Veeco's ion beam technology reaches low-defect milestone
Another step towards the manufacture of chips with advanced extreme UV lithography
Veeco Instruments has announced that its new OdysseyIon Beam Deposition(IBD) Upgrade for the NEXUS IBD-LDDSystem has repeatedly produced photomask blanks with zero deposition defects larger than 70 nanometers. This represents a significant milestone toward the manufacture of semiconductor devices with advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, according to the company.
EUV mask blank defects are, as a practical matter, impossible to repair and can render a semiconductor device useless. Because of this, mask blank defects have been a key obstacle toward high volume manufacturing.
"EUV lithography brings chipmakers the ability to manufacture higher performing devices at lower cost compared to manufacturing methods which rely on multiple patterning steps," said Ron Kool, senior VP of EUV product and service marketing at ASML, the Netherlands-based lithography systems company. "As ASML is making steady progress preparing the scanner and light source for industrial high volume manufacturing, the readiness of the EUV industry, including mask blanks, is critically important to our customers. Veeco's dedication to the Odyssey upgrade program, done in coordination with customers, consortia, and other industry stakeholders, is a model for EUV infrastructure advancements."
Veeco IBD technology leads the industry in high film quality, featuring extremely low particulate deposition and precise control of optical properties for single or multi-layer processes. These technology features are required for defect-free, high volume EUV manufacturing. Currently, all of the leading EUV mask blank manufacturers use the Veeco NEXUS IBD-LDD system.
"Veeco is committed to working with our customers and industry partners to advance the EUV roadmap and increase the output of defect-free mask blanks," said Jim Northup, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Veeco Advanced Deposition & Etch. "We have made significant investments in the Odyssey upgrade and consolidated our optical coating and ion beam resources in a single R&D site to ensure ongoing development of our industry-leading IBD technology."
Ion beam deposition tools are used in the fabrication of EUV masks. The nanometer-scale patterns on masks are projected onto a semiconductor wafer to define a chip. A single mask may be used to print millions of chips during its life, requiring strict mask defect control. Advanced-technology EUV masks are used to define chips with smaller geometries, which results in improved power and performance as required for an increasing number of mobile devices.
