Cymer has introduced its seventh-generation light source for the ASML NXT:2050i scanner for leading-edge argon fluoride (ArF) immersion lithography systems.
The light source includes hardware advancements to improve process control, as well as increase availability, sustainability and productivity lithography systems.
The XLR 960ix features a new optical pulse stretcher to increase the pulse duration to reduce speckle by 30%, improving local critical dimension uniformity (CDU). The light source produces speckle, a self-interference that results in non-uniform light intensity and local dose variation when used to expose a ware, which can be reduced via the pulse duration using pulse stretching.
The technology has been field-tested on Cymer’s exiting ArF immersion systems for more than 12 months and will be shipped to chipmakers in the third quarter of this year. The XLR 960ix includes technologies that increase availability via fewer automated calibration and gas refresh events as well as sustainability improvements via lower power and gas consumption.
