In deep ultra violet (DUV) lithography, the thermal deformation of the reticle reduces the quality of the reticle pattern transferred to the silicon wafer, and also causes errors in the image quality measurement of the projection objective. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a physical model to study the thermal deformation rule of reticle, so as to provide theoretical support for the development of reticle thermal deformation correction method. This paper employs finite element method (FEM) simulations to investigate DUV lithographic reticle thermal deformation. Results show that under 263.7 W/m² irradiation, reticle temperature and deformation increase, reaching dynamic equilibrium. Maximum equilibrium temperature is 302 K; reticle deformation equilibrium values (Δxr, Δyr) at maximum field of view (FOV) are (21 nm, −18 nm). This work highlights the intricate interaction between thermal forces and reticle deformation, emphasizing the need to manage these effects for lithography. Such insights are crucial for advancing semiconductor fabrication processes.
The accuracy of the shear-phase retrieval method is critical for accurate wavefront aberration measurements in double-grating Ronchi lateral shearing interferometry. Currently, the suppression of the interferences of unwanted diffractions generated by the Ronchi grating at the image plane is eliminated by adding more phase shifts, which increases the measurement time. Here, a stepped phase-shifting algorithm is proposed to suppress the unwanted diffractions and retrieve the shear phase between ±1st orders accurately with fewer phase shifts, and the measurement efficiency can be increased by 25% at least. The minimum number of phase shifts, which depends on the high diffraction orders existing in the interferograms, is analyzed. The proposed method was verified via numerical simulations and experiments. The wavefront measurement was validated via a comparison with the results of point-diffracted interferometry, and the root-mean-square difference was within 2.0 nm.
Magnification and distortion are two important parameters for high-precision imaging systems. Point diffraction interferometers (PDIs) can measure the magnification, distortion, and wavefront aberration of imaging systems with high precision. However, determining the precise pinhole alignment of the classical PDI is difficult. A new method for measurement of the magnification and distortion based on a dual-fiber point diffraction interferometer (DFPDI) is proposed. The end faces of two fibers are placed on the object plane of the optics under test and imaged to the image plane. The distance between the image points in the x and y directions are proportional to the Z2 and Z3 Zernike coefficients of the wavefront measurement result, respectively. The measurements of the image placement shift and precise alignment of the point diffraction pinhole are realized rapidly with high accuracy. The feasibility of the method is verified experimentally. The wavefront aberration, magnification, and distortion of a 5 × reduction lens with numerical aperture (NA) of 0.3 is measured jointly. The measurement uncertainties (3σ) of the magnification in the x and y directions and distortion are 756 ppm, 793 ppm, and 0.233 μm, respectively. Error analysis shows that the position error of the object- and image-plane stages is the main error source. An improved measurement scheme with a pinhole–pinhole pairs array in the object plane and a pinhole–window pairs array in the image plane is proposed. The influence of the position errors of the stages is eliminated with optimized measurement procedure. The DFPDI’s measurement repeatability (3σ) of the Z2 and Z3 coefficients is 0.65 and 0.33 nm, respectively, corresponding measurement uncertainties (3σ) of the magnification (in the x and y directions) and distortion can reach 1.88 ppm, 1.69 ppm, and 0.812 nm, respectively.
We propose a noncontact method for measuring the cone angle of an axicon. A microscanning stage moves the axicon being tested while a Fizeau interferometer is recording the scanning interferograms. The cone angle is measured accurately with the axial moving distance and the phase change calculated from interference fringe counting. Numerical analysis discusses the influence of standard deviation of the interference fringe count and the standard deviation of the scanning distance. Three methods for systematic error calibration are also proposed. This approach can measure both concave and convex axicons with a cone angle in the range of 96.4 deg to 170 deg. The measurable diameter of the axicon exceeds 100 mm. The spatial distribution of cone angle can be obtained with a resolution from 300 μm to 1 mm. The theoretical measurement accuracy is better than 10″ when the scanning distance is 1000 μm, and the positioning error is <10 nm. Experiments have been carried out to prove the feasibility of the proposed method, a 140-deg convex axicon is measured, and the measurement repeatability is ∼6 ″ .
Nonflatness of stage mirror surface affects the position accuracy of the wafer stage in lithography tool. Precise surface flatness measurement is needed for the computer controlled polishing of stage mirror. A subaperture stitching system using a commercial 4-inch Fizeau interferometer was presented in this paper. Absolute test was used to calibrate the surface figure of the reference mirror with the accuracy better than λ/100 PV (λ = 632.8nm). Subaperture stitching was used to extend the measurement aperture larger than 450×50mm. Stitching measurements were carried out for stage mirrors during surface polishing. Comparison tests were also made with a 24-inch interferometer. The results show that the stitching system has the advantages of larger dynamic range, higher spatial resolution, and better measurement accuracy in local area.
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