Product Briefing Outline: Applied Materials has
launched the ‘Applied Centura' ‘Tetra III Advanced Reticle Etch' tool
that enables the etching of 45nm photomasks. The Tetra III controls
trench depths across quartz masks to <10Å and reduces critical
dimension (CD) loss to <10nm, thus enabling the use of alternating
phase shift masks (aPSM) and aggressive optical proximity correction
techniques.
Problem: As the semiconductor industry continues to
extend the limits of current lithography technologies, there is a
growing need for photomask etching techniques that can handle the range
of new materials being used. Many of these new materials enable the
use of resolution enhancement techniques, such as optical proximity
correction (OPC) and alternating phase shift mask (aPSM), while meeting
the needs in a single platform for all photomask etching requirements.
Solution:
Tetra III is designed to enable the etching of 45nm photomasks with the
ability to control trench depths across quartz masks to <10Å, and
reduces critical dimension (CD) loss to <10nm. This reduction
enables the use of aPSM and aggressive optical proximity correction
techniques in the most critical device layers. The system offers zero
defect, high productivity etch processes for chrome, quartz, molybdenum
silicon oxynitride (MoSiON) and various new materials for next
generation lithography applications, according to Applied Materials.
The system employs advanced processes, so that the system can etch a
wide variety of masks. This minimizes dependencies on process
libraries, tool operation complexities, development cycle times, and
expert users.
Applications: Mask etching of chrome, quartz, molybdenum silicon oxynitride (MoSiON) and various new materials.
Platform: The
Applied Centura Tetra III system's ultra-clean and extendible platform
enables customers to etch the most advanced masks with the highest
yields to date.
Availability: April 2007 onwards.