IP Library Granted Patent US 9,874,819
Granted Patent B2
US 9,874,819 · App. 15/226,358 · Granted Jan 23, 2018

Mirror array

Inventors: Stig Bieling (Aalen, DE); Markus Hauf (Ulm, DE); Lars Wischmeier (Aalen, DE); Fabian Haacker (Aalen, DE); Martin Endres (Koenigsbronn, DE); Johannes Eisenmenger (Ulm, DE)
Assignee: Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH
G03F7/702G02B5/09G02B26/0833G03F7/70075G03F7/70116G03F7/70291
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,874,819
App. No.
15/226,358
Granted
Jan 23, 2018
Kind
B2
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.

Claims (53)

1. A mirror array, comprising:

a multiplicity of displaceable individual mirrors which are divided into at least first and second groups so that:

the individual mirrors which are displaceable with a relative accuracy better than 1:100 belong to the first group; and

the individual mirrors which are displaceable with a switching time of less than 100 milliseconds belong to the second group,

wherein, for each individual mirror, the mirror does not belong to both the first and second groups.

2. The mirror array of claim 1 , wherein the individual mirrors of the second group are configured to be displaced via pure feedforward control.

3. The mirror array of claim 1 , wherein the individual mirrors of the second group are arranged along one straight line.

4. The mirror array of claim 1 , wherein the individual mirrors of the second group are arranged along two straight lines.

5. The mirror array of claim 1 , wherein the individual mirrors of the second group comprise from 0.1% to 10% of an overall number of the individual mirrors.

6. A component, comprising:

a multiplicity of mirror arrays according to claim 1 ,

wherein the component is an optical component.

7. The component of claim 6 , wherein the groupings of the individual mirrors are the same on each mirror array.

8. An optical unit, comprising:

an optical component,

wherein the optical component comprises a multiplicity of mirror arrays according to claim 1 , and the optical unit is an illumination optical unit.

9. A system, comprising:

an illumination optical unit comprising an optical component; and

an illumination source,

wherein the optical component comprises a multiplicity of mirror arrays according to claim 1 , and the system is an illumination system.

10. An apparatus, comprising:

an illumination optical unit comprising an optical component; and

a projection optical unit,

wherein the optical component comprises a multiplicity of mirror arrays according to claim 1 , and the apparatus is a projection exposure apparatus.

11. A mirror, comprising:

an optical component,

wherein the optical component comprises a multiplicity of mirror arrays according to claim 1 , and the mirror is a facet mirror.

12. The mirror of claim 11 , wherein the groupings of the individual mirrors are the same on each mirror array.

13. An optical unit, comprising:

a facet mirror comprising an optical component,

wherein the optical component comprises a multiplicity of mirror arrays according to claim 1 , and the optical unit is an illumination optical unit.

14. A system, comprising:

an illumination optical unit comprising a facet mirror; and

an illumination source,

wherein the facet mirror comprises a multiplicity of mirror arrays according to claim 1 , and the system is an illumination system.

15. An apparatus, comprising:

an illumination optical unit comprising a facet mirror; and

a projection optical unit,

wherein the facet mirror comprises a multiplicity of mirror arrays according to claim 1 , and the apparatus is a projection exposure apparatus.

16. A method of illuminating an object field, the method comprising:

providing a facet mirror comprising an optical component, the optical component comprising a multiplicity of mirror arrays according to claim 1 ;

determining positioning of the individual mirrors of the mirror array in a manner dependent on a predetermined illumination setting;

determining subsets of the individual mirrors of the mirror array to assign to the second group for each predetermined illumination setting, in each case to correct illumination of the object field; and

assigning a subset of the individual mirrors of the mirror array to the second group.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

using an illumination optical unit comprising the facet mirror to illuminate structures of a reticle located in the object plane; and

using a projection optical unit to project illuminated structures of the reticle onto a light sensitive material in an image plane of the projection optical unit.

18. The mirror array of claim 1 , the individual mirrors of the second group are displaceable with a switching time of less than 30 milliseconds.

19. The mirror array of claim 1 , the individual mirrors of the second group are displaceable with a switching time of less than 10 milliseconds.

20. The mirror array of claim 1 , the individual mirrors of the second group are displaceable with a switching time of less than three milliseconds.

21. The mirror array of claim 1 , wherein the individual mirrors of the second group are configured to correct a deviation of a measured deviation of an uniformity of the illumination radiation from a predetermined value.

22. The mirror array of claim 1 , wherein subsets of the individual mirrors of at least one member selected from the group consisting of the first group and the second group define facets of a field facet mirror.

23. The method of claim 16 , further comprising correcting a deviation of a measured uniformity from a predetermined value by switching a subset of the individual mirrors.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 19, 2016
From: BIELING, STIG; HAUF, MARKUS; WISCHMEIER, LARS; HAACKER, FABIAN; ENDRES, MARTIN; EISENMENGER, JOHANNES
To: CARL ZEISS SMT GMBH
Reel/Frame 039480/0629 →
Priority Claims (1)
DE 10 2014 203 189 · Feb 21, 2014 · national
Continuity (2)
Continuation In Part PCTEP2015053287 · Feb 17, 2015
Related Publication 20160342095A1 · Nov 24, 2016