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EUV journey – Challenges and Solutions
Deep Shah
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering,
Clemson University, Clemson
SC 29634 (USA)
E-mail: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
The need for decreasing the feature size and thus increasing transistor speed and silicon area
has driven the development of Next Generation Lithography (NGL). Extreme Ultra Violet
Lithography (EUVL) is an NGL technology for going to 14 nm feature size and lower. It has
tremendous capability and benefits but there are many hindrances in making EUVL successful.
Re-engineering of all the subsystems needs to be done. Specialized high power optical sources,
defect-free masks, highly reflective optics, ultra-high vacuum environments, protection and
lifetime of illuminator optics and masks, flare and shadowing, etc. are the topics that need to
be taken into consideration before commercializing EUVL. The aim of this paper is to address
all these major hindrances that come in the way of cost-effective EUVL. While some aspects
are already solved, some still need to be solved. This paper will elucidate the journey of EUVL
in the last 20 years – issues resolved in the due course as well as the ones which are still
persistent.
Keywords: EUVL, LPP, DPP, NGL, Laser, Patterning, HVM, COO, RMS
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1. INTRODUCTION
Photolithography is one of the most important steps for chip manufacturing in the IC
fabrication industry. It is the one that controls the advancements made in feature size reduction,
and thus, transistor speed and silicon area. It accounts for about 30 percent of the cost of
semiconductor chip manufacturing. As more and more transistors need to be packed in the
same area to improve chips’ performance, research and development in the field of
photolithography is of utmost importance. Currently, we use the 193 nm immersion technology
for mass manufacturing of semiconductor chips. But this has certain limitations. Till 14/16 nm
channel length, it worked perfectly well with improvements in patterning, projection lens and
various other engineering marvels. But to go further down to 10 nm channel length or lower, a
new approach or lithography method needs to be developed unless we use multiple patterning
(triple/quadruple patterning) which is costly and less productive. EUVL has the potential to
make smaller feature sizes using single patterning with fewer design restrictions, increasing
wafer throughput and reducing manufacturing costs instead of using double or triple patterning
that we use currently [1]. This can improve the productivity to 100 wafers/hour [2]. EUVL uses
13.5 nm (extreme ultra violet) wavelength, which is a next-generation lithography technology
(figure 1). But it is not easy to commercialize it for mass production as there are many issues
that need to be resolved. Re-engineering of all the subsystems namely, optical light/power
source, collector & projector optics, masks and photoresists needs to be done before we can
commercialize EUV with a reasonable cost of ownership. The goal of this paper is to elaborate
on all the major challenges encountered by the industry in commercializing EUV for mass
production and the proposed methods for its solution. Very high optical light source power,
coherence, flare, mask shadowing, mask defects, resist resolution, line edge roughness, long
term source operation, reticle protection, highly reflective optics, etc. are some of the major
challenges to the success of EUVL [3]. While some of these issues have already been taken
care of, there are still some show stoppers which are responsible for the failure of EUVL in
HVM of wafers. This paper will try to address all these challenges and provide insight on the
research opportunities in those, to make EUVL a reality in the near future.
2. WHY 13.5 nm FOR EUV?
The main reason for adopting 13.5 nm wavelength for EUV was the availability of plasma
sources and reflective multi-layer optics at this wavelength [4]. Sn and Xe were known to be
emitting this wavelength. Also, multilayer Si-Mo reflective optics with reflectivity of 0.7 were
available and known. From the photo-resist point-of-view, the choice of this wavelength was
based on several advantages such as high optical absorption, sub-10 nm diffraction limit and
low proximity effect [4].
3. LIGHT SOURCES
EUVL light is produced by heating fuel (Xe, Sn) in EUV sources to a very high temperature
by using either magnetic compression or laser irradiation. Four general types of sources are
used in developing EUV technology: 1. EUV radiation generated at storage rings at bending
magnets, wigglers, or undulators. 2. Discharge-produced plasma (DPP). 3. Laser-produced
plasma (LPP) 4. "EUV tubes”, which are similar to X-ray tubes, but optimized for EUV
emission [2]. Out of these four, LPP and DPP are the most popular type of sources (figure 2).
A major technical challenge for a EUV light source is the power requirement of >200 W at the
Intermediate Focus (IF) [5]. This needs to further increase to 500-1000 W at IF to use it for
HVM to provide low COO and maintain higher throughput [6]. Average power of 150 W is
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obtained at 100 kHz repetition rate and tentative goal of the average power of 250 W is
expected at 150 kHz repetition rate [7]. The method to increase the average power is to increase
the repetition rate keeping all operational parameters. But this is limited by the plasma exhaust
time. Plasma exhaust time of 2 µs limits this repetition rate to 500 kHz [7]. Equivalent power
levels close to 80 W at the IF were reached by Cymer, Inc. at 50 kHz repetition rate [8]. Many
technical challenges are faced in increasing this repetition rate and thus, the average power
level. Synchronization between repetition rate and droplet rate plays the most important role in
making a reliable EUV source. Today average power of 92 W has been reached at the IF by
Gigaphoton, Inc. under continuous operating conditions with a collection efficiency (CE) of
4% [5] with the use of Dual Wavelength LPP EUV light source concept (figure 3). While we
know the importance of high power, having a high CE simultaneously is equally important.
