Search

DE-102025119500-A1 - Semiconductor technology system with temperature control medium comprising cationic polymer additives

DE102025119500A1DE 102025119500 A1DE102025119500 A1DE 102025119500A1DE-102025119500-A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for semiconductor technology, wherein at least one component (M 4 ) of the system has at least one fluid channel (26) for conveying a liquid temperature control medium and a temperature control system (100) is connected to the at least one fluid channel (26) in such a way that a closed temperature control circuit (105) is formed for the temperature control medium, wherein the temperature control medium is provided with at least one cationic polymer additive to achieve the Toms effect.

Inventors

  • Marcus Fachet
  • Thomas Schaub
  • Valeri Kirsch
  • Timo Laufer

Assignees

  • CARL ZEISS SMT GMBH

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20250520

Claims (12)

  1. Equipment for semiconductor technology, wherein at least one component (M 4 ) of the equipment has at least one fluid channel (26) for conveying a liquid temperature control medium and a temperature control system (100) is connected to the at least one fluid channel (26) in such a way that a closed temperature control circuit (105) for the temperature control medium is formed, characterized in that the temperature control medium is provided with at least one cationic polymer additive to achieve the Toms effect.
  2. Annex according Claim 1 , characterized in that the average molecular mass of the polymer additive is greater by a factor of 2, preferably by a factor of 200, than the average molecular mass of the tempering medium.
  3. A system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the polymer additive comprises linear macromolecules, preferably with a deformable main chain.
  4. A system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the temperature control medium is water, preferably demineralized water.
  5. A system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pH value of the temperature control medium with polymer additive(s) is between 5 and 8, preferably between 6 and 7.5.
  6. A system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the concentration of the at least one polymer additive in the water is between 0.05 ppm and 1000 ppm, preferably between 2 ppm and 200 ppm.
  7. A system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the average molecular mass of the polymer additive is between 10 g/mol and 100,000 g/mol, preferably between 40 g/mol and 50,000 g/mol, and/or the average molecular mass of the tempering medium is between 15 g/mol and 20 g/mol, preferably between 17 g/mol and 19 g/mol.
  8. Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plant comprises a monitoring unit (105) for monitoring the concentration and/or individual effects of the polymer additive in the temperature control medium.
  9. A system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the system includes a dosing unit (106) for the controlled introduction of the cationic polymer additive into the temperature control medium.
  10. A system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the system comprises a device for at least partial replacement of the temperature control medium.
  11. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the system for semiconductor technology comprises a filter (104) for the temperature control medium.
  12. A system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the system is a projection exposure system (1) for photolithography.

Description

The invention relates to a system for semiconductor technology in which a liquid temperature control medium is used to control the temperature of at least one component. In the prior art, semiconductor technology equipment refers to equipment used for the production or testing of microstructured devices or the components required for their manufacture. An example of such equipment is a projection exposure system for photolithography. Photolithography is used to manufacture microstructured components, such as integrated circuits. The projection exposure system used comprises an illumination system and a projection system. The image of a mask (also called a reticulum) illuminated by the illumination system is projected by the projection system onto a substrate, for example, a silicon wafer, coated with a photosensitive layer and positioned in the image plane of the projection system. This reduces the size of the mask structure, transferring it onto the photosensitive coating of the substrate. Both illumination and projection systems, particularly those designed for EUV applications (i.e., exposure wavelengths from 5 nm to 30 nm), typically employ multiple optical elements, especially mirrors, to achieve the desired image of the mask onto the substrate. Due to the required accuracy, it is crucial, especially in projection systems, to ensure that the position of the individual optical elements relative to each other, as well as to the mask and the substrate, changes only within extremely small tolerances, if at all, during operation of the projection system. Furthermore, the shape of the optical elements, particularly the mirror surfaces, must not change, or only within a predefined range. Any change in the position and/or shape of one or more optical elements can lead to a decrease in the image quality of the projection system. Corresponding changes in the position and/or shape of one or more optical elements can occur due to heat input into the optical elements or into the structure supporting them. Such heat input inevitably occurs, for example, due to absorption of the exposure radiation by the optical elements, absorption of interfering radiation, particularly in the infrared range, and the heat loss from electrical components in the projection system. To compensate for changes in the position of the optical elements to a certain extent, electrical actuators are known, but these themselves emit heat. To avoid or at least minimize changes in the shape of the optical elements from a target shape and to dissipate heat into the projection exposure system, particularly its projection system, it is known to equip at least some of the optical elements and/or other components of the projection exposure system, and especially the projection system, with fluid channels for the passage of a temperature control fluid – in particular, demineralized water. Even though the temperature of individual components can be well regulated by passing a temperature control fluid through parts of the projection exposure system, thus reducing or even completely preventing changes in the position and/or shape of one or more optical elements due to heat input, it has been shown that passing temperature control fluid through the designated fluid channels introduces vibrations into the components of the projection exposure system, which can lead to a decrease in image quality, especially when occurring in the projection system. The causes of these vibrations introduced by the temperature control fluid include flow-induced vibrations (FIV), which result from the interaction of a turbulent flow with the wall of the flow channel. Even if it may be possible to minimize the flow-induced vibrations introduced by the passage of temperature control fluid through a suitable choice of cross-section and other design of the fluid channels, the resulting vibrations may still reduce the image quality of a projection exposure system beyond a permissible level. Furthermore, it has been found that, particularly when using demineralized water as the temperature control fluid, significant corrosion effects occur on the walls of the channels through which the fluid flows. In addition to the actual corrosion and the frequently associated material loss, the corrosive material can precipitate elsewhere in the temperature control circuit. run, which negatively affects the flow and can lead to additional FIVs. The object of the present invention is to create a system for semiconductor technology in which the disadvantages of the prior art no longer occur or only occur to a reduced extent. This problem is solved by a system according to claim 1. Advantageous further developments are the subject of the dependent claims. Accordingly, the invention relates to a system for semiconductor technology, wherein at least one component of the system has at least one fluid channel for conveying a liquid temperature control medium and a temperature control system is connecte