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A real-time exposure dose control algorithm for DUV excimer lasers

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Abstract

A real-time exposure dose control algorithm for deep ultraviolet (DUV) excimer lasers in a step-and-scan optical lithography is presented. By establishing an abstract scan exposure model and analyzing the pulse-to-pulse energy fluctuation characteristics of DUV excimer lasers, a real-time dose regulation is implemented based on closed-loop feedback control, which especially focuses on reducing the effect of pulse energy overshot and pulse-to-pulse stochastic fluctuation. The experiment conducted on an ArF excimer laser with wavelength of 193 nm, repetition rate of 4 kHz, and pulse energy of 5 mJ confirms that such a real-time dose control algorithm is able to achieve a dose accuracy of above 0.89% even with only 20 pulses. It is fully expected that this algorithm will not only meet increasingly stringent dose accuracy requirements for sub-half-micron lithography, but also be helpful to improve lithography throughput as well as efficiency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Shiyuan Liu, Xiaojian Wu & Xinyi Qin

Authors
  1. Shiyuan Liu
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  2. Xiaojian Wu
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  3. Xinyi Qin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shiyuan Liu.

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Translated from Acta Optica Sinica, 2006, 26(6): 878–884 [译自: 光学学报]

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Liu, S., Wu, X. & Qin, X. A real-time exposure dose control algorithm for DUV excimer lasers. Front. Optoelectron. China 1, 123–129 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12200-008-0015-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12200-008-0015-3

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