Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.

Other

Kazuo Shirota

Hisatoshi Otsuka

Masaki Takeuchi

Hisashi Yagi

Osamu Sekizawa

Koji Matsuo

Akira Fujinoki

Daijitsu Harada

Shigeru Maida

Motoyuki Yamada

Hiroyuki Nishimura

Kazuhiro Kumakura

Kazuhiko Aoki

Takayuki Shimakawa

Junichiro Nishida

A synthetic quartz glass substrate having a controlled hydrogen molecule concentration is prepared by (a) hot shaping a synthetic quartz glass ingot into a glass block, (b) slicing the glass block into a glass plate, (c) annealing the glass plate at 500-1,250° C. for 15-60 hours, (d) hydrogen doping treatment of the glass plate in a hydrogen gas atmosphere at 300-450° C. for 20-40 hours, and (e) dehydrogenation treatment of the glass plate at 200-400° C. for 5-10 hours.

Synthetic quartz glass substrate and making method

A synthetic quartz glass substrate is prepared by furnishing a synthetic quartz glass block, coating an arbitrary surface and an opposite surface of the block with a liquid having a transmittance of at least 99.0%/mm at the wavelength of birefringence measurement, measuring the birefringence of the block by letting light enter one coated surface and exit the other coated surface, and sorting the block to an acceptable or unacceptable group, based on the measured birefringence value.

Method for preparing synthetic quartz glass substrate

A synthetic quartz glass substrate is prepared by furnishing a synthetic quartz glass block, coating two opposite surfaces of the block with a liquid having a transmittance of at least 99.0%/mm at the wavelength of birefringence measurement, measuring a birefringence distribution on the block by letting light enter one coated surface and exit the other coated surface, and sorting the block to an acceptable group or unacceptable group, based on the measured birefringence distribution.

A method for manufacturing quartz glass using a main burner having a multi-tube assembly having a center tube, a first enclosure tube surrounding the center tube, a second enclosure tube surrounding the first enclosure tube, a tubular shell surrounding the multi-tube assembly, and a plurality of nozzles disposed within the tubular shell, a double-tube assembly surrounding at least a forward opening of the main burner includes feeding silica-forming compound to the center tube, a combustion-supporting gas to the first enclosure tube and the nozzles, a combustible gas to the second enclosure tube and the tubular shell, and a combustion-supporting gas to the double-tube assembly, forming oxyhydrogen flame for hydrolyzing or decomposing the silica-forming compound to form silica, depositing the silica on the target, and melting and vitrifying the deposited silica into quartz glass.

Burner and method for the manufacture of synthetic quartz glass

A synthetic quartz glass ingot is prepared by vapor phase hydrolyzing or oxidatively decomposing a silica feedstock in a flame to form fine particles of silica, depositing the silica particles on a target and melting and vitrifying the particles to form a synthetic quartz glass ingot on the target while the target is moved back and forth. The method further comprises: (i) continuously feeding the silica feedstock at a predetermined rate, (ii) keeping the flame in constant contact with an overall growing face, (iii) cyclically repeating the back and forth movement of the target at a predetermined speed, and (iv) maintaining the shape of the growing ingot unchanged.

Manufacture of synthetic quartz glass ingot and synthetic quartz glass member

When a synthetic quartz glass substrate is prepared from a synthetic quartz glass block, (I) the block has a hydrogen molecule concentration of 5&#xd7;10-1&#xd7;10molecules/cm, (II) the substrate has a hydrogen molecule concentration of 5&#xd7;10-5&#xd7;10molecules/cm, (III) the substrate has an in-plane variation of its internal transmittance at 193.4 nm which is up to 0.2%, and (IV) the substrate has an internal transmittance of at least 99.6% at 193.4 nm. The synthetic quartz glass substrate has a high transmittance and a uniform transmittance distribution, and is adapted for use with excimer lasers, particularly ArF excimer lasers.

Synthetic quartz glass substrate for excimer lasers and making method

A synthetic quartz glass substrate having (i) an OH concentration of 1-100 ppm and a hydrogen molecule concentration of 1&#xd7;10-1&#xd7;10molecules/cm, (ii) an in-plane variation of its internal transmission at wavelength 193.4 nm which is up to 0.2%, and (iii) an internal transmission of at least 99.6% at wavelength 193.4 nm is suited for use with excimer lasers.

In a synthetic quartz glass ingot which is produced by vapor phase hydrolyzing or oxidatively decomposing a silica-forming starting compound in an oxyhydrogen flame such that silica growth in a direction occurs at a silica particle deposition and melting face, striae visible when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the silica growth direction are distributed periodically over the silica growth direction. The ingot can be used in the production of optical-grade high-homogeneity synthetic quartz glass elements for excimer laser applications, particularly ArF excimer laser applications, in the production of laser damage-resistant optical elements used with light sources such as excimer lasers, and in the production of UV optical fiber.

