Status of 157-nm optical lithography

This paper describes the status of 157-nm lithography in mid 2004. With the rapid rise of 193-nm immersion from a potential concept in early 2002 at SPIE, through its development, to scheduled delivery of early production tools in late 2004 and early 2005, 157-nm lithography has taken a backseat in the development of optical lithographic technology. While significant challenges were conquered during the 2000 through 2002 period, the development was too slow to prevent 157-nm from being eclipsed by 193-nm immersion. This work reviews the challenges that were identified and conquered during the development of 157-nm lithography. The jury is still out on potential application to production lithography, although the main development effort has been seriously scaled back. There are still issues that remain to be solved before the technology could evolve into a full manufacturing system. The answer to the question of whether it will evolve or not is left to the future to answer.