High NA imaging or/and polarization illumination imaging for exposure tool requires not only scalar aberration performance but also vectorial aberration (so called polarization aberration) control. There are several methods to explain vectorial aberrations such as, Jones Matrix Pupil, Pauli spin matrix, etc. Pauli spin matrix may be intuitively easier to understand and suitable to show scalar wavefront. However, direct use of Pauli spin matrix method may not express physical meaning of vectorial aberration exactly, especially when the amount of polarization aberration is large. In this paper we would like to propose a new explanation method, which is natural expansion of scalar aberration explanation to vectorial aberration explanation and physically mostly exact form. Furthermore useful approximation of the form makes it possible to make vectorial aberration sum-operant from productoperant. Using this method, it is possible to use scalar aberration control technique, such as wavefront control, Zernike sensitivity analysis, Zernike linear combination method, etc. to vectorial aberration control.

Date Published: 16 March 2009
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 7274, Optical Microlithography XXII, 72741M (16 March 2009); doi: 10.1117/12.813399

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7274:
Optical Microlithography XXII
Harry J. Levinson; Mircea V. Dusa, Editor(s)