Koji Yamasaki

Takahisa Fujimaki

Tomohide Ichinose

Yoshiaki Kato

A target supply system includes a load lock chamber configured to contain a solid target substance, a solid target supply pipe connected to the load lock chamber, a pressure regulator configured to regulate an externally supplied gas pressure, a gas pressure supply pipe connected to the pressure regulator, a melting tank connected to both the solid target supply pipe and the gas pressure supply pipe, and configured to melt the solid target substance supplied from the load lock chamber via the solid target supply pipe to generate a liquid target substance, a nozzle configured to discharge the liquid target substance by a gas pressure supplied from the pressure regulator to the melting tank via the gas pressure supply pipe, and a buffer tank configured to communicate with the melting tank and supply a gas pressure thereto when the solid target substance is supplied to the melting tank.

Target supply system, extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus, and electronic device manufacturing method

An EUV light generation apparatus to generate EUV light by irradiating a target with pulse laser light to turn the target into plasma includes a chamber, a target supply unit configured to supply the target to a plasma generation region in the chamber, a pulse laser device configured to generate pulse laser light to be radiated to the target, and a processor configured to change a generation frequency of the target generated by the target supply unit to a natural number multiple of an irradiation frequency of the pulse laser light based on a size of the target or related information related to the size of the target.

EUV light generation apparatus, electronic device manufacturing method, and inspection method

A target supply device may include a tank configured to store a target substance, a pressure adjuster configured to adjust a pressure in the tank, a filter configured to filter the target substance in the tank, a nozzle configured to output a droplet of the target substance having passed through the filter, a droplet detector configured to detect outputting of the droplet from the nozzle, and a processor configured to control the pressure adjuster so that a pressure-increasing speed of the pressure in the tank is higher after detection of outputting of the droplet than before detection of outputting of the droplet, during a period in which the pressure in the tank is increased to a target pressure from a pressure at which outputting of the droplet is detected by the droplet detector for the first time after installation of the target supply device.

Target supply device, extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus, and electronic device manufacturing method

An extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus may include a chamber; a droplet generator configured to sequentially supply a first droplet of target substance to a plasma generation region in the chamber; and a gas flow generation device having a gas outlet for causing gas to flow along a travel direction of the first droplet around at least a part of a trajectory of the first droplet. Here, the droplet generator includes a vibrating element configured to generate, by applying vibration to a nozzle through which the target substance is output, a plurality of second droplets each having smaller volume than the first droplet and to cause the second droplets to be combined to generate the first droplet, and the gas outlet is located downstream, on a trajectory direction of the first droplet, of a position where the second droplets are combined and the first droplet is generated.

Extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus and electronic device manufacturing method

A target supply device includes a tank body portion holding a target substance; a communication portion connected to the tank body portion and including a filter that filters the melted target substance and a nozzle that discharges the target substance having passed through the filter; a main heater that heats the tank body portion; a sub-heater that heats the communication portion; and a control unit, the control unit being configured to set the main heater to a temperature higher than a melting point of the target substance before the target substance is melted, to set the sub-heater to a temperature lower than the melting point of the target substance until the target substance in the tank body portion is melted, and to set the sub-heater to a temperature higher than the melting point of the target substance after the target substance in the tank body portion is melted.

Target supply device, extreme ultraviolet light generating apparatus, and electronic device manufacturing method

A target supply device includes a vibrating element driven by a square wave electric signal and configured to generate a droplet of a target substance by vibrating the target substance to be output from a nozzle through a vibration propagating path; a temperature adjusting mechanism configured to adjust, to a specified temperature, a temperature of a vibration propagating path member including at least part of the vibration propagating path; a droplet detecting unit configured to output a signal containing information on a droplet detection interval indicating a time interval of droplets continuously generated; and a control unit configured to determine, based on the droplet detection interval, an operation specified temperature that is the specified temperature of the vibration propagating path member and an operation duty value that is a duty value of the electric signal used for driving the vibrating element when the droplet is irradiated with the laser beam.

