Three years ago Entegris pioneered a novel method of controlling ammonium sulfate (AS) haze by maintaining 193 nm
reticles in a low humidity environment. Since then, this approach has became an industry standard and is widely used in
production fabs around the world. Based on analysis of practical applications in HVM fabs, this paper describes a
successful approach to reticle haze control, outlines its critical elements and explains its limiting factors. In addition to
actual fab data, the paper provides a large body of comparative experimental data on humidity dynamics in different
reticle storage schemes and arrangements. With this data, the authors explain why some designs work much better than
others and provide practical recommendations for lithography practitioners on haze control equipment selections and reticle management strategy development.
With the projected rollout of pre-production extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) scanners in 2010, EUVL pilot line
production will become a reality in wafer fabrication companies. Among EUVL infrastructure items that must be ready,
EUV mask carriers remain critical. To keep non-pellicle EUV masks free from particle contamination, an EUV pod
concept has been extensively studied. Early prototypes demonstrated nearly particle-free results at a 53 nm PSL
equivalent inspection sensitivity during EUVL mask robotic handling, shipment, vacuum pump-purge, and storage. After
the passage of SEMI E152, which specifies the EUV pod mechanical interfaces, standards-compliant EUV pod
prototypes, including a production version inner pod and prototype outer pod, were built and tested. Their particle
protection capability results are reported in this paper. A state-of-the-art blank defect inspection tool was used to
quantify their defect protection capability during mask robotic handling, shipment, and storage tests. To ensure the availability of an EUV pod for 2010 pilot production, the progress and preliminary test results of pre-production EUV outer pods are reported as well.
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