EUV imaging at Hyper NA

To continue scaling semiconductor devices, we need to be able to print ever smaller structures. Currently, this can be achieved with high NA EUV lithography. In the future, the next logical step is to increase the NA further to so called hyper NA systems. This comes with some challenges however: depth of focus will shrink which will require thinner photoresist. Also, intrinsic resist granularity will become more important at smaller dimensions. The first goal of the thesis is therefore to model photoresist to find what is needed for hyper NA. The second part is to understand the usefulness of hyper NA. This requires identifying patterning cliffs for various designs that could be enabled by a higher NA as well as mask/imaging solutions to push this limit further. 

As part of the “Imaging and Reticles” team within the Advanced Pattering department of imec in Leuven, you will work alongside a group of dedicated researchers, who study the optical image formation process in the most advanced lithography system in the world and its dependency on all aspects of the photomask. In addition, you will be enrolled in the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven during your PhD studies.