A STUDY OF EXCIMER LASER-BASED X-RAY SOURCE TECHNOLOGY ISSUES

ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICES AND HIGH SPEED PROCESSORS WILL REQUIRE EXTREMELY FINE PATTERNS TO BE LITHOGRAPHICALLY REPRODUCED ON SILICON WAFERS. X-RAY LITHOGRAPHY IS CURRENTLY FAVORED TO MEET FUTURE INDUSTRY NEEDS. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS, USING ELECTRON STORAGE RING (SYNCHROTRON) RADIATION, HAVE DEMONSTRATED GREAT POTENTIAL, BUT LACK OF A COMPACT, AFFORDABLE X-RAY SOURCE WITH SUFFICIENT INTENSITY TO MEET PRODUCTION WAFER THROUGHPUT REQUIREMENTS IS HINDERING FURTHER PROGRESS TO COMMERCIAL IMPLEMENTATION. JAMAR TECHNOLOGY CO. IS CURRENTLY DEVELOPING A HIGH BRIGHTNESS, POINT X-RAY SOURCE GENERATED BY AN EXCIMER LASER PRODUCED PLASMA. THE PRIVATELY FUNDED PROGRAM USES THE COMPANY'S PROPRIETARY XECL LASER TECHNOLOGY. IT IS PROPOSED TO EVALUATE SEVERAL TECHNIQUES WHICH MIGHT LEAD TO INCREASED INTENSITY FROM THIS LASER-PLASMA SOURCE. PHASE I INCLUDES AN EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION OF BASELINE SOURCE POWER, A STUDY OF POWER ENHANCEMENT TECHNIQUES, A PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF AN UPGRADED SYSTEM AND ANALYSES OF SYSTEM PERFORMANCE, WAFER THROUGHPUT, COST FACTORS, PROCESS ISSUES, ETC. PHASE II WILL RESULT IN AN UPGRADED LABORATORY X-RAY LITHOGRAPHY SYSTEM FOR EVALUATION BY SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT AND DEVICE MANUFACTURERS. PHASE III WILL BUILD A MANUFACTURING PROTOTYPE USING FUNDS FROM JOINT VENTURES WITH INDUSTRY PARTNERS AND FURTHER FEDERAL SUPPORT AS AVAILABLE. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS - ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR LITHOGRAPHY APPLICATIONS INCLUDE DEVICES SUCH AS 64 MBIT DYNAMIC RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES (DRAM'S), APPLICATION SPECIFIC INTEGRATED CIRCUITS (ASIC'S) AND GAAS DEVICES. THE MAJOR BENEFIT IS THE AVAILABILITY OF A POWERFUL, AFFORDABLE, GRANULAR X-RAY SOURCE. KEY WORDS - X-RAY LITHOGRAPHY, LASER-PRODUCED PLASMAS, EXCIMER