Effect of particle defect to extreme ultra-violet pellicle

Abstract

The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pellicle on the EUV mask is used to prevent the image distortion, and the lifetime of the pellicle is important because it is directly related to the yield. However, particle defects can significantly impact the lifetime of the pellicle, causing thermal or mechanical damage such as deformation or increased temperature. To study these effects, we explored how particle defects affect the pellicle, including scenarios where defects on the pellicle or collide with it. We found that there was no temperature and stress accumulation with repeated exposure of the pellicle regardless of the defect exitance. The collision of flying particles gave little mechanical effect with the known impulse inside the scanner. The metal-silicide core pellicles showed better thermal stability compared to the poly-silicon core pellicles and that could be the reason why metal-silicide pellicles showed longer lifetime.