Semiconductors have enabled ever-increasing efficiency in compute and storage of information, as a result of decades of cost-effective scaling of device density and generations of new device technologies. We believe that continued advances in holistic patterning will enable cost-effective scaling of semiconductor devices to continue throughout the 2020s and beyond. We present here key developments across ASML’s holistic product portfolio: the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography roadmap with its 0.33 numerical-aperture (NA) platform and the next-generation 0.55 NA (High-NA) platform, the deep ultraviolet (DUV) roadmap including cutting-edge immersion lithography and cost-efficient mature systems, and key innovations across our optical metrology, electron-beam metrology and inspection portfolio, and our computational lithographic technology. In high-volume manufacturing, the ultimate lithographic performance is only realized by the holistic combination of exposure systems, metrology and inspection tools, and computational-lithographic algorithms. This includes process window optimization during setup, accurate measurement of process capability, and active control to stay within the patterning process window.

With the introduction of the NXE:3400B scanner, ASML has brought EUV to High-Volume Manufacturing (HVM). In this context, ASML is pursuing a dual-path approach towards zero reticle defectivity: EUV-compatible pellicle or zero particles towards reticle by advanced particle contamination control. This paper will focus on the latter approach of advanced particle contamination control and will show that we are able to reduce particle contamination towards reticle to a level that is compatible with HVM requirements for sub-10nm node lithography.

EUV pellicles have been enabled to provide customers with defect protection for EUV reticles. However, due to the absorption that is much higher than for DUV pellicles, using the pellicle has certain disadvantages. Most significant is the reduction in throughput caused by the absorption of EUV photons in the pellicle. This leads to a customer decision to use a pellicle and accept the reduced throughput, or to not use a pellicle and have additional inspection steps to check the cleanliness of the EUV reticle. These tradeoffs vary by customer and use case. This study addresses the balance of factors for using or not using a pellicle through a cost comparison.

The introduction of Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUV) as a replacement for multiple patterning is based on improvements of cycle time, yield, and cost. Earlier cost studies have assumed a simple assumption that EUV masks (being more complex with the multilayer coated blank) are not more than three times as expensive as advanced ArFi (ArF immersion) masks. EUV masks are expected to be more expensive during the ramp of the technology because of the added cost of the complex mask blank, the use of EUV specific mask tools, and a ramp of yield learning relative to the more mature technologies. This study concludes that, within a range of scenarios, the hypothesis that EUV mask costs are not more than three times that of advanced ArFi masks is valid and conservative.

SEMATECH has initiated a program to accelerate the development and commercialization of multi-electron beam based technologies as successor for wafer defect inspection in high volume semiconductor manufacturing. This paper develops the basic electron-optical performance requirements and establishes criteria for tool specifications. The performance variations within a large array of electron beams must be minimal in order to maximize defect capture rates while simultaneously minimizing false counts, so a series of experimental evaluations are described to quantify the random and systematic variations in beam current, spot size, detector channel noise level, and defect sensitivity.

Laser produced plasma (LPP) systems have been developed as the primary approach for the EUV scanner light source for optical imaging of circuit features at sub-22nm and beyond nodes on the ITRS roadmap. This paper provides a review of development progress and productization status for LPP extreme-ultra-violet (EUV) sources with performance goals targeted to meet specific requirements from leading scanner manufacturers. We present the latest results on exposure power generation, collection, and clean transmission of EUV through the intermediate focus. Semiconductor industry standards for reliability and source availability data are provided. We report on measurements taken using a 5sr normal incidence collector on a production system. The lifetime of the collector mirror is a critical parameter in the development of extreme ultra-violet LPP lithography sources. Deposition of target material as well as sputtering or implantation of incident particles can reduce the reflectivity of the mirror coating during exposure. Debris mitigation techniques are used to inhibit damage from occuring, the protection results of these techniques will be shown over multi-100's of hours.

