A cost analysis on the next generation lithography technology

A cost of ownership (CoO) model is used to analyze the cost of the next generation lithography(NGL) technology which includes proximity X-ray, ion beam projection(IPL), EUV and SCALPEL. The model takes into account the equipment cost, throughput, resist/process cost and mask cost. The purpose of this paper is to propose a baseline to discuss on the NGL CoO issue. General conclusion is that X-ray appears to be most cost-effective. This is the case when plural steppers are installed to a storage ring. IPL has to use a certain extent of complementary mask mode which may increase the IPL total cost. EUV appears to require higher throughput to be cost-competitive to other technologies because of expected higher machine and mask costs. SCALPEL may have difficulty to attain competent throughput. The key feature in this case is the electron beam current and the width of a unit exposure field covered by electron beam scanning.