Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. announced it has developed a next-generation EUV photomask for semiconductors.

The new photomask minimizes the unwanted reflection of light to peripheral sections during EUV exposure, a next-generation semiconductor manufacturing technology. Sample shipments to semiconductor manufacturers will begin in fiscal 2016, with the start of full-scale mass production slated for fiscal 2017.

Based on this technology, Toppan Printing is aiming to establish the industry standard for next-generation EUV photomasks. This development marks the first time anywhere in the world that a structure to suppress the unwanted reflection of light to peripheral sections has been created on the surface of an EUV photomask, and the areas around the pattern have been miniaturized.

By further developing and fusing its microfabrication and optical design technologies, Toppan Printing has become the first company in the world to form a special 3D structure on the light-shielding black border on the surface of an EUV photomask and reduce the reflection of OOB light by approximately 70% compared with conventional products. Transfer testing using EUV exposure machinery manufactured by ASML has verified that this new EUV photomask can reduce dimension variability on silicon substrates by two-thirds. As a result, it enables improvements in quality and yield for semiconductor patterns.