Asml Netherlands B.v.

Cymer, Inc.

Robert Jay Rafac

Igor Vladimirovich Fomenkov

Yezheng Tao

Daniel Jason Riggs

Daniel J W Brown

Richard L Sandstrom

Rostislav Rokitski

Daniel James Golich

Daniel John William Brown

Michael Anthony Purvis

Robert A Bergstedt

Ivan Lalovic

Eric Anders Mason

David Wayne Myers

Andrew David LaForge

Alexander Anthony Schafgans

Klaus Martin Hummler

Kai-Chung Hou

Hong Ye

Paul Alexander McKenzie

William N Partlo

Alexander Igorevich Ershov

Thomas A Yager

Matthew Graham

John T Melchior

Omar Zurita

John Tom Stewart, Iv

German E Rylov

Scot T Smith

Chengyuan Ding

Rong Liu

Gregory Allen Rechtsteiner

Cory Alan Stinson

Daniel Brown

James H Crouch

John Tom Stewart

Kevin Weimin Zhang

Slava Rokitski

Joseph J Bendik

Nakgeuon Seong

Dershen Wan

Nigel R Farrar

John Tom Iv Stewart

Ivan B Lalovic

Disclosed is an apparatus and a method in which multiple, e.g., two or more pulses from a single laser source are applied to source material prior to application of a main ionizing pulse in which the multiple pulses are generated by a common laser source. The first pulse is directed towards the source material when the source material is at a first position and the second pulse is directed towards the source material when the source material is at a second position.

Laser system for source material conditioning in an EUV light source

Disclosed is an apparatus for and method of aligning a target composed of a target material and a conditioning beam provided to condition the target by changing the target's shape, mass distribution, etc., in which the conditioning beam includes structured light in the form of an inhomogeneous distribution of a propagation mode such as a polarization mode across a spatial mode of the target.

EUV light source target metrology

An amplified optical beam is provided to a region that receives a target including target material, an interaction between the amplified optical beam and the target converting at least some of the target material from a first form to a second form to form a light-emitting plasma; first data comprising information related to the amplified optical beam is accessed; second data comprising information related to the light-emitting plasma is accessed; and an amount of the target material converted from the first form to the second form is determined. The determination is based on at least the first data and the second data, and the second form of the target material is less dense than the first form of the target material.

System for monitoring a plasma

Disclosed is a system and method for generating EUV radiation in which a laser is used in a multistage process to illuminate without altering a target material and then irradiate the target material to alter a target material with the illumination stage being used to determine the timing for firing during the irradiation stage or stages.

Laser system for target metrology and alteration in an EUV light source

An apparatus includes: a diagnostic system configured to diagnostically interact with a current target () traveling along a trajectory (TR) and before the current target enters a target space; a first detection apparatus () configured to detect first light; a second detection apparatus () configured to detect second light; and a control system () in communication with the first and second detection apparatuses. The first light includes: light () produced from an interaction between the current target and the diagnostic system, and light () emitted from a plasma produced by a previous target. The second light includes the light () emitted from the plasma produced by the previous target. The control system () is configured to: produce an analysis signal based on first and second signals produced from respective outputs of the first and second detection apparatuses; and estimate a property of the current target based on the produced analysis signal.

Determining moving properties of a target in an extreme ultraviolet light source

A method includes providing a target material that comprises a component that emits extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light when converted to plasma; directing a first beam of radiation toward the target material to deliver energy to the target material to modify a geometric distribution of the target material to form a modified target; directing a second beam of radiation toward the modified target, the second beam of radiation converting at least part of the modified target to plasma that emits EUV light; measuring one or more characteristics associated with one or more of the target material and the modified target relative to the first beam of radiation; and controlling an amount of radiant exposure delivered to the target material from the first beam of radiation based on the one or more measured characteristics to within a predetermined range of energies.

Target expansion rate control in an extreme ultraviolet light source

A first target is provided to an interior of a vacuum chamber, a first light beam is directed toward the first target to form a first plasma from target material of the first target, the first plasma being associated with a directional flux of particles and radiation emitted from the first target along a first emission direction, the first emission direction being determined by a position of the first target; a second target is provided to the interior of the vacuum chamber; and a second light beam is directed toward the second target to form a second plasma from target material of the second target, the second plasma being associated with a directional flux of particles and radiation emitted from the second target along a second emission direction, the second emission direction being determined by a position of the second target, the first and second emission directions being different.

Reducing the effect of plasma on an object in an extreme ultraviolet light source

A target material is provided at a target location, the target material including a material that emits extreme ultraviolet light when converted to plasma, and the target material extending in a first extent along a first direction and in a second extent along a second direction; an amplified light beam is directed along a direction of propagation toward the target location; and the amplified light beam is focused in a focal plane, where the target location is outside of the focal plane and an interaction between the amplified light beam and the target material converts at least part of the target material to plasma that emits EUV light.

Extreme ultraviolet light source

An optical source for an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photolithography tool includes a light-generation system including a light-generation module; an optical amplifier including a gain medium associated with a gain band, the gain medium configured to amplify light having a wavelength in the gain band; and a wavelength-based optical filter system on a beam path between the light-generation module and the optical amplifier, the wavelength-based optical filter system including at least one optical element configured to allow light having a wavelength in a first set of wavelengths to propagate on the beam path and to remove light having a wavelength in a second set of wavelengths from the beam path, the first set of wavelengths and the second set of wavelengths including different wavelengths in the gain band of the optical amplifier.

Wavelength-based optical filtering

A wavefront of a light beam that exits an acousto-optic material is estimated; a control signal for an acousto-optic system that includes the acousto-optic material is generated, the control signal being based on the estimated wavefront of the light beam; and the control signal is applied to the acousto-optic system to generate a frequency-chirped acoustic wave that propagates in the acousto-optic material, the frequency-chirped acoustic wave forming a transient diffractive element in the acousto-optic material, an interaction between the transient diffractive element and the light beam adjusting the wavefront of the light beam to compensate for a distortion of the wavefront of the light beam, the distortion of the wavefront being at least partially caused by a physical effect in the acousto-optic material.

Compensating for a physical effect in an optical system

In a laser produced plasma (LPP) extreme ultraviolet (EUV) system, a plasma created from droplets irradiated by a laser pulse can become destabilized. The instability of the plasma can reduce the amount of EUV energy generated over time. While other systems seek to stabilize the plasma by varying a pulse width of the laser pulses, the systems and methods described herein stabilize the plasma by varying an intensity of the laser pulses. The intensity of the laser pulses is varied based on a comparison of the amount of EUV energy generated from current pulse to an expected amount of EUV energy. The intensity of the laser pulses can be varied on a pulse-by-pulse basis by an EUV controller that instructs a pulse actuator.

Systems and methods for controlling EUV energy generation using pulse intensity

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Encinitas, CA, United States of America

Robert Jay Rafac