Integrated evaluation of diffraction image quality in optical lithography using the rigorous diffraction solution for a slot

The method of integrated evaluation of quality of optical diffraction image is proposed. It uses several scalar parameters defined by integral comparison of two functions on the image surface. The first function represents real distribution of electric energy density on this surface, and can be simulated by the solution of corresponding exact or approximate diffraction problem of image formation. The second function describes required energy distribution on the given surface. The method is demonstrated by the example of evaluation of images formed by contactless printing from a mask in optical lithography, where the image function is computed by the known exact solution of plane wave diffraction by a slot in a conducting screen.     

The effect of nonlinearity of the recording media response on the properties of thick phase holograms

The effect of nonlinearity of a photosensitive medium response on the diffraction properties of thick phase holograms is analyzed on the basis of coupled-wave equations. It is shown that, for a typical dependence of the refractive index on the exposure, the response nonlinearity lowers the diffraction efficiency of a hologram illuminated by an s-polarized light. For the p polarization of the reading beam, the response nonlinearity reduces the hologram efficiency when the angle between the beams diffracted into the zero and second orders (into the minus first and first orders) is smaller than 90°, increases the efficiency for angles larger than 90°, and hardly affects the diffraction efficiency when this angle is close to 90°. The results for p polarization are obtained, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time. The analysis of angular selectivity of the gratings has shown that the effect of nonlinearity becomes particularly important for light waves incident on the hologram at angles close to the Bragg one. It is also found that, for any thickness of the photosensitive medium, there exists an optimum value of the maximum change in the refractive index, for which the diffraction efficiency may be close to 100% in a wide range of exposures. In this case, the nonlinearity for s polarization stabilizes, to some extent, the dependence of the diffraction efficiency on the exposure.     

基于空间光调制器的非相干数字全息单次曝光研究

菲涅耳非相干相关全息术(Fresnel incoherent correlation holography,FINCH)利用在空间光调制器(spatial light modulator,SLM)上加载双透镜模式对同一物点光分束自相干,并通过改变加载的相位因子得到不同的相移全息图.本系统利用SLM可分区编码调制特性,将FINCH成像中SLM上分三次加载的0°,120°,240°相位双透镜掩模各提取1/3组成一幅复合相移模式加载,并研究了三种相位分布方式对FINCH成像质量的影响.结果表明:三个相位在SLM上分布间隔越大,再现像越清晰.在此基础上,提出了一种新的掩模加载方式,在SLM加载透镜阵列,每一个相位因子对应一个双透镜,具有一个光轴.实验表明,通过这种加载方式,通过SLM后形成的三个相移图能够一次在电荷耦合器上记录,并且三个相移图不重叠,然后通过MATLAB编程计算将不同相移角度的全息图分别提取出来,通过三步相移计算合成一幅包含有物光波的复值全息图,最后通过数值再现算法重建待测样品.此系统可用于对光源相干性较低的实时成像系统,也为微小形变测量、动态物体的观测提供了新方法,为非相干数字全息术的发展提供了新思路.     

波前编码系统相位板视场效应的消除

通过在光学系统的光阑面上加入一个非球面相位板,使得光学系统的成像对离焦不敏感.但当入射视场角较大时,图像的边缘发生变形且难以恢复.针对此问题,提出了两种解决方案,方案一是把相位板移至光路中光线较为平缓的区域,但不是系统的光阑位置;方案二是保持相位板位置不变,优化整个光学系统,使相位板前的光线能够平缓地入射到相位板.实验中对一个EFL=12.5 mm,F/#=1.3,半视场角为13.5°的波前编码实际系统进行仿真比较,得出方案二可以有效地消除波前编码相位板引入的视场效应.     

时空联合调制成像光谱仪前置成像系统分析与设计

为满足红外成像光谱仪大光通量、高稳定性的应用需求,提出了一种基于多级阶梯微反射镜的静态化、无狭缝式、新型红外时空联合调制型傅里叶变换成像光谱仪结构.对其工作原理和光程差的产生方式进行了分析.作为该成像光谱仪的重要部件,前置成像系统决定了光程差的分布,其性能直接影响到目标物体的图像质量.根据系统光程差的产生方式,分析和设计了像方远心光路结构的前置成像系统.利用被动光学消热差方法对前置成像系统进行了消热差研究.结果表明:当温度在-20—60?C的范围内时,各个视场的调制传递函数均达到衍射极限,在多级阶梯微反射镜的总阶梯高度范围内成像质量良好;在不同的温度下,各视场处主光线在像面上的最大入射角小于0.02?.     

