Pessimism grows for EUV litho
Mark LaPedus
EE Times (01/13/2009 12:02 H EST) HALF MOON BAY, Calif.
The pessimism is growing for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.
First, Intel Corp., the prime mover behind EUV, recently said the technology
may not be ready for the 22-nm node, as previously promised. EUV has been
delayed for some time and could be pushed out to the 16-nm node.
IBM Corp. agrees. ''EUV will not be ready for the 22-nm node,'' said Gary
Patton, vice president for IBM's Semiconductor Research and Development
Center, during a presentation at the Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) here.
EUV has demonstrated the ability to devise a 22- and 16-nm device, but the
technology continues to suffer from reliability issues, lack of sources and
other problems, he said.
Other next-generation lithography technologies will also not be ready for
22-nm. 193-nm immersion with high index fluids faces some issues, namely the
lack of materials, he said.
Multi-beam electron-beam suffers from a lack of throughput, he added.
Amid probable delays with EUV, IBM recently said it plans to extend 193-nm
immersion and move towards what the company calls ''computational scaling''
technology for the 22-nm node and perhaps beyond.
Current optical lithography is expected to hit the wall at the 32-nm node.
''Computational scaling'' -- sometimes called computational lithography -- is
said to overcome those limits and extend 193-nm immersion.
A key to ''computation scaling'' is a partnership between IBM and Mentor,
which plans to devise a new resolution enhancement technique (RET) to enable
22-nm designs and perhaps beyond. This RET technology, know as source-mask
optimization, will not eliminate dreaded and expensive 193-nm immersion--with
double-patterning techniques.
Source-mask optimization is said to optimize both mask layout and
illumination simultaneously to maximize image contrast in a scanner. The
technology is said to provide a means to minimize the use of
double-patterning by employing customized sources within the scanner, along
with optimized mask shapes.
http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212900153
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