Ion projection lithography (IPL) has demonstrated not only the resolution required for next-generation lithography (50 nm resolution at >4:1 aspect ratio) [Bruenger et al., Microelectron Eng. 46, 477 (1999)] but also cost advantages with respect to other competing technologies [Gross et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 16, 3150 (1998)]. This article reports on the progress of a worldwide development program, with the target to manufacture a process development tool and create the necessary mask infrastructure to demonstrate that IPL is a viable industrial lithography technology for the future. An overview of papers, reporting on the progress in critical areas, is given and new, experimentally validated, simulations of complementary mask stitching are shown for the first time. Longitudinal and lateral offsets of up to 32 nm for 100 nm critical dimensions are possible with linewidth variations less than 11 nm. Our concept for beta tools, based on a powerful new stitcher strategy, is described. This will lead to a high-throughput tool for manufacturing integrated-circuit generations with minimum feature sizes of 50 nm and, possibly, below.

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We present a study of Fano-type resonances in high quality boron-doped silicon as a function of boron content. The resonance (antiresonance) in the infrared absorption spectra occurs close to the k⃗≈ 0 optical phonon at 519 cm−1. The interaction between the otherwise infrared-forbidden optical phonon and the continuum states of the acceptor was analysed based on a modified Fano model that involves the interaction of a discrete state with two continua.

Ion projection microlithography is a technique employing a high-resolution demagnifying ion-optical imaging system in connection with a precision step-and-repeat stage. Design patterns are contained in a self-supporting metal foil of 10× (or 20×) chip size, and are imaged in parallel, chip by chip. A tensile stress is induced in the mask foil such that the mask remains flat and undistorted, when heated by exposure to the ion beam. Different design layers are aligned to better than ±0.1 μm by a system that detects ions backscattered from registration marks.