摘要:
A chamber/optics support structure for a laser having a laser chamber with a vibration source. The chamber and the laser resonance cavity optical elements are supported on a platform. The chamber is supported by a plurality of wheels which in turn rests on two tracks on track supports mounted on the platform. A vertical vibration isolator isolates vertical vibrations originating in the chamber from the laser optics. A flexible clamp flexibly clamps the chamber in a horizontal position to align it with the resonance cavity optical elements and to substantially decouple vibration between the chamber vibration source to the optical elements in a frequency range of concern. The invention is especially useful for positioning the heavy laser chamber of a narrow band excimer laser and for decoupling vibrations resulting from its blower from the lasers line narrowing module and output coupler. In a preferred embodiment the plurality of wheels is three wheels, two of which rest in a V-groove track and one of which rests on a flat track. This preferred embodiment uses two flexible clamps each having an adjustment bolt and four symmetrically spaced silicon rubber vibration isolators. Precise horizontal alignment of the chamber is accomplished using the adjustment bolt which is then held in position with a lock nut and a clamping bolt. Silicon rubber dampers in the isolators decouple horizontal chamber vibrations from the optical elements. In specific embodiments, the vertical vibration isolator may be a flexible liner in the wheels or in the rails or alternatively a pad on which the chamber rests.
摘要:
A high, energy, high repetition rate workpiece surface heating apparatus is disclosed which comprise a XeF laser producing a laser output light pulse beam, an optical system narrowing the laser output light pulse beam in the short axis of the laser output light pulse beam and expanding the laser output light pulse beam to form in a long axis of the beam a workpiece covering extent of the long axis, the optical system focuses the laser output light pulse beam at a field stop with a magnification sufficient to maintain an intensity profile that has sufficiently steep sidewalls to allow the field stop to maintain a sufficiently steep beam profile at the workpiece.
摘要:
A gas discharge laser crystallization apparatus and method for performing a transformation of a crystal makeup or orientation in a film on a workpiece is disclosed, which may comprise a master oscillator power amplifier MOPA or power oscillator power amplifier configured XeF laser system producing a laser output light pulse beam at a high repetition rate and high power with a pulse to pulse dose control; an optical system producing an elongated thin pulsed working beam from the laser output light pulse beam. The apparatus may further comprise the laser system is configured as a POPA laser system and further comprising: relay optics operative to direct a first output laser light pulse beam from a first laser PO unit into a second laser PA unit; and, a timing and control module timing the creation of a gas discharge in the first and second laser units within plus or minus 3 ns, to produce the a second laser output light pulse beam as an amplification of the first laser output light pulse beam. The system may comprise divergence control in the oscillator laser unit. Divergence control may comprise an unstable resonator arrangement. The system may further comprise a beam pointing control mechanism intermediate the laser and the workpiece and a beam position control mechanism intermediate the laser and the workpiece. Beam parameter metrology may provide active feedback control to the beam pointing mechanism and active feedback control to the beam position control mechanism.
摘要:
The present invention provides a reliable modular production quality excimer laser capable of producing 10 mJ laser pulses at 2000 Hz with a full width half, maximum bandwidth of about 0.6 pm or less. Replaceable modules include a laser chamber; a pulse power system comprised of three modules; an optical resonator comprised of a line narrowing module and an output coupler module; a wavemeter module, an electrical control module, a cooling water module and a gas control module. Improvements in the laser chamber permitting the higher pulse rates and improved bandwidth performance include a single upstream preionizer tube and a high efficiency chamber. The chamber is designed for operation at lower fluorine concentration. Important improvements have been provided in the pulse power unit to produce faster rise time and improved pulse energy control. These improvements include an increased capacity high voltage power supply with a voltage bleed-down circuit for precise voltage trimming, an improved commutation module that generates a high voltage pulse from the capacitors charged by the high voltage power supply and amplifies the pulse voltage 23 times with a very fast voltage transformer having a secondary winding consisting of a single four-segment stainless steel rod. A novel design for the compression head saturable inductor greatly reduces the quantity of transformer oil required and virtually eliminates the possibility of oil leakage which in the past has posed a hazard.
