公开(公告)号：US06815900B2

公开(公告)日：2004-11-09

申请号：US10741882

申请日：2003-12-19

申请人： Imtiaz Ahmad ,  Juergen Kleinschmidt ,  Guido Schriever ,  Uwe Stamm ,  Sven Goetze

发明人： Imtiaz Ahmad ,  Juergen Kleinschmidt ,  Guido Schriever ,  Uwe Stamm ,  Sven Goetze

IPC分类号： H05H100

CPC分类号： H05G2/003

摘要： The invention is directed to a radiation source for generating extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation based on a hot, dense plasma generated by gas discharge. The object of the invention, to find a novel possibility for the realization of an EUV radiation source which achieves a high average radiation output in the EUV region and sufficiently long life and long-term stability, is met according to the invention in that a first electrode housing and a second electrode housing which are electrically separated from one another so as to be resistant to breakdown form parts of a vacuum chamber for a gas discharge for plasma generation, and the second electrode housing has an electrode collar which is enclosed concentrically by the first electrode housing so that the gas discharge is oriented substantially only parallel to the axis of symmetry of the electrode housings, and the electrode collar is stepped radially relative to the concentric insulator layer in such a way that at least one end region of the electrode collar is at a distance from the concentric insulator layer such that a concentric gap is formed. A substantially longer operating duration is achieved by the optimized electrode geometry in conjunction with material selection and effective heat dissipation.

摘要翻译： 本发明涉及一种用于基于由气体放电产生的热的致密等离子体产生极紫外（EUV）辐射的辐射源。 本发明的目的是为了发现实现EUV辐射源的新型可能性，其实现了EUV区域中的高平均辐射输出并且具有足够长的寿命和长期稳定性，根据本发明，满足第一 电极壳体和第二电极壳体，其彼此电分离，以便抵抗用于等离子体产生的气体放电的真空室的部件的分解，并且第二电极壳体具有电极套环，该电极套筒同心地包围 第一电极壳体，使得气体放电基本上仅平行于电极壳体的对称轴线定向，并且电极套环相对于同心绝缘体层级径向地延伸，使得电极套环的至少一个端部区域 距离同心绝缘体层一定距离，从而形成同心间隙。 通过优化的电极几何结构与材料选择和有效散热来实现更长的操作持续时间。

公开(公告)号：US06618422B2

公开(公告)日：2003-09-09

申请号：US09863931

申请日：2001-05-22

申请人： Igor Bragin ,  Ulrich Rebhan ,  Uwe Stamm ,  Dirk Basting

发明人： Igor Bragin ,  Ulrich Rebhan ,  Uwe Stamm ,  Dirk Basting

IPC分类号： H01S300

CPC分类号： G03F7/70025 ,  H01S3/0384 ,  H01S3/0385

摘要： A preionization device for a gas laser comprises an internal preionization electrode having a dielectric housing around it and an external preionization electrode displaced from the dielectric housing by a small gap. The dielectric housing includes two cylindrical regions of differing outer radii of curvature. An open end of the housing has a larger radius of curvature than the other end which is closed. The internal electrode connects to circuitry external to the discharge chamber via a conductive feedthrough which penetrates through the housing. The external circuitry prevents voltage oscillations caused by residual energy stored as capacitance in the dielectric housing. The external preionization electrode, which is connected electrically to one of the main discharge electrodes, is formed to shield the internal preionization electrode from the other main discharge electrode to prevent arcing therebetween. The external electrode is also formed to shield the outer gas volume and walls of the discharge chamber from the preionization unit. A semi-transparent external electrode prevents charged particles emanating from the main discharge area from settling on the housing and causing field distortion and discharge instabilities.

摘要翻译： 用于气体激光器的预电离装置包括其周围具有介电壳体的内部预电离电极和通过小间隙从绝缘壳体移位的外部预电离电极。 介电壳体包括具有不同外部曲率半径的两个圆柱形区域。 外壳的开口端具有比封闭的另一端更大的曲率半径。 内部电极通过穿透壳体的导电馈通连接到放电室外部的电路。 外部电路防止由绝缘外壳中的电容存储的剩余能量引起的电压振荡。 与主放电电极之间电连接的外部预电离电极被形成为将内部预电离电极与另一个主放电电极屏蔽，以防止它们之间的电弧。 外部电极也形成为将外部气体体积和排出室的壁与预电离单元进行屏蔽。 半透明外部电极防止从主放电区域发出的带电粒子沉降在壳体上并导致场失真和放电不稳定。

