We present a flexible and compact experimental setup that combines an in vacuum liquid jet with a x-ray emission spectrometer to enable static and femtosecond time-resolved resonant inelastic soft x-ray scattering (RIXS) measurements from liquids at free electron laser (FEL) light sources. We demostrate the feasibility of this type of experiments with the measurments performed at the Linac Coherent Light Source FEL facility. At the FEL we observed changes in the RIXS spectra at high peak fluences which currently sets a limit to maximum attainable count rate at FELs. The setup presented here opens up new possibilities to study the structure and dynamics in liquids.

As the opportunities for experimental studies are still limited, a predictive simulation of EUV lithography is very important for a better understanding of the technology. One of the most critical issues in modeling of EUV lithography is the description of the mask. Typical absorber heights in the range between 80 and 100nm are more than 5 times larger than the wavelength of the used EUV radiation. Therefore, it is virtually impossible to perform parameter studies for 3D EUV masks, such as arrays of contacts or posts, with nowadays standard computers by straightforward application of finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithms, which are used for the rigorous electromagnetic field simulation of optical masks. This paper discusses the application of field decomposition techniques for an efficient simulation of 3D EUV-masks with FDTD algorithms. Comparisons with full 3D simulations are used to evaluate the accuracy and the performance of the proposed approach. The application of the new QUASI 3D rigorous electromagnetic field simulation for EUV masks reduces memory requirements and computing time at by a factor of at least 100. The implemented simulation approach is applied for a first exploration of mask induced imaging artifacts such as placement errors, telecentricity errors, Bossung asymmetries, and focus shifts for 3D EUV masks.

Standard simulations of optical projection systems for lithography with scalar or vector methods of Fourier optics make the assumption that the wafer stack consists of homogeneous layers. We introduce a general scheme for the rigorous electromagnetic field (EMF) simulation of lithographic exposures over non-planar wafers. Rigorous EMF simulations are performed with the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The described method is used to simulate several typical scenarios for lithographic exposures over non-planar wafers. This includes the exposure of resist lines over a poly-Si line on the wafer with orthogonal orientation, the simulation of "classical" notch problems, and the simulation of lithographic exposures over wafers with defects

This paper describes mask topography effects of alternating phase shift masks for DUV lithography. First two options to achieve intensity balancing are discussed. Global phase errors of +lO cause a CD change of 3 nm and 8 nm CD placement errors. The CD placement appears to be the parameter affected most by phase errors. A sloped quartz edge with an angle of 30 causes a CD change of 10 nm. The CD sensitivity on local phase errors, i.e. quartz bumps or holes was also studied. The critical defect size of a quartz bump was seen to be 150 nm (5x) for 150 nm technology. For the investigation the recently developed topography simulator T-Mask was used. The simulator was first checked against analytical tests and experimental results.

One of the hot topics in the Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) mask fabrication process is the requirement to produce multilayer blanks without any printing defects. As the potential of experimental studies is still limited, a predictive simulation of EUV lithography is an important step on the way to meet this requirement.The simulator tool SOLID-EUV 4 is extended to deal with defective multilayers. The simulation is divided into two regions, the finite-difference timeñdomain (FDTD) method for the absorber part and the simulation of the multilayer reflectivity by the Fresnel-method. To take the defects into account the multilayer is divided into segments, which include the defect, and the reflectivity is calculated for each segment. For calculating the multilayer stack for each segment the defects are assumed to be Gaussian shaped. For the complete computation of the reflected light from the EUV mask a coupling of the two methods is realized.This paper presents case studies using the lithography simulator tool SOLID-EUV 4 with the new defective multilayer simulation part, to analyse the printability of defects. The impact of the defect size, horizontal and vertical defect position within the multilayer, and the influence of the layer deposition process is analysed. The most influential defect parameters are identified. One defect with an influence which tends to be printed is taken and combined with typical mask structures, such as isolated lines, lines and spaces and contact holes. The process windows of the mask structures for various defect positions are analysed. These simulations can be used to develop strategies to handle such defects.