亚波长金属偏振分束光栅设计分析

结合有效介质理论和薄膜光学的抗反射设计方法,设计了基于0.65μm工作波长的亚波长金属偏振分束光栅,给出了光栅的优化设计参数,采用严格耦合波理论分析了光栅的偏振分束特性.结果表明,亚波长金属光栅对TE偏振表现为金属膜特性,具有高反射,对TM偏振表现为介质膜特性,具有高透射,在-30°<θ<30°的大入射角范围和0.47μm<λ<0.80μm的宽入射波谱内,该光栅的透射光和反射光均具有高偏振消光比和低插入损耗的特点. 关键词： 亚波长金属偏振分束光栅 有效介质理论 薄膜光学 严格耦合波理论     

Diffraction of stochastic electromagnetic fields by a hole in a thin film with real optical properties

The classical Kirchhoff theory of diffraction is extended to the case of real optical properties of a screen and its finite thickness. A spectral power density of diffracted electromagnetic fields by a hole in a thin film with real optical properties was calculated. The problem was solved by use of the vector Green theorems and related Green function of the boundary value problem. A spectral and spatial selectivity of the considered system was demonstrated. Diffracted patterns were calculated for the coherent and incoherent incident fields in case of holes array in a screen of perfect conductivity.     

Polarization effects induced by the bi-layer attenuated phase-shift mask and their impacts on near-field distribution

As ArF projection lithography is approaching 45 nm technology node and beyond, polarization effects induced by mask are remarkable. At this mask dimension, traditional Kirchhoff approximation is invalid. Rigorous mask model is needed for accurate evaluation of mask diffraction. In previous works, many researchers are focus on the single grating layer diffraction. In this paper, Lee's formulation based on rigorous coupled wave analysis is applied to simulate the bi-layer grating diffraction in lithography. Then, polarization states as function of mask and incident light properties are evaluated. At last, the impacts on near-field distribution with different polarization state are further investigated. The image quality becomes worse under TE polarization, when Ta thickness becomes 35 nm, where the phase effects are effectively reduced. There should be a tradeoff between them.     

Diffraction of a plane electromagnetic wave by a slot in a conducting screen of arbitrary thickness

A 2D theoretical model of the diffraction of a plane electromagnetic wave by a slot in a perfectly conducting screen is constructed based on the partial domain method. The Tikhonov regularization is used to solve a system of algebraic equations for the slot-mode amplitudes. This makes it possible to extend the domain of applicability of the theory to conducting screens of arbitrary thickness and to significantly increase the accuracy of solution in the cases when the slot width and the screen thickness are comparable to the wavelength of the diffracted radiation. The absence of a continuous passage to the limit of an infinitesimal screen thickness from the case of an arbitrarily small finite thickness is demonstrated. The boundary conditions for the energy-flux vector are considered. A concept of the energy potential that is convenient for the computer calculations of the energy-flux lines of 2D diffraction fields is introduced.     

Phase-shifting mask design for interference exposure of chirp blazed grating

An interference exposure system using a phase-shifting mask was proposed for generating periodic sawtooth optical intensity profile with chirp in period. Multiple space-harmonic waves are launched from the mask by diffraction, and the sawtooth optical intensity is formed by interference based on Fourier synthesis after propagation through an air gap. The design concept merely utilizing positive diffraction-order harmonics with tilt illumination of an exposure light and a design algorithm based on time-reversed configuration for calculating required phase shift amount were proposed and discussed. A phase-shifting mask for a blazed grating of very high chirp rate was designed to demonstrate its potential and feasibility. The grating period changes from 2.2 to 3.1 μm gradually within 0.3 mm length. Sawtooth-like optical intensity profile was confirmed by theoretical simulation as well as preliminary experimental results.     

