Abstract:
A method is provided for manufacturing a silica glass that is substantially free of chlorine. The method includes the step of separately expelling a silicon tetrafluoride gas, a combustion gas, and a combustible gas from a burner made of silica glass, the flow velocity of the silicon tetrafluoride gas being within the range of about 9 slm/cm2 to about 20 slm/cm2. The method further includes the steps of producing minute silica glass particles by reacting the silicon tetrafluoride gas with water produced by a reaction of the combustion gas with the combustible gas, depositing the minute silica glass particles on a target, and producing the silica glass by fusing and vitrifying the minute silica glass particles deposited on the target.
Abstract:
The invention includes methods of making lithography photomask blanks. The invention also includes lithography photomask blanks and preforms for producing lithography photomask. The method of making a lithography photomask blank includes providing a soot deposition surface, producing SiO2 soot particles and projecting the SiO2 soot particles toward the soot deposition surface. The method includes successively depositing layers of the SiO2 soot particle on the deposition surface to form a coherent SiO2 porous glass preform body comprised of successive layers of the SiO2 soot particles and dehydrating the coherent SiO2 glass preform body to remove OH from the preform body. The SiO2 is exposed to and reacted with a fluorine containing compound and consolidated into a nonporous silicon oxyfluoride glass body with parallel layers of striae. The method further includes forming the consolidated silicon oxyfluoride glass body into a photomask blank having a planar surface with the orientation of the striae layer parallel to the photomask blank planar surface.
Abstract:
High purity silicon oxyfluoride glass suitable for use as a photomask substrates for photolithography applications in the VUV wavelength region below 190 nm is disclosed. The inventive silicon oxyfluoride glass is transmissive at wavelengths around 157 nm, making it particularly useful as a photomask substrate at the 157 nm wavelength region. The inventive photomask substrate is a nulldry,null silicon oxyfluoride glass which exhibits very high transmittance in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) wavelength region while maintaining the excellent thermal and physical properties generally associated with high purity fused silica. In addition to containing fluorine and having little or no OH content, the inventive silicon oxyfluoride glass suitable for use as a photomask substrate at 157 nm is also characterized by having less than 1null1017 molecules/cm3 of molecular hydrogen and low chlorine levels.
Abstract translation:公开了适用于在低于190nm的VUV波长区域中用于光刻应用的光掩模基板的高纯度氟氧化硅玻璃。 本发明的氟氧化硅玻璃在157nm波长下是透射的,使其特别适用于157nm波长区域的光掩模衬底。 本发明的光掩模基材是“真空”的氟氧化硅玻璃,其在真空紫外(VUV)波长区域中表现出非常高的透射率,同时保持通常与高纯度熔融石英相关的优异的热和物理性能。 除了含氟并且具有很少或不含OH含量之外,本发明的适合用作157nm的光掩模衬底的氟氧化硅玻璃的特征还在于具有小于1×10 17分子/ cm 3的分子氢和低氯水平。
Abstract:
An optical fiber has a core region that is doped with one or more viscosity-reducing dopants in respective amounts that are configured, such that, in a Raman spectrum with a frequency shift of approximately 600 cm−1, the fiber has a nanoscale structure having an integrated D2 line defect intensity of less than 0.025. Alternatively, the core region is doped with one or more viscosity-reducing dopants in respective amounts that are configured such that the fiber has a residual axial compressive stress with a stress magnitude of more than 20 MPa and a stress radial extent between 2 and 7 times the core radius.According to another aspect of the invention a majority of the optical propagation through the fiber is supported by an identified group of fiber regions comprising the core region and one or more adjacent cladding regions. The fiber regions are doped with one or more viscosity-reducing dopants in respective amounts and radial positions that are configured to achieve viscosity matching among the fiber regions in the identified group.
