BobbySchneider

5/12/2011
EE243TermPaper

ExtremeUV(EUV)Lithography

Section1:Statementofproblemandbackground
Statementofproblemandintroduction:
ExtremeUVlithographyisanextgenerationlithographytechnologyusingafarsmaller
wavelengththanthatofdeepUVtechnologyforimprovedresolution.Unfortunately,EUV
lithography(EUVL)iscurrentlynotyetusedinmassproductiondespiteitsapparentadvantage
over193nmlithographyduetoanumberofengineeringchallengesandcosts,thoughthisis
changing.EUVLisnotyetconsideredreadyforhighvolumemanufacturingasof2011.This
paperwillreportonthestateoftheartofEUVLandwillprovideacriticalreviewofthe
challengesfacingEUVLandhopeforthefuture.

Lithographybasics:
Photolithographyistheuseofalightsourceandaphotomasktoselectivelyexposeanddefine
featuresinphotoresist.Todefineeversmallerfeaturesizes(e.g.10m,1m,100nm,10nm),
photolithographictechnologyhasbeenunderheavydevelopmentforthelastsixdecadesand
continuestodictatethesemiconductorindustrysadherencetoGordonMooresfamous
predictionmadein1965(i.e.MooresLaw)thattransistorcountsinsideCPUswoulddouble
every18months.Thispredictionhasheldtrueforalmost50yearsnowandseemsontrackto
remainvalidforatleastanother10years.

EUVListheuseoflightintheextremeUVrange(e.g.13.5nm)toselectivelyexposephotoresist
todefinefeaturesizessmallerthanthoseachievablewithsystemsutilizingalongerwavelength
(i.e.193nm).Theminimumprintablefeaturesizeofalithographicsystemisgivenby:

Wherek1isdefinedasthetechnologyfactor,isthewavelengthoflightused,andNAisthe
numericalapertureoftheopticalsystem.Thetechnologyfactoraccountsforresolution
enhancementtechniquesincludingphaseshiftmasks,offaxisillumination,opticalproximity
correctionanddoublepatterning.Overthepastdecade,allofthesetechniqueshavebeen
utilized(alongsideimmersionlithography)atafixedof193nm,theoutputofanArFexcimer
laser,toultimatelyrealizeanlmof32nm.Thenumericalapertureisthesineofthehalfangleof
themaximumconeoflightthatcanenterorexittheobjectivelensdividedbytheindexof
refractionofthemediuminwhichthelensisworking.Recently,immersionlithographyusing
waterhasbeenadoptedbyindustrytoachieveanincreaseofafactorof1.44inresolution(due
tothehigherindexofrefraction)usinga193nmsourceovertheprevioustechnologyinwhich
thesystemwasoperatedinair.193i,asthistechnologyisreferred,iscurrentlythedefacto

standard
dinsemicond
ductormanu
ufacturingandisslatedtobeusedu
untilthe22n
nmnodeof
CMOSan
ndperhapsb
beyond.

EUVradiiation:
EUVradiationisthebandoftheelectromagneticspectr umrangingfrom120nm
mdownto1
10
energiesrangingfrom100to124eV..13.5nmrad
diationhasaa
nmwithcorrespondiingphotone
correspo
ondingphoto
onenergyoff91.8eVand
dis40.7tim esmoreeneergeticthanaverage(yeellow)
visibleligght.SinceEU
UVissomuchmoreenerrgeticthanvvisibleradiattion,itdoesnotinteractt
withmattterinthesaamewaywitthregardtoabsorptionaandreflectio
onandinad
dditionismo
ore
difficultttogeneratethanvisiblelight.Topro
oduceEUVraadiation,mu
ultichargedionsareneeeded
whichareproducible
eonlyinave
eryhotandd
denseplasm
ma.ToemitaanEUVphotton,astronggly
positivelyychargedio
onmustattraactafreeele
ectronintottransitioninggdowntoon
neoftheion
ns
innerorb
bitals.Thisprocessreleasesaphotonfarmoreeenergeticthaancouldbeemittedbyaa
neutral(uncharged)atom.Twop
possiblesourcesofEUVradiationatt13.5nmarexenonand
dtin
plasmas,thespectraforwhichareincludedinFigure1[[1].Tinplasm
maisanexceellentEUV
sourcebutintroduce
esthechallengeofdebriismitigationn.

