Engineering Precision for EUV Metrology: The HEIDENHAIN and EUV Tech Collaboration

Since 1997, California-based company EUV Tech has specialized in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray instrumentation, developing at-wavelength metrology systems used by leading semiconductor manufacturers, research institutions, and technology consortia worldwide. Together with HEIDENHAIN’s vacuum-compatible optical encoder technology, EUV Tech supports the characterization of masks, optics, materials, and other critical components that make advanced EUV lithography possible.

EUV metrology places stringent demands on positioning accuracy and repeatability. Precise, stable positioning helps ensure that measurements are performed at the intended sample location and can be reproduced consistently over time. Maintaining this level of performance requires precision throughout the entire system. EUV metrology systems operate in high-vacuum environments where contamination cannot be tolerated. Every component must be engineered for vacuum operation, with low outgassing, thermal stability, and long-term reliability essential to preserving measurement integrity.

For EUV Tech, the challenge was maintaining precise and repeatable positioning in a high-vacuum environment while ensuring long-term measurement repeatability. The motion feedback system, therefore, needed to provide stable and repeatable position information while remaining compatible with the chamber’s vacuum environment.

At the center of this collaboration is the HEIDENHAIN LIC 4100V vacuum-compatible encoder, which is integrated in EUV Tech’s FALCON Photoresist Flood Exposure System, specifically within the tool’s antechambers to ensure precise motion control of the sample stage.

The LIC 4100V features:

• Vacuum-compatible circuit boards, adhesives, and coatings for reduced outgassing
• Vented hollow spaces for shorter pumping time
• Temperature resilience for high bake-out temperatures
• Use of non-ferromagnetic materials for high process reliability
• Clean-area production
• Pre-packaging bake-out for exceptional cleanness
• Cable with PTFE insulation and tin-plated copper braiding and a robust mechanical design suitable for demanding vacuum applications

Measurements acquired today must remain comparable to those taken weeks or months later. Positioning drift or inconsistent feedback can introduce uncertainty and make it more difficult to reproduce measurement conditions over time. Stable, repeatable position feedback helps maintain confidence in measurement data across repeated measurement and process development activities.

While EUV Tech brings decades of expertise in EUV instrumentation, vacuum engineering, and system integration, HEIDENHAIN provides precision motion technology that supports the accuracy and repeatability required for advanced EUV metrology. Long-standing collaboration at the engineering level has enabled both companies to address increasingly demanding semiconductor metrology requirements while driving innovation in system development and long-term product reliability.

Discuss your application requirements with a HEIDENHAIN product specialist.

About EUV Tech

EUV Tech enables technological advancement at the frontiers of semiconductor manufacturing and materials science through the development of world-leading EUV and soft X-ray instrumentation and techniques. Please visit euvtech.com for more information.

Media Contact

Natalie Hill, Associate Director of Marketing & Communications
EUV Tech, Inc.
[email protected]