How practical is 193 nm lithography?

The use of 193 nm ArF lasers to extend optical projection lithography to its Limits was proposed as early as the mid 1980s. Since then steady progress has been made in this area, and the last two years in particular have witnessed an exponentially growing interest in and commitment to its development. At present, 193 nm lithography is a leading candidate for printing 0.18 and 0.13 mu m devices. This article reviews the state of development of this technology at Lincoln Laboratory. Significant progress has been made in most areas: qualification of optical materials, characterization of a prototype large-field projection system, development of photoresist processes, and the fabrication of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor devices. (C) 1996 American Vacuum Society.