Inside EUV Resists


Andrew Grenville, chief executive of resist maker Inpria, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about photoresists for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: Photoresists are a critical part of lithography. Resists are light-sensitive materials. They form patterns on a surface when exposed to light. For EUV, they are critical. Wha... » read more

Where Is Next-Gen Lithography?


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss lithography and photomask technologies with Greg McIntyre, director of the Advanced Patterning Department at [getentity id="22217" comment="Imec"]; Harry Levinson, senior fellow and senior director of technology research at [getentity id="22819" comment="GlobalFoundries"]; Uday Mitra, vice president and head of strategy and marketing for the Etch Bu... » read more

Pain Points At 7nm


Early work has begun on 7nm. Process technology has progressed to the point where IP and tools are being qualified. There is still a long way to go. But as companies begin engaging with foundries on this process node—[getentity id="22586" comment="TSMC"] is talking publicly about it, but [getentity id="22846" e_name="Intel"], [getentity id="22819" comment="GlobalFoundries"] and [getentity ... » read more

EUV Resists Move Forward


Improvements in EUV exposure sources and exposure tools are shifting the industry’s focus to other components of the lithography process. As noted last year, one of the key areas is photoresists. But advanced photoresists face significant challenges, due to the need to balance sensitivity, etch selectivity, and resolution. This year’s SPIE Advanced Lithography conference featured promis... » read more

Where Is Next-Gen Lithography?


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss lithography and photomask technologies with Greg McIntyre, director of the Advanced Patterning Department at [getentity id="22217" comment="Imec"]; Harry Levinson, senior fellow and senior director of technology research at [getentity id="22819" comment="GlobalFoundries"]; Uday Mitra, vice president and head of strategy and marketing for the Etch Bu... » read more

What’s Really Causing Line-Edge Roughness?


As previously discussed, shot noise is an important contributor to line edge roughness. However, as the title of one paper on the subject put it, “Do not always blame the photons.” The line edge roughness of a chemically amplified resist ultimately depends on photoacid generation and the deprotection of the resist’s base monomers. Photons absorbed by the resist simply trigger a chain ... » read more

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