Side seal for wet lens elements
First Claim
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1. A projection optics system within an immersion lithography system comprising:
- a series of optical elements;
a wet lens element having an object-side surface, an image-side optical surface, and a non-optical surface between the object-side surface and the image-side optical surface;
a metal oxide layer on the non-optical surface;
a polyurethane liquid shield coating that covers the metal oxide coating, wherein the polyurethane liquid shield coating is configured to be in contact with a liquid such that the metal oxide coating is protected from contact with the liquid,wherein the metal oxide coating is opaque to ultra-violet wavelengths.
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Abstract
A method for protecting a wet lens element from liquid degradation is provided. The method includes applying a thin coating of an organoxy-metallic compound to the side portions of a wet lens element to leave behind an optically inert, light absorbing metal oxide film. A liquid shield coating is applied on top of the metal oxide coating. The two coating layers protect the wet lens element from liquid degradation when the side portion of the wet lens element is submerged into a liquid. In an embodiment, the wet lens element is an immersion lithography wet lens element and the liquid is an immersion lithography liquid.
34 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A projection optics system within an immersion lithography system comprising:
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a series of optical elements; a wet lens element having an object-side surface, an image-side optical surface, and a non-optical surface between the object-side surface and the image-side optical surface; a metal oxide layer on the non-optical surface; a polyurethane liquid shield coating that covers the metal oxide coating, wherein the polyurethane liquid shield coating is configured to be in contact with a liquid such that the metal oxide coating is protected from contact with the liquid, wherein the metal oxide coating is opaque to ultra-violet wavelengths. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A projection optics system, comprising:
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a series of optical elements; a wet lens element having an object-side surface, an image-side optical surface, and a non-optical surface between the object-side surface and the image-side optical surface; a metal oxide layer on the non-optical surface; a polyurethane layer on the metal oxide layer, wherein the polyurethane layer is configured to be in contact with a liquid such that the metal oxide layer is protected from contact with the liquid, wherein the metal oxide layer is opaque to ultra-violet wavelength. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A projection optics system within an immersion lithography system comprising:
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a series of optical elements; a wet lens element; a metal oxide coating that covers a side portion of the wet lens element; and a polyurethane liquid shield coating that covers the metal oxide coating, wherein the polyurethane liquid shield coating is configured to be in contact with a liquid such that the metal oxide coating is protected from contact with the liquid, and wherein the polyurethane liquid shield coating covering the metal oxide coating is pre-soaked in a pre-soak liquid prior to an exposure operation to decrease leaching of material from the polyurethane liquid shield coating.
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Specification