Method of generating extremely short-wave radiation, method of manufacturing a device by means of said radiation, extremely short-wave radiation source unit and lithographic projection apparatus provided with such a radiation source unit

• Main Author: BISSCHOPS, THEODORUS HUBERTUS JOSEPHUS
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 01.11.2002
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; ELECTROGRAPHY; GAMMA RAY OR X-RAY MICROSCOPES; HOLOGRAPHY; IRRADIATION DEVICES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; NANOTECHNOLOGY; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING; NUCLEAR PHYSICS; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHOTOGRAPHY; PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES,e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTORDEVICES; PHYSICS; PLASMA TECHNIQUE; PRODUCTION OF ACCELERATED ELECTRICALLY-CHARGED PARTICLES OR OFNEUTRONS; PRODUCTION OR ACCELERATION OF NEUTRAL MOLECULAR OR ATOMICBEAMS; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; TECHNIQUES FOR HANDLING PARTICLES OR IONISING RADIATION NOTOTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; TRANSPORTING; X-RAY TECHNIQUE

A method of generating EUV radiation is described, comprising the steps of: transporting a solid medium (33) through a source space (34) connected to a vacuum pump (35), and irradiating a portion (37) of the medium with an intense, pulsed, laser beam (41) focused on said portion of the medium, thus creating a plasma (47) which emits EUV radiation To increase the intensity of the EUV radiation and improve the possibility to collect particles (51, 52, 53) released from the medium, at least the medium portions (37) to be irradiated have a concave shape. The method can be improved by embedding the medium in a flow of rare gas. Also described are a EUV radiation source unit for realizing the method and the application of the method in the manufacture of devices such as IC devices, and in a lithographic projection apparatus.