An exposure apparatus exposes a substrate with illumination light via a liquid. A liquid immersion member of the exposure apparatus has a lower surface, a plurality of collection ports, and a plurality of supply ports. The lower surface has an opening through which illumination light passes. The collection ports are arranged at the lower surface to surround the opening, and the supply ports are arranged at the lower surface and between the opening and the collection ports to surround the opening, such that the liquid is supplied via the supply ports onto the substrate while the substrate is arranged opposite to a plane-convex lens of a projection optical system and such that the liquid is collected via the collection ports from the substrate.

Extreme ultra-violet (EUV) lithography ruling engine specifically configured to print one-dimensional lines on a target workpiece includes source of EUV radiation; a pattern-source defining 1D pattern; an illumination unit (IU) configured to irradiate the pattern-source; and projection optics (PO) configured to optically image, with a reduction factor N>1, the 1D pattern on image surface that is optically-conjugate to the 1D pattern. Irradiation of the pattern-source can be on-axis or off-axis. While 1D pattern has first spatial frequency, its optical image has second spatial frequency that is at least twice the first spatial frequency. The pattern-source can be flat or curved. The IU may include a relay reflector. A PO's reflector may include multiple spatially-distinct reflecting elements aggregately forming such reflector. The engine is configured to not allow formation of optical image of any 2D pattern that has spatial resolution substantially equal to a pitch of the 1D pattern of the pattern-source.

An exposure apparatus and method exposes a substrate via a projection optical system and a liquid supplied to an immersion region below the projection optical system. First and second holding members move below the projection optical system and each can hold a substrate in a hole of an upper surface thereof. A controller is arranged to control a drive system such that, when one holding member of the first and second holding members is arranged opposite to the projection optical system, the other holding member of the first and second holding members comes close to the one holding member, and such that the close first and second holding members are moved relative to a liquid immersion member so that the other holding member is arranged opposite to the projection optical system in place of the one holding member while the immersion region is substantially maintained below the projection optical system.

Methods, apparatus, and system for minimizing defectivity in top-coat-free immersion photolithography are provided. Embodiments include forming a photomask by defining a first pattern including a main functional pattern in the photomask; and defining a second pattern including a sub-resolution fill pattern in the photomask in areas between or and/or within structures of the first pattern, the fill pattern having a pitch or range of pitches smaller than a minimum resolved pitch of the lithographic exposure and/or at least a part of the sub-resolution structures of the sub-resolution fill pattern not substantially modifying an imaging of any structure of the main functional pattern in the lithographic exposure.

Techniques related to semiconductor fabrication are generally described herein. An example fabrication method may include coupling, by a lithographic equipment, a surface of a planar waveguide structure with a first surface of a photolithographic mask. Some example methods may also include directing, by the lithographic equipment, a lithography light beam into the planar waveguide structure, causing a surface plasmon being emitted from the surface of the planar waveguide structure when the lithography light beam is reflected by internal surfaces of the planar waveguide structure, effectuating an attenuated total reflection. Some example methods may further include directing, by the lithographic equipment, an evanescent wave caused by the surface plasmon through the photolithographic mask, wherein the evanescent wave has a sub-diffraction characteristic and is used as a photolithographic light source.

A method of forming a pillar includes masking a photoresist material using a reticle and a developer having a polarity opposite that of the photoresist to provide an island of photoresist material. A layer under the island of photoresist material is etched to establish a pillar defined by the island of photoresist material.

An electrical field is applied through an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photoresist layer along a direction perpendicular to an interface between the EUV photoresist layer and an underlying layer. Secondary electrons and thermal electrons are accelerated along the direction of the electrical field, and travel with directionality before interacting with the photoresist material for a chemical reaction. The directionality increases the efficiency of electron photoacid capture, reducing the required EUV dose for exposure. Furthermore, this directionality reduces lateral diffusion of the secondary and thermal electrons, and thereby reduces blurring of the image and improves the image resolution of feature edges formed in the EUV photoresist layer. The electrical field may be generated by applying a direct current (DC) and/or alternating current (AC) bias voltage across an electrostatic chuck and a conductive plate placed over the EUV photoresist layer with a hole for passing the EUV radiation through.

A method for forming a memory device includes masking a photoresist material using a reticle and a developer having a polarity opposite that of the photoresist to provide an island of photoresist material. A planarizing layer is etched to establish a pillar of planarizing material defined by the island of photoresist material. A metal layer is etched to form a metal pillar having a diameter about the same as the pillar of planarizing material. A memory stack is etched to form a memory stack pillar having a diameter about the same as the metal pillar. A magnetoresistive memory cell includes a magnetic tunnel junction pillar having a circular cross section. The pillar has a pinned magnetic layer, a tunnel barrier layer, and a free magnetic layer. A first conductive contact is disposed above the magnetic tunnel junction pillar. A second conductive contact is disposed below the magnetic tunnel junction pillar.

A method for sub-diffraction-limited patterning using a photoswitchable layer is disclosed. A sample of the photoswitchable layer can be selectively exposed to a first wavelength of illumination that includes a super-oscillatory peak. The sample can be selectively exposed to a second wavelength of illumination that does not include the super-oscillatory peak. A region in the sample that corresponds to the super-oscillatory peak and is associated with the second transition state can optionally be converted into a third transition state. The region in the sample at the third transition state can constitute a pattern of an isolated feature with a size that is substantially smaller than a far-field diffraction limit.

Methods disclosed herein provide apparatus and methods for applying an electric field and/or a magnetic field to a photoresist layer without air gap intervention during photolithography processes. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a processing chamber configured to apply an electric field to a substrate via a non-gas phase intermediate medium. Methods described herein include dissociation of a photoacid generator to generate anions and cations. The anions may be moved within the photoresist layer by the electric field to more precisely control the speed and location of acid generation and regeneration processes.