Wafer chamber having a gas curtain for extreme-UV lithography
US6198792A · kind A · utility
17Cited by
3References
25Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 6, 1998 |
| Grant date | Mar 6, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 6, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG03F7/70908
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An EUVL device includes a wafer chamber that is separated from the upstream optics by a barrier having an aperture that is permeable to the inert gas. Maintaining an inert gas curtain in the proximity of a wafer positioned in a chamber of an extreme ultraviolet lithography device can effectively prevent contaminants from reaching the optics in an extreme ultraviolet photolithography device even though solid window filters are not employed between the source of reflected radiation, e.g., the camera, and the wafer. The inert gas removes the contaminants by entrainment.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.