Interference Assisted Lithography (IAL): A Way to Contain the Lithography Costs for the 32nm and 22nm Half-Pitch Device Generations Rudi Hendel; David Markle; John S. Petersen; Andrew Barada; Periodic Structures, Inc. Zhilong Rao Applied Materials, Inc.

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Presentation Overview Semiconductor Manufacturing Costs: A quick calibration Cost Model Overview Basics and Assumptions Interference Assisted Lithography An introduction into the Concept Process and Lithography-related cost factors and their impact Results and Discussion Conclusions 2

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Pixel Transfer Rate “Lithography is a Bargain!*” * Paul Arnold, ASML at the VLSI Litho Panel 2008 (November 18, 2008) 450mm projections 3

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Still – Time for Reality Check: (Comparing the price-tag for a Fab with….) $1B $3B $5B Megafab: $6B to $10B 4

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Should the size of Fab Price Tags be a concern? Bob Johnson (Gartner DQ) at ISS 2009 Yes 5

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague The basis of our Cost Model: Process Cost (Resist, Develop, BARC, Metrology, Inspection, etc. Allocation of Mask Cost Tool component – Depreciation and Tool Maintenance Model by “Screenivasan et al.” as quoted by Frank Goodwin, November 7, 2005 – Trends in the Cost of Photolithography 6

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Cost of Lithography Direct Impact Costs ̶ Cost and Complexity of the Patterning Process ̶ Cost of additional Tools required (ex.: S.I.T.) ̶ Cost of Mask(s) ̶ Depreciation Cost and Maintenance Expense of the Exposure Tool Tool Price to Customer Effective Throughput Scheduled & unscheduled Maintenance Indirect Impact Costs (Factors of high importance to a customer on which the Choice of Lithography has a critical impact) ̶ Cost of Design ̶ Time to Design Implementation ̶ Risk of First Silicon Fail 7

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Per Yan Borodovsky; Semicon West; July 15,

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague How to reduce cost? Start with the Tool Pixel Transfer Rate Or: Trade off general purpose capability with acceptable restrictions leading to cost savings Either: Simplify the pattern, reducing Pixel Transfer Rate which leads to lower capital cost 9

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Effective Means to segment (and reduce) Information Content contained in a pattern: Interference Assisted Lithography It separates high frequency component of the image (dense line-spaces) from the design content (line-ends) It separates high frequency component of the image (dense line-spaces) from the design content (line-ends) Simplified Imaging Rules allow lower tool cost without sacrificing minimum resolution without sacrificing minimum resolution Several technology approaches are available Ultimate Selection will accommodate key requirements in both, logic and memory. Ultimate Selection will accommodate key requirements in both, logic and memory. 10

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague What is Interference Assisted Lithography? I.A.L. is a two-exposure process: Exposure One – Fixed Pitch Pattern (a grating) Exposure One – Fixed Pitch Pattern (a grating) Exposure Two – a Block-Mask, determining where the lines defined in the first exposure end and start Exposure Two – a Block-Mask, determining where the lines defined in the first exposure end and start =+ 11

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague The I.A.L. Technology Principle has been demonstrated 12 Source: MIT Lincoln Lab (2005) M. Fritze, T. M. Bloomstein, B. Tyrrell, T. H. Fedynyshyn, N. N. Efremow, D. E. Hardy, S. Cann, D. Lennon, S. Spector and M. Rothschild, “Hybrid Optical Maskless Lithography: Scaling Beyond the 45nm Node”, J. Vac, Sci. and Tech. B 23(6) (2005), pp. 2743–2748.

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Benefits of Interference-based Exposure Tools Cost benefits Simplified Optics and thus lower Tool Cost Simplified Optics and thus lower Tool Cost OL requirements for IAL are relaxed compared to OL requirements for traditional Double Patterning OL requirements for IAL are relaxed compared to OL requirements for traditional Double Patterning Significant savings in Cost of Masks IAL requires 1 critical mask, Double Patterning requires 2 + Significant savings in Cost of Masks IAL requires 1 critical mask, Double Patterning requires 2 + Technical Benefits Wider process window Wider process window Increased Contrast/DOF Increased Contrast/DOF 13

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague The reduced Cost of Masks gives IAL DP a 30% cost benefit compared to Traditional DP (Independent of Mask Usage) Double Patterning: – Comparing Traditional D.P. vs. I.A.L. D.P. 14

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Total Litho Cost by Node: Assignment of Mask Levels 15

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Traditional Double Patterning I.A.L. Double Patterning Total projected Lithography Cost Traditional D.P. vs. I.A.L. D.P. Cost of Lithography per Wafer 16

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Traditional Double Patterning I.A.L. Double Patterning Cost of Lithography for the Node Only I.A.L. DP for Critical Layers Total projected Lithography Cost Hypothetical Case of replacing all EUV Layers with IAL 17

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Additional Benefits Possible with I.A.L. (System Architecture Dependent) Reduced Capital Cost benefits all Lot Sizes In the case of a reduced Exposure Field (Not all applications require large Exposure Fields) Further Mask Cost Reduction Further Mask Cost Reduction Minimizing write/inspection costs Particularly benefitting small lot sizes, which are highly sensitive to Mask Cost Reduced Systems Cost (Stepper architecture allows systems simplifications) Reduced Systems Cost (Stepper architecture allows systems simplifications) Additional efficiency particularly for small devices (somewhat counterintuitive) Additional efficiency particularly for small devices (somewhat counterintuitive) 18

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Mask Cost vs. Mask Patterned Area 19

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Cost of Lithography Comparison – Traditional Scanner vs. I.A.L. Stepper 20

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague I.A.L. Limitations High Regularity requires Design Restrictions I.A.L. Restrictions are similar to Sidewall Image Transfer (S.I.T.) Restrictions I.A.L. Restrictions are similar to Sidewall Image Transfer (S.I.T.) Restrictions Yet, S.I.T. is considered as one viable option for extending resolution. Designs compatible with S.I.T. are expected to be compatible with I.A.L.. Adopting such restrictions early and transitioning to regularity in one single step promises significant cost benefits. Adopting such restrictions early and transitioning to regularity in one single step promises significant cost benefits. 21

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague In Summary – Cost Benefits of I.A.L.: Direct: Significant reduction of Mask Cost Comparable layers (vs. traditional DP) Comparable layers (vs. traditional DP) Containment of Litho Cost Increases If applied to all Critical Levels in the process flow If applied to all Critical Levels in the process flow Additional Benefits are possible: Reduced Die Size, Small Lot-size, (leading to smaller Exposure Fields) Reduced Die Size, Small Lot-size, (leading to smaller Exposure Fields) Enhanced Maskless Lithography Economics Enhanced Maskless Lithography Economics Reduced Image (Pixel) Density for Block Mask Enables competitive MLL Throughput (prototyping) 22

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Indirect: I.A.L. can become a Technology Enabler for a market segment currently underserved: Opening Access to Leading Edge Geometries for low/medium mask usage applications (ASIC/ASSP) by: Opening Access to Leading Edge Geometries for low/medium mask usage applications (ASIC/ASSP) by: Reduced Mask Costs (and Capital Cost) Simplified DR complexity Reduced time to Design Completion Reduced risk to first time success In Summary – Cost Benefits of I.A.L.: 23

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Acknowledgements Al Bergendahl, Bergendahl Enterprises Marc Levenson Mark Pinto, Applied Materials Hans Stork, Applied Materials Bill Tobey, ACT Consulting 24

October Periodic Structures, Inc. Lithography Extensions Conference, Prague Thank you! 25