Illumination optical device, illumination method, and exposure method and device
AssigneeNikon Corporation
InventorToru Fujii
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
According to one embodiment, an illumination optical apparatus comprises: a light splitting device which splits the beam into a plurality of beams with respective polarization states different from each other; a spatial light modulation device which is arranged on at least one of a first optical path in which a first beam out of the plurality of beams travels and a second optical path in which a second beam out of the plurality of beams travels, and which has a plurality of optical elements arranged two-dimensionally and driven individually; and a control device which controls the spatial modulation device to combine the first beam and the second beam at least in part.
Claims9
An illumination optical system which illuminates an illumination target surface with light supplied from a light source, comprising:
- a first optical system configured to split the light supplied from the light source into a first light and a second light, the first light and the second light each having a cross-sectional shape;
- a second optical system configured to combine the first light and the second light on a pupil plane of the illumination optical system;
- a third optical system, which has a reflecting face that reflects the first light and the second light, is located between the first optical system and the second optical system, and is arranged on at least one of an optical path of the first light and an optical path of the second light, the third optical system configured to change a phase of at least one of the first light and the second light that are emitted from the second optical system and then reach one point on the pupil plane, to provide a phase difference between the first light and the second light;
- and
- a changer configured to change a position of the first light or the second light, that reach the pupil plane, by changing a posture of the reflecting face, and to change the phase difference by linearly moving an entirety of the reflecting face to change a position of the reflecting face along a propagation direction of light comprising the first light and the second light,
- wherein a polarization state of the combined first tight and second light at the one point on the pupil plane is changed, relative to polarization states of the first tight and the second light, by an interaction of the first light and the second light after the changer changes the phase difference between the first light and the second light.
An illumination method which illuminates an illumination target surface with light supplied from a light source, using an illumination optical system, comprising:
- splitting the light supplied from the light source into a first light and a second light which have polarization states different from each other;
- reflecting the first light or the second light at a reflecting face;
- providing a phase difference between the first light and the second light on a pupil plane of the illumination optical system;
- combining the first light and the second light to be provided with the phase difference at one point on the pupil plane;
- changing a position of the first light or the second light, that reach the pupil plane, by changing a posture of the reflecting face;
- and
- changing the phase difference by linearly moving an entirety of the reflecting face to change a position of the reflecting face along a propagation direction of light comprising the first light and the second light,
- wherein a polarization state of the combined first light and second light at the one point on the pupil plane is changed, relative to polarization states of the first light and the second light, by an interaction of the first light and the second light after the phase difference between the first light and the second light is changed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.