Superlens for 193nm Lithography

The team led by Luna Innovations proposes to continue the development of the superlens lithography that will achieve 25nm resolution at a 193nm wavelength for high resolution photolithography used in IC production in military and commercial applications. The unique design of the proposed superlens provides a means to overcome the problem of the absence of natural, high-quality metal and sufficiently transparent dielectric materials with close absolute values of the real part of dielectric permittivity. The suggested unique, cost-effective processing will overcome the problem of tight alignment tolerances. In Phase I, the design of the superlens structure was developed and it was demonstrated through modeling that the proposed structure is capable of reaching 20nm resolution. In Phase II, the team proposes to fabricate the superlens structure, experimentally demonstrate at least 25nm resolution at 193nm wavelength, develop/optimize the patterning process and demonstrate, for the first time, the patterning of the device wafer with superlens lithography. By the end of Phase II, a prototype superlens and photolithographic process with resolution better than 25nm will be demonstrated. In Phase III, Luna will commercialize the developed technology. The developed technology will revolutionize the semiconductor processing thus benefiting the semiconductor industry, US economy and US DoD.