June 9, 2004 -International SEMATECH has selected German lithography firm Carl Zeiss SMT to develop a defect review tool for 193nm immersion lithography photomasks.
An alpha tool of the aerial image measurement system (AIMS) is expected to be available to SEMATECH member companies by 4Q05, with a commercially available tool ready by 2006.
SEMATECH director of lithography Giang Dao called the development of an immersion AMIS tool for 193nm lithography “a critical factor in getting this promising new technology up and running quickly.”