Patent · US Expired

Apparatus and method for the improvement of illumination uniformity in photolithographic systems

US6262795A · kind A · utility

6Cited by
6References
25Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 28, 1998
Grant dateJul 17, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 28, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG03F7/70191
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

An apparatus for forming a pattern in a photoresist material includes a light source to provide light for illuminating a portion of the photoresist material according to the pattern and a filter positioned in a path of the light. The filter includes a number of regions upon which a filtering material has been. The filtering material has a variable characteristic that is independently adjustable for each region to enhance the uniformity of the intensity of the light. Such characteristics include the thickness of the filtering material, the size of the portion of the region that is covered by the filtering material, or a voltage, current, electric field, or magnetic field applied to the filtering material of each region.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.