Kla Corporation

Kla Tencor Corporation

Joseph Walsh

Gildardo Rios Delgado

Rudy Flores Garcia

Garry Allen Rose

Eduardo Soto

Alexander Bykanov

Daniel C Wack

Rui-Fang Shi

Damon Floyd Kvamme

Oleg Khodykin

Frank Chilese

Ulrich Pohlmann

Layton Hale

Eric Vella

Zefram Marks

Francis Chilese

Brian Ahr

Ali R Ehsani

Haifeng Huang

I-Fan Wu

Detlef Wolter

Konstantin Tsigutkin

Sarbjit Singh Grewal

Meier Brender

Orlando Threet

Matthew Hoffman

Bernd Burfeindt

Christopher Davis

Joseph Armstrong

Kent McKernan

David Jalil Zare

Frank Barkusky

Mitchell Lindsay

An optical system with aberration correction is disclosed. The optical system may include an illumination source. The optical system may include a detector. The optical system may include one or more collection optics configured to image a sample onto the detector based on illumination from the illumination source. The optical system may include two or more aberration correction plates located in one or more pupil planes of the one or more collection optics. The two or more aberration correction plates may provide at least partial correction of two or more linearly-independent aberration terms. Any particular one of the two or more aberration correction plates may have a spatially-varying thickness profile providing a selected amount of correction for a single particular aberration term of the two or more linearly-independent aberration terms.

Correcting aberration and apodization of an optical system using correction plates

An apparatus includes an upper member, a lower member disposed beneath the upper member, and a spring disposed between the upper member and the lower member. The upper member has a pin extending downward therefrom. The lower member has a seat configured to receive a free end of the pin. The spring surrounds the pin, and has a free length that is less than the length of the pin. In an unloaded state, the free end of the pin contacts the seat and the spring applies a compressive force to prevent relative lateral movement between the upper member and the lower member. When the lower member carries a load in a loaded state, the load applies a tensile force to the spring that forms a gap between the free end of the pin and the seat, which allows relative lateral movement between the upper member and the lower member.

Spring mechanism for self-lock and centering during loading

An enclosure surrounding the optical component can be connected with a vapor source. The vapor source can provide a vapor to the enclosure with a vapor level from 500 ppm to 15000 ppm. The concentration of vapor in the enclosure can increase the lifespan of the optical component in the enclosure.

Vapor as a protectant and lifetime extender in optical systems

An actuator for an optic mount in a vacuum environment includes a bellows around an actuator compartment. The bellows provides a seal around the actuator. A filter assembly is positioned between the actuator compartment and an interior of a vacuum chamber. The filter assembly includes a first particle filter, a second particle filter, and a purifier medium between the first particle filter and the second particle filter. Vacuum conditions in the actuator compartment can be achieved with a pump for the vacuum chamber, but particles and contaminants from the actuator or actuator compartment are captured by the filter assembly.

Vacuum actuator containment for molecular contaminant and particle mitigation

A device includes spectral purity filters (SPF) and structures for supporting SPF films. The device further includes a monolithic support having a mesh portion and a frame portion and a film overlaying at least a portion of the support. In some cases, the film can be affixed to the support without an adhesive. The monolithic support can be Silicon, stainless steel or some other suitable material and the film can be a single layer spectral purity filter film or a multilayer spectral purity filter film. The mesh portion of the support can include a plurality of through-holes that are formed by etching and/or eroding a thinned material such as silicon or stainless steel.

Spectral purity filters (SPF), support structures for SPF films and corresponding methods of manufacture

Systems and methods to control particle generation in a reticle inspection system are presented. The number of particles added to a reticle during an entire load-inspect-unload sequence of a reticle inspection system is reduced by performing all reticle contact events in a controlled, flowing air environment. In one embodiment, the reticle is fixed to a carrier by clamping outside of the vacuum environment, and the carrier, rather than the reticle, is coupled to the reticle stage of the inspection system. In this manner, the high levels of back-side particulation associated with electrostatic chucking are avoided. In addition, the carrier is configured to be coupled to the reticle stage in any of four different orientations separated by ninety degrees.

Apparatus and methods for reticle handling in an EUV reticle inspection tool

An EUV light source includes a rotatable, cylindrically-symmetric element having a surface coated with a plasma-forming target material, a drive laser source configured to generate one or more laser pulses sufficient to generate EUV light via formation of a plasma by excitation of the plasma-forming target material, a set of focusing optics configured to focus the one or more laser pulses onto the surface of the rotatable, cylindrically-symmetric element, a set of collection optics configured to receive EUV light emanated from the generated plasma and further configured to direct the illumination to an intermediate focal point, and a gas management system including a gas supply subsystem configured to supply plasma-forming target material to the surface of the rotatable, cylindrically-symmetric element.

System and method for generation of extreme ultraviolet light

Growing community of inventors

Soquel, CA, United States of America

Joseph Walsh