Stephan Fahr

Prediction and validation of the polarization performance of high-numerical aperture inspection lenses

In this work, we show how to predict the polarization-performance of high-numerical aperture optical systems. Various important influences, such as coating-induced phase change, stress induced birefringence, or the quality of the raw material are investigated.

Lens-mount stability trade-off: a survey exemplified for DUV wafer inspection objectives

The position stability of optical elements is an essential part of the tolerance budget of an optical system because its compensation would require an alignment step after the lens has left the factory. In order to achieve a given built performance the stability error contribution needs to be known and accounted for. Given a high-end lens touching the edge of technology not knowing, under- or overestimating this contribution becomes a serious cost and risk factor. If overestimated the remaining parts of the budget need to be tighter. If underestimated the total project might fail. For many mounting principles the stability benchmark is based on previous systems or information gathered by elaborated testing of complete optical systems. This renders the development of a new system into a risky endeavour, because these experiences are not sufficiently precise and tend to be not transferable when scaling of the optical elements is intended. This contribution discusses the influences of different optical mounting concepts on the position stability using the example of high numerical aperture (HNA) inspection lenses working in the deep ultraviolet (DUV) spectrum. A method to investigate the positional stability is presented for selected mounting examples typical for inspection lenses.

Predicting polarization performance of high-numerical aperture inspection lenses

Along the course of increasing through-put and improving signal to noise ratio in optical wafer and mask inspection, demands on wave front aberrations and polarization characteristics are ever increasing. The system engineers and optical designers involved in the development of such optical systems will be responsible for specifying the quality of the optical material and the mechanical tolerances. Among optical designers it is well established how to estimate the wave front error of assembled and adjusted optical devices via sensitivity or Monte-Carlo analysis. However, when compared with the scalar problem of wave front estimation, the field of polarization control deems to pose a more complex problem due to its vectorial nature. Here we show our latest results in how to model polarization affecting aspects. In the realm of high numerical aperture (NA) inspection optics we will focus on the impact of coatings, stress induced birefringence due to non-perfect lens mounting, and finally the birefringence of the optical material. With all these tools at hand, we have a more complete understanding of the optical performance of our assembled optical systems. Moreover, we are able to coherently develop optical systems meeting demanding wave front criteria as well as high end polarization specifications.