Fiigure1:Specctraforxenoonandtin

AnotherinterestingaaspectofEU
UVradiationisthatitcannnotbeefficcientlymanipulatedusin
ng
eopticsduetobothabssorptioninm
materialsanddalowerind
dexofrefracction.Thereffore
refractive
allEUVLsystemsmustusereflecctiveopticsaasopposedttorefractiveeoptics.AnEEUVmirrorccan
beconstructedouto
ofastackof50orsospu
utteredsilicoonandmolybdenumbilaayersof6.88
8nm
inthicknessasshowninFigure2
2[2].AsalsoshowninFiigure2,thesseEUVmirro
orshave
reflectivitiesofabout70%[2].Heatdissipatiion(cooling))systemsarethereforerequireddueto
theabsorptionofEU
UVradiationbytheopticcs.


Figure2
2:(Left)Ahigghreflectivitty,thermallyyandenviroonmentallyro
obustmultilayercoatinggfor
hightthroughputEUVlithograaphy.(Right))Reflectivityyplotwithreespecttowaavelength[2
2].

Lastly,EU
UVradiation
nisthemosthighlyabso
orbedbandooftheelectro
omagneticsspectruminair
[3].There
eforeanEUV
VLsystemm
mustbeoperratedinvacuuumforefficcienttransm
mission.Sinceethe
rateofab
bsorptionde
ependsonth
henumbero
ofairmolecuulespresentt,itisonlyneecessaryto
operateaatlowvacuu
um(perhapss1mTorr)to
oachieve>99.9%ofthe benefitgain
nedfrom
switchinggfromoperaatingat1atmospheredowntoapeerfectvacuum
m.

BuildinganEUVLsystemischalle
engingduettotheaforem
mentionedp
propertiesofEUVradiattion.
Inthefolllowingsectiion,thestateoftheartofEUVLtecchnologywilllbeexamined.

Section2
2:Stateofth
heartandcrriticalreview
w
Firstthingsfirst:Costtcomparison
nofEUVLan
nd193ilithoography:
Beforedelvingintothedetailsofftheoperationofthelitthographicssystems,itissinstructiveto
examinetherelativecostsofEUV
VLand193llithographywithdoubleepatterning,,asisneedeedat
mnodeandbeyondforanopticalsyystem,withregardtoco
ostofownerrship.Includedin
the32nm
Figure3isachartgeneratedbyttheInternationalRoadm
mapforSemiconductorssintheir200
09
biannualreportshow
wingthetotaalcostsofow
wnershipforproducing5000waferspermaskaat
differentttechnologynodesandu
usingdiffere
entfabricatioonmethodss[4].Theinteerestingparrtsof
thischarttarethecosstsillustratedatthe32aand22nmnnodesitwaasprojectedthatitwouldbe
significan
ntlycheaperrtoproducewafersusingEUVratheerthandoub
blepatternin
ng,anddefin
nitely
cheaperthantriplep
patterning.TThebigassum
mptionhereewasthatEU
UVtechnolo
ogywould
providettheneededtthroughput.UnfortunattelyforEUVLLandsemico
onductormaanufacturerss
alike,EUV
VLtoolsdon
notyethave
etheneeded
dthroughpuut(100wafersperhour)forhighvolume
manufacturingaswillbediscussedshortly.


Figure3:RelativeCostofOw
wnershipforrthecriticallevelofa50000waferru
undevice[4]].

Itisevide
entfromFigure3thatEUVLisdesiraabletothessemiconducttormanufaccturing
communityforcostrreasons.Nexxtwewillexxamineallthhecomponen
ntsofanEUVLsystemto
o
betterun
nderstandth
hestateoftheartofEU
UVL.

mponentsoffaphotolitho
ographysystem
Basiccom
Anyphottolithograph
hicsystemhaasthesamebasiccomm
monelementts.Thesecom
mmonelements
includeaalightsource
e,amask,ligghtguidingo
optics,andpphotoresist.Inthissectio
on,eachoftthese
elementssofEUVLwillbeexamin
nedandcom
mparedtotheecompetingg193itechnologywith
regardto
othroughput,cost,andperformance
e.

