Predicting the influence of trapped particles on EUVL reticle distortion during exposure chucking

Among the potential sources of image placement (IP) error for extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) is the deformation of the mask during electrostatic chucking. This paper focuses on the in-plane and out-of-plane distortion of the EUVL reticle due to the entrapment of particles. Localized finite element (FE) models have been developed to simulate the micro response of the reticle / particle / chuck system. To identify the macro response, global FE models have been generated to simulate the system under typical chucking conditions. Parametric studies were performed to illustrate the effect of particle size on the final IP accuracy.