EUV pellicle scanner integration for N2 nodes and beyond

EUV lithography has been adopted worldwide for High-Volume Manufacturing (HVM) of sub-10nm node semiconductors. To support HVM, EUV pellicles were introduced by ASML in 2016. More recently, several novel pellicle materials have been developed to offer higher transmission and support higher source powers. The current focus is on two classes of pellicles to support the upcoming NXE:3800 and the associated N2 node, and beyond: Si-based composites and CNT-based pellicles. In this paper, we will give an overview of scanner integration results of current EUV pellicles, both Si-based composites and CNT-based pellicles. This overview will cover high-level aspects of transmission, imaging, robustness and lifetime; as well as underlying contributors such as EUV-uniformity, EUV-reflectivity, flare and DUV-reflectivity. Reviewing achieved performance will illustrate the suitability of these materials to support advanced nodes in production. Additionally, the anticipated future performance of EUV pellicles when used with increasing EUV source powers and high-NA scanners will be provided.