Carl Zeiss Smt Gmbh

Thomas Schicketanz

Toralf Gruner

Alexander Epple

Vladimir Kamenov

Hartmut Enkisch

Hans-Jochen Paul

Oliver Dier

Norbert Wabra

Boris Bittner

Johannes Ruoff

Ralf Winter

Sebastian Strobel

Steffen Siegler

Wilhelm Ulrich

Hans-Juergen Mann

Markus Deguenther

Michael Patra

Daniel Kraehmer

Dirk Heinrich Ehm

Hans-Juergen Rostalski

Aksel Goehnermeier

Frank Schlesener

Ingo Saenger

Markus Schwab

Ralf Mueller

Christoph Zaczek

Sonja Schneider

Alexandra Pazidis

Ricarda Schoemer

Alexander Wolf

Olaf Dittmann

Walter Pauls

Christian Wald

Sascha Migura

Joern Weber

Hendrik Wagner

Matthias Roesch

Holger Schmidt

Matus Kalisky

Rumen Iliew

Siegfried Rennon

Juergen Mueller

Michael Carl

Christian Grasse

Reinhold Walser

Ralf Müller

Daniel KRÄHMER

Methods for characterizing the surface shapes of optical elements include the following steps: carrying out, in an interferometric test arrangement, at least a first interferogram measurement on the optical element by superimposing a test wave, which has been generated by diffraction of electromagnetic radiation on a diffractive element and has been reflected at the optical element, carrying out at least one additional interferogram measurement on in each case one calibrating mirror for determining calibration corrections, and determining the deviation from the target shape of the optical element based on the first interferogram measurement carried out on the optical element and the determined calibration corrections. At least two interferogram measurements are carried out for the at least one calibrating mirror, which differ from one another with regard to the polarization state of the electromagnetic radiation.

Method and device for characterizing the surface shape of an optical element

A method and a device for characterizing the surface shape of an optical element. In the method, in at least one interferogram measurement carried out by an interferometric test arrangement, a test wave reflected at the optical element is caused to be superimposed with a reference wave not reflected at the optical element. In this case, the figure of the optical element is determined on the basis of at least two interferogram measurements using electromagnetic radiation having in each case linear input polarization or in each case circular input polarization, wherein the input polarizations for the two interferogram measurements differ from one another.

A projection optical unit for EUV projection lithography has a plurality of mirrors for imaging an object field into an image field with illumination light. At least one of the mirrors is an NI mirror and at least one of the mirrors is a GI mirror. A mirror dimension Dx of the at least one NI mirror in a plane of extent (xz) perpendicular to a plane of incidence (yz) satisfies the following relationship:4 A mirror dimension Dy of the at least one GI mirror in the plane of incidence (yz) satisfies the following relationship:4/(cos())&#x3c;

Projection optical unit for EUV projection lithography

An optical system, in particular for a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus, with at least one mirror () which has an optically effective surface and, for electromagnetic radiation of a predefined operating wavelength impinging on the optically effective surface at an angle of incidence of at least 65&#xb0; relative to the respective surface normal, has a reflectivity of at least 0.5. The mirror has a reflection layer () and a compensation layer () which is arranged above this reflection layer () in the direction of the optically effective surface. The compensation layer (), for an intensity distribution generated in a pupil plane or a field plane of the optical system during operation thereof, reduces the difference between the maximum and the minimum intensity value by at least 20% compared to an analogous structure without the compensation layer.

Optical system, in particular for a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus

An optical arrangement includes an optical element () and a thermal manipulation device. The optical element has a substrate (), a coating () applied to the substrate (), and an antireflection coating (). The coating () includes: a reflective multi-layer coating () configured to reflect radiation () with a used wavelength (&#x3bb;). The antireflection coating () is arranged between the substrate () and the reflective multi-layer coating () to suppress reflection of heating radiation () with a heating wavelength (&#x3bb;) that differs from the used wavelength (&#x3bb;). The thermal manipulation device has at least one heating light source () to produce heating radiation ().

Optical element and optical arrangement therewith

An EUV mirror has a multilayer arrangement applied on a substrate. The multilayer arrangement includes a first layer group having ten or more first layer pairs. Each first layer pair has a first layer composed of a high refractive index first layer material having a first layer thickness, has a second layer composed of a low refractive index second layer material having a second layer thickness and has a period thickness corresponding to the sum of the layer thicknesses of all the layers of a first layer pair. The layer thicknesses of one of the layer materials are defined, depending on the period number, by a simply monotonic first layer thickness profile function, e.g. by a linear, quadratic or exponential layer thickness profile function. The layer thicknesses of the other of the layer materials vary, depending on the period number, in accordance with a second layer thickness profile function.

