EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT GENERATION APPARATUS

• US 20190320521A1
• Filed: 06/26/2019
• Published: 10/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gigaphoton, Inc. (Komatsu)
• Original Assignee: Gigaphoton, Inc. (Komatsu)
• Inventors: TAKAYAMA, Akihiro
• Granted Patent: US 10,716,198 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/20 Exposure; Apparatus therefor photographic printing apparatus for making copies G03B27/00
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70033 by plasma extreme ultraviolet [EUV] sources
• CPC Class Codes: G21K 5/10 with provision for relative movement of beam source and object to be irradiated
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/005 Optical devices external to the laser cavity, specially adapted for lasers, e.g. for homogenisation of the beam or for manipulating laser pulses, e.g. pulse shaping shaping laser beam for working metal or other materials B23K26/06; optical elements, systems or apparatus in general G02B
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/02 Constructional details housings or packages of fibre lasers H01S3/06704
• CPC Class Codes: H05G 2/003 the plasma being generated from a material in a liquid or gas state
• CPC Class Codes: H05G 2/008 involving an energy-carrying beam in the process of plasma generation

Abstract

An extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus includes: a chamber; an optical unit; a chamber reference member including a housing space in which the optical unit is housed; a height positioning mechanism configured to position, at a predetermined installation position in the housing space, the optical unit to a predetermined installation height while contacting a first part of the optical unit; and a movement mechanism configured to linearly move the optical unit in the horizontal direction in the housing space while keeping the optical unit at a guide height, and including a guide member and a retraction part, wherein the guide height of the optical unit while being guided to move toward the installation position by the guide surface is substantially equal to the installation height.

Claims

1. An extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus comprising:

A. a chamber in which extreme ultraviolet light is generated by a target substance being irradiated with a laser beam to generate plasma from the target substance;

B. an optical unit including a laser beam introduction optical system for introducing the laser beam into the chamber;

C. a chamber reference member supporting the chamber and including a housing space in which the optical unit is housed;

D. a height positioning mechanism configured to position, at a predetermined installation position in the housing space, the optical unit to a predetermined installation height while contacting a first part of the optical unit; and

E. a movement mechanism configured to linearly move the optical unit in the horizontal direction in the housing space while keeping the optical unit at a guide height, and including a guide member provided with a guide surface that guides the optical unit to the installation position while contacting a second part of the optical unit, and a retraction part that is provided to the guide member and to which the second part is retracted from the guide surface when the optical unit reaches the installation position, the guide height of the optical unit while being guided to move toward the installation position by the guide surface being substantially equal to the installation height.

2. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second part is a rotational body that rotates while contacting the guide surface.

3. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the guide member is a rail extending in a moving direction in which the optical unit is guided.

4. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

three or more of the rotational bodies are arrayed in the moving direction,

disposition pitch of the rotational bodies has unequal intervals, and

a number of the retraction parts is equal to a number of the rotational bodies, and the retraction parts are disposed at positions facing the respective rotational bodies of the optical unit at the installation position.

5. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the optical unit includes an attachment mount to which the laser beam introduction optical system is fixed.

6. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the retraction part is a bottomed recess formed at the rail.

7. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the retraction part is a bottomless gap formed at the rail.

8. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the rotational body is disposed on both sides of the attachment mount in a width direction orthogonal to the moving direction, and

the rail is disposed on a sidewall of the housing space.

9. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the rotational body is disposed on a lower surface of the attachment mount, and

the rail is disposed on a bottom surface of the housing space.

10. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the first part is a caster provided to the attachment mount, and

the height positioning mechanism includes a mount on which the caster is placed.

11. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

F;

a horizontal direction positioning mechanism configured to perform, at the installation position, positioning of the optical unit in an X direction that is the moving direction of the optical unit guided by the movement mechanism, and in a Y direction that is orthogonal to the X direction and is a width direction of the optical unit.

12. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 11, wherein

the horizontal direction positioning mechanism includes:

an abutment pin disposed in the housing space and configured to regulate movement of the attachment mount in the X direction when contacting a first end part of the attachment mount; and

a pressing portion configured to press the attachment mount against the abutment pin from a second end part opposite to the first end part in the X direction.

13. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 12, wherein

two of the abutment pins are disposed at an interval in the Y direction, and

the attachment mount includes two abutment blocks that contact the respective two abutment pins.

14. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 13, wherein

the two abutment pins each have a circular horizontal sectional shape,

one of the abutment blocks is a V-shaped block having a V-groove horizontal sectional shape at a contact part that contacts the corresponding abutment pin, and

the other of the abutment blocks is a flat block having a plane shape at a contact part that contacts the corresponding abutment pin.

15. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 14, wherein two of the pressing portions are disposed at positions facing the respective two abutment pins in the X direction.

16. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the pressing portion includes a coil spring.

17. The extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the attachment mount is provided with a housing unit in which the coil spring is housed.