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How far can we extend optical
patterning? At the November 1992
Semiconductor Technology Workshop,
the demise of optical patterning was
projected to occur in 2001, after the 180
nm technology node. This corresponded
to nine years or three technology nodes,
n+3, out from the then-current 500 nm
technology node, n. The 1994 and 1997
National Technology Roadmaps for
Semiconductors (NTRS) conveyed similar
messages, that optical lithography would
end after the 130 nm and 100 nm generations,
respectively, or n+3 nodes out
from the current technology nodes. During this period, considerable
attention was focused on the exposure
tool and mask infrastructure. The cost of
bringing each exposure tool technology to
market is on the order of $1 billion dollars.
The corresponding development of a
robust mask fabrication infrastructure is
within an order of magnitude of the exposure
tool costs.
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