Carl Zeiss Smt Gmbh

Carl-zeiss-smt Ag

Wilfried Clauss

Michael Totzeck

Karl-Heinz Schuster

Heiko Feldmann

Daniel Kraehmer

Susanne Beder

Toralf Gruner

Aurelian Dodoc

Olaf Dittmann

Damian Fiolka

Michael Gerhard

Christoph Zaczek

Eric Eva

Dirk Schaffer

Julian Kaller

Stephan Muellender

Hans-Jochen Paul

Gisela Von Blanckenhagen

Sascha Migura

Joern Weber

Gerhard Braun

Roland Loercher

Hin-Yiu Anthony Chung

Werner Mueller-Rissmann

A mirror (') for the EUV wavelength range and having a substrate (S) and a layer arrangement, wherein the layer arrangement includes at least one surface layer system (P&#x2032;&#x2033;) consisting of a periodic sequence of at least two periods (P) of individual layers, wherein the periods (P) include two individual layers composed of different materials for a high refractive index layer (H&#x2032;&#x2033;) and a low refractive index layer (L&#x2032;&#x2033;), wherein the layer arrangement includes at least one surface protecting layer (SPL, L) or at least one surface protecting layer system (SPLS) having a thickness of greater than 20 nm, and preferably greater than 50 nm.

Mirror for the EUV wavelength range, substrate for such a mirror, projection objective for microlithography comprising such a mirror or such a substrate, and projection exposure apparatus for microlithography comprising such a projection objective

A lithography apparatus is disclosed, having at least one mirror arrangement which includes a mirror substrate including a front side with a reflecting surface, a side wall, which extends along a circumference of the mirror substrate from a rear side of the mirror substrate, and mounting elements to mount the mirror arrangement on a structural element of the lithography apparatus. The rear side of the mirror substrate and an inner side of the side wall delimit a cavity. Each of the mounting elements is connected to the mirror arrangement at a connection surface. The relation S/D&#x3e;0.5 is satisfied at least one of the connection surfaces, wherein D denotes a thickness of the side wall at the connection surface and S denotes the length of the shortest path through the mirror material from the centroid of the connection surface to the rear side of the mirror substrate.

Lithography apparatus and method for producing a mirror arrangement

An optical arrangement, e.g. projection lens, for EUV lithography, provided with: a first optical element () having a reflective surface () and a first substrate () composed of TiO-doped quartz glass, which has a temperature-dependent coefficient of thermal expansion having a zero crossing at a first zero crossing temperature (T), and a second optical element () having a reflective surface () and a second substrate () composed of TiO-doped quartz glass, which has a temperature-dependent coefficient of thermal expansion having a zero crossing at a second zero crossing temperature (T), which is different from the first. A gradient of the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate () at the first zero crossing temperature (T) and/or a gradient of the coefficient of thermal expansion of the second substrate () at the second zero crossing temperature (T) have/has a negative sign.

Optical arrangement for EUV lithography and method for configuring such an optical arrangement

A method for the production of a mirror element () that has a reflective coating () for the EUV wavelength range and a substrate (). The substrate () is pre-compacted by hot isostatic pressing, and the reflective coating () is applied to the pre-compacted substrate (). In the method, either the pre-compacting of the substrate () is performed until a saturation value of the compaction of the substrate () by long-term EUV irradiation is reached, or, for further compaction, the pre-compacted substrate () is irradiated, preferably homogeneously, with ions () and/or with electrons in a surface region () in which the coating () has been or will be applied. A mirror element () for the EUV wavelength range associated with the method has a substrate () pre-compacted by hot isostatic pressing. Such a mirror element () is suitable to be provided in an EUV projection exposure system.

Mirror elements for EUV lithography and production methods therefor

An optical assembly has at least one mirror with a mirror body. The latter is carried by a support body, which has a first support body portion and a second support body portion. An at least thermally separating region is arranged between the two support body portions. At least one surface portion of at least one of the support body portions or of a body thermally coupled thereto is modified in such a way that a thermal emission coefficient &#x3b5;of the modified surface portion differs from a thermal emission coefficient &#x3b5;of the unmodified surface portion by at least 10%. The result is an optical assembly, in which an improved thermal stability is achieved by the predetermining of the thermal emission coefficients.

