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In late 2018, Samsung and TSMC introduced 7nm foundry logic processes with 5 to 7 EUV layers, and both companies accelerated production of these processes throughout 2019 and are now in high-volume production. Entering this year, both Samsung and TSMC are accelerating the progress of 5nm foundry logic processes with 12 to 14 EUV layers, and Intel is working on a 7nm process that will be based on EUV next year. Intel's 7nm process density should be comparable to Samsung and TSMC's 5nm process.
Samsung also launched its 1z DRAM process in late 2019, which was initially optical but then transitioned to a single EUV layer. In late March 2020, Samsung announced that it had shipped 1 million EUV-based DRAM modules. Samsung's next-generation DRAM process, the so-called 1c-generation DRAM, is expected to have 4 EUV layers.
Clearly, EUV has been recognized as the best solution for critical layers in leading-edge logic and DRAM production.
At this year's SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference, ASML's Mike Lercel presented four aspects of the company's EUV:
1. Current production is done using 0.33NA systems, and ASML gives the current status and roadmap of these systems.
2. The EUV source is a key component of the system, and the details of the new improved source are described.
3. Produce 0.5NA system to improve the working conditions of resolution and productivity.
4. ASML acquired HMI and will continue to develop its multi-beam – Ebeam wafer inspection technology.
In this regard, ASML's summary is shown in the following figure:
ASML had shipped 53 systems and exposed more than 10 million wafers in the field by the end of 2019. Figure 2 shows the systems shipped and wafers exposed by quarter.
figure 2
A particularly impressive aspect of Figure 2 is the background photo, which shows rows of EUV systems installed at an undisclosed customer site.
The current system in the field is the NXE:3400B which has now demonstrated a week-long average of >1,900 wpd, with the best day exceeding 2,700 wpd.
Figure 3 illustrates that the average availability is now 85%, while the top 10% of the system is at 90%. 90% has always been the target for the 3400B system, and ASML continues to work hard to increase the availability of the 3400B system to around 90%.
image 3
ASML has now started delivering the next-generation system, the NXE:3400C.
NXE:
The 3400C has improved optical performance and mechanical throughput, and compared to the 3500B, the new machine can achieve an efficiency of 160 wafers per hour (wph) at 20mJ/cm² and 135 wph at 30mJ/cm2, which means that the throughput is increased by about 20%.
At 3400B, the equipment is specified at 20mJ/
cm²
for production volumes, and 30mJ/
cm²
because that needs
to
increase as feature sizes shrink. The author notes that I believe the current numbers are
still
above
30mJ/cm²
even
for 7nm foundry logic
.
The 3600C system has several improvements to improve availability. According to the numbers, their goal is to increase its availability to 95%, which would be the same availability achieved by the DUV system. These improvements are further discussed in the paper accompanying the source code.
ASML expects to deliver the NXE:3600D with 160 wph throughput at 30mJ/ cm²
in mid-2021
,
with longer-term plans to launch a system with 220 wph at 30mJ/
cm²
.
The key to increasing throughput is higher source power (see EUV Source section) and faster mechanical processing.
These throughput increases are achieved while continually improving dose accuracy, overlay, CD uniformity, and focus uniformity.
The biggest source of availability loss on the 3400B system is the droplet generator and collector mirrors, see Figure 5.
Figure 5
The 3400C system addresses these issues with automatic re-tinning of the generator, quick change of droplet nozzles and easy access doors for quick mirror swaps.
The lifetime of condensers is also constantly improving, while the power is also increasing.
The net result of these improvements is a 95% uptime target for the 3400C systems in the field.
To achieve continued throughput improvements, ASML will continue to increase power supplies. Figure 8 illustrates the trend in power supplies. Note that the time from research to high-volume production is about 2 years, so we may see 500W supplies around 2022 (current supplies are about 250W).
The resolution of the exposure system is inversely proportional to the NA. As critical dimensions shrink, a 0.33NA EUV system will require multi-patterning to print the smallest features. The goal for high-NA systems is to match the coverage and productivity of 0.33NA systems while enabling single-pass lithography to scale to smaller features.
The optics of the 0.5NA system are anamorphic, i.e. the magnification is 4x in one direction and 8y in the orthogonal direction. This results in a field size that is 1/2 that of a 4x/4y system with the same reticle size. To achieve the high productivity goals, the acceleration of the mask stage is 4 times that of the 0.33NA system, and the acceleration of the wafer stage is 2 times that of the 0.33NA system.
The improvement in transmission during the fast phase results in an improvement in the throughput of the 0.55NA system over the 0.33NA system at the same throughput. It should be noted here that some of the high-speed sateg techniques developed for the 0.55NA system are being implemented on the 0.33NA system to further improve the throughput of these systems.
ASML is currently implementing wafer and mask stage acceleration and finalizing the architecture. The main difference between this and the 0.33NA system is the new optics and faster stages, although the faster stage technology is again used for the 0.33NA system.
The 0.55NA system also requires better alignment and leveling. ASML is currently testing specific configurations to determine particle generation under high acceleration and is starting to collect some of the first sensor data.
ASML is also building the infrastructure for 0.55NA systems in various facilities around the world.
1. ASML Wilton, Connecticut, is responsible for the marking stage.
2. The system will be assembled at ASML's headquarters in Veldhoven, the Netherlands.
3. Ziess in Oberkochen, Germany is responsible for optical manufacturing.
4. The light source is provided by ASML in San Diego, California.
The company currently has four systems on order, which are expected to be available in the 2022/2023 timeframe.
ASML acquired HMI and continued to pursue HMI's multi-beam EBeam exposure technology. Electron beam inspection has high resolution, but it takes about 2 hours to inspect 0.1% of the chip, which is very slow.
The multi-beam approach utilizes 9 beams in a 3x3 array scanning simultaneously. Figure 11 illustrates the basic tool concept.
Now, ASML has demonstrated less than 2% crosstalk between beams, and they are leveraging stage technology in DUV exposure tools to increase throughput on multi-beam systems. Their goal is to increase throughput by 5-6 times, and use 25-beam systems in the long term.
There is no doubt that EUV is now the solution of choice for critical lithography for leading-edge processes. ASML continues to demonstrate development progress with the current 0.33NA generation system and the next generation 0.55NA system.
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