A target supply device may be provided with a tank configured to contain a metal as a target material, a nozzle having a nozzle hole through which the target material is output from the tank, a filter disposed in a communication portion for conducting the target material from the tank to the nozzle hole, a temperature adjuster configured to change the temperature of the target material in the tank, and a controller controlling the temperature adjuster to change the temperature of the target material in the tank such that oxygen in the target material is precipitated as metal oxide.

Target supply device, target material refining method, recording medium having target material refining program recorded therein, and target generator

A droplet collection device may include a collecting container, a collision plate arranged in the collecting container and configured such that a droplet supplied from the opening to the collecting container is to collide with the collision plate, and a buffer member arranged on an opening side with respect to the collision plate and configured to mitigate impact of the droplet colliding with the collision plate. The buffer member may have a wire rod bundle configured such that multiple wire rods are bundled and fixed to a plate member. The wire rods may be made of carbon, and the plate member may be made of graphite. The wire rods may be fixed to the plate member with a graphitized adhesive with the wire rods being arranged in one direction.

Droplet collection device

An extreme ultraviolet light generation device may include a chamber in which a target is irradiated with laser light and extreme ultraviolet light is generated, and a target supply unit configured to eject a target into the chamber. The target supply unit may be provided with a nozzle member including an ejection face having an ejection port configured to eject the target into the chamber. An angle &#x3b8;defined by the ejection face and the gravity axis may satisfy a condition of '0 degrees&#x3c;&#x3b8;&#x3c;90 degrees'.

Extreme ultraviolet light generation device

A target supply device may include a nozzle configured to output a liquid target substance contained in a tank, an excitation element, a droplet detection unit configured to detect a droplet output from the nozzle, a passage time interval measurement unit configured to measure a passage time interval of droplets, and a control unit. The control unit may be configured to set a proper range of the passage time interval, change the duty value of the electric signal to be input to the excitation element, store the passage time interval measurement values of the droplets generated with respect to a plurality of duty values and variation thereof in association with the duty values, and determine an operation duty value based on the variation from among the duty values with which the passage time interval measurement values are within the proper range, among the duty values.

Target supply device and extreme ultraviolet light generating device

A filter may include: a first member having a first surface provided with a channel; and a second member set with a second surface thereof covering the channel. The first member may include a first passable portion that allows a fluid to pass between the first surface and a first space, which is defined beside a surface of the first member opposite to the first surface, through a first area of the channel. The second member may include a second passable portion that allows the fluid to pass between the second surface and a second space, which is defined beside a surface of the second member opposite to the second surface, through a second area of the channel distanced from the first area.

Filter and target supply apparatus

An EUV light generation device generates EUV light stably. The EUV light generation device may include a chamber in which extreme ultraviolet light is generated when a target is irradiated with laser light in a predetermined region inside the chamber, a target supply device configured to output the target to the predetermined region in the chamber to thereby supply the target to the predetermined region, and a target recovery apparatus configured to recover the target output from the target supply device and not irradiated with the laser light. The target recovery apparatus may include a receiver disposed to be inclined with respect to a trajectory of the target output from the target supply device, the receiver being configured to receive the target by allowing the target not irradiated with the laser light to collide with the receiver, and an excitation device configured to vibrate the receiver.

Extreme UV light generation device and target recovery apparatus

A target supply device may include: a tank including a cylindrical main body, a first end portion blocking an axial first end of the main body, and a second end portion blocking an axial second end of the main body; a nozzle provided to the first end portion of the tank and configured to output a target material contained inside the tank; and an inert gas supply unit configured to supply inert gas into the tank, in which the inert gas supply unit includes a gas flow path penetrating the second end portion of the tank and configured to guide the inert gas in a direction toward an inner wall of the main body.

Target supply apparatus and EUV light generating apparatus

An extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus includes a target supplier configured to output a target into a chamber as a droplet, the target generating extreme ultraviolet light when being irradiated with a laser beam in the chamber; a droplet measurement unit configured to measure a parameter for a state of the droplet outputted into the chamber; a pressure regulator configured to regulate a pressure in the target supplier in which the target is accommodated; and a target generation controller configured to control the pressure regulator, based on the parameter measured by the droplet measurement unit.

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Oyama, Japan

Fumio Iwamoto