Optical apparatus

• US 6,999,172 B2
• Filed: 10/25/2002
• Issued: 02/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Miyake, Akira, Masaki, Fumitaro
• Primary Examiner(s): Toatley, Jr., Gregory J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Sang H.
• Application Number:
  US10/280,806
• Publication Number:
  US 20030081210A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,208 Days
• Field of Search: 356364-370, 356/445, 250/225, 250/208.1, 250/201.3, 250/201.5, 359245-246, 359/483, 359/487, 359833-834, 359/488, 359/559, 359613-614, 359/240
• US Class Current: 356/364
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/21 Polarisation-affecting properties G01N21/19 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 23/20 by using diffraction of the radiation by the materials, e.g. for investigating crystal structure; by using scattering of the radiation by the materials, e.g. for investigating non-crystalline materials; by using reflection of the radiation by the materials
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70566 Polarisation control

Abstract

An optical apparatus that measures a polarization dependent characteristic of a measured object includes a light source for emitting non-linearly polarized light in an extreme ultraviolet region or an X-ray region, and a rotary polarizer for reflecting the light emitted from the light source, the polarizer including a set of mirrors repeating three or more reflections and being arranged such that an optical axis of incident light and that of outgoing light are aligned with the same straight line.

Claims

1. An optical apparatus that measures a characteristic of an optical element, said optical apparatus comprising:

a polarizer configured to emit predetermined linearly polarized light to be incident upon the optical element by reflecting, at least three times, non-polarized light incident upon said polarizer in an extreme ultraviolet region or an X-ray region;

a driving mechanism configured to rotate said polarizer around a predetermined rotational axis, said driving mechanism enabling said polarizer to form two linearly polarized lights having two polarized directions that are orthogonal to each other; and

a detector configured to receive light from the optical element,

wherein the incident light that is incident upon said polarizer and outgoing light that is emitted from said polarizer travel along the rotating axis.

2. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said polarizer is retractable from a light path of the incident light.

3. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an optical system, between said polarizer and the optical element, configured to make said polarizer and the optical element be substantially conjugate.

4. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said polarizer is arranged close to the optical element.

5. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light source is an LPP light source.

6. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a monochrometer for introducing to the polarizer light having a desired wavelength among the light from the light source.

7. An optical apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said polarizer includes a multilayer mirror that has a multilayer coating having a predetermined thickness distribution, and moves in accordance with the wavelength of the light from the monochrometer.

8. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic of the optical element is reflectance.

9. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic of the optical element is a photoelectron spectrum of the optical element.

10. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the polarizer reflects the incident light at a Brewster angle.

11. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optical element is a multilayer mirror.

12. An optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said optical apparatus has:

a first mode for detecting light via the optical element when one of the two linearly polarized lights is incidence to the optical element; and

a second mode for detecting light via the optical element when other of the two linearly polarized lights is incidence to the optical element.

13. An optical element whose a characteristic is measured by using an optical apparatus that measures characteristics of said optical element, the optical apparatus comprising a polarizer configured to emit predetermined linearly polarized light to be incident upon the optical element by reflecting, at least three times, non-polarized light incident upon said polarizer in an extreme ultraviolet region or an X-ray region a driving mechanism configured to rotate said polarizer around a predetermined rotational axis, said driving mechanism enabling said polarizer to form two linearly polarized lights having two polarized directions that are orthogonal to each other, and a detector configured to receive light from the optical element, wherein the incident light that is incident upon said polarizer and outgoing light that is emitted from said polarizer travel along the rotating axis.

14. An optical element according to claim 13, wherein the optical element is a mirror, diffraction grating, an optical film, a light integrator, or a combination thereof.

15. An exposure apparatus for irradiating exposure light to a target via an optical system including an optical element whose a characteristic is measured by using an optical apparatus that measures characteristics of said optical element, the optical apparatus comprising a polarizer configured to emit predetermined linearly polarized light to be incident upon the optical element by reflecting, at least three times, non-polarized light incident upon said polarizer in an extreme ultraviolet region or an X-ray region a driving mechanism configured to rotate said polarizer around a predetermined rotational axis, said driving mechanism enabling said polarizer to form two linearly polarized lights having two polarized directions that are orthogonal to each other, and a detector configured to receive light from the optical element, wherein the incident light that is incident upon said polarizer and outgoing light that is emitted from said polarizer travel along the rotating axis, the characteristic measured being more than a specified value.

16. A device fabricating method comprising the steps of:

exposing a target using an exposure apparatus that irradiates exposure light to an object to be exposed via an optical system including an optical element whose a characteristic is measured by using an optical apparatus that measures characteristics of said optical element, the optical apparatus comprising a polarizer configured to emit predetermined linearly polarized light to be incident upon the optical element by reflecting, at least three times, non-polarized light incident upon said polarizer in an extreme ultraviolet region or an X-ray region a driving mechanism configured to rotate said polarizer around a predetermined rotational axis, said driving mechanism enabling said polarizer to form two linearly polarized lights having two polarized directions that are orthogonal to each other, and a detector configured to receive light from the optical element, wherein the incident light that is incident upon said polarizer and outgoing light that is emitted from said polarizer travel along the rotating axis, the characteristic measured being more than specified values; and

performing a predetermined process for the target exposed.