Microlithography World articles from August 2006

Microlithography World archives from August 2006

How to run a world-class mask operation: the photomask industry has consolidated into a small number of vendors, all competing to be best at what they do as globalization and Moore's Law make "what they do" more and more difficult.(Company overview)
August 1, 2006... The semiconductor photomask industry business model has been changing since the advent of merchant shops in the 1980s, and the past 10 years have brought changes of epic proportions. In the 1980s, there were many captive mask operations within...

A defectivity checkpoint for immersion lithography.
August 1, 2006... Immersion lithography is compared with dry lithography at the same numerical aperture (NA) and resolution in the context of actual manufacturing at the Crolles2 Alliance. After extensive materials studies, process optimization, and equipment...

Characterizing scanner illuminators to match OPC.
August 1, 2006... The illuminator profiles of different exposure tools produce different optical proximity effects (OPE) even when the nominal illumination parameters are the same. Universal metrics for characterizing the illuminator enable lithographers to...

Diffusion and resolution for chemically amplified resists.(The Lithography Expert)(Column)
August 1, 2006... As discussed in the last edition of this column (MLW, May 2006), diffusion in conventional (nonchemically amplified) resists has a very predictable (and undesirable) impact on resolution. The effects of diffusion can be determined by convolving...

Shows & conferences.(Calendar)
August 1, 2006... SEMICON Taiwan 2006 September 11-13--Taipei, Taiwan SEMICON Taiwan highlights the latest in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, materials, and service, with programs addressing manufacturing challenges, the latest technologies, and...

There really is a litho wall.(EDITORIAL)
August 1, 2006... Optical lithography has transcended so many limits set by the promoters of next-generation lithographies that much of the industry acts as if it will live forever. Long ago, I first was inspired to focus on litho by Grant Willson, who told our...