Carl Zeiss Smt Gmbh

Carl-zeiss-smt Ag

Asml Netherlands B.v.

Markus Deguenther

Michael Patra

Damian Fiolka

Michael Layh

Johannes Wangler

Manfred Maul

Vladimir Davydenko

Frank Schlesener

Gerhard-Wilhelm Ziegler

Thomas Korb

Johannes Eisenmenger

Stig Bieling

Axel Scholz

Andras G Major

Jan Horn

Yim-Bun Patrick Kwan

Stefan Xalter

Michael Gerhard

Alexander Kohl

Florian Bach

Wolfgang Singer

Thomas Stammler

Erich Schubert

Stephan Kellner

Toralf Gruner

Nils Haverkamp

Markus Schwab

Thomas Bischoff

Ralf Scharnweber

Gundula Weiss

Daniel Walldorf

Stefanie Hilt

Mirco Kern

Igor Hurevich

Artur Hoegele

Heiko Siekmann

Wolfgang Hoegele

Reinhard Voelkel

Kenneth Weible

Uwe Spengler

Johannes Catharinus Hubertus Mulkens

Heine Melle Mulder

Steven George Hansen

Ingo Saenger

Ulrich Matejka

Olaf Dittmann

Bernhard Kneer

Christian Wald

Thomas Thaler

Daniel Runde

Stefan Schaff

Bruno Thome

Birgit Kuerz

Markus Hauf

Heiko Feldmann

Udo Dinger

Martin Endres

Johannes Ruoff

Aksel Goehnermeier

Guenter Rudolph

Thomas Schicketanz

Enrico Geissler

Paul Graeupner

Juergen Fischer

Michael Arnz

Martin Schriever

Alexandra Pazidis

Helmut Haidner

Stefan Richter

Christoph Menke

Holger Seitz

Severin Waldis

Gerhard Fuerter

Dirk Juergens

Willi Heintel

Rafael Egger

Markus Brotsack

Ulrich Bihr

Thomas Frank

Martin Voelcker

Joerg Schultz

Rainer Hoch

Ute Buttgereit

Sascha Perlitz

Dirk Doering

Stefan Wolfgang Schmidt

Michael Samaniego

Lars Wischmeier

Henner Baitinger

Joerg Frederik Blumrich

Martin Vogt

Andy Zott

Shao-Chi Wei

Lakshmanan Senthil Kumar

Paul Buettner

Robert Birkner

Dominik Grau

Ralf Frese

Igor Gurevich

Anne Christine Andresen

The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for characterizing a microlithographic mask. According to one aspect, an apparatus according to the invention comprises at least one light source which emits coherent light, an illumination optical unit which produces a diffraction-limited light spot on the mask from the coherent light of the at least one light source, a scanning device, by use of which it is possible to implement a scanning movement of the diffraction-limited light spot relative to the mask, a sensor unit, and an evaluation unit for evaluating the light that is incident on the sensor unit and has come from the mask, an output coupling element for coupling out a portion of the coherent light emitted by the at least one light source, and an intensity sensor for capturing the intensity of this output coupled portion.

Apparatus and method for characterizing a microlithographic mask

In an optical system for a projection exposure apparatus, the angle space of the illumination radiation of the projection optical unit at the reticle is twice as large in a first direction as the angle space of the illuminating radiation of the illuminating optical unit.

Pupil facet mirror, illumination optics and optical system for a projection lithography system

An image sensor for a position sensor apparatus for ascertaining a position of at least one mirror of a lithography apparatus includes: a plurality of integrated optical waveguides; a plurality of incoupling areas; a multiplexer apparatus; and an image reconstruction apparatus.

Image sensor, position sensor device, lithography system, and method for operating an image sensor

An illumination optical unit for projection lithography illuminates an object field. The illumination optical unit has an optical rod with an entrance area and an exit area for illumination light. The optical rod is configured so that the illumination light is mixed and homogenized at lateral walls of the optical rod by multiple in-stances of total internal reflection. At least one correction area serves to correct a field dependence of an illumination angle distribution when illuminating the object field. The correction area is disposed in the region of the exit area of the optical rod. This can result in an illumination optical unit, in which an unwanted field dependence of a specified illumination angle distribution is reduced or entirely avoided, even in the case of illumination angle distributions with illumination angles deviating extremely from a normal incidence on the object field.

Illumination optical device for projection lithography

The disclosure relates to a lithography apparatus for writing to substrate wafers. The apparatus includes: a light generating device including one or a plurality of light sources for generating light; a writing device; a light transferring device including a number of optical waveguides for transferring the light from the light generating device to a writing device, the writing device including a plurality of individually controllable write heads for projecting the light from the one or the plurality of light sources in different regions of a substrate wafer; a transport device for moving the substrate wafer relative to the writing device in a predefined transport direction; and a control device for controlling the writing process on the substrate wafer.

