2013 Volume 26 Issue 5 Pages 587-593
The EUV program at imec aims at identifying the critical issues to prepare EUV lithography for insertion into high volume IC production. The program started in 2006 with the 0.25 NA ASML Alpha Demo Tool and has since then evolved around several focus areas. 1) scanner performance, reliability and monitoring, 2) definition and verification of OPC strategies for generic and EUV specific imaging effects 3) reticle defectivity, focusing on multi-layer defects, reticle handling and reticle cleaning, 4) resist screening, focusing on identification of materials that not only simultaneously give optimal performance in terms of resolution, line width roughness and sensitivity, but that also allow adequate transfer of the EUV-fabricated patterns into the underlying layers and 5) implementation of EUV lithography into fabrication of representative device structures. Since 2011 The Alpha Demo Tool has been replaced by the ASML NXE:3100, allowing higher resolution and productivity. In this paper, selected highlights in the latest achievements of the imec EUV program will be discussed.
