The next generation 193 nm (ArF) laser has been designed and developed for high-volume production lithography. The NanoLith^TM 7000, offering 20 Watts average output power at 4 kHz repetition rates is designed to support the highest exposure tool scan speeds for maximum productivity and wafer throughput. Fundamental design changes made to the laser core technologies are described. These advancements in core technology support the delivery of highly line-narrowed light with <EQ 0.35 pm FWHM and <EQ 0.95 pm at 95% included energy integral, enabling high contrast imaging from exposure tools with lens NA exceeding 0.75. The system has been designed to support production lithography, meeting specifications for bandwidth, dose stability (+/- 0.3% in 20 ms window) and wavelength stability (+/- 0.05 pm average line center error in 20 ms window) across 2 - 4 kHz repetition rates. Improvements in optical materials and coatings have led to increased lifetime of optics modules. Optimization of the discharge electrode design has increased chamber lifetime. Early life-testing indicates that the NanoLith^TM core technologies have the potential for 400% reduction of cost of consumables as compared to its predecessor, the ELX-5000A and has been discussed elsewhere.

Date Published: 14 September 2001
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 4346, Optical Microlithography XIV, (14 September 2001); doi: 10.1117/12.435654

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4346:
Optical Microlithography XIV
Christopher J. Progler, Editor(s)