ArF laser with low pulse energy and high rep rate
AssigneeCymer, Inc.
InventorsHerve A. Besaucele, Jean-Marc Hueber, Alexander I. Ershov, Thomas Hofmann, Vladimir B. Fleurov
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
AssigneeCymer, Inc.
InventorsHerve A. Besaucele, Jean-Marc Hueber, Alexander I. Ershov, Thomas Hofmann, Vladimir B. Fleurov
Estimating the term…
A reliable modular production quality ArF excimer laser capable of producing laser pulses at repetition rates in the range of 3,000 to 4,000 Hz or greater with pulse energies in the range of about 2 mJ to 5 mJ or greater with a full width half, maximum bandwidth of about 0.4 pm or less and dose stability of less than 0.4 percent. Using this laser as an illumination source, stepper or scanner equipment can produce integrated circuit resolution of 0.10 μm (100 nm) or less. Replaceable modules include a laser chamber; a modular pulse power system; and a line narrowing module. For a given laser power output, the higher repetition rate provides two important advantages. The lower per pulse energy means less optical damage and the larger number of pulses for a specified illumination dose means better dose stability.
A very narrow band reliable modular production quality high repetition rate ArF excimer laser for producing a narrow band pulsed laser beam at repetition rates of at least about 3000 Hz, said laser comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.