Carl Zeiss Smt Gmbh

Carl Zeiss Jena Gmbh

Carl Zeiss Microimaging Gmbh

Carl Zeiss Sms Ltd.

Carl Zeiss Laser Optics Gmbh

Martin Voelcker

Ralf Wolleschensky

Ulrich Simon

Martin Gluch

Robert Grub

Andreas Faulstich

Markus Deguenther

Guenter Rudolph

Holger Muenz

Enrico Geissler

Stefan Richter

Sergey Oshemkov

Ralph Lange

Dirk Doering

Michael Schall

Joerg Schaffer

Torsten Antrack

Michael Carl

Joerg Frederik Blumrich

Shao-Chi Wei

Bernhard Backs

Lakshmanan Senthil Kumar

Lutz Schaefer

Thomas Franz Karl Scheruebl

Horst Schade

Matthias Krantz

Arvind Shah

A method for removing particles from a mask system for a projection exposure apparatus, including the following method steps: detecting the particle in the mask system, providing laser radiation, and removing the particle by irradiating the particle with laser radiation. The wavelength of the laser radiation corresponds to that of used radiation used by the projection exposure apparatus.

Method for removing a particle from a mask system

A method includes using an illumination device to illuminate an object with electromagnetic radiation produced by a radiation source, and using a detector device to capture a respective intensity distribution in a diffraction image produced by the object in a plurality of measurement steps. The measurement steps differ from one another with respect to the illumination setting set by the illumination device. The method also includes determining at least one characteristic variable that is characteristic for the object on the basis of an iteratively performed comparison between the measurement values obtained within the scope of the measurement steps and model-based simulated values. The model-based simulated values are ascertained on the basis of a multiple layer model, in which the object is modeled by a multiple layer structure made of layers that are respectively separated from one another by an interface, wherein a location-dependent reflectivity is assigned to the interfaces.

Method and assembly for characterizing a mask or a wafer for microlithography

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

The use of one or more wavefront modulators in the observation beam path and/or illumination beam path of a microscope provide various advantageous results. Such modulators may be adapted to change the phase and/or the amplitude of light in such a way to carry out displacement and shaping of the focus in the object space and correction of possible aberrations. The possible areas of use include confocal microscopy, laser-assisted microscopy, conventional light microscopy and analytic microscopy.

Applications of adaptive optics in microscopy

The invention is directed to a method for improving the depth discrimination in optically imaging systems. It is applicable in particular in light microscopy for improving image quality when examining three-dimensionally extending objects. It is applicable in the method of structured illumination as described in WO 97/6509. For this purpose, influences due to variations in the brightness of the light source, positioning of the imaged periodic structure and bleaching of the object in fluorescence illumination are determined and taken into account in the calculation of the object structure.

Method for improving depth discrimination in optical reproduction systems

An illumination device for a light microscope comprises a scanning microscope probe which is integrated in the center thereof. A scanning probe microscope comprising such illumination device is also disclosed.

Scanning probe microscope with probe integrated in an optical system

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Koenigsbronn-Zang, Germany

Martin Voelcker