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Mark Osborne, Editor-in-Chief, Semiconductor Fabtech

ABSTRACT

Lithography technology issues tend to dominate the processing landscape due to their Moore’s Law fulfilment capability. The Roadmap looked like it was slipping dangerously as 157nm development programs became embroiled in severe technical hurdles, and chip manufacturers were reluctant to commit to multi-million dollar preliminary orders for the next generation of DUV tools. Extending 193nm lithography is rapidly becoming the de facto technology of choice, both for the tool vendor and the chip fabricator. However, a race is on to prove that 193nm Immersion lithography is a viable route that could see 157nm bypassed altogether and allow a straight path to EUV. At SEMICON West (July 2003), the immersion lithography debate dominated the proceedings with tool vendors jockeying for position. Here, we review the current state of play, the key challenges and the possible outcome by year-end.