TOKYO -- During the Semicon Japan trade show today, ASM Lithography announced a 248-nm krypton fluoride (KrF) scanner, which is capable of 0.11-micron (110-nm) resolution on 300-mm wafers. The Dutch lithography giant said the new Twinscan AT:580B is the first 248-nm step-and-scan tool capable of reaching that level of resolution because it features projection optics with the highest numerical aperture for any KrF system.
The dual-stage scanner has a throughput of 95 twelve-inch (300-mm) wafers per hour--also the highest in the industry for a 248-nm system, said ASML, which is based in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. Like other ASML Twinscan platforms, the new AT:850B features a dual-stage system, which aligns one wafer for exposure while another wafer is being scanned.
The system features Carl Zeiss' Starlith 850 advanced projection optics, which has an NA of 0.80. The same Starlith 850 high-numerical aperture lens is also now available in ASML's 200-mm PAS 5500/850B scanner. With the addition of the new 200-mm and 300-mm high-NA 248-nm scanners, ASML said it now offers the highest NA tools for lithography systems based on i-line, KrF, and ArF (193-nm argon-fluoride) exposure technologies.
"These new high-NA systems are the first to enable the volume production of chips with 110-nm feature sizes using KrF technology," said Martin van den Brink, executive vice president of marketing and technology at ASML. "By extending production proven KrF technology we are providing our customers with a powerful cost effective means to shrink existing chip designs and bring the most advanced chips to market faster."
ASML said the first AT:850B scanner will ship in December to a major customer in Asia. The chip maker was not identified by the company.
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