The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 10, 2001
Filed:
Feb. 11, 1997
Gregg Gallatin, Newtown, CT (US);
Andrew W. McCullough, Newtown, CT (US);
SVG Lithography Systems, Inc., Wilton, CT (US);
Abstract
An illumination system used in photolithography for the manufacture of semiconductors having an array optical element with different illumination regions matched to different geometric pattern regions on a reticle. The array optical element may be a filter, diffractive optical element, or microlens array having illumination regions producing different types of illumination properties or characteristics such as quadrupole, annular, or top hat among others. Each of the illumination regions are matched or correspond to a respective pattern region on the reticle to provide optimized exposure of a photosensitive resist covered wafer. The optical element of the present invention may be used to tailor a conventional illumination system to the unique characteristics of a particular reticle. Additionally, imperfections in the optics of a photolithographic system can be compensated for by the optical element. This facilitates the manufacture of semiconductor devices having decreasing feature sizes while improving qualify and increasing yield.