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To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (969)	11/30/2004 8:23:55 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 43400

Nikon supports high NA litho with polarized illumination By Peter Clarke Silicon Strategies 11/30/2004, 7:43 AM ET BELMONT, Calif. — Nikon Corp. has developed a system of polarized illumination for IC lithography, the company said Tuesday (Nov. 30). The company calls the system Polano and claims it is the first such polarized illumination system. The use of Polano improves image contrast by 20 percent, resulting in superior resolution, depth of focus, and critical dimension uniformity, Nikon said. In particular polarized illumination control optimizes the performance of lithography systems with lenses with a numerical aperture of greater than 0.90. Polano is able to provide an improvement in resolution with no loss of illumination intensity and no impact to throughput, the company claimed. Polano would be available as an option on the NSR-S308F argon fluoride scanner in "spring" 2005, Nikon said. It would also be available on ArF immersion systems from Nikon with NAs greater than 1.0, which begin shipment in the second half of 2005, Nikon said. "We're extending the resolution limits of our tools with no impact to productivity. Resolution, depth of focus, and CD uniformity are all substantially improved," claimed Geoff Wild, CEO of Nikon Precision Inc., the US subsidiary of Nikon Corp., in a statement.