Electromagnetic wave diffraction by axisymmetric diaphragms in the millimeter wavelength range

An automated radiophysical complex operating in the millimeter wavelength range is presented. We have measured the spatial amplitude and phase distributions of the electromagnetic field in its two orthogonal components for the case of diffraction of electromagnetic waves incident upon an object at near-grazing angles. Thw wave diffraction at the aperture and circular slot in the metal shield is investigated. The directivity patterns and transmission coefficient as functions of the relative aperture diameter and circular slot are given. The extremum in the dependence of the maximum angle on the width of the circular slot is found.Institute of Radiophysics and Electronics, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 38, No. 7, pp. 719–729, July, 1995.     

Angular splitting of the Bragg diffraction order in an acoustooptical modulator due to a frequency-modulated acoustic wave

Effects of angular splitting of the Bragg diffraction order arising in light acoustooptical diffraction by a frequency-modulated acoustic wave are considered. These effects occur when the size of the light spot in the acoustooptical interaction zone exceeds the characteristic spatial period of the modulating function. The Bragg diffraction order is found to be split into several beams. The directions of the additional beams, their number, and intensities are determined by the modulation parameters. In particular, there occurs a situation where the diffracted field consists of three beams of equal intensity spaced at a distance approximately equal to the diffraction divergence of the incident beam and the diffraction total efficiency is of the order of 100%. Therein lies the difference between this diffraction regime and the case where several independent acoustic waves are generated in the interaction domain and the diffraction total efficiency is limited to the intermodulation arisen. The effect is used in design of modulators for systems of image plotting with the help of high-power lasers.     

Angular-Multiplexing Optical Multiple-Image Encryption Based on Digital Holography and Random Amplitude Mask

We propose an improved optical image encryption scheme. By illuminating original images positioned in the input plane of the 4-f correlator and introducing reference waves with different incident angles in the output plane, we accomplish multiple-image encryption. To enhance the feasibility of the system and decrease the coding compliance for random phase mask, we apply the random amplitude masks and some digital manipulations in the encryption and decryption procedure. We also analyze the encryption and decryption quality of the method proposed together with the influence of different random number generators. Numerical simulation has proved the validity of the architecture suggested.     

The elliptical gaussian wave transformation due to diffraction by an elliptical hologram

Realized as an interferogram of a spherical and a cylindrical wave, the elliptical hologram is treated as a plane diffracting grating which produces Fresnel diffraction of a simple astigmatic gaussian incident wave. It is shown that if the principal axes of the incident beam coincide with the principal axes of the hologram, the diffracted wave field is composed of three different astigmatic gaussian waves, with their waists situated in parallel but distinct planes. The diffraction pattern, observed on a transverse screen, is the result of the interference of the three diffracted wave components. It consists of three systems of overlapped second-order curves, whose shape depends on the distance of the observation screen from the hologram, as well as on the parameters of the incident wave beam and the hologram. The results are specialized for gratings in the form of circular and linear holograms and for the case of a stigmatic gaussian incident wave, as well as for the normal plane-wave incidence on the three mentioned types of hologram.     

Beugung elektromagnetischer Wellen in Braunbekscher Näherung. I

An approximation method proposed by Braunbek for the diffraction of scalar waves by plane obstacles, or apertures in a plane screen, is extended to the diffraction of electromagnetic waves. As an example, the diffraction of a linearly polarized plane electromagnetic wave normally incident on a circular aperture in a perfectly conducting plane screen and on a perfectly conducting plane circular disk is considered in detail. The results are compared with those obtained from the exact solution ofMeixner andAndrejewski and with the results ofKirchhoff's approximations. It is shown that, in contrast to theKirchhoff approximations,Braunbek's method leads in all cases to the correct ‘optical’ limits and represents a good approximation even for wavelengths comparable with the size of the obstacle. After a general formulation ofBraunbek's method in the electromagnetic diffraction problem, we calculate in the present paper the far field of the circular aperture and the transmission coefficient by means of the cross section theorem. The near field of the circular aperture and the circular disk will be considered in a subsequent paper.     