For HVM, we need a CE of 5 % and higher [9].
A question might arise as to why we are still using repetition rates of 50 kHz, 100 kHz and 150
kHz while we can go till 500 kHz to increase average power. But there is a trade-off in
increasing repetition rates. As we increase the repetition rate, the size of the droplet should be
reduced simultaneously for better synchronization. As we reduce the size of droplet, the
number of ions in the droplet get reduced. This reduced number of ions result in less radiations
and thus, less intensity and less average power if the power of the CO2 laser is kept the same.
There is a technical limitation in keeping the size of the droplet same while increasing the
repetition rates. Also, creating a droplet is a mechanical system. Producing droplet at such high
frequencies is difficult as compared to an optical system. Synchronization between laser pulses
and drop production is very critical in producing EUV. Loss of synchronization can cause
damage to the optics and overall system due to high energy laser pulses. At lower ion densities
and lower irradiances, higher CE is obtained but power will be less [5]. So there is a trade-off
between source power and CE as well. Unless this issue is solved, we cannot increase the
repetition rates beyond a certain value even though we know it will result in higher average
power as desired for HVM. Currently, we are using CO2 laser of 11-15 kW power and with
that we have reached at around 100 W power at IF. This can be scaled to around 200 W with
the use of 20-30 kW CO2 laser [10]. CO2 laser with such high power is one of the core
challenges in increasing source power by using LPP light source.
According to data from the EUV workshop held on 15-19 June, 2015 at Hawaii, it is found that
much progress has been made in the area of source power. From 40 W, we have reached to >
80 W source power at IF. We need a source power of 250 W at IF for reasonable COO. While
there has been tremendous progress in the last two years in the source power, availability,
operating cost and stability are major concerns. For pilot production, we need > 100 W power
and 75 % availability while for HVM, we need > 250 W power and 95 % availability. Currently,
we have reached to 80-100 W source power and 55 % availability [11]. Thus, source power
and availability need to improve at the same time.
Lastly, we need to make sure that the light produced by plasma contains only the EUV
wavelengths with maximum spectral purity and minimum IR wavelengths. EUV plasma emits
not only EUV wavelengths but also UV, visible light and IR wavelengths. To ensure this “out
of band” light components are removed, a spectral purity filter (SPF) was introduced. At the
IF, the IR to EUV power ratio is 5 to 1 or higher. So in order to get EUV power of > 250 W,
we need an SPF that can withstand an IR power input of 1750 W. IR rejection becomes critical
in this case. The fabricated SPF (figure 4) showed a rejection ratio of 99.7 % for 10.6 µm IR
light [12]. This SPF improves the spectral purity of EUV light but we need to pay a price for
it.
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Thus, as far as source power is concerned, it is still a major challenge that needs to be overcome.
Sufficiently high power levels at IF have not been reached to be used for HVM. Obtaining high
source power simultaneously with high CE, life time and availability is still a barrier in
commercialization of EUVL. Some believe that LPP is the solution to this while others believe
Free Electron Laser (FEL) will come to rescue. H. Mizoguchi, et al. in [13] prefers LPP because
of its high efficiency, power scalability, and spatial freedom around plasma while A. Endo in
[14] argues that FEL is an alternative solution for kW average power technology as it is
indicated that the limitation of LPP is thermal dissipation in a smaller volume leading to
instability of mechanical components and thus, FEL has an advantage in terms of thermal
dissipation. Only time shall tell which technology has better power scalability and benefits over
the other while implementing it for HVM.
4. OPTICS
High conversion efficiency is one of the key factors to be considered for the success of EUVL.
High conversion efficiency can be obtained by using a large, high reflectivity, high collection
angle ellipsoidal mirror. Current collection mirrors comprises of multiple silicon-molybdenum
layers which reflects a small band around the target wavelength. The key challenge is to
maintain this high collection efficiency for longer duration of time for low COO. The proximity
of collection mirror to high temperature plasma causes a lot of problems. These high energy
plasma ions can damage the coating of the mirror and thus, reduce its reflectivity. The three
main degradation mechanisms responsible for loss of reflectivity are deposition of tin particle
debris, deposition of tin vapour and erosion of mirror by high energy ions [9]. The use of small
droplets is one of the best ways to mitigate reflectivity loss but as discussed earlier, we cannot
reduce the size of the droplet beyond a certain limit for better synchronization and high power
output. Currently debris mitigation subsystems and sacrificial mirror layers are used to mitigate
this reflectivity loss.
