Abstract:
A computer-implemented method for determining an optimized purge gas flow in a semi-conductor inspection metrology or lithography apparatus, comprising receiving a permissible contaminant mole fraction, a contaminant outgassing flow rate associated with a contaminant, a contaminant mass diffusivity, an outgassing surface length, a pressure, a temperature, a channel height, and a molecular weight of a purge gas, calculating a flow factor based on the permissible contaminant mole fraction, the contaminant outgassing flow rate, the channel height, and the outgassing surface length, comparing the flow factor to a predefined maximum flow factor value, calculating a minimum purge gas velocity and a purge gas mass flow rate from the flow factor, the contaminant mass diffusivity, the pressure, the temperature, and the molecular weight of the purge gas, and introducing the purge gas into the semi-conductor inspection metrology or lithography apparatus with the minimum purge gas velocity and the purge gas flow rate.
Abstract:
A system for cleaning or suppressing contamination or oxidation in a EUV optical setting includes an illumination source, a detector, a first set of optical elements to direct light from the illumination source to a specimen and a second set of optical elements to receive illumination from the specimen and direct the illumination to the detector. The system also includes one or more vacuum chambers for containing the first and second set of optical elements and containing a selected purge gas ionizable by the light emitted by the illumination source. The first or second set of optical elements includes an electrically biased optical element having at least one electrically biased surface. The electrically biased optical element has a bias configuration suitable to attract one or more ionic species of the selected purge gas to the electrically biased surface in order to clean contaminants from the electrically biased surface.