ISI Taking Orders for SCALPEL Tool
Staff -- Semiconductor International, 4/1/1998
Integrated Solutions Inc.
(ISI, Tewksbury, Mass.) is accepting orders for SCALPEL lithography evaluation systems. A
licensing and technology transfer agreement for SCALPEL was formed in 1996 between ISI and
Bell Laboratories, the research and development arm of Lucent Technologies (Murray Hill,
N.J.). SCALPEL (scattering with angular limitation projection electron-beam
Lithography) is a unique projection electron-beam technology for advanced lithography.
The commercialization of the ISI ArF MicroStep system made possible early resist, process and device development for the 193 nm lithography generation. Similarly, the pre-production SCALPEL systems (see Figure) will allow advanced studies of this emerging post-optical lithography technology. A benefit of these systems will be their ability to provide large device field sizes limited only by initial mask size. The unique SCALPEL writing strategy affords complete device fields larger than the imaging subfield.
The SCALPEL development effort has included partnerships with volume mask manufacturers, including Photronics (Brookfield, Conn.), DuPont (Round Rock, Texas) and MCNC (Research Triangle Park, N.C.). Several hundred patterned masks have already been produced. This ongoing effort supports availability of high-quality masks compatible with use on the ISI pre-production SCALPEL tools.
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| The pre-production SCALPEL lithography tool, developed at Lucent Technologies, is an e-beam based system with demonstrated linewidths of 80 nm. |
