Nurturing Innovation: New Nanoimprint Area at SEMICON Japan 2009

摘要

Recently, semi announced the creation ofrnan exhibit area dedicated to nanoimprint lithography (NIL) at SEMICON~® Japan 2009. Lithography is often mentioned as the most expensive part of the semiconductor manufacturing process, accounting for 30-40% of the entire manufacturing cost. Asrnfeatures get smaller, lithography is becoming more complex and optical techniques currently in use are facing practical limits.rnImprint lithography is, along with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and mask-less lithography, one of the alternative, "post-optical" technologies listed by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) as a potential solution for lithography at 32 nm and below. Involving direct contact between a mold and a functional material such as resist, nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is said to have the potential to provide high resolution and throughput with reduced costs by eliminating various expensive equipment, materials and complex processes. In short, the advancement of NIL could contribute significandy to the development of the semiconductor industry.