FILTER ASSEMBLY, IN PARTICULAR FOR A CONTROL LOOP FOR CONTROLLING THE POSITION OF AT LEAST ONE ELEMENT

A filter assembly, for example for a control loop for controlling the position of at least one element, comprises first and second filters. The first filter suppresses an undesired component in a signal to be filtered. The first filter produces a first signal delay in a first frequency range. The second filter produces a second signal delay in the first frequency range. The second signal delay at least partly compensates the first signal delay.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to a filter arrangement, such as for a control loop for controlling the position of at least one element.

BACKGROUND

Microlithography is used for producing microstructured components, such as for example integrated circuits or LCDs. The microlithography process is carried out in what is known as a projection exposure apparatus, which has an illumination device and a projection lens. The image of a mask (=reticle) illuminated via the illumination device is projected in this case via the projection lens onto a substrate (for example a silicon wafer) that is coated with a light-sensitive layer (photoresist) and arranged in the image plane of the projection lens in order to transfer the mask structure to the light-sensitive coating of the substrate.

In a projection exposure apparatus designed for EUV (i.e. for electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength below 15 nm), mirrors are used as optical components for the imaging process because of the unavailability of light-transmissive materials. These mirrors may for example be mounted on a supporting frame and be designed as being at least partially manipulable in order to allow a movement of the respective mirror for example in six degrees of freedom (i.e. with respect to displacements in the three spatial directions x, y and z and also with respect to rotations Rx, Ryand Rzabout the corresponding axes).

During the operation of projection exposure apparatuses, especially in EUV systems, dynamic aspects can play an increasingly relevant role for the optical performance of the system. Mechanical disturbances caused by vibrations can adversely affect the positional stability of the optical components. Weakly damped mechanical resonances in the system can lead to an excessive local increase in the interference spectrum in the range of the resonant frequencies and to an associated deterioration in the positional stability of passively mounted components and also of actively controlled components. Furthermore, resonances can lead to instability of the control loop in the case of controlled systems.

A desire that exists in practice, for example in an EUV system, is for example to avoid image errors as a result of relative movements between the mirrors within the projection lens. With an increase in the numerical aperture and the associated increase in the dimensions and masses of individual EUV mirrors, this can prove to be a demanding challenge, since vibrations from the wafer holder or wafer displacement drive and/or from the reticle holder or reticle displacement drive acting on the respective EUV minors possibly can generally no longer be sufficiently suppressed by corresponding actuation.

One possible approach to address this issue includes, for example, the implementation of a follow-up control, in which undesired movements, e.g., movements which are caused by vibrations, of a minor serving as a reference are tracked by the remaining mirrors. The mirror used as a reference in such a follow-up control can be a mirror (e.g. the last mirror in the projection lens in relation to the optical beam path) which itself is difficult to control, e.g. due to dynamic properties.

Although this concept basically enables low-frequency movements or rigid-body shifts of the mirror serving as a reference for the follow-up control to be taken into account, in practice there is the further desire to suppress high-frequency components in the movement of the minor serving as a reference in the follow-up control by appropriate filtering. In the case of such filtering, as will be explained in more detail with reference toFIGS.8A-8C, a further issue can arise that the limitation of the amplitude increase in the filter transfer function is accompanied by a delay in the output signal introduced by the filter relative to the input signal of the filter. This delay can cause low-frequency subsequent errors, which correspondingly translate into image errors.

FIGS.8A-8Cshow for an exemplary filter transfer function F(s)

and for different values of the damping parameter D (from D=0.05 to D=0.3) the respective frequency curves of amplitude (FIG.8A), phase (FIG.8B) and delay (FIG.8C). The filter transfer function F(s) corresponds to a second-order low-pass filter with a corner frequency of 400 Hz.

The delay plotted inFIG.8Cis equivalent to the group delay and corresponds to the negative derivative of the function which is plotted inFIG.8Band describes the frequency dependence of the phase at the respective frequency value.

As shown in a comparison of the curves plotted inFIGS.8A-8C, the desired limitation of the amplitude increase via the damping parameter according toFIG.8Aand the limitation of the delay according toFIG.8Crepresent mutually opposing (i.e. contradictory) factors. This can be made more difficult by the fact that in the application of the control of the position of at least one element in a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus, which is for example envisaged according to the disclosure, the signal to be filtered (as the position signal of the mirror serving as a reference in the follow-up control) is not known in advance, and so elimination of the undesired delay or the abovementioned frequency dependence of the phase via what is known as “forward-backward filtering” is ruled out.

