-- IMPORTANT INFO and STORY - Per the request of the header of this thread, the commentary has been deleted. the commentary can be found under my name on the other CYMI thread.
DUV has been validated for numerous process technologies now which ends some of
the previous worries and discussions that it was a short lived light source
definitely establishes CYMI as a key provider of enabling technology.
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS TEAM ACHIVES 0.08 MICRON BRAKTHROUGH
Feb 24 1998
Semiconductor Production Technology
Business High Tech Editors
AUSTIN, Texas-(BW)--Feb. 24, 1998
DuPont Photomasks Supplies Required Phase Shift Photomask
A University of Texas graduate student research team led by Dr. Grant Willson has
successfully completed a SEMATECH funded project to print 0.08 micron features on
a semiconductor wafer using a 193 nm wavelength stepper.
Currently, the most advanced commercial semiconductor designs are manufactured
using 0.25 micron process technology, and the Semiconductor Industry Association's
recently revised roadmap based on the collaborative work of 300 scientists from
industry, government and universities does not call for 0.08 micron feature sizes until
the year 2009. The University of Texas breakthrough is especially impressive since it
was achieved with a 193 nm Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) stepper while many industry
experts believed it would be necessary to develop new post-optical technology to
produce feature sizes at or below 0.10 micron, One micron is the equivalent of
Approximately 1/25,000 of an inch. Each feature resolved at 0.08 micron is
approximately 320 atoms wide.
The 0.08 micron features were generated using an etched quartz phase shift
photomask produced by DuPont Photomasks, Inc. (NASDAQ: DPMI), more
commonly referred to as DPI, in their Round Rock, Texas production facility-
Photomasks are high purity quartz plates that contain precision images of the features
that are patterned onto semiconductor wafers with lithography steppers to build
integrated circuits. The task of building photomasks to enable semiconductor
production becomes progressively more difficult as feature sizes shrink, and special
techniques such as phase shifting must be incorporated in photomasks to provide the
required degree of precise focus. Phase shift photomasks function by allowing a small
percentage of the light through the photomask while simultaneously altering the phase
of the light transmitted allowing for improved depth of focus and higher factors of
resolution.
Another essential component in the semiconductor manufacturing process is the
photoresist, a chemical substance that interacts with the light source to pattern the
image at the required feature sizes onto the semiconductor wafer. The photoresist
employed by the University of Texas team, an amorphous polyolefin, took three years
to develop. The polymers had to be specifically designed to work with the 193 nm
wavelength DUV light source used by the ISI 10X stepper to pattern the features,
polymers widely used today by semiconductor producers are formulated for use in
processes utilizing 365 nm i-line or 248 nm DUV light sources and are opaque when
exposed to 193 nm light sources.
Dr. Grant Willson. professor of chemistry and chemical engineering at the University of
Texas, led the research team that successfully generated the 0.08 micron features. "I
didn't believe it could be done at first," said Dr. Willson, "It really works better than my
wildest imaginings, and it appears that 'the process latitude is there to generate smaller
features yet."
"This is a remarkable achievement for the University of Texas research team, and
DuPont Photomasks is pleased to have assisted in their work," said Gil Shelden,
DuPont Photomasks' director of engineering. "This is further proof of the enabling
power of photomasks in the semiconductor manufacturing process. As the industry's
leading producer, DuPont Photomasks is focused on creating the photomask
technology that will keep the industry moving forward." The project was funded by
SEMATECH, a non-profit research consortium of 10 semiconductor manufacturers,
and the 0.08 micron features were generated at SEMATECH's Austin facilities. Kyle
Patterson, a University of Texas graduate student on the research team, will..
Andrew |
