Nanoparticle contamination control for EUVL-technology: especially for photomasks in carriers and scanners

Heinz Fissan; Christof Asbach; Thomas A. J. Kuhlbusch; Jing Wang; David Y. H. Pui; Se-Jin Yook; Jung H. Kim

doi:10.1117/12.821654

28 May 2009 Nanoparticle contamination control for EUVL-technology: especially for photomasks in carriers and scanners

Heinz Fissan, Christof Asbach, Thomas A. J. Kuhlbusch, Jing Wang, David Y. H. Pui, Se-Jin Yook, Jung H. Kim

Proceedings Volume 7364, Nanotechnology IV; 73640N (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.821654
Event: SPIE Europe Microtechnologies for the New Millennium, 2009, Dresden, Germany

Abstract

Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUVL) is a leading lithography technology for the sub-32 nm chip manufacturing technology. Photomasks, in a mask carrier or inside a vacuum scanner, need to be protected from contamination by nanoparticles larger than the minimum feature size expected from this technology. The most critical part with respect to contamination in the EUVL-system is the photomask. The protection is made more difficult because protective pellicles cannot be used, due to the attenuation of the EUV beam by the pellicle. We have defined a set of protection schemes to protect EUVL photomasks from particle contamination and developed models to describe their effectiveness at atmospheric pressure (e.g. in mask carriers) or during scanning operation at low pressure. These schemes include that the mask is maintained facing down to avoid gravitational settling and the establishment of a thermal gradient underneath the mask surface to thermophoretically repel particles. Experimental verification studies of the models were carried out in atmospheric-pressure carriers and in a vacuum system down to about 3.3 Pa. Particles with sizes between 60 (for experiments, isn't it 125 nm?) nm and 250 nm were injected into the vacuum chamber with controlled speed and concentration to validate the analytical and numerical models. It could be shown that a deterministic approach using free molecular expressions can be used to accurately describe particle deposition at these low pressure levels. Thermophoresis was found to be very effective at both atmospheric and low pressure against the diffusional particle deposition, whereas inertial particle deposition of large and/or fast particles can likely not be prevented. A review of the models and their verification will be presented in this paper.

Citation Download Citation

Heinz Fissan, Christof Asbach, Thomas A. J. Kuhlbusch, Jing Wang, David Y. H. Pui, Se-Jin Yook, and Jung H. Kim "Nanoparticle contamination control for EUVL-technology: especially for photomasks in carriers and scanners", Proc. SPIE 7364, Nanotechnology IV, 73640N (28 May 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.821654

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
10 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Particles

Photomasks

Atmospheric particles

Contamination

Scanners

Extreme ultraviolet lithography

Atmospheric modeling

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years