Three-dimensional surface figure measurement of high-accuracy spherical mirror with nanoprofiler using normal vector tracing method

Processing technology using an extreme ultraviolet light source, e.g., next-generation lithography, requires next-generation high-accuracy mirrors. As it will be difficult to attain the degree of precision required by next-generation high-accuracy mirrors such as aspherical mirrors through conventional processing methods, rapid progress in nanomeasurement technologies will be needed to produce such mirrors. Because the measuring methods used for the surface figure measurement of next-generation mirrors will require high precision, we have developed a novel nanoprofiler that can measure the figures of high-accuracy mirrors without the use of a reference surface. Because the accuracy of the proposed method is not limited by the accuracy of a reference surface, the measurement of free-form mirrors is expected to be realized. By using an algorithm to process normal vectors and their coordinate values at the measurement point obtained by a nanoprofiler, our measurement method can reconstruct three-dimensional shapes. First, we measured the surface of a concave spherical mirror with a 1000-mm radius of curvature using the proposed method, and the measurement repeatability is evaluated as 0.6 nm. Sub-nanometer repeatability is realized, and an increase in the repeatability would be expected by improving the dynamic stiffness of the nanoprofiler. The uncertainty of the measurement using the present apparatus is estimated to be approximately 10 nm by numerical simulation. Further, the uncertainty of a Fizeau interferometer is also approximately 10 nm. The results obtained using the proposed method are compared with those obtained using a Fizeau interferometer. The resulting profiles are consistent within the range of each uncertainty over the middle portions of the mirror. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.