Immersion lithography has been proposed as a method for improving optical lithography resolution to 50 nm. The premise behind the concept is to increase the index of refraction in the space between the lens and wafer by insertion of a high refractive index liquid in place of the low refractive index air that currently fills the gap. Because the liquid will act as a lens component during the lithographic process, it must maintain high uniform optical quality. One source of optical degradation may be due to changes in the liquid’s index of refraction caused by a change in temperature. During the exposure process, energy is deposited onto the wafer, causing a rise in temperature. Consequently, any liquid in direct contact with elevated temperature portions of the wafer will also experience an increase in temperature. Two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics models were created to assess the thermal and fluid effects of the exposure process on the liquid temperature. This article presents the results of the numerical thermal and flow simulations. Both aligned and opposing flow directions were investigated for a range of inlet pressures that is consistent with what can be expected with active filling jets.

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The premise behind immersion lithography is to improve the resolution for optical lithography technology by increasing the index of refraction in the space between the final projection lens of an exposure system and the device wafer. This is accomplished through the insertion of a high index liquid in place of the low index air that currently fills the gap. The fluid management system must reliably fill the lens-wafer gap with liquid, maintain the fill under the lens throughout the entire wafer exposure process, and ensure that no bubbles are entrained during filling or scanning. This paper presents a preliminary analysis of the fluid flow characteristics of a liquid between the lens and the wafer in immersion lithography. The objective of this feasibility study was to identify liquid candidates that meet both optical and specific fluid mechanical requirements. The mechanics of the filling process was analyzed to simplify the problem and identify those fluid properties and system parameters that affect the process. Two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models of the fluid between the lens and the wafer were developed for simulating the process. The CFD simulations were used to investigate two methods of liquid deposition. In the first, a liquid is dispensed onto the wafer as a "puddle" and then the wafer and liquid move under the lens. This is referred to as passive filling. The second method involves the use of liquid jets in close proximity to the edge of the lens and is referred to as active filling. Numerical simulations of passive filling included a parametric study of the key dimensionless group influencing the filling process and an investigation of the effects of the fluid/wafer and fluid/lens contact angles and wafer direction. The model results are compared with experimental measurements. For active filling, preliminary simulation results characterized the influence of the jets on fluid flow.

Current optical lithography methods are nearing theoretical limits that prevent their use in the production of circuits for future nodes. A proposed solution is to increase the index of refraction of the transmission medium between the final lens of the exposure system and the wafer. When a liquid is used in this lens-wafer gap, the process is known as immersion lithography. A major concern is air bubbles in the liquid, since they are sources of index discontinuities. This article investigates the potential for trapping air as the free surface of the fluid front moves over features associated with wafer topography during the filling and scanning process. Optical simulations have shown that even very small bubbles located near or on the resist can significantly impact the imaging process. Therefore, the ability to predict the characteristics of the flow, liquid, and features that lead to air entrainment during filling is important. Modeling techniques were developed in order to create models that were capable of resolving the flow characteristics over 100 nm scale features without the need to simulate the entire macroscopic flow through the lens-wafer gap. Results of these models show that bubble formation occurs only for extreme geometries and flow conditions. In actual production the velocities, contact angles, and feature profiles are well out of these extreme ranges, and will not cause bubble formation.

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