Reference is made merely by way of example to U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,091.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure seeks to provide a filter arrangement, such as for a control loop for controlling the position of at least one element, which can allow reliable position control while at least partially avoiding the problems described above.

A filter arrangement according to the disclosure, for example for a control loop for controlling the position of at least one element, hasa first filter for suppressing an unwanted component in a signal to be filtered, with this first filter causing a first signal delay in a first frequency range; andat least one second filter, with this second filter causing a second signal delay in the first frequency range, which at least partially compensates for the first signal delay.

According to one embodiment, the first signal delay is a positive signal delay generated by the first filter in the settled state and the second signal delay is a negative signal delay generated by the second filter in the settled state.

For the purposes of the present application, “signal delay in the settled state” of a filter is understood to mean the group delay in the frequency range from zero to 2πfe, where the frequency ferepresents an assessment criterion that is suitably selectable depending on the specific application. The group delay or signal delay already results, according to the disclosure, directly as a property of a specific filter (and is not added afterward in a separate stage), wherein the group delay or signal delay for example can also assume negative values, which is precisely being used for the compensation principle according to the disclosure (by using filters which have group delay or signal delay values that are suitable directly for mutual compensation, in combination with one another).

Furthermore, a control loop according to the disclosure for controlling the position of at least one element, for example in a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus, has:a controller for controlling a force exerted on the element by at least one actuator, based on a reference signal, anda filter arrangement for filtering the reference signal;wherein this filter arrangement is designed according to the features described above.

The disclosure involves the concept of combining a plurality of filters that are matched to one another in a suitable manner (for example with regard to different corner frequencies) to achieve a compensation effect such that the delays introduced by individual filters at least partially cancel each other out in a relevant (typically low-frequency) frequency range. As a result, a profile can be achieved overall with regard to the frequency dependence of amplitude, phase or delay in which—as described in more detail below with reference to different exemplary embodiments—e.g. while accepting an amplitude increase in (typically higher frequency) areas that are less relevant for the stability of the control loop, a low-delay suppression of undesired components is achieved via the aforementioned compensation effect. In addition, the concrete desired properties of the respective optical system can be specifically taken into account by way of a suitable parameterization of the individual filters combined according to the disclosure and the design freedom provided by this parameterization capability.

In other words, according to the disclosure, unwanted components can be suppressed in a control loop while limiting the delay introduced by the filtering that is used for this purpose, without at the same time increasing the amplification in the relevant frequency range.

The concept according to the disclosure can be used for example in a follow-up control in which, for example, an optical element that is itself difficult to control (such as a last mirror in the projection lens in relation to the optical beam path) is used as a reference for adjusting the position of further optical elements (e.g. the remaining minors of the projection lens). In this case, higher-frequency components in the measurement signal of the optical element serving as a reference in the follow-up control can be suppressed by the low-delay filtering according to the disclosure.

Since the compensation principle described above is implemented according to the disclosure in the filter design itself, the delay can be reduced without the signal to be filtered itself (i.e. in the above example the position signal of the optical element or mirror serving as a reference) having to be known in advance.

According to one embodiment, the first filter has a low-pass filter.

According to one embodiment, the second filter has an inverse low-pass filter.

According to one embodiment, this inverse low-pass filter compensates for the signal delay of the first filter at a frequency of 1 Hz by at least 60%, such as at least 70%.

This inverse low-pass filter has a negative signal delay and can, for example, compensate for the signal delay of the first filter by at least 60% for frequencies of less than or equal to fe, i.e.

wherein ΔT1(ω) represents the group delay of the first filter and ΔT2(ω) represents the group delay of the second filter. The frequency fecan be specified here as one hundredth of the smallest corner frequency (=absolute value of the associated eigenvalue divided by 2π) of the first filter. The second filter does not have to be causal on its own, since a realizable overall filter results from connecting the first and the second filter in series.

According to one embodiment, the first filter has at least one notch filter (=local suppression filter) for the local suppression of an unwanted component in the signal to be filtered. The minimum amplitude of this notch filter can be less than 0.75.

