asml’s customer magazine
TRANSCRIPT
ASML’s customer magazine
Demonstrating Commitment in the New
Veldhoven Demo Lab
TWINSCAN XT:1900Gi
Immersion into production
2006
Fall E
dition
�
images | Colofon
Editorial Board
Don Crabtree, Peter Jenkins, Tom McGuire
Publisher
Ryan Young
Managing Editor
Saskia Boeije
Editor
Emma English
Contributing Writers
Dave Witko, Ted Paxton, Gerard van Rijen,
Jan Hoefnagels, Jeff Chappell, Jack Gemen,
Skip Miller, Jan-Evert van de Wetering, Noreen Harned,
Manfred Suddendorf, Ron Kool, Christian Wagner,
Bartel Carriere, Stuart Cherry, Robert O’Neill, Arlyn Stotts
Circulation
Michelle Herrick, Saskia Boeije, Emily Leung
For more information, please see:
www.asml.com/images
© 2006, ASML.
ASML, ASM Lithography, TWINSCAN, PAS 5500,
PAS 5000, SA 5200, ATHENA, QUASAR, HydroLith,
IRIS, FOCAL, CPL, DDL, Micralign, Micrascan, 3DAlign,
2DStitching, 3DMetrology, MaskTools, LithoGuide,
MaskRigger, MaskWeaver, LithoCruiser, LumenShaper,
Ultra-k1, DoseMapper, SAMOS, ILIAS, PerfectWave,
AGILE, LSmatch2, ModelTuner, CLASS and the ASML
logo are trademarks of ASML Holding N.V. or of affiliate
companies. The trademarks may be used either alone
or in combination with a further product designation.
StarLith, AERIAL, AERIAL II, AERIAL E and AIMS are
trademarks of Carl Zeiss. Nothing in this publication is
intended to make representations with regard to whether
any trademark is registered or to suggest that any sign
other than those mentioned should not be considered
to be a trademark of ASML or of any third party.
8 1� 183 Editor’s note
4 ASML in the news
6 TWINSCAN XT:1900Gi
8 Immersion into production
10 Customers receive Alpha Demo
Tools
1� Demonstrating commitment in the
new Veldhoven Demo Lab
14 The value of ASML innovation
16 System availability you can rely on
18 An introduction to photolithography
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ASML Images, Fall Edition �006
Editor’s note
The lithography roadmap is a crowded place by Ryan Young
The lithography roadmap is a crowded
place at the moment with immersion, EUV,
double-patterning and so on. In this edition
of Images we try to make sense of it all by
providing status reports on some of these
developing technologies.
Let’s start with immersion. At the time of
writing, ASML had shipped more than 28
immersion systems to customers. Most of
these are TWINSCAN XT:1700i systems
which, while not yet in volume production,
are being used for product development.
We’ve included an article that discusses
the progress being made. In a separate
article we present the XT:1900i, which will
be used for volume production for 40-nm
half pitch. This 1.35 NA, 193-nm system
was introduced at SEMICON West in July
and will begin shipping in mid-2007.
On the EUV front, in August ASML
shipped two alpha demo tools to Albany
NanoTech in New York and IMEC in
Belgium. We expect these systems to be
critical enablers for EUV infrastructure
development. In fact acceptance of EUV
technology is growing as evidenced in the
recent customer order ASML received for
a pre-production system for 2009.
This quarter ASML will officially open a new
Demonstration Lab within our facility in
Veldhoven. With Sokudo as a major partner,
the new Demo Lab will afford customers
the opportunity to “test drive” systems
before purchase. A dedicated team of
lithography experts attached to Demo Lab
will provide customer demo support.
Reliability goes hand-in-hand with
leading-edge technology to ensure
customer success and profitability.
ASML is committed to providing both.
Our “design for reliability” processes
and “smart maintenance” programs are
examples of this commitment.
Value of Ownership. We’ve talked about
it before, and we will again. As the
technology leader in lithography ASML’s
philosophy is to harness technological
innovation in order to maximize the value
for our customers. This innovation has far
reaching affects and covers the entire
life-cycle of our products.
Lastly, in our recent reader survey you
asked us to provide some introductory
information on photolithography.
This edition contains the first of a
four-part series explaining the
fundamentals and highlighting ASML’s
contribution over the last 20+ years.
