As the semiconductor industry accelerates the pace of change, a shift in exposure wavelength from 248 nm to 193 nm becomes inevitable. Correspondingly, the change to a shorter wavelength and the desire to maintain productivity, necessitates a fundamental reassessment of system design approach. Evaluation of resolution and k-factor for a lithographic tool operating at 193 nm and 0.75 numerical aperture indicates that 130 nm node production will be manageable with binary mask, and that performance consistent with 100 nm node requirements and potentially beyond will be achievable with the use of advanced lithographic techniques. This paper reviews the design, system performance analysis and early results for a full-field catadioptric lithography tool operating at numerical apertures up to 0.75 NA.

The principal part of the any zoom system is a two-component zoom system, which creates the necessary range of magnifications, focal lengths and fields of view. Over the last fcw years the utilization of the zoom systems has significantly increased. It is possible to avoid unnecessary design complica or by developing new design forms based on theory rather than adapting existing solutions. This paper explains the basic theory of two component zoom systems and presents a few new relatively simple high performance designs.

The theory and the method of calculation of an optical system based on aberration parameters C, W, P are presented. These parameters define all the aberrations of optical systems. The method is based on the synthesis of multilens systems from the single elements. The formulas for the relationships of increments between the angles of the first paraxial ray and the increments in the basic parameters are introduced. These formulas permit the parameters to vary and correct the aberrations. These angle calculations of the first paraxial ray of a four-lens cemented and uncemented system are presented. It is a method for designing complex optical systems from the initial stage to the final stage with corrected aberrations.