Optical lithography, currently being used for 45-nm semiconductor devices, is expected to be extended further towards the 32-nm and 22-nm node. A further increase of lens NA will not be possible but fortunately the shrink can be enabled with new resolution enhancement methods like source mask optimization (SMO) and double patterning techniques (DPT). These new applications lower the k1 dramatically and require very tight overlay control and CD control to be successful. In addition, overall cost per wafer needs to be lowered to make the production of semiconductor devices acceptable. For this ultimate era of optical lithography we have developed the next generation dual stage NXT:1950i immersion platform. This system delivers wafer throughput of 175 wafers per hour together with an overlay of 2.5nm. Several extensions are offered enabling 200 wafers per hour and improved imaging and on product overlay.The high productivity is achieved using a dual wafer stage with planar motor that enables a high acceleration and high scan speed. With the dual stage concept wafer metrology is performed in parallel with the wafer exposure. The free moving planar stage has reduced overhead during chuck exchange which also improves litho tool productivity.In general, overlay contributors are coming from the lithography system, the mask and the processing. Main contributors for the scanner system are thermal wafer and stage control, lens aberration control, stage positioning and alignment. The back-bone of the NXT:1950i enhanced overlay performance is the novel short beam fixed length encoder grid-plate positioning system. By eliminating the variable length interferometer system used in the previous generation scanners the sensitivity to thermal and flow disturbances are largely reduced. The alignment accuracy and the alignment sensitivity for process layers are improved with the SMASH alignment sensor. A high number of alignment marker pairs can be used without throughput loss, and furthermore the GridMapper functionality which is using the inter-die and intra-die scanner capability can reduce overlay errors coming from mask and process without productivity impact.In this paper we will present the main design features and discuss the system performance of the NXT:1950i system, focusing on the improvements made in overlay and productivity. We will show data on imaging, overlay, focus and productivity supporting the 3X-nm node and we will discuss next improvement steps towards the 2X-nm node.

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ASML's recently announced TWINSCAN™ lithography platform is specifically designed to meet the specific needs of handling and processing 300 mm substrates. This new platform, already supporting a family of Step & Scan lithography systems for I-line and 248 nm DUV, is designed to further support optical lithography at its limits with systems for 193 nm and 157 nm. The conflicting requirements associated with higher productivity on one side, and more extensive metrology on the other, have led to the development of a platform with two independent wafer stages operating in parallel. The hardware associated with exposure, and the hardware and sub-systems required for metrology, are located in two separate positions. While a wafer is exposed on one stage, wafer unload/load and measurements of the horizontal and vertical wafer maps are done in parallel on the second stage. After the two processes are completed, where the exposure sequence typically is the longest, the two stages are swapped. The process is continued on the second stage, while the first stage unloads the exposed wafer and starts the process again. This system has an innovative design. It consists of a Metrology Frame that holds the projection lens and all measurement systems, and which is fully de-coupled from the force frame holding the stage actuators. To further suppress vibrations resulting from stage movements, a 'balance mass' principle is adopted. This principle uses an opposite movement of the balance mass to cancel out the acceleration forces caused by the high 300mm stage mass, and the speed and acceleration associated with high productivity. Long-term stability and alignment accuracy support the required stringent overlay performance. Dual wafer stage design requires careful characterization of the influence of stage-to-stage performance differences and calibration methods. Performance results of this new system indicate that dynamic performance of the stages is as expected and tracking errors for stage movement are negligible, demonstrating the benefits of balance masses. Crosstalk between the two independent wafer stages does not influence imaging and overlay performance. With two wafer stages, a wafer map can be generated prior to exposure. The wafer coordinates in the wafer plane are determined by means of the ATHENA™ alignment system with two colors and seven diffraction orders. To control focus, the position of the wafer surface is measured with a new level sensor system that maps the entire wafer surface. The wafer coordinate system is aligned to the aerial image at the exposure position by a proprietary alignment method, based on the actinic exposure light under actual illumination and NA settings. The first system based on dual wafer stage technology on the TWINSCAN platform is the AT:750 Step & Scan system, which is equipped with a Zeiss Starlith™750 248 nm DUV lens with a variable NA up to 0.7. When combined with the offaxis and multi-pole illumination capabilities of the AERIAL II illuminator, the system is capable of supporting lea...