International Roadmap for Devices and Systems lithography roadmap

Abstract

Background: Planned improvements in semiconductor chip performance have historically driven improvements in lithography and this is expected to continue in the future. The International Roadmap for Devices and Systems roadmap helps the industry plan for the future. Aim:The 2021 lithography roadmap shows requirements, possible options, and challenges for the next 15 years.Results: Critical dimensions in logic chips are now small enough that stochastics, i.e., random variations in photon, molecules, and photoresist image forming processes, introduces random variations in sizes and stochastic-driven defects. As critical dimensions get smaller, stochastics becomes a bigger challenge. The roadmap projects that despite projected improvements in tools, photoresist, device design, and patterning processes, resist dose to print will still have to roughly triple over the next 10 years to maintain acceptable stochastics unless major process or chip design changes are made. This will raise patterning costs substantially. Other patterning options are under development but they also have challenges related to defects. Edge placement error (EPE) is also a challenge for future devices. Long-term, logic device requirements will drive stacked devices, and yield and process complexity will be key challenges.Conclusions: Logic devices will drive leading edge lithography. Improved extreme ultraviolet lithography is a leading candidate but other options are possible. Key short-term challenges are stochastics, EPE, and cost. Resist dose to print is expected to rise substantially as critical dimensions shrink unless substantial process innovation occurs. For the long term, the challenges will be yield and process complexity when logic devices switch to 3D scaling

The Recent Progress of Lithography Machine and the State-of-art Facilities

“…For light source, the LPP source still be used, but power of light source which is applying on the EUV lithography machine is not enough to print smaller pattering. To achieve 10 nm half-pitch patterning, doses should larger than 80 mJ/cm 2 [24]. Throughput will low significantly if power of light source is too low.…”

Block Copolymer Nanopatterning for Nonsemiconductor Device Applications

“…Sub-10 nm BCP patterns are highly suitable for the pattern transfers onto underlying target materials without superexpensive lithography equipment. , Therefore, alternative nanolithography for semiconductor device fabrication has been one of the most actively investigated technological fields for employing BCP nanopatterning for industrial-level mass production. The International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS) has predicted that directed self-assembly (DSA) of BCPs would be applicable in the fabrication of next-generation semiconductor devices for the contact-hole shrinkage and pattern multiplications . Nevertheless, the eventual standardized application of BCP nanopatterning in highly mature practical semiconductor processes requires precise control of pattern orientation and structural defect formation over an arbitrarily large area.…”

“…The International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS) has predicted that directed self-assembly (DSA) of BCPs would be applicable in the fabrication of nextgeneration semiconductor devices for the contact-hole shrinkage and pattern multiplications. 6 Nevertheless, the eventual standardized application of BCP nanopatterning in highly mature practical semiconductor processes requires precise control of pattern orientation and structural defect formation over an arbitrarily large area. Moreover, some other issues related to pattern quality (e.g., line edge roughness and line width roughness) also need to be rigorously addressed.…”

Macrocycle Network-Aided Nanopatterning of Inorganic Resists on Silicon

“…During the past few decades, the semiconductor world has witnessed the astonishing evolution of electronic chips with the shrinking of the node size at a faster rate than expected. Among several technological aspects responsible for such amazing developments, the remarkable progress in the area of lithography where resist technology plays an important role has been a critical factor. − Coping with the fast-changing semiconductor nodes has been a grand challenge for resist developers.…”