The wavefront measurements have been performed with the EUV Wavefront Metrology System (EWMS) for the first
time using a prototype projection optic as a test optic. The wavefronts of the test optic was measured at the five positions
in the exposure field with the Digital Talbot Interferometer (DTI). The RMS magnitude of the wavefront errors ranged
from 0.71 λ (9.58 nm) to 1.67 λ (22.75 nm). The results obtained with the DTI were compared to those with the Cross
Grating Lateral Shearing Interferometer (CGLSI). As a result of a repeatability assessment, it was found that the EWMS
can stably measure the wavefronts of the test optic. Additionally, unwrapping of the phase map was found to be related
to the precision of the measurement.
Precise measurements of the wavefront aberrations of projection optics with 0.1 nm RMS accuracy are indispensable to
develop the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. In order to study measurement methods, we built the Experimental
EUV Interferometer (EEI) that has built-in Schwarzschild-type optics as test optics and was supplied with EUV
radiation of 13.5 nm in wavelength from a synchrotron radiation facility as a source light. The EEI can evaluate several
methods of EUV interferometory replacing optical parts easily. Those methods are dividable into two categories,
namely point diffraction interferometer (PDI) and lateral shearing interferometer (LSI) and those were experimentally
compared. Finally, 0.045nm RMS of reproducibility was achieved with PDI method and the residual systematic error
after removing specified errors was reduced to 0.064nm RMS excluding axial symmetrical aberrations. In addition, one
of LSI-type methods also proved to have almost enough accuracy for the assembly of the projection optics.
Comparisons between several at-wavelength metrological methods are reported. The comparisons are performed by measuring one test optic with several kinds of measurement methods from the viewpoints of accuracy, precision and practicality. According to our investigation, we found that the PDI, the LDI, and the CGLSI are the most suitable methods for evaluating optics for EUV lithography.
A Calibration technology for double-grating lateral shearing interferometer1 (DLSI) and lateral shearing interferometer (LSI) is proposed in this paper. In this method, two measurements are used for calibration. One is the measurement by using the first- and zero-order diffraction beams of grating in the interferometer; the other one is the measurement by using the minus-first-order and zero-order diffraction beams. The phase distributions were calculated out from the two measurements. After shifted one phase distribution to superpose the other one, in the sum of the two phase distributions, the test wavefront is canceled. The system error caused by the grating diffraction and grating tilt can be calculated out from the sum of the superposed phase distributions. For calculating out the system errors, the sum of the two phase distributions is fitted to Zernike-Polynomials. From the coefficients of the Zernike-polynomials, the system error is calculated. This method is carried out to calibrate the system error of DLSI. We performed an experiment to verify the available of our calibration method.
We present the experimental results of EUVA Absolute Point Diffraction Interferometer (ABSPDI) and Lateral Shearing Interferometer (LSI) for at-wavelength characterization of the projection lens for use in extreme-ultraviolet lithography (EUVL). The attained repeatability of either type of the interferometers is within 0.04nmRMS. The experimental results have shown good consistency between the LSI and ABSPDI. The reasons for the residual differences have been analyzed and we believed it is mainly due to the CCD tilt effect in the experimental system. After the CCD tilt effect was removed, a better consistency below 0.33nm RMS has been achieved.
We are developing an at-wavelength interferometer for EUV lithography systems. The goal is the measurement of the wavefront aberration for a six-aspherical mirror projection optic. Among the six methods that EEI can measure, we selected CGLSI and PDI for comparison. PDI is a method well-known for its high accuracy, while CGLSI is a simple measurement method. Our comparison of PDI and CGLSI methods, verified the precision of the CGLSI method. The results show a difference between the methods of 0.33nm RMS for terms Z5-36. CGLSI measurement wavefronts agree well with PDI for terms Z5-36, and it is thought of as a promising method. Using FFT analysis, we estimated and then removed the impact of flare on the wavefront. As a result of having removed the influence of flare, the difference between CGLSI and PDI improved to only 0.26nm RMS in Zernike 5-36 terms. We executed PDI wavefront retrieval with FFT, which has not been used till now. By confirming that the difference between methods using FFT and Phase shift is 0.035nm RMS for terms Z5-36, we have proven that PDI wavefront analysis with FFT is possible.
The recent experimental results of EUV wavefront metrology in EUVA are reported. EUV Experimental Interferometer (EEI) was built at the NewSUBARU synchrotron facility of University of Hyogo to develop the most suitable wavefront measuring method for EUV projection optics. The result is to be reflected on EWMS (EUV Wavefront Metrology System) that measures wavefront aberrations of a six-aspherical mirror projection optics of NA0.25, of a mass-production EUV lithography tool. The experimental results of Point Diffraction Interferometer (PDI) and Lateral Shearing Interferometer (LSI) are shown and the error factors and the sensitivity of astigmatism measurements of these methods are discussed. Furthermore, for reducing these kinds of errors, another type of shearing interferometer called DTI (Digital Talbot interferometer) is newly introduced.
An Experimental extreme ultraviolet (EUV) interferometer (EEI) using an undulator as a light source was installed in New SUBARU synchrotron facility at Himeji Institute of Technology (HIT). The EEI can evaluate the five metrology methods reported before. (1) A purpose of the EEI is to determine the most suitable method for measuring the projection optics of EUV lithography systems for mass production tools.
Point diffraction interferometry (PDI) is a promising candidate of the wavefront metrology for EUV lithographic projection optics. However, the pinhole used in the PDI is easily filled up with carbon contamination induced by EUV irradiation. We have evaluated the filling rate of pinholes by measuring decreasing rates of intensity of EUV radiation that passed through the pinholes. As a result, we found the filling rates of the pinholes depend on their materials and blowing of the oxygen. The filling rate was the slowest when the pinhole made of Ni was used and oxygen was blown.
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