Thermal correction of quasistatic optical distortions in a VUV lithograph

For a projection objective of a lithographic setup designed for the wavelength range λ = 13 nm, optical distortions of its mirror components should not exceed a value of about 1 nm. The fabrication of mirrors of such an optical quality is very expensive. We have studied the possibility of using the thermal deformation of an optical element to improve the quality of its surface shape. It is shown, in particular, that, with this method, quasistatic large-scale (no smaller than 20% of the element diameter) optical distortions with an amplitude of about 15 nm can be compensated with an error up to 0.5 nm, that is, λ/20–λ/30.