OPTION 1: Small-Business ERC Collaborative Opportunity for the Commercialization of an Extreme Ultraviolet source at 13 nm for EUV lithography tool inspection

概述：在这个项目中，KMlabs将与目前活跃的EUV科学和技术的ERC合作，致力于优化和商业化一个基于高次谐波产生（HHG）的桌面相干极紫外光源，专门针对13.5 nm波长，该项目的最终目标是生产一个商业样机，可以产生高效的13.5 nm光，以支持EUV光刻工具的开发。这种小型激光源可用于各种光刻支持应用，包括光学特性、计量和掩模检测，这有助于确保这一关键技术的快速部署，目前计划在2015年左右部署。智力优势：CU-Boulder作为EUV ERC的一部分，已经开发了十多年的相干EUV技术。他们最近的工作使我们对如何优化HHG上转换过程以产生特定目标波长的EUV或X射线光有了更全面的了解。这是第一次让我们能够确定特定的方法，可以显着（高达3个数量级）增加13 nm的相干通量能力。例如2009年引入的极端紫外线超快光源（XUUS）。XUUS是一种宽带相干超快EUV光源，经优化可产生30 nm光，已向全球研究客户交付了15台XUUS装置。针对13 nm的优化将使其能够满足更大范围的行业需求。我们已经确定了三种可能的方法来优化13 nm通量。在这个项目中，我们计划对这些方法进行直接的比较评估。基于我们的物理理解，我们相信我们可以确定全球最佳的HHG转换到13 nm.Broader影响：KMlabs和EUV ERC将各自利用自己的技术优势，这个项目将有助于利用EUV ERC技术对科技企业的影响。这一定律一直是全球经济的主要驱动力。这一进步主要是由光刻技术的进步推动的，光刻技术允许缩小特征尺寸。目前的可见光波长工具正面临着基本的限制，国际半导体技术路线图已经预期了很长一段时间的EUV光刻。EUV的时间轴一再经历延迟，因为使用被所有材料强烈吸收的EUV光比可见光/UV更难处理。然而，用于光刻曝光的13 nm EUV光源的最新进展使其在下一代计算机芯片中22 nm节点尺寸的采用成为高度优先事项。规模化生产水平，拥有众多未知数。改进的掩模缺陷检测和表征能力、表征长期使用的光学器件退化以及诸如对准和质量控制等任务都可以从可用的桌面波长激光源中受益。基于HHG的相干13 nm EUV光源是一种成本相对较低、规模较小、无污染的适用于工业应用的相干光源，已经被证明能够实现近波长分辨率的相干衍射EUV成像和材料表征等新功能。KMlabs计划在此基础上进一步发展反射计/椭偏仪仪器，以及用于EUV光刻应用的检测显微镜。

Overview:In this project, KMlabs will work with the currently active ERC in EUV Science and Technologyin an effort to optimize and commercialize a tabletop coherent extreme ultraviolet sourcebased on high-order harmonic generation (HHG), targeted specifically for 13.5 nm wavelength.The end goal of this project is to produce a commercial prototype that can produce efficient13.5 nm light to support EUV lithography tool development. Such a small-scale laser sourcecan be used for a variety of lithography support applications including optics characterization,metrology, and mask inspection, which can help to ensure the rapid deployment of this criticaltechnology, currently planned for ~2015.Intellectual Merit :CU-Boulder, as a part of the EUV ERC, has been developing coherent EUV technology for morethan a decade. Their recent work has led to a more comprehensive understanding of how to optimizethe HHG upconversion process to generate EUV or x-ray light at a particular target wavelength.This for the first time allows us to identify specific approaches that may allow for significant(up to 3 orders of magnitude) increases in coherent flux capability at 13 nm.KMlabs has proven track of record for successfully commercializing cutting edge scientificresults?for example the eXtreme Ultraviolet Ultrafast Source (XUUS), introduced in 2009. TheXUUS is a broadband coherent ultrafast EUV source optimized to generate 30 nm light, and 15XUUS setups have been delivered to research customers worldwide. Optimization of this sourcefor 13 nm will make it possible to address a much greater range of industry needs. We haveidentified three possible approaches for optimizing 13 nm flux. In this project we plan toperform a direct comparative evaluation of these approaches. Based on our physical understanding,we believe we can determine the global optimum for HHG conversion to 13 nm.Broader Impacts :KMlabs and the EUV ERC will each leverage their technical strengths, and this project willserve to leverage the impact of EUV ERC technology on the science and technology enterprise.The rapid advance of microelectronics technology, as described by Moore?s law, has been amajor driver of the global economy. This advance has been driven primarily by progress inlithography that allows for shrinking feature size. Current visible wavelength tools are strainingagainst fundamental limits, and the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors hasbeen anticipated a shift to EUV lithography for quite some time. The timeline for EUV hadrepeatedly experienced delays because the use of EUV light, which is strongly absorbed byall materials, is radically more difficult to work with than visible/UV.Nevertheless, recent progress in 13 nm EUV light sources for lithographic exposure has madeits adoption for the 22 nm node-size in the next generation computer chips a high priority.EUV lithography remains untested at the systems and large-scale production level, with manyunknowns. Improved capabilities for mask defect detection and characterization, for characterizingoptics degradation with long-term use, and for tasks such as alignment and quality control,can all benefit from a usable tabletop at-wavelength laser source. An HHG-based coherent 13nm EUV light source is a relatively low cost, small-scale, contamination-free coherent sourcesuitable for industrial application, and which has already been proven to enable new capabilitiessuch as coherent diffractive EUV imaging with near-wavelength resolution, and for materialscharacterization. KMlabs plans to build on this proposed work in future with development ofreflectometer/ellipsometer instruments, as well as an inspection microscope for EUV lithographyapplications.