Evolution in the concentration of activities in lithography

From a perusal of the proceedings of the SPIE Advanced Lithography Symposium, the progression of new concepts in lithographic technology can be seen. A new idea first appears in a few papers, and over time, there is an increase in the number of papers on the same topic. Eventually the method becomes commonplace, and the number of papers on the topic declines, as the idea becomes part of our industry's working knowledge. For example, one or two papers on resolution enhancement techniques (RETs) appeared in the proceedings of the Optical Microlithography Conference in 1989 and 1990. By 1994, the total number of papers had increased to 35. Early lithographers focused on practical issues, such as adhesion promotion and resist edge bead. The introduction of simulation software brought on the next era of lithography. This was followed by a period of time in which RETs were developed and brought to maturity. The introduction of optical proximity corrections (OPC) initiated the next major era of lithography. The traditional path for scaling by using shorter wavelengths, decreasing k(1) and increasing numerical aperture has given way to the current era of optical multiple patterning and lithography-design co-optimization. There has been sufficient activity in EUV lithography R&D to justify a separate EUV Lithography Conference as part of the annual Advanced Lithography Symposium. Each era builds on the cumulative knowledge gained previously. Over time, there have been parallel developments in optics, exposure tools, resist, metrology and mask technology, many of which were associated with changes in the wavelength of light used for leading-edge lithography.