Abstract: The invention is directed at an exposure head for use in an exposure apparatus for illuminating a surface, the exposure head comprising one or more radiative sources for providing one or more beams, an optical scanning unit arranged for receiving the one or more beams and for directing the beams towards the surface for impinging each of the beams on an impingement spot, a rotation actuating unit connected to the optical scanning unit for at least partially rotating the optical scanning unit, wherein the impingement spots of the one or more beams are scanned across the surface by said at least partial rotation of the optical scanning unit, wherein the optical scanning unit comprises a transmissive element including one or more facets for receiving the one or more beams and for outputting the beams after conveying thereof through the transmissive element, for displacing the beams upon said rotation of the transmissive element for enabling the scanning of the impingement spots.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to arrangements for manipulating the position of an element. An arrangement according has at least one actuator for each degree of freedom of the positional manipulation for exerting adjustable forces on the element, at least one position sensor for each degree of freedom of the positional manipulation for generating in each case a sensor signal that is characteristic of the position of the element, and at least one position controller, which in a position control circuit controls a force exerted on the element by the at least one actuator for the positioning of the element in dependence on the at least one sensor signal. At least one actuator and at least one position sensor are mounted on a common module frame.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for treating a substrate and, in particular, making secondary adjustments to the results of a primary process applied to the substrate, leading to improved uniformity of the overall process, in which a substrate is positioned on a substrate holder; a scanning a beam of light is directed onto the surface of the substrate; and the amplitude of the scanned beam is varied by location based on a substrate signature.

Abstract: A photo mask assembly including a photo mask, a first adhesive layer adhered with the photo mask, a pellicle frame and a pellicle is provided. The pellicle frame includes a plurality of recesses for accommodating the first adhesive layer. The pellicle frame is adhered with the photo mask through the first adhesive layer accommodated in the plurality of recesses. The pellicle is disposed on the pellicle frame. The pellicle frame is between the pellicle and the first adhesive layer. An optical apparatus including the above-mentioned photo mask assembly is also provided.

Abstract: A vibration-compensated optical system for a lithography apparatus includes an optical element, a carrying element, an actuator for actuating the optical element relative to the carrying element, a first elastic element which directly couples the optical element to the carrying element, a reaction mass, and a second elastic element. The actuator couples the optical element to the reaction mass. The second elastic element directly couples the reaction mass to the carrying element. For a mass (m1) of the optical element, a stiffness (k1) of the first elastic element, a mass (m2) of the reaction mass and a stiffness (k2) of the second elastic element the following holds true: m 1 m 2 = k 1 k 2 .

Abstract: A lithography system includes an illumination source, a pattern mask, and an optical element configured to expose a sample with an image of the pattern mask for the fabrication of one or more printed device structures and one or more metrology target structures. The pattern mask includes a device pattern mask area and a metrology target pattern mask area. The device pattern mask area includes a set of device pattern elements distributed with a device pitch. The metrology target pattern mask area includes a set of metrology target pattern elements. The one or more printed metrology target structures include a set of metrology target elements distributed with a metrology target pitch. Regions of the metrology target pattern mask area include sub-resolution features having widths smaller than the resolution of the optical element such that the sub-resolution pattern elements are not included on the one or more printed metrology target structures.

Abstract: An apparatus has a first component with a first surface and a second component with a second surface, wherein the first and second components can undergo relative movement. The first surface and the second surface face each other. The first surface accommodates a barrier system to provide a barrier to reduce or prevent an inflow of ambient gas into a protected volume of gas between the first and second surfaces. The barrier system includes a curtain opening adapted for a flow of curtain gas therefrom for establishing a gas curtain enclosing part of the protected volume, and an inner entrainment opening, located inward of the curtain opening with respect to the protected volume, adapted for a flow of inner entrainment gas therefrom for being entrained into the flow of curtain gas. The apparatus is configured such that the inner entrainment gas flow is less turbulent than the curtain gas flow.

Abstract: The present application discloses a component having a movably mounted component element of a projection exposure apparatus and in particular a movement limiting apparatus, and a method for limiting the movement of movable component elements of a component of a projection exposure apparatus.

Abstract: A raster arrangement includes at least one raster element of a first type and at least one raster element of a second type. Each raster element of the first type has a first bundle-influencing effect. Each raster element of the second type has a second bundle-influencing effect which is different from the first bundle-influencing effect. Each raster element of the first type is located in a first area of the raster arrangement. Each raster element of the second type is located in a second area of the raster arrangement which is different from the first area of the raster arrangement.

