Development of the ASML EUV alpha demo tool

As the predecessor for Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUVL) production tools, ASML is realizing a development exposure tool, the alpha demo tool. The main objectives for undertaking this effort are to minimize the risks of changing to a new lithographic technology in production and to support the development of the global infrastructure of masks, sources, and resist. For this, initial imaging of the alpha demo tool is aimed at features consistent with teh 45-nm technology node. In this paper we will present the status of the realization of the alpha demo tool. Several modules of the system have been integrated in the main body, and results of the system (vacuum) performance. We will summarize the current status of EUV sources including the recent work on alternatives to using Xe, report on our in-house source research, and provide an update on the fabrication of EUV optics. Polishing data of the projection optics mirrors shows that not only have we realized the requirements for 45-nm imaging, but also are we well underway in meeting the imagin requirements for production EUVL at the 32-nm node and beyond. Finally, since key to the commercial success of EUVL will be the availability of the infrastructure for reticles and resist, we will summarize the general status of EUV masks and resist.