FOM awards valorisation project to ultrasound cleaning
The FOM Foundation has awarded a valorisation grant to a consortium from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) led by FOM workgroup leader Prof. Mark Golden. Together with Dr Rudolf Sprik’s FOM workgroup and Dr Luigi Scaccabarozzi from ASML, his team will investigate if ultrasound can be used to clean the templates of the latest extreme ultraviolet light (EUV) lithographic machines. The jury believes that this project proposal contains clear valorisation objectives and has major industrial relevance. The project has an overall budget of 123.000 euros, of which 53.000 euros from FOM, 25.000 euros from the Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute of the University of Amsterdam and 45.000 euros from ASML.
EUV = extremely difficult?
ASML is a world leader in the development of EUV lithography machines for clients who produce semiconductor chips. In standard UV lithography, the template is protected in a thin sleeve but the smallest template structures are still relatively large. This combination makes the process relatively insensitive to small dust and dirt particles or other contaminants on the template surface. In the latest generation of chip machines, ASML is using EUV radiation with shorter wavelengths so that even smaller details can be etched on the chips. With this EUV technique, the templates must remain exposed and the quality of the images is now also sensitive to very small dust and dirt particles. Using Extreme UV is therefore far from easy.
In this valorisation project, the UvA workgroups will investigate whether – just like at a jeweller – ultrasound can be used to clean the templates: that would reduce the down-time of the machine and the service costs. Dr Freek Massee, who recently gained his doctorate in the area of microscopy of quantum materials, will use surface-sensitive probes to determine of this idea actually works in practice on substrates that ASML makes available.
"An exciting six months lie ahead of us: on 15 November the consortium will be able to give a clear yes or no answer. A ‘yes’ would be fantastic of course but a clear ‘no’ is also useful for ASML, as then one option on the ‘to try list’ can be crossed off. ASML had already promised its contribution, but the valorisation programme of FOM gave us more financial room to speed up our exploration of this out- of-the-box research idea," explains Mark Golden.
Valorisation@FOM
This is the fourth FOM valorisation project. With this programme FOM supports the valorisation of physics research from its institutes and university workgroups. The three valorisation projects for university workgroups that have already started are under the leadership of FOM workgroup leaders Dr Rudolf Sprik, Prof Martin van Hecke and Dr Davide Iannuzzi.
More information
Prof.dr. Mark Golden +31 (0) 20 525 63 63