Patterning device, method of providing a patterning device, photolithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method
US7771896B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 22, 2006 |
| Grant date | Aug 10, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 29, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG21K2201/067
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A patterning device for a photolithographic apparatus is used to form a patterned radiation beam, by imparting a cross-sectional pattern to the radiation beam during reflection from the patterning device. The patterning device comprises a layer of phase-change material that is capable of locally undergoing an induced structural phase change into respective ones of a plurality of stable and/or metastable states. Furthermore, the patterning device comprises a radiation reflective structure with periodically arranged layers adjacent to the layer of phase-change material. The radiation reflective structures do not partake in the phase changes. By locally changing the phase of the phase-change material, the reflectivity of the whole structure is modified, for example due to thickness changes in the layer of phase-change material that lead to destructive interference of different components of the reflected light or due to changes in surface roughness of the radiation reflective structure.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.