In 1985, the 45th Institute of the Ministry of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (now the Ministry of Industry) successfully developed a prototype of a step-by-step lithography machine. The "scanning projection lithography machine" developed by the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Precision Machinery of the Chinese Academy of Sciences passed the appraisal and adopted all It is a 436nm G-line light source with a process technology of 1.5um. It is considered to have reached the 4800DSW level produced by GCA, filling a gap in domestic large-scale integrated circuit special equipment. This is the first step-by-step projection lithography machine in China. During this period, the gap with foreign countries in stepper lithography machines was no more than seven years.
In the 1980s, China began to introduce foreign capital on a large scale, exchanging market for technology and space for time. The route of trade, industry and technology squeezed the space for the growth of independent technology. Many G companies have transformed one after another, with technology discontinued, projects stagnant, and "making things worse". The idea of buying, renting is worse than buying" dominates the mainstream, including lithography machine projects.
Many domestic companies under the banner of high-tech are obsessed with the "quick money" brought by "trade" and "processing".
Although the research and development and production of integrated circuits are key scientific research projects, G companies and joint venture wafer companies have imported 3-inch and 4-inch wafers and semiconductor production lines with 3μm and 2μm processes. Domestic lithography machines lack the advantage of market competition. , several semiconductor equipment factories are all in a state of loss. Without continued investment in R&D funds, the R&D and production of lithography machines have stagnated.
Lithography machines have experienced rapid development for more than 30 years. According to the light source of lithography machines, from the first generation g-line (436nm) light source in the 1960s to the second generation i-line (365nm) light source, contact lithography machine, proximity lithography machine, to the third-generation KrF (248nm) light source stepping projection lithography machine in the 1970s, to the fourth-generation ArF (193nm) light source stepping scanning light in the 1980s. Engraving machines and equipment performance continue to improve, promoting the rapid development of integrated circuits in accordance with Moore's Law.
The light source of the lithography machines of the three research institutes in BSEC is still KrF (248nm), which is a whole generation different from the ArF (193nm) used by mainstream lithography machine production companies such as Nikon, GCA, and Canon...
In recent years, through Sugon Investment Company, Xiangjiang Shuguang Investment Company, American Sugon Investment Company, Shanghai Sugon Toshiba Wafer Company, Zeiss Sugon Optical Instrument Company, Shanghai Guozhi Semiconductor Research Institute and Shanghai Sugon Communication Technology Research Institute, there have been The reborn planners collected and read a large number of books and information on semiconductor technologies such as photolithography machines at home and abroad. They also read "The Manufacturing of Photolithography Masks" and "The Manufacturing of Photoresists" published domestically in the 1970s. "" and other professional books, wrote two books of reading notes and insights, coupled with the accumulation of knowledge in previous lives, blurted out professional terms, and became an "expert" in the lithography machine market.
Deng Guohui, deputy director of the Microelectronics Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was selected as a member of the academic department because he presided over the successful development of the first KrF excimer laser in China in 1991. Due to various reasons, the research and development of ArF excimer laser has not yet been approved. .
The most advanced 248nm scanning projection lithography machine in China jointly developed by the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Precision Machinery of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the 45th Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, and the Shanghai Optical Precision Machinery Factory has a process technology of only 1.5μm.
Nikon Semiconductor Equipment Company is currently mass-producing 8-inch wafers and 500nm process technology lithography machines, and is developing 8-inch wafers and 350nm process technology lithography machines; other foreign mainstream lithography machine companies are mass-producing 6-inch wafers and 800nm process technology We are developing lithography machines for 8-inch wafers and 500nm process technology.
From 4-inch wafers to 8-inch wafers, BSEC still needs to overcome three technical barriers of 5-inch, 6-inch and 8-inch wafers. The process technology ranges from 1.5μm to 500nm, with three barriers of 1μm, 800nm and 500nm in between. There is a long way to go to catch up with the world’s advanced level!
