Komatsu 2-kHz DUV excimer laser targets 0.13-micron
Semiconductor Business News
(11/12/99, 09:09:14 AM EDT)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Komatsu Ltd.'s Excimer Laser Department today announced a narrow-band 2-kHz deep ultraviolet (DUV) excimer laser light source for production of chips with 0.13-micron design rules.
The G21K laser is a follow-on to the G20K, which targeted the 0.15-micron node. Designed for high numerical aperture (N.A) steppers and scanners, the G21K is a 248-nm, kypton fluoride (KrF) excimer laser light source, and features a newly designed excimer laser which doubles the life expectancy of the chamber to 10 billion pulses, which Komatsu claimed is the longest life expectancy in the industry.
To achieve the 0.13-micron node, Komatsu narrowed the bandwidth from 0.6 picometers to 0.5 pm. In addition the energy dose stability has been improved from 0.4% (40 pulses) to (less than plus or minus) 0.35% (35 pulses) to enable accurate dose control, especially for high N.A.
Because scanners require multiple exposures to fabricate a single chip, they are more affected by deviation of energy. The Komatsu G21K maintains energy at extremely low levels of deviation, the company said, and is good enough to be applied to the scanner as well.
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