Feb 21 2008
Prior to SPIE Advanced Lithography 2008, Cymer, Inc., the world’s leading supplier of light sources used in semiconductor lithography, announced today the availability of high-performance (HP) upgrades for its XLA 105, XLA 300, and XLA 400 products. The upgrades offer customers better metrology and increased productivity as compared to competing light source systems.
The HP upgrade to the XLA 105 will be used on critical- to mid-critical dry ArF layers, and offers customers accurate E95 reporting to support better critical dimension (CD) control, in addition to Gas Lifetime eXtensionTM (GLXTM) control system technology to enable increased light source productivity coupled with improved bandwidth stability.
The XLA 300 and 400 product upgrades will be used on critical- to mid-critical immersion ArF layers and will consist of the advanced bandwidth control line narrowing module (ABC LNM) in addition to the GLXTM control system. While the GLXTM control system improves system uptime and bandwidth stability, ABC enables the operator to achieve light source to light source bandwidth matching, improving process control and easing the transition to high-volume immersion lithography.
“As a committed partner for scanner manufacturers and chipmakers around the world, Cymer continues to develop advanced technical capabilities that provide increased value to our customers,” said Richard Vogt, Cymer’s senior director of product management. “We understand the industry’s need to improve uptime and productivity in order to reduce operating costs, and we are committed to engineering products – such as these HP upgrades – that help our customers reach these goals.”
The XLA 105-HP configuration will begin shipping in the second quarter of 2008, with field upgrades becoming available in the third quarter. The upgrades on XLA 300-HP and 400-HP will be offered at the end of the third quarter.