We hope you’ll find these articles useful.
If you have comments or feedback on this
issue or on topics you’d like covered in
future edition, please email me at
4
ASMLin the News
ASML, industry partners advance EUV development October 17, 2006 – ASML and partners in the semiconductor lithography supply chain
provided an update today on their progress towards the commercialization of extreme
ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.
In August 2006, ASML shipped the industry’s first full-field EUV exposure tools to
R&D centers in Europe and the United States. The shipments of these Alpha Demo
Tools followed ASML’s demonstration of key lithography performance targets for EUV
development, including full-field imaging and overlay. In addition, ASML has received
the first order from a customer for a pre-production EUV system.
ASML to deliver advanced resolution techniques to sematech for manufacturing research September 19, 2006 – ASML announced that semiconductor R&D consortium
SEMATECH has awarded ASML a contract to qualify the imaging performance of
advanced logic patterns, metrology structures and defect designs for the
45-nanometer (nm), 32-nm, and 22-nm technology nodes.
SEMATECH, together with its subsidiary, the International SEMATECH Manufacturing
Initiative (ISMI), is creating these advanced designs which will incorporate ASML’s
resolution enhancement techniques (RETs) in the form of proprietary and patented
mask technologies as well as scanner optimization settings.
ASML has shipped the industry’s first EUV tools to CNSE’s Albany NanoTech and IMEC August 29, 2006 – ASML announced
that it shipped two extreme ultraviolet
(EUV) Alpha Demo Tools (ADT) to
customers. Both the College of Nanoscale
Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the
State University of New York (SUNY) at
Albany, N.Y., and the nanoelectronics
research institute IMEC in Leuven,
Belgium, have received these industry
first, full field EUV systems.
Both institutions will use these R&D tools
after installation to conduct ongoing
research into this next generation
lithography technology. Shipments
were possible after ASML achieved key
lithography performance targets including
full field scanning imaging and overlay.
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ASML Images, Fall Edition �006
For complete information regarding these press announcements, please refer to the press section of www.asml.com.
ASML marks technology and market leadership with shipment of 500th TWINSCAN system July 11, 2006 – ASML announced that it is preparing to ship its 500th
TWINSCAN lithography system. This milestone demonstrates the
acceptance of the TWINSCAN platform as the semiconductor industry’s
standard for 300-millimeter (mm) lithography, which has helped ASML
sustain the leading market share position for the past several years.
ASML expands immersion product suite with introduction of advanced 40-nm immersionJuly 11, 2006 – ASML introduced the
semiconductor industry’s most advanced
lithography system, the ASML TWINSCAN
XT:1900i. In combination with ASML
proprietary low k1 capabilities, this new
system extends optical lithography for
volume production to 40 nanometer
(nm) and below. ASML’s newest 193-nm
wavelength immersion scanner surpasses
the company’s previous numerical
aperture (NA) achievements, delivering
a new industry NA benchmark of 1.35,
the near practical limit for water-based
immersion technology.
With the introduction of this latest
immersion system, ASML now offers
immersion solutions for its customers for
resolutions from 65- to 40 nm with three
different products that allow for seamless
system transition by customers: from
one resolution to the next. The XT:1400i
is already being used in production and
the first qualification lots have now been
produced on the XT:1700i with production
ramp-up at customer sites expected to
follow as early as Q4 2006.
6
Abstract | ASML has launched the world’s
most advanced immersion lithography tool
– the TWINSCAN XT:1900Gi. As well as
an industry-leading NA of 1.35, the new
system offers the highest throughput of
any 300-mm immersion tool. It enables
IC manufacturers to continue aggressive
device shrinks for increased functionality at
lower cost.
TWINSCAN XT:1900Gi your route to 40-nm productionby Manfred Suddendorf
XT:1900Gi specifications
Numerical aperture 0.85 – 1.35
Resolution 40 nm
CDU 2.5 nm
Single machine overlay 6 nm
Throughput 131 wph (@125 exposures per wafer)
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ASML Images, Fall Edition �006
management. The result is a single
machine overlay of just 6 nm. At the same
time, the XT:1900Gi offers best-in-class
focus control – an important consideration
at such a high NA.
With its unique dual-stage approach,
the TWINSCAN platform has always been
a leader in productivity. The XT:1900Gi is
no different. Thanks to enhancements in
both measurement and expose cycles,
it sets a new benchmark for immersion
lithography with throughputs of 131
wafers per hour.