According to one embodiment, the second filter has at least one inverse notch filter.

According to one embodiment, this inverse notch filter compensates for the signal delay of the first filter at a frequency of 1 Hz by at least 25%, such as at least 50%.

For example, the combination of all inverse notch filters can compensate for the signal delay of the first filter in terms of absolute value by at least 25% for frequencies that are less than or equal to fe, i.e.

wherein ΔTiNotch(ω) represents the total group delay (sum) of all inverse notch filters.

According to one embodiment, the element is an optical element of an optical system.

According to one embodiment, the element is an optical element of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus, for example a projection exposure apparatus designed for operation in the EUV.

According to one embodiment, the reference signal is a position signal which is characteristic of the position of a further element in the projection exposure apparatus.

According to one embodiment, this further element is the last optical element of the projection exposure apparatus in relation to the optical beam path.

According to another embodiment, this further element is a supporting structure of the projection exposure apparatus.

According to one embodiment, the controller is designed to control the force exerted by a plurality of actuators on a respective element, based on the reference signal.

According to one embodiment, the element is a minor.

The disclosure also further relates to a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus with a control loop having the features described above.

Further configurations of the disclosure are evident from the description and the dependent claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG.7shows a schematic illustration of a coupled control loop to explain a possible application of the disclosure.

According toFIG.7, two measurement signals y1and y2are assigned to controllers C1and C2, respectively. The measurement signal y1can be, for example, the last mirror, in relation to the optical beam path, of a projection lens (e.g. with the construction described with reference toFIG.9). The measurement signal y2can then represent the remaining mirrors of the projection lens, which are intended to follow the reference signal y1in a follow-up control. As a result, the combination of mirrors represented by y1and y2should effectively behave like a single rigid minor in order to avoid an image shift and associated image errors in the optical imaging process. The actuating signal u1affects both the measurement signal y1via the system G11and the measurement signal y2via the system G21. The same applies to the actuating signal u2and the systems G22and G12. There is mechanical coupling of the elements represented by y1and y2.

The existing mechanical coupling as a result of the reaction forces via the support frame very often involves the integration of a filter (designated with “700” inFIG.7) in the feedback chain formed according toFIG.7. With regard to the design of this filter700, however, there is the problem, already discussed with reference toFIGS.8A-8C, of mutually opposing or contradictory properties with regard firstly to the suppression of the excessive amplitude increase and secondly to the reduction of any delay introduced by the filter700. The result of the introduction of a significant delay via the filter700would be, for example, that the group of minors to be tracked within the follow-up control no longer effectively behaves like a single rigid minor, which ultimately leads to image errors in the optical imaging process.

The diagrams ofFIGS.8A-8Cproceed initially from a filter700with the following filter transfer function F(s) as an example:

InFIGS.8A-8C, for this filter transfer function F(s), the respective frequency curves of amplitude (FIG.8A), phase (FIG.8B) and delay (FIG.8C) are plotted for different values of the damping parameter D (from D=0.05 to D=0.3).

A comparison of the results obtained for the different values of the damping parameter D according toFIGS.8A-8Cshows that an increase in damping to limit the amplitude magnification in the filter transfer function F(s) according toFIG.8Ais accompanied by an increase in the delay introduced by the filter300of the output signal of this filter300relative to the input signal according toFIG.8C. This delay is equivalent to the group delay and corresponds to the negative derivative of the function which is plotted inFIG.8Band describes the frequency dependence of the phase at the respective frequency value.

According to the disclosure, a filter transfer function is now implemented which makes it possible to reduce the delay introduced by the filter700within a frequency range and at the same time limit the amplitude to values that are still acceptable.

For this purpose, a plurality of filters are used in combination according to the disclosure, each of which is designed or matched to one another in such a way that at least partial mutual compensation is achieved with regard to the total delay introduced in the relevant frequency range.

In a general approach, the filter types low-pass filter, inverse low-pass filter, notch filter and inverse notch filter can be combined with each other in such a way that overall—depending on the specific desired properties in the entire optical system—a suitable compromise between the suppression attained in the range of high frequencies or the accepted amplitude increase, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the ultimately attained reduction in delay is achieved. Here, as described below, it is also possible to combine basic filter functions (2) to (5) to form a chain of low-pass filters, inverse low-pass filters, notch filters and inverse notch filters. Each of the filter types can appear as often as desired.

