Sub-nanometer interferometry for aspheric mirror fabrication

Aspheric mirrors for extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) at a wavelength of 13nm require surface figure accuracy approaching 0.10 nm rms. A new type of interferometry, based on the fundamental process of diffraction, is described that has the intrinsically ability to achieve this accuracy on aspherical surfaces. However, care must be taken in the design and implementation of the optical system that images the aspheric mirror onto the CCD camera. Non-common paths of the measurement and reference wavefronts within the optical system, as well as distortion of the image of aspheric mirror on the CCD, must be addressed in order to realize sub-nanometer accuracy. The phase shifting diffraction interferometer and the mitigation of potential imaging errors are described for measuring the surface figure on aspheric mirrors