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Pushing the limits of lithography

Nature volume 406, pages 1027–1031 (2000)Cite this article

The phenomenal rate of increase in the integration density of silicon chips has been sustained in large part by advances in optical lithography — the process that patterns and guides the fabrication of the component semiconductor devices and circuitry. Although the introduction of shorter-wavelength light sources and resolution-enhancement techniques should help maintain the current rate of device miniaturization for several more years, a point will be reached where optical lithography can no longer attain the required feature sizes. Several alternative lithographic techniques under development have the capability to overcome these resolution limits but, at present, no obvious successor to optical lithography has emerged.

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Figure 1: Technological trends in lithography.
Figure 2: Comparison of trends in the wavelength of exposure light and the minimum feature size of LSI devices.
Figure 3: Schematic view of a typical exposure optical system.
Figure 4: Grating pattern image formation using resolution enhancement.
Figure 5: An example of resolution enhancement using phase-shifting technology.
Figure 6: Resist patterns delineated by the cell-projection system.
Figure 7

(Courtesy of NTT-AT.)

Figure 8

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Acknowledgements

A part of this work is supported by New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd, 10 Morinosato-Wakamiya, Atsugi, 243-0197, Japan

    Takashi Ito

  2. Association of Super Advanced Electronics Technologies, 3–1 Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi-Shi Kanagawa, 243-0198, Japan

    Shinji Okazaki

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  1. Takashi Ito
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  2. Shinji Okazaki
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Ito, T., Okazaki, S. Pushing the limits of lithography. Nature 406, 1027–1031 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35023233

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