A low-pass filter is described by the basic filter function:

A notch filter is described by the basic filter function:

When choosing α≥1.16>1/√{square root over (0.75)}, the minimum amplitude is less than 0.75.

An inverse low-pass filter is described by the basic filter function:

An inverse notch filter is described by the basic filter function:

The chain formed by combining these basic filter functions (2)-(5) can be described by:

where the behavior of this chain can then be influenced by the parameters indexed with i, j, k, l in equation (6). The parameters Ni, Nj, Nkand Nlare all greater than or equal to zero.

For three specific exemplary embodiments “A”, “B” and “C” of such a chain or the corresponding filter transfer function F(s), the respective frequency curves of amplitude (FIG.1A), phase (FIG.1B) and delay (FIG.1C) are plotted inFIGS.1A-1C. For comparison, the corresponding frequency curves for the conventional configuration fromFIGS.8A-8Care entered with the value of the damping parameter D=0.3 (and represented each by solid lines inFIGS.1A-1C), see curve “D”. The effectiveness of the compensation is demonstrated in each case byFIGS.2A-2C(=decomposition of “A”),FIGS.3A-3C(=decomposition of “B”) andFIGS.4A-4C(=decomposition of “C”). For the assessment of the compensation, the frequency range (0.20Hz) is used uniformly, which is greater than that according to the individual determination of the frequency fe.

The first example “A” (illustrated by dashed lines inFIGS.1A-1C) has a very small delay in the frequency range up to 20 Hz according toFIG.1C. According toFIG.1A, the amplitude magnification is comparable to that of “D”. However, the suppression above 500 Hz is comparatively lower. The filter of “A” consists of three low-pass filters and three inverse low-pass filters. As shown inFIGS.2A-2C(=decomposition of “A”), the delays of all inverse low-pass filters compensate the delay of all low-pass filters by almost 100%.

Example “B” is basically based on “A,” but improves the suppression locally at 650 Hz and 1050 Hz by using two notch filters. Conversely, the suppression above 1300 Hz drops less than in “A”.FIGS.3A-3C(=decomposition of “B”) clearly show that the delay of all low-pass filters (1375 μs) and the delay of all notch filters (61 μs) are almost completely (100%) compensated for by the delay of all the inverse low-pass filters (−1436 μs).

The example “C” is characterized by a very low amplitude magnification and very good suppression up to 1000 Hz. In order to achieve this, there is no effective suppression above 2000 Hz. The filter shown consists of a low-pass filter, an inverse low-pass filter and four notch filters.FIGS.4A-4C(=decomposition of “C”) show that the delay of the low-pass filter (780 μs) and that of all the notch filters (253 μs) are almost 100% compensated for by the delay of the inverse low-pass filter (−1033 μs).

A further embodiment is shown inFIGS.6A-6C. Here, three notch filters are combined with three inverse notch filters. The overall filter has very good suppression in the range between 700 Hz and 900 Hz. The amplitude magnification now occurs at higher frequencies, here at around 1100 Hz. The compensation of the delay of all the notch filters (858 μs) and of all the inverse notch filters (−856 μs) is more than 99%.

All parameterizations of the examples given are provided below.

Example “C”: A low-pass filter, an inverse low-pass filter, four notch filters

Example fromFIGS.6A-6C: Three notch filters, three inverse notch filters

For later implementation, the above time-continuous filters are discretized. This is possible, for example, by Tustin transformation without losing certain desired properties of the filter, seeFIGS.5A-5Cfor discretization of example “C”.

FIG.9schematically shows a projection exposure apparatus1for EUV projection lithography in a meridional section.

According toFIG.9, the projection exposure apparatus1comprises an illumination device2and a projection lens10. The illumination device2serves to illuminate an object field5in an object plane6with radiation from a radiation source3by way of an illumination optical unit4. What is exposed here is a reticle7disposed in the object field5. The reticle7is held by a reticle holder8. The reticle holder8is displaceable, for example in a scanning direction, by way of a reticle displacement drive9.

For purposes of explanation, a Cartesian xyz-coordinate system is shown inFIG.9. The x-direction runs perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing. The y-direction runs horizontally, and the z-direction runs vertically. The scanning direction runs in the y-direction inFIG.1. The z-direction runs perpendicular to the object plane6.

