Carl Zeiss Smt Gmbh

Asml Netherlands B.v.

Carl-zeiss-smt Ag

Martin Endres

Jens Ossmann

Ralf Stuetzle

Markus Hauf

Udo Dinger

Hartmut Enkisch

Johannes Zellner

Marc Kirch

Michael Layh

Joachim Hartjes

Wilhelm Ulrich

Toralf Gruner

Wolfgang Singer

Hans-Juergen Mann

Markus Deguenther

David R Shafer

Stig Bieling

Damian Fiolka

Michael Patra

Florian Bach

Stephan Muellender

Johannes Eisenmenger

Armin Werber

Norbert Muehlberger

Johannes Wangler

Aurelian Dodoc

Johannes Ruoff

Ramon Pascal Van Gorkom

Ingo Saenger

Ralf Mueller

Marco Pretorius

Hans-Jürgen Mann

Alois Herkommer

Christoph Menke

Bernd Kleemann

Lars Wischmeier

Fabian Haacker

Adrian Staicu

Berndt Warm

Severin Waldis

Joachim Hainz

Ralf Scharnweber

Thomas Fischer

Dieter Bader

Alexander Winkler

Holger Weigand

Thomas Eisenmann

Christian Steigerwald

Sebastian Doern

Michael Ramolla

Annie Isaac

Ingo SÄNGER

Norbert MÜHLBERGER

Ralf STÜTZLE

Sebastian Dörn

An optical system includes an illumination optical unit configured to guide illumination radiation along a path to an object plane. The illumination optical unit includes comprising a first facet mirror; a second facet mirror disposed downstream of the first facet mirror along the path; and a condenser mirror. The optical system also includes a projection optical unit configured to image a first article in the object plane onto a second article in an image plane. The image plane is a first distance from the object plane. The condenser mirror a second distance from the object plane. The second distance is greater than the first distance

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

An illumination intensity correction device can specify an illumination intensity over an illumination field of a lithographic projection exposure apparatus. The correction device has a plurality of rod-shaped individual stops arranged next to one another. A displacement drive can displace at least some of the individual stops at least along their respective rod axis. Free ends of the individual stops are individually displaceable using the displacement drive into a specified displacement position to specify an intensity correction of an illumination of the illumination field. The intensity correction acts along a correction dimension transverse with respect to the rod axes.

Illumination intensity correction device for specifying an illumination intensity over an illumination field of a lithographic projection exposure apparatus

A method for illuminating an object field of a projection exposure apparatus includes providing a subset of first facets to be positioned in park positions, which are each spaced apart from an associated target position, but at most by a maximum distance.

Method for illuminating an object field of a projection exposure system

An illumination system for an optical arrangement such as an EUV lithography apparatus, having: at least one optical element which has at least one optical surface, on which a coating which reflects illumination radiation is applied, and an actuator device aligning the optical surface in at least two angular positions in the radiation path. The coating either has a thickness (d) at which a mean value (&#xbd;(R+R)) formed from a thickness-dependent reflectivity (R, R) of the coating at the at least two angular positions is maximized or has a thickness (d) at which a maximum change (max(&#x394;R/R, &#x394;R/R)) in the reflectivity (R, R) caused by a thickness tolerance of the coating is minimized at the respective angular positions or else the reflecting coating has a thickness (d) at which the reflectivity (R, R) of the coating has the same magnitude in the at least two angular positions.

Reflecting coating with optimized thickness

An illumination optical assembly for a projection exposure apparatus includes a first facet element having a multiplicity of first facets, which are formed in each case by a multiplicity of displaceable individual mirrors, and a second facet element having a multiplicity of second facets. The displacement positions of the individual mirrors of the first facets are chosen in each case in so that, in the case of a predefined intensity distribution of an illumination radiation in an intermediate focus, the illumination radiation in the region of the facets of the second facet element has an intensity distribution with a maximum which is at most equal to a predefined maximum intensity or which is greater than a mean value of the intensity distribution by at most a predefined factor or absolute value.

Illumination optical assembly for a projection exposure apparatus

An illumination intensity correction device serves for predefining an illumination intensity over an illumination field of a lithographic projection exposure apparatus. The correction device has a plurality of bar-shaped individual stops arranged alongside one another and having bar axes arranged parallel to one another, which are arranged in a manner lined up alongside one another transversely with respect to the bar axes. The individual stops are displaceable into a predefined intensity correction displacement position at least along their respective bar axis with the aid of a displacement drive individually for the purpose of predefining an intensity correction of an illumination of the illumination field.

Illumination intensity correction device for predefining an illumination intensity over an illumination field of a lithographic projection exposure apparatus

An illumination optical unit for EUV projection lithography illuminates an object field, in which an object to be imaged is arrangeable. A first facet mirror of the illumination optical generates secondary light sources as images of an upstream light source. The first facet mirror includes mirrors which include a mirror surface smaller than 2 mm&#xd7;2 mm. The first facet mirror is a distance |g| from the light source. The illumination optical unit includes a second facet mirror. The two facet mirrors are a distance b' from each other. The individual mirrors of the first facet mirror have a focal length f in a plane of incidence of the illumination light on the individual mirrors such that [0.1 b&#x2032;g/(g&#x2212;b&#x2032;)]&#x3c;f&#x3c;[10 b&#x2032;g/(g&#x2212;b&#x2032;)].