The forefront of immersion lithography
The XT:1900Gi is the most advanced
immersion system in the industry with
the highest NA and resolution. Ready for
shipping in mid 2007, it delivers a further
12% shrink over the XT:1700i.
ASML has always been at the forefront of
immersion lithography and has already
shipped more than 20 immersion systems
to customers in three continents. With the
release of the XT:1900Gi, we now offer a
full suite of immersion products providing
you with a low-risk migration down to 40 nm
and below.
If you’re reading this article, you won’t
need us to tell you how important feature
shrink is. It improves chip performance,
reduces product size and drives down
the cost per function. To support your
aggressive shrink roadmaps, ASML is
launching the TWINSCAN XT:1900Gi.
This fifth-generation immersion lithography
system has an industry-high NA of 1.35,
enabling volume production with half-
pitch resolution of 40 nm and beyond.
ASML has been the technology leader in
immersion lithography since 2003 when
we launched our first immersion system,
the AT:1150i. Each year since then we’ve
moved the technology forward with new
systems. And earlier this year we began
shipping the XT:1700Fi – the industry’s
first 1.2-NA lithography system.
All these systems are built on the
established TWINSCAN platform.
The modular nature of the platform means
that each new system is already mature
and well-proven in the field – the only
components that are redesigned are
those that deliver the next step forward in
lithography performance.
Proven catadioptric lens design
The XT:1900Gi features a Zeiss Starlith
1900i immersion lens. This is the largest-
NA ArF lens available and at 1.35 NA,
it pushes water-based ArF immersion
lithography to the limit. Combined with
ASML’s Ultra-k1 portfolio, which delivers
the industry’s lowest usable k1 values,
it enables half-pitch resolutions of 40 nm
and below.
The Starlith 1900i uses the same in-line
catadioptric (involving reflection
and refraction) lens concept already
successfully employed in the XT:1700i.
Just as with the introduction of aspheric
lenses for high-NA dry lithography, the
addition of mirrors reduces lens complexity
and size for hyper-NA immersion systems.
Our catadioptric lens concept was
deliberately chosen to be extendible to
higher-NA systems, enabling a low-risk
migration to smaller feature sizes.
ASML uses an in-line design for its
catadioptric lenses. This results in a
more compact, single-barrel assembly
that provides greater mechanical
stability and easier lens adjustment
than folded systems. In addition, as
in-line catadioptric assemblies have an
even number of mirrors, you can use
the same reticles as with the purely
refractive assemblies found in today’s
non-immersion system. Such reticle
compatibility between systems gives you
more production flexibility.
Evolution not revolution
Complementing the improved imaging
performance, the XT:1900Gi features
a number of enhancements to improve
overlay. These include improved stage-
position metrology and optimized thermal
It delivers a further 12% shrink over the XT:1700i
8
Abstract | Immersion lithography is the
technology to keep the ITRS roadmap on
track. With our TWINSCAN XT:1700Fi fourth
generation immersion lithography scanner
now shipping, there is a tremendous effort
to move immersion lithography into high
volume production. So the race is on for
semiconductor manufacturers, and a
significant market advantage is at stake.
Immersion into production by Ron Kool, Christian Wagner
To deliver new technology nodes within
competitive time frames, semiconductor
manufacturers have regularly needed to
jump forward in lithography techniques
– moving from i-line to KrF and then
ArF. The next step on this path sees the
introduction of immersion lithography,
with IC manufacturers racing to have this
new technology in volume production in
time for the 5x and 4x-nm Memory and
the 32-nm Logic nodes.
With ASML as your partner, you’re ideally
placed to be successful in this race.
Our dual-stage TWINSCAN platform lets
you combine the advantages of immersion
lithography with the familiarity and
reliability of dry metrology. What’s more,
we recently launched the hyper-NA age
with the 1.2-NA XT:1700Fi scanner, and we
announced the XT:1900i that will extend
NA to 1.35. Shipments of the XT:1700Fi
are reaching double figures, bringing the
total number of ASML immersion machines
shipped to well over 20.
