Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV), from The Molecular Foundry and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is a new technique for fabricating computer chips that uses an extremely small wavelength light (13.5 nm) and is capable of patterning very small features. One challenge of the new technology is that it requires new materials that can reflect this kind of light for patterning functional precise photomasks.
The Molecular Foundry’s innovation addresses this challenge by providing a high-quality material for photomasks. The Foundry’s novel material not only delivers on the need for better optical resolution, but also significantly improves on the ease of patterning the material.
Chromium-antimonide (Cr-Sb) can be made by conventional sputter coating processes, making it cost effective and results in high-quality nanometer films and superior optical properties over the current standard tantalum-boron-nitride (TaBN) absorber materials. In addition, the new material can be patterned with a high degree of control and resolution; we have demonstrated patterning feature sizes as small as 5 nm and aspect ratios that vastly exceed any future need.
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