The projection lens10serves for imaging the object field5into an image field11in an image plane12. A structure on the reticle7is imaged onto a light-sensitive layer of a wafer13arranged in the region of the image field11in the image plane12. The wafer13is held by a wafer holder14. The wafer holder14is displaceable, for example in the y-direction, by way of a wafer displacement drive15. The displacement on the one hand of the reticle7by way of the reticle displacement drive9and on the other hand of the wafer13by way of the wafer displacement drive15may take place in such a way as to be synchronized with one another.

The radiation source3is an EUV radiation source. The radiation source3can emit EUV radiation, which is also referred to below as used radiation or illumination radiation. For example, the used radiation has a wavelength in the range between 5 nm and 30 nm. The radiation source3may be a plasma source, for example an LPP (“laser produced plasma”) source or a GDPP (“gas discharged produced plasma”) source. It may also be a synchrotron-based radiation source. The radiation source3can also be a free-electron laser (“free-electron laser”, FEL). The illumination radiation16emerging from the radiation source3is focused by a collector17. The illumination radiation16propagates through an intermediate focus in an intermediate focal plane18downstream of the collector17. The intermediate focal plane18can represent a separation between a radiation source module, having the radiation source3and the collector17, and the illumination optical unit4.

The illumination optical unit4comprises a deflection minor19and, arranged downstream thereof in the beam path, a first facet mirror20. If the first facet mirror20is arranged in a plane of the illumination optical unit4which is optically conjugate to the object plane6as a field plane, this facet mirror is also referred to as a field facet minor. The first facet mirror20comprises a multiplicity of individual first facets21, some of which are shown inFIG.1only by way of example. In the beam path of the illumination optical unit4, a second facet minor22is arranged downstream of the first facet mirror20. If the second facet minor22is arranged in a pupil plane of the illumination optical unit4, it is also referred to as a pupil facet minor. The second facet minor22comprises a plurality of second facets23, some of which are also shown inFIG.1only by way of example.

The projection lens10comprises a plurality of mirrors Mi, which are consecutively numbered in accordance with their arrangement in the beam path of the projection exposure apparatus1. In the example shown inFIG.9, the projection lens10includes six minors M1to M6. Alternatives with four, eight, ten, twelve or any other number of mirrors Mi are likewise possible. The penultimate mirror M5and the last minor M6each have a passage opening for the illumination radiation16. The projection lens10is a doubly obscured optical unit. The projection lens10has an image-side numerical aperture that is greater than 0.5 and may also be greater than 0.6, and may be for example 0.7 or 0.75.

Reflection surfaces of the mirrors Mi can be embodied as freeform surfaces without an axis of rotational symmetry. Alternatively, the reflection surfaces of the mirrors Mi can be designed as aspherical surfaces with exactly one axis of rotational symmetry of the reflection surface shape. Just like the minors of the illumination optical unit4, the mirrors Mi can have highly reflective coatings for the illumination radiation16. These coatings can be designed as multilayer coatings, such as with alternating layers of molybdenum and silicon.

The projection lens10may for example have an anamorphic form. It can have different imaging scales βx, βyin the x- and y-directions. The two magnifications βx, βyof the projection lens10can be (βx, βy)=(±0.25, ±/0.125). A positive imaging scale β means imaging without image inversion. A negative sign for the imaging scale β means imaging with image inversion. The projection lens10thus leads to a reduction in the ratio 4:1 in the x-direction, i.e. in the direction perpendicular to the scanning direction. The projection lens10leads to a reduction of 8:1 in the y-direction, i.e. in the scanning direction. Other imaging scales are likewise possible. Imaging scales with the same sign and the same absolute value in the x-direction and y-direction are also possible, for example with absolute values of 0.125 or of 0.25.

Even though the disclosure has also been described on the basis of specific embodiments, numerous variations and alternative embodiments will be apparent to a person skilled in the art, for example by the combination and/or exchange of features of individual embodiments. Accordingly, it goes without saying for a person skilled in the art that such variations and alternative embodiments are concomitantly encompassed by the present disclosure, and the scope of the disclosure is restricted only within the meaning of the appended patent claims and the equivalents thereof.