Maskless optical lithography using MEMS-based spatial light modulators

Rajesh Menon; Amil Patel; Henry I. Smith

doi:10.1117/12.593624

22 January 2005 Maskless optical lithography using MEMS-based spatial light modulators

Rajesh Menon, Amil Patel, Henry I. Smith

Proceedings Volume 5721, MOEMS Display and Imaging Systems III; (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.593624
Event: MOEMS-MEMS Micro and Nanofabrication, 2005, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

The semiconductor industry has been driven by significant improvements in optical-lithographic capability. As feature sizes on the wafer shrink faster than the wavelength of the exposing illumination, increasingly complex and expensive steps such as immersion, resolution-enhancement techniques, and optical-proximity correction (OPC) are required. Traditionally, high costs have been amortized over large volumes of chips, and by progressive technological maturity. Optical lithography using MEMs-based spatial-light modulators provides an alternative means of lithography. Significantly lower costs-of-ownership coupled with throughputs acceptable for mask manufacturing, mask prototyping, and low-volume-chip manufacturing are the enabling attributes of such techniques. At MIT, we have pursued a unique version of this technology, which we call Zone-Plate-Array Lithography (ZPAL). In ZPAL, an array of high-numerical-aperture diffractive lenses (for example, zone plates) is used to create an array of tightly focused spots on the surface of a photoresist-coated substrate. Light directed to each zone plate is modulated in intensity by one pixel on an upstream spatial-light modulator. The substrate is scanned, and patterns of arbitrary geometry are written in a “dot-matrix” fashion. In this paper, we describe results from our proof-of-concept ZPAL system and its future potential. Lithography using distributed, tightly focused spots presents a different set of advantages and challenges compared to traditional optical-projection lithography. We discuss some of these issues and how they bear on practical system designs.

Citation Download Citation

Rajesh Menon, Amil Patel, and Henry I. Smith "Maskless optical lithography using MEMS-based spatial light modulators", Proc. SPIE 5721, MOEMS Display and Imaging Systems III, (22 January 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.593624

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