KLA-Tencor Unveils New Computational Lithography Tool

Oct 03, 2008 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- KLAC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- KLA-Tencor has introduced Prolith 12, a new version of its computational lithography tool.

The company said the new tool enables researchers at chipmakers and consortia to explore the feasibility of various mask designs, photo materials and processes associated with Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) lithography.

Shrinking the dimensions of critical device features on the chip enables fabs to produce faster microprocessors, but the wavelength of light used to expose the mask during patterning imposes a lower limit on the size of the features that can be created. The semiconductor industry has been using deep ultra-violet (DUV) light for the past several device generations. The next shorter wavelength regime is EUV. Experts have predicted that EUV lithography has the potential to create devices one hundred times faster than today's most powerful chips.

"While the industry roadmap lists EUV lithography as a potential technology for making semiconductor devices within a few years, there are several technical barriers to overcome," said Ed Charrier, vice president and general manager of KLA-Tencor's Process Control Information Division. "Our new computational lithography tool, PROLITH 12, enables researchers to rigorously model the interactions of EUV light with the mask, patterning materials and processes, to predict the outcome of the pattern on the wafer. With PROLITH 12, researchers do not need access to experimental materials or prototype process equipment, and they do not need to go through the expensive and lengthy process of printing hundreds of test wafers."

A change in lithography wavelength has historically been a major undertaking, as new scanners, new photo materials and new masks have to be developed and tested. The shift to EUV lithography would introduce the challenge of having to pattern wafers using reflected light from opaque masks, because no known, practical mask materials are transparent to EUV light. This fundamental change introduces asymmetries to the pattern printed on the wafer. Prolith 12 is designed to handle these and other challenges with EUV systems.

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