Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

Jou-Hsuan Lu

Li-Jui Chen

Shang-Chieh Chien

Heng-Hsin Liu

Ming-Hsun Tsai

Hsin-Feng Chen

Wei-Shin Cheng

Cheng-Hsuan Wu

Cheng-Hao Lai

Yu-Kuang Sun

Yu-Fa Lo

Shih-Yu Tu

Chiao-Hua Cheng

Impurities in a liquefied solid fuel utilized in a droplet generator of an extreme ultraviolet photolithography system are removed from vessels containing the liquefied solid fuel. Removal of the impurities increases the stability and predictability of droplet formation which positively impacts wafer yield and droplet generator lifetime.

EUV photolithography system fuel source and methods of operating the same

The present disclosure is directed to a modularized vessel droplet generator assembly (MGDVA) including a droplet generator assembly (DGA). Under a normal operation, the liquid fuel moves along an operation pathway extending through the DGA to eject or discharge the liquid fuel (e.g., liquid tin) from a nozzle of the DGA into a vacuum chamber. The liquid fuel in the vacuum chamber is then exposed to a laser generating an extreme ultra-violet (EUV) light. Under a service operation, the operation pathway is closed and a service pathway extending through the DGA is opened. A gas is introduced into the service pathway forming a gas-liquid interface between the gas and the liquid fuel. The gas-liquid interface is driven to an isolation valve directly adjacent to the DGA. In other words, the gas pushes back the liquid fuel to the isolation valve. Once the gas-liquid interface reaches the isolation valve, the isolation valve is closed isolating the DGA from the liquid fuel.

Droplet generator assembly and method of replacing components

Growing community of inventors

Hsinchu, Taiwan

Jou-Hsuan Lu