Through a number of experimental studies carried out on various experimental test stands we are characterizing the scaling of EUV power and collector lifetime. The current performance of the first generation of EUV sources to support EUV lithography scanners is at 20 W power and 70% availability. CO2 drive laser power of up to 17 kW has been reached, while average EUV power of nearly 50 W was demonstrated on an HVM I source with a laser pre-pulse at our facilities. The burst EUV power on this source was in excess of 90 W at 10% to 20% duty cycle and closer to 60 W at 80% duty cycle since the full set of automated controls has not yet been implemented on this source. Once the automation of the laser-droplet position controls is implemented on our pre-pulse system, the average source power is expected to reach power levels on the order of 100 W. Further scaling of source power through operation at repetition rates higher than 50 kHz was also shown to be possible. Through improved gas management, better coatings and parallel testing of collector samples, we have significantly extended the useful life of the source collector mirrors.

Laser produced plasma (LPP) systems have been developed as a viable approach for the EUV scanner light sources to support optical imaging of circuit features at sub-22nm nodes on the ITRS roadmap. This paper provides a review of development progress and productization status for LPP extreme-ultra-violet (EUV) sources with performance goals targeted to meet specific requirements from leading scanner manufacturers. The status of first generation High Volume Manufacturing (HVM) sources in production and at a leading semiconductor device manufacturer is discussed. The EUV power at intermediate focus is discussed and the lastest data are presented. An electricity consumption model is described, and our current product roadmap is shown.

Extending lithography to 32 nm and 22 nm half pitch requires the introduction of new lithography technologies, such as EUVL or high-index immersion, or new techniques, such as double patterning. All of these techniques introduce large changes into the single exposure immersion lithography process as used for the 45 nm half pitch node. Therefore, cost per wafer is a concern. In this paper, total patterning costs are estimated for the 32 nm and 22 nm half pitch nodes through the application of cost-of-ownership models based on the tool, mask, and process costs. For all cases, the cost of patterning at 32 nm half pitch for critical layers will be more expensive than in prior generations. Mask costs are observed to be a significant component of lithography costs even up to a mask usage of 10,000 wafers/mask in most cases. The more simple structure of EUVL masks reduces the mask cost component and results in EUVL being the most cost-effective patterning solution under the assumptions of high throughput and good mask blank defect density.

With the introduction of alpha tools, extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) has reached a key milestone. Users of those tools must have access to critical EUV infrastructure capabilities to evaluate the technology in a pilot line operation. In cooperation with universities, national laboratories, suppliers, integrated device manufacturers, and other industry consortia, SEMATECH has been spearheading the worldwide effort to develop this EUV infrastructure in the source, mask, optics, and resist areas. In the process, SEMATECH's Mask Blank Development Center, its EUV Resist Test Center, and the EUV expertise built within the SEMATECH EUV program have become key enablers for the successful introduction of EUV technology. We will highlight the significant contributions that the SEMATECH EUV Program has made, and continues to make, to the worldwide EUV infrastructure development effort. Moving beyond the alpha toot phase, the industry must have a clear understanding of the challenges that need to be addressed before EUV beta tools can be successfully introduced as early as 2009. We will identify those areas that still need a substantial effort to overcome technical and business challenges to meet 32 nm half-pitch requirements in time. Although some of those areas are clearly EUV-specific, others are generic and impact other lithography technologies as well. One of the major attractions of EUVL is that it is an extendible technology that can likely support patterning for several technology generations. We will review the outlook for EUVL technology extendibility and discuss what the industry needs to start working on to enable EUVL's bright future and long lifetime.

Although changing the mask reduction factor from 4X to a larger value offers several technical advantages, previous attempts to enact this change have not identified enough clear technical advantages to overcome the impact to productivity. Improvements in mask manufacturing, mask polarization effects, and optics cost have not been thought to be sufficient reason to accept a reduced throughput and field size. This paper summarizes the latest workshop and discussion revisiting the mask reduction factor for 32nm half-pitch lithography with hyper-numerical aperture (NA) optical or extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL). The workshop consensus was strongly in favor of maintaining the current magnification ratio and field size as long as mask costs can be contained.

in many semiconductor markets, the largest fraction of total lithography cost is photomask cost; therefore any improvements in that area can have a noticeable impact on net chip cost. A significant yield loss mechanism for advanced photomasks is through nonrepairable defects. Providing improved methods to repair defects allows for improvements in mask yield and, therefore, the cost to make a defect-free mask and eventually the cost to produce the integrated circuit. However, the connection between mask yield and integrated circuit price is not a first-order relationship because it bridges between the mask supplier and end-user. SEMATECH and other worldwide consortia have, in the past, bridged this gap by sponsoring programs to develop improved mask infrastructure tools. A significant investment has been made in mask repair tool technology, but the quantitative benefit and return on investment has not been summarized until now. This paper attempts to show the strong benefits to the photomask and semiconductor industries from improving mask repair.