EUVLsou
urce
CreatingasufficientnumberofEEUVLphoton
nsforhighvvolumemanufacturing,aabout200W
Wto
100wafersp
perhouracccordingtotheInternatioonalRoadmaapforSemiconductors2
2009
achieve1
(ITRS),isoneofthem
mostdifficultchallengessfacingEUVL[4].ThusthedesignofftheEUVso
ource
isveryim
mportant.Th
hechoiceofEUVsourcetechnologycanbebrokkenintotwomajordecissions:
themeth
hodofplasm
maexcitation
n(DischargeProducedPlasma(DPP))orLaserPro
oducedPlasma
(LPP)and
dthesourceelement(Xe
e,Sn,In,Li) [5].ModernnEUVsourceesaremadeusingtin(Sn
n)as
asourcematerialduetoitshighconversionefficiencydespiteitsdissadvantageofcondensaation
ematerialon
ntheoptics[[6][7][8].Siggnificantproblemsforan
nyEUVsourceincludeEUV
ofsource
powersccaling,collecctorlifetime(100billionshots)andssystemafforrdability.ForrDPPsystem
ms,
themajo
orcostlycom
mponentsare
ethegrazinggincidenceccollector,thesourcevaccuumvessel
system,e
electrodesw
withcooling,sourceelem
mentdeliverry,andSSPPM
M;withconsumables
consistingofthecollector,electrrodesandde
ebristrap.FoorLPPsysteems,thecosttlycomponeents
includethemultilayyermirrorco
ollector,thesourcevacuuumvesselsyystem,beam
mdelivery,
sourceellementdelivvery,andlasersourcede
elivery,with consumableesconsistinggofthe
collector,pumpdiod
des/laserchaamber,andllaseroptics[5].In2005,,Cymerwasinvestigatin
ng
bothsysttemsandevventuallysettledondeve
elopmentoffLPPsystemsforhighvo
olume
manufacturing[5][7]].AlthoughC
Cymersettle
edonLPP,thhiswasnotu
universallyd
done.Oneoff

CymerscompetitorssXTREMETe
echnologiesdevelopedD
DPPsystemsswithsimilarsuccess[6]].
Thesetw
wotechnologgieswillnow
wbeexamine
edindividua lly.

CymerLP
PPEUVSourcce
InOctobe
er2010atth
heInternatio
onalEUVLSyymposiuminnKobe,Japaan,Cymergaaveanupdatteon
thestatu
usoftheirLP
PPsourcepro
oductionforrHVM.Amoongthehighllightsoftheirtalkinclud
ded
thattheyyhadshippe
edmultiplessourceswithmultiplequualificationin
nstallationsandsuccesssful
testrunssandperhap
psmoreimpressivelythaat175Wraw
wpowerfeassibilitywasd
demonstrateed
although
hthiswasno
otinsustaine
edoperation
n.AphotooffthefirstHV
VM1sourcebeingmoveed
intotheccleanroomaatASMLisin
ncludedinFiggure4below
w.ThissourcceutilizesaCOdrivelaser.

Figure4:CymerLPPHVM1
1EUVsource
ebeingmoveedintotheccleanroomaatASML[7].

Doserep
peatabilityovverafullwaferofHVM1waswithinn0.3%for988%ofthediesonthewafer
(1%foraalldies).Sourcepowerw
was0.5mJpe
erpulseat400kHz=20W
W.Tindroplettswereused
d
withadiameterof30
0m.Theco
ollectormod
duleshownbelowinFiggure5hasa5srsolidangle
and650mmdiamete
erwith50%averagerefflectance[7].

Figure5:Cym
merLPPHVM
M1EUVsourrcecollectormoduleand
dreflectanceeplot[7].

moreimpresssivethanthe
eperforman ceofHVM1trialswasth
heCymerso
ource
Perhapswhatwasm
powerro
oadmaptheyylaidoutandtheplansfforHVMIIw
withatargettexposurep
power>250W.

The2.5xscalingwou
uldbedueto
oknownsolu
utionsasfolllows:>1.4xlaserpowerimprovemeent,
1.15xcon
nversioneffiiciencyimprrovement,co
ollector(1.1xx),dosecon
ntrol(1.2x)andspectral
purityfiltter(1.15x)im
mprovements[7].Lastlyy,aroadmappofCymersLPPEUVSo
ourcesisincluded
inFigure6below.

