AVS 45th International Symposium
    Manufacturing Science and Technology Group Wednesday Sessions
       Session MS-WeM

Invited Paper MS-WeM3
Lithography for Smaller than 0.15 Micron Silicon Technology

Wednesday, November 4, 1998, 9:00 am, Room 317

Session: Advanced Process Equipment and ES&H
Presenter: A. Ishitani, Association of Super-Advanced Electronics Technologies (ASET), Japan
Correspondent: Click to Email
Lithography for smaller than 0.15 micron silicon technology Association of Super-advanced Electronics Technologies (ASET) Akihiko Ishitani KrF laser lithography (KrF) has reached its limits in terms of resolution capabilities, and hence it has become necessary to find practical application of such technologies as ArF laser lithography (ArF), electron beam direct writing (EBDW), and proximity X-ray lithography (X-ray) to realize further downscaling of silicon devices. As a result of research and development, these technologies have attained a resolution capability that is less than 100 nm. The remaining issues to be addressed are critical dimension and position accuracy, resist and optical materials, and mask fabrication. Defect inspection and repair technologies are important issues, too. Single layer resist technology for ArF will be employed down to 130 nm. Top-surface imaging technology for ArF, or mix and match of ArF with EBDW will be used between 150 to 70 nm, and VUV or EUV lithographies should deal with 100 to 50 nm. X-ray has enough potential for between 250 to 70 nm mass production. SCALPEL and Ion Projection Lithography (IPL) are also candidates for next generation lithography. ASET is focusing on optical lithography, X-ray, and mask writers. SCALPEL and IPL are mainly depending on the United States and Europe. In the future, lithography will be adopted to suit the type of LSI devices, depending on the required field size and the depth of focus. Mask size is another critical issue for mass production. Smaller mask size has higher capability for mask accuracy. Research and development of lithography now involve very large costs and risks, and hence international cooperation and exchange of information are essential for LSI industry. This work is being performed under the management of ASET in Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).