Computer Chip Lithography

A new computer chip lithography technique under development has led to optical imaging capabilities beyond that previously thought possible.

Dr. Bruce Smith, a professor of microelectronic engineering and director of the Center for Nanolithography Research in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT; NY, USA), developed a method called evanescent wave lithography (EWL) that is capable of optically imaging the smallest-ever semiconductor device geometry. Yongfa Fan, a doctoral student in RIT's microsystems engineering Ph.D. program, accomplished imaging rendered to 26 nm--a size previously possible only utilizing extreme ultraviolet wavelength, according to Dr. Smith. By capturing images that are beyond the limits of conventional physics, this advance has allowed resolution to smaller than one-twentieth the wavelength of visible light, he added.

This development happened at least five years earlier than predicted, using the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (http://public.itrs.net) as a guide, according to Dr. Smith. The roadmap, created by a consortium of industry groups, government organizations, universities, manufacturers and suppliers, assesses semiconductor technology requirements to ensure advancements in the performance of integrated circuits to meet future needs.

"Immersion lithography has pushed the limits of optical imaging,” Dr. Smith remarked. "Evanescent wave lithography continues to extend this reach well into the future. The results are very exciting as images can be formed that are not supposed to exist.”

Evanescent wave lithography is an "enabling technology” permitting better understanding of how building blocks are created for future microelectronic and nanotechnology devices, according to Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith will present his study at Microlithography 2006, a symposium sponsored by the International Society for Optical Engineering, on February 21, 2006, in San Jose (CA, USA).



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