【NEWS】ASML EUV光刻机 NXE：3400B 最新报道

业界关注的EUV光刻机性能到底怎样？在刚召开的2017 Advanced Lithography Meeting上，ASML报道了其最新EUV光刻机NXE：3400B的性能参数：L/S分辨率达13nm， CDU可达0.3nm，产能可达110wph，详情如下：

At this week’s SPIE Advanced Lithography conference, the industry paid close attention to the progress of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.

Here’s the general report card: EUV is making noticeable progress, but there are still some challenges ahead, such as the power source, resists and pellicles. Several issues need to be resolved before chipmakers can put EUV into mass production at 7nm and/or 5nm.

At SPIE, ASML provided an update on its latest and previously-disclosed EUV scanner.The system, dubbed the NXE:3400B, is geared for 5nm in logic and less than 15nm for DRAM. Based on a 13.5nm wavelength, the system has a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.33 and a 13nm resolution.

The tool, which will ship soon, will incorporate a more powerful source. Last year, ASML moved from an 80watt to a 125watt source, boosting the throughputs from around 60 wafers an hour (wph) to 85 wph.

Now, the EUV source has been boosted to 145 watts. So, the NXE:3400B will initially incorporate ASML’s 145watt source, which translates to 100 wph. “We are running at about 100 wafers an hour. It’s enough for companies to get started and get it integrated,” said Michael Lercel, director of product marketing at ASML. “The target is still to have it run at 125 wafers an hour.”

In fact, ASML has developed a more powerful source operating at 210 watts, which will enable 125 wph. The company plans to ship the 210watt source sometime this year.

Meanwhile, the projection optics in the NXE:3400B incorporate a new illuminator, enabling the system to shape the illumination modes. In addition, the system has a 0.3nm CD uniformity for lines and spaces. It demonstrated features down to 13nm line/space.

All told, chipmakers want EUV for good reason. It reduces the masks required and simplifies the production flow at advanced nodes. For example, it takes 1 to 1.5 days to process a mask layer. With multipatterning at 7nm, it takes close to five months to ship wafers. “With EUV, you replace a bunch of (mask) layers,” Lercel said. “That gets wafers out the door at least a month early.”

Most observers believe ASML’s EUV technology is making significant progress. “EUV development (is) progressing surprisingly well. We heard from several chipmakers this week; all noted that extreme ultraviolet progress has been good and there are no major roadblocks to adoption, although there is still a lot of work to be done to prepare EUV for highvolume manufacturing,” said Weston Twigg, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, in a research note.

“Insertion is still planned for the 7nm node at Intel and 7nm or 5nm at Samsung and TSMC,” Twigg said. “With respect to timing of EUV adoption, Intel is still planning on 7nm node insertion, though the company continues to emphasize that it will only adopt the technology if it is ready. Intel’s current 10nm ramp appears to be behind schedule, which could push out the 7nm ramp; applying a threeyear cadence would put the 7nm ramp in 2020, while a 3.5year cadence would put the ramp in 2021.”

Based on data from Intel, Samsung and others, there are still some challenges with EUV:

*“Availability is now over 75% at Intel based on a fourweek average. Intel noted that the source is still the main reason for tool downtime, while Samsung highlighted low collector lifetime as a major availability problem,” he said.

*The resists require more development.

*In EUV, there are several issues, such as stochastics, lineedge roughness (LER) and others. This is caused by photon shot noise and other sources.

*Pellicles. ASML is developing a polysiliconbased pellicle for the system. At present, ASML is readying the pellicles for EUV. Still to be seen, however, is if the pellicle can withstand the heat from a 140or 210watt source.

*Actinic mask inspection. No one is developing this technology.