Patent Grant
9280053
The present disclosure relates to temperature compensated focusing of laser radiation from a laser source in a system for producing extreme ultraviolet radiation using a laser produced plasma.
Extreme ultraviolet (“EUV”) light, e.g., electromagnetic radiation having wavelengths of around 50 nm or less (also sometimes referred to as soft x-rays), and including light at a wavelength of about 13.5 nm, can be used in photolithography processes to produce extremely small features in substrates such as silicon wafers. Here and elsewhere, it will be understood that the term “light” is used to encompass electromagnetic radiation regardless of whether it is within the visible part of the spectrum.
Methods for generating EUV light include converting a source material from a liquid state into a plasma state. The source material preferably includes at least one element, e.g., xenon, lithium or tin, with one or more emission lines in the EUV part of the spectrum. In one such method, often termed laser produced plasma (“LPP”), the required plasma can be produced by using a laser beam to irradiate a source material having the required line-emitting element.
One LPP technique involves generating a stream of source material droplets and irradiating at least some of the droplets with laser light. In more theoretical terms, LPP light sources generate EUV radiation by depositing laser energy into a source material having at least one EUV emitting element, such as xenon (Xe), tin (Sn), or lithium (Li), creating a highly ionized plasma with electron temperatures of several 10's of eV.
The energetic radiation generated during de-excitation and recombination of these ions is emitted from the plasma in all directions. In one common arrangement, a near-normal-incidence mirror (often termed a “collector mirror” or simply a “collector”) is positioned to collect, direct (and in some arrangements, focus) the light to an intermediate location. The collected light may then be relayed from the intermediate location to a set of scanner optics and ultimately to a wafer.
In some LPP systems each droplet is sequentially illuminated by multiple light pulses. In some cases, each droplet may be exposed to a so-called “pre-pulse” and then to a so-called “main pulse.” It is to be appreciated, however, that the use of a pre-pulse is optional, that more than one pre-pulse may be used, that more than one main pulse may be used, and that the functions of the pre-pulse and main pulse may overlap to some extent.
Typically, a pre-pulse may cause some or all of the source material to heat, expand, gasify, vaporize, ionize, generate a weak plasma, or generate a strong plasma, or some combination of these, and a main pulse may convert most or all of the material affected by the pre-pulse into plasma and thereby produce an EUV light emission. Pre-pulsing may increase the efficiency of the source material/pulse interaction due to a larger cross-section of material that is exposed to the main pulse, a greater penetration of the main pulse into the material due to the material's decreased density, or both. Another potential benefit of pre-pulsing is that it may expand the target to the size of the focused main pulse, allowing all of the main pulse to participate in conversion of the source material into a plasma. This may be especially beneficial if relatively small droplets are used as targets and the irradiating light cannot be focused to the size of the small droplet. Thus, in some applications, it may be desirable to use pre-pulsing to increase conversion efficiency and/or allow use of relatively small, e.g., so-called, mass limited targets. The use of relatively small targets, in turn, may be used to lower debris generation and/or reduce source material consumption.
The main pulse and the pre-pulse, if it is used, must generally be directed and focused onto the droplets of source material by using a focusing system. Generally in a high power focusing system for an EUV LPP source the optical elements in the beam path absorb some of the energy from the main pulse and the pre-pulse causing heating in those optical elements. This heating creates a thermally-induced optical distortion (also known as a “thermal lens”) by virtue of the temperature dependence of the refractive index and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the material making up the optical element. The thermal lens alters the optical power of the optical elements causing deviations from optimal values.
It would thus be advantageous to be able to negate the effects of thermal lensing and so to avoid the performance limitations it imposes.
