Motorola's new IC mask-patterning processes target features below 0.1
micron (this is a big deal!)
A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc.
Story posted 3:30 p.m. EST/12:30 p.m., PST, 8/3/99
AUSTIN, Tex. -- Motorola Inc. here today announced that it has
developed new technologies for fabricating IC masks for both
electron projection and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography that
can be used to manufacture devices with feature sizes below 0.1
micron, or 100 nanometers.
These two new lithography technologies require new types of
materials and processes for fabricating masks, and embody a
different approach to how masks handle the radiation used to expose
IC patterns on the surface of silicon wafers, said Joe Mogab,
manager of advanced process development at Motorola's
Semiconductor Products Sector in Austin. He claimed Motorola is
the first to demonstrate the capability of yielding full-field large-area
masks capable of processing practical chip sizes.
For electron projection processing, the new mask consists of
membrane material approximately 1,000 angstroms thick with an
overlying patterned surface material capable of scattering electrons
to create an image of the pattern on the wafer. By adjusting the
patterns on the mask, silicon wafers can be processed much as they
are in typical current process steps.
The technology for EUV mask processing involves use of a
reflective multi-layer mask blank upon which a very thin absorbing
material is patterned to create the image.
"The industry has gone about as far as it can with today's
chrome-on-glass technology using phase shifting and optical proximity
correction enhancement techniques," Mogab said. "We think this new
technology will allow us to finally go below 0.1 micron level
processing."
Motorola is a member of the EUV LLC, a consortium formed with
Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to develop advances in
EUV technology, and has jointly developed the EUV
mask-processing technology with its partners. The company expects
these technologies to provide an early advantage in having masks
available to print smaller feature sizes for ICs early in the next
millennium.
Motorola's first full-field microprocessor die mask pattern on an EUV
mask and an electron projection resolution test pattern over a full
field 200-mm diameter mask were demonstrated at the International
Sematech Advanced Lithography Workshop in Chicago last June.
Mogab noted that Motorola will probably not elect to manufacture its
own masks. "Our objective is to develop proficiency in the fabrication
of these masks," he said. "Ultimately we will transfer the processes
to mask suppliers." |
