Intrinsic Birefringence in Crystalline Optical Materials for 193 nm and 157 nm Lithography

Published

December 1, 2001

Author(s)

John H. Burnett, Zachary H. Levine, Eric L. Shirley

Abstract

lcium fluoride (CaF2) and other crystalline fluoride materials are beingexploited for latest-generation lithography optics, making up a significantcomponent of the optics of 193nm lithography systems and potentially theexclusive optical materials for 157nm systems. Improvements in thecrystalline material quality seemed to have brought the most troublingmaterial property, stress-induced birefringence, intospecification. However, we have recently shown that these materials alsohave a completely overlooked intrinsic birefringence far overspecifications. This has significant implications for lithography systemdesign and performance, especially for 157nm lithography. We discuss theeffect, its impact on lithography optics, and how system designers areattempting to compensate for the effect.

Citation

Semiconductors

Volume

15

Issue

Sect. 6

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

157 nm Lithography, BaF2, barium fluoride, birefringence, CaF2, calcium fluoride

Citation

Burnett, J. , Levine, Z. and Shirley, E. (2001), Intrinsic Birefringence in Crystalline Optical Materials for 193 nm and 157 nm Lithography, Semiconductors (Accessed May 4, 2024)