| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20080198353 | Projection Objective, Projection Exposure Apparatus and Reflective Reticle For Microlithography - A projection objective for microlithography serves for imaging a pattern of a mask arranged in its object surface into an image field arranged in its image surface with a demagnifying imaging scale. It has a multiplicity of optical elements arranged along the optical axis of the projection objective, the optical elements being designed and arranged in such a way that the projection objective has an imageside numerical aperture NA>0.85 and a demagnifying imaging scale where |b|<0.05, and the planar image field having a minimum image field diameter suitable for microlithography of more than 1 mm. | 08-21-2008 |
| 20080212170 | CATADIOPTRIC PROJECTION OBJECTIVE - A catadioptric projection objective for imaging a pattern provided in an object plane of the projection objective onto an image plane of the projection objective comprises: a first objective part for imaging the pattern provided in the object plane into a first intermediate image; a second objective part for imaging the first intermediate imaging into a second intermediate image; a third objective part for imaging the second intermediate imaging directly onto the image plane; | 09-04-2008 |
| 20080213703 | Imaging System With Mirror Group - An imaging system for imaging an off-axis object field arranged in an object surface of the imaging system onto an off-axis image field arranged in an image surface of the imaging system while creating at least one intermediate image has: an optical axis; an in-line mirror group having an object side mirror group entry, an image side mirror group exit and a mirror group plane aligned transversly to the optical axis and arranged geometrically between the mirror group entry and the mirror group exit, the mirror group including: a first mirror having a first mirror surface for receiving radiation coming from the object surface in a first reflecting area asymmetric to the optical axis; at least one second mirror having a second mirror surface facing the first mirror surface for receiving radiation coming from the first mirror in a second reflecting area asymmetric to the optical axis; at least one of the first and second mirrors being a concave mirror having a concave mirror surface defining a mirror axis on the optical axis; wherein the mirrors of the mirror group are arranged such that radiation coming from the mirror group entry passes at least four times through the mirror group plane and is reflected at least twice on a concave mirror surface of the mirror group prior to exiting the mirror group at the mirror group exit. A strong overcorrection of image field curvature can be effected in an axially compact design. | 09-04-2008 |
| 20080259308 | PROJECTION OBJECTIVE FOR MICROLITHOGRAPHY - A projection objective or microlithography for imaging a pattern arranged in an object plane on a substrate arranged in an image plane is disclosed. The projection objective has an arrangement of optical elements between the object plane and the image plane. The projection objective can have a first pupil plane arranged at the reticle side and at least a second pupil plane. The projection objective also includes at least one aperture diaphragm. The diaphragm aperture of which is variable and which is traversed only once by the imaging light. The at least one aperture diaphragm can be arranged within the arrangement of the optical elements at least optically close to the first pupil plane arranged at the reticle side. The projection objective further includes a pupil filter situated in immediate vicinity of the aperture diaphragm. | 10-23-2008 |
| 20080285121 | CATADIOPTRIC PROJECTION OBJECTIVE - A catadioptric projection objective for imaging a pattern provided in an object plane of the projection objective onto an image plane of the projection objective comprises: a first objective part for imaging the pattern provided in the object plane into a first intermediate image; a second objective part for imaging the first intermediate imaging into a second intermediate image; a third objective part for imaging the second intermediate imaging directly onto the image plane;
| 11-20-2008 |
| 20080297889 | CATADIOPTRIC PROJECTION OBJECTIVE - A catadioptric projection objective for imaging a pattern provided in an object plane of the projection objective onto an image plane of the projection objective comprises: a first objective part for imaging the pattern provided in the object plane into a first intermediate image; a second objective part for imaging the first intermediate imaging into a second intermediate image; a third objective part for imaging the second intermediate imaging directly onto the image plane;
| 12-04-2008 |
| 20080304033 | PROJECTION OBJECTIVE FOR A MICROLITHOGRAPHIC PROJECTION EXPOSURE APPARATUS - Another approach to decrease the resolution is to introduce an immersion liquid having high refractive index into the gap that remains between a final lens element on the image side of the projection objective and the photoresist or another photosensitive layer to be exposed. Projection objectives that are designed for immersion operation and are therefore also referred to as immersion objective may reach numerical apertures of more than 1, for example 1.3 or 1.4. The term “immersion liquid” shall, in the context of this application, relate also to what is commonly referred to as “solid immersion”. In the case of solid immersion, the immersion liquid is in fact a solid medium that, however, does not get in direct contact with the photoresist but is spaced apart from it by a distance that is only a fraction of the wavelength used. This ensures that the laws of geometrical optics do not apply such that no total reflection occurs. | 12-11-2008 |
