Since 1958, the semiconductor industry has consistently followed Moores Law for transistor growth, doubling the

number of transistors contained on a single chip approximately every two years. Current chips are approaching 4 billion transistors per chip, and estimates show that this trend will continue until at least 2020. However, current 193-nm lithography technologies are reaching their production limits, and will not be able to sustain the growth expected in the coming process generations. Small advances in 193-nm lithography techniques, such as immersion lithography and double patterning, have sustained current process technologies so far. However, a new next-generation lithography technology must be adopted soon to transition into the 32-nm process node and beyond. Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL or EUV) is the leading candidate for next generation lithography procedures. EUV operates at a characteristic wavelength of 13.5 nm, and it offers the promise of drastically increasing pattern resolution and allowing geometries as small as 6.75 nm to be imaged[1]. Coupled with the previously mentioned enhancements for current lithography procedures, EUVL will allow semiconductor companies to continue to grow in the coming years. However, EUV lithography represents a significant departure from current optical technology, and major technical challenges will have to be overcome first before EUVL can be integrated into high volume manufacturing. This paper will discuss the basic advantages and disadvantages of EUV lithography, outline the major components in the EUVL process, and discuss technical problems and possible solutions in each of these areas. Also, a brief summary will be provided detailing how semiconductor companies are currently preparing for the transition into EUV lithography based processes.

EUV Source
To meet the production-level standards of today's manufacturers, an EUV source must generate light at a wavelength of 13.5 nm, have a power output of 115-180 W, and cannot lose more than 10% reflectivity after 30,000 hours of use[1]. These numbers are based on a throughput of 100 wafer per hour, which is a normal industry value. Currently, researchers are exploring two possibilities for EUV source generation: discharge-produced plasma (DPP), and laser-produced plasma (LPP). Both processes generate EUV light by different mechanisms and have advantages that make them attractive in semiconductor manufacturing processes. A. Issues with EUV plasma generation Plasma debris represent a major issue in EUV sources. Since almost all materials absorb EUV radiation, every portion of the EUV lithography system must be coated in a reflective ML coating. These coatings must be kept in a very clean operating environment, as any type of contamination will result in a loss of reflectivity of the optical equipment, which will result in an overall loss in performance of the EUV system. Since plasma processes produce debris as a byproduct, great care must be taken to keep the surfaces of the EUV source and collector as clean as possible. This usually means introducing a filter between the source and collector plate, which diminishes the transmittance of the EUV radiation. Any decrease in transmittance must be compensated by an increase in source power, which also increases the total operating cost of the equipment. Also, depending on the sensitivity of the optical equipment, Xe may be used as a source material versus Sn or Li. Xe is a much more benign element, producing less debris when used to

generate plasma. However, it does not produce this plasma nearly as effectively as Sn or Li, which can generate plasma much more effectively than Xe. This would be the case in LPP processes, where the nature of the laser system dictates an extremely clean environment. Since Xe sources are typically used for LPP, the power input for an LPP system is typically greater than for a DPP system, which increases the cost and complexity of the LPP. As the EUV light passes through the optical system, the lights power gradually diminishes. Due to the combined effects of absorbance by optic materials and filters, contamination residing on the optic materials, and the efficiency of the source material in creating the required phonons, the overall conversion efficiency for a normal EUV apparatus from source power to exit power at the intermediate focus typically does not exceed 1%. Therefore, EUV systems require a power input in the range of 10 25 kW to create a power output of 115-180 W, as required by industry standards. B. DPP Source Discharge-produced plasma creates plasma via an electrical discharge, which ionizes the source material into a low-temperature plasma state. The electrical discharge also produces a strong magnetic field, which then compresses the plasma into a higher energy state. This is known as the pinch effect, which efficiently creates enough photon energy to generate the EUV wavelength of 13.5 nm. C. LPP Source An LPP source uses a laser pulse to quickly ionize the source material, which is typically Xe, but may also include Sn and Li. The initial electric field of the laser works to accelerate the free electrons generated by the plasma, further ionizing the source material to generate the necessary photon energy. D. DPP vs. LPP One of the main differences between DPP and LPP sources is the distance at which the source ionization takes place from the electrical components in the system. Since LPP utilizes a laser, the plasma reaction can take place away from vulnerable electronic equipment. This increases the longevity of the components in the LPP system. DPP is generated in close proximity to sensitive components, limiting how much heat can be produced as a result of the reaction. This in turn limits the overall power output of a DPP process compared to the LPP. However, the DPP system is the one currently favored for industrial scale-up for a variety of reasons. Mainly, DPP processes are not limited by contamination issues as heavily as the LPP process. Therefore, DPP processes can utilize Sn and Li as source materials, which can generate the required EUV light much more effectively than Xe. This means that less power is required for a DPP machine than an LPP. Also, the DPP system is less complex, and costs less to operate than an LPP system.

