US 11,899,378 B2
Lithography system and operation method thereof
Chi-Hung Liao, New Taipei (TW); and Min-Cheng Wu, Taitung County (TW)
Assigned to TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD., Hsinchu (TW)
Filed by TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD., Hsinchu (TW)
Filed on Jul. 22, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/871,869.
Application 17/871,869 is a division of application No. 16/410,426, filed on May 13, 2019, granted, now 11,550,233.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/718,936, filed on Aug. 14, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0357677 A1, Nov. 10, 2022
Int. Cl. G03F 7/00 (2006.01); H05G 2/00 (2006.01)
CPC G03F 7/70916 (2013.01) [G03F 7/70033 (2013.01); H05G 2/005 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A lithography system, comprising:
a collector having a mirror surface;
a laser generator aiming at an excitation zone in front of the mirror surface of the collector;
a droplet generator;
a droplet deflector operative to apply a force at a position between the droplet generator and the excitation zone, wherein the droplet deflector is a sound wave generator; and
a first droplet catcher in front of the mirror surface of the collector, wherein a distance between the first droplet catcher and the collector along a first direction parallel to an optical axis of the collector is greater than a distance between the excitation zone and the collector along the first direction, and wherein a distance between the first droplet catcher and the droplet generator along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction is less than a distance between the excitation zone and the droplet generator along the second direction.