Hyper-NA - The Top Ten Issues
At these NAs, light rays can no longer be considered parallel to the optical axis, and the effects of polarisation become significant. Unless the effects of hyper-NA are understood and incorporated into the total lithography system (exposure tool, mask and so on), the potential for minimum resolution may not be achieved.
Numerical aperture is a measure of a lens' capability to collect diffracted light from a photomask and project it onto a wafer. The higher the numerical aperture, the more diffracted light the lens can collect and the better the resolution of the imaging system.
The latest lithography tools have apertures of 0.85, and the theoretical limit of NA in air is 1.0. However, immersion techniques, which use the refractive capability of ultrapure and transparent liquid can extend the NA limit to 1.3 and beyond. Such extension is viewed as vital to gaining the full benefits of immersion.
A meeting of lithography experts concluded that the top 10 issues are:
* New features for simulators that model lithography projection systems
* Imaging strategies with polarisation
* Experimental validation of simulators
* Impact/effects of mask polarisation
* Single- vs. multiple-exposure
* Magnification and field size
* Benchmarking of simulator programs
* Availability of data on commercial photomasks
* Phase performance of phase-shift masks
* Tool characterisation
Participants at the hyper-NA meeting included major chipmakers AMD, Motorola, and TSMC; key suppliers ASML, Canon, KLA-Tencor, Mentor Graphics, Nikon, Panoramic Technologies, Photronics, and Sigma-C; and research organisations MIT/Lincoln Labs, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of California/Berkeley, and University of New Mexico.
AngelTech Live III: Join us on 12 April 2021!
AngelTech Live III will be broadcast on 12 April 2021, 10am BST, rebroadcast on 14 April (10am CTT) and 16 April (10am PST) and will feature online versions of the market-leading physical events: CS International and PIC International PLUS a brand new Silicon Semiconductor International Track!
Thanks to the great diversity of the semiconductor industry, we are always chasing new markets and developing a range of exciting technologies.
2021 is no different. Over the last few months interest in deep-UV LEDs has rocketed, due to its capability to disinfect and sanitise areas and combat Covid-19. We shall consider a roadmap for this device, along with technologies for boosting its output.
We shall also look at microLEDs, a display with many wonderful attributes, identifying processes for handling the mass transfer of tiny emitters that hold the key to commercialisation of this technology.
We shall also discuss electrification of transportation, underpinned by wide bandgap power electronics and supported by blue lasers that are ideal for processing copper.
Additional areas we will cover include the development of GaN ICs, to improve the reach of power electronics; the great strides that have been made with gallium oxide; and a look at new materials, such as cubic GaN and AlScN.
Having attracted 1500 delegates over the last 2 online summits, the 3rd event promises to be even bigger and better – with 3 interactive sessions over 1 day and will once again prove to be a key event across the semiconductor and photonic integrated circuits calendar.
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