GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Intel, TSMC, and Samsung Electronics have joined SEMATECH's EMI partnership to build metrology devices for detecting defects in advanced masks suitable for extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL).

The semiconductor firms hope to manufacture defect-free EUVL in bulk volumes.

In 2010, SEMATECH introduced EMI to target crucial infrastructure limitations for EUV related to mask metrology, by providing financial support for the development of key metrology equipment. Carl Zeiss and SEMATECH have collaborated to develop and manufacture the first actinic aerial image metrology (AIMS) EUV system in the industry, which was specifically designed for EUVL bulk production.

The AIMS EUV platform is a crucial device to design and produce defect-free EUVL masks that meets the requirements of the 22 nm half-pitch (HP) technology node and the 16 nm HP node. The platform will be ready for production in the middle of 2014.

VP of Advanced Technologies, SEMATECH, John Warlaumont, stated that the AIMS system is the largest project ever undertaken by the company for developing semiconductor photomask detection equipment and aims at commercializing EUV for bulk manufacturing.

EMI is available to mask blank suppliers, mask and chip-manufacturers, regional governments, and other consortia.