Semiconductor process apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025237963-A1
Application number	US-202418888268-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 18, 2024
Priority date	Jan 18, 2024
Publication date	Jul 24, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A semiconductor process apparatus includes an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light source; a mask stage configured to support a mask; a substrate stage configured to support a substrate; an optical lighting system including a plurality of lighting mirrors configured to guide EUV light from the light source to the mask stage; an optical projection system including a plurality of projection mirrors configured to guide the EUV light from the mask stage to the substrate stage; a control unit configured to control the light source, the mask stage, the substrate stage, the optical lighting system, and the optical projection system; and an optical intensity adjuster configured to adjust the intensity of the EUV light. A first lighting mirror includes a plurality of unit mirrors, and the control unit is configured to measure a degree of degradation of each unit mirror and to replace at least one unit mirror.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A semiconductor process apparatus, comprising:
an extreme ultraviolet light source configured to output extreme ultraviolet light within an extreme ultraviolet wavelength band; a mask stage configured to support a mask configured to reflect extreme ultraviolet light in a pattern to result in patterned extreme ultraviolet light; a substrate stage configured to support a substrate, wherein the substrate stage is configured to position a substrate supported by the substrate stage to be irradiated by the patterned extreme ultraviolet light reflected from the mask; an optical lighting system including a plurality of lighting mirrors configured to guide the extreme ultraviolet light from the extreme ultraviolet light source to the mask stage; an optical projection system including a plurality of projection mirrors configured to guide the patterned extreme ultraviolet light from the mask stage to the substrate stage; a control unit configured to control the light source, the mask stage, the substrate stage, the optical lighting system, and the optical projection system; and an optical intensity adjuster disposed between the mask stage and the optical projection system and configured to adjust the intensity of the patterned extreme ultraviolet light, wherein, among the plurality of lighting mirrors, a first lighting mirror includes a plurality of unit mirrors, and the control unit is configured to measure a degree of degradation of each unit mirror of the plurality of unit mirrors and to respectively replace at least one unit mirror of the plurality of unit mirrors with at least one other unit mirror, and wherein the control unit is configured to determine an extreme ultraviolet light loss of the optical projection system by measuring an intensity of the extreme ultraviolet light that is incident to the optical projection system and the intensity of the extreme ultraviolet light emitted from the optical projection system in a state in which an offset of the optical intensity adjuster is initialized.

2 . The semiconductor process apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the plurality of lighting mirrors further includes a second lighting mirror configured to reflect the extreme ultraviolet light that is incident to the optical lighting system, and the first lighting mirror is configured to reflect the extreme ultraviolet light reflected from the second lighting mirror, and wherein the control unit is configured to measure a degree of degradation of each unit mirror of the plurality of unit mirrors using a number of times of use of each unit mirror of the plurality of unit mirrors and a degree of contamination of the second lighting mirror.

3 . The semiconductor process apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the control unit is configured to change a posture of the first lighting mirror, a posture of the second lighting mirror, and replace the at least one unit mirror with other unit mirrors.

4 . The semiconductor process apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of unit mirrors included in the first lighting mirror is a plurality of first unit mirrors, and the second lighting mirror includes a plurality of second unit mirrors.

5 . The semiconductor process apparatus of claim 4 , wherein a total number of first unit mirrors in the plurality of first unit mirrors is greater than a total number of second unit mirrors in the plurality of second unit mirrors.

6 . The semiconductor process apparatus of claim 4 , wherein a ratio of a number of second unit mirrors configured to reflect extreme ultraviolet light, among the plurality of second mirrors, to a total number of the plurality of second unit mirrors is higher than a ratio of a number of first unit mirrors configured to reflect extreme ultraviolet light, among the plurality of second unit mirrors, to a total number of the plurality of first unit mirrors.

7 . The semiconductor process apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the optical intensity adjuster includes a plurality of unit structures arranged in a predetermined first direction, and wherein the control unit is configured to adjust positions of the plurality of unit structures in a second direction intersecting the first direction and to adjust a distribution of the intensity of extreme ultraviolet light that is incident in the first direction.

8 . The semiconductor process apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the control unit is configured to determine a common offset for each unit structure of the plurality of unit structures for adjusting the position of each unit structure of the plurality of unit structures commonly in the second direction based on a difference between the measured intensity of the extreme ultraviolet light that is incident and the measured intensity of the extreme ultraviolet light that is emitted.

9 . The semiconductor process apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the control unit is configured to determine individual offsets for each unit structure of the plurality of unit structures to individually adjust a position of each unit structure of the plurality of unit structures in the second direction based on a difference between the intensity of the extreme ultraviolet light incident to the optical projection system and the intensity of the extreme ultraviolet light emitted from the optical projection system.

10 . The semiconductor process apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a total number of the lighting mirrors in the plurality of lighting mirrors is less than a total number of projection mirrors in the plurality of projection mirrors.

11 . A semiconductor process apparatus, comprising:
a light source configured to output extreme ultraviolet light within an extreme ultraviolet wavelength band; a mask stage configured to support a mask that is configured to reflect extreme ultraviolet light in a pattern to result in patterned extreme ultraviolet light; a substrate stage configured to support a substrate; an optical lighting system including a first lighting mirror and a second lighting mirror configured to guide the extreme ultraviolet light from the light source to the mask stage, wherein the first lighting mirror includes a plurality of unit mirrors, a portion of which includes selected unit mirrors configured to reflect the extreme ultraviolet light; and a control unit configured to control the light source, the mask stage, the substrate stage, and the optical lighting system, wherein the control unit is configured to measure a degree of degradation of each unit mirror in the plurality of unit mirrors, select unit mirrors disposed in a reflective area for reflecting the extreme ultraviolet light from the first lighting mirror, and to select a unit mirror from a non-reflective area different from the reflective area to replace at least one of the selected unit mirrors disposed in the reflective area.

12 . The semiconductor process apparatus of claim 11 ,
wherein the control unit is configured to select at least one unit mirror from among the unit mirrors disposed in the non-reflective area and replace the at least one selected unit mirror configured to reflect the extreme ultraviolet light with the at least one unit mirror disposed in the non-reflective area, and wherein the number of unit mirrors disposed in the non-reflective area selected by the control unit is equal to the number of selected unit mirrors configured to reflect the extreme ultraviolet light being replaced.

13 . The semiconductor process apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the control unit is configured to select a unit mirror from the non-reflective area to replace at least one selected unit mirror configured to reflect the extreme ultraviolet li

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Oh Kyoungwhan
• Kim Donghyeong
• Jeang Eunhee
• Park Iksun
• Lee Dahae
• Kwon Ohkug
• Kim Jeonggil
• Kim Jinhyuk

Classifications

• G03F7/70233

  Optical aspects of catoptric systems, i.e. comprising only reflective elements, e.g. extreme ultraviolet [EUV] projection systems · CPC title

• G03F7/70033

  by plasma extreme ultraviolet [EUV] sources · CPC title

• G03F7/70525

  Controlling normal operating mode, e.g. matching different apparatus, remote control or prediction of failure · CPC title

• G03F7/70091

  Illumination settings, i.e. intensity distribution in the pupil plane or angular distribution in the field plane; On-axis or off-axis settings, e.g. annular, dipole or quadrupole settings; Partial coherence control, i.e. sigma or numerical aperture [NA] · CPC title

• G03F7/702 Primary

  Reflective illumination, i.e. reflective optical elements other than folding mirrors, e.g. extreme ultraviolet [EUV] illumination systems · CPC title