Cymer, Inc.

Timothy S Dyer

Richard G Morton

Richard C Ujazdowski

Thomas D Steiger

Bryan George Moosman

William N Partlo

Walter Dale Gillespie

Curtis L Rettig

Brian Strate

Tom A Watson

Norbert R Bowering

Alex P Ivaschenko

Igor Vladimirovich Fomenkov

Richard M Ness

Oleh V Khodykin

I Roger Oliver

Jerzy R Hoffman

Rodney D Simmons

Stephan T Melnychuk

James A Carmichael

Gerry M Blumenstock

R Mark Johnson

Alexander Igorevich Ershov

Richard L Sandstrom

Walter Dean Gillespie

Thomas Patrick Duffey

Thomas Hofmann

Robert A Bergstedt

Fedor Trintchouk

J Martin Algots

German E Rylov

Jiping Zhang

Yoshiho Amada

Vladimir A Kulgeyko

Michael D Altheim

Hugh R Grinolds

Brian D Strate

Martin J Algots

Fedor B Trintchouk

Bryan G Moosman

Electrodes for a fluorine gas discharge laser are disclosed which may comprise a crown straddling the centerline axis between the pair of side walls and the pair of end walls, comprising a first material, forming at least a portion of the discharge region of the electrode; the crown in traverse cross section having the shape of the upper half of a canted ellipse rotated in the preionizer direction, such that a tangent to the short centerline axis of the ellipse forms an angle with the horizontal. Another embodiment may comprise an anode blade having a top portion and a first and second sidewall portion each intersecting the top portion; the anode blade being formed with the shape in cross section of the top portion being curvilinear and intersecting the generally straight potions of each of first and second sidewall portions along a radius of curvature and with the top portion beveled away from an asymmetric discharge side of the anode.

Anodes for fluorine gas discharge lasers

A method and apparatus if disclosed which may comprise a high power high repetition rate gas discharge laser UV light source which may comprise: a gas discharge chamber comprising an interior wall comprising a vertical wall and an adjacent bottom wall; a gas circulation fan creating a gas flow path adjacent the interior vertical wall and the adjacent bottom wall; an in-chamber dust trap positioned a region of low gas flow, which may be along an interior wall and may comprise at least one meshed screen, e.g., a plurality of meshed screens, which may comprise at least two different gauge meshed screens. The dust trap may extend along the bottom interior wall of the chamber and/or a vertical portion of the interior wall. The dust trap may comprise a first meshed screen having a first gauge; a second meshed screen having a second gauge smaller than the first gauge; and the second meshed screen intermediate the first meshed screen and the interior wall. The chamber may comprise a plurality of dust collecting recesses in at least one of the vertical interior wall and the bottom wall of the chamber which may be selected from a group comprising a one-part recess and a multi-part recess, which may comprise two sections angled with respect to each other. The dust trap may comprise a pressure trap positioned between a portion of a main insulator and an interior wall of the chamber. The chamber may comprise a gas circulating fan comprising a cross-flow fan with a fan cutoff that may comprise a vortex control pocket. The chamber may comprise a preionization mechanism comprising a preionization tub containing a ground rod within an elongated opening in the preionization tube that may comprise a compliant member, an automatic preionization shut-off mechanism, a preionization onset control mechanism and/or a focusing element. The chamber may comprise an elongated baffle plate that may comprise a plurality of pyramidal structures including varying numbers of generally pyramidal elements and oriented in groups of varying numbers of generally pyramidal elements and oriented along and transverse to the longitudinal axis. Acoustic resonances within the chamber may also be reduced by introducing an artificial jitter into the timing of the laser discharges varying the inter-pulse period randomly or in a repeating pattern from pulse to pulse within a burst.

Gas discharge laser chamber improvements

The present invention provides a reliable, high-repetition rate, production line compatible high energy photon source. A very hot plasma containing an active material is produced in vacuum chamber. The active material is an atomic element having an emission line within a desired extreme ultraviolet (EUV) range. A pulse power source comprising a charging capacitor and a magnetic compression circuit comprising a pulse transformer, provides electrical pulses having sufficient energy and electrical potential sufficient to produce the EUV light at an intermediate focus at rates in excess of 5 Watts. In preferred embodiments designed by Applicants in-band, EUV light energy at the intermediate focus is 45 Watts extendable to 105.8 Watts.