Figgure6:Cyme
erLPPEUVsourceroadm
mappredicti ng350Wcleeanpowerb
by2013[7].

Although
hthepromissesmadebyCymerarevvast,itisharrdtosaywhethertheireestimatesarre
achievab
bleorjustovverlyambitio
ous.Iftheprroposedpow
werspecsofHVMIIIareactually
demonsttrated,thenitisclearthatEUVsourcepowerwiillnolongerbeathrougghputlimiterrfor
EUVLin2
2013!Thisro
oadmapisexxciting!

XTREMETechnologieesDPPEUVSSource
enatthe201
10EUVLSym
mposiumwassapresenta tiononXTREMEtechno
ologiesDPP
Alsogive
sources[[6].AmongttheadvantaggesoftheDP
PPsourceshhighlightedw
werethatth
heirmachinees
haddelivveredallthephotonsforrall12waffersresultsppresentedto
odateusingapowerscaalable
technolo
ogywiththeirsourcebeinginstalledwithsuccesssfultrialrun
nsontheNX
XE3100
prototype[6].Acrossssectiondiaagramofthe
eirprototypeesourcecollectormodu
ule(SoCoMo
o)is
includedinFigure7aalongwithaphotoofth
heirtinSoC
CoMo.

Figure
e7:CrosssectionaldiagramofSoCo
oMoandphootoofXTREM
METechsDPPSource[6
6].


TheSoCo
oMooperate
esbyrotatin
ngdrumelecctrodestosuupplyaconstanttinfilmtothedisch
harge
pulsedpllasma.Asdisscoveredinpreviousdesigns,therm
malengineerringiscriticalforaSoCoM
Mo.
Theprinccipleofoperrationisthattthetriggerlasercreateesavacuumspark.Acap
pacitorbankkis
chargedusingasimp
plepowersu
upplyandtheliquidtinfformselectriicalcontact.The
undamentallysolvestheeelectrodeeerosionprob
blem.Thecooling
regeneraatingliquidtinsurfacefu
drumsan
ndcontinuou
uscyclingre
emoveheatffromthesysstemasfastaspossible[1].XTREMEE
Technolo
ogiesliststhe
eircompetittiveadvantagesasstronngproofofp
powerscalab
bility,modular
architecttureforeasyyfieldupgrad
des,anddeb
brismitigatioonastheco
ornerstoneo
ofconstant
opticalperformanceandaffordaablecostofo
ownership[66].Apowerroadmapfo
orXTREMEsDPP
EUVsourrcesystemissincludedin
nFigure8[6]].Thisroadm
mapshowsp
plansforbiggimprovemeents
inthene
eartermthattwillenable
ehighvolum
memanufact uring,justlikeCymersrroadmap.Bu
ut
again,tim
mewilltelliffthesecomp
panieswilldeliver.Iamoptimisticaboutthepro
ospectsforEEUV
sourcesb
becausetwo
odifferentco
ompaniesussingdifferennttechnologiesareprom
misingpowerr
levelssuffficientforH
HVM.Hopefu
ullythesearrehonestpreedictions!

METechnolo
ogiesroadm
mapforpow eroutputofftheirDPPEEUVsource.
Figure8:XTREM

Unfortun
nately,noinfformationw
wasfoundwiithregardtootherelativeecostsofDP
PPandLPP
systems.Onethingissforsure:th
heyreexpen
nsive.Thecoostsofexcim
merlasersou
urces(whichare
eexpensive)arecertain
nlymuchlow
werthanthoseofEUVso
ourcesduettotechnologgical
alsoquite
maturity.

EUVLMa
asks
Accordingtothe200
09ITRS,therrearesignificcantcostaddvantagesoffEUVLmasksoveropticaal
masksatthe32nmh
halfpitchno
ode.Atthe3
32nmnode,,thecostofanEUVlitho
ographytooland
consumaableswaspro
ojectedtobemorethan
ndoubleitsoopticalcoun
nterpart,buttthemaskcost
ofanoptticalmaskfaarwouldoutweighlithotoolcostsbeecauseofth
heexcessivedatatowritte
opticalm
masks[4].Wrritetimeesttimatesforaanopticalmaaskatthe322nmnodeeexceed35ho
ours,
whereasanEUVmasskisprojecte
edtobewrittteninundeer9hours.TThisisbecausseOPCforEEUV

masksissignificantlyysimpler.Th
heCOOdifferencebetweeenEUVand
ddoublepattterningwass
projected
dtocontinuetoaccelerateintothe22nmnodee[4].

