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Catadioptric inline multi mirror lens system for immersion lithography |
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Sep 27, 2005 at 09:25 PM |
Product Briefing Outline: Carl Zeiss SMT has unveiled
its new ‘Starlith 1700I' lens for immersion lithography at 193nm
wavelength. Starlith 1700i offers a Numerical Aperture (NA) of 1.2, the
highest NA available, according to the company. It allows IC volume
production at 45nm design rules. The highest NA of 1.2 can be used over
a field size of 26x33mm.
Problem: Back in Fall 2003, the very first full-field immersion
lens, the Starlith® 1150i of Carl Zeiss SMT, was installed at an ASML
immersion lithography system, the AT:1150i. Feasibility of immersion
lithography was shown during the following months with the main
advantage of an increase in depth of focus compared to the ‘dry'
version, resulting in significantly enlarged process latitudes.
Starlith® 1250i then was the first commercially available lens for
immersion lithography, followed by Starlith 1400i, the first high NA
lens for IC series production with immersion technology. Thus Starlith
1700i is the 4th generation of immersion lenses from Carl Zeiss SMT
already and the first immersion lens
with a hyper NA of 1.2.
Solution: Catadioptric Inline Multi Mirror Design, enables a
compact single barrel design. Since an even number of mirrors is used,
there is no image flip, standard masks can be used as in all other
systems. The proven coating technology of Carl Zeiss SMT allows for
high light transmission in the system, thus facilitating high
throughput in production. Alongside with the projection lens, the
illumination system has been completely redesigned. The new ‘AERIAL' XP
illumination allows for efficient and flexible use of polarisation with
excellent polarisation control, resulting in significantly enlarged
process latitudes, especially for printing very small features.
Applications: ASML's TWINSCAN XT:1700I lithography tool.
Platform: The system will be deployed in ASML's new TWINSCANTM XT:1700i
Availability: 4Q 2005 onwards.
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