Proof-of-concept tool development for projection mask-less lithography (PML2)

Electron beam based Projection Mask-Less Lithography (PML2) is one of the promising candidates for small and medium volume device production for the 45nm technology node and beyond. The concept of the PML2 proof-ofconcept tool, to be realized as part of the European MEDEA+ project T409, comprises a single electron optical column, a multi beam blanking device (programmable "Aperture Plate System") including high speed optical data path and a scanning 300mm wafer stage. More than 250.000 beams will be projected onto the wafer used for a highly redundant scanning stripe exposure process. A demonstrator chip of the Aperture Plate System is being manufactured with > 1000 apertures of 5 mu m x 5 mu m size using standard MST processes. Results as achieved with this demonstrator chip using a specifically designed e-beam test bench are shown. Furthermore, the realtime data transmission concept is discussed, showing that with the selected technology the required data rates for the PML2 proof-of-concept tool can be delivered, with extendibility beyond. Viability of the optical data pattern transfer to the Aperture Plate System is shown using a test setup of the parallel high-speed transmission lines.