MONTEREY -- The IC industry is currently making the slow and painful transition from 200- to 300-mm wafer technologies. But are chip makers ready to make a similar shift in the photomask industry, from 6-inch reticles used today, to 9-inch products in the future?
Several IC, chip-equipment, and material vendors believe it's possible. At the BACUS Symposium on Photomask Technology here today, an official from ASML Holding N.V. presented a technical paper on the feasibility of developing 9-inch photomasks for low-cost, chip-making applications.
With the help of several vendors, ASML of the Netherlands claims to have demonstrated a 9-inch reticle production capability for 150- and 130-nm chip applications. The co-authors of the paper include Leica, Motorola, Photronics, Schott, Unaxis, Veeco and others.
The 9-inch photomask is geared for "productivity" in a mask shop, said Kevin Cummings, an official from ASML, during a technical presentation at the BACUS event here today.
But there are also problems associated with 9-inch reticles, namely the infrastructure. Current photomask tools are tailored to support existing 6-inch masks. "Metrology also might be a problem," Cummings said.
Analysts also pointed out that the 9-inch mask is not a new concept. Various vendors have proposed the development of a 9-inch photomask standard some four years, but the concept never took off in the marketplace.
Still, the concept is intriquing--that is, if it can reduce mask costs. One of the pressing issues in the IC industry is the soaring costs of mask, accordng to analysts.
ASML has demonstrated the feasibilty of the concept--even if it remains a novelty item for now. The reticles used in the process were full specification 9-inch blacks.
Using a 50-KeV electron-beam tool, the initial results of the mask showed "good quality processes with the ability to produce 200-nm line and space patterns on the reticle, 120-nm 1:1.5 ptch lines and 200-nm contact features," according to the paper.
The mask itself came from Photronics Inc. It was procesed on an e-beam tool from Germany's Leica Microsystems Lithography GmbH. Unaxis USA Inc. provided the etch tools for the mask.
RSS
Digital
10 emerging technologies to watch:
EE Times has compiled a list of emerging technologies that we think will be worth watching out for in 2010. Biofeedback or thought-control of electronics are among the contenders.
10 CEOs out in 2009:
It's been a tough year for the global electronics industry and CEOs. We survey the dismissal of 10 industry CEOs during the first three quarters of 2009 and what's ahead for the rest of the year.
Executive pay:
The economy stinks. Rank-and-file engineers are feeling the pain. What about technology CEOs? We crunched the numbers buried in corporate financial statements to find out. Here's what we found.
10 companies in trouble (revisited):
What follows is an updated version of 10 companies in trouble. Some companies have been removed since the last version, others remain. Still others have been added to the mix.
Early predictions for 2010:
The electronics industry is recovering, but there is still some uncertainty in the market. Some see a boom year in 2010. Some see a double dip. So what's in store for the rest of this year and 2010?
Top 10 IC vendors with cash:
The world's biggest IC companies by revenue rank not only among the best in their respective industry segments but are also more likely to have huge piles of cash that can be used to fund acquisitions, R&D and product development.
Notable women in microelectronics:
There is no better time than a global economic recession to examine the keys to successful corporate governance. So, EE Times has compiled an international list that celebrates women who are business and technology leaders in semis.
EE Times updates Silicon 60:
Seventeen companies have been added to the lastest version of our Silicon 60 list of emerging startups. Forty-three companies survived as emerging companies that are still worth watching.
RSS| 
Digital| 
Mobile
