Opportunity : Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), operated by the Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS), LLC under contract no. DE-AC52-07NA27344 (Contract 44) with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is offering the opportunity to enter into a collaboration to further develop and commercialize LLNL’s liquid-tamped targets for EUV source production technology. Background : In recent years, a few companies around the world have been looking for the next generation technology for producing semiconductor devices with features size <14nm. The first stage in a semiconductor device manufacturing process is the lithography step. In this process, a radiation source is used to photoengrave a pattern in a silicon wafer. Until recently a UV source at wavelength of ~190nm was used. However, creating features of sizes smaller than 14nm becomes extremely difficult when using this source. The leading technology contender today employs Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) radiation sources. These sources use high intensity lasers to irradiate small liquid tin droplet targets producing a plasma which has a strong emission feature at a 13.5nm wavelength. ] Description : Livermore Lab researchers have developed a new EUV target design that replaces liquid tin droplets with tin microbeads embedded in a low Z tamping fluid. The use of low Z liquid tamped targets can solve several problems that are currently faced by the industry. It can increase the total operational uptime from 80% to close to 100%. It can simplify EUV source design and reduce operating costs by eliminating the need for some major components and their associated maintenance requirements. Advantages : LLNL’s new target design uses smaller mass targets that can be fully ionized leaving no neutral debris to contaminate system optics and reduce the possibility of metal particulates reaching the mask/wafer. Tamped targets generate a Lambertian radiation pattern which allows for a mostly axial direction of emission without significant loss. Combined with an off-axis laser excitation prevents the laser from blocking the line of sight and as a result eliminates the need to use a large, expensive multilayer collector mirror. Current EUV systems are expensive to run and suffer from significant downtime as their collector mirror needs frequent maintenance. The new design does not use multilayer mirrors allowing other target materials to be employed for future radiation sources with even shorter wavelengths. As an added advantage emission occurs from both sides of the target potentially doubling EUV output and by sizing targets to be completely consumed leads to even further conversion efficiency improvements. Potential Applications : These novel target sources can be used for efficiently generating EUV light for photolithographically imprinting the smallest critical dimension very-large-scale integrated circuit elements on silicon wafers for fabricating next generation ultra-high-density microelectronics, exascale microprocessors and terabyte capacity memory chips. Development Status: LLNL’s liquid-tamped targets for EUV lithography technology is patent pending. LLNL assesses the TRL at 2-3. LLNL is seeking industry partners with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Moving critical technology beyond the Laboratory to the commercial world helps our licensees gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. All licensing activities are conducted under policies relating to the strict nondisclosure of company proprietary information. Please visit the IPO website at https://ipo.llnl.gov/ resources for more information on working with LLNL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process. Note: THIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT . Companies interested in commercializing LLNL's Novel Design of Targets for EUV Sources for Nanolithography should provide a written statement of interest, which includes the following: 1. Company Name and address. 2. The name, address, and telephone number of a point of contact. 3. A description of corporate expertise and facilities relevant to commercializing this technology. Written responses should be directed to: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Innovation and Partnerships Office Connie Pitcock,
[email protected] Attention: FBO 463-20 Please provide your written statement within thirty (30) days from the date this announcement is published to ensure consideration of your interest in LLNL's Novel Design of Targets for EUV Nanolithography Sources.