Photo template - a glass or other plate or a polymer film with a pattern of circuit elements formed on its surface from a material that does not transmit actinic radiation.
A photomask is one of the main tools in creating a given relief protective coating during photolithography in planar technology . Depending on the material of the film coating, photo masks are distinguished based on:
- photographic emulsion (emulsion photomasks)
- metal film (metal masks)
- iron oxides (color masks)
Types of Photo Masks
Negative photomask (dark-field) - a photomask in which the image of the circuit elements is presented in the form of light sections on an opaque background.
Positive photomask (bright-field) - a photomask in which the image of the circuit elements is represented as sections that are opaque to actinic radiation on a light transparent background.
Metallized photomask - a photomask on which the image of the circuit elements is formed by a thin metal film.
Transparent (color) photomask - a photomask on which the image of circuit elements is formed by a coating that does not transmit actinic radiation and transmits non-actinic (visible spectrum) radiation for photoresist.
Emulsion photomask - a photomask on which the image of circuit elements is formed by a silver-silver photographic emulsion.
Photo Market
At the annual conference of the Society of Optics and Photonics ( SPIE ), Photomask Technology presented a study of the global market for the production of photomasks for microelectronics. As of 2009, the largest manufacturers were [1] :
- Infinite Graphics Incorporated
- Dai nippon printing
- Toppan photomasks
- Photronics Inc
- Hoya corporation
- Taiwan Mask Corporation
- Compugraphics Photomask Solutions
Many of the largest manufacturers of microelectronics, such as Intel , GlobalFoundries , IBM , NEC , TSMC , Samsung and Micron , either had their own template manufacturing facilities or created joint ventures for these purposes.
The cost of creating the production of photo masks (the so-called Mask shop ) for the 45 nm manufacturing process is estimated at 200-500 million US dollars, which creates significant barriers to entering this market.
The cost of one photomask for the customer is from 1 to 10 thousand dollars (estimates from 2007) [2] or up to 200 thousand (SEMATECH estimates from 2011) [3] , depending on the requirements. The most expensive are phase-shifting masks for the most delicate manufacturing processes. For the production of microcircuits on the old manufacturing process, a set of about 20-30 masks of various cost or more is required [3] . For the most modern technological processes, for example 22 nm, more than 50 masks are required. [four]
The duration of manufacturing and testing one mask is on average from 5-7 to 23 days, depending on the technologies used. [five]
One mask, according to SEMATECH research, is used for the manufacture of approximately 0.5 to 5 thousand semiconductor wafers [3] .
In Russia
In Russia, photomask enterprises exist on the basis of the following organizations:
- Zelenograd Innovation and Technology Center , Zelenograd
- NPK Ferrit-Quasar , St. Petersburg
- Factory "Svetlana" , St. Petersburg
- NPP "Radar MMS" , St. Petersburg
- "Vanguard" , St. Petersburg
- NGO Measuring Equipment , Korolev
In St. Petersburg [ significance of fact? ] manufacturer of photomasks of all types is the Ferrit-Quasar Research and Production Company , which in 2009 stood out from the Ferrit-Domain Research Institute [6] .
In addition, in 2013 in Zelenograd the Center for Designing, Cataloging and Production of Photomasks (CFS) for the manufacture of integrated circuits (IS) was opened, which was created in two stages since 2006 [7] . The project is being implemented by the Roselektronika holding as part of the Federal Target Program "Development of the Electronic Component Base and Radio Electronics" . [8] The center allows the design and manufacture of various types of photo masks. [9] [10]
In 2013, it also announced its intention to create Microsystems Centers (based on Avangard OJSC , St. Petersburg ) and photo masks (based on Planar NPO , Minsk ) as part of the Russian-Belarusian Microsystem Technology program. [11] [12]
Notes
- ↑ Hughes, Greg; Henry Yun. Mask industry assessment: 2009 (neopr.) // Proceedings of SPIE . - 2009. - 1 October ( t. 7488 , No. 1 ). - S. 748803-748813 . - ISSN 0277786X . - DOI : 10.1117 / 12.832722 .
- ↑ people.rit.edu/lffeee/LEC_MASK.pdf - Introduction to Maskmaking Dr. Lynn Fuller // Rochester Institute of Technology, Microelectronic Engineering - 2007
- ↑ 1 2 3 Principles of Lithography , Third Edition, SPIE Press, 2011 ISBN 978-0-8194-8324-9 page 366 11.1.3 Mask costs: “AMD ... average reticle was used to expose only 1800-2400 wafers. ... For makers of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), the mask usage can be low; 500 wafers per reticle is considered typcial ... For manufacturers of DRAMs or mainstream microprocessors, usage can easily be greater than 5000 wafers per reticle. ”
- ↑ SEMATECH's Photomask Industry Survey Validates Top Industry Challenges and Identifies Long-Term Opportunities Archived October 4, 2013 by Wayback Machine , September 24, 2013: “The number of masks per mask set has seen a 14 percent long-term growth rate with the average number more than doubling from 23 at the 250 nm node to 54 at the 22 nm node. ”
- ↑ Semiconductor Manufacturing Handbook (2005) SA8-PA5: “Delivery times average 5 days for a simple binary mask to 7 days for a binary mask with aggressive optical proximity correction (OPC) applied. Attenuated phase shift mask delivery times averaged 11 days. Alternating aperture phase shift masks (PSMs) average 23 days. ”
- ↑ Services for the manufacture of photomasks in NPK Ferrit-Quasar
- ↑ Launched a new Zelenograd "Center for the manufacture of photomasks"
- ↑ Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of November 26, 2007 N 809 “On the federal target program“ Development of the electronic component base and radio electronics ”for 2008-2015”
- ↑ Launched a new Zelenograd "Center for the manufacture of photomasks"
- ↑ Roselectronika will support new microelectronic production and technological centers in Zelenograd
- ↑ Belarus and Russia will create joint centers for microsystems and photo masks . BELTA (February 20, 2013). Date of treatment February 12, 2014.
- ↑ Depths of the microworld (inaccessible link) . ng.by (April 23, 2013). Date of treatment February 12, 2014. Archived March 6, 2014.
Literature
- Hwaiyu Geng, Semiconductor manufacturing handbook. ISBN 978-0-07-146965-4 , McGraw-Hill Handbooks 2005, doi: 10.1036 / 0071445595 . Section 8 Photomask (Charles Howard, DuPont)
- Glazkov I.M., Raikhman Y.A. Image generators in the production of integrated circuits .. - Minsk: Science and technology, 1981. - 144 p.