Measuring device for determining a polarisation parameter

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10042264-B2
Application number	US-201615275686-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 26, 2016
Priority date	Mar 24, 2014
Publication date	Aug 7, 2018
Grant date	Aug 7, 2018

Abstract

A measurement system (10) for determining a polarization parameter of an optical system (50) has an illumination system (12) providing an optical radiation (14), a measurement mask (22) arranged between the illumination system and the optical system and including measurement structures (24) arranged at a plurality of field points (26) of the measurement mask, a polarization variation device (28) arranged in a beam path of the optical radiation and configured to vary a polarization state of the optical radiation in a field-point-dependent manner, such that at the same point in time one of the field points is irradiated with the optical radiation (14-1) in a first polarization state and another of the field points is irradiated with the optical radiation (14-2) in a second polarization state, and a detection module (32), which is configured to detect the optical radiation after it has interacted with the optical system.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A measurement system for determining a polarization parameter of an optical system, comprising:
an illumination system configured to provide an optical radiation,
a measurement mask arranged between the illumination system and the optical system and comprising measurement structures arranged at a plurality of field points of the measurement mask,
a polarization variation device arranged in a beam path of the optical radiation and configured to vary a polarization state of the optical radiation in a field-point-dependent manner, such that at a single point in time one of the field points is irradiated with the optical radiation in a first polarization state and another of the field points is irradiated with the optical radiation in a second polarization state that differs from the first polarization state, and
a detection module configured to detect the optical radiation after the optical radiation has interacted with the optical system.

2. The measurement system as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the polarization variation device comprises at least one polarization rotation element configured to rotate the incident optical radiation.

3. The measurement system as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the polarization variation device comprises at least one half-wave plate.

4. The measurement system as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the polarization variation device comprises at least one quarter-wave plate.

5. The measurement system as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the measurement structures are arranged in a plurality of measurement fields and the polarization variation device is configured to vary the polarization state of the optical radiation within each of the measurement fields with a single variation pattern in a field-point-dependent manner.

6. The measurement system as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the polarization variation device is fixed to the measurement mask.

7. The measurement system as claimed in claim 1 ,
which is configured as a wavefront measurement system.

8. The measurement system as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the detection module comprises a diffraction grating.

9. The measurement system as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the illumination system is configured to provide the optical radiation successively in different polarization states.

10. The measurement system as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the illumination system is configured to provide the optical radiation in a linearly polarized state.

11. A projection exposure apparatus for microlithography comprising a projection lens as the optical system and a measurement system as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the measurement system is configured to determine a polarization parameter of the projection lens.

12. A method for determining a polarization parameter of an optical system, comprising:
providing a measurement mask comprising measurement structures arranged at a plurality of field points of the measurement mask,
radiating optical radiation onto the measurement mask with a field-point-dependent polarization pattern such that at a single point in time one of the field points is irradiated with the optical radiation in a first polarization state and another of the field points is irradiated with the optical radiation in a second polarization state that differs from the first polarization state,
detecting the optical radiation after the optical radiation has interacted with the measurement mask and has subsequently interacted with the optical system, and
determining the polarization parameter of the optical system from the detected optical radiation.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12 ,
wherein said determining of the polarization parameter of the optical system comprises determining orientation Zernike coefficients of the optical system from the detected optical radiation.

Assignees

• Zeiss Carl Smt Gmbh

Inventors

• Wirsing Andreas

Classifications

• G03F7/70566 Primary

  Polarisation control · CPC title

• G03F7/70591

  Testing optical components · CPC title

• G03F7/70191 Primary

  Optical correction elements, filters or phase plates for controlling intensity, wavelength, polarisation, phase or the like · CPC title

• G01M11/0285

  by measuring material or chromatic transmission properties (G01M11/0292 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01J4/00 Primary

  Measuring polarisation of light · CPC title