Method for pattern generation with improved image quality

Claim 1

A method for creating a microlithographic pattern on a workpiece sensitive to radiation, for increased resolution and image fidelity, comprising the steps of: providing a source for emitting electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range from extreme ultraviolet (EUV) to infrared (IR), illuminating by said radiation a spatial light modulator (SLM) having a multitude of modulating elements (pixels), projecting an image of the modulator on the workpiece, moving said workpiece and/or projection system relative to each other, further reading from an information storage device a digital description of the pattern description a sequence of partial patterns, extracting from the pattern description a sequence of partial patterns, converting said partial patterns to modulator signals, and feeding said signals to the modulator, further coordinating the movement of the workpiece, the feeding of the signals to the modulator and the intensity of the radiation, so that said pattern is stitched together from the partial images created by the sequence of partial patterns, wherein an area of the pattern is exposed at least twice with a change in at least one, and preferably at least two, of the following parameters between the exposures: data driven to the SLM focus angular distribution of the illumination at the SLM pupil filtering polarization.

Claim 2

A method for creating a microlithographic pattern on a workpiece sensitive to radiation, for increased resolution and image fidelity, comprising the steps of: providing a source for emitting electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range from extreme ultraviolet (EUV) to infrared (IR), illuminating by said radiation a spatial light modulator (SLM) having a multitude of modulating elements (pixels), projecting an image of the modulator on the workpiece, moving said workpiece and/or projection system relative to each other, further reading from an information storage device a digital description of the pattern description a sequence of partial patterns, extracting from the pattern description a sequence of partial patterns, converting said partial patterns to modulator signals, and feeding said signals to the modulator, further coordinating the movement of the workpiece, the feeding of the signals to the modulator and the intensity of the radiation, so that said pattern is stitched together from the partial images created by the sequence of partial patterns, wherein an area of the pattern is exposed at least twice with a change in at least one, and preferably at least two, of the following parameters between the exposures: data driven to the SLM focus angular distribution of the illumination at the SLM pupil filtering polarization.