tag: curvilinear masks

Big Changes Ahead For Photomask Technology
By Gregory Haley - 19 Oct, 2023 - Comments: 0

The move to curvilinear shapes on photomasks is gaining steam after years of promise as a way of improving yield, lowering defectivity, and reducing wasted space on a die — all of which are essential for both continued scaling and improved reliability in semiconductors. Interest in this approach ran high at this year's SPIE Photomask Technology + EUV Lithography Conference. Put simply, cur... » read more

Survey: 2023 eBeam Initiative Luminaries Survey Results
By eBeam Initiative - 18 Oct, 2023 - Comments: 0

Luminaries are confident in high-NA EUV and curvilinear masks 12th Annual Luminaries Survey — July 2023 • Luminaries remain confident in broad High-NA EUV adoption by 2028 • Confidence doubled in leading-edge mask shops handling curvilinear mask demand • Curvilinear masks aren’t just for EUV • Luminaries are more confident about 2023 mask revenues than SEMI Click here to rea... » read more

193i Lithography Takes Center Stage…Again
By Gregory Haley - 15 Jun, 2023 - Comments: 0

Cutting-edge lithography to create smaller features increasingly is being supplemented by improvements in lithography for mature process nodes, both of which are required as SoCs and complex chips are decomposed and integrated into advanced packages. Until the 7nm era, the primary goal of leading-edge chipmakers was to pack everything onto a single system-on-chip (SoC) using the same process... » read more

Reflections On Photomask Japan 2023: Embracing The Era Of Curvilinear Masks
By Seiji Nagahara - 18 May, 2023 - Comments: 0

In April, 2023, I had the privilege of participating in Photomask Japan 2023 (PMJ2023), a web conference that brought together experts and enthusiasts in the field. The conference commenced with an enlightening keynote talk by Dr. Kurt Ronse of imec on the status and challenges of the high NA EUV ecosystem, presenting roadmaps for the introduction of high NA EUV. I would like to express my grat... » read more

How Curvilinear Mask Writing Affects Chip Design
By Ed Sperling - 12 Apr, 2023 - Comments: 0

As chips become more complex and features continue to shrink, it becomes more difficult to print shapes on photomasks. The ability to print curvilinear masks changes that equation, but not all of the pieces in the flow are automated today. Aki Fujimura, CEO of D2S, talks about what has to change, what will the impact be on design rules, and why using curvilinear shapes can shrink the manufactur... » read more

Metrology Strategies For 2nm Processes
By Laura Peters - 07 Mar, 2023 - Comments: 3

Metrology and wafer inspection processes are changing to keep up with evolving and new device applications. While fab floors still have plenty of OCD tools, ellipsometers, and CD-SEMs, new systems are taking on the increasingly 3D nature of structures and the new materials they incorporate. For instance, processes like hybrid bonding, 3D NAND flash devices, and nanosheet FETs are pushing the bo... » read more

2022 Survey: Luminaries Report Positive EUV Impact On Mask Trends
By eBeam Initiative - 19 Oct, 2022 - Comments: 0

The eBeam Initiatives 11th Annual Luminaries Survey from July 2022 shows • EUV viewed as a positive impact for mask revenue • EUV remains the top reason for purchasing multi-beam mask writers • Confidence remains high in ability to make curvilinear masks with availability of multi-beam mask writers less of an issue this year Click here to read the survey results. » read more

Scaling, Advanced Packaging, Or Both
By Ed Sperling - 01 Aug, 2022 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers are facing a growing number of challenges and tradeoffs at the leading edge, where the cost of process shrinks is already exorbitant and rising. While it's theoretically possible to scale digital logic to 10 angstroms (1nm) and below, the likelihood of a planar SoC being developed at that nodes appears increasingly unlikely. This is hardly shocking in an industry that has heard pr... » read more

Gearing Up For High-NA EUV
By Mark LaPedus - 21 Oct, 2021 - Comments: 2

The semiconductor industry is moving full speed ahead to develop high-NA EUV, but bringing up this next generation lithography system and the associated infrastructure remains a monumental and expensive task. ASML has been developing its high-numerical aperture (high-NA) EUV lithography line for some time. Basically, high-NA EUV scanners are the follow-on to today’s EUV lithography systems... » read more

Developing A New Curvilinear Data Format
By Jan Willis - 17 Jun, 2021 - Comments: 0

The data size generated by curvilinear masks could impact turnaround time (TAT) for photomask production and hence the adoption of curvilinear masks. In a previous blog on curvilinear masks, our panel of luminaries discuss some possible solutions in a video discussion. In this seventh video, the panel looks at some ideas to define a new curvilinear data format to reduce file sizes. Aki Fujimura... » read more

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