| 20080310014 | CATADIOPTRIC PROJECTION OBJECTIVE - A catadioptric projection objective for imaging a pattern provided in an object plane of the projection objective onto an image plane of the projection objective comprises: a first objective part for imaging the pattern provided in the object plane into a first intermediate image; a second objective part for imaging the first intermediate imaging into a second intermediate image; a third objective part for imaging the second intermediate imaging directly onto the image plane; | 12-18-2008 |
| 20080316456 | CATADIOPTRIC PROJECTION OBJECTIVE WITH GEOMETRIC BEAM SPLITTING - A projection exposure lens has an object plane, optical elements for separating beams, a concave mirror, an image plane, a first lens system arranged between the object plane and the optical elements for separating beams, a second double pass lens system arranged between the optical elements for separating beams and the concave mirror, a third lens system arranged between the optical elements for separating beams and the image plane. The second lens system has a maximum of five lenses. | 12-25-2008 |
| 20090034061 | Catadioptric projection objective with intermediate images - A catadioptric projection objective for imaging of a pattern, which is arranged on the object plane of the projection objective, on the image plane of the projection objective has a first objective part for imaging of an object field to form a first real intermediate image, a second objective part for production of a second real intermediate image using the radiation coming from the first objective part; and a third objective part for imaging of the second real intermediate image on the image plane. The second objective part is a catadioptric objective part with a concave mirror A first folding mirror for deflection of the radiation coming from the object plane in the direction of the concave mirror and a second folding mirror for deflection of the radiation coming from the concave mirror in the direction of the image plane are provided. A field lens with a positive refractive power is arranged between the first intermediate image and/or the first folding mirror and the concave mirror, in an area close to the field of the first intermediate image. | 02-05-2009 |
| 20090059358 | Chromatically corrected catadioptric objective and projection exposure apparatus including the same - A catadioptric objective includes a plurality of optical elements arranged along an optical axis to image a pattern from an object field in an object surface of the objective to an image field in an image surface region of the objective at an image-side numerical aperture NA with electromagnetic radiation from a wavelength band around a central wavelength λ. The optical elements include a concave mirror and a plurality of lenses. The projection objective forms an image of the pattern in a respective Petzval surface for each wavelength λ of a wavelength band, the Petzval surfaces deviating from each other for different wavelengths. In embodiments, a longitudinal departure p of the Petzval surface at a given wavelength from a planar reference surface at an edge field point of the image field (at maximum image height y′), measured parallel to the optical axis in the image surface region, varies with the wavelength λ according to dp/dλ<(0.2λ/NA | 03-05-2009 |
| 20090086338 | High Aperture Folded Catadioptric Projection Objective - A catadioptric projection objective with telecentric image space has a first objective part configured to image the pattern from the object surface into a first intermediate image, and having a first pupil surface, a second objective part configured to image the first intermediate image into a second intermediate image, and having a second pupil surface optically conjugate to the first pupil surface, the second objective part including a concave mirror having a reflective mirror surface positioned at or close to the second pupil surface, and a third objective part configured to image the second intermediate image into the image surface, and having a third pupil surface optically conjugate to the first and second pupil surface. The concave mirror is arranged coaxial with the first objective part to receive radiation from the object surface, a first deflecting mirror is arranged to deflect radiation reflected from the concave mirror towards a second deflecting mirror, and the second deflecting mirror is arranged to deflect radiation from the first deflecting mirror towards the image surface such that the image surface is parallel to the object surface. The projection objective has an immersion lens group having a convex object-side entry surface bounding at a gas or vacuum and an image-side exit surface in contact with an immersion liquid in operation, wherein the immersion lens group is at least partly made of a high-index material with refractive index n≧1.6 at the operating wavelength. | 04-02-2009 |
| 20090091728 | Compact High Aperture Folded Catadioptric Projection Objective - A catadioptric projection objective has a plurality of optical elements arranged along an optical axis to image a pattern from an object field in an object surface of the objective to an image field in an image surface region of the objective at an image-side numerical aperture NA≧1.35 with electromagnetic radiation defining an operating wavelength λ. The optical elements form a first objective part configured to image the pattern from the object surface into a first intermediate image, a second objective part configured to image the first intermediate image into a second intermediate image, the second objective part including a concave mirror having a reflective mirror surface positioned at or close to a pupil surface; and a third objective part configured to image the second intermediate image into the image surface. A first deflecting mirror is arranged to deflect radiation from the object surface towards the concave mirror, and a second deflecting mirror is arranged to deflect radiation from the concave mirror towards the image surface such that the image surface is parallel to the object surface. A geometrical distance L between the object surface and the image surface is smaller than or equal to 1950 mm. | 04-09-2009 |
