100 kV High Resolution e-Beam Lithography System

Description:

Since October 1st, 1996, the Cornell Nanoscale Facility (CNF) has housed a Leica VB-6HR. The VB6 is an advanced electron beam lithography system capable of reproducibly achieving feature sizes less than 30 nm. It is equipped with a thermal field emission electron source running at 100 kV providing the high brightness and small source size required for nanolithography. For 0.1 µm lithography, beam currents as high as 10 nA are possible. These features, combined with the precise addressability of the 16 bit field, make high resolution lithography routine.

The system has a precision stage which can handle substrate sizes up to 200 mm wafers. CNF is equipped to routinely handle 100, 150, and 200 mm wafers, as well as small pieces and masks up to 6". Stage positioning is monitored by a laser interferometer with λ / 1024 = 0.6 nm precision. The VB6 is also equipped with a real-time laser height sensor for dynamic field size corrections, and dynamic focus/astigmatism corrections.

Capabilities:

• 100 kV Field Emission
• 25 MHz Advanced Pattern Generator
• Substrate sizes up to 200 mm wafers
• Minimum feature size is under 30 nm
• The stage is precise to λ/1024
• 40 nm (mean + 3σ) overlay accuracy for aligned exposures
• 40 nm (mean + 3σ) stitching accuracy for patterns larger than a single field

Additional Resources: