This course is an overview of contamination control and discusses the issue of optical performance degradation as limited by the interaction of the actinic radiation with trace ambient vapors. This course draws from the UV/VUV space optics and lithography community. Means to test and identify incompatible materials, minimize the effects of contamination, and restore the performance of contaminated optics are covered.

This course reviews the present status of 193-nm photoresist technology at a time when it has seen successful production implementation and is moving into immersion technology. It describes the initial technical hurdles that had to be overcome to make 193 nm photoresists viable materials, describes the currently used platforms for dry lithography, and goes on to review the remaining issues still being resolved in the transition to immersion lithography with water and high refractive index liquids. The course will include a review of the status of the design and performance of 193 nm photoresists and processes for dry and immersion lithography. It will highlight the remaining issues that will need to be addressed for successful extension of 193 nm lithography, such as limitations of overlapping process windows, line edge roughness, PEB sensitivity, substrate interactions, dry etching capability, pattern collapse, and defectivity (dry and immersion), and the availability of materials required for extension beyond the 45 nm node. These topics will be discussed from both a mechanistic point of view as well as with respect to their impact on production implementation.