Lithography equipment manufacturers: Laser power measurement helps you to improve productivity
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Coat, develop and expose! These three basic steps of semiconductor lithography have enabled smaller and cost-effective electronic devices to be made. Lithography system manufacturers, the key players of this technology, are patterning the chips by using laser radiation which needs to be optically characterized in terms of its power and stability for the profitability of the entire process.
Laser radiation determines the limits
Scientists work themselves to the bone to develop the most advanced chips with the highest number of transistors in the smallest area, by using novel photolithography techniques. In today’s world, thanks to big innovations in lithography techniques, we benefit from the technology by being able to use smaller and smaller electronics in the devices we use in our daily lives, with more functionality. On the other hand, modern electronics also benefit from efficient processes with low manufacturing losses
In the photolithography process, a light source is required for exposing the mask. Shorter wavelengths and lower numerical aperture of the light allow a higher density of transistors in an integrated circuit which minimizes the device’s size and improves its capabilities. Therefore, UV laser sources, which are the shortest coherent wavelength which are commercially available and have low numerical aperture, are generally integrated into the lithography manufacturing systems for this process.
If you are a laser lithography machine manufacturer, you know that, without doubt, along with wavelength, there are other parameters such as laser power, stability and lifetime of your laser which play an important role in the quality of your throughputs. Your laser lithography process might be based on direct writing or on the mask technique. Regardless of the technique you use, the characterization of the laser source in the manufacturing system can drive a noticeable change in throughputs.
Laser specifications change over time for many reasons and it causes problems accross all industries. Learn about how laser output measurement solves numerous problems in YOUR industry. Download the guide below. Gentec-EO's high-accuracy laser beam measurement instruments help engineers, scientists and technicians in all sorts of laser applications from the factory to the hospital, laboratory and research center. Learn about our solutions for these measurement types:
Maintain high-quality manufacturing by laser power monitoring
Laser lithography has enabled fast exposure times with high resolution and speckle-free throughputs, and the quality of the fabrication can be affected by many factors. Firstly, the efficient operation of the lithography procedure strictly depends on the intensity of the light during the exposure time, i.e. dose. Moreover, the output power of the laser source should be extremely stable to reduce variations from occurring in the features.
As for semiconductor fabrication towards smaller dimensions, tolerance in the fabrication procedure tightens and precise laser power and energy measurements become significantly important to maintain a high-quality manufacturing process.
Determining a lower dose requirement after a precise laser beam measurement can improve the production rate and extend the lifetime of the optical components in the laser lithography system.
Additionally, the stability of the laser is another important parameter for high uniformity, as the throughput quality will be affected in the case of an unstable laser beam being used. Therefore, measuring UV laser power or diagnosing the laser source by verifying basic laser parameters is of capital importance to enhance your lithography manufacturing process.
Do not forget that monitoring UV laser power requires a highly accurate laser power detector which needs to be well-calibrated in the UV region of the spectrum, from low power to high power.
Gentec-EO’s technology provides you with the largest selection of UV calibrated laser power detectors which will benefit your business by improving your lithography manufacturing process in both the short and long-term process.
