SAN FRANCISCO -- Lithography tool makers and photomask suppliers told a Semicon West symposium here that they are now pursuing a range of cost-cutting options to head off the specter of "million-dollar reticles" for ICs in the 0.10-micron and below technology nodes.

One reason why reticle costs are skyrocketing is that many good photomasks are being scrapped simply because of poor testing criteria, warned Steven Carlson, senior vice president of technology and marketing for Photronics Inc., one of the world's largest supplier of masks based in Jupiter, Fla.

"The whole area of metrology to measure critical shapes of patterns has not been addressed yet," said Carlson, during the symposium sponsored by FSI International Inc. on Tuesday. "Many good reticles are being thrown away due to the inadequate classification of defects."

Carlson also said the industry is mesmerized by the rising costs of advanced reticles, while ignoring the falling prices of commodity photomasks.

"Low-end reticle prices have dropped 20% in the last six to seven years, offsetting a 14% rise in advanced mask prices," he said. "Overall photomask costs have risen 1.2% in this time period, compared to a 25% growth in costs of all semiconductor capital equipment."

The Photronics executive showed a slide overlaying the mask price rise in the last 10 years, displaying a smaller price growth than in pork bellies measured on the Chicago Board of Trade. "And I assure you that pork bellies are a much lower technology product than photomasks," he bemused.

Lithography vendors also touted new tool approaches to helping cut the cost-of-ownership of advanced reticles. ASM Lithography heralded its dual-stage platform, which the Dutch company said eliminates overhead time by aligning one wafer while simultaneously exposing a second wafer. The dual-stage design will cut the cost-per-chip by 30% compared to single-stage platforms, said Rob van der Wert, ASML product marketing manager.

"This can be a significant way to offset the high cost of advanced photomasks," he said.

Phil Ware, director and general manager of marketing for the Semiconductor Equipment Division at Canon Inc. in the U.S., said double exposure techniques--such as his firm's Ideal method or Numerical Technologies Inc.'s Grateful approach--can greatly offset the high cost of new phase-shifting photomasks. Ware also said Canon is in early development of a maskless lithography technique, which would be available as a beta tool around 2005, but he didn't elaborate.

Also during Tuesday's symposium Andrew Barada, director of technology and engineering for Nikon Precision Inc. in Belmont, Calif., detailed his firm's schedule for new lithography systems, starting with its electron-beam projection tool. A development unit of the e-beam projection system is expected to be available in 2002 with production deliveries set in 2004, he said.

Nikon's 157-nm system, with catadioptic lenses, will be available for beta-tool shipments in 2004. Production tools will be ready in 2005. The firm's first extreme ultraviolet (EUV) tool is scheduled to be out in 2005, with production systems following in 2007, according to Barada.