EUV Pupil Facet Rendering for NILS and Pattern Quality
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
EUV lithography devices face performance deterioration due to limitations in the degree of freedom of the pupil, leading to rapid normalized image log slope (NILS) reduction and wafer pattern deterioration, especially when hardware structures differ from DUV lithography devices.
Innovation Solution
An operating method for EUV lithography devices that involves rendering a pupil facet mirror (PFM) by considering the status of equipment, including obtaining position matching, aberration, and optical performance information to optimize pupil facet selection and replacement based on target images and equipment deterioration detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If conventional DUV lithography hardware structures are used in EUV lithography, then device complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to limitations in pupil degree of freedom and rapid NILS reduction
Solution Approach 1:
The pupil facet mirror is divided into multiple individually controllable pupil facets, each capable of independent adjustment. This segmentation allows precise control over the pupil function to maintain manufacturing precision while adapting to equipment status, resolving the contradiction between hardware complexity and pattern quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts pupil facet configurations based on real-time equipment status and aberration information. This dynamic adaptation enables the lithography device to maintain optimal manufacturing precision despite hardware limitations, preventing rapid NILS reduction while managing device complexity through software-controlled flexibility.
2Productivity
If pupil facet mirror rendering is performed without considering equipment status, then processing speed is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to unaccounted aberrations and equipment deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary measurement and characterization of equipment aberrations and pupil intensity distributions before rendering. This preliminary action captures equipment status information that is then used to guide the rendering process, ensuring manufacturing precision is maintained without significantly sacrificing processing speed through efficient pre-computation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by measuring actual equipment status (aberrations, pupil intensity) and using this information to adjust the rendering process. This closed-loop approach ensures that manufacturing precision is maintained by compensating for equipment deterioration and aberrations while managing computational efficiency through targeted feedback mechanisms.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If equipment deterioration is not monitored, then measurement complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to uncorrected aberrations and intensity variations
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-diagnosis by measuring its own equipment status (aberrations, pupil intensity distributions) using integrated measurement capabilities. This self-service approach enables the lithography device to monitor its own deterioration and adjust accordingly, maintaining manufacturing precision without requiring complex external monitoring systems.
Data Source
AI summary
An operating method of an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography device includes obtaining a target image, obtaining position matching information between field facets included in a field facet mirror (FFM) and pupil facets included in a pupil facet mirror (PFM), obtaining information of a pupil intensity of the pupil facets of the PFM, and performing rendering of one or more individually selectable pupil facets of the PFM based on the position matching information, the target image, and the pupil intensity.