Effect of wavefront error on 10(-7) contrast measurements.

Received October 11, 2005; accepted November 10, 2005; posted December 2, 2005 (Doc. ID 65234) We have measured a contrast of 6.5 x 10(-8) from 10 to 25 lambda/D in visible light on the Extreme Adaptive Optics testbed, using a shaped pupil for diffraction suppression.

Fabrication of extreme-ultraviolet point-diffraction interferometer aperture arrays.

Interferometric testing at the design wavelength is required for accurately characterizing the wave front of an imaging system operating in the extreme ultraviolet. The fabrication of point-diffraction interferometer apertures for extreme ultraviolet wave-front aberration analysis is described. The apertures are formed in a 200-nm-thick low-pressure chemical-vapor-deposited Si(3)N(4) film and vary in size from approximately 0.

Harmonic diffractive lenses.

The harmonic diffractive lens is a diffractive imaging lens for which the optical path-length transition between adjacent facets is an integer multiple m of the design wavelength λ(o). The total lens thickness in air is mλ(o)/(n - 1), which is m times thicker than the so-called modulo 2π diffractive lens. Lenses constructed in this way have hybrid properties of both refractive and diffractive lenses.

Front-end design issues in soft-x-ray projection lithography.

We present a protocol for the design of an illumination system (front end) for a soft-x-ray projection lithography tool. The protocol is illustrated by specific front-end designs. The most complete design analysis is for a laser-driven system.

Undulator radiation for at-wavelength interferometry of optics for extreme-ultraviolet lithography.

Techniques are described for at-wavelength interferometry of multilayer coated optics designed for use in extreme-ultraviolet lithography. Broadly tunable undulator radiation, which covers the spectral region from 45 to 400 A, is described. The coherent power available at these wavelengths is described, and several types of interferometer that might be suitable at these short wavelengths are also described.