This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0017580 filed on Feb. 19, 2013 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein its entirety.
The present inventive concept relates to an apparatus and method for lithography, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for performing multibeam based lithography.
A lithography apparatus is used in various industrial fields of manufacturing flat panel displays, circuit boards, integrated circuits, and so on. In lithography, a pattern is formed by radiating light into a photoresist layer coated on a substrate. In response to the recently rising demand for manufacturing semiconductor devices having extremely fine patterns, techniques for lithography processes are being developed. In forming fine patterns on a photomask, a distribution of the fine patterns in the photomask directly affects the patterns on a wafer. Accordingly, the quality of fine patterns formed on the photomask is considered.
According an exemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept, an apparatus for lithography is provided. An apparatus for performing lithography includes a light source that emits light. A light enhancer is configured to receive and enhance the emitted light. The light enhancer includes a first lens and a second lens. A first position adjusting unit is configured to adjust a position of the second lens. A lens array is configured to separate the light enhanced by the light enhancer into multiple beams, and focus the multiple beams.
According to an embodiment of the present inventive concept, a method for performing lithography is provided. The method for performing lithography includes emitting light. The emitted light is enhanced. A range in which the light is enhanced is adjusted. The enhanced light is separated into multiple beams. The multiple beams are focused.
According to an embodiment of the present inventive concept, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes a light source. A light enhancer is configured to receive and enhance the light emitted by the light source. A lens array is configured to separate the light enhanced by the light enhancer into multiple beams and focus the multiple beams. A projection lens is configured to refract the multiple beams separated through the lens array.
The above and other features and aspects of the present inventive concept will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:
Examplary embodiment of the inventive concept will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawing. However, this inventive concept may be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. The same reference numbers may indicate the same components throughout the specification and drawings. In the drawings, the thickness of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity.
It will also be understood that when a layer is referred to as being “on” another layer or substrate, it may be directly on the other layer or substrate, or intervening layers may also be present.
As used herein, the singular forms, “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include both the singular and the plural forms, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context.
Examplary embodiment of the present inventive concept will be described here with reference to perspective views, cross-sectional views, and/or plan views. Thus, the profile of an exemplary view may be modified according to manufacturing techniques and/or allowances. The embodiments of the inventive concept are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention but are intended to cover all changes and modifications that can be caused due to a change in manufacturing process. Thus, regions shown in the drawings may be illustrated in schematic form and the shapes of the regions may be presented simply by way of illustration.
Hereinafter, an apparatus for lithography according to an embodiment of the present inventive concept will be described with reference to
The apparatus and method for lithography, which will be described below, are directed to multibeam-based lithography apparatus and method, which can simultaneously generate a plurality of shading elements on a photomask through one-time exposure. The photomask distribution has been controlled by a photomask fabrication process that is a tailored process. The tailored process is a technique for causing a phase change to an element by focusing laser beam into a quartz photomask and correcting a distribution by varying a transmittance ratio according to the photomask position during lithography process. The phase changed element generated by focusing laser beam is referred to as a shading element. The transmittance ratio is adjusted by the density of shading elements. In a tailed process, a single shading element is formed by an exposure step. However, the number of shading elements generated over the entire area of a photomask may exceed 3 billions. Thus, in a case of employing the tailored process, a time taken for an exposure step may exceed 24 hours.
Referring to
The light source 100 emits light. The light source 100 may be a laser beam light source. In addition to the laser beam light source, another light source capable of generating light of a single wavelength, such as a radiation beam, may also be used as the light source 100, but aspects of the present inventive concept are not limited thereto.
The light enhancer 200 is configured to receive and enhance the light emitted from the light source 100. The light enhancer 200 may include a first lens 210 and a second lens 220. In the light enhancer 200, the focus position of the first lens 210 and a second lens 220 may be adjusted to coincide with each other so as to convert narrow flux of parallel rays emitted from the light source 100 into thick flux of parallel rays. The first lens 210 may be an entrance lens and the second lens 220 may be an emission lens. A diameter (D) of the flux of the light enhanced by the optical enhancer 200 may be determined by the following equation: D/d=f2/f1, where d is a diameter of the flux of the incident light to the optical enhancer 200, f1 and f2 are the focal lengths of the first lens 210 and the second lens 220, respectively. The narrow collimated beam flux emitted from the light source 100 may be converted into the thick collimated beam flux. As shown in
The first position adjusting unit 300 is configured to adjust a position of the second lens 220 to adjust a distance d1 between the first lens 210 and the second lens 220. The first position adjusting unit 300 may adjust a range in which the light is enhanced by adjusting the distance d1. The range in which the light is enhanced may affect the number of the multiple beams separated and focused through the lens array 400. For example, if the d1 between the first lens 210 and the second lens 220 is reduced, the range in which the light is enhanced may be reduced and the number of the multiple beams separated through the lens array 400 may also be reduced. However, if the d1 between the first lens 210 and the second lens 220 is increased, the range in which the light is enhanced may be increased and the number of the multiple beams separated through the lens array 400 may also be increased.
