An exposure system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a laser apparatus emitting a pulse laser beam, an illumination optical system guiding the pulse laser beam to a reticle, a reticle stage moving the reticle, and a processor controlling emission of the pulse laser beam and movement of the reticle. The exposure system performs scanning exposure of a semiconductor substrate by irradiating the reticle with the pulse laser beam. The reticle has first and second regions. The processor instructs the laser apparatus about, based on proximity effect characteristics corresponding to the first and second regions, a value of a control parameter of the pulse laser beam corresponding to each region so that the laser apparatus emits the pulse laser beam with which a difference of the proximity effect characteristic of each region from a reference proximity effect characteristic is in an allowable range.

An exposure system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a laser apparatus that outputs pulsed laser light, an illuminating optical system that guides the pulsed laser light to a reticle, a reticle stage, and a processor that controls the output of the pulsed laser light from the laser apparatus and the movement of the reticle performed by the reticle stage. The reticle has a first region where a first pattern is disposed and a second region where a second pattern is disposed, and the first and second regions are each a region continuous in a scan width direction perpendicular to a scan direction of the pulsed laser light, with the first and second regions arranged side by side in the scan direction. The processor controls the laser apparatus to output the pulsed laser light according to each of the first and second regions by changing the values of control parameters of the pulsed laser light in accordance with each of the first and second regions.

A system includes a laser source configured to generate one or more bursts of laser pulses and a data collection and analysis system. The data collection and analysis system is configured to receive, from the laser source, data associated with the one or more bursts of laser pulses and determine, based on the received data, that the one or more bursts of laser pulses are for external use. The data collection and analysis system is further configured to determine, based on the received data, whether the one or more bursts of laser pulses are for an on-wafer operation or are for a calibration operation.

Systems and methods are disclosed for selectively allowing or preventing output of laser pulses. In some embodiments, a laser system comprises a shutter and a shutter motor. The shutter motor is configured to move the shutter in an alternating manner between a first position in which output of laser electromagnetic radiation is allowed a second position in which output of laser electromagnetic radiation is prevented.

A method includes driving, while producing a burst of pulses at a pulse repetition rate, a spectral feature adjuster among a set of discrete states at a frequency correlated with the pulse repetition rate; and in between the production of the bursts of pulses (while no pulses are being produced), driving the spectral feature adjuster according to a driving signal defined by a set of parameters. Each discrete state corresponds to a discrete value of a spectral feature. The method includes ensuring that the spectral feature adjuster is in one of the discrete states that corresponds to a discrete value of the spectral feature of the amplified light beam when a pulse in the next burst is produced by adjusting one or more of: an instruction to the lithography exposure apparatus, the driving signal to the spectral feature adjuster, and/or the instruction to the optical source.

An exposure method includes reading data indicating a relation between parameters and a wavelength difference between a first pulse laser beam and a second pulse laser beam, the parameters being related to exposure conditions under which a semiconductor wafer is exposed to a plurality of pulse laser beams including the first and second pulse laser beams, determining a target value of the wavelength difference based on the data and command values of the parameters; determining a first wavelength of the first pulse laser beam and a second wavelength of the second pulse laser beam based on the target value; outputting a wavelength setting signal to a laser apparatus to cause emission of the pulse laser beams including the first pulse laser beam having the first wavelength and the second pulse laser beam having the second wavelength; and exposing the semiconductor wafer to the pulse laser beams.

A broadband light source includes a rotatable drum coated with plasma-forming target material, a rotational actuator configured to rotate the rotatable drum, and a rotary encoder connected to the rotatable drum. The broadband light source may include a linear actuator configured to axially translate the rotatable drum and linear encoder connected to the rotatable drum. The broadband light source includes a pulsed laser source configured to direct pulsed illumination to a set of spots on the material-coated portion of the rotatable drum for exciting the plasma-forming target material and emitting broadband light as the drum is actuated. The broadband light source includes a control system. The control system is configured to receive one or more rotational position indicators from the rotary indicator and control triggering of the laser source based on the one or more rotational position indicators from rotary encoder.

A pulse width expansion apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a polarization beam splitter and a transfer optical system. The transfer optical system includes ¼-wavelength and reflection mirror pairs. The ¼-wavelength mirror pair include first and second ¼-wavelength mirrors. The first ¼-wavelength mirror provides ¼-wavelength phase shift and reflects a pulse laser beam. The second ¼-wavelength mirror provides ¼-wavelength phase shift and reflects the pulse laser beam reflected by the first ¼-wavelength mirror. The reflection mirror pair are disposed on an optical path before and after or between the ¼-wavelength mirror pair. The transfer optical system transfers an image of an input pulse laser beam on the polarization beam splitter to the optical path between the ¼-wavelength mirror pair at one-to-one magnification as a first transfer image and transfers the first transfer image to the polarization beam splitter at one-to-one magnification as a second transfer image.

An information processing device includes a processor and a storage device. The processor is configured to acquire data for each parameter provided from each of a light source device which generates pulse light and an exposure apparatus which performs exposure on a wafer with the pulse light output from the light source device, and time data associated with the data; to perform classification, based on the acquired data and time data, for each record of the data associated with same time data for distinguishing whether being data during exposure in which the wafer is irradiated with the pulse light or being data during non-exposure; to associate attribute information indicating an attribute according to the classification with each of the records; to cause the storage device to store the data and the time data associated with the attribute information; and to generate a chart using data read from the storage device.

A laser processing method of performing laser processing on a transparent material that is transparent to ultraviolet light by using a laser processing system includes: performing relative positioning of a transfer position of a transfer image and the transparent material in an optical axis direction of a pulse laser beam so that the transfer position is set at a position inside the transparent material at a predetermined depth ΔZsf from a surface of the transparent material in the optical axis direction; and irradiating the transparent material with the pulse laser beam having a pulse width of 1 ns to 100 ns inclusive and a beam diameter of 10 μm to 150 μm inclusive at the transfer position.