Illuminating arrangement for a projection microlithographic apparatus
AssigneeCarl-Zeiss-Stiftung
InventorsJohannes Wangler, Gerhard Ittner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention is directed to an illuminating arrangement for a projection microlithographic apparatus having a laser 1 and an objective 2. Diffractive optical raster elements (8, 9) having a two-dimensional raster structure are mounted in the exit pupil and the object plane, respectively, of the objective 2 or in planes equivalent thereto. The illuminating arrangement provides an adapted increase of the light-conductance value and shapes the light beam, for example, into a circular shape, an annular shape or a quadrupole shape. The illuminating arrangement is suitable for combining with a zoom lens or an axicon objective 2 as well as with a glass rod 5.
Claims29
An illuminating arrangement for a projection microlithographic apparatus, the arrangement comprising:
- a laser for emitting a light beam along an optical axis;
- an objective mounted on said axis and having an object plane and an exit pupil plane;
- a first optical raster element mounted in said object plane;
- a second optical raster element mounted in said exit pupil plane;
- each of said optical raster elements having a two-dimensional raster structure;
- and,
- a light-mixing element mounted downstream of said second optical raster element.
An illuminating arrangement for a projection microlithographic apparatus, the arrangement comprising:
- a light source including a laser providing a substantially diffraction-limited parallel light beam along an optical axis;
- a first diffractive optical raster element mounted on said optical axis downstream of said light source;
- a zoom objective mounted on said optical axis downstream of said first diffractive optical raster element and having a variable axicon pair;
- a second diffractive optical raster element mounted on said optical axis downstream of said zoom objective;
- an in-coupling optic mounted on said optical axis downstream of said second diffractive optical raster element;
- a glass rod light-mixing element mounted on said optical axis downstream of said in-coupling element;
- and,
- an optical assembly mounted on said optical axis downstream of said glass light-mixing element and including a reticle masking system and an objective.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.