Patents by Inventor Lars WISCHMEIER

Lars WISCHMEIER has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11720028
    Abstract: A measurement illumination optical unit guides illumination light into an object field of a projection exposure apparatus for EUV lithography. The illumination optical unit has a field facet mirror with a plurality of field facets and a pupil facet mirror with a plurality of pupil facets. The latter serve for overlaid imaging in the object field of field facet images of the field facets. A field facet imaging channel of the illumination light is guided via any one field facet and any one pupil facet. A field stop specifies a field boundary of an illumination field in the object plane. The illumination field has a greater extent along one field dimension than any one of the field facet images. At least some of the field facets include tilt actuators which help guide the illumination light into the illumination field via various field facets and one and the same pupil facet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas Fischer, Lars Wischmeier, Michael Patra, Hubert Holderer
  • Publication number: 20220057717
    Abstract: A measurement illumination optical unit guides illumination light into an object field of a projection exposure apparatus for EUV lithography. The illumination optical unit has a field facet mirror with a plurality of field facets and a pupil facet mirror with a plurality of pupil facets. The latter serve for overlaid imaging in the object field of field facet images of the field facets. A field facet imaging channel of the illumination light is guided via any one field facet and any one pupil facet. A field stop specifies a field boundary of an illumination field in the object plane. The illumination field has a greater extent along one field dimension than any one of the field facet images. At least some of the field facets include tilt actuators which help guide the illumination light into the illumination field via various field facets and one and the same pupil facet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2021
    Publication date: February 24, 2022
    Inventors: Thomas Fischer, Lars Wischmeier, Michael Patra, Hubert Holderer
  • Patent number: 10409167
    Abstract: A method for illuminating an object field of a projection exposure apparatus includes providing a subset of first facets to be positioned in park positions, which are each spaced apart from an associated target position, but at most by a maximum distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Endres, Johannes Eisenmenger, Stig Bieling, Markus Hauf, Lars Wischmeier, Fabian Haacker
  • Patent number: 9874819
    Abstract: A mirror array includes a multiplicity of displaceable individual mirrors which are subdivided into at least two groups. The individual mirrors of the first group are displaceable in a very precise manner, and the individual mirrors of the second group are displaceable in a very quick manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2018
    Assignee: Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH
    Inventors: Stig Bieling, Markus Hauf, Lars Wischmeier, Fabian Haacker, Martin Endres, Johannes Eisenmenger
  • Publication number: 20160342094
    Abstract: A method for illuminating an object field of a projection exposure apparatus includes providing a subset of first facets to be positioned in park positions, which are each spaced apart from an associated target position, but at most by a maximum distance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2016
    Publication date: November 24, 2016
    Inventors: Martin Endres, Johannes Eisenmenger, Stig Bieling, Markus Hauf, Lars Wischmeier, Fabian Haacker
  • Publication number: 20160342095
    Abstract: A mirror array includes a multiplicity of displaceable individual mirrors which are subdivided into at least two groups. The individual mirrors of the first group are displaceable in a very precise manner, and the individual mirrors of the second group are displaceable in a very quick manner.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2016
    Publication date: November 24, 2016
    Inventors: Stig Bieling, Markus Hauf, Lars Wischmeier, Fabian Haacker, Martin Endres, Johannes Eisenmenger
  • Patent number: 9448490
    Abstract: An EUV lithography system 1 comprises an EUV beam path and a monitor beam path 51. The EUV beam path comprises a mirror system 13, which has a base and a multiplicity of mirror elements 17 having concave mirror surfaces, the orientation of which relative to the base is respectively adjustable. The monitor beam path 51 comprises at least one monitor radiation source 53, a screen 71, the mirror system 13, which is arranged in the monitor beam path 51 between the monitor radiation source 53 and the screen 71, and a spatially resolving detector 77. In this case, each of a plurality of the mirror elements generates an image of the monitor radiation source in an image plane assigned to the respective mirror elements, distances B between the image planes assigned to the mirror elements and the screen have a maximum distance, distances A between each of the plurality of mirror elements and the image plane assigned to it have a minimum distance, and the maximum distance B is less than half of the minimum distance A.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH
    Inventors: Udo Dinger, Lars Wischmeier, Markus Hauf, Stephan Kellner, Igor Gurevich, Markus Deguenther
  • Publication number: 20130265560
    Abstract: An EUV lithography system 1 comprises an EUV beam path and a monitor beam path 51. The EUV beam path comprises a mirror system 13, which has a base and a multiplicity of mirror elements 17 having concave mirror surfaces, the orientation of which relative to the base is respectively adjustable. The monitor beam path 51 comprises at least one monitor radiation source 53, a screen 71, the mirror system 13, which is arranged in the monitor beam path 51 between the monitor radiation source 53 and the screen 71, and a spatially resolving detector 77. In this case, each of a plurality of the mirror elements generates an image of the monitor radiation source in an image plane assigned to the respective mirror elements, distances B between the image planes assigned to the mirror elements and the screen have a maximum distance, distances A between each of the plurality of mirror elements and the image plane assigned to it have a minimum distance, and the maximum distance B is less than half of the minimum distance A.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2013
    Publication date: October 10, 2013
    Inventors: Udo Dinger, Lars Wischmeier, Markus Hauf, Stephan Kellner, Igor Gurevich, Markus Deguenther
  • Publication number: 20120249985
    Abstract: A device for measuring an imaging optical system, including: a first grating pattern (6), which is positionable in a beam path upstream of the imaging optical system, having a first grating structure (16), a second grating pattern (8), which is positionable in the beam path (4) downstream of the imaging optical system, having a second grating structure (18), and a sensor unit for the spatially resolving measurement of a superposition fringe pattern produced during the imaging of the first grating structure (16) of the first grating pattern (6) onto the second grating structure (18) of the second grating pattern (8). The first grating structure (16) differs in its correction structures (17) from the second grating structure (18).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2012
    Publication date: October 4, 2012
    Applicant: CARL ZEISS SMT GMBH
    Inventors: Lars WISCHMEIER, Rolf FREIMANN