EBL2, a flexible, controlled EUV exposure and surface analysis facility

TNO is building EBL2 as a publicly accessible test facility for EUV lithography related development of photomasks, pellicles, optics, and other components. EBL2 will consist of a Beam Line, an XPS system, and sample handling infrastructure. EBL2 will accept a wide range of sample sizes, including EUV masks with or without pellicles. All types of samples will be loaded using a standard dual pod interface. EUV masks returned from EBL2 will retain their NXE compatibility. The Beam Line provides high intensity EUV irradiation from a Sn-fueled EUV source. EUV intensity, pupil, spectrum, and repetition rate are all adjustable. In-situ measurements by ellipsometry will enable real time monitoring of the sample condition. The XPS will be capable of analyzing the full surface area of EUV masks and pellicles, as well as performing angle resolved analysis on smaller samples. Sample transfer between the XPS and the Beam Line will be possible without breaking vacuum

Cross-sectional survey on researchers' experience in using accelerometers in health-related studies

Objectives Accelerometers are widely applied in health studies, but lack of standardisation regarding device placement, sampling and data processing hampers comparability between studies. The objectives of this study were to assess how accelerometers are applied in health-related research and problems with accelerometer hardware and software encountered by researchers. Methods Researchers applying accelerometry in a health context were invited to a cross-sectional web-based survey (August 2020-September 2020). The questionnaire included quantitative questions regarding the application of accelerometers and qualitative questions on encountered hardware and software problems. Descriptive statistics were calculated for quantitative data and content analysis was applied to qualitative data. Results In total, 116 health researchers were included in the study (response: 13.7%). The most used brand was ActiGraph (67.2%). Independently of brand, the main reason for choosing a device was that it was the standard in the field (57.1%-83.3%). In children and adolescent populations, sampling frequency was higher (mean: 73.3 Hz +/- 29.9 Hz vs 47.6 Hz +/- 29.4 Hz) and epoch length (15.0s +/- 15.6s vs 30.1s +/- 25.9s) and non-wear time (42.9 min +/- 23.7 min vs 65.3 min +/- 35.4 min) were shorter compared with adult populations. Content analysis revealed eight categories of hardware problems (battery problems, compliance issues, data loss, mechanical problems, electronic problems, sensor problems, lacking waterproofness, other problems) and five categories of software problems (lack of user-friendliness, limited possibilities, bugs, high computational burden, black box character). Conclusions The study confirms heterogeneity regarding accelerometer use in health-related research. Moreover, several hardware and software problems were documented. Both aspects must be tackled to increase validity, practicability and comparability of research

Contamination control: removing small particles from increasingly large wafers

With the introduction of 450 mm wafers, which are considerably larger than the currently largest wafers of 300mm, handling with side grippers is no longer possible and backside grippers are required. Backside gripping increases the possible buildup of particles on the backside of the wafers with possible cross-contamination to the front-side. Therefore, regular backside cleaning is required. Three vacuum compatible cleaning methods were selected. Tacky rollers and highvoltage cleaning were selected for particles and plasma cleaning for molecular layers. A test-bench was designed and constructed implementing these three cleaning methods. The first experiments show promising results for the plasma cleaner and the tacky roller. © 2012 SPIE

First light and results on EBL2

Recently TNO has established EBL2; an exposure and analysis facility for testing EUV optics, reticles and pellicles under relevant EUV scanner and source conditions. The facility and EUV source complies with the ASML power roadmap of EUV systems up to a power of 500 W IF. This enables life time testing of EUV optics, reticles and pellicles under conditions which are not yet available to industry, helping the industry in preparing for HVM production. The EBL2 facility consists of a EUV source, collector optics, exposure chamber, XPS chamber, and automated sample handling. The exposure chamber has capabilities for plasma analysis, imaging ellipsometry for in-situ analysis of the sample under radiation, photodiodes for power measurements and a scintillator disk for spot profiles. It is possible to insert spectral purity filters and apertures in the beam line for wavelength tuning and beam shaping. The source is Sn fueled DPP source made by our partner Ushio and is based on the proven technology from the ASML AD-tools, providing a similar spectrum and pulse shape as used in the ASML NXE scanners. We show the results of first light obtained in December 2016. The XPS is capable of handling and analyzing full reticles and data on the obtained surface sensitivity and imaging quality will be shown

Characterization of EBL2 EUV exposure facility

TNO has built EBL2; a facility for EUV exposure testing and surface analysis. EBL2 is capable of testing EUV optics, EUV photomasks, pellicles, and other components under controlled conditions, relevant to EUV scanner and source operation at all foreseen source power nodes. The system consists of an EUV beam line coupled to an X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy system by an automated sample handler. The current contribution reports on the results of the qualification testing of the EUV beam line. Topics investigated include handling and position control, thermal management, a relevant gas environment, EUV irradiation and metrology, and first EUV exposures

First light on EBL2

TNO is building EBL2 as a publicly accessible test facility for EUV lithography related development of photomasks, pellicles, optics, and other components requiring EUV exposure. EBL2 consists of a EUV Beam Line, a XPS system, and sample handling infrastructure. Recently we finished installation of the source, exposure chamber, handlers and XPS system. This paper describes the integration process and first light of the EUV source. EBL2 accepts a wide range of sample sizes, including EUV masks with or without pellicles. All types of samples will be loaded using a standard dual pod interface. EUV masks returned from EBL2 will retain their NXE compatibility to facilitate wafer printing on scanners after exposure in EBL2. The Beam Line provides high intensity EUV irradiation from a Sn-fueled EUV source from Ushio. EUV intensity, spectrum, and repetition rate are all adjustable. The XPS system is now operational and accepts samples up to reticle size