Carl Zeiss Smt Gmbh

Osram Gmbh

Osram Beteiligungsverwaltung Gmbh

Ricarda Schoemer

Norbert Wabra

Sonja Schneider

Boris Bittner

Toralf Gruner

Martin Von Hodenberg

Hendrik Wagner

Holger Schmidt

Walter Pauls

Rumen Iliew

Johannes Ruoff

Oliver Hering

Christian Wald

Daniel Golde

Stephan Andre

Guenter Rudolph

Thomas Schicketanz

Stephan Schwaiger

Johannes Zellner

Juergen Hager

Steffen Fritzsche

Bryce Anton Moffat

Norbert Haas

Matthias Roesch

Alexander Gratzke

Jürgen Hager

Jasmin Muster

Jenny Trommer

Florian Ahles

Stefan Rist

Ruediger Mack

Arne Schob

The disclosure relates to an optical element, including: a substrate, a first coating, which is disposed on a first side of the substrate and is configured for reflecting radiation having a used wavelength (λ) in the EUV wavelength range, and a second coating, which is disposed on a second side of the substrate, for influencing heating radiation that is incident on the second side of the substrate. The disclosure also relates to an optical arrangement having at least one such optical element.

Optical element having a coating for influencing heating radiation and optical arrangement

The disclosure relates to an optical element, including: a substrate, a first coating, which is disposed on a first side of the substrate and is configured for reflecting radiation having a used wavelength (&#x3bb;) in the EUV wavelength range, and a second coating, which is disposed on a second side of the substrate, for influencing heating radiation that is incident on the second side of the substrate. The disclosure also relates to an optical arrangement having at least one such optical element.

An illumination device for emitting illumination light, comprising: a light-emitting diode (LED) for emitting LED radiation, a laser for emitting laser radiation, and a luminescent element for at least partial conversion of the LED radiation and the laser radiation into conversion light, which forms at least part of the illumination light. The LED, the laser and the luminescent element are arranged relative to one another in such a way that during operation of the illumination device, on an incidence face of the luminescent element, respectively in a time integral, the LED irradiates an LED irradiation area with the LED radiation and the laser irradiates a laser irradiation area with the laser radiation. The laser irradiation area has at least one intersection with the LED irradiation area.

Illumination device for emitting illumination light

A projection lens is disclosed for imaging a pattern arranged in an object plane of the projection lens into an image plane of the projection lens via electromagnetic radiation having an operating wavelength &#x3bb; from the extreme ultraviolet range. The projection lens includes a multiplicity of mirrors having mirror surfaces arranged in a projection beam path between the object plane and the image plane so that a pattern of a mask in the object plane is imagable into the image plane via the mirrors. A first imaging scale in a first direction running parallel to a scan direction is smaller in terms of absolute value than a second imaging scale in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The projection lens also includes a dynamic wavefront manipulation system for correcting astigmatic wavefront aberration portions caused by reticle displacement.

Projection lens, projection exposure apparatus and projection exposure method for EUV microlithography

An attenuation filter is configured to define attenuation of the intensity of ultraviolet radiation with a specified working wavelength from a wavelength range of 150-370 nm according to a specifiable local distribution in a projection lens of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus. The attenuation filter has a substrate and an absorption layer on the substrate. The substrate is sufficiently transparent at the working wavelength. The absorption absorbs incident ultraviolet radiation of the working wavelength according to the specifiable local distribution at different locations of a used area to varying degrees. The attenuation filter reduces or avoids a thermally induced wavefront variation error in the ultraviolet radiation which has passed through the attenuation filter owing to locally varying heating of the substrate, which is caused by the absorption of the ultraviolet radiation that varies locally over the substrate. A thickness of the substrate is less than 100 &#x3bc;m.

Attenuation filter for projection lens, projection lens having attenuation filter for projection exposure apparatus, and projection exposure apparatus having projection lens

A projection lamp for illumination includes a pump radiation unit configured to emit pump radiation, a phosphor element for the at least partial conversion of the pump radiation into a conversion light, and a micromirror array having a multiplicity of micromirror actuators which are arranged in the form of a matrix. The projection lamp is set up such that, during operation, the phosphor element is irradiated by the pump radiation from the pump radiation unit. The conversion light which is thereupon emitted by the phosphor element at least partially makes up an illumination light, which illumination light is guided for adjusting a light distribution over the micromirror actuators. The micromirror actuators are illuminated inhomogeneously with the illumination light at respective times to support the light distribution that is adjusted using the micromirror array.