Quick change
A unique driver in the race for immersion
is the relatively short timescale in which
the industry is aiming for introduction
– significantly shorter than the transition
from KrF to ArF. To meet that time frame,
tool suppliers, material vendors and
semiconductor manufacturers need
to work together to address the few
remaining issues. The current focus
for this cooperation is overlay and
defectivity performance.
Meeting the challenges
The XT:1700Fi also contains landmark
lithography optics. More than 20 lenses
and illuminators have already been
built, exhibiting excellent aberration
and polarization performance, clearly
supporting the imaging requirements
of the 45-nm and 32-nm nodes.
(see Fig. 1 and 2)
It is well known that the heat impact of
evaporating water influences overlay,
so delivering good overlay performance
from an immersion system brings extra
technical challenges. Recently, we’ve
made significant progress on methods
for reducing and compensating for these
evaporation heat sources. We expect the
overlay performance of our immersion
systems will soon match that of our
dry tools.
Turning to defect levels, ASML is meeting
its responsibility to reduce the machine
contribution. We’re working closely with
track suppliers on monitoring defects
and providing clean tools that minimize
particle defect levels. At the same
time, manufacturers need to look at
their processes to make sure they are
optimized for immersion techniques – as
this can have an impact on the overall
defect level of the process.
As we explained in the previous general
issue of Images, a huge amount of
progress has recently been made in
this area. Combined teams of ASML
and customer engineers have been able
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ASML Images, Fall Edition �006
Immersion into production by Ron Kool, Christian Wagner
IPS
(%)
95
96
97
98
99
100
Multiple Systems
∆IP
S (%
)
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
Polarization Purity
Polarization Purity variation across field
Mean 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Lens Production
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1400 1700i
Figure 1: Average polarization purity and polarization purity variation cross field for more than
20 illuminators. Excellent polarization performance for a maximum range of illumination settings at
full transmission and throughput.
Figure 2: Excellent performance of more than 20 catadioptric lenses.
to deliver defect levels as low as 3 per
wafer, comparable with the best dry
processes.
In addition to extending the capabilities
of immersion tools, ASML is helping
customers optimize their way of working
to get the most from today’s immersion
capabilities. This makes high-volume
immersion production viable much earlier
and allows manufacturers to get ahead of
the roadmap.
Moving forward with the XT:1�00Fi
The XT:1700Fi is now being shipped in
volume, and we expect to have delivered
more than 20 by the end of the year. The
first performance data is just starting
to come back. There is still work to be
done before immersion lithography
is completely ready for high-volume
manufacturing. That work is being
carried out right now. Armed with this
data, we believe the XT:1700Fi is ideal
for high-volume production down for the
5x and 4x-nm Memory and the 32-nm
Logic nodes.
10
EUV Era Begins
Customers receive Alpha Demo Tools
By Noreen Harned
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ASML Images, Fall Edition �006
EUV Era Begins
Customers receive Alpha Demo Tools
By Noreen Harned
A milestone
ASML is serving as a critically enabling
supplier for the development of
extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography
technology, taking a leadership role in its
development. Following the successful
results from the early imaging qualification
earlier this year, ASML achieved a
milestone in the development of EUV
lithography: the industry’s first customer
shipments of EUV Alpha Demo Tools
(ADTs). ASML shipped these two full-field,
0.25 NA ADTs to research institutions
in Europe and the United States. The
nanoelectronics research institute IMEC
in Leuven, Belgium and the College of
Nanoscale Science and Engineering
(CNSE) of the State University of New
York (SUNY) at Albany, N.Y. will use
these ADTs as part of the industry’s
ongoing research into this next generation
lithography technology.
The ADT shipments are the culmination
of more than seven years’ work on the
part of a team of some 250 people within
ASML, Carl Zeiss and research partners
TNO Science and Industry and Philips
Applied Technology, representing a
total of 1,200 man years. In January of
this year that team first demonstrated
that the EUV concept, and specifically
the first complete ADT, would work:
ASML produced the first sub 200-nm
images with an ADT at ASML labs in
Veldhoven. A month later at the annual
SPIE Microlithography Conference, ASML
presented the industry with images of
40-nm and 35-nm features printed with
the EUV ADT, and by the summer was
able to demonstrate an industry first of
55 nm contacts with greater than 200 nm
depth of focus, imaged with conventional
illumination and no resolution
enhancement “tricks”. This imaging
work, done with a set up Projection
Optic Box, clearly demonstrates the
technology’s feasibility for 32 nm and
below production.
