Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUVL) is an advanced technology using a light source of 13.5 nm and is a leading candidate for 22 nm node lithography and beyond. EUV lithography is now in the pilot phase with 0.33-NA tools at chip manufacturing sites. Mass-scale production is expected in near future.
EUV lithography tools use a plasma source to generate the 13.5 nm photons. ​
Patterns from a reflective mask are transferred to a substrate coated with light-sensitive material called photoresist. Patterning technique occurs in vacuum in all-reflective optics configuration.​ Fabricate integrated circuits with printed features smaller than 32 nm. ​
EUV light from plasma is collected into a collector that directs light into shaping optics called ‘illumination optics.’ The light illuminates a photomask. The illumination optics comprises multilayer-coated normal incidence mirrors and grazing incidence mirrors.
EUV masks are 6-inch square, 1/4-inch-thick low thermal expansion materials having multilayer reflective coating and an absorber layer etched into the circuit layer. The reflected image of the EUV mask enters the projection optic comprising six or more multilayer mirrors with NA > 0.25.
The final image is focused on a silicon wafer coated with a photo-sensitive etch resist or photoresist. The system operates in a low-hydrocarbon, high vacuum environment.​
Among many challenges faced are light source, resists, and mask infrastructure and developing lithography tools which are economical.​
Resist material must have high resolution, high sensitivity, low line-edge roughness (LER) and low outgassing simultaneously. ​
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