Lithography apparatus comprising a plurality of individually controllable write heads

An illumination optical unit for projection lithography serves to illuminate an object field along an illumination light beam path. The illumination optical unit includes an optical rod with end-side entrance and exit areas. The optical rod is designed in such a way that illumination light is mixed and homogenized at lateral walls of the optical rod by multiple instances of total internal reflection. An optical rod illumination specification element is disposed upstream of the optical rod in the illumination light beam path and serves to specify an illumination of the entrance area with a distribution, specified over the entrance area, of an illumination intensity and, simultaneously, an illumination angle distribution. The specified illumination intensity distribution deviates from a homogeneous distribution over the entrance area. This can result in an illumination optical unit including an optical rod, in which a specified illumination setting can be set with lower illumination light losses.

Illumination optical element for projection lithography

The invention relates to a method and a device for characterizing a mask for microlithography. In a method according to the invention, structures of a mask intended for use in a lithography process in a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus are illuminated by an illumination optical unit, wherein the mask is imaged onto a detector unit by an imaging optical unit, wherein image data recorded by the detector unit are evaluated in an evaluation unit. In this case, for emulating an illumination setting predefined for the lithography process in the microlithographic projection exposure apparatus, the imaging of the mask onto the detector unit is carried out in a plurality of individual imagings which differ from one another with regard to the illumination setting set in the illumination optical unit or the polarization-influencing effect set in the imaging optical unit.

Method and device for characterizing a mask for microlithography

Illumination optical unit for illuminating an object field in a projection exposure apparatus, comprising a first facet mirror with a structure, which has a spatial frequency of at least 0.2 mmin at least one direction, and a second facet mirror, comprising a multiplicity of facets, wherein the facets are respectively provided with a mechanism for damping spatial frequencies of the structure of the first facet mirror.

Facet mirror

The disclosure provides an illumination system of a microlithographic projection device having an image plane, in which a mask can be arranged, and a first object plane, which is optically conjugate to the image plane. A first illumination optical unit illuminates the first object plane with first projection light so that the first projection light has a first illumination angle distribution in the image plane. A second illumination optical unit illuminates a second object plane, which is optically conjugate to the image plane, with second projection light so that the second projection light has a second illumination angle distribution differing from the first illumination angle distribution in the image plane. An optical integrator is arranged exclusively in the light path of the first projection light.

Illumination system of a microlithographic projection device and method for operating such a system

An illumination system of a microlithographic projection apparatus includes a spatial light modulator having a modulation surface including a plurality of micromirrors. Each micromirror includes a mirror surface having an orientation that can be changed individually for each micromirror. For at least one of the micromirrors, at least one parameter that is related to the mirror surface is measured. The orientation of the mirror surfaces is controlled depending on the at least one measured parameter. A light pattern is produced on the modulation surface, and an image of the light pattern is formed on an optical integrator that has a plurality of light entrance facets. Images of the light entrance facets are superimposed on a mask.

Method of operating a microlithographic projection apparatus and illumination system of such an apparatus

A microlithographic illumination unit for post-exposure of a photoresist provided on a wafer in a microlithography process, has at least one light source and a light-guiding and light-mixing element for coupling the electromagnetic radiation generated by the light source into the photoresist. This light-guiding and light-mixing element has a first pair of mutually opposite side faces, the maximum spacing of which has a first value. Multiple reflections of the electromagnetic radiation on these side faces take place, wherein the light-guiding and light-mixing element has a second pair of mutually opposite side faces, the maximum spacing of which has a second value. The maximum extent of the light-guiding and light-mixing element in the light propagation direction of the electromagnetic radiation has a third value. This third value is greater than the first value and is smaller than the second value.

Microlithographic illumination unit

An illumination system of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus includes first and second optical raster plates. An irradiance distribution of projection light on the first and second optical raster plates determines an angular light distribution of the projection light exclusively at a first portion and a second portion, respectively, of an illuminated field. The second portion is distinct from and arranged adjacent to the first portion. It is possible to produce different illumination settings in different adjacent portions on the mask. First and second Fourier optics establish a Fourier relationship between the first and second optical raster plates one the one hand and the first and second portion on the other hand. The first and second Fourier optics have a first and second focal length, respectively, that are variable in response to a focal length change command signal from a control unit.

Illumination system of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus

A microlithography illumination system includes a first light source configured to generate pulses of light, a second light source configured to generate further pulses of light offset temporally relative to the pulses of light generated by the first light source, an array of optical elements digitally switchable between first and second switching positions, and a control device to drive the optical elements so that during use the switching position of the optical elements is unchanged while any of the first and second light sources generates a light pulse. In the first switching position of the optical elements, the array couples light pulses generated by the first light source into a common beam path of the illumination system. In the second switching position of the optical elements, the array couples light pulses generated by the second light source into a common beam path of the illumination system.

Lighting system of a microlithographic projection exposure system and method for operating such a lighting system

An optical waveguide serves for guiding illumination light. The waveguide has a waveguide main body for guiding the illumination light between a main body entrance region and a main body exit region. At least one coupling-out device is provided in the main body exit region. Via the coupling-out device, at least one coupling-out illumination light partial beam is coupled out from the illumination light emerging from the waveguide main body. This is done such that the coupling-out illumination light partial beam can be separated from the rest of the illumination light beam emerging from the waveguide main body. This results in a waveguide having improved possibilities for use when guiding illumination light.

Optical waveguide for guiding illumination light

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Aalen, Germany

Markus Deguenther