Datasheet (pdf)

Actinix in conjunction with scientists at IBM Almaden Research Center has developed an all solid-state laser operating at 193 nm that satisfies the requirements for high performance interference immersion lithography. Particular care was taken with the choices of materials, cleaning procedures and packaging to protect the optics and crystals from the damage that can easily occur with the intense, relatively small diameter beams that are used in the system. Mechanical stability is also a primary concern, and the system incorporates features designed to ensure stability and give “no-tweak” operation.

• Uses a high reliability OEM diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser
• 5 kilohertz repetition rate for actinic imaging and metrology applications
• >5mJ per pulse; M squared = 1.2
• The excellent beam quality and high spatial coherence distinguishes the 3193 from excimer lasers that require significant beam cleanup
• Applications: immersion lithography, nano-machining, mask haze studies, mask metrology, at-wavelength imaging

Light at 193.4 nm is generated by frequency-mixing a 266-nm ultraviolet (UV) beam with a 708-nm infra-red (IR) beam. Both of these beams are generated from the 532-nm output of a diode-pumped, intracavity-doubled Nd:YAG laser operating at 5 kHz. The 193-nm beam generated using the low-temperature BBO crystal is nearly diffraction-limited (M2 values < 1.2 in both directions) with a TEM00 spatial mode, and has a Gaussian spectral distribution with a frequency bandwidth of <10 pm FWHM.