Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090014027 | METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT FOR CLEANING OPTICAL SURFACES IN PLASMA-BASED RADIATION SOURCES - The invention is directed to a method and an arrangement for cleaning optical surfaces of reflection optics which are arranged in a plasma-based radiation source or exposure device arranged downstream and contaminated by debris particles emitted by a hot plasma of the radiation source. It is the object of the invention to find a novel possibility for in-situ cleaning of the optical surfaces of reflection optics which are contaminated by debris in plasma-based radiation sources so as to allow an integrated generation of known gas radicals and the isotropic distribution thereof on the contaminated optical surfaces. According to the invention, this object is met in that the gas radicals are generated by dielectrically impeded discharge between two surface electrodes along the entire optical surface. The gas radicals are generated almost exclusively by electron transfer on at least one barrier layer which covers the entire surface of at least one of the surface electrodes, an AC voltage in the Hz to kHz range is applied to the surface electrodes for periodically eliminating the charge polarization at the barrier layer so that a cold plasma is generated continuously and the deposited debris particles are removed as gaseous reaction products by the gas flow guided over the optical surface. | 01-15-2009 |
20100078578 | METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT FOR THE OPERATION OF PLASMA-BASED SHORT-WAVELENGTH RADIATION SOURCES - The invention is directed to a method for operating plasma-based short-wavelength radiation sources, particularly EUV radiation sources, having a long lifetime and to an arrangement for generating plasma-based short-wavelength radiation. It is the object of the invention to find a novel possibility for operating plasma-based short-wavelength radiation sources with a long lifetime which permits extensive debris mitigation without the main process of radiation generation being severely impaired through the use of buffer gas and without the need for substantial additional expenditure for generating partial pressure in a spatially narrowly limited manner. According to the invention, this object is met in that hydrogen gas as buffer gas ( | 04-01-2010 |
20120153829 | Method and Apparatus for the Generation of Short-Wavelength Radiation by Means of a Gas Discharge-Based High-Frequency, High-Current Discharge - The invention is related to a gas discharge-based radiation source which emits short-wavelength radiation, wherein an emitter is ionized and compressed by pulse-shaped currents between two electrodes arranged in a vacuum chamber and is excited to form an emitting plasma. According to the invention, the plasma is preserved by means of a high-frequency sequence of pulse-shaped currents the pulse repetition period of which is adjusted so as to be shorter than a lifetime of the plasma so that the plasma is kept periodically alternating between a high-energy state of an emitting compressed plasma and a low-energy state of a relaxing plasma. For exciting the relaxing plasma to the compressed plasma, excitation energy is coupled into the relaxing plasma by making use of pulse-shaped currents with repetition frequencies between 50 kHz and 4 MHz and pulse widths equal to the pulse repetition period. | 06-21-2012 |
20120248327 | Method and Arrangement for the Adjustment of Characteristics of a Beam Bundle of High-Energy Radiation Emitted from a Plasma - The invention is related to the adjustment of characteristics of a beam bundle of high-energy radiation emitted from a plasma, particularly for applications in semiconductor lithography. For acquiring and adjusting characteristics of a beam bundle of high-energy radiation emitted from a plasma and focused by means of collector optics, an intensity distribution of the radiation is acquired over the cross section of a convergent beam bundle in a measuring plane perpendicular to the optical axis in front of an intermediate focus of the collector optics, and intensity values are recorded in defined sectors for a quantity of reception regions of a measuring device which are aligned with different radii concentric to the optical axis, and measured quantities and control variables are determined from a comparison of the intensity values of different sectors for aligning the collector optics. | 10-04-2012 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090021726 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR THE OPTICAL MEASUREMENT OF AN OPTICAL SYSTEM BY USING AN IMMERSION FLUID - A device for the optical measurement of an optical system, in particular an optical imaging system, is provided. The device includes at least one test optics component arranged on an object side or an image side of the optical system. An immersion fluid is adjacent to at least one of the test optics components. A container for use in this device, a microlithography projection exposure machine equipped with this device, and a method which can be carried out with the aid of this device are also provided. The device and method provide for optical measurement of microlithography projection objectives with high numerical apertures by using wavefront detection with shearing or point diffraction interferometry, or a Moiré measuring technique. | 01-22-2009 |
20090174876 | OPTICAL APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MODIFYING THE IMAGING BEHAVIOR OF SUCH APPARATUS - The disclosure relates to an optical apparatus including a light source that emits light in the form of light pulses having a pulse frequency, and including at least one optical element. The disclosure also relates to a projection exposure machine including a pulsed light source and a projection objective, and to a method for modifying the imaging behavior of such an apparatus, such as in a projection exposure machine. | 07-09-2009 |
20090257049 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR THE OPTICAL MEASUREMENT OF AN OPTICAL SYSTEM BY USING AN IMMERSION FLUID - A device for the optical measurement of an optical system, in particular an optical imaging system, is provided. The device includes at least one test optics component arranged on an object side or an image side of the optical system. An immersion fluid is adjacent to at least one of the test optics components. A container for use in this device, a microlithography projection exposure machine equipped with this device, and a method which can be carried out with the aid of this device are also provided. The device and method provide for optical measurement of microlithography projection objectives with high numerical apertures by using wavefront detection with shearing or point diffraction interferometry, or a Moiré measuring technique. | 10-15-2009 |
20120113429 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR THE OPTICAL MEASUREMENT OF AN OPTICAL SYSTEM BY USING AN IMMERSION FLUID - A device for the optical measurement of an optical system, in particular an optical imaging system, is provided. The device includes at least one test optics component arranged on an object side or an image side of the optical system. An immersion fluid is adjacent to at least one of the test optics components. A container for use in this device, a microlithography projection exposure machine equipped with this device, and a method which can be carried out with the aid of this device are also provided. The device and method provide for optical measurement of microlithography projection objectives with high numerical apertures by using wavefront detection with shearing or point diffraction interferometry, or a Moiré measuring technique. | 05-10-2012 |
20140022524 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR THE OPTICAL MEASUREMENT OF AN OPTICAL SYSTEM BY USING AN IMMERSION FLUID - A device for the optical measurement of an optical system, in particular an optical imaging system, is provided. The device includes at least one test optics component arranged on an object side or an image side of the optical system. An immersion fluid is adjacent to at least one of the test optics components. A container for use in this device, a microlithography projection exposure machine equipped with this device, and a method which can be carried out with the aid of this device are also provided. The device and method provide for optical measurement of microlithography projection objectives with high numerical apertures by using wavefront detection with shearing or point diffraction interferometry, or a Moiré measuring technique. | 01-23-2014 |