Microchips Milestone in production technology reached
ASML is to receive a shipment for an extreme ultra violet (EUV) optical lithography system from Carl Zeiss SMT. The tool is based on a 13 Nanometer illumination wavelength, which allows chipmakers to print feature sizes of 32 nm and below on integrated circuits. The EUV projection optics will be incorporated in the EUV Alpha demo tools. Unlike many lithography systems used in production today, the EUV projection optics fully consist of mirrors or the light would just be absorbed. The requirements for these highly sophisticated EUV mirrors are exceptional.
Spherically curved surfaces of the reflective elements must be produced with a contouring accuracy within the space of a few atoms. Surface roughness may also not exceed more than a few atoms in order to precisely impose the mask structures onto the wafer without blurs. The whole projection system comprises of six mirrors positioned and adjusted with extreme accuracy working in a high vacuum area, as even minute amounts of residual gas would absorb the EUV radiation. The coating of the mirror-substrates also plays a decisive role. Sufficient reflectivity can only be reached with a stack of more than 50 double-layers consisting of alternating layers of molybdenum and silicon (Mo/Si); each of these double-layers has a thickness of less than 10 manometers.
"Delivery of the projection optics from Carl Zeiss SMT is a milestone in ASML's EUV program. With EUVL we are looking forward to expanding our joint business to the Next Generation Lithography" said Noreen Harned, Vice President Marketing, Technology, and New Business, ASML.