提高二元光学器件衍射效率的准连续编码策略

基于标量衍射理论，二元光学器件的衍射效率，微结构误差对衍射效率的影响，提出了一种准连续编码方法，并给出了加工非２ｎ台阶所需掩模板的具体形式。在一定的加工条件和工艺水平下，采用这种编码方法，可以不增加加工成本和工序，仅通过新颖的掩模板设计方法充分利用现有加工条件和设备，使二元光学器件的衍射效率得到很大程度的提高。从而不仅能使一般混合系统的效率得到提高，更能充分发挥混合光学系统的成像能力。此编码方法的采用有利于推进二元光学器件的实用化。     

Multiple images encryption based on Fourier transform hologram

A new optical encryption method is proposed in this paper to achieve multiple images encryption. We introduce reference waves with different incident angles and random amplitude masks into a Fourier transform hologram configuration to encrypt multiple images. In the encryption procedure, different random amplitude masks (RAMs) which are placed into the reference arm vertically admit the multiplexing capability. When decrypting one of the original images, reference wave with the same incident angle as encrypting the target image is used to illuminate the encrypted hologram with the insertion of random amplitude mask whose transmissivity is reciprocal of that of the encrypting random amplitude mask in the reference arm. We also simulate and analyze the influence of partly wrong decrypting key on the decrypted results. Numerical simulation proves that the proposed encryption method is valid and of high security level.     

Diffraction of a plane electromagnetic wave by a slot in a conducting screen with a transverse dielectric layer

The problem of diffraction of a plane electromagnetic wave by a slot in a planar perfectly conducting arbitrary thick screen with an infinite planar dielectric layer passing through the slot transversely to the screen is solved rigorously. In each of the field existence domains (two domains on either side of the screen and the interior of the slot), the solution is represented as an expansion in piecewise harmonic or exponential modes that allow for reflection and refraction at the boundaries of the dielectric layer. It is found that a set of functions describing such modes is complete enough to construct a solution satisfying all boundary conditions of the diffraction problem. The procedures of solution construction for the case at hand and for the same diffraction structure without the dielectric layer are compared.     

Optimization of MO Bragg diffraction of guided optical waves by MSW in YIG films by using inclined magnetic bias field

We describe a new scheme of noncollinear interaction geometry for magneto-optical (MO) Bragg cells based on inelastic scattering of guided optical wave beams by magnetostatic waves in yttrium–iron–garnet (YIG) films. A great increase of the diffracted light intensity was obtained when using an inclined magnetization of the film, in the case when static in-plane magnetization component is directed along the light propagation direction. It is shown that the diffraction efficiency can be increased more than two times, at a specific value of the angle (≈35°) between the saturation magnetization vector and the normal to the film surface. The effect can be explained through a four-wave model of the diffraction process, which can take place in optical waveguides with MO gyrotropy. The results obtained by a simple analytical solution of the diffraction problem are found to be in good qualitative agreement with the experimental observations.     

Zernike-basis expansion of the fractional and radial Hilbert phase masks

The linear Hilbert phase mask or transform has found applications in image processing and spectroscopy. An optical version of the fractional Hilbert mask is considered here, comprising an imaging system with a circular, unobscured pupil in which a variable phase delay is introduced into one half of the pupil, split bilaterally.The radial Hilbert phase mask is also used in image processing and to produce optical vortices which have applications in optical tweezers and the detection of exoplanets.We subjected the fractional and radial Hilbert phase masks to Zernike function expansion in order to compute the image plane electromagnetic field distribution using Nijboer-Zernike theory. The Zernike functions form an orthogonal basis on the unit circle. The complex-valued Zernike expansion coefficients for these two phase masks were derived for use in the context of the Extended Nijboer-Zernike (ENZ) theory of image formation. The ENZ approach is of interest in that it allows a greater range of defocus to be dealt with, provides a simple means of taking a finite source size into account and has been adapted to high Numerical Aperture (NA) imaging applications.Our image plane results for the fractional Hilbert mask were verified against a numerical model implemented in the commercial optical design and analysis code, Zemax^®. It was found that the Nijboer-Zernike result converged to the Zemax^® result from below as the number of Zernike terms in the expansion was increased.