In the last six months, teams were working
on the two customer ADTs around the
clock, seven days a week, preparing them
for shipment; during that time the tools’
utilization was at 90 percent. But ASML’s
work with these ADTs is far from over,
even though they are now in customers’
hands. While the demo tools’ architecture
was based on the production-proven
TWINSCAN architecture, and future
production EUV tools use advanced
TWINSCAN technology, optimized for
EUV, many components of the ADTs are
still in a developmental stage, and will
require refinement as EUV R&D continues.
ASML is now setting up a dedicated
team who will support IMEC and SUNY
in the installation and operation of the
Alpha Demo Tools. ASML also remains
dedicated to working with its customers
and research partners to continue the
development of EUV tools beyond the
alpha stage and into volume production.
While a production-worthy EUV version
of TWINSCAN is still a few years off,
and much work remains for the entire
EUV supply chain, ASML is on track to
have EUV lithography tools ready for
production at the 32 nm node.
1�
Demonstrating commitment in the new Veldhoven Demo Lab by Dave Witko, Gerard van Rijen, Ted Paxton, Jan Hoefnagels, Jack Gemen
Abstract | Demonstrating ASML product
performance is critical for the adoption
of new systems and technology by
our customers. Historically, ASML
has conducted demo testing in our
factory’s process lab. However, with
ever-decreasing features sizes, low k1
demands, immersion lithography, and
aggressive defectivity levels, a dedicated
manufacturing-like environment is
required. As a result, ASML has built a
separate cleanroom that replicates as
closely as possible a chip manufacturer’s
working environment. This will allow
customers to continue purchasing
systems with confidence.
Why build a demo lab now
Performing a live demonstration of
ASML’s latest products is important
to customers who are evaluating new
system purchases. Historically these
demonstrations have been executed in the
factory’s onsite production process lab.
While far from replicating a chipmaker’s
own cleanroom environment, the lab
nonetheless provided sufficient capability
for gauging basic tool performance.
With the industry’s imaging requirements
rapidly plunging below 50 nm, however,
and with the advent of immersion
lithography, tool demonstrations now
take on added complexity, requiring more
sophisticated technology. As customers’
requirements push to extremely low k1
values, advanced metrology and analysis
capabilities are needed, as well as linked
scanner-track tools.
Birth of a demo lab
In the summer of 2005, ASML
committed to build a cleanroom solely
dedicated to demonstrating system
performance in a customer-like working
environment. Wafertrack manufacturer
Sokudo, also pledged equipment and
expertise. Sokudo will use the facility for
demonstrating their latest systems, and
will supply and operate the process tracks
that will link directly to ASML scanners.
In total, the cleanroom facility comprises
537 square meters in Veldhoven’s building
4E, providing the space necessary for
leading-edge demonstrations.
Scheduled to open in Q4 2006, the new
Demo Lab is laid out in such a way as
to provide the most flexible and efficient
working environment. Bays are provided
for two linked track-scanner clusters,
featuring ASML’s TWINSCAN.
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ASML Images, Fall Edition �006
Efforts have been taken to realize an
environment that mimics that of the end
user as closely as practicalwith special
emphasis on meeting the cleanliness
standards necessary for demonstrating
aggressive defectivity levels. Care has
been taken to ensure the safety and
comfort of customers as well by adding
a conference room inside the facility,
separated from the ASML production floor.
To enhance service, the facility will be
dedicated exclusively to the demonstration
of leading technologies. A team of litho
experts will guide customers through the
demo process, and they will work in a
two-shift staffing scheme to significantly
reduce or eliminate downtime and
maximize facility access.
With the construction of this product
demo lab, we will be able to significantly
The new demo lab
provides the space
neccessary for leading-
edge demonstration
improve both the quality and quantity
of customer demonstrations as well as
better support commitments to internal
clients for product development, strategic
marketing, and engagement with
wafertrack and resist suppliers.
The investment made in the new
Demonstration Lab adequately
addresses the requirements of
effectively and efficiently demonstrating
our products, and it shows a true
commitment to our customers, both
external and internal. We are certain that
this initiative will benefit them for a very
long time.
