Metrology system having an EUV optical unit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10948637-B2
Application number	US-201816026192-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 3, 2018
Priority date	Jul 5, 2017
Publication date	Mar 16, 2021
Grant date	Mar 16, 2021

Abstract

An EUV greyscale filter of an EUV optical unit of a metrology system has a membrane that is at least partly transmissive in regions for EUV light in the wavelength range of between 5 nm and 30 nm. The latter interacts with a whole beam of the EUV light in the operational position of the EUV greyscale filter. This results in a metrology system with extended application possibilities on account of the EUV greyscale filter.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A metrology system comprising:
an EUV light source configured to provide EUV light having a wavelength in a range from 5 nm to 30 nm;
an EUV optical unit having an EUV greyscale filter, the EUV greyscale filter comprising:
a membrane that is at least partly transmissive in regions for the EUV light, in which said membrane is configured to interact with a whole beam of the EUV light in an operational position of the EUV greyscale filter located along an optical path of the EUV light at a position between the EUV light source and an object illuminated by the EUV light,
wherein at least two different transmission levels are realized over a varying thickness of the EUV greyscale filter; and

a spatially resolving detection device for metrology, in which the spatially resolving detection device is configured to detect the EUV light that interacts with the EUV greyscale filter and the object and generate an aerial image of the object.

2. The metrology system according to claim 1 , wherein the membrane of the EUV greyscale filter has a maximum transmission for the EUV light that is greater than 60% in a membrane maximum transmission surface region.

3. The metrology system according to claim 1 , comprising a patterning of a surface of the membrane of the EUV greyscale filter for varying an absorption or reflectivity over a surface of the membrane.

4. The metrology system according to claim 1 , comprising a coating of a surface of the membrane of the EUV greyscale filter for varying an absorption or reflectivity over a surface of the membrane.

5. The metrology system according to claim 4 , wherein the coating has a varying layer thickness.

6. The metrology system according to claim 1 , wherein the EUV greyscale filter is arranged in a pupil plane of the EUV optical unit.

7. The metrology system according to claim 1 , wherein the EUV greyscale filter is arranged in a field plane of the EUV optical unit.

8. The metrology system of claim 1 in which the membrane comprises at least one of polycrystalline silicon (pSi), monocrystalline silicon, silicon nitride (SixNy), zirconium, or graphene.

9. The metrology system of claim 1 in which the membrane has a varying layer thickness.

10. The metrology system of claim 1 in which the membrane comprises a coating having partial layers of discrete thicknesses,
at a first region of the membrane the coating has a single partial layer, a lower thickness, and a higher transmission level, and
at a second region of the membrane the coating has at least two partial layers, a higher thickness, and a lower transmission level.

11. The metrology system of claim 1 in which the membrane comprises a coating that has varying coating point densities,
at a first region of the membrane the coating has a lower coating point density and a higher transmission level, and
at a second region of the membrane the coating has a higher coating point density and a lower transmission level.

12. The metrology system of claim 1 in which the membrane comprises a patterned photoresist layer,
a first region of the photoresist layer having a higher transmission level, and
a second region of the photoresist layer having a lower transmission level.

13. The metrology system of claim 1 in which the detector comprises a CCD detector or a CMOS detector.

14. The metrology system of claim 1 in which the membrane comprises a first coating having partial layers of discrete thicknesses,
at a first region of the membrane the first coating has a single partial layer, a lower thickness, and a higher transmission level, and
at a second region of the membrane the first coating has at least two partial layers, a higher thickness, and a lower transmission level,
wherein the membrane comprises a second coating that has varying coating point densities,
at a first region of the membrane the second coating has a lower coating point density and a higher transmission level, and
at a second region of the membrane the second coating has a higher coating point density and a lower transmission level.

15. The metrology system of claim 14 in which the membrane comprises a patterned photoresist layer,
a first region of the photoresist layer having a higher transmission level, and
a second region of the photoresist layer having a lower transmission level.

16. An apparatus comprising:
an EUV greyscale filter configured to be used in a metrology system, the EUV greyscale filter comprising a membrane that is at least partly transmissive in regions for EUV light having a wavelength in a range from 5 nm to 30 nm, in which the membrane comprises a first coating having partial layers of discrete thicknesses,
at a first region of the membrane the first coating has a single partial layer, a lower thickness, and a higher transmission level, and
at a second region of the membrane the first coating has at least two partial layers, a higher thickness, and a lower transmission level.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 in which the membrane comprises a second coating that has varying coating point densities,
at a first region of the membrane the second coating has a lower coating point density and a higher transmission level, and
at a second region of the membrane the second coating has a higher coating point density and a lower transmission level.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 in which the membrane of the EUV greyscale filter has a maximum transmission for the EUV light that is greater than 60% in a membrane maximum transmission surface region.

19. An apparatus comprising:
an EUV greyscale filter configured to be used in a metrology system, the EUV greyscale filter comprising a membrane that is at least partly transmissive in regions for EUV light having a wavelength in a range from 5 nm to 30 nm, in which the membrane comprises a coating that has varying coating point densities,
at a first region of the membrane the coating has a lower coating point density and a higher transmission level, and
at a second region of the membrane the coating has a higher coating point density and a lower transmission level.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 in which the membrane of the EUV greyscale filter has a maximum transmission for the EUV light that is greater than 60% in a membrane maximum transmission surface region.

Assignees

• Zeiss Carl Smt Gmbh

Inventors

• Hellweg Dirk
• Mueller Stefan
• Gehrke Ralf

Classifications

• G03F1/84 Primary

  Inspecting · CPC title

• G02B5/205

  Neutral density filters · CPC title

• G01N21/956

  Inspecting patterns on the surface of objects {(contactless testing of electronic circuits G01R31/308; testing currency G07D; manufacturing processes per se of semiconductor devices implementing a measuring step H10P74/20)} · CPC title

• G03F7/70625

  Dimensions, e.g. line width, critical dimension [CD], profile, sidewall angle or edge roughness · CPC title

• G02B5/208 Primary

  for use with infrared or ultraviolet radiation, e.g. for separating visible light from infrared and/or ultraviolet radiation · CPC title