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LARRY DULMAGE, EDDIE LEE & JAE PARK, Silicon Valley Group, Inc., San Jose, CA, USA

ABSTRACT

The transition to 300 mm is fast approaching while at the same time 200 mm devices are rapidly shrinking. Additionally, the lithography roadmap with the addition of 157 nm and extreme ultra-violet (EUV) is poised to carry us to at least 50 nm. The industry must, therefore, quickly address advanced deep ultra-violet (DUV) coat/develop systems and the challenges that they present. All coat/develop systems face four fundamental problems: 1. System-induced timing delays, which impact CD performance, 2. Develop process times and contamination levels that are being extended to meet more critical geometries, 3. Thinner, more uniform resists for both single and dual-layer DUV processes, and 4. Throughput. In order to address the last three issues, we must first find a fundamental design solution for a system architecture that resolves system-induced delays, which are caused by the complex nature of today’s linear tracks.