Demonstrating commitment in the new Veldhoven Demo Lab by Dave Witko, Gerard van Rijen, Ted Paxton, Jan Hoefnagels, Jack Gemen
14
Abstract | The semiconductor industry
focuses on cost of ownership (CoO)
analysis to evaluate capital expenditure
decisions. While worthwhile, this
assessment tells only part of the story.
ASML emphasizes value of ownership
(VoO) to determine the true return our
customers receive on their imaging
investment. Because we are committed
to developing proven, innovative platforms
that enhance productivity, reliability and
profitability, ASML delivers value at every
stage of a system’s usable lifetime, from
initial purchase through production and
end-of-use resale.
Value of Ownership
In the semiconductor industry, cost of
ownership (CoO) analysis drives capital
expenditure decisions. But there is
another way to evaluate the merit of a
purchase or expense. Because CoO is
really an attempt to determine the value
you receive in return for your expenditure,
at ASML we first look at the value of
ownership (VoO) when we design
our systems.
In fact, it’s fair to say that maximizing
VoO is our top customer concern.
That’s why we place such a strong
emphasis on innovation in everything
we do, from design and implementation
to service and system enhancement.
We are committed to developing proven
platforms and processes that make your
fab more productive and profitable, not
just at the time of purchase, but at every
stage of a system’s usable lifetime, from
installation to resale.
Value stage #1: Capital Expenditure
We know that your total capital
expenditure is more than just your
scanner price. It’s your track system and
installation costs as well. So the fewer
scanners you purchase, the lower your
overall litho cell spend. ASML platforms
consistently deliver the industry’s highest
productivity, resulting in fewer tools
required for a given fab capacity that
lowers your capital outlay and operating
costs. In addition, our systems lead
to greater output per square foot and
greater ultimate fab capacity.
Value stage #�: Cost per Wafer
High-volume ASML productivity is the
result, in part, of superior imaging and
overlay performance that significantly
reduces rework. You need less tools
to produce more wafers faster, and
that higher output reduces your cost
per wafer.
Cost of ownership advantage
Value stage #3: Cost per Die
High-performance imaging and overlay
also results in higher yield. This is how
ASML innovation generates more good
die per wafer, lowering your cost per die.
Value stage #4: Time to Volume
The sooner your system is up and running,
the more value you will generate from it.
That’s why we emphasize accelerated
install schedules that minimize the
time your system goes from the dock
into full production. Our seasoned
The value of ASML innovation by Skip Miller
You can expect your hardworking ASML system
to be long-lasting, producing returns on your investment
for years to come
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ASML Competition
1�
ASML Images, Fall Edition �006
ASML Competition
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ArF KrF KrF i-Line
ArF KrF
ArF KrF KrF i-Line
ArF KrF KrF i-Line
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ArF KrF KrF i-Line
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Waf
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ASML TWINSCAN
Competition
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customer support staff has extensive
knowledge on a proven, modular
platform that is specifically designed for
rapid implementation. Their experience
and expertise results in record-setting
installation times for our customers.
Value stage #�: Time to Yield
Getting to market first with new technology
is the name of the game. You’re fighting
the market price erosion curve, so the
sooner you get there, the longer you can
earn the premium price and maximize new
product revenue. ASML understands this,
and our CS team is geared to optimizing
your system quickly. Again, our experience
and proven platform shortens the learning
cycle and speeds up time to yield. Our goal
is always to get your wafers right, right out
the door.
Value stage #6: System Usable Lifetime
This is perhaps where ASML innovation
delivers the most value to our customers.
Our advanced modular design allows for
nearly limitless system enhancements
and upgrades. This level of extendibility
means your platform will last through
several generations of technology. You can
expect your hardworking ASML system to
be long-lasting, producing returns on your
investment for years to come.
Value stage #�: Resale Value
ASML’s reputation for reliability and
best-of-class imaging, overlay and
productivity makes your machine highly
desirable in the pre-owned equipment
market. Typically, ASML systems
retain much higher residual value than
competing machines. When the day
comes to sell or trade in your system, this
residual value will further reduce your net
capital expenditure. As you can see, the
value of ASML technology reaps rewards
throughout a system’s lifetime. This is not
innovation for innovation’s sake,
but the fulfillment of a real business
need to generate profits and
performance that you could not obtain
any other way. Creating value through
innovation is our top commitment to our
customers, and is the legacy we seek to
create with every system.
