Apr 18, 2012 |
Using eBeam technologies to improve 20nm and 14nm wafer yields
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(Nanowerk News) The eBeam Initiative, a forum dedicated to the education and
promotion of new semiconductor manufacturing approaches based on electron beam (eBeam)
technologies, today announced that several of its members will present the latest breakthroughs using
eBeam technologies to improve photomask critical dimension uniformity (CDU) and wafer yields this
week during Photomask Japan (PMJ) 2012, the 19th international symposium on photomasks and nextgeneration
lithography masks being held at the Pacifico Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan.
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Among
these, the eBeam Initiative will highlight results from HOYA Corporation on improving mask quality
while decreasing shot count through the use of model-based mask data preparation (MB-MDP)
applied on a production mask writer.
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In addition, GLOBALFOUNDRIES will present mask-wafer
double-simulation results demonstrating the impact of MB-MDP on wafer simulation.
Traditionally, process variation (PV) band, depth of focus (DOF) and mask error enhancement factor
(MEEF) have been important criteria in determining the quality of the shapes projected on the
semiconductor wafers by a particular set of patterns on the mask. Improving these criteria improves
wafer yield. GLOBALFOUNDRIES will highlight how this improvement can be realized by enabling
inverse lithography (ILT) through MB-MDP. Additionally, shape-dependent-mask CDU has emerged
as a key variable impacting wafer yield. HOYA will demonstrate the impact of new eBeam
technologies—such as MB-MDP and overlapping variable-shaped beam (VSB) shots—on shot count,
mask fidelity and robustness to manufacturing variation.
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According to Aki Fujimura, CEO of D2S, Inc., managing company sponsor of the eBeam Initiative, "At
and below the 20-nm logic node, mask assist features as well as some parts of the main mask
features are smaller than 80 nm in width, which makes mask accuracy increasingly difficult to
maintain—in turn negatively affecting wafer yield. The increasing rate of innovation in
semiconductor manufacturing is accelerating the importance and value of eBeam technologies in the
semiconductor supply chain to address the challenges associated with mask accuracy, shot count and
production costs. We applaud the efforts of eBeam Initiative members, including HOYA and
GLOBALFOUNDRIES, who have played a vital role in guiding the ecosystem to support the
introduction of much-needed advances in eBeam technologies."
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HOYA Corporation, a member of the eBeam Initiative and a manufacturer of advanced photomasks,
collaborated with fellow members D2S and JEOL to evaluate eBeam improvements to mask quality to
support the complex mask requirements of its customers. "With optical lithography continuing to
be critical for the foreseeable future, the variation control of the shape-dependent mask pattern
quality is becoming increasingly important to our customers for leading-edge masks," said Yasuki
Kimura, Project Leader, Photolitho-Link Project, Advanced Technology Department at HOYA. "We
are very pleased to find that MB-MDP reduces the burden on the writers in the production line
through shot count reduction while achieving our critical mask quality objectives. We expect that
both shot count and mask quality will improve further with more evaluation, and even further with
the introduction of circular apertures."
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eBeam Initiative Member Updates
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In related news, the eBeam Initiative welcomes IMS Nanofabrication AG and tau-Metrix to its
membership. In addition, a white paper commissioned by the eBeam Initiative on the rising impact
of mask CDU to wafer yields, titled "Shape-Dependent Mask CD Uniformity Impacts Tradeoffs in
Design Rules and Wafer Quality at 20-nm and Below," will be made available along with newly
published results after Thursday, April 19 on the eBeam Initiative website at www.ebeam.org.
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About The eBeam Initiative
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The eBeam Initiative provides a forum for educational and promotional activities regarding new
semiconductor manufacturing approaches based on electron beam (eBeam) technologies. The
goals of the Initiative are to reduce the barriers to adoption to enable more integrated circuit (IC)
design starts and faster time-to-market while increasing the investment in eBeam technologies
throughout the semiconductor ecosystem. Members and advisors, which span the semiconductor
ecosystem, include: Abeam Technologies, Advantest, Alchip Technologies, AMTC, Applied Materials,
Artwork Conversion, Aselta Nanographics, Cadence Design Systems, CEA-Leti, D2S, Dai Nippon
Printing, EQUIcon Software GmbH Jena, e-Shuttle, Jack Harding from eSilicon Corporation, Fastrack
Design, Fraunhofer CNT, Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited, GenISys GmbH, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Grenon
Consulting, HOYA Corporation, IMS CHIPS, IMS Nanofabrication AG, JEOL, KLA-Tencor, Mentor
Graphics Corporation, Multibeam Corporation, NCS, NuFlare Technology, Petersen Advanced
Lithography, Colin Harris from PMC-Sierra, Riko Radojcic from Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics,
SoftJin Technologies, STMicroelectronics, Synopsys, tau-Metrix, Tela Innovations, TOOL Corporation,
Toppan Printing, Vistec Electron Beam Lithography Group, and Xilinx. Membership is open to all
companies and institutions throughout the electronics industry. To find out more, please visit
www.ebeam.org.
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