Continuous rapid shrinking of feature size made the authorities to seek alternative patterning methods as the conventional\nphotolithography comes with its intrinsic resolution limit. In this regard, some promising techniques have been proposed as\nnext-generation lithography (NGL) that has the potentials to achieve both high-volume production and very high resolution.\nThis article reviews the promising NGL techniques and introduces the challenges and a perspective on future\ndirections of the NGL techniques. Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) is considered as the main candidate for sub-10-\nnm manufacturing, and it could potentially meet the current requirements of the industry. Remarkable progress in EUVL\nhas been made and the tools will be available for commercial operation soon. Maskless lithography techniques are used for\npatterning in R&D, mask/mold fabrication and low-volume chip design. Directed self-assembly has already been realized\nin laboratory and further effort will be needed to make it as NGL solution. Nanoimprint lithography has emerged\nattractively due to its simple process steps, high throughput, high resolution and low cost and become one of the\ncommercial platforms for nanofabrication. However, a number of challenging issues are waiting ahead, and further\ntechnological progresses are required to make the techniques significant and reliable to meet the current demand. Finally, a\ncomparative study is presented among these techniques.
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