US 12,476,432 B2
Directed gas purge to reduce dusting of excimer discharge chamber windows
John Theodore Melchior, San Diego, CA (US)
Assigned to Cymer, LLC, San Diego, CA (US)
Appl. No. 17/783,026
Filed by Cymer, LLC, San Diego, CA (US)
PCT Filed Dec. 9, 2020, PCT No. PCT/US2020/064124
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 7, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/126641, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 24, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/951,860, filed on Dec. 20, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0006409 A1, Jan. 5, 2023
Int. Cl. H01S 3/22 (2006.01); G03F 7/00 (2006.01); H01S 3/034 (2006.01); H01S 3/225 (2006.01); H01S 3/036 (2006.01); H01S 3/08 (2023.01)
CPC H01S 3/0346 (2013.01) [G03F 7/70916 (2013.01); G03F 7/70933 (2013.01); H01S 3/225 (2013.01); H01S 3/036 (2013.01); H01S 3/08072 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A light source apparatus comprising:
a chamber configured to hold a gas discharge medium, the gas discharge medium outputting a light beam;
a metal fluoride trap coupled to the chamber and configured to trap metal fluoride dust generated from the chamber and provide clean gas along an output port; and
a set of window housing apparatuses coupled to the chamber and configured to reduce metal fluoride dusting on optical windows, wherein each window housing apparatus comprises:
a window housing supporting an optical window;
an aperture apparatus coupled to the window housing and comprising a plurality of cells configured to trap metal fluoride dust flowing upstream from the chamber through the aperture apparatus toward the optical window; and
an insert disposed between the aperture apparatus and the optical window, wherein the insert is configured to control a first flow rate of the clean gas along the optical window and a second flow rate of the clean gas through the aperture apparatus;
wherein the insert defines an insert port fluidly coupling a flow distribution around the aperture apparatus with a channel defined in the window housing.