Realize the power of mix-and-match strategies with DUV excimer steppers Announcing the Sale of Nikon's Step-and-Repeat System NSR-SF130

Sales Summary

Product name	Nikon Step-and-Repeat System NSR-SF130
Price (excluding tax)	About 600 ~ 650 million yen (varies by spec and configuration)
Sales launch date	January 2004

Development Background

In January of 2000, Nikon developed the NSR-SF100, the first i-line step-and-repeat scan field stepper in the industry designed for mix-and-match solutions with lens-scanning DUV excimer steppers. It was optimized for exposure of non-critical layers, which account for approximately half of all layers. Its design offered superior cost performance by virtue of shared features with lens-scanning DUV excimer steppers, such as its reduction ratio and exposure field, and by offering high resolution and throughput. Thereafter, the NSR-SF100 and its successors contributed substantially to improving productivity and reducing the total investment costs of manufacturing lines. To date the total number of SF series steppers sold has surpassed 120 units.

Based on the NSR-SF120, which realizes a high resolution of 280nm or better through use of a high N.A. lens, the NSR-SF130 being released this time offers greatly improved throughput by adopting a lightweight wafer stage and an optimized exposure sequence.

Major Performances

Resolution	280nm or better
N.A. (Numerical Aperture)	0.62
Light source	i-line (365nm wavelength)
Reduction ratio	1:4
Exposure field	26 x 33mm
Alignment accuracy	35nm or better (M+3σ)
Throughput (per hour)	300mm wafers: 120 or more wafers 200mm wafers: 120 or more wafers

Main Characteristics

• High throughput
  High throughput attained using a lightweight wafer stage and an enhanced operation sequence. And it boasts a high throughput of 120 or more 300mm wafers per hour, a 20% improvement over previous models.
  
  
• Wide exposure field and high resolution
  Although it is a stepper, the NSR-SF130 offers the same wide 26 by 33mm exposure field as Nikon lens-scanning DUV excimer steppers.
  Because it is equipped with a high N.A. (0.62) reduction projection lens, the NSR-SF130 achieves a high resolution of 280nm or better.
  
  
• Optimized for mix and match
  The NSR-SF130 features operating specifications that match those of the NSR-S207D lens-scanning KrF excimer stepper, the NSR-S307E lens-scanning ArF excimer stepper, and the NSR-SF200 KrF excimer scan field stepper. This design enables it to offer outstanding performance in mix-and-match schemes.
  The alignment accuracy is 35nm or better, which means that the NSR-SF130 can also accommodate mix-and-match strategies in mass production of next-generation lines with 90nm design rules.