The French R&D program on EUV lithography: PREUVE

PREUVE is the French federative program aimed at developing knowledge concerning the critical issues of EUV Lithography. The project supported by the French ministry of industry is one of the most important project in the field of nano-technologies in France. PREUVE is focused on different relevant aspects of the EUV lithography. Different kinds of EUV sources at 13.5nm for the purposes of lithography and metrology have been studied. Also reflective optics and multilayer coatings for the illuminating and the projection cameras have been realized. A complete development of EUV masks including substrates, multilayer coatings and reticules has been realized. Relevant metrologies for reflectivity measurements and defects detection have been developed. Finally the construction of an experimental exposure bench with high magnification (x10) and very high numerical aperture (0.32) has been pursued for process development. A summary of the results obtained in the frame of the project is presented hereafter.