Scanned-Spot-Array EUV Lithography System

A scanned-spot-array lithography system comprising a radiation source, source collection optics, spot-generation optics, projection optics, a scanning mechanism, and a modulation mechanism, which operate cooperatively to print a lithographic image on a photosensitive layer when the layer is positioned proximate an image plane, wherein:

• the source collection optics convey radiation from the radiation source to the spot-generation optics:
• the spot-generation optics partition radiation into a plurality of radiation beams diverging from corresponding discrete object spots on an object surface:
• the projection optics comprise two annular mirrors in a flat-image Schwarzschild configuration, which operate to image the object spots onto a periodic array of corresponding conjugate image spots on the image plane;
• the spot generation optics are configured to compensate for geometric point-imaging optical aberrations in the projection optics so that each image spot is a substantially diffraction-limited point;
• and
• the scanning mechanism raster-scans the photosensitive layer, and the modulation mechanism simultaneously modulates the beam intensities, to record a synthesized, high-resolution raster image on the photosensitive layer.