TWINSCAN 300 mm > 40% throughput advantage
Value of productivity at fab build out
1 - Capital expenditure
System price
7 - System resell value
6 - System usable lifetime
5 - Time to yield
4 - Time to volume
3 - Cost/die
2 - Cost/layer
16
System availability you can rely onby Jan-Evert van de Wetering
Abstract | ASML is systematically
enhancing machine reliability and
availability as part of our commitment
to continuously improving value of
ownership. Working together with our
customers and through a variety of
features, options and customer support
packages, we can deliver up to 97%
system availability. What’s more, the
high stability of our availability numbers
simplifies fab planning.
System availability is a key
consideration in fab management.
Improved availability means easier,
more cost-effective fab planning and
greater production capacity from the
same number of tools. But in this case
improved doesn’t just mean higher,
it also means more stable. Stable
availability (i.e. when availability doesn’t
vary much over time or between
systems) enables greater production
predictability.
Achieve stable mean system availabilities
as high as 97%
1�
ASML Images, Fall Edition �006
Through a number of system
enhancements and improved ways of
working, we’re increasing both the mean
availability and stability (defined by the
‘-minus 3σ value-’).
Designed for reliability
A key to the improved system availability
is an increased focus on reliability in the
design stage. We now set and achieve
reliability targets in all design projects.
In addition, we employ Failure Mode and
Effects Analysis (FMEA) for all our new
(sub)systems and system enhancements.
We’ve also introduced a number of
system enhancements and options
that improve availability. These include
SpotLess wafer table cleaning and
the Primetime e-diagnostics and
connectivity portfolio.
Smarter maintenance
To complement the ‘-designed-in-’
reliability benefits, we’ve also launched a
smart maintenance program. The goal of
this program is to reduce the amount of
preventative maintenance and switch to
condition-based, predictive maintenance.
By scheduling maintenance for when it
is actually needed, rather than based
on some conservative estimate, you can
significantly reduce downtime and cut
spare part and consumables costs.
The ability to carry out condition-based,
predictive maintenance depends strongly
on the level of e-diagnostics capabilities
enabled. Once a system is fully
connected via user-definable and user-
maintainable firewalls, its condition and
performance can be remotely monitored
from a ‘-smart maintenance center-’
near your fab. Using intelligent software
applications, we can determine the
best time to carry out any maintenance
actions. We can then ensure a
maintenance team arrives with the right
parts and the right skill set at the right
time – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Cluster availability
In addition, the system offers the flexibility
to align maintenance schedules for your
lithography systems and your tracks.
For example, the Wait Watcher system
enhancement offers smart scheduling of
periodic and regular (semi-)automated
maintenance to match non-productive
intervals on the track. The end result is
higher total cluster availability and fewer
production stoppages.
Continuous learning
The above measures are all designed
to improve the mean availability. We’ve
also initiated a program to improve
the stability of our system availability
through enhanced spare part quality.
It isn’t possible to completely eliminate
parts failures, but by learning from each
failure we can significantly improve
overall quality.
Improved availability means easier,
more cost-effective fab planning and greater
production capacity
To do that, we carry out a Failure
Analysis Report (FAR) each time a major
part fails. This involves each link in our
supply chain. Within one month, we
determine why the part failed and how
we can avoid that happening again.
The results of the FAR are translated
into measures that can be applied
correctively to existing systems and
proactively to new ones to prevent
similar failures.
A team effort
Improving system availability is very
much a team effort. For the best results
we need your cooperation. Some of the
necessary system enhancements are
only available as options, and you must
have the appropriate service contracts
in place as well as the right e-diagnostic
functions enabled. With the appropriate
options, our “G” specification i-line,
KrF and dry ArF systems (which start
shipping in 2007) can achieve mean
system availabilities as high as 97%.
To find out about performance contracts
for availability and how ASML can help
you improve reliability and system
availability in your fab, please contact
your local ASML representative.
System availability you can rely onby Jan-Evert van de Wetering
18
Abstract | Photolithography lies at the heart
of the IC manufacturing industry. In the
first of a series of articles, we take an
introductory look at how photolithography
fits into the chip manufacturing process and
discuss some of the key issues.
