Abstract: Apparatus for and method of removing a contaminant from a working surface of a lithography support such as a reticle or wafer stage in an EUV or a DUV photolithography system in which a cleaning substrate provided with a coating made a selected material and configuration is pressed against the working surface so that the contaminant is transferred from the working surface to the coating.

Abstract: Method of exposing a substrate by a patterned radiation beam, comprising: —providing a radiation beam; —imparting the radiation beam by an array of individually controllable elements; —generating, from the radiation beam, a patterned radiation beam, by tilting the individually controllable elements between different positions about a tilting axis; —projecting the patterned radiation beam towards a substrate; —scanning a substrate across the patterned radiation beam in a scanning direction so as to expose the substrate to the patterned radiation beam, whereby the tilting axis of the individually controllable elements is substantially perpendicular to the scanning direction.

Abstract: A reticle transport system having a magnetically levitated transportation stage is disclosed. Such a system may be suitable for use in vacuum environments, for example, ultra-clean vacuum environments. A magnetic levitated linear motor functions to propel the transportation stage in a linear direction along a defined axis of travel and to magnetically levitate the transportation stage.

Abstract: In a lithographic process, product units such as semiconductor wafers are subjected to lithographic patterning operations and chemical and physical processing operations. Alignment data or other measurements are made at stages during the performance of the process to obtain object data representing positional deviation or other parameters measured at points spatially distributed across each unit. This object data is used to obtain diagnostic information by performing a multivariate analysis to decompose a set of vectors representing the units in the multidimensional space into one or more component vectors. Diagnostic information about the industrial process is extracted using the component vectors. The performance of the industrial process for subsequent product units can be controlled based on the extracted diagnostic information.

Abstract: A lithography method in semiconductor fabrication is provided. The method includes generating a plurality of drops of a target material through a plurality of nozzles, adjacent two of the plurality of nozzles having a distance less than a width of a first one of the adjacent two of the plurality of nozzles, wherein the plurality of drops are aggregated to an elongated droplet; generating a laser pulse to convert the elongated droplet into plasma that generates an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation; exposing a semiconductor substrate to the EUV radiation.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method for assembling optical module. The apparatus includes: a plurality of fixtures, an alignment mechanism, a power supply, a spectroscopic prism with a light incident surface close to the plurality of optical modules to be aligned, a first color image collecting means close to a first light emitting surface of the spectroscopic prism and a second color image collecting means with a second light emitting surface of the spectroscopic prism; the controller is configured to determine a light spot that does not meet a quality requirement according to the positions and/or sizes of the plurality of imaging light spots, and generate a corresponding aligning instruction, and determine a to-be-assembled lens necessary to be adjusted according to a color of the light spot that does not meet quality requirements, and output the aligning instruction to an alignment mechanism to adjust a position of the lens necessary to be adjusted.

Abstract: A lithography system includes a collector having a mirror surface, a laser generator aiming at an excitation zone in front of the mirror surface of the collector, a droplet generator, and a droplet deflector operative to apply a force at a position between the droplet generator and the excitation zone.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a substrate table includes supporting a table base and disposing a coating on a surface of the table base. The surface of the table base is substantially flat. The coating has a non-uniform thickness. The coating exerts a stress on the table so as to bend the table base. The non-uniform thickness causes a surface of the coating to become substantially flat after the bending.

Abstract: A method of measuring misregistration in the manufacture of semiconductor device wafers including providing a multilayered semiconductor device wafer including at least a first layer and a second layer including at least one misregistration measurement target including a first periodic structure formed together with the first layer having a first pitch and a second periodic structure formed together with the second layer having a second pitch, imaging the first layer and the second layer at a depth of focus and using light having at least one first wavelength that causes images of both the first layer and the second layer to appear in at least one plane within the depth of focus and quantifying offset in the at least one plane between the images of the first layer and the second layer, thereby to calculate misregistration of the first layer and the second layer.

Abstract: An object table configured to hold an object on a holding surface, the object table including: a main body; a plurality of burls extending from the main body, end surfaces of the burls defining the holding surface; an actuator assembly; and a further actuator assembly, wherein the actuator assembly is configured to deform the main body to generate a long stroke out-of-plane deformation of the holding surface based on shape information of the object that is to be held and the further actuator assembly is configured to generate a short stroke out-of-plane deformation of the holding surface.

Abstract: A system for calibrating an equipment, the system including a beam splitter; a first reticle configured to be removably attached to the equipment; and an image capture device including an image plane, wherein an image of the first reticle is configured to be received by way of the beam splitter at the image plane along an optical axis of the beam splitter, wherein the orientation as indicated by the first reticle is compared to an orientation of the image plane and if the orientation as indicated by the first reticle differs from the orientation of the image plane, the equipment is rotated about the optical axis of the beam splitter such that the orientation as indicated by the first reticle matches the orientation of the image plane.

