arXiv subjects

Dmitry Astakhov

Publications and source records attributed to Dmitry Astakhov.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Plasma double layer development during high power EUV exposure

The development of electrostatic plasma double layer (DL) at the boundary of Extreme Ultra Violet (EUV) exposed and un-exposed region in the bulk volume has been confirmed by 3DPIC (Particle-In-Cell) simulations in the context of fast transient high power EUV exposures. It is found that the DL exists only for short time scale during EUV-ON time period (~ 70ns) and disappears soon after EUV is OFF. Such DL fingerprint appears above a certain critical value of EUV beam energy (~ 0.1mJ) and it transforms from weak-to-strong DL with further increase of EUV power.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2021

Miniature Plasma Source for In-Situ Scanner Cleaning

EUV Lithography is the technology of choice for High-Volume Manufacturing (HVM) of sub-10nm lithography. One of the challenges is to enable in-situ cleaning of functional surfaces such as sensors, fiducials and interferometer mirrors without opening the scanner tool. Thermally created hydrogen radicals have been successfully used for this purpose. These sources have a limited cleaning speed and relatively high thermal load to the surface being cleaned. Here we present an alternative plasma-based technique to simultaneously create hydrogen radicals and hydrogen ions. This results in significantly improved cleaning speed while simultaneously reducing the overall thermal load. As an additional benefit, this plasma source has a minimized and flexible building volume to allow easy integration into various locations in the EUV lithographic scanner.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2021

EUV-induced Hydrogen Plasma : Pulsed Mode Operation and Confinement in Scanner

In the past years, EUV lithography scanner systems have entered High-Volume Manufacturing for state-of-the-art Integrated Circuits (IC), with critical dimensions down to 10 nm. This technology uses 13.5 nm EUV radiation, which is shaped and transmitted through a near-vacuum H2 background gas. This gas is excited into a low-density H2 plasma by the EUV radiation, as generated in pulsed mode operation by the Laser-Produced Plasma (LPP) in the EUV Source. Thus, in the confinement created by the walls and mirrors within the scanner system, a reductive plasma environment is created that must be understood in detail to maximize mirror transmission over lifetime and to minimize molecular and particle contamination in the scanner. Besides the irradiated mirrors, reticle and wafer, also the plasma and radical load to the surrounding construction materials must be considered. This paper will provide an overview of the EUV-induced plasma in scanner context. Special attention will be given to the plasma parameters in a confined geometry, such as may be found in the scanner area near the reticle. Also, the translation of these specific plasma parameters to off-line setups will be discussed.

physics.plasm-ph↗