Quad patterning a possibility at 10nm, says TSMC

Rick Merritt, EETimes
10/30/2012 3:31 PM EDT

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Quad patterning may be needed for 10-nm process technology if extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is not ready in 2015 or so when Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. expects to start early production of the technology.

That’s the view expressed by Jack Sun, chief technologist at TSMC, in a brief interview after his keynote at the ARM TechCon here Tuesday (Oct. 30). Sun said quad patterning--four passes through a lithography stepper using four different masks--was one of several options TSMC is exploring as it works on path finding for the process.

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