| 20090115986 | Microlithography projection objective - Microlithography projection objectives for imaging into an image plane a pattern arranged in an object plane are described with respect to suppressing false light in such projection objectives. | 05-07-2009 |
| 20090185153 | CATADIOPTRIC PROJECTION OBJECTIVE WITH PUPIL MIRROR, PROJECTION EXPOSURE APPARATUS AND PROJECTION EXPOSURE METHOD - In certain aspects, catadioptric projection objectives for imaging a pattern from an object field arranged in an object surface of the projection objective onto an image field arranged in an image surface of the projection objective include a first objective part configured to image the pattern from the object surface into a first intermediate image, and having a first pupil surface, a second objective part configured to image the first intermediate image into a second intermediate image, and having a second pupil surface optically conjugate to the first pupil surface, and a third objective part configured to image the second intermediate image into the image surface, and having a third pupil surface optically conjugate to the first and second pupil surface. A pupil mirror having a reflective pupil mirror surface is positioned at or close to one of the first, second and third pupil surface. A pupil mirror manipulator operatively connected to the pupil mirror and configured to vary the shape of the reflective surface of the pupil mirror allows for dynamically correcting imaging aberrations originating from lens heating, compaction and other radiation induced imaging aberrations occurring during operation of the projection objective. | 07-23-2009 |
| 20090190208 | CATADIOPTRIC PROJECTION OBJECTIVE - A catadioptric projection objective for imaging a pattern provided in an object plane of the projection objective onto an image plane of the projection objective has a first, refractive objective part for imaging the pattern provided in the object plane into a first intermediate image; a second objective part including at least one concave mirror for imaging the first intermediate imaging into a second intermediate image; and a third, refractive objective part for imaging the second intermediate imaging onto the image plane; wherein the projection objective has a maximum lens diameter D | 07-30-2009 |
| 20090207487 | METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A PROJECTION OBJECTIVE AND PROJECTION OBJECTIVE - The disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a projection objective, and a projection objective, such as a projection objective configured to be used in a microlithographic process. The method can include defining an initial design for the projection objective and optimizing the design using a merit function. The method can be used in the manufacturing of projection objectives which may be used in a microlithographic process of manufacturing miniaturized devices. | 08-20-2009 |
| 20090316256 | CHROMATICALLY CORRECTED OBJECTIVE AND PROJECTION EXPOSURE APPARATUS INCLUDING THE SAME - An objective having a plurality of optical elements arranged to image a pattern from an object field in an object surface of the objective to an image field in an image surface region of the objective at an image-side numerical aperture NA>0.8 with electromagnetic radiation from a wavelength band around a wavelength λ, includes a number N of dioptric optical elements, each dioptric optical element i made from a transparent material having a normalized optical dispersion | 12-24-2009 |
| 20100014153 | CATADIOPTRIC PROJECTION OBJECTIVE - A catadioptric projection objective for imaging a pattern provided in an object plane of the projection objective onto an image plane of the projection objective has a first, refractive objective part for imaging the pattern provided in the object plane into a first intermediate image; a second objective part including at least one concave mirror for imaging the first intermediate imaging into a second intermediate image; and a third, refractive objective part for imaging the second intermediate imaging onto the image plane; wherein the projection objective has a maximum lens diameter D | 01-21-2010 |
| 20100097592 | HIGH TRANSMISSION, HIGH APERTURE CATADIOPTRIC PROJECTION OBJECTIVE AND PROJECTION EXPOSURE APPARATUS - The disclosure provides projection objectives which may be used in a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus to expose a radiation-sensitive substrate arranged in the region of an image surface of the projection objective with at least one image of a pattern of a mask arranged in the region of an object surface of the projection objective. The disclosure also provides projection exposure apparatus which include such projection objectives, as well as related components and methods. | 04-22-2010 |
| 20100128240 | CHROMATICALLY CORRECTED OBJECTIVE AND PROJECTION EXPOSURE APPARATUS INCLUDING THE SAME - An objective having a plurality of optical elements arranged to image a pattern from an object field in an object surface of the objective to an image field in an image surface region of the objective at an image-side numerical aperture NA>0.8 with electromagnetic radiation from a wavelength band around a wavelength λ, includes a number N of dioptric optical elements, each dioptric optical element i made from a transparent material having a normalized optical dispersion | 05-27-2010 |
| 20100188738 | Optical imaging device and imaging method for microscopy - The present invention relates to an optical imaging device, in particular for microscopy, with a first optical element group and a second optical element group, wherein the first optical element group and the second optical element group, on an image plane, form an image of an object point of an object plane. The first optical element group comprises a first optical element with a reflective first optical surface and a second optical element with a reflective second optical surface. The second optical element group comprises a third optical element with a reflective third optical surface. The first optical element and the second optical element are formed and arranged such that on formation of the image of the object point, in each case a multiple reflection of at least one imaging beam takes place on the first optical surface and the second optical surface. | 07-29-2010 |