Abstract: Conventional optical lithography uses masks with static patterns that are expensive and labor intensive to produce. The present disclosure is directed to a programmable optical lithography mask with an array of cells that use a hydrogen-mediated mechanism to tune their optical properties (e.g., transmission, absorption, refractive index, and/or reflectivity) dynamically and reversibly. Each cell in the programmable mask may be individually addressable to produce a large variety of patterns. The programmable mask may be configured for ultra-fine spatial resolution or coarse spatial resolution, facilitating a wide range of applications. The programmable mask may be stable against short wavelength light, such as broadband ultraviolet (UV) light, and can thus act as a light valve for short wavelength light.

Abstract: A method for determining a correction for control of at least one manufacturing apparatus used in a manufacturing process for providing structures to a region on a substrate, the region including a plurality of sub-regions. The method includes obtaining measurement data relating to a process parameter of the manufacturing process for the region; and determining a correction for the manufacturing apparatus based on the measurement data. The correction is configured to maintain the process parameter within a specified range across a boundary between two of the sub-regions and/or to better correct the process parameter across the boundary between two of the sub-regions with respect to within the remainder of the region.

Abstract: An edge exposure tool may include a lens adjustment device that is capable of automatically adjusting various parameters of an edge exposure lens to account for changes in operating parameters of the edge exposure tool. In some implementations, the edge exposure tool may also include a controller that is capable of determining edge adjustment parameters for the edge exposure lens and exposure control parameters for the edge exposure tool using techniques such as big data mining, machine learning, and neural network processing. The lens adjustment device and the controller are capable of reducing and/or preventing the performance of the edge exposure tool from drifting out of tolerance, which may maintain the operation performance of the edge exposure tool and reduce the likelihood of wafer scratching, and may reduce the down-time of the edge exposure tool that would otherwise be caused by cleaning and calibration of the edge exposure lens.

Abstract: A method of overlay error measurement includes disposing a reference pattern module over a substrate. The substrate includes first and second overlay measurement patterns in first and second locations. The reference pattern module includes first and second reference patterns. The method includes creating a first overlap of the first reference pattern with the first overlay measurement pattern and a second overlap of the second reference pattern with the second overlay measurement pattern. The method further includes determining a first overlay error between the first reference pattern of the reference pattern module and the first overlay measurement pattern of the substrate and determining a second overlay error between the second reference pattern and the second overlay measurement pattern. The method also includes determining a total overlay error between the first and second overlay measurement patterns of the substrate based on the first and second overlay errors.

Abstract: A method for a lithography exposure process is provided. The method includes irradiating a target droplet with a laser beam to create an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light. The method further includes reflecting the EUV light with a collector. The method also includes discharging a cleaning gas over the collector through a gas distributor positioned next to the collector. A portion of the cleaning gas is converted to free radicals before the cleaning gas leaves the gas distributor, and the free radicals are discharged over the collector along with the cleaning gas.

Abstract: A method including obtaining (i) measurements of a parameter of the feature, (ii) data related to a process variable of a patterning process, (iii) a functional behavior of the parameter defined as a function of the process variable based on the measurements of the parameter and the data related to the process variable, (iv) measurements of a failure rate of the feature, and (v) a probability density function of the process variable for a setting of the process variable, converting the probability density function of the process variable to a probability density function of the parameter based on a conversion function, where the conversion function is determined based on the function of the process variable, and determining a parameter limit of the parameter based on the probability density function of the parameter and the measurements of the failure rate.

Abstract: Some implementations described herein provide an exposure tool and associated methods of operation in which a scanner control system generates a scanner route for an exposure recipe such that the distance traveled by a substrate stage of the exposure tool along the scanner route is reduced and/or optimized for non-exposure fields on a semiconductor substrate. In this way, the scanner control system increases the productivity of the exposure tool, reduces processing times of the exposure tool, and increases yield in a semiconductor fabrication facility in which the exposure tool is included.

Abstract: An immersion lithographic apparatus is disclosed in which at least a part of the liquid supply system (which provides liquid between the projection system and the substrate) is moveable in a plane substantially parallel to a top surface of the substrate during scanning. The part is moved to reduce the relative velocity between that part and the substrate so that the speed at which the substrate may be moved relative to the projection system may be increased.

Abstract: A lithography system includes a table body, a wafer stage, a first sliding member, a second sliding member, a first cable, a first bracket, a rail guide, and a first protective film. The first sliding member is coupled to the wafer stage. The second sliding member is coupled to an edge of the table body, in which the first sliding member is coupled to a track of the second sliding member. The first bracket fixes the first cable, the first bracket being coupled to a roller structure, in which the roller structure includes a body and a wheel coupled to the body. The rail guide confines a movement of the wheel of the roller structure. The first protective film is adhered to a surface of the rail guide, in which the roller structure is moveable along the first protective film on the surface of the rail guide.