Investigating static-charge issues in photolithography areas

摘要

The semiconductor industry is seeking to increase productivity on two fronts: by shifting from 200-mm to 300-mm wafers and by shrinking feature sizes. However, because of overcapacity in 200-mm wafer fabs, the move toward 300-mm wafers has slowed considerably. Consequently, it has become clear that increased manufacturing efficiency in the short term will result primarily from the die shrinks that result from smaller feature sizes. It is widely believed that 0.1-μm features on 200-mm wafers will become a reality before 300-mm production begins in earnest. Chips with 0.25-μm feature sizes are already in mass production, and pilot lines for 0.18-μm devices are already in operation.