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

Abstract

With the rapid development of industrial intelligent manufacturing and electronic information technology, the importance of integrated circuits has grown fast. Photolithography, as the core technology of integrated circuit industry, has become a key research target for researchers all over the world. In this paper, we provide a brief introduction to photolithography as well as an outlook on the future development direction. Firstly, the key metric of lithography system, which is resolution, and how it relates to lithographic performance is analyzed. Secondly, some exposure methods developed on UV and DUV light sources are discussed, which are commonly used in the industry nowadays. Subsequently, this paper presents the structure and performance of some representative lithography equipment. Then, some summarizations are completed about the most recent advances in EUV lithography and high NA lithography. Finally, we examine the limitations of current lithography and forecast the future of lithography. The goal of this paper is to provide a guide on lithography equipment, particularly the most advanced products available nowadays. Additionally, some potential challenges that photolithography may face in its future development are highlighted, and some perspectives on how photolithography will evolve over the next decade are provided. These results shed light on guiding the future development direction of lithography machine as well as ways to push Moore’s law even further.

Sub-50 nm patterning of alloy thin films via nanophase separation for hydrogen gas sensing

“…10 However, a challenge arises when attempting nano-patterning at sizes smaller than 50 nm, referred to as sub-50 nm patterning, as limitations imposed by the wavelength of light are encountered. 11,12 Although techniques such as electron beam lithography (EBL) and focused ion beam lithography (FIB) can achieve sub-50 nm patterning, their adoption is limited by their low throughput due to intricate processes required and their use of ultra-ne manufacturing equipment. 13 Block copolymer (BCP) lithography is a template-free patterning technique that represents a promising approach for nanolithography; nevertheless, its drawbacks such as material limitation, direct assembly and pattern transferring pose signicant challenges for achieving sub-50 nm feature sizes with high delity and yield.…”

Negative-tone resists for EUV lithography

“…As predicted by Moore's Law, the density of integrated circuits (ICs) has increased exponentially for highperformance semiconductor devices and the photolithographic fabrication of nanoscale semiconductor devices requires increasingly high-resolution techniques [6][7][8][9]. To meet the growing requirements for higher resolution patterns like sub-20nm feature sizes, alternative technologies such as self-aligned double or quadruple patterning [10,11], e-beam lithography [12,13], nanoimprint lithography [14,15], directed self-assembly (DSA) [16][17][18][19], and EUV lithography (EUVL) [20][21][22] have been developed with great achievements in various applications. Among all alternative lithography technologies, EUVL is the most investigated one.…”

Green deep‐UV photoresist based on chitosan for microelectronics

“…Photolithography is a technique that uses light to create patterns over a thin film to protect the silicon wafers during the etching or deposition steps. Despite the considerable amount of research and undeniable progress in nanolithography, 1 including extreme UV lithography 2–4 and e‐beam lithography, 5,6 the deep UV (DUV) lithography remains for now the most used technique in the microelectronics industry. The potential hazards and long‐term consequences of the exposure to chemical substances during this process, such as polymers, solvents, developing agents, sensitizers, and additives, have however raised awareness among world health institutions 7,8 .…”