公开(公告)号：US06490306B2

公开(公告)日：2002-12-03

申请号：US10114189

申请日：2002-04-01

申请人： Uwe Stamm ,  Sergei V. Govorkov

发明人： Uwe Stamm ,  Sergei V. Govorkov

IPC分类号： H01S322

CPC分类号： H01S3/106 ,  H01S3/0315 ,  H01S3/08004 ,  H01S3/08009 ,  H01S3/08031 ,  H01S3/0805 ,  H01S3/081 ,  H01S3/0812 ,  H01S3/1062 ,  H01S3/1305 ,  H01S3/137 ,  H01S3/225 ,  H01S3/2258

摘要： A narrow band molecular fluorine laser system includes an oscillator and an amplifier, wherein the oscillator produces a 157 nm beam having a linewidth less than 1 pm and the amplifier increases the power of the beam above a predetermined amount, such as more than one or several Watts. The oscillator includes a discharge chamber filled with a laser gas including molecular fluorine and a buffer gas, electrodes within the discharge chamber connected to a discharge circuit for energizing the molecular fluorine, and a resonator including the discharge chamber for generating a laser beam having a wavelength around 157 nm. Line-narrowing optics are included intra- and/or extra-resonator for reducing the linewidth of the laser beam to less than 1 pm. The amplifier may be the same or a different discharge chamber, and optical and/or electronic delays may be used for timing pulses from the oscillator to reach the amplifier at a maximum in the discharge current of the amplifier.

公开(公告)号：US06463086B1

公开(公告)日：2002-10-08

申请号：US10077322

申请日：2002-02-15

申请人： Uwe Stamm ,  Sergei V. Govorkov

发明人： Uwe Stamm ,  Sergei V. Govorkov

IPC分类号： H01S310

CPC分类号： H01S3/106 ,  H01S3/0315 ,  H01S3/08004 ,  H01S3/08009 ,  H01S3/08031 ,  H01S3/0805 ,  H01S3/081 ,  H01S3/0812 ,  H01S3/1062 ,  H01S3/1305 ,  H01S3/137 ,  H01S3/225 ,  H01S3/2258

摘要： A narrow band molecular fluorine laser system includes an oscillator and an amplifier, wherein the oscillator produces a 157 nm beam having a linewidth less than 1 pm and the amplifier increases the power of the beam above a predetermined amount, such as more than one or several Watts. The oscillator includes a discharge chamber filled with a laser gas including molecular fluorine and a buffer gas, electrodes within the discharge chamber connected to a discharge circuit for energizing the molecular fluorine, and a resonator including the discharge chamber for generating a laser beam having a wavelength around 157 nm. Line-narrowing optics are included intra- and/or extra-resonator for reducing the linewidth of the laser beam to less than 1 pm. The amplifier may be the same or a different discharge chamber, and optical and/or electronic delays may be used for timing pulses from the oscillator to reach the amplifier at a maximum in the discharge current of the amplifier.

公开(公告)号：US06456643B1

公开(公告)日：2002-09-24

申请号：US09532276

申请日：2000-03-21

申请人： Rustem Osmanow ,  Uwe Stamm

发明人： Rustem Osmanow ,  Uwe Stamm

IPC分类号： H01S3097

CPC分类号： H01S3/09716 ,  H01S3/0385 ,  H01S3/225

摘要： An excimer or molecular fluorine laser includes one or more sliding surface discharge preionization units each including an elongated preionization electrode spaced from one or more associated preionization electrodes by an elongated dielectric within the discharge chamber. The dielectric includes a sliding discharge surface at a long axis, or side, surface of its cross-section substantially facing the discharge volume of the laser. A portion of each of the elongated and associated preionization electrodes conductively contacts a surface of the dielectric portion preferably at a cross-sectional short axis, or top or bottom, side of the dielectric. A significant area of the surface of at least one, and preferably both, of the elongated and associated electrodes contacts the corresponding surface of the dielectric such that the contact area is substantially larger than the area of the sliding discharge surface. Moreover, the sliding surface is preferably oriented and positioned such that generated UV radiation illuminates the laser gas at a substantially central location of the discharge volume.

