EUV之外的碎屑：软X射线和光刻的未来

新的研究探索了用于芯片制造的软X射线，有可能将光刻的分辨率推向5nm及以下。 “超越欧洲”是下一件大事吗？

The relentless pursuit of smaller, faster, and more efficient chips is pushing the boundaries of lithography. The latest buzz? Soft X-rays, offering a potential leap 'beyond-EUV' lithography. Here's the lowdown.

对较小，更快，更高效的芯片的无情追求正在推动光刻的边界。最新的嗡嗡声？柔软的X射线，提供潜在的飞跃“超越euv”光刻。这是低点。

The Promise of Soft X-rays in Chipmaking

芯片制作中软X射线的承诺

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are shaking things up with a new approach to chipmaking using lasers with wavelengths in the 6.5nm ~ 6.7nm range – we're talking Soft X-rays. This could potentially crank up the resolution of lithography tools to a mind-blowing 5nm and below. The scientists are calling it 'beyond-EUV' (B-EUV), hinting that it might just replace the industry-standard EUV lithography. But hold your horses, they admit that building even an experimental B-EUV tool is still years away.

约翰·霍普金斯大学（Johns Hopkins University）的研究人员正在使用一种新的方法，使用具有波长的激光器在6.5nm 〜6.7nm范围内的新方法来制作碎屑 - 我们正在谈论软X射线。这可能会使光刻工具的分辨率提高到令人震惊的5nm及以下。科学家称其为“超越euv”（B-euv），暗示它可能只是取代行业标准的EUV光刻。但是握住您的马，他们承认，即使是一个实验性的B-EUV工具，也有多年的时间。

Why Soft X-rays?

为什么要软X射线？

Today's most advanced chips rely on EUV lithography, which uses a 13.5 nm wavelength. While EUV can produce some impressively small features, pushing the limits requires increasingly complex and expensive systems. Soft X-rays offer a potential shortcut. By using a shorter wavelength, even lenses with moderate numerical aperture (NA) could achieve a resolution boost.

当今最先进的芯片依赖于使用13.5 nm波长的EUV光刻。虽然EUV可以产生一些令人印象深刻的小功能，但推动极限需要越来越复杂且昂贵的系统。软X射线可提供潜在的快捷方式。通过使用较短的波长，即使具有中等数值孔径（NA）的镜头也可以实现分辨率提升。

The Challenges Ahead

未来的挑战

It's not all smooth sailing. B-EUV faces some serious hurdles:

这并不是所有的航行顺利。 B-euv面临一些严重的障碍：

• Light Source: Creating a stable and powerful source of 6.7 nm wavelength radiation is a challenge.
• Photoresists: These shorter wavelengths don't play nice with traditional photoresist materials.
• Mirrors: Because pretty much everything absorbs these wavelengths instead of reflecting them, crafting suitable mirrors is a major task.
• Ecosystem: There is no ecosystem to support the designs with components and consumables.

In short, building a B-EUV machine requires breakthroughs across the board – light sources, mirrors, resists, and even consumables.

简而言之，建造B-EUV机器需要全面突破 - 光源，镜子，抵抗甚至消耗品。

A Step Forward: New Materials for Soft X-ray Lithography

向前：软X射线光刻的新材料

Despite these challenges, progress is being made. The Johns Hopkins team, led by Professor Michael Tsapatsis, has been exploring how certain metals can improve the interaction between B-EUV light and resist materials. They discovered that metals like zinc can absorb B-EUV light and emit electrons, triggering chemical reactions in organic compounds that allow for etching extremely fine patterns onto silicon wafers. To apply these metal–organic compounds to silicon wafers, the researchers developed a technique called chemical liquid deposition (CLD).

尽管有这些挑战，但仍在取得进展。由Michael Tsapatsis教授领导的Johns Hopkins团队一直在探索某些金属如何改善B-EUV光和抵抗材料之间的相互作用。他们发现，像锌这样的金属可以吸收B-euv光并发出电子，从而在有机化合物中触发化学反应，从而可以将极其细的图案蚀刻到硅晶片上。为了将这些金属和有机化合物应用于硅晶片，研究人员开发了一种称为化学液体沉积（CLD）的技术。

Looking Ahead

展望未来

While B-EUV technology is still in its early stages, this research highlights the potential of soft X-rays in chipmaking. The CLD process developed by the Johns Hopkins team could also find applications beyond semiconductors. There's no clear path to mass market yet, but they've made a significant step in finding resist materials that can work with 6nm wavelength light.

尽管B-EUV技术仍处于早期阶段，但这项研究突出了芯片制造中软X射线的潜力。约翰·霍普金斯（Johns Hopkins）团队开发的CLD流程还可以在半导体之外找到应用程序。目前还没有明确的大众市场途径，但是他们在寻找可以与6NM波长光线的抗材料一起迈出了重要一步。

So, will soft X-rays revolutionize chipmaking? Only time will tell. But one thing's for sure: the quest for smaller, faster chips is driving some seriously cool science. It will be interesting to see where this technology goes. Keep your eyes on this space—the future of chipmaking might just be written in soft X-rays!

那么，软X射线会革新芯片制造吗？只有时间会证明。但是可以肯定的是：对较小，更快的筹码的追求正在推动一些非常酷的科学。看到这项技术的去向会很有趣。请注意这个空间 - 碎屑的未来可能只是用柔软的X射线写成！