Nikon to introduce immersion scanner by 2006
by Yoshiko Hara
Silicon Strategies
12/01/2003, 11:50 AM ET
TOKYO -- Nikon Corp. said it will begin selling immersion lithography tools by 2006, joining the two other major lithography vendors, ASML and Canon, which announced their plans for immersion scanners last month.
Nikon is set to have an alpha machine ready by the second half of 2004, allowing customers to engage in evaluations of immersion lithography at the Nikon facilities here. The Nikon alpha system is due to be built based on the company's existing 193-nm wavelength lithography machine, and will have a projection lens with a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.85.
In 2005, Nikon will start sales of its beta tool to customers for evaluation and test production in their own development labs. At that time the numerical aperture of the lens system would be improved to 0.92. Then in 2006, Nikon will begin sales of a production tool with high throughput for volume production, with an NA higher than 1.0.
Since last June, Nikon has worked with Tokyo Electron Limited on development of a system for the supply and retrieval of purified water. The development of immersion lithography involves water-related issues, such as handling of the wet resists, auto focusing through the water, minimizing the number of large bubbles, and keeping the water pure and de-gassed.
A Nikon spokesman said during its feasibility study Nikon has come up with solutions to those issues, and that no serious bottlenecks have arisen.
Immersion scanners based on the argon-fluoride 193-nm wavelength lasers could be used for 45-nm manufacturing process technology node, expected to go into early production in 2007. |