摘要翻译： 准分子或分子氟激光器包括一个或多个滑动表面放电预电离单元，每个单元包括通过放电室内的细长电介质与一个或多个相关联的预电离电极间隔开的细长的预电离电极。 电介质包括在其横截面的大致轴向或侧面的滑动放电表面，其基本面向激光器的放电容积。 每个细长和相关的前置电极的一部分优选地在电介质的横截面短轴或顶部或底部侧电导接触电介质部分的表面。 细长和相关电极中的至少一个，优选两个的表面的显着区域接触电介质的相应表面，使得接触面积基本上大于滑动放电表面的面积。 此外，滑动表面优选地定向和定位成使得所产生的UV辐射在放电体积的基本中心位置照射激光气体。

公开(公告)号：US06426966B1

公开(公告)日：2002-07-30

申请号：US09657396

申请日：2000-09-08

申请人： Dirk Basting ,  Sergei V. Govorkov ,  Uwe Stamm

发明人： Dirk Basting ,  Sergei V. Govorkov ,  Uwe Stamm

IPC分类号： H01S3098

CPC分类号： H01S3/225 ,  H01S3/08004 ,  H01S3/08036 ,  H01S3/1062 ,  H01S3/2258

摘要： A molecular fluorine (F2) laser is provided wherein the gas mixture comprises molecular fluorine for generating a spectral emission including two or three closely spaced lines around 157 nm. An etalon provides line selection such that the output beam only includes one of these lines. The etalon may also serve to outcouple the beam and/or narrow the selected line. Alternatively, a prism provides the line selection and the etalon narrows the selected line. The etalon may be a resonator reflector which also selects a line, while another element outcouples the beam. The etalon plates comprise a material that is substantially transparent at 157 nm, such as CaF2, MgF2, LiF2, BaF2, LiF, SrF2, quartz and fluorine doped quartz. The etalon plates are separated by spacers comprising a material having a low thermal expansion constant, such as invar, zerodur®, ultra low expansion glass, and quartz. A beam expander is preferably provided before the etalon for expanding the beam before the beam is incident on the etalon. The beam expander is preferably configured to reduce the divergence of the beam.

摘要翻译： 提供分子氟（F2）激光器，其中气体混合物包含用于产生包括在157nm附近的两个或三个紧密间隔的线的光谱发射的分子氟。 标准具提供线选择，使得输出光束仅包括这些线之一。 标准具还可用于将光束外耦合和/或使所选择的线变窄。 或者，棱镜提供线选择并且标准具缩小所选行。 标准具可以是也选择一条线的谐振器反射器，而另一个元件将光束耦合。 标准普通板包括在157nm处基本上透明的材料，例如CaF 2，MgF 2，LiF 2，BaF 2，LiF，SrF 2，石英和氟掺杂的石英。 标准具板由包括具有低热膨胀常数的材料的间隔物分离，例如invar，zerodur，超低膨胀玻璃和石英。 优选地，在光束入射到标准具之前，在用于扩展光束的标准具之前提供光束扩展器。 光束扩展器优选地被配置为减小光束的发散度。

公开(公告)号：US06389045B1

公开(公告)日：2002-05-14

申请号：US09550558

申请日：2000-04-17

申请人： Klaus Mann ,  Thomas Schröder ,  Bernd Schäfer ,  Uwe Leinhos ,  Uwe Stamm

发明人： Klaus Mann ,  Thomas Schröder ,  Bernd Schäfer ,  Uwe Leinhos ,  Uwe Stamm

IPC分类号： H01S310

CPC分类号： H01S3/0057 ,  Y10S372/70

摘要： A method and apparatus are provided for temporally stretching and smoothing of the pulses of an output beam of excimer and lithography lasers. The method and apparatus are based upon providing an optical delay line or circuit having a plurality of optical reflectors and a plurality of beam recombiners or splitters so arranged as to divide the pulse into numerous portions which vary in their travel time through the circuit. As a result, the energy of the incident pulse is greatly stretched and smoothed.

摘要翻译： 提供了一种方法和装置，用于对准分子和​​光刻激光器的输出光束的脉冲进行时间上的拉伸和平滑处理。 所述方法和装置基于提供具有多个光学反射器和多个光束重组器或分离器的光学延迟线或电路，其被布置成将脉冲分成许多部分，这些部分在其通过电路的行进时间上变化。 结果，入射脉冲的能量被大大地拉伸和平滑。