| 20100253999 | CATADIOPTRIC PROJECTION OBJECTIVE - A catadioptric projection objective for imaging a pattern provided in an object plane of the projection objective onto an image plane of the projection objective comprises: a first objective part for imaging the pattern provided in the object plane into a first intermediate image; a second objective part for imaging the first intermediate imaging into a second intermediate image; a third objective part for imaging the second intermediate imaging directly onto the image plane; wherein a first concave mirror having a first continuous mirror surface and at least one second concave mirror having a second continuous mirror surface are arranged upstream of the second intermediate image; pupil surfaces are formed between the object plane and the first intermediate image, between the first and the second intermediate image and between the second intermediate image and the image plane; and all concave mirrors are arranged optically remote from a pupil surface. The system has potential for very high numerical apertures at moderate lens material mass consumption. | 10-07-2010 |
| 20100265478 | PROJECTION LENS SYSTEM OF A MICROLITHOGRAPHIC PROJECTION EXPOSURE INSTALLATION - A microlithographic projection exposure apparatus comprises a projection objective which images an object onto an image plane and has a lens with a curved surface. In the projection objective there is a liquid or solid medium which directly adjoins the curved surface over a region which is usable for imaging the object. The projection exposure apparatus also has an adjustable manipulator for reducing an image field curvature which is caused by heating of the medium during the projection operation. | 10-21-2010 |
| 20100265572 | CATADIOPTRIC PROJECTION OBJECTIVE - A catadioptric projection objective for imaging a pattern provided in an object plane of the projection objective onto an image plane of the projection objective has a first, refractive objective part for imaging the pattern provided in the object plane into a first intermediate image; a second objective part including at least one concave mirror for imaging the first intermediate imaging into a second intermediate image; and a third, refractive objective part for imaging the second intermediate imaging onto the image plane; wherein the projection objective has a maximum lens diameter D | 10-21-2010 |
| 20110007387 | CHROMATICALLY CORRECTED CATADIOPTRIC OBJECTIVE AND PROJECTION EXPOSURE APPARATUS INCLUDING THE SAME - A catadioptric objective includes a plurality of optical elements arranged along an optical axis to image a pattern from an object field in an object surface of the objective to an image field in an image surface region of the objective at an image-side numerical aperture NA with electromagnetic radiation from a wavelength band around a central wavelength λ<300 nm. The optical elements include a concave mirror and a plurality of lenses. The projection objective forms an image of the pattern in a respective Petzval surface for each wavelength λ of a wavelength band, the Petzval surfaces deviating from each other for different wavelengths. The plurality of lenses include lenses made from different materials having substantially different Abbe numbers. A longitudinal departure p of the Petzval surface at a given wavelength from a planar reference surface at an edge field point of the image field (at maximum image height y′) measured parallel to the optical axis in the image surface region, varies with the wavelength λ according to: dp/dλ<(15λ/NA | 01-13-2011 |
| 20110026110 | PROJECTION OBJECTIVE FOR LITHOGRAPHY - In some embodiments, a projection objective for lithography includes an optical arrangement of optical elements between an object plane and an image plane. The arrangement generally has at least one intermediate image plane, the arrangement further having at least two correction elements for correcting aberrations, of which a first correction element is arranged optically at least in the vicinity of a pupil plane and a second correction element is arranged in a region which is not optically near either a pupil plane or a field plane. | 02-03-2011 |
| 20110038061 | CATADIOPTRIC PROJECTION OBJECTIVE - Catadioptric projection objective ( | 02-17-2011 |
| 20110075121 | CATADIOPTRIC PROJECTION OBJECTIVE - Catadioptric projection objective ( | 03-31-2011 |
| 20110109893 | MICROLITHOGRAPHIC PROJECTION EXPOSURE APPARATUS - A projection exposure apparatus has a projection lens with an object plane, an image plane, an optical axis and a non-telecentric entrance pupil. The apparatus further comprises an illumination system having an intermediate field plane and a field stop. The field stop is positioned in or in close proximity to the intermediate field plane and defines an illuminated field in the object plane that does not contain the optical axis of the projection lens. The illumination system is configured such that, in the object plane, a mean of the angles formed between all principal rays emanating from the intermediate field plane on the one hand and the optical axis of the projection lens on the other hand differs from 0°. | 05-12-2011 |
| 20110134403 | MICROLITHOGRAPHIC PROJECTION EXPOSURE APPARATUS - A microlithographic projection exposure apparatus contains a projection objective, whose last optical element on the image side is a dry terminating element that has no refractive power and is designed for dry operation of the projection objective. According to the invention, the projection exposure apparatus furthermore contains an immersion terminating element that has no refractive power and is designed for immersed operation of the projection objective. The immersion terminating element is replaceable with the dry terminating element. Preferably, the dry terminating element and/or the immersion terminating element is composed of a plurality of plates, which are made of materials having different refractive indices. | 06-09-2011 |