Chip manufacturing technology generally decreases at a rate of 0.7 times, and the number of transistors per unit area of a chip increases at a rate of 2 times.
After the millennium of the previous life, lithography machines were included in the 863 major scientific and technological research plan. The R&D team of the original 45th Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Y, which was engaged in step-by-step projection lithography machines, was moved to Shanghai to work with the Shanghai Optical Precision Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The institute merged with the Shanghai Optical Precision Machinery Factory to form the Shanghai Microelectronics Assembly Company, which undertook the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" research project for domestic lithography machines.
The principle of a photolithography machine is actually as simple as a slide projector, which is to project light through a mask with a circuit diagram onto a wafer coated with photoresist.
The lithography machine includes the exposure system (illumination system and projection objective lens system), workbench mask system, automatic alignment system and complete machine software system.
The main components include the light source, optical system (lens) and workbench (tray and base).
The light source is a basic configuration, which needs to provide the energy of light in a certain wavelength band and must be extremely stable.
The light is controlled within a rectangle of a few square centimeters through various lenses, called a field.
The lens is the core component of the photolithography machine. It is mainly made of glass and steel. The diameter of the back of a 1x lens is about one meter and weighs one or two tons. The 4x lens is much larger and heavier. Today, only Nikon has such a large lens optical system. , Zeiss and Canon can produce.
Japanese and German companies lead the world in photolithography machine optical systems, photoresist and mask technologies.
The biggest shortcoming of GCA is that the optical system provided by Zeiss cannot keep up with the rapid development of the lithography machine industry. As a result, every optical system update of GCA is half a beat slower than that of Nikon. The process technology is one generation slower than Nikon. In high-end lithography machines, The market was defeated by Nikon, which was leading step by step.
The workbench is a large pallet, with a linear motor underneath to control the movement of the platform.
The normal way is that the light source passes through the reflector lens group, collects the light and then reflects it onto the mask plate.
The mask is a reverse engraving of the circuit diagram. It is carved out in the laboratory. Light is projected onto the silicon wafer through the transparent part of the mask. After exposure for tens of milliseconds, the circuit diagram on the silicon wafer is produced through a chemical reaction.
The mask is mainly a glass sheet with the expected circuit engraved on it, which is then exposed on a machine and etched onto the silicon wafer to see the effect.
Lithography machine light source From the early 1960s to the mid-1980s, mercury lamps have been used for lithography, and their wavelengths are 436nm (g line), 405nm (h line) and 365nm (i line).
As the semiconductor industry demands higher resolution (higher integration and faster chips) and higher yields (lower costs), lithography tools based on mercury lamp sources are no longer able to meet the high-end needs of the semiconductor industry. According to the requirements, KrF (248 nm) and ArF (193 nm) excimer lasers came into being, which have higher requirements on lenses, masks and photoresists.
With the improvement of chip manufacturing technology, photolithography machines have become key equipment for the development of the semiconductor industry.
Although Japanese semiconductors have now lost the U.S. market due to the impact of the Japan-U.S. Semiconductor Agreement, Nikon lithography machines, which represent the highest level of lithography machines in the world, are still making progress. Semiconductor equipment companies such as II, AMD and HP have sent business representatives to I have lived in Nikon Semiconductor Equipment Company for a long time and am eagerly looking forward to the most advanced photolithography machines leaving the factory.
Today, Nikon lithography machines occupy 40% of the lithography machine market and monopolize the high-end lithography machine market. Canon lithography machines account for 20%. SVG, GCA and UltrataL, P&E, Eaton and Hitachi and other lithography machine companies each The market share occupied is less than 5%.
"Shura Martial God"
Japanese lithography equipment company dominates the lithography market!
American lithography machine companies are in deterioration.
The reborn people know that the high-end market of lithography machines in the previous life was monopolized by the rising star ASML!
Winner takes all!
Due to poor performance of ASML and losses every year, in September last year, Philips Semiconductor Company transferred its 30% ASML shares to Sugon Investment Company for US$20 million, allowing Sugon Investment Company to take control.
