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To: Volsi Mimir who wrote (15022)	2/25/1998 11:45:00 AM
From: BillyG	Respond to of 25960

I don't know. ASML's step and scan tool for DUV processing........... techweb.cmp.com A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc. Story posted at 10:30 a.m. EST/7:30 a.m. PST, 2/25/98 ASML rolls out i-line scanner for mix-&-match deep-UV lithography SANTA CLARA, Calif.--During the SPIE International Symposium on Microlithography here, ASM Lithography introduced an i-line step-and-scan tool capable of processing ninety-six 200-mm wafer per hour. The PAS 5500/400 i-line system is designed to work with ASML's deep-ultraviolet step-and-scan tool to handle the less critical exposure steps in the fabrication of ICs with feature sizes below 0.22 micron. The i-line step-and-scan is intended to support the mix-and-match lithography model that has become widely used by chip makers with step-and-repeat exposure tools during the 1990s. The introduction of the i-line system was disclosed last week in New York by ASML officials during an investment conference, where company CEO Willem Maris said the new tool can cost more than a million dollars less than deep-UV scanners (see Feb. 19 story). ASML's new i-line system will support mix-and-match solutions for 0.22- to 0.18-micron lithography processes, according to the Dutch company, based in Veldhoven. The PAS 5500/400 has been specified for device resolutions down to 0.28 micron, leaving the finer, critical geometries for more expensive scanners. The mix-and-match of deep-UV step-and-scan systems with an i-line scanner will give chip makers the opportunity to save up to 30% in both operating and capital equipment costs, according to ASML. Chip makers have been struggling with maintaining the mix-and-match lithography model as they move to the new step-and-scan tools because of a mismatch in exposure field sizes between scanners and existing step-and-repeat systems (see feature from SBN's December publication). "step-and-scan lithography systems will be required for imaging the next generation of semiconductor devices, with their smaller feature sizes and tighter design rules," said Evert Polak, vice president of marketing for ASML. "To achieve the lowest production costs, mix-and-match strategies will use i-line with deep UV for sub-0.25-micron mass production." ASML's PAS 5500/400 features a Starlith 400 i-line lens with a numerical aperture of 0.65 and an Aerial illuminator, both developed and manufactured by Carl Zeiss, and together providing a process latitude sufficient for 0.28-micron device layers. The phase grating alignment and stage systems combine to deliver a single machine overlay of 45 nm.