The present disclosure provides a semiconductor lithography system. The lithography system includes a projection optics component. The projection optics component includes a curved aperture. The lithography system includes a photo mask positioned over the projection optics component. The photo mask contains a plurality of elongate semiconductor patterns. The semiconductor patterns each point in a direction substantially perpendicular to the curved aperture of the projection optics component. The present disclosure also provides a method. The method includes receiving a design layout for a semiconductor device. The design layout contains a plurality of semiconductor patterns each oriented in a given direction. The method includes transforming the design layout into a mask layout. The semiconductor patterns in the mask layout are oriented in a plurality of different directions as a function of their respective location.

The invention relates to a photolithographic illumination device including: a light beam source; a condenser (5); an optical homogenizing system (4), including at least one microlens array (L3, L4), arranged upstream from the condenser (5) such that the image focal plane of the optical homogenizing system is positioned in the object focal plane of the condenser; a shutter (3), arranged in the object focal plane of the optical homogenizing system, and in which the optical homogenizing system includes two microlens arrays (L3, L4), the spacing as well as the arrangement and orientation of the microlenses of which are designed such that, in two directions (X, Y) orthogonal to the optical axis, the optical homogenizing system has merged image focal planes and merged object focal planes. The invention likewise relates to a photolithographic device including such an illuminator.

A top module of an exposing apparatus may include a reticle stage, a nozzle and a pair of guides. The reticle stage may be configured to support a reticle to which a light is incident. The nozzle may be under the reticle stage and configured to inject a shielding gas in a first horizontal direction. The guides may extend from opposite sides of the nozzle and may be configured to induce the shielding gas in the first horizontal direction. Thus, the shielding gas may not diffuse in a second horizontal direction (e.g., perpendicular to the first horizontal direction) to prevent a diffusion of a contaminant in the shielding gas, thereby preventing the reticle from being contaminated. As a result, a pattern of the reticle may be accurately transcribed into a layer on a semiconductor substrate to form a desired pattern.

An illumination optical system, which irradiates a target object with light from a light source unit includes: an integrator optical system that is disposed on an optical path of the light emitted from the light source unit and uniformizes an illuminance distribution of the light with which the target object is to be irradiated; an input lens that is disposed on a light incident side of the integrator optical system; a bandpass filter that is disposed between the input lens and the integrator optical system; an aperture that is disposed on a light emission side of the integrator optical system; and a condenser lens that irradiates the target object with light emitted from the aperture, the aperture having a size larger than a size of an irradiation region of the light with which the target object is to be irradiated.

A method for characterizing a lithography apparatus, in particular, a method for characterizing a lithography apparatus configured to cause an obscuration of radiation, as well as a lithography apparatus and a computer program product configured to carry out the methods. A method for characterizing a lithography apparatus; detecting first diffracted radiation of the lithography apparatus, wherein the first diffracted radiation was diffracted at a characterization element; determining a diffraction property of the characterization element based on at least in part the first substantially undiffracted radiation and the first diffracted radiation.

Illumination system for a lithographic projection exposure step-and-scan apparatus comprising a light source, a pupil shaping unit, a field defining unit, a first lens array, a first slit array, a second lens array, a third lens array, a second slit array, a fourth lens array, a condenser lens, and a scanning drive unit sequentially arranged along the light beam propagation direction. The illumination system reduces requirements on lens processing, slit scanning speed, and slit scanning precision, therefore may be implemented more easily.

A lithography apparatus includes a plurality reticle edge masking assemblies (REMAs), wherein each REMA of the plurality of REMAs is positioned to receive one of a plurality of light beams, and each REMA of the plurality of REMAs comprises a movable slit for passing the received light beam therethrough. The lithography apparatus includes a controller for controlling a speed of the movable slit based on a size of the movable slit, an intensity of the one or more collimated light beams, or a material to be patterned. The lithography apparatus further includes a single mask having a single pattern, wherein the mask is configured to receive light from every REMA of the plurality of REMAs. The lithography apparatus includes a projection lens configured to receive light transmitted through the single mask, wherein the lithography apparatus is configured to introduce an immersion liquid into a space adjacent to the projection lens.

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods for optimizing a lithographic projection apparatus including optimizing projection optics therein. The current embodiments include several flows including optimizing a source, a mask, and the projection optics and various sequential and iterative optimization steps combining any of the projection optics, mask and source. The projection optics is sometimes broadly referred to as lens, and therefore the optimization process may be termed source mask lens optimization (SMLO). SMLO may be desirable over existing source mask optimization process (SMO) or other optimization processes that do not include projection optics optimization, partially because including the projection optics in the optimization may lead to a larger process window by introducing a plurality of adjustable characteristics of the projection optics. The projection optics may be used to shape wavefront in the lithographic projection apparatus, enabling aberration control of the overall imaging process.

Mirror having a fragmented total surface area, wherein the fragmentation forms an aperiodic arrangement.

An illumination system of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus comprises an optical integrator, which includes a first optical raster plate and a second optical raster plate. The first second optical raster plate comprising an array of first lenses having, along a reference direction, a first focal length f.sub.1, and the second optical raster plate comprises an array of second lenses having, along the reference direction, a second focal length f.sub.2. The vertices of the first lenses and vertices of the second lenses are spaced apart by a distance d that is greater than the second focal length f.sub.2 so that d>1.01.Math.f.sub.2. This ensures that laser pointing or another transient variation of the illumination of the optical integrator does not adversely affect the spatial irradiance distribution in a plane which is illuminated by the optical integrator.