The following presents a simplified summary of one or more embodiments in order to provide a basic understanding of the embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated embodiments, and is not intended to identify key or critical elements of all embodiments nor delineate the scope of any or all embodiments. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
In one aspect, there is provided an apparatus for and method of temperature compensating a focusing system in which the focusing system has at least one transmissive optical element having a thermal lens. A reflective optical element is added to the system that has a thermal lens that is complementary to the thermal lens of the transmissive optical element so that the optical characteristics of the two optical elements combined are substantially temperature independent. The respective thermal lenses of the two optical elements are balanced by selecting materials for the reflective optical element that have the correct optical absorption based on the absorption of the transmissive optical element and the relative strengths of the thermal lenses. Provision can also be made for a change in the absorption of the transmissive optical element over time by selecting a value for the absorption of the reflective optical element that exceeds a contemporaneous value for the absorption of the transmissive optical element and then cooling the reflective optical element to reduce the strength of its thermal lens, with provision for increasing the temperature of the reflective optical component over time. The focusing system may also include a pulse combiner for combining pulses from multiple sources. The focusing system is especially applicable to systems for generating EUV light for use in semiconductor photolithography.
In another aspect, a focusing system includes a transmissive optical element arranged to receive and focus a light beam, the transmissive optical element having a first thermal lens power having a first value and a first absorption, and a reflective thermal lens compensating plate arranged to receive the light beam at least indirectly from a light beam source and reflect the light beam before the light beam reaches the transmissive optical element, the reflective thermal lens compensating plate having a second thermal lens power having a second value and a second absorption, wherein the sign of the first value and the second value are opposite to one another and wherein a material for the reflective thermal lens compensating plate is chosen so that the second absorption relates to the first absorption and a relative absolute magnitude of the first value and the second value such that a thermal lens of the thermal lens compensating plate substantially completely compensates for a thermal lens of the transmissive optical element. The transmissive optical element and the reflective thermal lens compensating plate preferably both include the same material, which may be zinc selenide. Other materials, for example, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, potassium bromide, diamond, etc. can also be used. The reflective thermal lens compensating plate may have a reflective coating, in which case the second absorption is selected by selecting the absorption of the coating. The reflective coating may be on a front surface or a back surface of the reflective thermal lens compensating plate. The reflective coating may include gold, copper, or molybdenum.
The focusing system may further include a pulse combiner in arrangements using a main pulse and a pre-pulse. In systems where the pre-pulse and the main pulse propagate along a common beam path before impinging on the pulse combiner and the pulse combiner may comprise an optical wedge. In such systems in which the pre-pulse is generated by a CO2 laser and the optical wedge may comprise ZnSe with a dichroic coating, with a front surface that is highly reflective to the main pulse and a back surface that is highly reflective to the pre-pulse. In such systems in which the pre-pulse is generated by a YAG laser, the optical wedge may comprise fused silica or ZnSe. The back surface of the optical wedge may be curved to compensate for chromatic aberrations in the final focus lens.
In systems in which the pre-pulse and the main pulse propagate along separate beam paths before impinging on the pulse combiner and the pre-pulse is generated by a CO2 laser, the pulse combiner may comprise ZnSe with a maximum metal reflector coating. In systems in which the pre-pulse and the main pulse propagate along separate beam paths before impinging on the pulse combiner and the pre-pulse is generated by a YAG laser the pulse combiner may comprise a material having a very low coefficient of thermal expansion such as fused silica or a titania-silicate glass or a lithium aluminosilicate glass-ceramic. Also in such systems the pulse combiner may comprise a coating having high reflectivity at about 10.6 μm and high transmissivity at about 1.064 μm.
In another aspect, the focusing system includes a transmissive optical element arranged to receive and focus a light beam, the first transmissive optical element having a first thermal lens power having a first value and a first absorption, the first absorption increasing from a first absorption value to a second absorption value as a cumulative amount of time the first transmissive element is used to focus the light beam increases, and a reflective thermal lens compensating plate arranged to receive the light beam at least indirectly from a light beam source and reflect the light beam towards the transmissive optical element; the first transmissive element having a second thermal lens power having a second value and a second absorption, in which the sign of the first value and the second value are opposite to one another and in which the second absorption is selected based on the second absorption value and a relative absolute magnitude of the first value and the second value. The system further includes a cooling element in thermal communication with the thermal lens compensating plate, the cooling element controlling the temperature of the thermal lens compensating plate such that a thermal lens of the thermal lens compensating plate substantially completely compensates for a thermal lens of the transmissive optical element so that the optical characteristics of the focusing system are substantially independent of temperature within the operating temperatures of the system.