Optical assembly

For the production of mirrors for EUV lithography, substrates are suggested having a mean relative thermal longitudinal expansion of no more than 10 ppb across a temperature difference &#x394;T of 15&#xb0; C. and a zero-crossing temperature in the range between 20&#xb0; C. and 40&#xb0; C. For this purpose, at least one first and one second material having low thermal expansion coefficients and opposite gradients of the relative thermal expansion as a function of temperature are selected and a substrate is produced by mixing and bonding these materials.

Substrates for mirrors for EUV lithography and their production

A transmitting optical element adapted for use in an objective for a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus is composed of a polycrystalline material, with the polycrystalline material having crystallites with a cubic crystal structure, and with the mean crystallite size of these crystallites being at least micrometers, and at most micrometers.

Transmitting optical element and objective for a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus

A projection objective of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus has a high index refractive optical element with an index of refraction greater than 1.6. This element has a volume and a material related optical property which varies over the volume. Variations of this optical property cause an aberration of the objective. In one embodiment at least 4 optical surfaces are provided that are arranged in at least one volume which is optically conjugate with the volume of the refractive optical element. Each optical surface comprises at least one correction means, for example a surface deformation or a birefringent layer with locally varying properties, which at least partially corrects the aberration caused by the variation of the optical property.

Projection objective of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus

A transmitting optical element of polycrystalline material that includes crystallites of magnesium spinel MgAlOor lutetium-aluminum garnet LuAlO, wherein the polycrystalline material includes an average total concentration of foreign element contamination caused by Y, Sc, Co, Ni, Zr, Mo, Sn and/or Nb of less than 50 ppm, preferably of less than 20 ppm, and more preferably of less than 15 ppm.

Transmitting optical element with low foreign-element contamination

In some embodiments, the disclosure provides an optical system, in particular an illumination system or a projection lens of a microlithographic exposure system, having an optical system axis and at least one element group including three birefringent elements each of which includes optically uniaxial material and having an aspheric surface, wherein a first birefringent element of the group has a first orientation of its optical crystal axis, a second birefringent element of the group has a second orientation of its optical crystal axis, wherein the second orientation can be described as emerging from a rotation of the first orientation, the rotation not corresponding to a rotation around the optical system axis by an angle of 90&#xb0; or an integer multiple thereof, and a third birefringent element of the group has a third orientation of its optical crystal axis, wherein the third orientation can be described as emerging from a rotation of the second orientation, the rotation not corresponding to a rotation around the optical system axis by an angle of 90&#xb0; or an integer multiple thereof.

Illumination system or projection lens of a microlithographic exposure system

An optical composite material comprises an amorphous optical material () with a first refractive index (n), into which crystalline nanoparticles () having a second, higher refractive index (n) are embedded, wherein the amorphous material () and the nanoparticles () are resistant to UV radiation. A microlithography projection exposure apparatus comprises a projection objective () with at least one optical element () which is, in particular, operated in transmission and consists of an optical composite material of this type. In a method for producing the optical composite material, crystalline nanoparticles are introduced into the amorphous optical material during flame deposition in a soot or direct process.

Optical composite material and method for its production

Very high aperture microlithography projection objectives operating at the wavelengths of 248 nm, 193 nm and also 157 nm, suitable for optical immersion or near-field operation with aperture values that can exceed 1.4 are made feasible with crystalline lenses and crystalline end plates P of NaCl, KCl, KI, RbI, CsI, and MgO, YAG with refractive indices up to and above 2.0. These crystalline lenses and end plates are placed between the system aperture stop AS and the wafer W, preferably as the last lenses on the image side of the objective.

Microlithography projection objective with crystal lens

A projection objective of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus has a first lens, which is the penul-timate curved optical element on the image side. The first lens has a concave surface on the image side and contains a first intrinsically birefringent crystal, which has a first orientation of the crystal axes. The projection objective furthermore has a second lens, which is the last curved optical element on the image side and has a convex surface on the object side. The second lens contains a second intrinsically birefringent crystal, which has a second orientation of the crystal axes. The latter can be described by rotating the first orientation of the crystal axes about a symmetry axis of the first lens. The first and second orientations of the crystal axes are selected so that an intrinsic birefringence due to the first crystal, together with an intrinsic bire-fringence due to the second crystal, leads in total to at least approximately axisymmetric distribution of the overall birefringence.

Growing community of inventors

Tuebingen, Germany

Wilfried Clauss