New lithography excimer light source technology for ArF (193 nm) semiconductor manufacturing

Future argon fluoride (ArF), 193 nm photolithography applications will require excimer light sources to generate very narrow spectral bandwidths at high output power. In order to meet these requirements, the traditional single-gas-discharge-chamber design used by lithography excimer light sources for the past ten years will transition to a new dual-chamber Master Oscillator Power Amplifier (MOPA) technology. MOPA will provide lithographers with significant performance benefits and manufacturing cost advantages at the 193 nm exposure wavelength. This paper will explain MOPA architecture and describe its numerous advantages vis-a-vis the single-chamber design.