EUV mirror and optical system comprising EUV mirror

A method for manufacturing an integrated circuit includes scanning a wafer with respect to a catadioptric projection objective and imaging a pattern on a mask onto a wafer while scanning the wafer. The imaging includes illuminating the mask with radiation; imaging, using the radiation, the pattern into a first intermediate image, the first intermediate image to a second intermediate image, and the second intermediate image into an image field arranged in an image surface where the wafer is arranged; and, manipulating one or more of optical elements while scanning the wafer to reduce errors in the image at the image field. A concave mirror arranged in a region of a pupil surface reflects the radiation. The projection objective also includes mirrors to deflect the radiation from the object field towards the concave mirror and to deflect the radiation from the concave mirror towards the image field. The deflection mirrors are mechanically coupled to a displacement device arranged to displace the first and second deflection mirrors.

Catadioptric projection objective comprising deflection mirrors and projection exposure method

A method of providing a catadioptric projection includes: providing a first partial objective for imaging an object field onto a first real intermediate image; providing a second partial objective for imaging the first real intermediate image onto a second real intermediate image, in which the second partial objective includes a concave mirror; providing a third partial objective for imaging the second intermediate image onto an image field, the third partial objective including an aperture stop; providing a first folding mirror and a second folding mirror; and providing an antireflection coating onto a surface of at least one lens that is directly adjacent to the concave mirror or that is separate from the concave mirror by a single lens, in which the antireflection coating is designed to have reflectivity of less than 0.2% for a wavelength between 150 nm and 250 nm and for an angle-of-incidence range between 0&#xb0; and 30&#xb0;.

Catadioptric projection objective

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 EUV mirror with a substrate and a multilayer arrangement including: a periodic first layer group having N&#x3e;1 first layer pairs of period thickness Pand arranged on a radiation entrance side of the multilayer arrangement; a periodic second layer group having N&#x3e;1 second layer pairs of period thickness Pand arranged between the first layer group and the substrate; and a third layer group having Nthird layer pairs arranged between the first and second layer groups. N&#x3e;N. The third layer group has a third period thickness Pwhich deviates from an average period thickness P=(P+P)/2 by a period thickness difference &#x394;P. &#x394;P corresponds to the quotient of the optical layer thickness (&#x3bb;/4) of a quarter-wave layer and the product of Nand cos(AOI), AOIbeing the mean incidence angle for which the multilayer arrangement is designed.

A reflective optical element () having a substrate () and a multilayer system () that has a plurality of partial stacks (), each with a first layer () of a first material and a second layer () of a second material. The first material and the second material differ from one another in refractive index at an operating wavelength of the optical element. Each of the partial stacks has a thickness (D) and a layer thickness ratio (&#x393;), wherein the layer thickness ratio is the quotient of the thickness of the respective first layer and the partial stack thickness (D). In a first section of the multilayer system, for at least one of the two variables of partial stack thickness (D) and layer thickness ratio (&#x393;), the mean square deviation from the respective mean values therefor is at least 10% less than in a second section of the multilayer system.

Reflective optical element, and optical system of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus

A projection exposure apparatus includes a catadioptric projection objective, an illumination system, a stage, and a control unit. The catadioptric projection objective includes multiple objective parts, and one or more active manipulators coupled to one or more optical elements of the projection objective. The control unit is programmed to cause the one or more active manipulators to act on one or more corresponding optical elements while the stage scans a wafer with respect to an image field to reduce errors in the image at the image field.

A projection objective for microlithography for imaging an object field onto an image field includes: a first partial objective for imaging the object field onto a first real intermediate image; a second partial objective for imaging the first intermediate image onto a second real intermediate image; a third partial objective for imaging the second intermediate image onto the image field, the third partial objective including an aperture; and a first folding mirror for deflecting radiation toward a concave mirror and a second folding mirror for deflecting the radiation from the concave mirror toward the image plane; in which the projection objective is an immersion projection objective in which during operation an immersion liquid is situated between a last lens surface and an image plane, and at least one surface of at least one lens in the second partial objective has an antireflection coating including at least six layers.

An imaging catoptric optical unit has at least four mirror, which image an object field in an object plane into an image field in an image plane. A first chief ray plane of the optical unit is prescribed by propagation of a chief ray of a central object field point during the reflection at one of the mirrors. A second chief ray plane of the optical unit is prescribed by propagation of the chief ray of the central object field point during the reflection at one of the other mirrors. The two chief ray planes include an angle that differs from 0. In an alternative or additional aspect, the imaging optical unit, considered via the image field, has a maximum diattenuation of 10% or a diattenuation that prefers a tangential polarization of the imaging light for a respectively considered illumination angle. The result of both aspects is an imaging optical unit in which bothersome polarization influences are reduced during the reflection of imaging light at the mirrors of the imaging optical unit.

Imaging catoptric EUV projection optical unit

A method of lithographically transferring a pattern on a light sensitive surface in a multiple exposure process comprises the following steps:

Method of lithographically transferring a pattern on a light sensitive surface and illumination system of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus

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Aalen, Germany

Thomas Schicketanz