Reflectivity loss reduces the life-time of the mirrors. Life-time is an important factor that needs
to be considered while using optics. As the life-time of optics gets reduced, the cost as well as
throughput of the system gets reduced. One of the problems is the life-time elongation of these
mirrors. There are two improvement guidelines for this: one is changing the structure of the
multilayer mirrors and second is etching [15]. Using multiple layers will surely improve the
life-time of the mirrors protecting them damage while etching will improve the life-time but
won’t protect mirrors from damage. Thus, to produce stable EUV mirrors, making multilayer
mirrors is the best way. [15] discusses 300-bilayer-class Si-Mo multilayer mirrors with 5-6
times larger layer number as compared to standard Si-Mo multilayer mirrors and has 5-6 times
longer lifetime.
The second challenge is thermal expansion of mirror and wave front errors (WFEs) due to
absorption of EUV light. We cannot use cooling mechanisms on the back of the mirror as the
mirrors are too thick for that. But we cannot neglect them either as these WFEs result in image
degradation. Even a WFE of 0.65 nm can cause critical image degradation. To counter this
WFEs, the use of adaptive optics system was proposed which uses active mirror (figure 5) [16].
Satisfactory results are obtained but adding a system will do nothing but increase the cost of
the system.
Lastly, maximum reflectivity of optics is a major concern. The theoretical maximum that can
be obtained for reflectivity of Si-Mo mirrors is 72 % [1]. In EUV, we use more than 6 mirrors.
So if we consider reflectivity of 0.7 for each mirror, the power output at the end is (0.7)6 i.e.
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0.118 times the input power at the IF. This is a huge loss of power. But at EUV, this is the
maximum reflectivity we can obtain. So the only option is to increase the input power or look
for another wavelengths at which this reflectivity is more as compared to EUV. Research has
found that at 6.63/6.66 nm wavelength, we can get reflectivity close to 82 % [5]. This can
reduce the power requirements but we need different plasma sources and materials for its
production. Also, the CE obtained for this Beyond-EUV wavelength is 0.6%, which is very
less for practical purposes [5]. If we can increase its CE, we can go to BEUVL, which can
further reduce the feature size because of its shorter wavelength than EUV.
Thus, Optics as a whole does not pose a problem in commercializing EUVL but reducing cost
related to them will determine whether EUVL will be used in the industry or not. Making highly
reflective mirrors, maintaining surface flatness and controlling WFEs combined with
reasonable COO is a challenge that still persists.
5. MASKS
The availability of defect-free masks is also a challenge in itself. As the wavelength of EUV is
very less, the roughness it can handle will also decrease. Even roughness that were considered
smooth or defect-free for 193 nm become reason for light scattering and distortion at the EUV
wavelength. As EUVL is a pellicle-less technology, it is of utmost importance to protect its
masks from particle contamination. In 193 nm immersion lithography, we have pellicle for
protection. Also, the masks used in EUVL are reflective masks. Surface roughness of the mask
must be < 0.15 nm RMS and no defect greater than 30 nm can be tolerated on substrate surface
[17]. Currently, Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) methods, Critical Defect (CD) size
cleaning process and Actinic Patterned Mask Inspection methods are used for creating defect-
free masks and the progress has been phenomenal [11]. Laser Induced Plasma (LIP) generated
shockwaves is also a possible cleaning mechanism for damage-free cleaning of nanoparticles
from EUVL masks [18]. Whatever methods (figure 6) we use, it adds cost to the customer. If
the cost cannot be contained, EUVL will be losing its mask-cost advantage it has over other
technologies.
Moreover, countering flare and shadowing effects is also a challenge in itself. The layout
patterns on mask are made by light absorbers, forming the dark regions on the wafer. The
regions not covered by layout will be bright. Due to surface roughness of the mask, there will
be scattering of light (figure 7) and this will result in reduction of contrast between the dark
and the bright regions. This can cause image distortion. This is called flare effect. We cannot
obtain 100% defect-free masks but can only reduce the number of defects. As we increase the
level of mask-flatness, the cost of masks go up. To add to it, the thickness of the absorbers and
the incident angle of light (usually 6˚ w.r.t to axis perpendicular to mask plane) can cause
shadowing effect. In particular, flare effect is inversely proportional to the square of
wavelength [19]. Thus, due to very low wavelength, it suffers from very high flare level. The
best known method to compensate flare and shadowing effect is Optical Proximity Correction
(OPC) [19]. Moreover, there has been a proposed method which can reduce flare effect as well
as mask cost without the use of dummification. This method is known as wire segment
perturbation method [20]. This method is not as popular as OPC but has the potential to reduce
mask cost.