Abstract: A carrier system is provided with a wafer stage which holds a mounted wafer and is also movable along an XY plane, a chuck unit which holds the wafer from above in a non-contact manner above a predetermined position and is vertically movable, and a plurality of vertical movement pins, which can support from below the wafer held by the chuck unit on the wafer stage when the wafer stage is positioned at the predetermined position above and can also move vertically. Then, flatness of the wafer is measured by a Z position detection system, and based on the measurement results, the chuck unit and the vertical movement pins that hold (support) the wafer are independently driven.

Abstract: A measurement apparatus is configured to measure a position of an object based on a first phase signal and a second phase signal whose phases are different from each other and includes a compensator configured to compensate for a fluctuation in a phase difference between the first phase signal and the second phase signal based on a frequency of at least one of the first phase signal and the second phase signal.

Abstract: In a method for predicting at least one illumination parameter for evaluating an illumination setting for illuminating an object field of a projection exposure apparatus, illumination parameters are measured at a number of calibration settings, correction terms for prediction values of the illumination parameters are determined from the measured values, and then at least one illumination parameter of at least one illumination setting, which is not contained in the set of n calibration settings, is predicted.

Abstract: A method including: obtaining a measurement of a metrology target on a substrate processed using a patterning process, the measurement having been obtained using measurement radiation; and deriving a parameter of interest of the patterning process from the measurement, wherein the parameter of interest is corrected by a stack difference parameter, the stack difference parameter representing an un-designed difference in physical configuration between adjacent periodic structures of the target or between the metrology target and another adjacent target on the substrate.

Abstract: An EUV lithography system (1) includes: at least one optical element (13, 14) having an optical surface (13a, 14a) arranged in a vacuum environment (17) of the EUV lithography system (1), and a feed device (27) for feeding hydrogen into the vacuum environment (17), in which at least one silicon-containing surface (29a) is arranged. The feed device (27) additionally feeds an oxygen-containing gas into the vacuum environment (17) and has a metering device (28) that sets an oxygen partial pressure (pO2) at the at least one silicon-containing surface (29a) and/or at the optical surface (13a, 14a).

Abstract: Disclosed are techniques for correcting the EUV crosstalk effects. Isolated mask feature component diffraction signals associated with individual layout feature components are determined based on a component-based mask diffraction modeling method such as a domain decomposition method. Mask feature component diffraction signals are then determined based on the isolated mask feature component diffraction signals, layout data and predetermined crosstalk signals. Here, the predetermined crosstalk signals are derived based on mask feature component diffraction signals computed using an electromagnetic field solver and the component-based mask diffraction modeling method, respectively. The mask feature component diffraction signals are then used to process layout designs.

Abstract: The present invention provides a projection optical system including a first concave reflecting surface, a first convex reflecting surface, a second concave reflecting surface, and a third concave reflecting surface, wherein the first concave reflecting surface, the first convex reflecting surface, the second concave reflecting surface, and the third concave reflecting surface are arranged such that light from an object plane forms an image on an image plane by being reflected by the first concave reflecting surface, the first convex reflecting surface, the second concave reflecting surface, the first convex reflecting surface, and the third concave reflecting surface in an order named.

Abstract: A method for preventing or reducing contamination of an immersion type projection apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes at least one immersion space that is at least partially filled with a liquid when the apparatus projects a beam of radiation onto a substrate. The method includes rinsing at least part of the immersion space with a rinsing liquid before the apparatus is used to project the beam of radiation onto a substrate.

Abstract: A reflective optical element, in particular for a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus has a substrate (101), a reflection layer system (110) and a defect structure (120) of channel-shaped defects (121) which extend inward from the optical effective surface (100a), or from an interface oriented toward the substrate as far as the reflection layer system, and permit egress of hydrogen from the reflection layer system. The channel-shaped defects (121) increase a diffusion coefficient that is characteristic for the egress of the hydrogen from the reflection layer system (110) by at least 20%, in comparison to a similar layer construction without these channel-shaped defects.

Abstract: A beam distribution optical unit serves for splitting an incident beam of illumination light into at least two emergent illumination-light beams. The beam distribution optical unit has at least one blazed reflection grating having reflective grating structures. The result is an optical unit in which a plurality of illumination-light beams are efficiently produced from one incident beam of illumination light.

Abstract: An extreme ultraviolet light generating apparatus may include: a chamber, in which extreme ultraviolet light is generated; a target supply unit that outputs a target into the chamber as droplets to supply the target to a plasma generating region; a stage that moves the target supply unit in a direction substantially perpendicular to the trajectory of droplets output from the target supply unit; a droplet detector provided between the target supply unit and the plasma generating region at an inclination of a predetermined angle with respect to a substantially vertical direction, that detects the droplets from a direction inclined at the predetermined angle; and a calculation control unit that controls the irradiation timings of the laser beam at which the laser beam is irradiated onto the droplets within the plasm generating region, by adding delay times to the timings at which the droplets are detected by the droplet detector.