EUVLmaasksoperate byreflectio
on(andabsorption)rath erthantran
nsmission.Asimplediagram
ofanEUV
VLmaskissh
howninFigu
ure9,thehigghlightsofw
whichincludeamultilayercoatingovera
lowtherm
malexpansio
onsubstrate
eandanabssorberlayertodefinethepattern[2
2].

Figure9:EU
UVmaskcon
ntaininganaabsorberpattternandmu
ultilayercoating[2].

Despitetthesignifican
ntlyloweram
mountsofdatarequireddtocreateaanEUVLmasskoveranop
ptical
maskat3
32nm,EUVmaskmakin
ngisnotwith
houtitsdisa dvantages.FFirstly,them
multilayer
coatingo
overthemassksubstrate(whichbefo
oreaddingm
maskingfeaturesisreferrredtoasa
blank)aaddsanotherprocessinggstepandcaancontribut etoaddition
naldefects.Thesedefeccts
canbebu
uriedundern
neathorinsidethemulttilayerasshoowninFigurre10[9].Ind
deed,the
availabilityoflowdefectblanksrremainsone
eofthegreaatchallengessfacingEUVL[9].

0:TwoTEMimagesofEU
UVmaskblaanksdefects..(Left)Crysttallinecored
defectburied
Figure10
withinth
hemultilayerr.(Right)Nattivepitdefe
ectonthesuubstrate[9].

Beyondtthe22nmno
ode,thefabricationofd
defectfreeEEUVmasksin
ncludingtheirinspection
nis
themosttcriticalchalllengeforim
mplementinggEUVLintossemiconducttorhighvolu
ume
manufacturing[10].Toaddresstthisproblem
m,maskmetrologyandd
defectinspectiontoolsaare
underde
evelopmentsuchastheelectronbeaaminspectioon(EBI)systemeXplore5200develo
oped
byHermesMicrovision,Inc.EBIssystemshad
dpreviouslysufferedfro
omlowthrou
ughput,thou
ugh
thisisbeingaddresse
ed.Forexam
mple,anewfunctioncal ledLightningScanTMwaasrecently

installedonthissyste
em(in2010)thatimpro
ovedthroughhputbyafacctoroftenw
withoutany
sacrificessinsensitivitty.Usingthisnewalgorithm,adefe ctfreeEUVmaskfor22nmNANDfllash
contactlayerwasgeneratedusin
ngareduced
dinspectiontimefrom337hours/dieeto3.5
hours/die
e[10].

eseveralme
ethodsform
maskinspectiion.InvestiggationsbySeeletehavesh
hownthatm
mask
Thereare
defectde
etectionsensitivitiesare
egreatestforABI(actiniccblankinspection)andPI(patterneed
maskinspection)and
dthusbetterthanWI(w
waferinspecttion)at32n
nm,as10%aand30%chaanges
incriticaldimensionssweredetecctedonaverrage,respecttively[11].TThefirsttwo
omethodsare
therefore
esufficientffordetectinggthekillerdefectsintheemaskatbo
oththemain
npatternand
dat
thelightshieldborde
erarea.Pho
otosofthese
etwosystem
msareshown
ninFigure1
11.

Figure
e11:(Left)A
Actinicblankkinspectiontool.(Right) Patternedm
maskinspectiontool[11
1].

Afterdeffectsarefou
undandiden
ntified,theycanbeelimiinatedbytw
womethods..By
characterizingmaskdefectsandtheircausessusingadva ncedtools(e.g.TEM),eeffortscanbe
madetoeliminateth
hemasmuch
haspossible
ethroughprrocessoptim
mization.Rem
mainingdefeects
mitigatingeitherbypatte
ernshiftore
electronbea mrepairasshowninFiggureX[12].
canbem

Figure12:A
F
nexampleo
ofasuccessfulelectronbbeammaskrrepairperformedonam
mask
efect[12].
de

Maskpro
oductionand
dinspectiontechnologyisoperationnalandundeerdevelopm
mentbymany
differenttcompaniesaroundtheworldforim
mprovedperrformance.N
Next,thethirdandfinal
significan
ntchallengeforEUVLlithographywillbeexaminned:photoreesist.

