Lithography
SEMATECH embraces its responsibility to extend existing lithography technologies for as long as possible, while developing next-generation solutions and investigating alternative approaches.
SEMATECH’s Lithography roadmap assumes a two-year lithography cycle, with programs focused on 193 nm immersion (193i), EUV lithography and alternative lithography technologies. The roadmap calls for pushing 193i as far as possible, while preparing EUVL for insertion as the next technology to replace 193i.
SEMATECH lithography also leads the development of critical maskmaking and resist technologies and infrastructure. As with all SEMATECH programs, the focus on technology is grounded in real-world manufacturing feasibility and cost of ownership.
Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography
An advanced form of lithography, Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUVL) uses extremely short wavelength (13.5 nm) light and reflective photomasks to image circuit patterns onto the surface of semiconductor wafers. The microchips that will be produced with EUV technology will contain features 32 nm wide or smaller, and are projected to be as much as 100 times faster, with 1,000 times the memory capacity of today's most powerful computer chips.
At the SEMATECH North facility, which is located in the Albany NanoTech Complex at the University at Albany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany, NY, technologists conduct work in two of SEMATECH’s main EUVL programs: the EUV Mask Blank Development Center and the EUV Resist Test Center.
SEMATECH’s EUV Mask Blank Development Center has been the world's sole research center on mask blanks, the base material for the stencil-like photomasks that are used to describe patterns on semiconductor wafers. Success of EUVL technology is dependent upon having defect-free mask blanks and mask handling.
SEMATECH’s EUV Resist Test Center is expected to contribute significantly to the semiconductor industry’s ability to continue its historic rates of growth and product improvement by providing one of the few facilities in the world where chipmakers, suppliers, research institutes and universities can test, develop, and characterize resists–the photo-sensitive chemicals that allow images to be projected onto a semiconductor wafer.
Significant advances in EUV resists have been made over the past year, largely through use of SEMATECH’s micro-exposure tools (METs) located at the EUV Resist Test Center in Albany and the University of California, Berkeley.
Related stories:
- SEMATECH Reviews Success Stories in Preparing EUV for Manufacturing
- Laser-Based EUV Source Technology Gains Ground at SEMATECH Workshop
- SEMATECH-led Workshops Scope Progress & Challenges for EUV Manufacturing
- Technologists Back 193 nm Immersion and EUV at SEMATECH-led Litho Forum
- SEMATECH North Achieves Critical Cleaning Milestone for EUV Mask Blanks
- International SEMATECH and Exitech to Develop the World's First Aerial Image Monitor Tool for the Inspection of EUV Reticles
Immersion Lithography
Immersion lithography combines the familiar 193 nm light wavelength with a refracting fluid such as water to define patterns as narrow as 45 nm in advanced microchips. Increasing the refractive index of photoresists, along with the immersion fluid and lens material, offers the possibility of extending immersion lithography to patterns as narrow as 32 nm.
Work at SEMATECH’s Immersion Technology Center in Austin, Texas, and at the SEMATECH North facility in Albany, NY, has contributed significantly to the development of 193nm immersion lithography—the technology of choice for next-generation microchip manufacturing. First-in-class tools at both facilities, including an interference immersion exposure system and an immersion projection microstepper, provide SEMATECH with the ability to test immersion lithography options generations ahead of current methods.
Related stories:
- SEMATECH-Backed Research on Novel Materials Holds Key to Extending Immersion Lithography
- International Symposium Identifies Top Issues for sub-40 nm Immersion Litho
- SEMATECH Demonstrates Azimuthal Polarization Imaging at 1.3 NA, Advancing Feasibility of 193 nm Immersion Lithography for 45 nm
- Technologists Back 193 nm Immersion and EUV at SEMATECH-led Litho Forum
Resist Strategy
Because of tradeoffs in resolution and sensitivity with chemically amplified resists, photoresists are now one of the most crucial issues in lithography. SEMATECH’s Resist Strategy program is supporting the development of manufacturing-quality resists for both 193 nm immersion and EUV.
Mask Infrastructure Development
SEMATECH plays a unique role in supporting mask infrastructure development, which enables maskmakers to have tools available on a schedule compatible with SEMATECH's member companies' plans. Consensus forged at SEMATECH-led workshops help both IC manufacturers and tool companies to gain clarity on the opportunities and challenges involved in taking the semiconductor industry to the 32 nm technology generation and beyond.
Related stories:
- SEMATECH Reaches Milestone in Defect Cleaning for EUV Mask Blanks
- Magnification Ratio Change Unlikely for 32 nm Half-Pitch, SEMATECH-led Meeting Decides
For more detailed information about SEMATECH's recent lithography activities, please see the SEMATECH Annual Report, or if you work for a SEMATECH member company see the Member Site for technical reports and program data.