Synthetic quartz glass ingot, synthetic quartz glass, and methods of manufacture thereof

Fluorine-containing synthetic quartz glass is produced by feeding silica-forming material, hydrogen, and oxygen gases from a burner to a reaction zone, flame hydrolyzing the silica-forming material in the reaction zone to form particles of silica, depositing the silica particles on a rotatable substrate in the reaction zone to form a porous silica matrix, and heating and vitrifying the porous silica matrix in a fluorine compound gas-containing atmosphere. During formation of the porous silica matrix, the angle between the center axes of the silica matrix and the silica-forming reactant flame from the burner is adjusted to 90&#x2013;120&#xb0; so that the porous silica matrix has a density of 0.1&#x2013;1.0 g/cmwith a narrow distribution within 0.1 g/cm. The resulting quartz glass has a high transmittance to light in the vacuum ultraviolet region below 200 nm.

Method of producing synthetic quartz glass

Synthetic quartz glass is produced by feeding a silica-forming raw material gas, hydrogen gas, oxygen gas and a fluorine compound gas from a burner to a reaction zone, flame hydrolyzing the silica-forming raw material gas in the reaction zone to form fine particles of fluorine-containing silica, depositing the silica fine particles on a rotatable substrate in the reaction zone so as to create a fluorine-containing porous silica matrix, and heat vitrifying the porous silica matrix in a fluorine compound gas-containing atmosphere. This process enables the low-cost manufacture of a synthetic quartz glass having a higher and more uniform transmittance to light in the vacuum ultraviolet region than has hitherto been achieved.

Method of producing fluorine-containing synthetic quartz glass

A cylindrical, chlorine-free synthetic quartz glass blank of a specific size obtained by homogenizing a synthetic quartz glass ingot having periodic striae along a direction of growth has (a) striae grades in the working and off-axis directions which meet grade A of U.S. military specification MIL-G-174B, (b) average hydroxyl group concentrations in the working and off-axis directions of 700 to 1,000 ppm each, (c) average fictive temperatures in the working and off-axis directions of 850 to 950&deg; C. each, and (d) a refractive index distribution for 633 nm wavelength light in the working direction of at most 1&times;10 . The blank has a good transmittance to laser light, undergoes little deterioration when irradiated with laser light, and is particularly suitable for ArF excimer laser-related applications.

Synthetic quartz glass blank

A process for producing synthetic quartz glass using a burner composed of a plurality of concentric nozzles involves the steps of feeding a silica-forming raw material gas and a fluorine compound gas to a reaction zone from a center nozzle, feeding oxygen gas from a second nozzle outside the center nozzle, and feeding oxygen gas and/or hydrogen gas from a third nozzle. The silica-forming raw material gas is hydrolyzed to form fine particles of silica, which particles are deposited on a rotatable substrate so as to form a porous silica matrix, which is then fused to give the quartz glass. The flow rate of the oxygen gas fed from the second nozzle and the flow rate of the raw material gas are controlled so as to provide a 1.1- to 3.5-fold stoichiometric excess of oxygen. The excess oxygen suppresses Si&mdash;Si bond formation in the quartz glass, enabling the production of synthetic quartz glass having a high transmittance in the vacuum ultraviolet region.

Synthetic quartz glass and production process

A synthetic quartz glass member having (i) a change of transmittance at 193 nm of up to 0.002 cm as expressed in extinction coefficient when 4&times;10 shots of ArF excimer laser light are irradiated at 2 mJ/cm /pulse, (ii) an initial transmittance of at least 99.6% at 193 nm, (iii) a hydrogen molecule content of at least 5&times;10 molecules/cm , (iv) a refractive index amplitude of up to 1&times;10 , and (v) a birefringence of up to 1 nm/cm finds use in an excimer laser because it experiences a minimized change of light transmittance.

Synthetic quartz glass member for excimer laser and method of making

There is disclosed a synthetic fused silica member used at a wavelength of 200 nm or less which has a hydroxyl group-content of 1 to 50 ppm and a fluorine-content of 100 to 1000 ppm, and contains no chlorine, and has a birefringence of the synthetic fused silica member of 2 nm/cm or less. The synthetic fused silica member can be used as a synthetic fused silica substrate for photomask, or in an optical system wherein a fluorine excimer laser is used as a light source. There can be provided a synthetic fused silica member which can efficiently transmit a light having a wavelength as 200 nm or less, especially fluorine excimer laser (157 nm), and does not suffer from lowering of transmittance due to damage.

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Niigata-ken, Japan

Kazuo Shirota