Oberkochen, 26 April 2024 – Sensor specialist HENSOLDT has delivered the fourth generation of the Final Focus Metrology (FFM) high-precision measuring device for the semiconductor industry for the first time. The customer is an undisclosed manufacturer of EUV litography systems. These control systems have been produced and continuously developed at HENSOLDT Optronics in Oberkochen since 2012. The first unit of the 1µm FFM represents a milestone in terms of HENSOLDT's role in the civilian market.
FFM is a high-precision measuring device that analyses lasers in two different wavelength ranges, namely the one and ten micrometre ranges. Using specially developed high-speed position sensors and in-house developed wavefront sensors, performance-critical process parameters of the high-energy lasers are determined, as well as the shapes and positions of tin droplets in a high-vacuum chamber, which are significantly smaller than a human hair
(< 30µm). The data determined by the FFM is used to close the crucial control loop in the lithography system and optimise the performance and accuracy of a laser beam that has to hit the tin droplets three times to produce the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light in the future, thus decisively influencing the efficiency of the light generation and the entire lithography system.
The FFM acts as the key optoelectronic control unit, 50,000 times per second. With the 1µm technology development from HENSOLDT, the EUV light output can be increased to approx. 400-600 watts. Without EUV light, the production of today's most powerful computer chips would not be possible.
"HENSOLDT has excellent capabilities in infrared technology. Every day we work with thermal imaging technology for space applications, which is a key basis for the development of FFM," says Tanya Altmann, Head of the Optronics & Land Solutions Division. "FFM makes a significant contribution to our successful civil business."
More background information about the FFM technology in our web article.
Press contact:
Alexander Ogger
Tel.: +49 (0) 7364 9557-984
Mail: alexander.ogger@hensoldt.net