To add to it, there is a trade-off in increasing the NA of the projection lens to improve resolution
and NA at mask. For improving the resolution below 8 nm half pitch, the NA required should
be far more than existing 0.33 NA. As a result of the increased NA, the incident angles at the
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mask too increase. This larger magnification (7x - 8x) and constraint of 6” mask will yield a
smaller field on the wafer. This is not desired. It is observed that larger magnification is needed
only in the scanner direction and in the other direction, the magnification can be kept at 4x.
The use of anamorphic projection lens system is proposed to achieve desired magnification at
both scanning and mask [21]. This will offer good scalability as well as two nodes of shrink
for single exposure patterning.
Thus, acceptable defect-free masks are available for commercial use. But those masks do not
have the advantage of low cost. Several costly methods need to be employed to obtain those
defect-free masks.
6. RESISTS
EUVL requires high performance photo-resists with sub-20 nm half-pitch resolution and
extendibility beyond 14 nm. Chemically Amplified Resists (CARs) are used for this purpose.
Leading EUV resists have film thickness in the range of 35-40 nm but they have also been
pushed down to 30 nm at the cost of additional pattern transfers. The latest formulations have
achieved 13 nm half-pitch at 35 mJ/cm2 sensitivity and LWR was in the range of 4-5 nm [22].
Challenges include achieving < 20 mJ/cm2 sensitivity and < 3 nm LWR [11].
Negative Tone Imaging (NTI) has a huge advantage for reducing LWR due to low swelling
and good dissolving behaviour [11]. Futher research still needs to be done to improve LWR
along with sensitivity. For non-CAR materials, understanding chemistry with hydrogen is a
major challenge. The synchrotron needs to be protected from hydrogen [11].
Thus, much work has already been done in the field of photo resists. We have reached quite
close to the required levels of LWR and sensitivity. The only thing remaining is taking this
R&D work to the manufacturing phase.
7. CONCLUSION
The only main issue with commercializing EUVL that has been an eye-sore for the industry is
increasing the source power. Designing very high power optical lasers has taken more than 15
years in the making but still we are just at 100 W at the IF. Much progress has been made
taking power from 10 W to 100 W. However, that’s not enough. We need power levels of 250
W for pilot production and > 500 W for high throughput HVM. It is told that in the next three
years there are better chances of achieving those values and finally we’ll be able to see EUVL
in industry. Wafer throughput of 1000 wafers per day has already been demonstrated at the
EUV conference of Hawaii. So it is logical to be optimistic about the future of EUVL.
But to compete with the existing 193 nm immersion lithography, we need to increase the
throughput tremendously. As making of EUV equipment, masks, resist, optics, etc. is already
expensive, the only way to make EUVL cost-effective is by increasing the throughput.
Throughput can be improved naturally because of less steps as compared to multiple patterning.
Till EUVL is commercialized, the best way is to use triple patterning for HVM using the
existing technology. Triple patterning (figure 8) is very simple in concept but requires 3 masks
and stiffer design rules. Currently, double patterning is in use. If EUVL is not available in the
next 3 years, we have triple, quadruple patterning to our rescue. Of course we will need more
sequential steps and it can reduce the throughput, but industry is kinder to none. To survive in
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this cut-throat competition, one needs to find a way to stand out from others. High source power
and anamorphic projection system has the potential to improve the throughput to 180 wafers
per hour. If such high throughput is obtained, then all EUV costs can be compensated and EUV
can be used for HVM at reasonable COO. The time it takes for industrial applications is still
unknown. Many scholars predict three years but only time shall tell.
Moreover, emphasis is also laid on BEUVL for its benefit of offering higher reflectivity at
those wavelengths. But much work needs to be done of obtain a reasonable CE for BEUVL
system. Furthermore, it has an advantage of smaller wavelength than EUVL which may be
useful in decreasing the feature size. To sum up, what would be the NGL technology in the
future is still unknown. Will we ever be able to commercialize EUVL is still a question that
only time can answer. Industry is still hopeful and optimistic about the future of EUVL.
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8. REFERENCES
[1] C. Wagner, “EUV Lithography: Lithography gets extreme”, Nature photonics, Vol. 4(1),
pp. 24-26, 2010.
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[14] A. Endo, “Optimization of High Average Power FEL beam for EUV Lithography”,
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9. FIGURES
Fig. 1. EUVL Scanning Strategy [1]
Fig. 2. LPP and DPP Source [1]
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Fig. 3. ~ 100 W LPP Source by Gigaphoton [5]
Fig. 4. Schematic of SPF for removing IR components [12]
12
Fig. 5. Active Mirror to compensate WFEs [16]
Fig. 6. Mask Defect Inspection Strategy [17]
13
Fig. 7. Light Scattering due to Mask Surface Roughness [20]
Fig. 8. Triple Patterning Mask Patterns [23]