APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR GENERATING AN ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION

• US 20200137863A1
• Filed: 07/08/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: HSU, TZU JENG, YANG, CHI-MING, CHERN, CHYI SHYUAN, PENG, JUI-CHUN, LIU, HENG-HSIN, LIN, CHIN-HSIANG
• Granted Patent: US 11,153,957 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70033 by plasma extreme ultraviolet [EUV] sources
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70175 Lamphouse reflector arrangements or collector mirrors, i.e. collecting light from solid angle upstream of the light source
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70916 Pollution mitigation, i.e. mitigating effect of contamination or debris, e.g. foil traps
• CPC Class Codes: H05G 2/003 being produced from a liquid or gas
• CPC Class Codes: H05G 2/005 containing a metal as principal radiation generating component
• CPC Class Codes: H05G 2/008 involving a beam of energy, e.g. laser or electron beam in the process of exciting the plasma

Abstract

An electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus includes a collector, a gas supplier and a gas pipeline. The collector has a reflection surface configured to reflect an electromagnetic radiation. The collector includes a bottom portion, a perimeter portion, and a middle portion between the bottom portion and the perimeter portion. The middle portion of the collector includes a plurality of openings. The gas supplier is configured to provide a buffer gas. The gas pipeline is in communication with the gas supplier and the collector, and configured to purge the buffer gas through the openings of the middle portion to form a gas protection layer near the reflection surface of the collector. The openings of the middle portion include a plurality of holes arranged in an array including a plurality of rows of holes, or a plurality of concentric gaps.

Claims

1. An electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus, comprising:

a collector having a reflection surface configured to reflect an electromagnetic radiation, wherein the collector includes a bottom portion, a perimeter portion, and a middle portion between the bottom portion and the perimeter portion, wherein the middle portion of the collector comprises a plurality of openings;

a gas supplier configured to provide a buffer gas; and

a gas pipeline in communication with the gas supplier and the collector, and configured to purge the buffer gas through the openings of the middle portion to form a gas protection layer near the reflection surface of the collector.

2. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the openings faces a direction normal to the reflection surface of the collector.

3. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the openings of the middle portion of the collector comprises a plurality of holes arranged in an array including a plurality of rows of holes.

4. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 3, wherein the plurality of rows of holes are arranged concentrically.

5. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 3, wherein the plurality of rows of holes are substantially equally spaced, and the holes in a same row are substantially equally spaced.

6. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the openings of the middle portion of the collector comprises a plurality of gaps.

7. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 6, wherein the plurality of gaps are arranged concentrically and substantially equally spaced.

8. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the collector further comprises a bottom center hole in the bottom portion, and the gas pipeline is further in communication with the bottom center hole to purge the buffer gas through the bottom central hole.

9. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a perimeter hole in the perimeter portion of the collector, and the gas pipeline is further in communication with the perimeter hole to purge the buffer gas through the perimeter hole.

10. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 1, wherein a layout density of the openings near the bottom portion is different from a layout density of the openings near the perimeter portion.

11. An electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus, comprising:

a chamber;

a target material supplier connected to the chamber and configured to supply a target material to an excitation region;

a light source configured to emit a light beam on the target material in the excitation region to generate plasma and an electromagnetic radiation;

a collector disposed under the chamber, the collector having a reflection surface configured to reflect the electromagnetic radiation, wherein the collector comprises a plurality of holes arranged in an array including a plurality of rows of holes;

a gas supplier configured to provide a buffer gas; and

a gas pipeline in communication with the gas supplier and the holes of the collector, and configured to purge the buffer gas to the excitation region through the holes of the collector to reduce debris of the target material and plasma by-products from being deposited on the reflection surface of the collector.

12. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 11, wherein the plurality of rows of holes are arranged concentrically.

13. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 11, wherein the collector further comprises a bottom center hole, and the gas pipeline is further in communication with the bottom center hole to purge the buffer gas to the excitation region through the bottom central hole.

14. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a perimeter hole between a perimeter of the collector and the chamber, and the gas pipeline is further in communication with the perimeter hole to purge the buffer gas to the excitation region through the perimeter hole.

15. An electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus, comprising:

a chamber;

a target material supplier connected to the chamber and configured to supply a target material to an excitation region;

a light source configured to emit a light beam on the target material in the excitation region to generate plasma and an electromagnetic radiation;

a collector disposed under the chamber, the collector including a plurality of concentric ring structures and a reflection surface configured to collect and reflect the electromagnetic radiation, wherein two adjacent concentric ring structures are separated by a concentric gap;

a gas supplier configured to provide a buffer gas; and

a gas pipeline in communication with the gas supplier and the concentric gaps of the collector, and configured to purge the buffer gas to the excitation region through the concentric gaps of the collector to reduce debris of the target material and plasma by-products from being deposited on the reflection surface of the collector.

16. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 15, wherein the collector further comprises a bottom center hole, the light source emits the light beam to the excitation region through the bottom center hole, and the gas pipeline is further in communication with the bottom center hole t©

purge buffer gas to the excitation region through the bottom central hole.

17. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a perimeter hole between a perimeter of the collector and the chamber, and the gas pipeline is further in communication with the perimeter hole to purge the buffer gas to the excitation region through the perimeter hole.

18. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 17, wherein the gas pipeline comprises a plurality of sets of tubelets connected to the plurality of concentric gaps, respectively, and configured to form a turbulence in the excitation region.

19. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 18, wherein an average number of the tubelets in the concentric gap near the bottom center hole is different from an average number of the tubelets in the concentric gap near the perimeter hole.

20. The electromagnetic radiation generation apparatus of claim 18, wherein the plurality of tubelets corresponding to the same concentric gap are arranged in a spiral swirl pattern.