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Concept
Extreme ultraviolet lithography
Summary
Extreme ultraviolet lithography (also known as EUV or EUVL) is an optical lithography technology used in semiconductor device fabrication to make integrated circuits (ICs). It uses extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths near 13.5 nm, using a laser-pulsed tin (Sn) droplet plasma (Sn ions in the ionic states from Sn IX to Sn XIV give photon emission spectral peaks around 13.5 nm from 4p64dn - 4p54dn+1 + 4dn-14f ionic state transitions.), to produce a pattern by using a reflective photomask to expose a substrate covered by photoresist. It is currently applied only in the most advanced semiconductor device fabrication.
ASML Holding is the only company who produces and sells EUV systems for chip production, targeting 5 nm and 3 nm process nodes. At the 2019 International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), TSMC reported use of EUV for its 5 nm node in contact, via, metal line, and cut layers, where the cuts can be applied to fins, gates or metal lines. At IEDM 2020, TSMC reported its 5 nm node minimum metal pitch to be reduced 30% (to ~28 nm) from that of its 7 nm node, which was 40 nm. Samsung's 5 nm node is lithographically the same design rule as its 7 nm node, with a minimum metal pitch of 36 nm.
In the 1960s, visible light was used for IC-production, with wavelengths as small as 435 nm (mercury "g line"). Later UV light was used, with wavelength of at first 365nm (mercury "i line"), then excimer wavelengths first of 248 nm (krypton fluoride laser) and then 193 nm (argon fluoride laser), which was called deep UV. The next step, going even smaller, was dubbed Extreme UV or EUV. The EUV technology was considered impossible by many. EUV is absorbed by glass and even air, so instead of using lenses, as before, to focus the beams of light, mirrors in a vacuum would be needed and a reliable production of EUV was also problematic. Then leading producers of steppers Canon and Nikon stopped development, and some predicted the end of Moore's law.
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Electron-beam lithography
Electron-beam lithography (often abbreviated as e-beam lithography, EBL) is the practice of scanning a focused beam of electrons to draw custom shapes on a surface covered with an electron-sensitive film called a resist (exposing). The electron beam changes the solubility of the resist, enabling selective removal of either the exposed or non-exposed regions of the resist by immersing it in a solvent (developing). The purpose, as with photolithography, is to create very small structures in the resist that can subsequently be transferred to the substrate material, often by etching.
Krypton fluoride laser
A krypton fluoride laser (KrF laser) is a particular type of excimer laser, which is sometimes (more correctly) called an exciplex laser. With its 248 nanometer wavelength, it is a deep ultraviolet laser which is commonly used in the production of semiconductor integrated circuits, industrial micromachining, and scientific research. The term excimer is short for 'excited dimer', while exciplex is short for 'excited complex'. An excimer laser typically contains a mixture of: a noble gas such as argon, krypton, or xenon; and a halogen gas such as fluorine or chlorine.
Argon fluoride laser
The argon fluoride laser (ArF laser) is a particular type of excimer laser, which is sometimes (more correctly) called an exciplex laser. With its 193-nanometer wavelength, it is a deep ultraviolet laser, which is commonly used in the production of semiconductor integrated circuits, eye surgery, micromachining, and scientific research. "Excimer" is short for "excited dimer", while "exciplex" is short for "excited complex".