Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (DNP), a leading producer of semiconductor photomasks,
and Molecular Imprints,
Inc., a market and technology leader for nanopatterning systems and solutions,
today announced that they have entered into a strategic collaboration agreement
to speed the commercialization of nanoimprint lithography for high-volume semiconductor
device manufacturing.
Under the terms of the agreement, DNP will provide Molecular Imprints with
funding and related support for the development of a new mask replication platform
designed to significantly lower imprint mask production costs - a substantial
step forward in establishing the imprint technology infrastructure needed for
volume-production applications.
The mask replication platform development program will utilize Molecular Imprints'
innovative Jet and Flash™ Imprint Lithography (J-FIL™) technology
to replicate master imprint masks at significantly higher throughputs compared
to traditional mask e-beam writers-resulting in significant reductions in total
mask costs to levels well below the cost for optical photomasks used today.
The goal of the program is to develop mask replication technology that will
be ready for commercial deployment for the 22nm half-pitch node.
The advent of current deep sub-wavelength imaging with complex mask techniques,
double patterning, and limited mask lifetime due to haze have all contributed
to masks becoming a major component of lithography costs for advanced semiconductor
manufacturing. Now that DNP has demonstrated that 1X imprint masks can be fabricated
with the existing photomask infrastructure, the advantages of low-cost replication
can be brought to bear to reduce overall imprint mask cost of ownership (CoO).
The master imprint mask can be faithfully and cost-effectively replicated hundreds
of times using the mask replication platform now under development by Molecular
Imprints with support from DNP.
"Our industry partnerships allow DNP to gain knowledge and expertise on
enabling cutting-edge technologies, which in turn allow us to provide our customers
with access to solutions to meet the semiconductor industry's ever-growing lithography
mask demands at the earliest possible date," stated Mr. Naoya Hayashi,
research fellow at DNP. "This collaboration with Molecular Imprints gives
DNP an important advantage in the area of imprint lithography, and will enable
us to lead the way in supporting the semiconductor industry's imprint mask needs."
"This partnership with DNP is a key component of our overall strategy
to accelerate adoption of our J-FIL technology initially for advanced non-volatile
memory production," stated Mark Melliar-Smith, CEO of Molecular Imprints.
"DNP is a pioneer in the development and commercialization of sub-30nm
half-pitch imprint masks. Through their support of our mask replication development
program, DNP is helping to ensure the availability of low-cost imprint masks
to address the growing global demand within the semiconductor industry for high-resolution,
low cost-of-ownership lithography."
Molecular Imprints' J-FIL technology is built on the semiconductor industry's
existing optical lithography infrastructure, using commercially available photomask,
exposure source and resist technology. As a result, the company's imprint lithography
systems are a drop-in technology suitable for mix-and-match strategies, where
their resolution and cost advantages can be deployed on critical layers. Molecular
Imprints' J-FIL technology offers 12nm resolution patterning in a single exposure
using a simplified design and process. Imprint systems utilizing J-FIL provide
a highly extendible, low CoO patterning solution for multiple design generations.
Posted July 1st, 2009
