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Product Briefing Outline: Gigaphoton Inc. has launched its newest addition to its argon fluoride (ArF) excimer laser light source portfolio: the GT61A. With an emission wavelength of 193nm and a repetition rate of 6,000 Hz, the GT61A is designed for next-generation lithography tools with numerical apertures of 1.3 and higher. GT61A has already begun shipment, according to the company. Gigaphoton expects the GT61A will be integrated into advanced lithography tools and used within volume production environments at major global semiconductor manufacturers starting mid-2007.

Problem: For an ArF laser to be used as a light source for immersion ArF lithography, however, a high level of output power and stable spectrum performance are increasingly critical for ensuring high throughput - all without damaging the lens due to this higher level of power.

Solution: The GT61A is the third-generation model within the GT family, and features the same injection-locking platform to that used by the GT40A and GT60A. In addition to the high output and high repetition rate, the GT61A provides a 30% improvement in spectral bandwidth (E95%) compared to its successful predecessors. As a result, the GT61A meets the requirements surrounding immersion lithography tools with high numerical apertures of 1.3 or more. In addition to improved performance, the GT61A also offers improved laser chamber life, enabling a significant reduction in down time and maintenance costs. Improving on the GT60A, which achieved a spectral bandwidth (E95%) at 0.5 pm, the GT61A reaches a spectral bandwidth of 0.35 pm. In addition, a newly developed, high-precision measuring instrument and stabilization mechanism, which comes as a standard feature, allows highly stable spectrum performance during the system's entire lifetime, thus ensuring lithography processing stability. Elongation of the laser chamber life allows the GT61A to simultaneously reduce maintenance downtime and costs.

Applications: Immersion lithography with 1.3NA.

Platform: The GT61A is based on the same platform to maximize standardization as well as enable the use of common components.

Availability: December 2006 onwards.