Microlithography World articles from August 2005

Microlithography World archives from August 2005

Resist blur and line-edge roughness.(FEATURE)
August 1, 2005... Photoresist line-edge roughness (LER) is precisely what its name implies: The sidewalls or edges of resist features are rough, not smooth. At feature sizes ********** Line-edge roughness can be seen in top-down CD-SEM images of dense...

Impact of high-resolution photolithography on integrated photonics.(FEATURE)
August 1, 2005... Submicron-resolution laser maskwriters combined with reduction photolithography provide the means to produce powerful new kinds of integrated and free-space optical devices. These photonic devices employ diffraction from features on the scale...

The lithography expert: the death of the aerial image.(FEATURE)
August 1, 2005... The aerial image is, quite literally, the image in air. In the world of semiconductor lithography, it is the image of a photomask projected onto the plane of the wafer, but assuming that only air occupies this space rather than the...

Litho enhancements for 45nm-node MuGFETs.(FEATURE)
August 1, 2005... Multigate FETs (MuGFET) (e.g., FinFETs or triple-gate MOSFETs) are becoming increasingly plausible for introduction at the 45nm node or afterward. However, the 3D nature of the device implies more complex processing than for planar CMOS. In...

TEL, ASML report 165wph litho tool cluster.(NEWS & PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... Tokyo Electron Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, and ASML, Veldhoven, The Netherlands, have reportedly demonstrated 165 wafers/hr (wph) throughput in a joint development program. Using TEL's inline Clean Track Lithius systems and ASML's Twinscan exposure...

Scan-field stepper provides 280nm+resolution.(NEWS & PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... Nikon Corp.'s NSR-SF140 scan-field i-line stepper can be used for noncritical layers in mass memory and microprocessor production. Improved light source and heat management capabilities reportedly increase throughput by 11% over the NSR-SF130...

Light source for 45nm immersion lithography.(NEWS & PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... Cymer Inc. has introduced the XLA 300 light source, which the company claims is the first 193nm, 6kHz ArF light source to enable volume production for 45nm immersion photolithography applications. The 6kHz repetition rate and up to 90W of...

NIL system for sub-10nm patterning.(NEWS & PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... Nanonex's NX-2000 has demonstrated sub-10nm resolution for various nanoimprinting applications, from UV-curable thermal imprinting to hot embossing and their combinations in one machine. The system uses a pressured fluid press to achieve high...

Stepper integrates metrology and real-time magnification.(NEWS & PRODUCTS)
August 1, 2005... Azores Corp.'s Model 9200 PanelPrinter is a photolithography stepper for mobile display applications. Features include resolution of 1.5[micro]m with a 200mm lens, providing a large lens field and a depth-of-focus >9[micro]m. The stepper...

Energetiq delivers EUV tool in Albany.(University of Albany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, Energetiq Technology Inc., contract)(extreme-ultraviolet)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Energetiq Technology Inc., Woburn, MA, has delivered an EQ-10M extreme-ultraviolet light source to the U. of Albany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CSNE) at Albany NanoTech. According to Gregory Denbeaux, assistant professor of...

EVG installs nano tool at Stanford.(NEWS & PRODUCTS)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... EV Group, Scharding, Austria, has installed an EVG620 nanoimprint lithography (NIL) alignment system at Stanford Nanofabrication Facility (SNF) in Stanford, CA. The tool's capabilities for ultraviolet molding and microcontact printing of...

Shows & conferences.
August 1, 2005... 2nd Intl. Symposium on Immersion Lithography Sept. 12-15 * Brugge, Belgium This symposium is intended to guide semiconductor manufacturers and suppliers on progress in 193nm immersion lithography. For more information, contact: Andrew...

Mourning Ma Bell.(EDITORIAL)
August 1, 2005... Let us now have ten picoseconds of silence to honor AT & T, the greatest corporation of the 20th century. The last remnants of AT & T, formerly the American Telephone and Telegraph Co., have been bought by SBC, one of the "Baby Bells" spun off...