Apparatus for generating extreme ultraviolet light and lithography apparatus including the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11720027-B2
Application number	US-202117409715-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 23, 2021
Priority date	Sep 17, 2020
Publication date	Aug 8, 2023
Grant date	Aug 8, 2023

Abstract

An extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light generating apparatus includes a vessel including a first end and a second end opposite to each other and providing an internal space extending from the first end to the second end, a concave mirror adjacent to the first end of the vessel, a droplet generator supplying a droplet to the internal space of the vessel, a laser light source irradiating a laser beam to cause the droplet to emit EUV light, and a gas jet receiving a flow control gas and spraying the received flow control gas into the internal space of the vessel. The gas jet includes a ring-shaped main body including nozzles spaced apart from one another in a circumferential direction. The nozzles spray the received flow control gas in a downward direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light generating apparatus comprising:
a vessel including a first end and a second end opposite to each other and providing an internal space extending from the first end to the second end;
a concave mirror adjacent to the first end of the vessel;
a droplet generator configured to supply a droplet to the internal space of the vessel;
a laser light source configured to irradiate a laser beam to the droplet in the internal space of the vessel, the irradiated droplet emitting EUV light; and
a gas jet configured to receive a flow control gas and spray the received flow control gas into the internal space of the vessel,
wherein the gas jet comprises a ring-shaped main body including a plurality of nozzles spaced apart from one another in a circumferential direction,
wherein the plurality of nozzles are configured to spray the received flow control gas in a downward direction extending from the second end of the vessel to the first end of the vessel,
wherein the ring-shaped main body of the gas jet is inserted into a groove formed at an internal wall of the vessel,
wherein the ring-shaped main body of the gas jet comprises a lower surface and an upper surface opposite to each other, a distance between the lower surface of the ring-shaped main body and the first end of the vessel is smaller than a distance between the upper surface of the ring-shaped main body and the first end of the vessel,
wherein each of the plurality of nozzles is an opening of the ring-shaped main body disposed at the lower surface of the ring-shaped main body, and
wherein the opening of the ring-shaped main body is spaced apart from the internal wall of the vessel.

2. The EUV light generating apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
an exhaust pump configured to exhaust a gas in the vessel through an exhaust port of the vessel,
wherein the gas jet is between the exhaust port of the vessel and the second end of the vessel.

3. The EUV light generating apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the gas jet further comprises an inlet pipe configured to receive a flow of the flow control gas from a gas source, and
wherein the ring-shaped main body of the gas jet comprises a distribution channel configured to guide the flow of the flow control gas transmitted by the inlet pipe to the plurality of nozzles.

4. The EUV light generating apparatus of claim 3 ,
wherein the distribution channel comprises a first distribution channel and two second distribution channels,
wherein the first distribution channel is configured to:
divide the flow of the flow control gas transmitted by the inlet pipe into divided flows of the flow control gas; and
transmit each of the divided flows of the flow control gas to a corresponding one of the two second distribution channels, and

wherein each of the two second distribution channels is configured to transmit a corresponding divided flow of the flow control gas transmitted by the first distribution channel to two corresponding nozzles among the plurality of nozzles of the ring-shaped main body.

5. The EUV light generating apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the gas jet comprises:
an inlet pipe configured to receive a flow of the flow control gas provided by a gas source; and
a branch pipe connected to the ring-shaped main body and configured to:
divide the received flow of the flow control gas transmitted by the inlet pipe into divided flows of the flow control gas; and
transmit each of the divided flows of the flow control gas to at least two corresponding nozzles among the plurality of nozzles of the ring-shaped main body.

6. The EUV light generating apparatus of claim 5 ,
wherein the branch pipe comprises a first branch pipe and two second branch pipes,
wherein the first branch pipe is configured to:
divide the received flow of the flow control gas transmitted by the inlet pipe into divided flows of the flow control gas; and
transmit each of the divided flows of the flow control gas to a corresponding one of the two second branch pipes, and

wherein each of the two second branch pipes is configured to transmit a corresponding divided flow of the flow control gas transmitted by the first branch pipe to two corresponding nozzles among the plurality of nozzles of the ring-shaped main body.

7. The EUV light generating apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein each of the plurality of nozzles is in a form of a slit extending in the circumferential direction of the ring-shaped main body.

8. The EUV light generating apparatus of claim 7 ,
wherein the gas jet further comprises a plurality of flow guide plates extending downwardly from the ring-shaped main body to guide the flow control gas sprayed from the plurality of nozzles, respectively.

9. The EUV light generating apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the flow control gas comprises hydrogen.

10. The EUV light generating apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the gas jet comprises metal.

11. The EUV light generating apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the internal space of the vessel is cone-shaped to have a width decreasing from the first end of the vessel to the second end of the vessel, and
wherein the gas jet is configured to spray the flow control gas through the plurality of nozzles in a direction inclined at an angle in a range of from about −30° to about +30° with respect to a central axis direction of the internal space of the vessel.

12. The EUV light generating apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
an exhaust pump configured to exhaust a gas in the vessel through an exhaust port of the vessel, wherein the exhaust port of the vessel is between the gas jet and the droplet generator.

13. An extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light generating apparatus comprising:
a vessel including a first end and a second end opposite to each other and providing an internal space extending from the first end to the second end;
a concave mirror adjacent to the first end of the vessel;
a droplet generator configured to supply a droplet to the internal space of the vessel;
a laser light source configured to irradiate a laser beam to the droplet in the internal space of the vessel, the irradiated droplet emitting EUV light;
an exhaust pump configured to exhaust a gas in the vessel through an exhaust port of the vessel; and
a gas jet between the exhaust port of the vessel and the second end of the vessel and configured to spray a flow control gas into the internal space of the vessel in a downward direction extending from the second end of the vessel to the first end of the vessel,
wherein the gas jet comprises a ring-shaped main body mounted at an internal wall of the vessel,
wherein the ring-shaped main body includes a plurality of nozzles spaced apart from one another in a circumferential direction,
wherein the ring-shaped main body of the gas jet is inserted into a groove formed at the internal wall of the vessel,
wherein the ring-shaped main body of the gas jet comprises a lower surface and an upper surface opposite to each other, a distance between the lower surface of the ring-shaped main body and the first end of the vessel is smaller than a distance between the upper surface of the ring-shaped main body and the first end of the vessel,
wherein each of the plurality of nozzles is in a form of a slit extending in the circumferential direction of the ring-shaped main body and disposed at the lower surface of the ring-shaped main body, and
wherein the plurality of nozzles comprise eight or more nozzles spaced apart from one another in the circumferential direction of the ring-shaped main body.

14. The EUV light generating appa

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Injae
• Kwon Ohkug
• KIM SungHyup
• Kim Yongchan
• Kim Ouiserg
• Kim Jeonggil
• Kim Junghwan
• Yoo Hosun
• Choi Daerim
• Han Dongkyeng

Classifications

• G03F7/70033 Primary

  by plasma extreme ultraviolet [EUV] sources · CPC title

• G03F7/70166

  Capillary or channel elements, e.g. nested extreme ultraviolet [EUV] mirrors or shells, optical fibers or light guides · CPC title

• G03F7/70858

  Environment aspects, e.g. pressure of beam-path gas, temperature (pollution aspects G03F7/70916) · CPC title

• G03F7/70916

  Pollution mitigation, i.e. mitigating effect of contamination or debris, e.g. foil traps · CPC title

• G03F7/70933

  Purge, e.g. exchanging fluid or gas to remove pollutants · CPC title