Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

Shang-Chieh Chien

Li-Jui Chen

Heng-Hsin Liu

Po-Chung Cheng

Sheng-Kang Yu

Chieh Hsieh

Chi Ming Yang

Bo-Tsun Liu

Tzung-Chi Fu

Ming-Hsun Tsai

Jeng-Horng Chen

Chia-Chen Chen

Tai-Yu Chen

Cheng-Hsuan Wu

Anthony Yen

Yu-Huan Chen

Ssu-Yu Chen

Shu-Hao Chang

Wei-Shin Cheng

Jen-Yang Chung

Cheng-Hao Lai

Jui-Ching Wu

Yu-Kuang Sun

Yu-Fa Lo

Chun-Chia Hsu

Ming-Chin Chien

Chiao-Hua Cheng

Shang-Ying Wu

Hsin-Feng Chen

Cheng Hung Tsai

Sheng-Ta Lin

Chun-Lin Louis Chang

Che-Chang Hsu

Kuan-Hung Chen

Kai Tak Lam

Wei-Chun Yen

Cho-Ying Lin

Sagar Deepak Khivsara

Kuo-Chang Kau

Zhiqiang Wu

Chia-Jen Chen

Yu-Chih Huang

Shih-Yu Tu

Tzu-Jung Pan

Han-Lung Chang

Norman Chen

Kevin Huang

Yu-Chih Chen

En Hao Lai

Shinn-Sheng Yu

Chih-Tsung Shih

Chia-Hao Hsu

Chung-Wei Wu

Chi-Lun Lu

Yen-Shuo Su

Hsiang Mei Chen

Gwan-Sin Chang

Kuo-An Liu

Wei-Chih Lai

Tien-Hsi Lee

Li-Kai Cheng

Shao-Wei Luo

Jou-Hsuan Lu

Ya-An Peng

Chao-Chen Chang

Shih-Ming Chang

Chia-Hao Yu

Tsung-Yu Chen

Hung-Chang Hsieh

Chia-Ching Huang

Tzu-Hsiang Chen

Chieh-Jen Cheng

Chih-Ping Yen

Wei-Chung Tu

Hsiang-Yu Chou

Chun-Han Lin

Chin-Hsiang Lin

Chun-Kuang Chen

Tsiao-Chen Wu

Shih-Chang Shih

Yen-Hsun Chen

Tzu-Li Lee

Ying-Yu Chen

Shun-Der Wu

Hung-Jung Hsu

Liu Bo-Tsun

Pei-Yu Zhu

Guan-Heng Liu

Kun-Jin Wu

Jye-Fu Jeng

Wei-Ting Yi

Yung-Teng Yu

Jen-Hung Hsiao

An EUV collector mirror for an extreme ultra violet (EUV) radiation source apparatus includes an EUV collector mirror body on which a reflective layer as a reflective surface is disposed, a heater attached to or embedded in the EUV collector mirror body and a drain structure to drain melted metal from the reflective surface of the EUV collector mirror body to a back side of the EUV collector mirror body.

EUV radiation source apparatus for lithography

Some implementations described herein provide a dual-feedback control system for laser beam targeting in a lithography system such as an EUV lithography system. In addition to using feedback from a high-frequency quad-cell sensor to adjust a target position of the pre-pulse laser beam based on a first portion of a phase of a wavefront of the pre-pulse laser beam, the dual-feedback control system uses feedback from a low-frequency camera sensor to adjust the target position of the pre-pulse laser beam based on a second portion of the phase of the wavefront.

Semiconductor processing tool and methods of operation

A coating is included on one or more components of a lithography system. The coating reduces surface roughness of the one or more surfaces, increases flatness of the one or more surfaces, and/or increases uniformity of the one or more surfaces. The coating may be formed on the one or more surfaces using one or more of the techniques described herein. The coating is configured to reduce adhesion of target material particles to the one or more surfaces, is configured to resist buildup of target material particles on the one or more surfaces, is configured to provide resistance against oxidation of the one or more surfaces, is configured to resist thermal damage of the one or more surfaces, and/or is configured to enable the lithography system to operate at higher operating temperatures, among other examples.

A plurality of hydrogen outlets are arrayed along a direction normal to a surface (such as a surface of a collector) of an extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) tool to increase a volume of hydrogen gas surrounding the surface. As a result, airborne tin is more likely to be stopped by the hydrogen gas surrounding the surface and less likely to bind to the surface. Fewer tin deposits results in increased lifetime for the surface, which reduces downtime for the EUV tool. Additionally, a control device may receive (e.g., from a camera and/or another type of sensor) an indication of levels of tin contamination on the surface and control flow rates to adjust a thickness of the hydrogen curtain. As a result, tin contamination on the collector is less likely to occur and will be more efficiently cleaned by the hydrogen gas, which results in increased lifetime for the surface and reduced downtime for the EUV tool.

