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To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (867)	11/12/2003 11:47:09 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 43481

Canon speaks up for immersion at 193-nm wavelength By Peter Clarke Silicon Strategies 11/12/2003, 8:54 AM ET SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The semiconductor equipment division of Canon U.S.A. Inc., a subsidiary of Japanese company Canon Inc. said Wednesday (November 12, 2003) that that immersion lithography (IML) is a potential successor to its 193-nanometer dry lithography technology, possibly providing a path for chip manufacture at the 65-nm and 45-nm process nodes. "We are seriously evaluating 193-nm argon-fluoride, immersion technology as a possible successor to our super-high NA ArF exposure technology and we believe it could be a winning solution in the very near future," said Ray Morgan, strategic marketing manager for Canon U.S.A., in a statement. Canon defines super-high numerical aperture values as being those above 0.90. "ArF immersion is an attractive solution because it enables the use of current reticle technology and the adaptation of current resist technology while providing a much shorter 134-nm wavelength compared to 157-nm exposure technology," said Akiyoshi Suzuki, core technology development group, Canon Inc., in the same statement. "157-nm systems, however, have the advantage of maturity. Today, the most important factor in making the decision to pursue immersion is timing and costs to solve technical issues." Technical challenges for ArF immersion technology fall into three categories -- immersion liquid, system, or resist -- Canon said. Of the three, the use of water as an immersion liquid is perhaps the most crucial because it is a totally new materials' factor in the optical subsystem of a lithography tool. Micro-bubbles can also cause problems with immersion optics. For example, for the 45-nm node 10-nm diameter micro-bubbles can have great effect on image formation. Work at Canon has shown that if immersion-water thickness is controlled between 0.1 mm and 1 mm, the effect of refractive index fluctuations is small enough to be ignored. It does not put any constraints on the optical-system configuration, the company. In so doing Canon echoed a pronouncement from earlier in the same day by rival lithography equipment supplier ASML Holding NV. However ASML went one process technology further and said it could use immersion with 157-nm wavelength lithography (see November 12 story).