Projection lamp for illumination

A projection lens images a pattern of a mask arranged in the region of an object plane of the projection lens into an image plane of the projection lens via electromagnetic radiation with a work wavelength &#x3bb;&#x3c;260 nm. The projection lens has a multiplicity of optical elements with optical surfaces. The projection lens also has a wavefront manipulation system for controllable influencing of the wavefront of the projection radiation travelling from the object plane to the image plane. The wavefront manipulation system has a manipulator having a manipulator element and an actuating device or reversibly changing an optical effect of the manipulator element on radiation of the projection beam path.

Projection lens with wave front manipulator and related method and apparatus

A method of operating a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus includes, in a first step, providing a projection objective that includes a plurality of real manipulators. In a second step, a virtual manipulator is defined that is configured to produce preliminary control signals for at least two of the real manipulators. In a third step, performed during operation of the apparatus, a real image error of the projection objective is determined. In a fourth step, a desired corrective effect is determined. In a fifth step, first virtual control signals for the virtual manipulator are determined. In a sixth step, second virtual control signals for the real manipulators are determined.

Method of operating a microlithographic projection apparatus

A film element of an EUV-transmitting wavefront correction device is arranged in a beam path and includes a first layer of first layer material having a first complex refractive index n=(1&#x2212;&#x3b4;)+i&#xdf;, with a first optical layer thickness, which varies locally over the used region in accordance with a first layer thickness profile, and a second layer of second layer material having a second complex refractive index n=(1&#x2212;&#x3b4;)+i&#xdf;, with a second optical layer thickness, which varies locally over the used region in accordance with a second layer thickness profile. The first and second layer thickness profiles differ. The deviation &#x3b4;of the real part of the first refractive index from 1 is large relative to the absorption coefficient &#xdf;of the first layer material and the deviation &#x3b4;of the real part of the second refractive index from 1 is small relative to the absorption coefficient &#xdf;of the second layer material.

Projection lens for EUV microlithography, film element and method for producing a projection lens comprising a film element

An optical assembly, in particular for a lithography system for imaging lithographic micro- or nanostructures, includes at least two optical elements arranged successively in a beam path of the optical assembly, an acquisition device designed to acquire radiation signals from marking elements on or at the at least two optical elements, and a control device coupled to the acquisition device and which is designed to determine the plurality of properties of the optically active surface of the at least two optical elements as a function of the information contained in the radiation signals originating from the marking elements. The disclosure also relates to a method for operating the optical assembly.

Optical assembly

A microlithographic projection exposure apparatus includes: a projection lens for imaging mask structures via an exposure radiation including at least one optical element and at least one manipulator; a read-in device for reading in application-specific structure information defining at least one property of an angular distribution of the exposure radiation upon entering the projection lens; and a travel establishing device for establishing a travel command defining a change to be made in an optical effect of the at least one optical element by manipulation of a property of the optical element via the at least one manipulator along a travel. The travel establishing device is configured to establish the travel command in an at least two-stage optimization.

Projection exposure apparatus including at least one mirror

Aberrations of a projection lens for microlithography can be subdivided into two classes: a first class of aberrations, which are distinguished by virtue of the fact that their future size increases by a non-negligible value after a constant time duration, independently of their current size, and a second class of aberrations, which, after reaching a threshold, only increase by a negligible value after each further time duration. An adjustment method is proposed, which adjusts these two classes of aberrations in parallel in time with one another.

System correction from long timescales

A mirror arrangement for an EUV projection exposure apparatus for microlithography comprises a plurality of mirrors each having a layer which is reflective in the EUV spectral range and to which EUV radiation can be applied, and having a main body. In this case, at least one mirror of the plurality of mirrors has at least one layer comprising a material having a negative coefficient of thermal expansion. Moreover, a method for operating the mirror arrangement and a projection exposure apparatus are described. At least one heat source is arranged, in order to locally apply heat in a targeted manner to the at least one layer having a negative coefficient of thermal expansion of the at least one mirror.

Growing community of inventors

Zusmarshausen, Germany

Ricarda Schoemer