In a paper at the SPIE Microlithography conference here, researchers from the Albuquerque-based university are expected to show 108-nm patterned images that were developed via a laser source and immersion technologies.

The pioneering research could pave the way for immersion lithography as a full-fledged production technique for low-cost semiconductor manufacturing.

In immersion lithography, the space between the projection lens and the wafer is filled with a liquid. Immersion could extend 193-nm down to the 45-nm node and below, thereby pushing out 157-nm, extreme ultraviolet (EUV), and other potential technologies (see Feb. 24 story ).

The Center for High Technology Materials at the University of New Mexico was unable to demonstrate the technology with an existing scanner; there are no lithography tools equipped with immersion capabilities in the marketplace today.

Instead, the university devised a two-beam laser source from Coherent, which was exposed to a resist--with de-ionized water as the medium, said Steven Brueck, a professor at the University of New Mexico.

The source enabled a 108-nm pattern with good sidewalls, he said. "That's a half-pitch of 54-nm," he told SBN.

In the lab, three liquids were examined: de-ionized water, cyclo-octane, and Krytox. These liquids showed compatibility with the 193-nm resists, according to the university. "At 213-nm, the index of refraction measured for de-ionized water was 1.4 and for Krytox was 1.29," according to the results from the university.