SBIR Phase II: A Simple and Practical Solid-State 157nm and 193nm Coherent Light Source for Applications in Lithography Development

SBIR第二阶段项目将开发新一代157 nm和193 nm的全相干固态真空紫外（UV）光源，以支持下一代半导体制造和计量以及基础研究应用。目前可用的UV准分子源具有诸如差的空间相干性的限制，使得它们不适合于计量。因此，产生完全空间相干VUV源的最有前途的途径是从光谱的可见红外区域向上转换光，其中相干激光源已经存在。然而，实现这一目标的一个重大技术障碍是缺乏可靠的固态非线性光学晶体，工作在深紫外线。在200 nm波长处的不均匀残留吸收会导致非线性光学晶体的长期损坏，需要不断更换。此外，对于193nm的频率，目前不存在合适的非线性光学晶体。因此，气态非线性光学介质是产生波长为200 nm的光的晶体的有吸引力的替代品。该SBIR第二阶段项目将使用充气中空波导中的四波混频来开发桌面VUV激光器，该激光器能够在157nm和193nm处以完全相干光束产生10 mW，甚至100 mW的光，在非常高（10kHz）该项目有可能对半导体和电子行业产生非常广泛的影响，以及基础科学。微处理器、DRAM存储器和其他集成电子器件的复杂性和速度的进步是由制造具有越来越小的特征尺寸的越来越密集的IC的能力驱动的。这已经通过更高分辨率的光刻“步进器”的发展和使用更短波长的光进行光刻而实现。由于目前没有明亮的桌面光源，大多数短波长材料，纳米和化学科学必须在同步加速器光源上进行，其中访问是有限的，并且来源没有优化。因此，如果有这样一个来源，生产力就可能大大提高。

This SBIR Phase II project will develop a new generation of fully-coherent, solid-state, vacuum-Ultraviolet (UV) light sources at 157nm and 193nm, to support the next generation of semiconductor fabrication and metrology, as well as for applications in basic research. Currently available UV excimer sources have limitations such as poor spatial coherence, making them unsuitable for metrology. Therefore, the most promising route to generate fully-spatially-coherent VUV sources is to up convert light from the visible-infrared region of the spectrum, where coherent laser sources already exist. However, a significant technical obstacle towards this goal is the lack of reliable solid-state nonlinear-optical crystals that work in the deep-UV. Unavoidable residual absorption at wavelengths 200nm can lead to long-term damage of nonlinear optical crystals, requiring constant replacement. Furthermore, for frequencies 193nm, no suitable nonlinear optical crystal currently exists. Therefore, gaseous nonlinear-optical media are an attractive alternative to crystals for generating light at wavelengths 200nm. This SBIR Phase II project will use four-wave mixing in gas filled hollow waveguides to develop a tabletop VUV laser capable of generating 10's of mW, and possibly 100's of mW of light at 157nm and at 193nm, in a fully coherent beam, at the very high (10kHz) repetition rates necessary for applications in metrology.This project has the potential to have a very broad impact on the semiconductor and electronics industries, as well as in basic science. Progress in both the complexity and the speed of microprocessors, DRAM memory, and other integrated electronics has been driven by the ability to make increasingly dense IC's, with ever-smaller feature sizes. This has been enabled by the development of higher-resolution lithographic "steppers" and the use of ever-shorter wavelengths of light for lithography. Because no bright, tabletop, sources currently exist, most short-wavelength materials, nano- and chemical science must take place at synchrotron sources, where access is limited and the sources are not optimized. Therefore, significant gains in productivity could occur with the availability of such a source.