Lithographic characterization of low-order aberrations in a 0.3-NA EUV microfield exposure tool

Although tremendous progress has been made in the crucial area of fabrication of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) projection optics, the realization diffraction-limited high numerical aperture (NA) optics (above 0.2 NA) remains a concern. The highest NA EUV optics available to date are the 0.3-NA Microfield Exposure Tool (MET) optics used in an experimental exposure station at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory [1] and commercial METs [2] at Intel and SEMATECH-North. Even though these optics have been interferometrically demonstrated to achieve diffraction-limited wavefront quality, the question remains as to whether or not such performance levels can be maintained after installation of the optics into the exposure tool. Printing-based quantitative aberration measurements provide a convenient mechanism for the characterization of the optic wavefront error in the actual lithography tool. We present the lithographic measurement of low-order aberrations in the Berkeley MET tool, including a quantitative measurement of astigmatism and spherical error and a qualitative measurement of coma. The lithographic results are directly compared to interferometry results obtained from the same optic. Measurements of the Berkeley MET indicate either an alignment drift or errors in the interferometry on the order of 0.5 to 1 nm.