EUVLpho
otoresist
EUVLpho
otoresistdevvelopmenth
hasbeenide
entifiedasthhethirdgreaatchallengeforEUVLbyythe
ITRSsinceitisdifficu
ulttoobtainneededpho
otoresistresoolution,lineeedgerough
hnessand
sensitivittyspecificationssimultaneously[4].Generally,i faresistcheemistryexceelswithoneof
theseperformancem
metricsitsufffersintheo
othertwo.Theplotfrom
mSematechshowninFiggure
Vphotoresisttdemonstratesthis,asn
none
13comparingperforrmanceofsixxdifferenttyypesofEUV
oftheresistsmetallthespecs[1
13].

Fiigure13:Performanceo
ofsixEUVph
hotoresistsr elativeto222nmHVMspecs[13].

SeleteisworkingondevelopinglowmolecularweightreesistsfordeccreasedLWR
Randrecenttly
th
demonsttratedafulle
erenebasedLMWresist(namedSSR
R7forSelenees7 Stand
dardResist)w
with
comparableperform
mancetoSSRs16[13].TThisresearchhshowsthatthereisho
opeforEUV
resiststo
omakethele
eapto1xnm
mlithograph
hysinceforH
HMWresistss,thesizeoffthemolecu
ulesis
ontheorrderoftherroughness,w
whichistoollarge,butaLMWresistchangesallofthis.
Furtherm
more,thefullerenebase
edresisthasstrongeretcchingdurabiilitythanoth
herresistsass
welldem
monstratingaanormalized
detchrateo
of0.37compparedto1.0ofanArFreesist[13].This
resisthassanissueoffpatterncollapsefortyp
picalresistthhicknessesb
butthisissolvedbyusingan
ultrathin
nresistthickkness(permissibledueto
osloweretcchrate).Aplotoftheim
maging
performaanceofSSR7
7isincludedinFigure14
4.Ultimatelyy28nmHPw
wasresolved
dwithannullar
illuminattionand24n
nmHPwasrresolvedusin
ngXslitillum
mination.


Figure1
14:SEMsofvvarioushalfpitchestod
demonstrateetheimaginggperforman
nceofSSR7[[13].

Lastly,efffortstoredu
uceLWRare
eongoingan
ndincludetrreatingtheresistswithaanEUV
rinse/TBA
AHprocessaandalsoaniimplantproccessandhavvebeenimp
plementedsu
uccessfully
showinga9.1%imprrovementinLWRwithahighleveloofconfidenceefortherinsse/TBAHpro
ocess
andan8.1%improve
ementusingtheimplanttprocess[144].Unfortun
natelytheim
mplantprocess
pendingonthepatternssize
hasadraawbackwherebythecritticaldimensiionschangeslightlydep
andthusfurtherimp
provementissrequired[1
14].

Itisgene
erallyacceptedthatperfformanceofEUVresistaat32nmisaadequate.Cu
urrently,effo
orts
arebeinggmadetoim
mproveperfo
ormanceforr22nmHPppatterningandbeyond.LWRand
sensitivittyremainim
mportantissu
uesthatneedtobesolveed,butunlikketheorderrmagnitude
improvem
mentscurrentlybeingw
witnessedwitthregardtoothepowerofEUVsources,Iwouldnt
predictlaargeimprove
ementsinEU
UVphotoressistaheadannytimesoon
n.Itseemsto
omethat
improvem
mentsinEUV
Vresistwillbeincremen
ntalandmarrginalovertthenextfew
wyears.

