A beam homogenizer for homogenizing a beam of radiation and an illumination system and metrology apparatus comprising such a beam homogenizer as provided. The beam homogenizer comprises a filter system having a controllable radial absorption profile and configured to output a filtered beam and an optical mixing element configured to homogenize the filtered beam. The filter system may be configured to homogenize the angular beam profile radially and said optical mixing element may be configured to homogenize the angular beam profile azimuthally.

An optical system delivers illuminating radiation and collects radiation after interaction with a target structure on a substrate. A measurement intensity profile is used to calculate a measurement of the property of the structure. The optical system may include a solid immersion lens. In a method, the optical system is controlled to obtain a first intensity profile using a first illumination profile and a second intensity profile using a second illumination profile. The profiles are used to derive a correction for mitigating the effect of, e.g., ghost reflections. Using, e.g., half-moon illumination profiles in different orientations, the method can measure ghost reflections even where a solid immersion lens would cause total internal reflection. The optical system may include a contaminant detection system to control a movement based on received scattered detection radiation. The optical system may include an optical component having a dielectric coating to enhance evanescent wave interaction.

Provided is a supporting frame in which a vent hole detachably arranging a filter and to which a pellicle film for extreme ultraviolet lithography can be attached. A support frame according to an embodiment of the present invention is a support frame for arranging a pellicle film, the support frame has a through hole being made from a hole extending along a first direction, the first direction being almost parallel to a surface direction of the pellicle film, and a hole extending along a second direction, the second direction not being parallel to the first direction; and the support frame includes a filter, the filter arranged at an inside of the through hole or at an end of the through hole, and the filter is arranged apart from the pellicle film.

A scatterometer performs diffraction based measurements of one or more parameters of a target structure. To make two-color measurements in parallel, the structure is illuminated simultaneously with first radiation (302) having a first wavelength and a first angular distribution and with second radiation (304) having a second wavelength and a second angular distribution. The collection path (CP) includes a segmented wavelength-selective filter (21, 310) arranged to transmit wanted higher order portions of the diffracted first radiation (302X, 302Y) and of the diffracted second radiation (304X, 304Y), while simultaneously blocking zero order portions (302″, 304″) of both the first radiation and second radiation. The illumination path (IP) in one embodiment includes a matching segmented wavelength-selective filter (13, 300), oriented such that a zero order ray passing through the illumination optical system and the collection optical system will be blocked by one of said filters or the other, depending on its wavelength.

A method for manufacturing a membrane assembly for EUV lithography, the method including: providing a stack including: at least one membrane layer supported by a planar substrate, wherein the planar substrate has an inner region and a border region around the inner region; and a first sacrificial layer between the planar substrate and the membrane layer; selectively removing the inner region of the planar substrate such that the membrane assembly has: a membrane formed from the at least one membrane layer, and a border holding the membrane, the border having the border region of the planar substrate and the first sacrificial layer situated between the border region and the membrane layer, wherein the selectively removing the inner region of the planar substrate includes using an etchant which has a similar etch rate for the membrane layer and its oxide and a substantially different etch rate for the first sacrificial layer.

The disclosure relates to a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus, such as are used for the production of large-scale integrated electrical circuits and other microstructured components. The disclosure relates in particular to coatings of optical elements in order to increase or reduce the reflectivity.

A photolithography device includes: a fixed slot, configured to install and fix the light source; a sensing module, configured to sense the distance information between the light source and the fixed slot; a prompt module, configured to send prompt information according to the distance information; and a determination module, configured to determine the installation status of the light source according to the prompt information.

Manufacturing of semiconductor devices often involves performed photolithography to pattern and etch the various features of those devices. Such photolithography involves masking and focusing light onto a surface of the semiconductor device for exposing and etching the features of the semiconductor devices. However, due to design specifications and other causes, the semiconductor devices may not have a perfectly flat light-incident surface. Rather, some areas of the semiconductor device may be raised or lowered relative to other areas of the semiconductor device. Therefore, focusing the light on one area causes another to become unfocused. By carefully designing a photomask to cause phase shifts of the light transmitted therethrough, focus across all areas of the semiconductor device can be achieved during photolithography, which results in sharp and accurate patterns formed on the semiconductor device.

An illumination optical apparatus includes a plurality of birefringent members made of a birefringent material and arranged in an optical path on an incidence side of an optical integrator. The members change a polarization state of illumination light such that first and second rays of the illumination light are polarized in different directions on the pupil plane. The birefringent members are arranged such that an optical path length of the first ray in the birefringent material is different from an optical path length of the second ray in the birefringent material, and are arranged so as to change the polarization state of the illumination light incident on the plurality of the birefringent members in a linear polarization state having a substantially single polarization direction such that each of the first and second rays is polarized in a substantially circumferential direction about the optical axis on the pupil plane.

A polarization-modulating element for modulating a polarization state of incident light into a predetermined polarization state, the polarization-modulating element being made of an optical material with optical activity and having a circumferentially varying thickness profile.