Abstract

A number of techniques have been developed to maintain ArF excimer laser performance over long periods of time. Three dominant factors involved in the lifetime degradation are gas contamination, optics deterioration, and electrode abrasion. In this work, the lifetime degradation due to the electrode abrasion has been investigated. The longest gaslifetime of 9.5 × 10⁵ shots for a developed ArF excimer laser with a gas purifier, which has copper electrodes, has been achieved.

© 1994 IEEE