Extending the performance of KrF laser for microlithography by using novel F2 control technology

Exposure tools for 248nm lithography have reached a level of maturity comparable to those based on i-line. With this increase in maturity, there is a concomitant requirement for greater flexibility from the laser by the process engineers. Usually, these requirements pertain to energy, spectral width and repetition rate. By utilizing a combination of laser parameters, the process engineers are often able to optimize throughput, reduce cost-of-operation or achieve greater process margin. Hitherto, such flexibility of laser operation was possible only via significant changes to various laser modules. During our investigation, we found that the key measure of the laser that impacts the aforementioned parameters is its F2 concentration. By monitoring and controlling its slope efficiency, the laser's F2 concentration may be precisely controlled. Thus a laser may tune to operate under specifications as diverse as 7mJ, (Delta) (lambda) FWHM FWHM 2 control technique and highlight some laser performance parameters.