BELLINGHAM, WA, USA - 5 November 2008 - A plenary talk on the "techonomics of design and manufacturing" given by Synopsys CEO Aart de Geus to a packed auditorium kicked off a week focused on dual themes of emerging technology and market trends, at the annual SPIE Photomask Technology conference held 6-10 October in Monterey, CA. More than 900 attended the event, sponsored by SPIE and BACUS, SPIE's international technical group for photomask technology.
Approximately 160 technical papers were presented on technical topics such as printability in the 22nm mode, how to avoid damage to masks during cleaning, developing more powerful simulation engines, and challenges to overcome in pursuit of reaching the 32nm mode. Speakers and panels also addressed business issues such as design costs and market trends, and professional development courses and an exhibition rounded out the program. Hiroichi Kawahira of Sony Japan served as Conference Chair.
Next year's conference will return to the Monterey Marriott and Monterey Conference Center, 14-18 September. Larry Zubrick of Aglient Technologies, the 2008 cochair, will chair the 2009 conference, and Warren Montgomery of CNSE/Sematech will be cochair.
Markle honored for Lifetime Achievement
David Markle, considered to be one of the founders of the lithography field, was presented with the Photomask Lifetime Achievement Award. During his 19-year tenure with Perkin Elmer Corp. beginning in the 1960s, he led the invention and development of the Micralign, a scanning projection aligner, and the Micrascan step-and-scan deep ultraviolet lithography system. In addition to holding more than 35 patents, Markle has developed technology used in leading research projects such as Skylab, and that has enabled economic viability for microprocessor and high density memory technology.
Markle retired as senior vice president and chief technology officer of Ultratech in December 2007, where he had been since 1984. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2004.
Best papers and posters
A large number of high-quality entries were received for Best Paper and Best Poster awards, Kawahira said.
Best Paper Awards, chosen by a vote open to all attendees, went to:
· First prize: "Wafer plane inspection evaluated for photomask production," Emily E. Gallagher, IBM Corp., et al.
· Second prize: "Results obtained with the CHARPAN engineering tool and prospects of the ion mask exposure tool (iMET)," Elmar Platzgummer, Nanofabrication AG, et al.
· Third prize: "Lithographic qualification of new absorbing MoSi binary mask blank for the 32-nm node and beyond," Gregory R. McIntyre, IBM Corp., et al.
Best Poster Awards were awarded by judges Wolf Staud, Wilhelm Maurer, and Banqui Wu to:
· First prize: "Deflection unit for multibeam mask making," Florian Letzkus, Institut für Mikroelektronik Stuttgart, et al.
· Second prize: "Mask patterning for the 22-nm node using a proton multibeam projection pattern generator," Joerg Butschke, Institut für Mikroelektronik Stuttgart, et al.
· Third prize: "UV-NIL template making and imprint evaluation," Shiho Sasaki, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., et al.
Media coverage of Photomask conference
Read media coverage of the event at these links:
· Synopsys CEO: Five ways to cut design costs (EE Times)
· Photomask printability, standards and cleaning remain concerns (Semiconductor International)
· Haze and sun for mask symposium (Microlithography World)
· To 32nm and beyond: SPIE panel debates assortment of challenges (Solid State Technology)
Photo caption, above right: David Markle, left, receives the Photomask Lifetime Achievement Award from presenter Wolf Staud.
About SPIE
SPIE is the international optics and photonics society founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. Serving the interests of its more than 188,000 active constituents representing 138 different countries, SPIE acts as a catalyst for collaboration among technical disciplines for information exchange, continuing education, publishing opportunities, patent precedent, and career and professional growth. As the organizer and sponsor of approximately 25 major conferences and education programs annually in North America, Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific, SPIE provides publishing, speaking, and learning opportunities on emerging technologies.SPIE contributes more than $1.6 million annually in scholarships, grants, and other programs supporting research and education around the world.For more information, visit SPIE.org.
