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Laser mask writer takes on 65nm critical layers |
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Feb 17, 2005 at 12:00 AM |
 Product Briefing Outline: Applied
Materials, has launched the "Applied ALTA 4700" Mask Pattern Generation
system, which the company claims is the industry's lowest
cost-of-ownership solution for the volume manufacturing of all 90nm and
most 65nm critical mask layers. In addition to providing up to a 4x
write-time advantage over competing e-beam systems, the laser-based DUV
ALTA 4700 system features a 42x, 0.9 NA objective lens that
dramatically boosts mask resolution, pattern fidelity, critical
dimension control and placement performance.
Problem: The transition to sub-100nm chips has forced many mask makers
to use costly, slow and loweryielding vector-based electron-beam tools
for volume production mask pattern generation, creating a dramatic cost
escalation in mask making for 90nm and beyond chip generations.
Solution: A key feature of the Applied ALTA 4700 system is aerial image
improvement (AI2) pattern rendering which closely matches e-beam system
fidelity. The system's high bandwidth datapath maintains a superior
average write time of two hours, and combined with the systems' high
yield, cuts mask manufacturing cycle time to nearly half that of 50kV
systems, with lower manufacturing costs.
Applications: Advanced binary and phase-shift masks.
Platform: The Applied ALTA 4700 system is derived from the Applied ALTA
4300 technology, which is in production at numerous sites worldwide for
130nm-90nm binary and 130nm-65nm PSM mask manufacturing.
Availability: December 2004 onwards.
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Lithography 
