Device and method for characterizing a microlithographic mask
AssigneeCarl Zeiss SMT GmbH
InventorsSven Martin, Thomas Frank, Ulrich Matejka
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Abstract
The invention relates to a device and a method for characterizing a microlithographic mask. A device according to the invention has an illumination optical unit for illuminating structures of a mask intended for use in a lithography process in a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus, a detector unit, and an evaluation unit for evaluating the data recorded by the detector unit, wherein the detector unit is configured for the spatially resolved determination of both the intensity and the polarization state of the respectively impinging light emanating from the mask.
Claims20
A device for characterizing a microlithographic mask, comprising:
- an illumination optical unit for illuminating structures of a mask configured for use in a lithography process in a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus;
- a detector unit;
- and
- an evaluation unit for evaluating the data recorded by the detector unit;
- wherein the detector unit is configured for the spatially resolved determination of both the intensity and the polarization state of the respectively impinging light emanating from the mask, and the spatially resolved determination of both the intensity and the polarization state using the detector unit is effected in one single exposure step.
A device for characterizing an object, comprising:
- an illumination optical unit for illuminating the object with light having an operating wavelength in a range from 13 nm to 250 nm;
- a detector unit;
- and
- an evaluation unit for evaluating the data recorded by the detector unit;
- wherein the detector unit is configured for the spatially resolved determination of both the intensity and the polarization state of the respectively impinging light emanating from the object, and the spatially resolved determination of both the intensity and the polarization state using the detector unit is effected in one single exposure step.
A method for characterizing a microlithographic mask,
- wherein structures of a mask intended for use in a lithography process in a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus are illuminated by an illumination optical unit;
- and
- wherein a spatially resolved determination of both the intensity and the polarization state of the respectively impinging light emanating from the mask is carried out by at least one detector unit, and the spatially resolved determination of both the intensity and the polarization state is performed by the at least one detector unit in one single exposure step.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.