US 2011/0255173 A1Published application

Pulse Modifier with Adjustable Etendue

AssigneesASML Netherlands B.V., ASML Holding N.V.

InventorsAdel JOOBEUR, Oscar Franciscus Jozephus Noordman, Paul Van Der Veen, Arun Mahadevan Venkataraman

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Abstract

A beam modifying unit increases both temporal pulse length and Etendue of an illumination beam. The pulse modifying unit receives an input pulse of radiation and emits one or more corresponding output pulses of radiation. A beam splitter divides the incoming pulse into a first and a second pulse portion, and directs the first pulse portion along a second optical path and the second portion along a first optical path as a portion of an output beam. The second optical path includes a divergence optical element. A first and a second mirror, each with a radius of curvature, are disposed facing each other with a predetermined separation, and receive the second pulse portion to redirect the second portion, such that the optical path of the second portion through the pulse modifier is longer than that of the first portion, and the separation is less than radius of curvature.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A system, comprising:

first and second curved reflecting devices;
a beam splitter;
and
a parallel plate optical element,
wherein the beam splitter is configured to reflect a first portion of a beam towards the parallel plate optical element, which begins a cycle during which the beam travels through the system, and to transmit a second portion of the beam to generate at least a portion of an output beam,
wherein during the cycle the parallel plate optical element directs the first portion of the beam along a beam path between the first and second reflecting devices, such that the first portion of the beam traverses between the first and second reflecting devices more than once,
wherein the cycle ends after traversal between the first and second reflecting devices, such that a first part of the first portion of the beam is reflected by the beam splitter and exits the system to generate another portion of the output beam and a second part of the first portion of the beam is transmitted through the beam splitter to repeat the cycle.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/173,905Filed 30 Jun 2011
Priority: 31 Dec 2008
Published: 20 Oct 2011
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

G03F 7/70583
Exposure light control in all parts of the microlithographic apparatus, e.g. pulse length control or light interruption: speckle reduction, e.g.…
G02B 27/144
Operating by reflection only: using partially transparent surfaces without spectral selectivity
G02B 27/145
Operating by reflection only: having sequential partially reflecting surfaces
H01S 3/0057
Optical devices external to the laser cavity, specially adapted for lasers, e.g. for homogenisation of the beam or for manipulating laser…

Family

Application61/142,004Us provisional application · filed 31 Dec 2008
Application61/149,828Us provisional application · filed 4 Feb 2009
Application12/615,328Division · filed 10 Nov 2009
Application13/173,905Division
US 2010/0163757 A1Published application
US 8,004,770 B2Related patent
US 8,625,199 B2Related patent
US 2011/0255173 A1This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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