Evaluation of protection schemes for extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) masks against top-down aerosol flow [An article from: Journal of Aerosol Science]

This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Aerosol Science, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) is considered as the next generation lithography for 32-nm-node or smaller in semiconductor manufacturing. One of the challenges is to protect the EUVL masks against particle contamination, due to the unavailability of conventional pellicles. In this study, the EUVL mask protection schemes of Asbach et al. (2006. Technical note: Concepts for protection of EUVL masks from particle contamination. Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 8, 705-708), who proposed to mount the mask upside-down, have a cover plate with particle trap and apply phoretic forces, were evaluated against top-down aerosol at atmospheric pressure. Experimental evaluation was performed using 150mm wafers as witness plates, and PSL particles ranging from 125 to 700nm. For the numerical assessment of the protection schemes against particles between 10 and 3000nm, a statistical method using a Lagrangian particle tracking simulation tool was employed to calculate the deposition velocity. It was shown that the critical surface could effectively be protected against top-down aerosol.