Pellicle films supporting the ramp to HVM with EUV

EUV pellicles are needed to support EUV lithography in high volume manufacturing. We demonstrate progress in cap layer design for increased EUV transmission and infrared emission of the Polysilicon-film. In our research lab we obtained EUV transmission of 90% and good emissivity for a fully capped pSi film. We also discuss results on next generation EUV pellicle films. These include metal-silicides and graphite. Next-gen film performance is compared to the current generation pSi film. These films are expected to be stable at higher operating temperature than pSi. Metal-silicides have the advantage of sharing a similar process flow as that of pSi, while graphite shows ultimate high temperature performance at the expense of a more complicated manufacturing flow. Capping layers are needed here as well and capping strategies are discussed for these film generations.