NIST aids 'liquid lens'

Preliminary measurements by NIST physicists show that high-purity water may be the best substance for the optical design of liquid-immersion lithography. The "liquid lens" technique, which places liquids between the final optical element and the wafer, is seen as a viable means of extending the resolution to 65 nm for traditional lithography at the 193-nm wavelength. The technique also holds the potential to achieve 45-nm resolution at the 157-nm wavelength.

One key to the successful use of the technique is a favorable refractive index. NIST points out that the refractive index of water is high enough to lessen the effects of diffraction, which can limit the resolution needed for projecting small feature sizes. The institute's researchers also determined that the water's refractive index is highly sensitive to changes in temperature, another key characteristic for design optics.

Chip surge helps cleanrooms

Construction of 300-mm fabs for a resurgent semiconductor industry will help propel cleanroom equipment revenues to a new peak in 2007, a market research firm predicts. The McIlvaine Co. says chipmakers are expected to begin building more than 10 300-mm fabs over the next year. That boom, and strong performances by the FPD and pharmaceutical industries, will push sales of cleanroom hardware from $3.4 billion in 2002 to $6 billion by 2007.

Cleanroom equipment sales have dropped 25% from their historic high of $4 billion in 2000, the research firm notes in its on-line report, Cleanrooms: World Markets. The predicted rebound will see sales rise to $3.8 billion in 2003 and to $4.4 billion in 2004.

The report points to several indicators of an upswing in the semiconductor industry's fortunes. In addition to the expected new fabs, silicon wafer shipments are near their historic peak, supplies of 300-mm wafers are tightening, and FPD manufacturing is the fastest-growing segment of the cleanroom industry, according to McIlvaine. The high level of cleanliness required in 300-mm fabs will prove a boon
for cleanroom equipment sales. Each increase in capacity translates to an investment of more than $500 in equipment for each square foot of cleanroom space, the report says. Furthermore, capacity increases lead to investment of more than $2000 for each additional wafer.

Taiwan will set the pace for cleanroom equipment sales in the FPD sector, the report notes. Chi Me Optoelectronics' fifth-generation TFT-LCD fab is expected to go on-line next year in Taiwan. The cleanroom will measure more than 380,000 sq ft, making it one of the largest in the world.

In terms of markets, the United States still leads the world in cleanroom investment, McIlvaine notes. Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan follow. The report notes that Taiwanese customers will spend approximately $400 million in 2006—more than China, the United Kingdom, and
Germany combined. Information: www.mcilvainecompany.com/cleanroom.html.

SPIE launches digital library

More than 70,000 full-text papers from SPIE journals and proceedings are now available on the Internet. Launched in August, the SPIE Digital Library contains papers issued by the optical engineering society since 1998. In addition, the on-line database offers citations and abstracts for SPIE papers published since 1995.

SPIE says it will add approximately 15,000 new papers annually to the site, www.spiedl.org. The organization also has plans to place papers back to 1990 on the site by the end of 2004. Features of the new service include e-mail alerts by journal or technology, personal article collections, and browsing options for year, volume, technology, symposium, and title.

Annual subscriptions for individuals offer 50 full-text papers. Members pay $125; non-members, $195. Individual papers are available for $15.

ASTM opens up standards

In a bid to increase openness in standards setting, ASTM International has inaugurated an Internet-based system for tracking drafts and revisions. Users of the new Work Item Registration system can search key words for new standards and revisions. In addition, a free e-mail service notifies users of new work items. Users may also view a committee's area of jurisdiction for a specific item.

"The added openness, available to everybody, contributes to a better understanding of the work being performed by ASTM members," says James Thomas, president. The new service can be found at www.astm.org.

Books cover films, defects

Topics such as thin films and oxide surfaces are covered in a nine-volume series of books that has been published recently by the Materials Research Society (MRS). All volumes are part of the MRS Symposium Proceedings Series. Among the volumes are Morphological and Compositional Evolution of Thin Films and Structure-Property Relationships of Oxide Surfaces and Interfaces II. The first book (Volume 749) is a collection of proceedings from symposia begun in fall 1990. The volume discusses issues common to both surface science and materials science. The second book (Volume 751) addresses the irregularity of oxide systems, their unique atomic arrangements, and defects that distinguish the interface from the bulk system.

Both these and other volumes are available on the MRS Web site. Access is free to society members. Information: www.mrs.org.