EUVOptiics
Thefinaldiscussiono
ofthecomponentsofan
nEUVLsysteemregardstthetradeoffssandchallen
nges
betweenthe
eEUVsourcee,themask,,andthewaafer.One
involvedinthereflecctiveopticsb
nttradeoffissbetweenth
henumbero
ofmirrorsanndthenumeericalapertu
ureofthe
importan
system.A
Asstatedpre
eviously,eacchmirrorhaasareflectivvityof70%.TThereforeeaachadditional
mirrorcu
utsthroughp
putby30%.Itisdesirabletomaximiizethenumeericalapertu
uretoachievvea
minimum
msmallestfe
eaturesize.U
Unfortunate
ely,largerNA
Ademandsm
moremirrorrs.Asshownby
Dr.PatricckNaulleauofLBNL,asyystemcanraangefromh avinganNA
Aof0.1and4
4mirrors,an
nNA
of0.32and6mirrorss,andanNA
Aof0.4with8mirrorsw
withnoobscu
uration.NAof0.5canbee
achieved
dwith8mirrrorsbutwou
uldresultinaanobscureddimage,perhapslimitinggNAtoarou
und
0.4form
mostsystemss[3].Compilingtheseresultsinatabbleandcalcu
ulatingtheaassociated
normalizedthroughp
putbasedon
npowerlosssaloneyield sthefollowingresultsh
howninTablle1.

Table1:Numericalaaperture,req
quirednumb
berofmirrors,andnorm
malizedthroughputforEEUVL
Normaalizedthroug
ghput
Numericcalaperturee
Mirro
orsrequiredd
baasedonmirro
or
abssorptionalone
0.1
4
1
0.25
6
0.49
0.32
6
0.49
0.4
8
0.24

ora4timesincreaseinNA,wegetaabouta4tim
mesdecreasseinthrough
hput.
Table1showsthatfo
Thistable
edoesnotaaccounthow
weverforthe
eincreaseinetenduethaatresultsfro
omincreased
NA,whicchcounteracctsthislossaandimprove
esthroughpuutthedrop
pinthroughputnumberrsfor
thehighNAsystemsshownisexxaggerated.TThereforeitwouldbedesirabletoh
haveahighN
NA
ormostapplicationsdesspitethelossofthroughhput.
systemfo

FullEUVLLSystem:ASSMLsNXE:31
100
DespiteaallthetechnologicalchallengesofEU
UVL,ASMLi snowprodu
ucingthewo
orldsfirstprre
productio
onEUVLtoo
olusingaCym
mersource.AsofJuly20010,sixofth
hetoolswerrepurchased
dand
tobedeliveredbyth
hefirsthalfo
of2011.Thoughatstartuupitwason
nlyproducingg4wafersp
per
hour,itw
waspredicte
edthatbysh
hipmentthro
oughputwouuldhaveincreasedto60
0wafersperr
hour,bassedonsupposedlyfeasibleupgradestothesou rcesandusiinganoverlyyoptimistic
resistsen
nsitivityof10mJ/cm(in
nmyopinion
n).ThistoolwillbefollowedbytheNXE:3300B
available
ein2012whichwillgodownto22n
nmwithahigghNAsixmiirrorlensan
ndoptionalo
off
axisillum
minationwith
ha100wphthroughputt.AnimageooftheNXE33100isshow
wnbelowin
Figure15
5[15].Itisquiteamazinggwhatengin
neerscanacccomplish.

Figure15:AS
F
SMLsNXE:3
3100EUVlith
hographytooolfirstshipp
pedinlate2010[15].


Section3:ProposedworktoadvanceEUVL
Aneedformoreresearchandfunding
EUVLisnotyetreadyforhighvolumemanufacturingasofMay2011duetonumerous
engineeringchallengesthatIbelievearesolvabledespitetheirseverity.Forexample,several
yearsago,criticsofEUVLarguedthatEUVLsourceswouldneverbepowerfulenoughto
supporthighvolumemanufacturingfornotonlyEUVsteppersbutformaskmetrologyaswell
whichiscriticallyimportantinfrastructure.Ithinkthisviewischanging,thoughcurrentpower
levelsareperhaps10xbelow(thoughthisisimproving)thoseneededforhighvolume
manufacturing(i.e.250W).ThereisnotenoughR&DinEUVresists,sources,andmasksto
solvethebigproblemsquicklyenoughtomeeteconomicneedsinmyopinion.Researchfor
EUVLisfundedmainlybyindustrywhichhistoricallyhasnotalwaysbeeninterestedinthebest
longtermsolutionstoproblemsastheytypicallyjustwanttousethecheapesttechnology
presentlyavailable(i.e.193i).Oftenindustryistooconservativewithregardtotakingrisks.But
IbelieveASML,Intel,Cymer,XTREME,andSeletearenotableexceptions.Ofcourseabusiness
isgoingtodowhatscheapesttoobtainagivenresult.Butstickingtoaproventechnologywith
alowerfixedcostandhighermarginalcostisalosingeffortinthelongrun.Withgreater
fundingforEUVL1020yearsagothecurrentchallengesoftodaycouldhavebeensurmounted
earlierandyieldedacheaperoverallprocessforproducingtodayschipsthancurrentdoubleor
triplepatterningmethods.Researchanddevelopmentfornewtechnologiesisabalancingact
sinceinvestmentsdonotalwayspayoff.Howeveritisindisputablethattechnologiesimprove
asmoneyflowsintothemsolarpowertechnologyandfuelefficientvehiclesareprime
examples.ItwasdifficulttotellwhetherEUVLwouldbeatremendoussuccessoratremendous
flop,aswasXraylithographicdevelopmentinthe70sand80s.PerhapsEUVLhaslimited
potentialforimprovement.ButIthinkthatindustryandeventhegovernmentshouldstepup
toinvestmoremoneyintoEUVLtosupportresearch.

