"The lens determines the
feature size you can make, and by replacing an old lens with this superlens, you could make smaller features at a lower cost.
The second-generation etch was able to help with the
feature size reduction but not the uneven tone.
As IC designers create more complex geometries with smaller features in mind, photomask sets prices will continue to rise, scaling up in cost from one node (
feature size) to the next.
FIGURES 2F-J represent ink-jet printings showing minimum line
feature size in the range of 75 to 100 microns and ~50 microns dot patterned.
While photolithography has been the primary driver over the past 40 years toward driving down
feature size and increasing device densities in semiconductor devices, a number of basic materials technologies have been instrumental and, indeed essential, in supporting that trend.
Major breakthroughs with SEIMS, or Sandia Embedded Integrated Micromechanical Systems, are the achievement of functionality yields of [greater than]70%, compared to [less than]5% for some traditional integration techniques; and achievement of a 0.5 [[micro]meter] microelectronic
feature size.
With an STM, the
feature size is maintained regardless of pattern geometry, indicating an absence of proximity effects.