Patent ID: 11906902
Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  H | IPC G  H

Claim 7:
8. A method, comprising:
receiving a semiconductor substrate coated with a photoresist material; and
exposing the semiconductor substrate to light generated by a plasma in an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation source, wherein generating the plasma comprises:
splitting a laser output into a first portion and a second portion;
generating, based on the first portion, a pre-pulse laser beam having a first spatial energy-distribution profile;
generating, based on the second portion, an auxiliary laser beam having a second spatial energy-distribution profile,
wherein the second spatial energy-distribution profile is based on the first spatial energy-distribution profile to achieve a target spatial energy-distribution profile for a combination of the pre-pulse laser beam and the auxiliary laser beam;
providing, to the EUV radiation source, the pre-pulse laser beam and the auxiliary laser beam to generate a deformed droplet from a droplet of a target material in a vessel of the EUV radiation source;
generating a main-pulse laser beam; and
providing, to the EUV radiation source, the main-pulse laser beam to generate the plasma from the deformed droplet in the vessel of the EUV radiation source.