公开(公告)号：US06243405B1

公开(公告)日：2001-06-05

申请号：US09484818

申请日：2000-01-18

申请人： Stefan Borneis ,  Klaus Brunwinkel ,  Uwe Stamm ,  Frank Voss

发明人： Stefan Borneis ,  Klaus Brunwinkel ,  Uwe Stamm ,  Frank Voss

IPC分类号： H01S322

CPC分类号： G03F7/70025 ,  G03F7/70041 ,  G03F7/70575 ,  H01S3/036 ,  H01S3/134 ,  H01S3/225

摘要： A technique of stabalizing during operation a gas mixture with a gas composition initially provided within a discharge chamber of an excimer or molecular fluorine gas discharge laser includes monitoring a temporal pulse shape of the laser beam and adjusting and/or determining the status of the gas mixture based on the monitored temporal pulse shape. The monitored temporal pulse shape is preferably compared with a reference temporal pulse shape. The difference or deviation between the monitored temporal pulse shape and a reference temporal pulse shape is calculated. The amount of and intervals between gas replenishment actions are determined based on the calculated deviation. The energy of the beam is also monitored and the driving voltage and gas actions are adjusted to stabilize the energy, energy stability and/or energy dose.

摘要翻译： 在操作期间稳定化技术，其中最初设置在准分子或分子氟气放电激光器的放电室内的气体组成的气体混合物包括监测激光束的时间脉冲形状并调节和/或确定气体混合物的状态 基于监视的时间脉冲形状。 所监视的时间脉冲形状优选地与参考时间脉冲形状进行比较。 计算所监视的时间脉冲形状与参考时间脉冲形状之间的差异或偏差。 基于计算的偏差来确定补充气体动作的量和间隔。 还监测光束的能量，并且调节驱动电压和气体动作以稳定能量，能量稳定性和/或能量剂量。

公开(公告)号：US6014206A

公开(公告)日：2000-01-11

申请号：US162424

申请日：1998-09-28

申请人： Dirk Basting ,  Uwe Stamm ,  Klaus Mann ,  Jens Ohlenbusch

发明人： Dirk Basting ,  Uwe Stamm ,  Klaus Mann ,  Jens Ohlenbusch

IPC分类号： H01S3/139 ,  G01B11/26

CPC分类号： G01B11/26

摘要： The present invention is an apparatus and method for stabilization of laser output beam characteristics by automatically adjusting the angular and the lateral positions of the output beam. A component of the output beam is detected at a far field location and also at a near field location along an optical path of the component. Both the angular and the lateral positions of the output beam are determined, as well as characteristics of the output beam, after the component is detected at both the near and the far field locations. Both the angular position and the lateral position of the output beam are automatically adjusted to optimize the output beam. The adjustment of both the angular position and the lateral position are made possible by using a beam steering device preferably including two mirrors.

摘要翻译： 本发明是通过自动调节输出光束的角度和横向位置来稳定激光输出光束特性的装置和方法。 输出光束的分量在远场位置以及沿着部件的光路的近场位置被检测。 在近场和远场位置都检测到组件之后，确定输出光束的角度和横向位置以及输出光束的特性。 自动调整输出光束的角位置和横向位置以优化输出光束。 通过使用优选地包括两个反射镜的光束转向装置，可以使得角位置和横向位置的调整成为可能。

公开(公告)号：US06785316B1

公开(公告)日：2004-08-31

申请号：US09640595

申请日：2000-08-17

申请人： Igor Bragin ,  Vadim Berger ,  Uwe Stamm

发明人： Igor Bragin ,  Vadim Berger ,  Uwe Stamm

IPC分类号： H01S3097

CPC分类号： G03F7/70025 ,  G03F7/70041 ,  H01S3/0971 ,  H01S3/225

摘要： A final stage capacitance of a pulse compression circuit for an excimer or molecular fluorine lithography laser system is provided by a set of peaking capacitors connected through a first inductance to the electrodes and a set of sustaining capacitors connected to the electrodes through a second inductance substantially greater than the first inductance. Current pulses through the discharge are temporally extended relative to current pulses of a system having its final stage capacitance provided only by a set of peaking capacitors connected to the electrodes via the first inductance. An amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) level in the laser pulses is reduced thereby enhancing their spectral purity.

摘要翻译： 用于准分子或分子氟光刻激光系统的脉冲压缩电路的最终级电容由通过第一电感连接到电极的一组峰化电容器提供，并且一组维持电容器通过大体上更大的第二电感连接到电极 比第一个电感。 通过放电的电流脉冲相对于具有其最终级电容的系统的电流脉冲在时间上延长，该最终级电容仅由通过第一电感连接到电极的一组峰值电容器提供。 激光脉冲中的放大自发发射（ASE）水平降低，从而增强其光谱纯度。