Cymer, Inc.

Gregory Allen Rechtsteiner

Omar Zurita

Willard Earl Conley

Ivan Lalovic

Eric Anders Mason

Joshua Jon Thornes

Rostislav Rokitski

Rui Jiang

Paolo Alagna

Simon Hsieh

Jason J Lee

Robert Jay Rafac

A set of the pulses of light in a light beam is passed through a mask toward a wafer during a single exposure pass; at least a first aerial image and a second aerial image on the wafer based on pulses of light in the set of pulses that pass through the mask is generated during a single exposure pass, the first aerial image is at a first plane on the wafer and the second aerial image is at a second plane on the wafer, the first plane and the second plane being spatially distinct from each other and separated from each other by a separation distance along the direction of propagation; and a three-dimensional semiconductor component is formed.

Forming multiple aerial images in a single lithography exposure pass

A photolithography method includes producing, from an optical source, a pulsed light beam; and scanning the pulsed light beam across a substrate of a lithography exposure apparatus to expose the substrate with the pulsed light beam including exposing each sub-area of the substrate with the pulsed light beam. A sub-area is a portion of a total area of the substrate. For each sub-area of the substrate, a lithography performance parameter associated with the sub-area of the substrate is received; the received lithography performance parameter is analyzed, and, based on the analysis, a first spectral feature of the pulsed light beam is modified and a second spectral feature of the pulsed light beam is maintained.

Wafer-based light source parameter control

A photolithography method includes instructing an optical source to produce a pulsed light beam; scanning the pulsed light beam across a wafer of a lithography exposure apparatus to expose the wafer with the pulsed light beam; during scanning of the pulsed light beam across the wafer, receiving a characteristic of the pulsed light beam at the wafer; receiving a determined value of a physical property of a wafer for a particular pulsed light beam characteristic; and based on the pulsed light beam characteristic that is received during scanning and the received determined value of the physical property, modifying a performance parameter of the pulsed light beam during scanning across the wafer.

A photolithography system includes an optical system, an actuation apparatus, and a control module. The optical system includes an optical source that produces a pulsed light beam traveling along a beam path; a plurality of optical components positioned between the optical source and a photolithography exposure apparatus, at least some of the plurality of optical components configured to receive the pulsed light beam and direct the pulsed light beam to the photolithography exposure apparatus; and an optical element positioned to interact with the pulsed light beam. The actuation apparatus is coupled to the optical element. The actuation apparatus is configured to adjust a physical property of the optical element based on a control signal from the control module to thereby adjust a polarization of the pulsed light beam.

Polarization control of pulsed light beam

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Gregory Allen Rechtsteiner