Electrode for a discharge chamber
AssigneeCymer, Inc.
InventorLeyla Ramin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A discharge chamber for a deep ultraviolet (DUV) light source includes a housing; and a first electrode and a second electrode in the housing, the first electrode and the second electrode being separated from each other to form a discharge region between the first electrode and the second electrode, the discharge region being configured to receive a gain medium including at least one noble gas and a halogen gas. At least one of the first electrode and the second electrode includes a metal alloy including more than 33% and less than 50% zinc by weight.
Claims20
A discharge chamber for a deep ultraviolet (DUV) light source, the discharge chamber comprising:
- a housing;
- and
- a first electrode and a second electrode in the housing, the first electrode and the second electrode being separated from each other to form a discharge region between the first electrode and the second electrode, the discharge region being configured to receive a gain medium comprising at least one noble gas and a halogen gas, wherein
- the first electrode consists only of a single first bulk material and the second electrode consists only of a single second bulk material,
- at least one of the first bulk material and the second bulk material comprises a metal alloy comprising more than 37% and less than 50% zinc by weight.
A deep ultraviolet (DUV) light source comprising:
- a master oscillator comprising a first master oscillator electrode and a second master oscillator electrode, the first master oscillator electrode and the second master oscillator electrode being separated from each other to form a master oscillator discharge region, the master oscillator discharge region configured to receive a gain medium comprising a noble gas and a halogen gas,
- wherein the first master oscillator electrode consists only of a single first bulk material and the second master oscillator electrode consists only of a single second bulk material,
- wherein at least one of the first master oscillator electrode bulk material and the second master oscillator electrode bulk material comprise a metal alloy comprising more than 37% and less than 50% zinc by weight;
- and
- a power amplifier on a beam path, wherein, in operational use, the master oscillator produces a seed light beam that propagates on the beam path and is amplified by the power amplifier.
An anode for a deep ultraviolet (DUV) light source, the anode comprising:
- a substrate consisting solely of a single bulk material comprising a metal alloy comprising at least one metal component;
- and
- a surface on one side of the substrate, wherein
- in operational use, the surface is positioned to face a cathode and a discharge region having a gain medium comprising a halogen gas,
- the metal component in the surface reacts with the halogen gas to form a layer of protective material on the surface, and
- the layer of protective material covers the entire surface after at least thirty billion occurrences of an electrical discharge between the anode and the cathode.
A method of operating a discharge chamber of a deep ultraviolet light source, the method comprising:
- applying a potential difference between a first electrode and a second electrode positioned within a discharge chamber, the potential difference being sufficient to cause a population inversion in a gaseous gain medium comprising a halogen gas in a discharge region between the first electrode and the second electrode;
- allowing a metal component present by more than 37% by weight throughout the first electrode and/or the second electrode to react with the halogen gas to form a layer of protective material on a surface that faces the discharge region;
- and
- continuing to apply and remove the potential difference such that the potential difference sufficient to cause the population inversion is provided to the discharge chamber at temporal intervals and for a total of at least thirty billion applications of the potential difference to produce a pulsed light beam.
An electrode configured for use in an excimer laser source, the electrode consisting only of a single bulk material comprising a metal alloy comprising more than 37% and less than 50% zinc by weight.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.