Reference plate manufacturing process for the ion projection lithography pattern lock system

The 4 X Ion Projection Lithography (IPL), which is designed to reach sub 70 -nm feature sizes is a promising technology for the Next Generation Lithogr aphy (NGL). An important feature of IPL is the 'pattern lock' system allowi ng on-line control of the reduction ion image of stencil mask patterns proj ected onto the resist coated wafer substrate. An important part of the patt ern lock system is a 'reference plate' which is attached to the last lens e lectrode of the ion-optical column. A process flow for the fabrication of t his reference plate out of Si and Zerodur has been developed. This paper de scribes the Si device manufacturing process. First results of LMS IPRO plac ement measurements are presented and discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B .V. All rights reserved.