Imec's new post-exposure bake method speeds up EUV chipmaking tools, boosting production for the most advanced chips — 20% gain in photoresist improvement from increased oxygen concentration

Imec.

Imec has demonstrated that the photo-speed of metal-oxide resist (MOR) can be improved significantly when oxygen concentration is raised beyond atmospheric levels during the EUV post-exposure bake (PEB) step. Faster photo-speed means the resist reaches target dimensions at a lower EUV dose, which directly improves EUV scanner throughput and reduces exposure cost. Gas composition in the PEB chamber has not been widely treated as an EUV optimization knob, which makes the announcement significant, but it remains to be seen whether this can be industrialized.

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