The second absorption value may be an expected end-of life value for the transmissive optical element. The cooling element may be configured as a cooling plate in thermal communication with the thermal lens compensating plate. The cooling element may include a control system for controlling a temperature of the thermal lens compensating plate by controlling a temperature of the cooling plate. The control system may control the temperature of the cooling plate based on an amount of time. The cooling plate may be separated from the thermal lens compensating plate by a gap. The control system may control the temperature of the thermal lens compensating plate by controlling a thickness of the gap.
In another aspect, a method of temperature compensating a focusing system is provided, the method including the steps of regulating a temperature of a thermal lens compensation plate to a first temperature, the first temperature being based on an optical absorption of the thermal lens compensation plate, the optical absorption having been determined based at least in part on an expected end-of-lifetime value for focus lens optical absorption for a final focus lens includes part of the focusing system, determining a value representative of cumulative time in use of the focusing system, and adjusting the temperature of the thermal lens compensation plate to a second temperature higher than the first temperature, the second temperature having a value based at least in part on the cumulative time in use. The adjusting step may be carried out periodically or continuously.
Various embodiments are now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to promote a thorough understanding of one or more embodiments. It may be evident in some or all instances, however, that any embodiment described below can be practiced without adopting the specific design details described below. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate description of one or more embodiments.
With initial reference to
The EUV light source 20 also includes a source delivery system 24 for delivering source material in the form of liquid droplets or a continuous liquid stream. The source material may be made up of tin or a tin compound, although other materials could be used. The source delivery system 24 introduces the source material into the interior of a vessel or chamber 26 to an irradiation region 28 where the source material may be irradiated to produce plasma. In some cases, an electrical charge is placed on the source material to permit the source material to be steered toward or away from the irradiation region 28. It should be noted that as used herein an irradiation region is a region where source material irradiation may occur, and is an irradiation region even at times when no irradiation is actually occurring.
Continuing with
An arrangement for the laser source 22 is shown in
The pulse combiner 100 is preferably made of zinc selenide (ZnSe) with a maximum metal reflector (MMR) coating if a pre-pulse from a CO2 laser is used. If a pre-pulse from a YAG laser is used, then the pulse combiner 100 is preferably made of a material having a very low coefficient of thermal expansion such as fused silica or a titania-silicate glass such as that sold under the trademark ULE® by Corning Glass Works, or a lithium aluminosilicate glass-ceramic such as that sold under the trademark ZERODUR® by Schott AG. Also if a pre-pulse from a YAG laser is used it is preferable to provide the pulse combiner 100 with a coating having high reflectivity at 10.6 μm and high transmissivity at 1.064 μm.
The embodiment of
As described more fully below, the absorption of the thermal lens compensating plate 110 is chosen to compensate for thermal lensing in a downstream lens 120 which may be a final focus lens for the system. The lens 120 is preferably made of the same material as the thermal lens compensating plate 110, e.g., preferably ZnSe. Also, cooling conditions at the lens 120 and at the edge of the thermal lens compensating plate 110 are preferably made substantially the same. As used herein, “temperature compensation” refers to establishing complementary properties so that the optical properties of the combined system of the thermal lens compensating plate 110 and the lens 120 are substantially independent of temperature.
In the case of a pre-pulse from a CO2 laser, most of the thermal lens will occur in the lens 120 and the thermal lens compensating plate 110 can provide compensation for both the lens 120 and the pre-pulse combiner 100. In case of a pre-pulse from a YAG laser, the material choice for the pre-pulse combiner 100 should eliminate the thermal lens in the pre-pulse combiner 100 for the main pulse. The thermal lens in the pre-pulse combiner 100 for the pre-pulse is less critical but can be compensated as well if design requirements compel such compensation.
