WO2026109373 - METHOD FOR OPERATING A MICROLITHOGRAPHIC PROJECTION EXPOSURE APPARATUS, AND PROJECTION EXPOSURE APPARATUS
National phase entry is expected:
Publication Number
WO/2026/109373
Publication Date
28.05.2026
International Application No.
PCT/EP2025/082686
International Filing Date
12.11.2025
Title **
[English]
METHOD FOR OPERATING A MICROLITHOGRAPHIC PROJECTION EXPOSURE APPARATUS, AND PROJECTION EXPOSURE APPARATUS
[French]
PROCÉDÉ D'EXPLOITATION D'UN APPAREIL D'EXPOSITION PAR PROJECTION MICROLITHOGRAPHIQUE, ET APPAREIL D'EXPOSITION PAR PROJECTION
Applicants **
CARL ZEISS SMT GMBH
Inventors
HOFFMANN, Tim
MITEV, Vladimir
SCHNEIDER, Eva
MACK, Ruediger
SCHURER-KOCH, Johannes
LORENZ, Maike
LEUERMANN, Martin
LETSCHER, Fabian
Priority Data
102024211056.6
19.11.2024
DE
Application details
| Total Number of Claims/PCT | * |
| Number of Independent Claims | * |
| Number of Priorities | * |
| Number of Multi-Dependent Claims | * |
| Number of Drawings | * |
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| Number of Pages with Drawings | * |
| Pages of Specification | * |
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| Number of Office Actions | * |
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International Searching Authority |
EPO
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| Recordal of a Change of the Applicant's Name/Address |
Change of Applicant's Name and Address
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| Type of Assignment |
The Standard Agent's Assignment
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| Applicant's Legal Status |
Legal Entity
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| * | |
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| Entry into National Phase under |
Chapter I
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| Patent Delivery |
Send the Letters Patent by Courier
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| Translation |
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* The data is based on automatic recognition. Please verify and amend if necessary.
** IP-Coster compiles data from publicly available sources. If this data includes your personal information, you can contact us to request its removal.
Quotation for National Phase entry
| Country | Stages | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | Filing, Examination, Granting | 2183 | |
| EPO | Filing, Examination, Granting | 8735 | |
| Japan | Filing, Examination, Granting | 2171 | |
| South Korea | Filing, Examination, Granting | 2057 | |
| USA | Filing, Examination, Granting | 7740 |
Total:
22,886
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Abstract[English]
The invention relates to a method for operating a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus (1). In the method according to the invention, during a first exposure phase with the aid of an illumination optical unit (4) illumination radiation (16) according to a first illumination setting is formed and the illumination radiation (16) is fed to an image field (11) of a projection optical unit (10) with the aid of the projection optical unit (10). During a second exposure phase, with the aid of the illumination optical unit (4) illumination radiation (16) according to a second illumination setting, which differs from the first illumination setting, is formed and the illumination radiation (16) is fed to the image field (11) of the projection optical unit (10) with the aid of the projection optical unit (10). During an exposure pause between the first exposure phase and the second exposure phase, with the aid of the illumination optical unit (4) illumination radiation (16) according to the second illumination setting is formed. This illumination radiation (16) is incident on an optical element (M2) of the projection optical unit (10), but is not fed to the image field (11) of the projection optical unit (10).[French]
L'invention concerne un procédé d'exploitation d'un appareil d'exposition par projection microlithographique (1). Dans le procédé selon l'invention, au cours d'une première phase d'exposition, à l'aide d'une unité optique d'éclairage (4), un rayonnement d'éclairage (16) est formé selon un premier réglage d'éclairage et le rayonnement d'éclairage (16) est acheminé vers un champ image (11) d'une unité optique de projection (10) à l'aide de l'unité optique de projection (10). Pendant une seconde phase d'exposition, à l'aide de l'unité optique d'éclairage (4), un rayonnement d'éclairage (16) est formé selon un deuxième réglage d'éclairage, différent du premier réglage d'éclairage, et le rayonnement d'éclairage (16) est acheminé vers le champ image (11) de l'unité optique de projection (10) à l'aide de l'unité optique de projection (10). Pendant une pause d'exposition entre la première phase d'exposition et la deuxième phase d'exposition, à l'aide de l'unité optique d'éclairage (4), un rayonnement d'éclairage (16) est formé selon le deuxième réglage d'éclairage. Ce rayonnement d'éclairage (16) est incident sur un élément optique (M2) de l'unité optique de projection (10), mais n'est pas acheminé vers le champ image (11) de l'unité optique de projection (10).