X-ray lithography beamlines in the IBM advanced lithography facility

In 1991 a storage ring designed as a source of X-rays for X-ray lithography was delivered, installed, and commissioned in the IBM Advanced Lithography Facility (ALF) in East Fishkill, New York. Beamlines of two different designs have been constructed and installed on the ring to deliver the X-rays to the exposure stations. One design is intended for use with a stepper for the fabrication of integrated circuits. The second design is for a general-purpose research and development beamline which is used for unaligned exposures as well as for characterization of beamline components. The design and performance of both are described. Special attention is given to a paraboloid mirror optical system which is used to collimate the radiation from the storage ring. Both the theoretical and the measured performance of the mirror are presented and shown to be in excellent agreement. An exposure nonuniformity of less than ±3%, including contributions from both the mirror and the beryllium exit window, has been achieved.