Production plant for producing integrated circuits from semiconductor wafers and waffle element for a production plant
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for supplying EUV radiation to lithography machines in chip production are costly and complex, requiring efficient routing through buildings while maintaining radiation integrity and minimizing vibrations and radiation losses.
Innovation Solution
A waffle element design with multiple passages allows for flexible routing of the EUV supply line at acute angles through a perforated base, decoupling from a beam guide at an obtuse angle, and using a vacuum tube to minimize absorption, with optical beam splitters ensuring minimal radiation loss and vibration resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the radiation generator is located in the factory building with lithography machines, then the EUV radiation can be supplied directly, but the building construction becomes complex and costly with special requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into separate functional modules: the radiation generator is housed in a separate building from the lithography machines, with the beam guide serving as an independent connection element. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while maintaining effective EUV radiation transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
A beam guide acts as an intermediary element between the radiation generator and lithography machines, enabling EUV radiation transmission over distance while maintaining vacuum conditions and minimizing radiation loss. The beam guide includes vacuum chambers and optical elements that facilitate efficient energy transfer.
2Ease of operation
If the beam guide is routed through the factory building, then the radiation can reach the lithography machine, but it interferes with space utilization and transport devices
Solution Approach 1:
The beam guide is positioned in the basement level below the lithography machines, utilizing the vertical dimension to resolve spatial conflicts. This allows the beam guide to pass through the floor slab without occupying production space, while supply lines branch off at obtuse angles to deliver radiation to machines on upper levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The beam guide positioning creates an asymmetric layout where the radiation source is offset from the machine array, with supply lines entering at non-standard angles. This asymmetric arrangement optimizes both radiation delivery efficiency and space utilization for transport devices.
3Reliability
If the beam guide is positioned in the production building, then radiation can be supplied, but vibrations from material access area affect the EUV radiation
Solution Approach 1:
The beam guide is extracted from the vibration-prone material access area and repositioned in the basement near personnel access, where environmental conditions are more stable. This extraction eliminates the harmful vibration influence while maintaining the beam guide's functional integrity.
4Ease of manufacture
If the radiation generator is in a separate building, then the factory building can be constructed optimally, but the EUV radiation transmission distance increases causing energy loss
Solution Approach 1:
The beam guide maintains continuous vacuum conditions and direct line-of-sight transmission paths for EUV radiation, minimizing energy loss despite the distance between separate buildings. Optical elements within the beam guide ensure continuous and efficient radiation transfer from source to lithography machines.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables cost-effective and simple EUV radiation supply to lithography machines, maintaining radiation integrity and reducing vibrations, thus optimizing chip production efficiency and building utilization.
Implementation Method 1
The beam guide is a vacuum tube in which the EUV radiation is propagated. The vacuum ensures that the EUV rays are not or only marginally absorbed.
Implementation Method 2
The EUV radiation is decoupled from the beam guide into the feed line at an obtuse angle by optical beam splitters.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The manufacturing facility is used to produce integrated circuits on semiconductor wafers and has at least one radiation generator that generates EUV radiation. It is fed to at least one lithography machine for exposure of the wafer. The lithography machine is housed in a factory building (1). The radiation generator is located in a building (3) or part of a building that is separate from the factory building (1). The EUV radiation is supplied to the production building (1) via at least one beam guide (9). At least one feed line (21) branches off the beam guide (9) at an obtuse angle, via which at least part of the EUV radiation is fed to the lithography machine (2). The waffle element (22) has at least one passage (27) which has a rectangular outline and encloses an acute angle (α) with a central plane of the waffle element (22), seen in a plan view of the waffle element (22). The production plant and the waffle element (22) enable the EUV radiation to be supplied to the lithography machine (2) in a cost-effective and simple manner.