Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing mirror shells of a nested shells grazing incidence mirror, in particular for EUV radiation and/or X-rays. In the method a blank of a bulk material is provided and machined to form a mirror body of the shell. Mechanical structures are integrated and/or attached to the mirror body during and/or after the machining step. The mechanical structures are required for mounting and/or operating the mirror shells. After these steps the optical surface is formed on the mirror body by diamond turning. The proposed method allows the manufacturing of mirror shells of a nested shells grazing incidence mirror at low costs with high optical quality which may also be refurbished one or several times.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing mirror shells of a nested shells grazing incidence mirror, in particular for EUV radiation and/or X-rays. In the method a blank of a bulk material is provided and machined to form a mirror body of the shell. Mechanical structures are integrated and/or attached to the mirror body during and/or after the machining step. The mechanical structures are required for mounting and/or operating the mirror shells. After these steps the optical surface is formed on the mirror body by diamond turning. The proposed method allows the manufacturing of mirror shells of a nested shells grazing incidence mirror at low costs with high optical quality which may also be refurbished one or several times.

Abstract: Spatial acquisition of measurement data over a cross section of a high-energy, high-intensity radiation beam bundle without impairment of measuring accuracy due to saturation or degradation of detectors occurs by imaging an entire cross section of the beam bundle on a shading element, the cross section being separated successively into partial beam bundles having reduced cross sections and reduced intensity through movement of at least one opening, whereby measurement values of the partial beam bundles passing the opening are associated temporally and spatially with positions of the opening.

Abstract: The invention is related to a gas discharge-based radiation source which emits short-wavelength radiation, wherein an emitter is ionized and compressed by pulse-shaped currents between two electrodes arranged in a vacuum chamber and is excited to form an emitting plasma. According to the invention, the plasma is preserved by means of a high-frequency sequence of pulse-shaped currents the pulse repetition period of which is adjusted so as to be shorter than a lifetime of the plasma so that the plasma is kept periodically alternating between a high-energy state of an emitting compressed plasma and a low-energy state of a relaxing plasma. For exciting the relaxing plasma to the compressed plasma, excitation energy is coupled into the relaxing plasma by making use of pulse-shaped currents with repetition frequencies between 50 kHz and 4 MHz and pulse widths equal to the pulse repetition period.

Abstract: The invention is related to the adjustment of characteristics of a beam bundle of high-energy radiation emitted from a plasma, particularly for applications in semiconductor lithography. For acquiring and adjusting characteristics of a beam bundle of high-energy radiation emitted from a plasma and focused by means of collector optics, an intensity distribution of the radiation is acquired over the cross section of a convergent beam bundle in a measuring plane perpendicular to the optical axis in front of an intermediate focus of the collector optics, and intensity values are recorded in defined sectors for a quantity of reception regions of a measuring device which are aligned with different radii concentric to the optical axis, and measured quantities and control variables are determined from a comparison of the intensity values of different sectors for aligning the collector optics.

Abstract: The invention is related to the adjustment of characteristics of a beam bundle of high-energy radiation emitted from a plasma, particularly for applications in semiconductor lithography. For acquiring and adjusting characteristics of a beam bundle of high-energy radiation emitted from a plasma and focused by means of collector optics, an intensity distribution of the radiation is acquired over the cross section of a convergent beam bundle in a measuring plane perpendicular to the optical axis in front of an intermediate focus of the collector optics, and intensity values are recorded in defined sectors for a quantity of reception regions of a measuring device which are aligned with different radii concentric to the optical axis, and measured quantities and control variables are determined from a comparison of the intensity values of different sectors for aligning the collector optics.

Abstract: The invention is related to a gas discharge-based radiation source which emits short-wavelength radiation, wherein an emitter is ionized and compressed by pulse-shaped currents between two electrodes arranged in a vacuum chamber and is excited to form an emitting plasma. According to the invention, the plasma is preserved by means of a high-frequency sequence of pulse-shaped currents the pulse repetition period of which is adjusted so as to be shorter than a lifetime of the plasma so that the plasma is kept periodically alternating between a high-energy state of an emitting compressed plasma and a low-energy state of a relaxing plasma. For exciting the relaxing plasma to the compressed plasma, excitation energy is coupled into the relaxing plasma by making use of pulse-shaped currents with repetition frequencies between 50 kHz and 4 MHz and pulse widths equal to the pulse repetition period.

Abstract: The invention is directed to methods and arrangements for spatial acquisition of measurement data over the cross section of a bundle of high-energy, high-intensity radiation. The object of finding a novel possibility for radiation measurement within the cross section of a beam bundle of high intensity which acquires highly spatially resolved measurement data without impairment of the measuring accuracy through saturation or degradation of the detectors is met according to the invention in that the entire cross section of the beam bundle is imaged on a shading element, the cross section is separated successively into partial beam bundles having reduced cross section and reduced intensity through movement of at least one opening, and measurement values of the partial beam bundles passing the opening are acquired so as to be associated temporally and spatially with the positions of the opening and are stored.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a method for operating plasma-based short-wavelength radiation sources, particularly EUV radiation sources, having a long lifetime and to an arrangement for generating plasma-based short-wavelength radiation. It is the object of the invention to find a novel possibility for operating plasma-based short-wavelength radiation sources with a long lifetime which permits extensive debris mitigation without the main process of radiation generation being severely impaired through the use of buffer gas and without the need for substantial additional expenditure for generating partial pressure in a spatially narrowly limited manner.

Abstract: The object of the invention is to provide a transmission filter for EUV radiation which has a sufficiently narrow transmission window to characterize EUV radiation in a narrowly defined spectral region. This object is met by providing a transmission layer system having at least one uranium-containing layer.

Abstract: The object of the invention is to provide a transmission filter for EUV radiation which has a sufficiently narrow transmission window to characterize EUV radiation in a narrowly defined spectral region. This object is met by providing a transmission layer system having at least one uranium-containing layer.

Abstract: In an arrangement for determining the spectral reflectivity of a measurement object, the object of the invention is to provide a simpler and more compact measuring arrangement, to eliminate the removal of elements from the beam path for detecting the reference beam, which was formally necessary, and to avoid complex translational and rotational movements. Different beam areas proceeding from the radiation source serve as measurement beam and reference beam which are directed simultaneously to different spectrally dispersing areas of at least one dispersive element and to different receiver areas of at least one receiver in a spectrograph. Preferred measurement objects are surfaces which reflect in a spectrally-dependent manner for radiation in the extreme ultraviolet range (EUV), but application of the arrangement is not limited to this spectral region.