EUV Optical Components

Transmissive vs Reflective Traditional 193-nm lithography systems are based on the principle of focusing light through a series of lenses and a mask to eventually create a pattern on a wafer. However, all matter strongly absorbes EUV radiation at a wavelength of 13.5 nm[1]. Therefore, EUVL systems must utilize reflective surfaces to transmit light from a source all the way to the target wafer. All optical components in the EUV system must be coated in this reflective material, which is typically a Si/Mo multilayer (ML) coating. The effectiveness of the EUVL system is directly related to the uniformity of these ML coatings, making their structure and their depositon on the sufaces of optical components extremely important. ML Coatings A. Multilayer coatings, invented by Spiller in 1972[3],are essential to the operation of EUVL systems. Typically, ML coatings for EUV lithography comprise of alternating layers of silicon and molybdenum, which are optimally spaced for maximum possible reflection. The specific thicknesses for each layer of an ML coating are derived from the principles of Braggs law, which states the conditions necessary for optimum reflectance from a crystal lattice. In a crystal lattice, if two atomic planes are spaced exactly the right distance apart, incoming light will reflect from both planes and constructively interfere with one another to increase the reflective efficiency of the material. This effect can be seen visually in Figure 1. For EUV systems, the optimal periodic bilayer spacing is approximately 6.9 nm. The thickness of the Si layer must be greater than the thickeness of the Mo layer, and optimal reflectivity is obtained when the Si/Mo thickness ratio is approximately 60/40[4]. The optimal number of bilayers for high reflectivity is 50. To meet industry standards, these ML coatings must not be eroded beyond 25 bilayers, which is the point where the reflectance of an ML coating is degraded by 10%. The theoretical value for peak refectivity of a Si/Mo coating is approximately 75%, but experimental values peak around 70%[5]. Since EUVL depends on reflective, mirrored surfaces to transmit light, the effectivenesss of the system is heavily dependent on the reflectivity of the mirrored surface. Most EUV systems use 6 to 7 mirrors to reflect light, meaning the overall efficiency of the light transmittance is proportional to the seventh power of the reflectivity of one ML layer. In other words, slight deviations from peak reflectivity will require huge amounts of power to compensate for it, increasing the cost of the system unnecessarily. Therefore, semiconductor industries must make every effort to make their ML coatings as uniform and defect-free as possible to minimize unwanted costs. ML coatings can be deposited on the surface of an optical component by using either PVD, magnetron sputtering, or ion beam deposition. PVD is the least frequently used. Ion beam deposition utilizes

Contamination Projection Systems Specification and Testing

1. Bakshi, Vivek. "EUVL System Patterning Performance." EUV Lithography. Bellingham, WA: SPIE, 2009. 156+. Print.
[3] E. Spiller, Low-loss reflectivity coatings using absorbing materials, Appl. Phys. Lett. 20, 365-367 (1972). [4] Folta, J A. "Advances in multilayer reflective coatings for extreme ultraviolet lithography." Proceedings of SPIE. 3676, 702 (1999) [5] S. Bajt, J. B. Alameba, T. W. Barbee Jr., et al., Improved reflectance and stability of Mo-Si multilayers, Opt. Eng. 41(8), 1797-1804 (2002).