The lens array 400 is configured to separate the light enhanced by the light enhancer 200 into the multiple beams and focus the multiple beams. Since a plurality of lenses are arrayed in the lens array 400, the light enhanced by the light enhancer 200 can be separated into the multiple beams to then be focused. As shown in
The multiple beams separated through the lens array 400 reach the stage unit 500. A substrate 510 may exist on the stage unit 500 and patterns may be formed in the substrate 510 during exposure. The second position adjusting unit 600 may adjust a position of the stage unit 500. The stage unit 500 may include a piezoelectric (PZT) actuator. The PZT actuator converts electric energy into mechanical energy using a PZT ceramic. The stage unit 500 may include a stacked PZT actuator. The stacked piezoelectric actuator may generate the high conversion performance by stacking multiple disk layers. In the stacked piezoelectric actuator, each disk layer may be formed thin to reduce the operating voltage. A large electric field may be generated even with a low voltage by arranging electrodes in parallel in each disk layer. The PZT actuator may include a PZT element, which includes lead (Pb), zirconium (Zr), or titanium (Ti). For example, the PZT element may be PbO3, ZrO3, or TiO3. The PZT does not undergo a volumetric change. Thus, if the PZT element extends in a longitudinal direction, it may shrink in a lateral direction. If the PZT element shrinks in a longitudinal direction, it may extend in a lateral direction.
Referring to
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The light source 100 emits light. The light source 100 may be a laser beam light source. In addition to the laser beam light source, a light source capable of generating a single wavelength, such as a radiation beam, may also be used as the light source 100, but aspects of the present inventive concept are not limited thereto.
The light enhancer 200 is configured to receive and enhance the light emitted from the light source 100. The light enhancer 200 may include a first lens 210 and a second lens 220. The first lens 210 may be an entrance lens and the second lens 220 may be an emission lens, but aspects of the present inventive concept are not limited thereto.
The first position adjusting unit 300 is configured to adjust a position of the second lens 220 to adjust a distance d1 between the first lens 210 and the second lens 220. The first position adjusting unit 300 may adjust a range in which the light is enhanced by adjusting the distance d1. The range in which the light is enhanced may affect the number of the multiple beams separated and focused through the lens array 400 may affect the number of the multiple beams separated and focused through the lens array 400.
The lens array 400 is configured to separate the light enhanced by the light enhancer 200 into the multiple beams and focus the multiple beams. Since a plurality of lenses are arrayed in the lens array 400, the light enhanced by the light enhancer 200 can be separated into the multiple beams that may be focused. As shown in
The projecting lens 700 is configured to refract the multiple beams separated through the lens array 400. Referring to
The third position adjusting unit 800 is configured to adjust a position of the projecting lens 700. A range in which the multiple beams are refracted may be adjusted by adjusting the distance d2 between the lens array 400 and the projecting lens 700. The pitch between the shading elements may be adjusted by adjusting the range in which the multiple beams are refracted.
Referring to
The light source 100 emits light. The light source 100 may be a laser beam light source. In addition to the laser beam light source, another light source capable of generating a single wavelength, such as a radiation beam, may also be used as the light source 100, but aspects of the present inventive concept are not limited thereto.
The light enhancer 200 is configured to receive and enhance the light emitted from the light source 100. The light enhancer 200 may include a first lens 210 and a second lens 220. The first lens 210 may be an entrance lens and the second lens 220 may be an emission lens, but aspects of the present inventive concept are not limited thereto.
The first position adjusting unit 300 is configured to adjust a position of the second lens 220 to adjust a distance d1 between the first lens 210 and the second lens 220.
The first position adjusting unit 300 may adjust a range in which the light is enhanced by adjusting a distance d1. The range in which the light is enhanced may affect the number of the multiple beams separated and focused through the lens array.
The lens array 400 is configured to separate the light enhanced by the light enhancer 200 into the multiple beams and focus the multiple beams. Since a plurality of lenses are arrayed in the lens array 400, the light enhanced by the light enhancer 200 may be separated into the multiple beams to then be focused. As shown in
The spatial light modulator 900 is configured to receive the light emitted by the light source 100, and reflect the light emitted by the light source 100 on portion 910, 920, 930, 940 and 950 of the spatial light modulator 900, while not reflecting the light emitted by the light source 100 on other portions of the spatial light modulator 900.
The spatial light modulator 900 modulates an input signal, e.g., a light signal or an electrical signal, into light using spatial pixels. The spatial light modulator 900 may be a grating light valve (GLV), a digital micromirror device (DMD), or a spatial optical modulator (SOM), but the spatial light modulator 900 is not limited thereto.
Referring to
In the case of using the lithography apparatus according to an embodiment of the present inventive concept, higher efficiency can be achieved, compared to the case of using the tailored lithography process (see Table 1).
In the tailored lithography process, a total time of 19.58 hours may be taken in forming 2 μm×2 μm pitch shading elements over the entire area of a photomask. By contrast, in the lithography process according to an embodiment of the present inventive concept, for example, a total time of 2.17 hours may be taken in forming 10 μm×10 μm pitch shading elements over the entire area of a photomask using 5×5 beams. Therefore, according to an embodiment of the present inventive concept, the exposure time can be reduced.
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The controller 4110 may include at least one of a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, a microcontroller, or logic elements capable of functions similar to those of these elements. The I/O 4120 may include a key pad, a key board, a display device, or the like. The memory device 4130 may store data and/or codes. The interface 4140 may perform functions of transmitting data to a communication network or receiving data from the communication network. The interface 4140 may be wired or wireless. For example, the interface 4140 may include an antenna or a wired/wireless transceiver, and so on. Although not shown, the electronic system 4100 may further include high-speed DRAM and/or SRAM as the operating memory for improving the operation of the controller 4110. Fin type FETs according to embodiments of the present inventive concept may be incorporated into the memory device 4130 or provided as part of the I/O 4120.
The electronic system 1100 may be applied to a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a tablet computer, a wireless land line phone, a mobile phone, a digital music player, a memory card, or any type of electronic device capable of transmitting and/or receiving information in a wireless environment.
While the present inventive concept has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present inventive concept.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2013-0017580 | Feb 2013 | KR | national |