Cymer tips ArF source for 45nm immersion litho

July 6, 2006 – Cymer Inc. has unveiled an argon fluoride (ArF) laser light source targeting 45nm production immersion photolithography, touting a 1.5x improvement in energy stability performance and >20% reduction in cost-of-ownership vs. previous-generation ArF products.

The XLR 500i replaces the conventional power amplifier stage with a “recirculating ring” delivering a step-function improvement in pulse energy stability, and doubles the lifetime of two key modules within the MOPA-based ArF laser light sources, resulting in significantly improved system productivity compared to previous generation ArF products, according to the company. Further, the improved dose performance can also reduce the number of laser pulses consumed during the wafer exposure process, thereby contributing to a reduction in the CoO on a per-wafer basis.

The reduced requirements on pulses/wafer due to advances in dose control and improved module lifetimes result in a >20% reduction in CoO, according to Cymer.

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