Research Disclosure

摘要

The present development relates to cooling of a dynamic gas lock funnel. EUV lithography Systems typically include a dynamic gas lock between the projection optics and the wafer stage holding the wafer. The dynamic gas lock provides a barrier for particles prevenling them from entering the illumination area on the wafer and is provided in the form of a funnel. The funnel may include a membrane to provide a barrier for resist outgassing in order to protect the projection optics, The membrane might also function as a filter for suppressing deep UV and IR wavelengths. The funnel currenlly includes cooling to control the heat load to the wafer. A schematic example of such a prior art system is shown below in Fig. I. A funnel 1 is cooled using gas from the same gas source used for the dynamic gas lock, which cooling gas flows through the funnel 1 and the pipes 2 connected thereto. The pipes are connected to a nearby heal exchanger 3 cooling down the cooling gas using for instance Peltier elements 4. The temperature is controlled using a temperature sensor 5, e.g. an NTC, mounted on the funnel. The gas used for the dynamic gas lock is connected to the funnel using separate gas lines 6. The funnel 1 is supported by a carrier 7.