Dzoo
The future is a very interesting discussion point I think. ASML is in many projects (for examplet he one with Intel). A very interesting consortium is with Motorola and many other firms (see link).
iris.microcosm.com
It is said in this article that they do not expect that E-beam (the project of IBM and lucent) will be the future. I copied that part.
Ion projection lithography, supported by the Advanced Lithography Group of Columbia, Maryland, is a multi-generational technology which will support the manufacture of 1, 4, and 16 gigabit DRAMs2. . This means (according to the SIA roadmap) 0.18 micron, 0.13 micron, and 0.10 micron technologies. X-ray is and will be too expensive for everyone except the very biggest of companies in the industry and E-beam direct write is too slow for production use (E-beam can still make masks as good if not better than anything else). Technologically, ion projection lithography has all the benefits of being not only the best technology for future
chip manufacture, it is instinctively, and intuitively the correct technology. The projected overlay is unmatchable. No one can achieve the same foot print of the tool (remember, everything UP in a fab is usually free space. It only becomes costly when the foot print is linear along a horizontal space). The resolution limit is unknown but is calculated to be well below 0.07 micron which means that this tool is multigenerational. One can speculate that the stencil mask technology is a show stopper. However, it is no more of a show stopper than any of the other emerging technologies and certainly no more complex than OPC or PSM. Stencil masks are easier to manufacture than any other emerging technology masks, are reduction masks similar to current optical masks (unlike x-ray which needs to be 1:1) and are not entirely an unknown entity which means that the technology and money put forth in x-ray technology can be married with existing knowledge for IPL masks to reduce the associated risks and costs in manufacturing these masks. Above all, if the technology is adequate, cost is usually the bottom line for everyone that is concerned about cost of ownership and return on investment. In comparison, ion projection lithography wins out here as well. With all things considered including the supporting process technologies such as masks, resists and developers and the like, IPL is about two thirds the cost of competing technologies.
ASML is (as far as I know) the only equipment maker involved in the above project. They have a licence for the ion technology.
Joost |
