13 Feb 2007 New, flexible design and calculation software to determine all 6 polarization parameters for high performance lithography optics Hinds Instruments is pleased to announce the shipment of a modular polarimeter for measuring Mueller matrix elements and all polarization parameters at 193 nm.
As optical lithography continues evolving to accommodate ever smaller feature sizes, the requirement for high quality optical components used in the scanners, including lenses and photomasks, becomes more stringent. Polarization properties of these optical components are more critical for high NA immersion lithography. In addition to linear birefringence, researchers in this industry are paying attention to linear diattenuation, circular birefringence and circular diattenuation.
In recent years, Hinds has developed polarization measurement metrology tools for different industrial applications. This new system can measure all 16 Mueller matrix elements when the source and detector modules are oriented at different configurations. At a single optical configuration, this system can be used to determine all six polarization parameters, including magnitude of linear birefringence (linear retardation), angle of the fast axis of linear birefringence, linear diattenuation, angle of linear diattenuation, circular diattenuation, and circular birefringence (2 x optical rotation). The impact of depolarization effects will be studied in the future.
“This is a brand new system that offers more advanced measurement capabilities than even our own regular Exicor systems,” said Bob Wang, a Senior Scientist at Hinds Instruments. “The test data that we collected in the last two weeks showed the superb performance of this system. We have far-exceeded the customer's specs in many areas. This is quite an achievement.”
Hinds Instruments, Inc. develops and manufactures photoelastic modulator-based systems and components that exploit the high sensitivity of PEM polarization analysis technology. This capability has become integral to a wide variety of applications involving measurement of such parameters as birefringence, Stokes polarimetry, dichroism, optical rotation and others in research, metrology and on-line environments. Founded in 1971 and located in Hillsboro, Oregon, Hinds has grown to become the world's leading supplier of photoelastic modulators (PEMs) and systems. Hinds strives to provide advanced polarization modulation analysis technology, delivering solutions to customers that meet or exceed their real-world requirements.
www.hindsinstruments.com
Andy Kaplan
Sales Manager
Hinds Instruments, Inc.
3175 NW Aloclek Drive
Hillsboro, Oregon 97124
(P) 503-690-2000 x136
(E) akaplan@hindsinstruments.com |
