EUV’s Future Looks Even Brighter

By Gregory Haley - 20 Feb, 2025 - Comments: 1

The rapidly increasing demand for advanced-node chips to support everything-AI is putting pressure on the industry's ability to meet demand. The need for cutting-edge semiconductors is accelerating in applications ranging from hyperscale data centers powering large language models to edge AI in smartphones, IoT devices, and autonomous systems. But manufacturing those chips relies heavily on ... » read more

Improving Uniformity And Linearity For All Masks

By Aki Fujimura - 29 Jan, 2025 - Comments: 0

When it comes to mask quality, there are two vital measurements: uniformity and linearity. Uniformity measures the consistency of the size of mask features in all occurrences across the entire mask, because different instances of the same target size can vary in size due to manufacturing variation. Linearity measures how well different sizes of shapes on the manufactured mask match their target... » read more

Takeaways From The 2024 SPIE Photomask Technology + EUV Conference

By Harry Levinson - 04 Dec, 2024 - Comments: 0

In the autumn, I had the opportunity to attend the 2024 SPIE Photomask Technology and EUV Lithography conferences, collectively referred to as PUV or sometimes BACUS, the latter a reference to the event’s early association with the BACUS organization. This is a key annual event that brings together experts and professionals in photomask technology and EUV lithography. This year’s conference... » read more

Luminary Panel Sees Progress In EUV Pellicle Adoption As Critical For EUV

By Jan Willis - 21 Nov, 2024 - Comments: 0

A significant focus of the 2024 SPIE Photomask and EUV conference was on EUV lithography and high-numerical-aperture (high-NA) EUV lithography, offering the potential to drive resolution to new heights. These EUV solutions bring new challenges such as pellicles, mask inspection, and smaller and smaller minimum mask dimensions. Progress has been impressive, according to lithography luminary Dr. ... » read more

Luminary Panel Sees Multi-Beam Mask Writers And Curvilinear Masks Key To 193i And EUV

By Jan Willis - 24 Oct, 2024 - Comments: 0

Attendance was up and the mood was optimistic at this year’s SPIE Photomask and EUV conference held September 29 through October 3, 2024. The optimism was apparent as well for multi-beam mask writers and curvilinear masks during the eBeam Initiative’s 15th annual reception and meeting held on October 1. In the eBeam Initiative’s annual Luminaries survey, 93% of those surveyed said that pu... » read more

Overview Of The Current State of the Development Of Curvilinear Masks

By D2S - 24 Oct, 2024 - Comments: 0

A technical paper titled "Curvilinear masks overview: manufacturable mask shapes are more reliably manufacturable" was published by researchers at D2S. The paper covers: The rationale for curvilinear masks The application of the curvilinear inverse lithography technology The state of readiness of the curvilinear mask-making infrastructure, including mask rule checking, metrology, ... » read more

High-NA EUV Lithography: Enhancing Resolution By Split Pupil Exposure (Fraunhofer, ASML)

By Technical Paper Link - 08 Oct, 2024 - Comments: 0

A new technical paper titled "Resolution enhancement for high-numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet lithography by split pupil exposures: a modeling perspective" was published by researchers at Fraunhofer IISB and ASML. The open source paper published on SPIE states: "The lithographic imaging performance of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is limited by the efficiency of light diffrac... » read more

Semiconductor Photomask Market Poised For Another Year Of Growth

By Jan Willis - 19 Sep, 2024 - Comments: 0

The semiconductor photomask market, a crucial component in chip manufacturing, is on track for another year of robust growth. This growth trajectory is supported by a series of technological advancements and market trends that continue to drive innovation in the industry. As the annual SPIE Photomask Technology Conference approaches in early October in Monterey, California, it presents an oppor... » read more

Bringing Curvilinear Data To Mask Data Prep

By Al Blais - 15 Aug, 2024 - Comments: 0

Advanced nodes that have been leveraging curvilinear correction with technologies such as ILT and curvilinear OPC are increasingly requiring the use of curvilinear masks to meet advanced feature size and pitch requirements. However, building curvilinear masks with standard OASIS file formats can come at the cost of large file sizes, increased turnaround time, and reduced quality of results. The... » read more

Metrology Analysis Tool For Photolithography Process Characterization At Advanced Nodes

By Wolfgang Demmerle - 23 Jul, 2024 - Comments: 0

Continued scaling of integrated circuits to smaller dimensions is still a viable way to increase compute power, achieve higher memory cell density, or reduce power consumption. These days, chip makers are using single-digit nanometer figures or even Angstrom to label their manufacturing technology nodes, which are associated with the size of features patterned during the lithography process. ... » read more

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