Immersion lithography

Abstract

Immersion technology is changing the semiconductor industry's roadmap and will extend the life of optical lithography to new, smaller limits. The technology is drawing interest because of the two major benefits it offers. First, higher numerical apertures can be built than when using lenses in air, thus improving resolution. Second, a slower loss of depth of focus is achieved even when printing small features. Both benefits come without a change in exposure wavelength, making it possible to further extend existing materials and methodologies.