As noted, the system made up of thermal lens compensating plate 110 and lens 120 preferably uses two optical elements made of the same material. One optical element, the lens 120, is used to focus the light onto the irradiation region 28 after it is steered by a steering mirror 130, preferably made of copper. The thermal lens created in this optical element is compensated by the thermal lens compensation plate 110. As noted, both of these optical elements may preferably be made from ZnSe, but other materials can be used, for example, ZnS, Ge, Other materials, for example, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, potassium bromide and so on.
The thermal lens compensation plate 110 acts as a mirror for the light emitted by the CO2 laser. The thermal lens of a lens such as the lens 120 and the thermal lens of a mirror such as a thermal lens compensation plate 110 can be described mathematically. For the lens the relationship is:
where (dn/dt) is the change in refractive index with temperature for a given lens material, L is the focal length of the lens, Δt is the change in temperature, CTE is the coefficient of thermal expansion for a given lens material, and n is the refractive index for a given lens material. Using values for the example of a lens made using ZnSe this becomes:
Δ(nl)lens=6.1E−5×L×Δt+7.6E−5×2.4×L×Δt=7.9E−5×L×Δt
For the mirror the relationship is
Δ(nl)mirror=−2×CTE×L×Δt
Using values for the example of a mirror made using ZnSe this becomes:
Δ(nl)mirror=−1.5E−5×L×Δt
In order to achieve substantially complete compensation, the ratio of Δ(nl)lens/Δ(nl)mirror determines, other conditions being equal, a relative ratio for the absorption of the lens 120 and the reflective coating of the thermal lens compensation plate 110. Thus, for the same material (ZnSe in the example) and the same absorption, the thermal lens of the thermal lens compensation plate 110 acting as a mirror is 7.9/1.5=5.3 times weaker than thermal lens of the lens 120. This means that for this example the absorption of the coating of the thermal lens compensation plate 110 should be 5.3 times the absorption of the lens 120 to achieve a compensating thermal lens effect, other conditions being the same. With the absorption thus determined, the thermal lens for the thermal lens compensation plate 110 should be the same in magnitude as but opposite in sign from the thermal lens for the lens 120, so that the former compensates for the later and reduces the temperature dependency of the overall focusing system.
In some circumstances it may also be desirable to compensate for the change in absorption of the lens 120 over its service lifetime. A lens 120 made of ZnSe has a typical initial absorption of about 0.15 percent. This absorption typically doubles over the lifetime of such a final focus lens to about 0.3 percent. It is preferable to choose the coating absorption on the thermal lens compensation plate 110 to match the absorption of the thermal lens 130 at the end of the lifetime of the thermal lens 130. This means that the coating on the thermal lens compensation plate 110 will have absorption of at least 0.3*5.3=1.6%. Molybdenum with an optical absorption of about 2 percent would provide an acceptably close match as a coating material.
If absorption of the coating on the thermal lens compensation plate 110 is based on absorption of the lens 120 at the end of its lifetime then it is preferable to adjust the thermal lens of the thermal lens compensation plate 110 at the beginning and over the course of the lifetime of the system. One technique for adjusting the thermal lens of the thermal lens compensation plate 110 involves the use of a cold plate 140 positioned behind the thermal lens compensation plate 110 as shown in
The cold plate temperature control 160 may include a sensor for sensing the temperature of the cold plate 140. Alternatively, the sensor in the cold plate temperature control 160 could be adapted to measure a temperature related to the temperature of the cold plate 140 such as the temperature of the cooling water for the lens 120. Alternatively, the system can be calibrated from time to time and new temperature set point can be established through this calibration.
The embodiment of
The above description includes examples of one or more embodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the aforementioned embodiments, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of various embodiments are possible. Accordingly, the described embodiments are intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is construed when employed as a transitional word in a claim. Furthermore, although elements of the described aspects and/or embodiments may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. Additionally, all or a portion of any aspect and/or embodiment may be utilized with all or a portion of any other aspect and/or embodiment, unless stated otherwise.
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