Smallest Optical Gate-Length Transistors.

Numerical Technologies, Inc. (NumeriTech, San Jose, CA) announced the successful fabrication of the world's smallest gate-length transistors produced entirely by optical lithography. The 50-nm (0.05 micron) transistor gates on the integrated circuit were achieved using NemeriTech's patented phase-shifting technology and DUV 248 nanometer optical lithography. The devices were fabricated at MIT Lincoln Laboratory (Lexington, MA) as part of a DARPA-sponsored program on sub- 100-nm fully depleted SOI CMOS.

This achievement marks the first time 248-nm lithography equipment has produced a 50-nm device. The transistors represent some of the smallest gates ever patterned by direct optical lithography. This result also demonstrates the potential for existing optical lithography tools to generate feature sizes significantly smaller than originally anticipated.

"People have been predicting the end of optical lithography for several years, saying it can't extend beyond 100 nm," says Y. C. (Buno) Pati, president and CEO of NumeriTech. "The MIT Lincoln Laboratory results prove that with prudent use of phase shifting, optical lithography can be extended much further than anyone ever thought was possible."

Previous estimates have ...