1

1
Wafer Exposure Systems
Contact printing is capable of high resolution but has unacceptable defect
densities. Inexpensive, diffraction effects are minimize.
Proximity printing cannot easily print features below a few m (except for x-ray
systems). Poor resolution due to diffraction effects, required 1 X mask.
Projection printing provides high resolution and low defect densities and \
dominates today.
Typical projection systems use reduction optics (2X - 5X), step and repeat or step
and scan mechanical systems, print 50 wafers/hour and cost $5 - 10M.
2
Projection Systems ( Fraunhofer Diffraction)
These are the dominant systems in use
today.
Performance is usually described in terms of
resolution
depth of focus
field of view
modulation transfer function
alignment accuracy
throughput
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sin
61 . 0
) sin 2 (
22 . 1 22 . 1
n f n
f
d
f
R = = =
Where n has been included for generality and is the index of refraction of the
material between the object and the lens and R is the minimum feature size.
Two small adjacent features
on a mask
How close together
can they be and still
be resolved in the
image plan?

= K
1

NA
f
NA is the ability of
Lens to gather light.
4
2
5
size of the image
(diameter).
6
Depth of the focus (DOF)
Aside from the difficulty of large
lenses, there is also a significant
draw back to using higher numerical
aperture (NA), of a lens. If is the
on axis path length difference at the
limit of the focus, then the path
length difference for a ray from the
edge of the entrance aperture is
simply cos. The Raleigh criteria for
depth of the focus is simply that
these two lengths not differ by more
than /4 i. e.,
2 2 2
2 2
) ( ) ( 2
2
sin
,
2
)
2
1 ( 1
4
cos
4
NA
K
NA
DOF
NA
f
d
small is assume

= = =
= =

|
|
.
|

\
|
=
=
k
2
is usually experimentally determined.
(is a measure of how much of the diffracted light the lens accepts and image)
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This depth of focus is on the same order as the resist layer thickness itself.
8
Modulation Transfer Function
(MTF)
MTF is a measure of the optical
contrast in the aerial image by the
exposure system. The higher the
MTF the better the optical
contrast. MTF of an image can be
defined as
MTF increases with decreasing
wavelength.
For large features size MTF is unity.
As the features size decreases
diffraction effects cause the MTF
degrade to finally reached zero
when the features are so closely
spaced that there is no remaining
contrast in the image.
|
|
.
|

\
|
+

=
min max
min max
I I
I I
MTF
Partially dark
3
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Spatial Coherence
A useful definition of the spatial
coherence of practical light
sources for lithography is simply
S= light source diameter
condensed lens diameter
Practical light sources are not
point sources. Therefore, the light
striking the mask will not be plane
waves.
Typically, S ~ 0.5 to 0.7 in modern
systems.
s
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Contact and Proximity Systems ( Fresnel
Diffraction)
Contact printing systems operate in the
near field or Fresnel diffraction regime.
There is always some gap between the
mask and resist.
The aerial image can be constructed by
imagining point sources within the
aperture, each radiating spherical waves
(Huygens wavelets).
Interference effects and diffraction
result in ringing
and spreading outside the aperture.
Fresnel diffraction applies when
Within this range, the minimum
resolvable feature size is
W
min
kg
Typical value of k is close to 1 and
deepens on resistor process.
Example:
if g = 20 m and an g-line light (436nm) source is
used,
W
min
3 m.
This is much larger then the dimension used in
modern VLSI chips. However, for application in
which features size are compatible with them,
proximity printers are an economical solution.
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Summary of wafer printing
systems
In the contact printing system , a very high resolution image is produced i. e.,
minimum diffraction effect.
In a proximity printing system, the resolution degrade because of near field
Fresnel diffraction effects.
In the projection printing system , diffraction effects are minimized by placing
a lens between mask and the wafer. And focus the aperture on the wafer.
It is clear from the figure that the resolution of the proximity system is
inferior to both of the other systems. This is why projection systems are used
in manufacturing today.
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Discuss implications of following calculation for the technologist that must
manufacture transistors with 0.5 m features.
R R
Example
R