Extreme ultraviolet light source

A line narrowing method and module for a narrow band DUV high power high repetition rate gas discharge laser producing output laser light pulse beam pulses in bursts of pulses, the module having a nominal optical path are disclosed which may comprise: a dispersive center wavelength selection optic moveably mounted within an optical path of the line narrowing module, selecting at least one center wavelength for each pulse determined at least in part by the angle of incidence of the laser light pulse beam containing the respective pulse on the dispersive wavelength selection optic; a first tuning mechanism operative in part to select the angle of incidence of the laser light pulse beam containing the respective pulse upon the dispersive center wavelength selection optic, by selecting an angle of transmission of the laser light pulse beam containing the pulse toward the dispersive center wavelength selection optic; a second tuning mechanism operative in part to select the angle of incidence of the laser light pulse beam containing the respective pulse by changing the position of the dispersive center wavelength selection optic relative to the nominal optical path of the line narrowing module; wherein the second tuning mechanism coarsely selects a value for the center wavelength and the first tuning mechanism more finely selects the value for the center wavelength. The apparatus and method may further comprise at least one beam expanding and redirecting prism in the optical path of the line narrowing module; the first tuning mechanism selecting an angle of incidence of the at least a first spatially defined portion of the laser light pulse beam by changing the position of the at least one beam expanding prism relative to the nominal optical path of the line narrowing module. The first and second tuning mechanisms may be controlled by a center wavelength controller during a burst based upon feedback from a center wavelength detector detecting the center wavelength of at least one other pulse in the burst of pulses and the controller providing the feedback based upon an algorithm employing the detected center wavelength for the at least one other pulse in the burst. The first tuning mechanism may comprise an electro-mechanical course positioning mechanism and a fine positioning mechanism comprising an actuatable material that changes position or shape when actuated.

Line narrowing module

Fluorine gas discharge laser electrodes and electrode systems that may comprise a plurality of current return tangs extending for less than the respective length of the second elongated gas discharge electrode. In addition electrodes may comprise a first discharge shaping magnet mounted in a first elongated gas discharge electrode and a second discharge shaping magnet mounted in a second elongated gas discharge electrode. Also is an electrode may comprise a crown straddling the centerline axis between the pair of side walls and the pair of end walls, comprising a first material, forming at least a portion of the discharge region of the electrode and a pair of elongated high erosion regions on either side of the crown comprising a second material with a relatively higher erosion rate during gas discharge than that of the first material.

Electrodes for fluorine gas discharge lasers

A gas discharge laser includes a laser chamber containing a halogen laser gas, two electrode elements defining a cathode and an anode, each having a discharge receiving region defining two longitudinal edges and having a region width defining a width of an electric discharge between the electrode elements in the laser gas. The anode comprising a first anode portion comprising a first anode material defining a first anode material erosion rate, located entirely within the discharge receiving region, a pair of second anode portions comprising a second anode material defining a second anode material erosion rate, respectively located on each side of the first anode portion and at least partially within the discharge receiving region; an electrode center base portion integral with the first anode portion; and wherein each of the respective pair of second anode portions is mechanically bonded to the center base portion.

Halogen gas discharge laser electrodes

Apparatus and methods are disclosed for forming plasma generated EUV light source optical elements, e.g., reflectors comprising MLM stacks employing various binary layer materials and capping layer(s) including single and binary capping layers for utilization in plasma generated EUV light source chambers, particularly where the plasma source material is reactive with one or more of the MLM materials.

EUV light source optical elements

The present invention provides a gas discharge laser having at least one long-life elongated electrode for producing at least 12 billion high voltage electric discharges in a fluorine containing laser gas. In a preferred embodiment at least one of the electrodes is comprised of a first material having a relatively low anode erosion rate and a second anode material having a relatively higher anode erosion rate. The first anode material is positioned at a desired anode discharge region of the electrode. The second anode material is located adjacent to the first anode material along at least two long sides of the first material. During operation of the laser erosion occurs on both materials but the higher erosion rate of the second material assures that any tendency of the discharge to spread onto the second material will quickly erode away the second material enough to stop the spread of the discharge. In a preferred embodiment the anode is as described above and the cathode is also a two-material electrode with the first material at the discharge region being C26000 brass and the second material being C36000 brass. A pulse power system provides electrical pulses at rates of at least 1 KHz. A blower circulates laser gas between the electrodes at speeds of at least 5 m/s and a heat exchanger is provided to remove heat produced by the blower and the discharges.

High rep-rate laser with improved electrodes

A fluorine gas discharge laser electrode for a gas discharge laser having a laser gas containing fluorine and a method for manufacturing an electrode is disclosed. The electrode may include a copper and copper alloy body having an upper curved region containing a discharge footprint and a lower portion. In one aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, the upper region may include copper and the lower region may include a copper alloy. A portion of the electrode facing a gas discharge region may be formed in an arcuate shape extending into straight line portions on either side of the arcuate portion. The straight line portions may terminate in vertical straight sides.

Cathodes for fluorine gas discharge lasers

A feedthrough structure of a gas discharge laser chamber conducts electric power through the wall of a sealed gas enclosure to a single piece elongated electrode inside the enclosure. The feedthrough structure includes a single piece integrated main insulator larger than the electrode. The main insulator is compressed between the electrode and the wall of the enclosure. The surfaces forming interfaces between the electrode and the single piece insulator are the insulator and the wall are all very smooth to permit the parts to expand and contract as the chamber temperature varies. The feedthrough structure also provides mechanical support and alignment for the electrode and includes seals to prevent gas leakage around the feedthrough structure.

Laser chamber insulator with sealed electrode feedthrough

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Oceanside, CA, United States of America

Timothy S Dyer