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EUV Lithography Without Pellicles: Accounting for Low Yields

EUV Lithography Without Pellicles: Accounting for Low Yields
by Fred Chen on 09-15-2025 at 6:00 am

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While stochastic defects link yield with the practical resolution of EUV lithography resulting from its quantum nature [1], very low yields of EUV processes are more readily linked to the use of EUV masks without pellicles. Pellicles are thin film membrane covers on masks (regardless of wavelength: EUV and DUV and i-line) used… Read More


EUV Resist Degradation with Outgassing at Higher Doses

EUV Resist Degradation with Outgassing at Higher Doses
by Fred Chen on 09-03-2025 at 8:00 am

EUV Resist Degradation with Outgassing at Higher Doses

Dosing for EUV lithography walks a fine line between productivity and defectivity. Fabs can choose higher-dose exposures to suppress photon shot noise [1]. However, higher doses require EUV machines to scan the wafer at slower speeds, degrading throughput [2].

On the other hand, there is the threat of resist thickness loss that… Read More


IMEC’s Advanced Node Yield Model Now Addresses EUV Stochastics

IMEC’s Advanced Node Yield Model Now Addresses EUV Stochastics
by Fred Chen on 08-23-2025 at 8:00 am

EUV Stochastics

It lays the foundation for the Stochastics Resolution Gap

Chris Mack, the CTO of Fractilia, recently wrote of the “Stochastics Resolution Gap,” which is effectively limiting the manufacturability of EUV despite its ability to reach resolution limits approaching 10 nm in the lab [1,2]. As researchers have inevitably found, … Read More


Edge Roughness Differences Among EUV Resists

Edge Roughness Differences Among EUV Resists
by Fred Chen on 07-23-2025 at 6:00 am

Edge Roughness Differences Among EUV Resists

EUV resists are a key component in the implementation and optimization of EUV lithography. By converting a limited number of absorbed EUV photons into a variable number of released migrating electrons, the resist becomes the final determinant of resolution. There are two kinds of resist which are seriously considered: chemically… Read More


Closing the Stochastics Resolution Gap

Closing the Stochastics Resolution Gap
by Admin on 07-20-2025 at 6:00 am

Closing the Stochastics Resolution Gap

The relentless miniaturization of semiconductor devices has always relied on achieving ever-smaller features on silicon wafers. However, as the industry enters the realm of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, it faces a critical barrier: stochastics, or the inherent randomness in patterning at atomic scales. This phenomenon… Read More


Facing the Quantum Nature of EUV Lithography

Facing the Quantum Nature of EUV Lithography
by Fred Chen on 06-29-2025 at 8:00 am

Absorbed Photons Exposing EUV

The topics of stochastics and blur in EUV lithography has been examined by myself for quite some time now [1,2], but I am happy to see that others are pursuing this direction seriously as well [3]. As advanced node half-pitch dimensions approach 10 nm and smaller, the size of molecules in the resist becomes impossible to ignore for… Read More


High-NA Hard Sell: EUV Multi-patterning Practices Revealed, Depth of Focus Not Mentioned

High-NA Hard Sell: EUV Multi-patterning Practices Revealed, Depth of Focus Not Mentioned
by Fred Chen on 06-04-2025 at 10:00 am

HNA EUV Fred Chen

In High-NA EUV lithography systems, the numerical aperture (NA) is expanded from 0.33 to 0.55. This change has been marketed as allowing multi-patterning on the 0.33 NA EUV systems to be avoided. Only very recently have specific examples of this been provided [1]. In fact, it can be shown that double patterning has been implemented… Read More


Impact of Varying Electron Blur and Yield on Stochastic Fluctuations in EUV Resist

Impact of Varying Electron Blur and Yield on Stochastic Fluctuations in EUV Resist
by Fred Chen on 05-03-2025 at 4:00 pm

P30 stochastics vs attenuation length

A comprehensive update to the EUV stochastic image model

In extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, photoelectron/secondary electron blur and secondary electron yield are known to drive stochastic fluctuations in the resist [1-3], leading to the formation of random defects and the degradation of pattern fidelity at advanced

Read More

Stitched Multi-Patterning for Minimum Pitch Metal in DRAM Periphery

Stitched Multi-Patterning for Minimum Pitch Metal in DRAM Periphery
by Fred Chen on 04-08-2025 at 6:00 am

Figure 1. Splitting a metal layout for stitched double patterning for better pitch uniformity.

In a DRAM chip, the memory array contains features which are the most densely packed, but at least they are regularly arranged. Outside the array, the regularity is lost, but in the most difficult cases, the pitches can still be comparable with those within the array, though generally larger. Such features include the lowest metal… Read More


A Perfect Storm for EUV Lithography

A Perfect Storm for EUV Lithography
by Fred Chen on 04-03-2025 at 6:00 am

EUV Made Easy 1

Electron blur, stochastics, and now polarization, are all becoming stronger influences in EUV lithography as pitch continues to shrink

As EUV lithography continues to evolve, targeting smaller and smaller pitches, new physical limitations continue to emerge as formidable obstacles. While stochastic effects have long been… Read More