Modern photolithography systems
are technological masterpieces. They
feature massive, multi-million dollar
lenses capable of resolving features
just tens of nanometers in size. What’s
more, photolithography systems are
expected to run 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week for weeks at a time. They push
the state-of-the-art not just in optics and
mechatronics, but also in manufacturing,
laser alignment, materials science and
even climate control.
Lithography systems work by directing
light of a certain wavelength through
a “mask” (also called a “reticle”),
which contains the pattern to be printed.
The lens focuses that light onto a wafer
coated with a light-sensitive material
known as a ‘photoresist’ (or simply a
‘resist’). Where the light hits the resist,
it causes a chemical reaction – either
hardening or softening the compound
depending on the type of resist.
Most photolithography tools don’t print a
pattern on the entire surface of the wafer in
one go. Instead they expose one small area
(known as the exposure field) at a time
until the whole wafer is covered. Once the
whole wafer has been exposed, the soft
resist and the silicon dioxide beneath it are
etched away leaving a three-dimensional
version of the reticle pattern on the wafer’s
surface. This process is repeated many
times to build up the layers that comprise
an integrated circuit.
That shrinking feeling
The semiconductor industry is continually
striving to create higher-performance,
more complex and more cost-efficient
ICs. Enabling this, the story of photo-
lithography is a quest to print ever smaller
features. As the minimum printable feature
size depends partly on the wavelength
of light used, photolithography has
progressed through a series of
wavelength jumps.
In the early 80s, when ASML was born,
photolithography typically used light in the
violet region of the visible spectrum.
The most common wavelength was
436 nm from the so-called g-line of a
high-pressure mercury vapor lamp.
State-of-the-art g-line systems could print
features down to 1 µm. In the mid 80s,
the semiconductor industry moved into the
ultraviolet with the transition to i-line
(365-nm) light from mercury lamps,
enabling resolutions of about 0.5 µm.
The start of the 90s saw the dawning
of the deep ultraviolet (DUV) age for
photolithography. Cutting-edge wafer
fabrication moved to 248-nm light
– produced by krypton-fluoride (KrF) lasers
rather than the mercury lamps previously
used. Around this time, developments in
areas such as illumination techniques,
reticles and resists allowed manufacturers
for the first time to print features smaller
First in a series
An introduction to photolithography by Bartel Carriere
The story of
photolithography
is a quest
to print ever smaller
features
19
ASML Images, Fall Edition �006
The lithography triangle
The performance of a photolithography tool is characterized by three key capabilities. Imaging, or the ability to consistently
resolve small features, governs the IC’s size (hence cost) and performance. Overlay describes how accurately a system can
print consecutive layers on top of each other. This affects the performance of the IC and the yield of good dies per wafer.
Finally productivity, measured by how many wafers a system can process in a fixed time, impacts on the cost of the IC and
the manufacturer’s profitability.
Over the next three editions of Images, we will be taking a closer look at each of these three issues. First up will be imaging.
than the wavelength of light used.
So, originally billed as the “quarter-micron
technology”, KrF was soon being used to
print features as small as 180 nm.
Photolithography moved further into
DUV at the end of the 90s with the
introduction of 193-nm argon-fluoride
(ArF) lasers. ArF is still the cutting-edge
production technology, printing features
down to 65 nm.
The ASML advantage
ASML has been at the forefront of
photolithography technology throughout
our 22 year history. As well as spearheading
these wavelength jumps, we’ve pioneered
numerous other technical innovations.
In our very first commercial system,
we introduced through-the-lens (TTL)
alignment – delivering extremely
accurate positioning of the pattern on
the wafer. In the late 80s, we began
using a modular system architecture
that enables easy system upgrades
and enhancements. And we started the
new millennium with a yet another new
concept for lithography systems – the
dual-stage TWINSCAN platform.
As the first (and currently only) dual-stage
lithography platform, TWINSCAN systems,
with their exceptionally high throughput,
unleash the true portential of 300-mm
manufacturing.
What’s next?
Current semiconductor production
typically uses ArF, KrF and i-line systems
for critical, mid-critical and non-critical
layers respectively. The most cutting-
edge production lines are just starting to
introduce immersion-based ArF systems
such as the TWINSCAN XT:1700Fi.
Immersion systems can print smaller
features at the same wavelength, opening
the door to 32-nm features. Looking
further to the future, photolithography
will eventually move into the extreme
ultraviolet (EUV) region with a wavelength
of 13.5 nm.
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