Article 3GY1B Extreme UV chip defects may force a new approach to processor design

Extreme UV chip defects may force a new approach to processor design

by
Peter Bright
from Ars Technica - All content on (#3GY1B)
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Chips built with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light are plagued with random defects with no obvious solution, according to research presented at a chipmakers' conference reported in EETimes. The EUV hardware seems to work acceptably for 20nm or larger processes, but below this scale, small defects are cropping up that ruin the chip and prove hard to detect.

Photolithography is the process used to etch the patterns that make up chips into a silicon wafer. The wafer is coated with a light-sensitive material called photoresist. This wafer is then exposed to bright light that's shone through a mask. Areas hidden by the mask will retain their photoresist layer; those exposed directly to the UV will lose it. The wafer is then etched using plasma or acid. Parts of the wafer that are still covered in photoresist are protected during the etching, retaining their silicon oxide; those whose photoresist has been removed are etched away.

Smaller wavelengths of light enable finer detail in the mask and hence finer detail in the etching. Processors today, built on a 14nm process, already use features that are far smaller than the wavelength of regular UV light; they apply techniques such as multi-patterning (in which multiple masks and light exposure stages are used) to reach ever smaller sizes. These additional steps increase manufacturing time and error rates, hence the interest in shorter wavelengths. With EUV, smaller chip features could be produced without needing such techniques.

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