Illumination optical unit for EUV projection lithography

A facet mirror is to be used as a bundle-guiding optical component in a projection exposure apparatus for microlithography. The facet mirror has a plurality of separate mirrors. For individual deflection of incident illumination light, the separate mirrors are in each case connected to an actuator in such a way that they are separately tiltable about at least one tilt axis. A control device, which is connected to the actuators, is configured in such a way that a given grouping of the separate mirrors can be grouped into separate mirror groups that include in each case at least two separate mirrors. The result is a facet mirror which, when installed in the projection exposure apparatus, increases the variability for setting various illumination geometries of an object field to be illuminated by the projection exposure apparatus. Various embodiments of separate mirrors for forming the facet mirrors are described.

Facet mirror for use in a projection exposure apparatus for microlithography

An illumination optical assembly for projection lithography serves for illuminating an object field, in which an object to be imaged is arrangeable. The object field has a scan length along an object displacement direction. The illumination optical assembly has two facet mirrors for the reflective guidance of illumination light towards the object field. Second facets of the second facet mirror serve for guiding a respective illumination light partial beam into the object field. The second facet mirror is a pupil distance from a pupil plane of the illumination optical assembly that is closest adjacent to the second facet mirror. The second facets are arranged in a grid, wherein at least one grid constant of the grid is predefined by the pupil distance and by the scan length. This results in an illumination optical assembly which achieves an illumination of predefined pupil sections that is relatively homogeneous.

Illumination optical assembly for projection lithography

An illumination optical unit for EUV projection lithography serves to illuminate an object field with illumination light. A transmission optical unit images field facets in a manner superposed on one another into the object field via illumination channels, which each have assigned to them one of the field facets and one pupil facet of a pupil facet mirror. The superposition optical unit has at least two mirrors for grazing incidence, downstream of the pupil facet mirror. The mirrors for grazing incidence produce an illumination angle bandwidth of an illumination light overall beam, composed of the illumination channels, in the object field. The bandwith is smaller for a plane of incidence parallel to the object displacement direction than for a plane perpendicular thereto. The result can be an illumination optical unit, by which a projection optical unit can be adapted to a configuration of an EUV light source for the illumination light.

An illumination optical unit for projection lithography illuminates an illumination field, in which an object field of a downstream imaging optical unit and an object to be illuminated are arrangeable, with illumination light of an EUV light source. The illumination optical unit includes two facet mirrors for reflecting, overlaid guidance of partial beams of a beam of the EUV illumination light via exactly one facet of one of the two facet mirrors in each case. The facet mirror is a distance from a pupil plane of the illumination optical unit. Individual mirrors of the other facet mirror, which is arranged in, or in the vicinity of, a field plane that is conjugate to the object field, may be grouped into individual mirror groups which are tiltable together.

Illumination optical unit for projection lithography

An illumination optical unit for EUV projection lithography guides illumination light toward an object field. A field facet mirror of the illumination optical unit has a multiplicity of individual mirrors which are switchable between at least two tilting positions. A pupil facet mirror of the illumination optical unit has a plurality of stationary pupil facets and is disposed downstream of the field facet mirror in the beam path of the illumination light. The pupil facets serve for the at least sectionally superimposing imaging of a group of the individual mirrors of the field facet mirror into the object field via a group-mirror illumination channel.

Illumination system and illumination optical unit for EUV projection lithography

An illumination optical assembly for projection lithography serves for illuminating an illumination field, in which an object field of a downstream imaging optical assembly is arrangeable, with illumination light of an EUV light source. The illumination optical assembly has a pupil illumination unit, on which the illumination light impinges and which includes facets for illuminating a pupil in the illumination beam path with the illumination light with a predefined pupil intensity distribution. The pupil illumination unit is embodied such that a plurality of illumination channels of the pupil illumination unit illuminate only a part of the entire object field. This results in an illumination optical assembly in which an excessively high illumination intensity on the facets of the pupil illumination unit can be reduced.

An illumination optical unit for projection lithography serves for illuminating an object field. A first transmission optical unit serves to guide illumination light emanating from a light source. An illumination-predetermining facet mirror is disposed downstream of the first transmission optical unit and comprises a multiplicity of illumination-predetermining facets. The facet mirror generates a predetermined illumination of the object field via an arrangement of illuminated illumination-predetermining facets. This results in an illumination of an illumination pupil of the illumination optical unit, which predetermines an illumination angle distribution in the object field. The illumination pupil has an envelope deviating from a circular form. The illumination pupil is subdivided into sub-pupil regions, which are present arranged in a line-by-line and/or column-by-column manner.

A micromirror array has the form of a sheared rectangle. In an arrangement in an illumination optical unit, one side is aligned perpendicular to a scanning direction.

Micromirror array

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Koenigsbronn, Germany

Martin Endres