摘要:
The present invention provides a reliable modular production quality excimer laser capable of producing 10 mJ laser pulses in the range of 1000 Hz to 2000 Hz or greater. Replaceable modules include a laser chamber; a pulse power system comprised of three modules; an optical resonator comprised of a line narrowing module and an output coupler module; a wavemeter module, an electrical control module, a cooling water module and a gas control module. Important improvements have been provided in the pulse power unit to produce faster rise time and improved pulse energy control. These improvements include an increased capacity high voltage power supply with a voltage bleed-down circuit for precise voltage trimming, an improved communication module that generates a high voltage pulse from the capacitors charged by the high voltage power supply and amplifies the pulse voltage 23 times with a very fast voltage transformer having a secondary winding consisting of a single four-segment stainless steel rod. A novel design for the compression head saturable inductor greatly reduces the quantity of transformer oil required and virtually eliminates the possibility of oil leakage which in the past has posed a hazard.
摘要:
A tunable injection seeded very narrow band F2 lithography laser. The laser combines modular design features of prior art long life releasable lithography lasers with special F2 line narrowing and tuning techniques applied to a seed beam operated in a first gain medium which beam is used to stimulate narrow band lasing in a second gain medium to produce a very narrow band laser beam useful for integrated circuit lithography.
摘要:
A high voltage pulse power generating circuit capable of providing energy recovery is disclosed. The energy efficient pulse generating circuit source comprises a high voltage charge storing element which is periodically discharged into a compressor circuit. An energy recovery circuit coupled to the compressor circuit reverses the polarity of energy dissipated by the pulse power generating circuit and transfers the waste energy back to the power source. In a preferred embodiment, the pulse power generating circuit of the present invention utilizes an SCR switch for periodically discharging the charge storing element. This embodiment of the present invention provides pulses consistently and will not provide even a single missed pulse.
摘要:
A high repetition rate, compact, modular gas discharge, ultraviolet laser. The laser is useful as a light source for very rapid inspections of wafers in an integrated circuit fabrication process. It is also useful for reticle writing at very rapid rates. A preferred embodiment operates at pulse repetition rates of 1000 to 4000 Hz and is designed for round-the-clock production line operation. This preferred embodiment comprises a pulse control unit which controls the timing of pulses to an accuracy of less than 4 nanoseconds. Preferred embodiments of this gas discharge laser can be configured to operate with a KrF gas mixture, an ArF gas mixture or an F2 gas mixture, each with an approximate buffer gas, producing 248 nm, 197 nm or 157 nm ultraviolet light pulses.
摘要:
An injection seeded modular gas discharge laser system capable of producing high quality pulsed laser beams at pulse rates of about 4,000 Hz or greater and at pulse energies of about 5 mJ or greater. Two separate discharge chambers are provided, one of which is a part of a master oscillator producing a very narrow band seed beam which is amplified in the second discharge chamber. The chambers can be controlled separately permitting separate optimization of wavelength parameters in the master oscillator and optimization of pulse energy parameters in the amplifying chamber. A preferred embodiment in an ArF excimer laser system configured as a MOPA and specifically designed for use as a light source for integrated circuit lithography. In the preferred MOPA embodiment, each chamber comprises a single tangential fan providing sufficient gas flow to permit operation at pulse rates of 4000 Hz or greater by clearing debris from the discharge region in less time than the approximately 0.25 milliseconds between pulses. The master oscillator is equipped with a line narrowing package having a very fast tuning mirror capable of controlling centerline wavelength on a pulse-to-pulse basis at repetition rates of 4000 Hz or greater to a precision of less than 0.2 pm.
摘要:
The present invention provides a modular high repetition rate ultraviolet gas discharge laser light source for a production line machine. The system includes an enclosed and purged beam path with optical components adjustable from outside of the enclosure without the need to open it. Targets and beam directors are included within the beam path enclosure and are used to judge the quality of alignment. These target and beam directors are located on a moveable mount which is insertable in the beam path for alignment and are removed out of the beam path for normal operation. The positions of the targets and beam directors are controlled from outside the beam path enclosure. In preferred embodiments, the production line machine is a lithography machine and two separate discharge chambers are provided, one of which is a part of a master oscillator producing a very narrow band seed beam which is amplified in the second discharge chamber. This MOPA system is capable of output pulse energies approximately double the comparable single chamber laser system with greatly improved beam quality. A pulse stretcher more than doubles the output pulse length resulting in a reduction in pulse power (mJ/ns) as compared to prior art laser systems. In a preferred embodiment the beam directors clients laser beam being aligned to a monitor outside the beam path enclosure to permit the normal to image a cross-section of the beam and the target.