Abstract:
An optical component made of synthetic quartz glass includes a glass structure substantially free of oxygen defect sites and having a hydrogen content of 0.1×1016 to 1.0×1018 molecules/cm3, an SiH group content of less than 2×1017 molecules/cm3, a hydroxyl group content of 0.1 to 100 wt. ppm, and an Active temperature of less than 1070° C. The optical component undergoes a laser-induced change in the refractive index in response to irradiation by a radiation with a wavelength of 193 nm using 5×109 pulses with a pulse width of 125 ns and a respective energy density of 500 μJ/cm2 at a pulse repetition frequency of 2000 Hz. The change totals a first measured value M193 nm when measured using the applied wavelength of 193 nm and a second measured value M633 nm when measured using a measured wavelength of 633 nm. The ratio M193 nm/M633 nm is less than 1.7.
Abstract:
An optical component made of synthetic quartz glass includes a glass structure substantially free of oxygen defect sites and having a hydrogen content of 0.1×1016 to 1.0×1018 molecules/cm3, an SiH group content of less than 2×1017 molecules/cm3, a hydroxyl group content of 0.1 to 100 wt. ppm, and an Active temperature of less than 1070° C. The optical component undergoes a laser-induced change in the refractive index in response to irradiation by a radiation with a wavelength of 193 nm using 5×109 pulses with a pulse width of 125 ns and a respective energy density of 500 μJ/cm2 at a pulse repetition frequency of 2000 Hz. The change totals a first measured value M193nm when measured using the applied wavelength of 193 nm and a second measured value M633nm when measured using a measured wavelength of 633 nm. The ratio M193nm/M633nm is less than 1.7.
Abstract:
An easily producible optical fiber preform which is drawn to an optical fiber having a core containing a sufficient concentration of alkali metal is provided. An optical fiber preform 10 is composed of silica-based glass and includes a core portion 20 and a cladding portion 30. The core portion 20 includes a first core portion 21 including a central axis and a second core portion 22 disposed on the perimeter of the first core portion 21. The cladding portion 30 includes a first cladding portion 31 disposed on the perimeter of the second core portion 22 and a second cladding portion 32 disposed on the perimeter of the first cladding portion 31. The core portion 20 contains an alkali metal at an average concentration of 5 atomic ppm or more. The concentration of the OH group in the perimeter portion of the first cladding portion 31 is 200 mol ppm or more.
Abstract:
There is provided a method for producing an optical fiber preform used in producing an optical fiber having low attenuation. The production method includes (1) a rod formation step of forming a glass rod of a silica glass containing an alkali metal element, the average concentration of the alkali metal element being 5 at·ppm or more, (2) a heat treatment step of heat-treating the glass rod, (3) a core part formation step of forming an alkali metal element-free silica glass layer having a chlorine concentration of 6000 at·ppm or more around the perimeter of the glass rod heat-treated in the heat treatment step to form a core part including the glass rod and the silica glass layer, and (4) a cladding part formation step of forming a cladding part of a silica-based glass having a lower refractive index than the core part around the perimeter of the core part.
Abstract:
An easily producible optical fiber preform which is drawn to an optical fiber having a core containing a sufficient concentration of alkali metal is provided. An optical fiber preform 10 is composed of silica-based glass and includes a core portion 20 and a cladding portion 30. The core portion 20 includes a first core portion 21 including a central axis and a second core portion 22 disposed on the perimeter of the first core portion 21. The cladding portion 30 includes a first cladding portion 31 disposed on the perimeter of the second core portion 22 and a second cladding portion 32 disposed on the perimeter of the first cladding portion 31. The core portion 20 contains an alkali metal at an average concentration of 5 atomic ppm or more. The concentration of the OH group in the perimeter portion of the first cladding portion 31 is 200 mol ppm or more.
Abstract:
A method for producing a silica container having a rotational symmetry is provided. The method includes forming a preliminarily molded article by feeding a powdered substrate's raw material to an inner wall of an outer frame having aspiration holes with rotating the frame, and forming a silica substrate. The preliminarily molded article is aspirated from an outer peripheral side with controlling a humidity inside the outer frame by ventilating gases present in the outer frame with charging from inside the preliminarily molded article a gas mixture comprised of an O2 gas and an inert gas and made below a prescribed dew-point temperature by dehumidification, and at the same time heated from inside the preliminarily molded article by a discharge-heat melting method with carbon electrodes, thereby making an outer peripheral part of the preliminarily molded article to a sintered body while an inner peripheral part to a fused glass body.