(September 9, 2010) — The eBeam Initiative, a forum dedicated to the education and promotion of a new design-to-manufacturing approach known as design for e-beam (DFEB), has several members jointly presenting the latest breakthroughs in DFEB mask technology at the Annual SPIE/BACUS Symposium 2010, a worldwide technical conference and exhibition and premier event for the photomask industry. The collaborative results demonstrate the effectiveness of DFEB mask technology on advanced photomasks at the 22-nm node and beyond. 

The SPIE/BACUS Symposium will be held September 13-16, at the Monterey Marriott Hotel in Monterey, CA.

Figure. At left, circular and variable shaped beam (VSB) shots used to shoot an inverse lithography technology (ILT) mask for a contact layer at the 22nm logic node incorporating circular and curvilinear features using design for e-beam (DFEB) mask technology. At right, VSB shots used to shoot a Manhattanized ILT mask with rectangular main features using DFEB mask technology. This mask would produce nearly identical wafer lithography quality as the mask printing at left. Using D2S’ Model-Based Mask Data Preparation (MB-MDP) engine, this pattern is produced with 402 overlapping VSB shots versus 620 VSB shots with conventional fracturing. Only rectangular VSB shots are used.

Listen to a podcast interview with senior technical editor Debra Vogler, "Making the impossible photomask possible" on the technology presentation: Download or Play Now

Aki Fujimura, CEO of D2S and managing sponsor of the Initiative, said, “Due to the collaborative efforts of the eBeam Initiative members, we continue to make progress on the DFEB mask technology roadmap. At BACUS, members are demonstrating for the first time the improved shot count results of writing curvilinear features using overlapping e-beam shots.” 

Four new members joined eBeam Initiative recently: Abeam Technologies, EQUIcon Software GmbH Jena, Synopsys and TOOL Corporation.

Remarking on the four new members of the Initiative, Fujimura said, “We’re pleased to add these new members to the Initiative.  Increasingly, companies across the semiconductor ecosystem are recognizing the critically important role that DFEB technology can have in enabling the production of cost-effective, complex masks at the 22-nm node and beyond.”

For 22-nm process technologies, the ability to use curvilinear features for mask lithography becomes critical.  DFEB mask technology makes cost-effective, optical lithography for 22nm a reality by leveraging the rounding nature of e-beams to enable practical turnaround times for complex and curvilinear features.  The collaborative results from the eBeam Initiative members further demonstrate the ability of DFEB mask technology to enable fewer shot counts and less write-time than traditional e-beam writing techniques on advanced photomasks. 

At the SPIE/BACUS Symposium 2010, eBeam Initiative members will jointly present the following papers:

September 14

• 10:40 a.m., Steinbeck Forum – Session 2: Pattern Generation (invited paper) – “Improvement of Mask Write Time for Curvilinear Assist Features at 22nm”
• 1:20 p.m., Ferrante Room – Session 6: Mask Data Preparation –“Writing 32-nm HP Contacts with Curvilinear Assist Features”
• 5:50 p.m., Ferrante Room – Session 8: Optical Proximity Correction – “Impact of Model-Based Fracturing on Proximity Effect Correction Methodology”

September 15

• 8:00 a.m., Steinbeck Forum – Special Session on E-Beam Direct Write – Invited speaker, Aki Fujimura, CEO of D2S, to present on design insights for direct-write maskless lithography

In addition to these collaborative papers, the eBeam Initiative is a co-sponsor of a special MCA BrightSpots lithography panel at the SPIE/BACUS Symposium.  The live panel event will be held on Tuesday, September 14, at 5:15 p.m. in the San Carlos Ballroom I and will be followed by cocktails.  You can RSVP for this event at [email protected].  Those unable to attend the panel can also participate via a live audio-stream by registering at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/871337162.

For information on eBeam Initiative activities at SPIE/BACUS 2010, please visit: www.ebeam.org