Breakthrough Computer Chip Lithography Method Developed at RIT
A new computer chip lithography method under development at Rochester Institute of Technology has led to imaging capabilities beyond that previously thought possible.
Leading a team of engineering students, Bruce Smith, RIT professor of microelectronic engineering and director of the Center for Nanolithography Research in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering, developed a method鈥攌nown as evanescent wave lithography, or EWL鈥攃apable of optically imaging the smallest-ever semiconductor device geometry. Yongfa Fan, a doctoral student in RIT鈥檚 microsystems engineering Ph.D. program, accomplished imaging rendered to 26 nanometers 鈥攁 size previously possible only via extreme ultraviolet wavelength, Smith says. By capturing images that are beyond the limits of classical physics, the breakthrough has allowed resolution to smaller than one-twentieth the wavelength of visible light, he adds.
The development comes at least five years sooner than anticipated, using the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors () as a guide, Smith says. The roadmap, created by a consortium of industry groups, government organizations, universities, manufacturers and suppliers, assesses semiconductor technology requirements to ensure advancements in the performance of integrated circuits to meet future needs.
鈥淚mmersion lithography has pushed the limits of optical imaging,鈥� Smith says. 鈥淓vanescent wave lithography continues to extend this reach well into the future. The results are very exciting as images can be formed that are not supposed to exist.鈥�
Evanescent wave lithography is an 鈥渆nabling technology鈥� permitting better understanding of how building blocks are created for future microelectronic and nanotechnology devices鈥攖he technology that consumers will use over the next five to 10 years, Smith explains.
Smith will present research at Microlithography 2006, a symposium sponsored by the International Society for Optical Engineering, on Feb. 22, in San Jose, Calif.
Source: Rochester Institute of Technology