Polysilsesquioxane-based 193 nm positive bilayer resists are described. In this design Si for etch resistance is placed in every repeat unit and acid-labile protected and acidic groups (and polar units) are in the side chain, allowing to incorporate each lithographically critical functionality in sufficient quantity. Fluoroalcohol is employed as an acid group instead of carboxylic acid because of its more attractive dissolution properties. Polymers were carefully analyzed by F-19, C-13, and Si-29 NMR to determine composition and to quantify residual acetyl, silanol, and Q/T. Hydrogen-bonding between tertiary ester and fluoroalcohol in the polysilsesquioxanes was investigated by FT-IR and the effect of lactone incorporation on the thermal deprotection temperature elucidated. In order to better understand the dissolution behavior of exposed resist films, the silsesquioxane resist polymers were partially (ca. 30 %) and fully deprotected in solution with acid and their dissolution kinetics investigated by using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). It has been found that the exposed areas of the silsesquioxane resists can have a very fast dissolution rate (R-max) of > 20,000 A/sec (or even > 100,000 A/sec). Heating the fully deprotected model polymers to 150 degrees C did not reduce the dissolution rate much, suggesting thermal condensation of silanol end groups is insignificant. Model deprotected polymers containing triphenylsulfonium nonallate were exposed to 254 nm radiation, baked, and subjected to QCM measurements in order to determine whether or not acid-catalyzed silanol condensation would reduce the dissolution rate. A combination of high dose and high temperature bake resulted in significant reduction of the dissolution rate in the silsesquioxane polymer containing a small trifluoroalcohol. However, the dissolution behavior of the polymer bearing a bulky norbornene hexafluoroalcohol was unaffected by exposure and bake. Chemical and development contrast curves were generated by using a temperature gradient plate and bake temperature effects investigated. While a postapply bake temperature variation from 95 to 130 degrees C did not affect the contrast (chemical and development) and sensitivity, a postexposure bake temperature effect was quite small. The process window of the silsesquioxane bilayer resists was comparable to that of a high performance commercial 193 nm single layer resist for both isolated and nested contact hole imaging, Superior performance of our silsesquioxane resist was demonstrated in patterned etch in comparison with a COMA-based bilayer resist.

Positive 193 nm bilayer resists based on polysilsesquioxane are described. Fluoroalcohol is employed as an acid group instead of carboxylic acid because of its more attractive dissolution properties. Polymers were carefully analyzed by 19F, 13C, and 29Si NMR to determine composition and to quantify residual acetyl, silanol, and Q/T. In an attempt to better understand the dissolution behavior of exposed resist films, the silsesquioxane resist polymers were partially and fully deprotected in solution with acid and their dissolution kinetics investigated by using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The exposed areas of the silsesquioxane resists can have a very fast dissolution rate (Rmax) of >20,000 A/sec (or even >100,000 A/sec). Heating the fully deprotected model polymers to 150 °C did not reduce the dissolution rate much, suggesting thermal condensation of silanol end groups is insignificant. Model deprotected polymers containing triphenylsulfonium nonaflate were exposed to 254 nm radiation, baked, and subjected to QCM measurements in order to probe whether or not acid-catalyzed silanol condensation would reduce the dissolution rate. A combination of high dose and high temperature bake resulted in significant reduction of the dissolution rate in the silsesquioxane polymer containing a small trifluoroalcohol. However, the dissolution behavior of the polymer bearing a bulky norbornene hexafluoroalcohol was unaffected by exposure and bake. Chemical and development contrast curves were generated by using a thermal gradient hotplate and bake temperature effects investigated. A postexposure bake temperature effect was quite small. The process window of the silsesquioxane bilayer resists was comparable to that of a high performance commercial 193 nm single layer resist for both isolated and nested contact hole imaging, Superior performance of our silsesquioxane resist was demonstrated in patterned etch in comparison with a cycloolefin-maleic anhydride bilayer resist.