Aquestionablefuture
EUVL technology needs considerable development. This development will happen over time,
inevitably, but would be occur at an accelerated pace with more support. Mask metrology,
source power, lineedge roughness, photoresist sensitivity and resolution all need to be
addressed. Some people think EUVL is not a viable technology and further investment is a
waste.IbelieveEUVLisagreattechnologywithtremendouspotential.Idothinkthat193iis
thewaytogorightnowfor22nmandthatEUVLdidntdeliverwhenitshouldhave.ButIdont
want to see researchers stop trying because when ready, EUVL will enable better computers
and also exciting applications beyond just scaled CMOS. One such application includes mass
fabricating complex nanoelectromechanical systems with 20 nm features, giving us better
sensors and interesting transducers such as nanomechanical filters for communications
applications[16].OnlytimewilltellifEUVLtechnologywillbeusefulinabigwayinthedistant
future.

Alternativefundingsourcesandglobalstrategy
Currently market forces largely determine how much funding EUVL gets. As EUVL becomes
viewed more risky and determined to be less profitable, companies and investors looking to

makequickmoneywillpulltheirresources.Theprogressofsmallcompaniesinthebusinessof
developingcertainaspectsofEUVL(forexamplebrightsourcesformaskmetrologytools)will
grindtoahaltwithoutexternalsupport.Butitspossiblethiswonthappensinceconditionsare
improvingandEUVLisgainingmomentumagain.Perhapsaninternationalconsortiumshould
beformedtoworktogethertoidentifytheweakestlinksofEUVLtopreventthisoutcome(Ido
notbelievesomethinglikethisexists).Thisconsortiumwouldthengiverecommendationsfor
improvements and supply financial support to those areas needing greatest development for
thetechnologyasawhole.Alternatively,perhapsEUVLresearchshouldbegovernmentfunded
by agencies such as the NSF. Or maybe more industrial and university partnerships could be
formed in this area whereby students work on projects interesting to industry while earning
degrees.CertainlythedevelopmentofEUVsourceswouldbegoodPhDprojectsforgraduate
studentstoonavetoknowthatatechnologycantwork.Industrycanbenefitfromacademic
research papers and of course companies want more fresh ideas from academia. There are
many good research proposals but many go unfunded and therefore dont make it into
research papers and conference presentations. I believe research programs should be
expanded and more money should flow into academia for technological, engineering, and
scientificdevelopmentwithmoreopportunitiesforstudentstopursuegraduateschool.

Movingforward
EUVLneedsmoremoneyandmanpowertomoveforwardtosolvetheproblemsdescribedat
length in Sections 2. Much of this work is straightforward since research often involves just
tryingnewthings(e.g.designofexperimentsforoptimumphotoresistparametersandfinding
lots of data points) but on the other hand a lot of research is not easy, requirestotally fresh
thinking, and often ends in failure. Whatever the case, research takes work and the result
(whensuccessful)isnewideasandinventions.Researchisgreat.Oncetheideasproducedby
research are confirmed by demonstrations, they must be transformed into commercial
productsthatcanbeusedbyEUVLtoolmakersandultimatelychipmanufacturerstomakethe
nextgreatcomputerCPUsandmemories.

Section5:Bibliography
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