Precision Motion Stages for Enhancing the Performance of Lithography in Semiconductor Manufacturing

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This research program develops new precision motion systems to enhance the sub-nanometer accuracy of the semiconductor manufacturing. Currently, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology is used to produce lighter, smarter, and faster integrated circuits. These circuits are a key part of daily electrical and electronic devices. The EUV lithographic system includes the wafer stage that holds the wafer, reticle stage that governs the pattern, and the projection lens. The light passes through the reticle, then the diffracted light which passes through the projection lens forms an image on the wafer. To achieve nanometer accurate imaging performance, the motion of several millimeters of the wafer stage and the reticle stage should be precisely synchronized. The current resolution of EUV lithography machines is 13 nanometers, which is the minimum structural gap between any two electronic components in the manufactured integrated circuits. It is important to improve the positioning accuracy of EUV lithography technology to develop efficient microprocessors for the autonomous car. The main objective of this research program is to develop multi-axial high-speed nano-precision regulators with piezoceramic stages for the EUV Lithography Process. These regulators will precisely orient the position of the reticle considering the wafer positioning errors. This novel approach would minimize the positioning errors of the imaging and enhance the synchronized motion between the reticle stage and the wafer stage. The proposed nano-precision regulators will be designed with piezoceramic stages and flexure-based positioners. This will lead to new designs for the reticle stage and a "self-regulating smart material-based reticle" for the EUV lithography process. The four objectives of the research program are: (i) development of new multivariable electro-mechanical dynamic model to simulate the synchronization motion of the EUV lithography process, (ii) design of multi-axial high-speed nanopositioning regulators that adopt a nano-resolution mechanism to adjust the reticle stage position based on micro-positioning errors of the wafer stage, (iii) development of a new parametric identification algorithm and a model-based control system to drive the multi-axial high-speed nanopositioning regulators over different operating conditions, and (iv) design of a self-regulating smart material-based reticle. The research group will be diverse and will recruit women and underrepresented groups. This group will include 3 PhD, 2 Master's, and 2 undergraduate students. The research program is anticipated to contribute significantly to semiconductor manufacturing and new innovative applications of piezoceramics materials.