SUSS MicroTec, Sunnyvale, Calif., and Sematech announce that SUSS MicroTec’s photomask equipment division has partnered with Sematech to investigate and develop extreme ultraviolet lithography substrate and blank cleaning technologies that will accelerate process availability for extreme ultraviolet pilot line manufacturing. Over the last years SUSS MicroTec, the market leader in photomask cleaning equipment, has succeeded to adapt and enhance tools and processes to the specific EUVL requirements.
As a Sematech member, SUSS MicroTec’s photomask equipment division will collaborate with the consortium’s EUV mask experts to focus on improving the cleaning yield on EUVL mask blanks, patterned masks and non-patterned EUVL substrates. The long-term goal of this collaboration is to increase the manufacturing yield for substrates and mask blanks with the lowest defect counts at nonprintable defect sizes.
In a cooperative approach to enable preservation of mask cleanliness and avoid the risk of repeated printing of defects, Sematech is researching practical solutions for defect reduction to enable high-volume EUVL manufacturing. The collaborative work between SUSS MicroTec and Sematech’s lithography research teams will develop both wet and dry cleaning methods, targeting major reduction in soft defects as well as surface pitting and functional layer degradation.
