The low source power is one of the major challenges that hinder the extreme ultraviolet lithography from high volume manufacturing. To alleviate the source development pressure, a high-efficiency illumination system with three mirrors is proposed, based on the authors 'knowledge, for the first time. Free-form fly's eye is introduced into the system to get a qualified arc-shaped irradiance distribution on the reticle. A method integrated with a numerical method and optimization to design the free-form surface is given in detail. The transfer efficiency of the system is much higher than that of the four-mirror configuration employed in the EUV exposure platform. Compared with the previous high-efficiency illumination system with two mirrors, this configuration can ensure a good uniformity and will not increase the objective design difficulty or affect the image quality of the objective. Simulation result of the design with three mirrors shows the uniformity on the reticle is about 95.5%, and the energy efficiency is about 25.4%. It indicates that the system is effective in enhancing the efficiency and potential to promote the EUV lithography into high volume manufacturing. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America
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