Semiconductor processing tool and method of using the same

In an embodiment, a method includes: heating a byproduct transport ring of an extreme ultraviolet source, the byproduct transport ring disposed beneath vanes of the extreme ultraviolet source; after heating the byproduct transport ring for a first duration, heating the vanes; after heating the vanes, cooling the vanes; and after cooling the vanes for a second duration, cooling the byproduct transport ring.

Lithography apparatus and method

A method includes irradiating a target droplet in an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light source of an extreme ultraviolet lithography tool with non-ionizing light from a droplet illumination module. The method further includes detecting light reflected and/or scattered by the target droplet, and performing particle image velocimetry, based on the detected light, to determine a velocity of the target droplet. The method also includes adjusting a time delay between a generation of the target droplet and a generation of an excitation laser beam based on the velocity of the target droplet.

Particle image velocimetry of extreme ultraviolet lithography systems

Example implementations described herein include a laser source and associated methods of operation that can balance or reduce uneven beam profile problem and even improve plasma heating efficiency to enhance conversion efficiency and intensity for extreme ultraviolet radiation generation. The laser source described herein generates an auxiliary laser beam to augment a pre-pulse laser beam and/or a main-pulse laser beam, such that uneven beam profiles may be corrected and/or compensated. This may improve an intensity of the laser source and also improve an energy distribution from the laser source to a droplet of a target material, effective to increase an overall operating efficiency of the laser source.

A method includes: depositing a mask layer over a substrate; directing first radiation reflected from a central collector section of a sectional collector of a lithography system toward the mask layer according to a pattern; directing second radiation reflected from a peripheral collector section of the sectional collector toward the mask layer according to the pattern, wherein the peripheral collector section is vertically separated from the central collector section by a gap; forming openings in the mask layer by removing first regions of the mask layer exposed to the first radiation and second regions of the mask layer exposed to the second radiation; and removing material of a layer underlying the mask layer exposed by the openings.

Lithography system and methods

A photolithographic apparatus includes a droplet generator, a droplet generator maintenance system, and a controller communicating with the droplet generator maintenance system. The droplet generator maintenance system operatively communicates with the droplet generator, a coolant distribution unit, a gas supply unit, and a supporting member. The gas supply unit includes a heat exchange assembly and an air heating assembly. The coolant distribution unit is configured to control the temperature of the droplet generator within the acceptable droplet generator range.

Methods of servicing photolithographic apparatus

A method of extreme ultraviolet lithography includes: generating within a source vessel extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light by striking a stream of droplets of target material shot across the source vessel with pulses from a laser to create a plasma from which EUV light is emitted; directing the generated EUV light out of the source vessel through an intermediate focus cap along a pathway toward a reticle of a scanner; creating a longitudinal mechanical wave extending across the pathway; and exposing a photoresist layer on a semiconductor substrate to pattern a circuit layout by the generated EUV light.

Acoustic particle deflection in lithography tool

A method for inspecting an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light source includes: removing a collector mirror of the EUV light source from a collector chamber; installing an inspection apparatus within the collector chamber, the apparatus including a selectively extendable and retractable member and a camera at one end of the member; operating a first actuator to extend the member along a path through the interior chamber of the EUV light source, thereby moving the camera to a given position within the interior chamber of the EUV light source; operating a second actuator to pan the camera about an axis of rotation, thereby establishing a given camera orientation within the interior of the EUV light source; and, capturing an image of the interior chamber of the EUV light source with the camera while the camera is at the given position and orientation established by the operation of the first and second actuators.

Inspection system for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light source

A method includes: removing debris on a collector of a lithography equipment by changing physical structure of the debris with a cleaner; forming a cleaned collector by exhausting the removable debris from the collector; and forming openings in a mask layer on a substrate by removing regions of the mask layer exposed to radiation from the cleaned collector.

Methods of cleaning a lithography system

An extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photolithography system includes a scanner that directs the EUV light onto an EUV reticle. The photolithography system includes one or more contamination reduction structures positioned within the scanner and configured to attract and decompose contaminant particles within the scanner. The contamination reduction structure includes a surface material that is highly electronegative.

System and method for detecting debris in a photolithography system

Methods and apparatuses for a lithography exposure process are described. The method includes irradiating a target droplet with a laser beam to create an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light. The methods utilized and the apparatuses include two or more collectors for collecting the generated EUV light and reflecting the collected EUV light to a focal point of one of the collectors. In some embodiments, one of the two collectors includes a ring-shaped collector.

Radiation collector

An extreme ultraviolet (EUV) source includes a collector associated with the vessel. The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) source includes a plurality of vanes along walls of the vessel. Each vane includes a stacked vane segment, and the stacked vane segments for each vane are stacked in a direction of drainage of tin (Sn) in the vessel. The EUV source includes a thermal control system comprising a plurality of independently controllable heating elements, where a heating element is configured to provide localized control for heating of a vane segment of the stacked vane segments.

Growing community of inventors

Taipei, Taiwan

Shang-Chieh Chien