# US 9,753,296 B2 · Illumination system, inspection apparatus including such an illumination system, inspection method and manufacturing method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,753,296 B2 - Document ID: US9753296B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/805,402 - Filed: 2015-07-21 - Published: 2016-01-28 - Granted: 2017-09-05 - Earliest claimed: 2014-07-28 - Assignees: ASML Netherlands B.V. - Applicants: ASML Netherlands B.V. - Inventors: Gerbrand Van Der Zouw; Martin Jacobus Johan Jak; Martin Ebert - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9753296B2 ## CPC - G01N 21/8806: {Specially adapted optical and illumination features} - G01J 1/08: Arrangements of light sources specially adapted for photometry {standard sources, also using luminescent or radioactive material} - G01N 21/9501: {Semiconductor wafers (manufacturing processes per se of semiconductor devices implementing a measuring step H10P74/20)} - G02B 27/283: {used for beam splitting or combining} - G02F 1/1313: {specially adapted for a particular application} - G02F 1/13306: {Circuit arrangements or driving methods for the control of single liquid crystal cells (G02F1/132, G02F1/133382 take precedence)} - G03F 7/70633: {Overlay, i.e. relative alignment between patterns printed by separate exposures in different layers, or in the same layer in multiple exposures or stitching} - G01N 2021/8848: {Polarisation of light} - G01N 2201/0675: SLM - G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q) - G01J: MEASUREMENT OF INTENSITY, VELOCITY, SPECTRAL CONTENT, POLARISATION, PHASE OR PULSE CHARACTERISTICS OF INFRARED, VISIBLE OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT; COLORIMETRY; RADIATION PYROMETRY (light sources F21, H01J, H01K, H05B; investigating properties of materials by optical means G01N) - G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS - G02F: OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS - G03F: PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; (phototypographic composing devices B41B; photosensitive materials or processes for photographic purposes G03C; electrophotography, sensitive layers or processes therefor G03G) ## Abstract In an illumination system (12, 13) for a scatterometer, first and second spatial light modulators lie in a common plane and are formed by different portions of a single liquid crystal cell (260). Pre-polarizers (250) apply polarization to first and second radiation prior to the spatial light modulators. A first spatial light modulator (236-S) varies a polarization state of the first radiation in accordance with a first programmable pattern. Second spatial light modulator (236-P) varies a polarization state of the second radiation accordance with a second programmable pattern. A polarizing beam splitter (234) selectively transmits each of the spatially modulated first and second radiation to a common output path, depending on the polarization state of the radiation. In an embodiment, functions of pre-polarizers are performed by the polarizing beam splitter. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An illumination system comprising: a beam combiner having a first input path, a second input path and an output path, a first spatial light modulator configured to receive and spatially modulate first radiation in accordance with a first programmable pattern; a second spatial light modulator configured to receive and spatially modulate second radiation in accordance with a second programmable pattern; and a polarizing element configured to polarize both the first radiation and the second radiation in a single polarization direction for input into the first spatial light modulator and second spatial light modulator, respectively; wherein the beam combiner is configured to receive the spatially modulated first radiation via said first input path, to receive the spatially modulated second radiation via said second input path and to output spatially modulated combined radiation via said output path; and wherein the polarizing element, the spatial light modulators and the beam combiner are configured such that the combined radiation has a first polarized component in portions of the output path determined by the first programmable pattern and has a second polarized component in portions of the output path determined by the second programmable pattern. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The illumination system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first polarized component comprises radiation polarized linearly with a first polarization direction and the second polarized component comprises radiation polarized linearly with a second polarization direction different from the first polarization direction. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The illumination system as claimed in claim 1, wherein depending on the first programmable pattern and the second programmable pattern, a portion of the output path may be given substantially no radiation, radiation comprising substantially only the first polarized component, radiation comprising substantially only the second polarized component, or radiation comprising both the first and second polarized components. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The illumination system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first programmable pattern can set to select between more than two levels of radiation of the first polarized component. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The illumination system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first spatial light modulator is configured to vary a polarization state of the first radiation in portions of the first input path determined by the first programmable pattern. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The illumination system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the beam combiner comprises a polarizing beam splitter, the polarizing beam splitter selectively delivering the spatially modulated first radiation from the first input path of the beam combiner to the output path, depending on the polarization state of the spatially modulated first radiation. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The illumination system as claimed in claim 5, wherein each of the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator comprises a liquid crystal cell having a plurality of active areas, each active area varying the polarization state of a portion of the radiation according to its spatial position in the first input path or second input path. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The illumination system as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of said active areas is configured to rotate a polarization direction of radiation in its portion of the first input path or second input path by an angle dependent on a respective one of the first and second programmable patterns. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The illumination system as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or both of the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator is a transmissive spatial light modulator. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The illumination system as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or both of the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator are configured to apply a non-binary modulation to the first radiation and second radiation. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The illumination system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first spatial light modulator is configured to modulate a color of the spatially modulated first radiation and/or the second spatial light modulator is configured to modulate a color of the spatially modulated second radiation. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The illumination system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first polarized component comprises radiation polarized linearly with a first polarization direction and the second polarized component comprises radiation polarized linearly with a second polarization direction different from the first polarization direction. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The illumination system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first programmable pattern can set to select between more than two levels of radiation of the first polarized component. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The illumination system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first spatial light modulator is configured to vary a polarization state of the first radiation in portions of the first input path determined by the first programmable pattern. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The illumination system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the beam combiner comprises a plurality of polarizing beam splitters, the polarizing beam splitters selectively delivering the spatially modulated first radiation from the first input path of the beam combiner to the output path, depending on the polarization state of the spatially modulated first radiation. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The illumination system as claimed in claim 14, wherein each of the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator comprises a liquid crystal cell having a plurality of active areas, each active area varying the polarization state of a portion of the radiation according to its spatial position in the first input path or second input path. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The illumination system as claimed in claim 16, wherein each of the active areas is configured to rotate a polarization direction of radiation in its portion of the first input path or second input path by an angle dependent on a respective one of the first and second programmable patterns. ### Claim 18 An inspection apparatus comprising: a support for a substrate; an illumination system configured to illuminate one or more structures of interest formed on the substrate with radiation having desired characteristics, and a detection system for detecting radiation scattered by the substrate to obtain a measurement of a property of the one or more structures of interest on the substrate, wherein the illumination system comprises: a beam combiner having a first input path, a second input path and an output path, a first spatial light modulator configured to receive and spatially modulate the first radiation in accordance with a first programmable pattern; a second spatial light modulator configured to receive and spatially modulate the second radiation in accordance with a second programmable pattern; and a polarizing element configured to polarize both the first radiation and the second radiation in a single polarization direction for input into the first spatial light modulator and second spatial light modulator, respectively; wherein the beam combiner is configured to receive the spatially modulated first radiation via said first input path, to receive the spatially modulated second radiation via said second input path and to output spatially modulated combined radiation via said output path; and wherein the polarizing element, the spatial light modulators and the beam combiner are configured such that the combined radiation has a first polarized component in portions of the output path determined by the first programmable pattern and has a second polarized component in portions of the output path determined by the second programmable pattern, and wherein the inspection apparatus further comprises a controller for controlling the first and second spatial light modulators to implement a measurement-specific first programmable pattern and second programmable pattern for each measurement in a series of different measurements. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The illumination system as claimed in claim 18, wherein one or both of the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator are configured to apply a non-binary modulation to the first radiation and second radiation. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The illumination system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the first spatial light modulator is configured to modulate a color of the spatially modulated first radiation and/or the second spatial light modulator is configured to modulate a color of the spatially modulated second radiation.