Carl-zeiss-smt Ag

Carl Zeiss Smt Gmbh

Gordon Doering

Ulrich Wegmann

Aksel Goehnermeier

Ulrich Loering

Matthias Manger

Sonja Schneider

Helmut Haidner

Franz-Josef Stickel

Johann Trenkler

Markus Goeppert

Gerd Reisinger

Stefan Kraus

Alfred Gatzweiler

A projection objective is disclosed. The projection objective can include a plurality of optical elements arranged to image a pattern from an object field in an object surface of the projection objective to an image field in an image surface of the projection objective with electromagnetic operating radiation from a wavelength band around an operating wavelength &#x3bb;. The plurality of optical elements can include an optical correction plate that includes a body comprising a material transparent to the operating radiation, the body having a first optical surface, a second optical surface, a plate normal substantially perpendicular to the first and second optical surfaces, and a thickness profile defined as a distance between the first and second optical surfaces measured parallel to the plate normal. The first optical surface can have a non-rotationally symmetric aspheric first surface profile with a first peak-to-valley value PV&#x3e;&#x3bb;. The second optical surface can have a non-rotationally symmetric aspheric second surface profile with a second peak-to-valley value PV&#x3e;&#x3bb;. A thickness of the optical correction plate can vary by less than 0.1*(PV+PV)/2 across the optical correction plate.

Projection objective for microlithography, projection exposure apparatus, projection exposure method and optical correction plate

A method and an apparatus for determining at least one optical property of an imaging optical system which is designed to image an object disposed in an object plane of the optical system into an assigned image plane. The method includes disposing at least one test structure in the object plane of the optical system, disposing an image recording device in at least two different positions relative to the image plane of the optical system, in each of the at least two relative positions the image recording device being offset in relation to the image plane to such an extent that an image of the pupil of the optical system is produced respectively on the image recording device by the optical system by means of the test structure, and recording an image produced on the image recording device by the optical system by means of the test structure in each of the at least two relative positions by means of the image recording device.

Method and apparatus for determining at least one optical property of an imaging optical system

A device, a microlithography projection exposure system, and a method for the determination of imaging errors of an optical imaging system using a radiation-superposition measuring technique which operates with lateral phase offset, having an optical element arranged on the object side of the imaging system, having a first periodic structure on the object side with a predetermined periodicity direction, an optical element arranged on the image side of the imaging system, having a second periodic structure on the image side with a periodicity direction corresponding to the first periodic structure, and a detector to detect the superposition pattern of an image of the first periodic structure with the second periodic structure. The first and/or second periodic structure contains at least three periodic substructures, which are arranged offset relative to one another by a predetermined phase offset in the periodicity direction, and the detector has a plurality of detector elements, the number of which is matched to the number of substructures and/or which respectively have a number of detector surfaces adapted for a predetermined aberration determination. In addition or as an alternative, it is possible to operate with a Moir&#xe9; technique which produces a fringe superposition pattern.

Device and method for the determination of imaging errors and microlithography projection exposure system

Growing community of inventors

Hamburg, Germany

Gordon Doering