Wide-field, 193-nm step-and-scan

11/01/1998

Wide-field, 193-nm step-and-scan

The PAS 5500/900 wide-field, 193-nm step-and-scan system has been designed for next-generation processes, with linewidths from 150 nm to 130 nm. It meets the SIA Technology Roadmap`s timeline for qualification and pre-production of 1-Gbit to 4-Gbit DRAMs and gigahertz-speed logic devices. A key difference between the new system and the established 248-nm PAS 5500/500 step-and-scan tool is the use of the Carl Zeiss Starlith 900 lens with calcium fluoride (CaF2) elements for partial achromatization. Using Starlith, with a numerical aperture adjustable from 0.45 to >0.6, the 5500/900 produces a field size of 26 ? 33 mm. Also critical in achieving 150-nm resolution is an argon fluoride laser source and the AERIAL II illuminator with high-transmission CaF2 and aspherical optical elements. ASM Lithography, Veldhoven, The Netherlands; ph 31/40-230-3938; in USA, ph 602/383-4040, fax 602/438-0793.