Cost-efficiency is a key performance indicator for maskshop operation. Laser mask writers are the preferred choice for all layers where they fulfill the requirements due to their lower cost. As a result, masks exposed by laser writers constitute for 70% of all masks used in semiconductor manufacturing. The industry relied for a long time on legacy equipment as applications matured, resulting in a challenge for stable and reliable mask manufacturing in mature design nodes. Mycronic addressed this gap by introducing the SLX series laser writer in 2019. As mask operations continue to strive for higher efficiency, Mycronic has increased the throughput of the SLX writers by utilizing “Meander writing”, which optimizes writing time by exposing on the return stroke of the writing sequence. This enables an increased throughput of the SLX of 20-30%. In this paper, Mycronic will share throughput and performance results from the SLX series by utilizing Meander writing.
The semiconductor industry is growing at an annual rate of 6.9%, and the production of semiconductor devices is increasing accordingly. Currently, device manufacturing using Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV), referred to as 2 nm technology, has begun for AI and mobile phone devices. On the other hand, the production of devices using >90nm technology, known as mainstream, for the automobile industry and sensing devices, including power, analog, and discrete, is also increasing, leading to an increase in the production of photomasks. However, the reality is that the production of photomasks for the relevant technology is using outdated equipment, and there is a need for equipment with high productivity. In this study, we investigate how e-beam masks for devices used in the mainstream technology compares to masks manufactured with current high-productivity DUV laser equipment and will focus on the following aspects and provide a comprehensive report. Comparison with manufactured masks based on current technologies in terms of CDU, Registration, resolution, printability and so on.
Mycronic assessed the market for Laser Mask Writers and concluded that there was an opportunity if the product was reliable, had high uptime, was cost-efficient to compete with fully depreciated writers and was sustainable including having a small carbon footprint. To achieve this, the platform needed to be modern allowing to support flexibility in a rapidly changing environment and enable the possibility to develop new functionalities to meet future customer demands to last long, while keeping the development cost down.
This paper describes the process and the decisions behind the SLX writer and how it has been received by the market. The future of the SLX will also be discussed and how key parameters like resolution and registration will be improved for future products.
Global semiconductor market is expected to have strong growth driven by various applications but suffering for the chip shortages. Tight supply is expected also in semiconductor photomask industry and the leading-edge photomask tend to have the most of the attention but concern increases in mature photomask supply chain coupled with aging photomask writers. Mycronic has introduced the SLX series to contribute solving existing issues design with sustainability profile. We will share the latest evaluation data from the system and share environmental impact of the SLX through LCA (Life Cycle Analysis).
This conference presentation was prepared for Photomask Japan 2022: XXVIII Symposium on Photomask and Next-Generation Lithography Mask Technology, 2022.
The semiconductor industry is enjoying the “Semiconductor super cycle” catalyzed by the pandemic. In addition, the variety of semiconductor chips are increasing driven by electronification of everything resulting the demand for laser based mask writers are increasing due to lower exposure cost per mask. However, many laser mask writers in operation today are getting old.
As a response to the growing demand Mycronic introduced SLX series, a new generation cost-efficient laser mask writer and the superiority of the system is demonstrated by sharing recent evaluation data with two different laser sources.
We present initial results on the performance of a compressive sensing setup for Raman imaging spectroscopy for standoff trace explosives detection. Hyperspectral image reconstruction is demonstrated under low signal conditions and successful spatial separation of substances with close lying Raman peaks is shown.
Imaging Raman spectroscopy based on tunable filters is an established technique for detecting single explosives particles
at stand-off distances. However, large light losses are inherent in the design due to sequential imaging at different
wavelengths, leading to effective transmission often well below 1 %.
The use of digital micromirror devices (DMD) and compressive sensing (CS) in imaging Raman explosives trace
detection can improve light throughput and add significant flexibility compared to existing systems. DMDs are based on
mature microelectronics technology, and are compact, scalable, and can be customized for specific tasks, including new
functions not available with current technologies.
This paper has been focusing on investigating how a DMD can be used when applying CS-based imaging Raman
spectroscopy on stand-off explosives trace detection, and evaluating the performance in terms of light throughput, image
reconstruction ability and potential detection limits. This type of setup also gives the possibility to combine imaging
Raman with non-spatially resolved fluorescence suppression techniques, such as Kerr gating.
The system used consists of a 2nd harmonics Nd:YAG laser for sample excitation, collection optics, DMD, CMOScamera
and a spectrometer with ICCD camera for signal gating and detection.
Initial results for compressive sensing imaging Raman shows a stable reconstruction procedure even at low signals and
in presence of interfering background signal. It is also shown to give increased effective light transmission without
sacrificing molecular specificity or area coverage compared to filter based imaging Raman. At the same time it adds
flexibility so the setup can be customized for new functionality.
Standoff Raman imaging systems have shown the ability to detect single explosives particles. However, in many cases, the laser intensities needed restrict the applications where they can be safely used. A new generation imaging Raman system has been developed based on a 355 nm UV laser that, in addition to eye safety, allows discrete and invisible measurements. Non-dangerous exposure levels for the eye are several orders of magnitude higher in UVA than in the visible range that previously has been used. The UV Raman system has been built based on an UV Fabry-Perot Interferometer (UV-FPI) developed by VTT. The design allows for precise selection of Raman shifts in combination with high out-of-band blocking. The stable operation of the UV-FPI module under varying environmental conditions is arranged by controlling the temperature of the module and using a closed loop control of the FPI air gap based on capacitive measurement. The system presented consists of a 3rd harmonics Nd:YAG laser with 1.5 W average output at 1000 Hz, a 200 mm Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, UV-FPI filter and an ICCD camera for signal gating and detection. The design principal leads to a Raman spectrum in each image pixel. The system is designed for field use and easy manoeuvring. Preliminary results show that in measurements of <60 s on 10 m distance, single AN particles of <300 μm diameter can be identified.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
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.