Device, lithographic apparatus, method for guiding radiation and device manufacturing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9715183-B2
Application number	US-201314365549-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 24, 2013
Priority date	Feb 23, 2012
Publication date	Jul 25, 2017
Grant date	Jul 25, 2017

Abstract

A device having a waveguide formed of a continuous body of material that is transparent to radiation that passes through the waveguide, wherein the body has an input surface and an output surface, and a cooler configured to cool the input surface and/or the output surface. An exposure apparatus having a programmable patterning device that comprises a plurality of radiation emitters, configured to provide a plurality of radiation beams; and a projection system, comprising a stationary part and a moving part, configured to project the plurality of radiation beams onto locations on a target that are selected based on a pattern, wherein at least one of the radiation emitters comprises a waveguide configured to output a radiation beam that comprises unpolarized and/or circularly polarized radiation.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device comprising:
a waveguide formed of a continuous body of material that is transparent to radiation that passes through the waveguide, wherein the body has an input surface and an output surface; and
a cooler configured to cool the input surface and/or the output surface, wherein the cooler comprises an housing having a solid transparent portion other than a fiber, the solid transparent portion located opposite, and spaced apart, from the input surface and/or the output surface and wherein the cooler is configured to have cooling material directly contact the input surface and/or the output surface at a location between the solid transparent portion and the input surface and/or output surface.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the waveguide comprises an optical fiber.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the cooler comprises a body of liquid as the cooling material that cools the input surface and/or the output surface.

4. The device of claim 3 , wherein the liquid is transparent to the radiation that passes through the waveguide.

5. The device of claim 3 , wherein the liquid has a refractive index that is greater than 1 and less than a refractive index of the material.

6. The device of claim 3 , comprising a pressuriser configured to maintain the liquid under pressure.

7. The device of claim 3 , wherein the cooler comprises a circuit such that the liquid flows across the input surface and/or the output surface.

8. The device of claim 3 , wherein the housing comprises a cap configured to hold the liquid at the input surface and/or at the output surface such that the waveguide receives the radiation and/or outputs the radiation through the liquid.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein the cooler comprises a heater configured to heat to a temperature that is greater than a temperature of the input surface and/or the output surface.

10. The device of claim 1 , comprising a radiation source device configured to supply unpolarized and/or circularly polarized radiation to the waveguide.

11. The device of claim 1 , configured to guide radiation having a wavelength of about 405 nm.

12. An exposure apparatus having a radiation emitter comprising the device of claim 1 .

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , comprising a projection system, comprising a stationary part and a moving part, configured to project a plurality of radiation beams onto locations on a target that are selected based on a pattern, wherein at least of one of the radiation beams is emitted by the radiation emitter.

14. The device of claim 1 , wherein the waveguide comprises an optical slab waveguide.

15. The device of claim 1 , comprising two coolers, one configured to cool the input surface and one configured to cool the output surface.

16. The device of claim 1 , configured to have an output power of at most 250 mW.

17. The device of claim 1 , configured to have an output power of at least 50 mW.

18. An exposure apparatus, comprising:
a programmable patterning device that comprises a plurality of radiation emitters, configured to provide a plurality of radiation beams; and
a projection system, comprising a stationary part and a moving part, configured to project the plurality of radiation beams onto locations on a target that are selected based on a pattern,
wherein at least one of the radiation emitters comprises a waveguide configured to output at least one radiation beam of the plurality of radiation beams, the at least radiation beam comprising unpolarized and/or circularly polarized radiation and the at least one radiation beam not being patterned with an image.

19. A method for guiding radiation, the method comprising:
guiding radiation through a waveguide formed of a continuous body of material that is transparent to the radiation, wherein the body has an input surface and an output surface; and
cooling the input surface and/or the output surface by having a cooling material directly contact the input surface and/or the output surface, wherein the cooling material is at a location between a solid transparent portion of a housing and the input surface and/or output surface, the solid transparent portion being other than a fiber and the solid transparent portion located opposite, and spaced apart, from the input surface and/or the output surface.

20. A device manufacturing method comprising:
providing a plurality of radiation beams from a plurality of radiation emitters of a programmable patterning device, wherein at least one radiation beam of the plurality of radiation beams comprises unpolarized and/or circularly polarized radiation; and
projecting the plurality of radiation beams onto locations on a target that are selected based on a pattern,
wherein at least one of the radiation emitters comprises a waveguide configured to output the at least one radiation beam, the at least radiation beam comprising unpolarized and/or circularly polarized radiation and the at least one radiation beam not being patterned with an image.

Assignees

• Asml Netherlands Bv

Inventors

• Koek Wouter Dick
• Bleeker Arno Jan
• Loopstra Erik Roelof
• Mulder Heine Melle
• Van Zwet Erwin John
• Smeets Dries
• Ebeling Robert Paul

Classifications

• G03F7/70891 Primary

  Temperature · CPC title

• G03F7/704

  Scanned exposure beam, e.g. raster-, rotary- and vector scanning (mask projection exposure involving relative movement of patterned beam and workpiece during imaging G03F7/70358) · CPC title

• G03F7/70291

  Addressable masks, e.g. spatial light modulators [SLMs], digital micro-mirror devices [DMDs] or liquid crystal display [LCD] patterning devices · CPC title

• G03F7/70275

  Multiple projection paths, e.g. array of projection systems, microlens projection systems or tandem projection systems · CPC title

• G02B6/4296

  coupling with sources of high radiant energy, e.g. high power lasers, high temperature light sources · CPC title