Electronic Thesis/Dissertation

 

Design, Analysis, and Optimization of an Interferometer for Exreme Ultraviolet Interference Lithography Open Access

The semiconductor manufacturing industry is quickly approaching the lower bounds on the feature sizes it is capable of producing with current technology. One of the key components to moving forward and patterning smaller feature sizes effectively, is developing sensitive photoresist materials which can display the patterns with high resolution. Experimental techniques are used to test these materials. One technique is extreme ultraviolet interference lithography (EUV-IL), which can produce patterns down to 11 nm half-pitches \cite{Auzelyte2009}, and boasts relaxed constraints on the light beam source. This thesis presents the design of an interferometer that uses a cascaded grating arrangement for interference lithography for resist testing and metrology. Several key elements are explored. First, experimental data from initial testing of the manufactured interferometer is presented to analyze effects from internal resonances, thermal expansion, and environmental conditions. Second, the resolution of the positioning system, which uses flexural bearings, is examined with an optimization study to determine an ideal pivot shape. Lastly, since vibration is critical to quality exposures, the design and performance of a passive vibration isolation system based on the mechanical Roberts Linkage is presented.

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