Silicon results validate design for eBeam methodology at 65nm

SAN JOSE, USA: The eBeam Initiative, a forum dedicated to the education and promotion of a new design-to-manufacturing approach known as design for e-beam (DFEB), announced that steering group members D2S, Inc., e-Shuttle, Inc. and Fujitsu Microelectronics have validated the DFEB methodology for low-volume, 65-nm system-on-chip applications, without sacrificing performance, area or power.

DFEB combines software and design technologies that enable today’s most advanced character projection (CP) e-beam direct-write (EbDW) equipment to reduce shot count, thus making EbDW throughput feasible for low-volume designs. The announcement marks a significant milestone as it demonstrates early progress on the three-year roadmap.

The final estimated shot count for the test chip using DFEB represented a more than 10X reduction over conventional EbDW technologies, while also meeting the required performance, power and area goals. The collaborative effort drew from a number of companies involved in the eBeam Initiative.

Specifically, D2S and Fujitsu Microelectronics worked on the design while e-Shuttle manufactured the test chip to confirm the DFEB technology for the 65-nm node. D2S designed the DFEB library overlay with Fujitsu Microelectronics and also partnered closely with e-Shuttle and Advantest Corporation on the stencil mask used in the fab’s EbDW machine. Prototyping is a target application for DFEB, and with e-Shuttle’s experience in these services, they were able to validate the applicability of DFEB for prototyping.

According to Yoji Hino, corporate executive vice president of Fujitsu Microelectronics Limited and member of the eBeam Initiative steering group, “With this test chip, we now have tangible results that DFEB is enabling us to meet the necessary shot count requirements without sacrificing the quality of design results. DFEB makes maskless prototypes practical now.”

A related paper jointly authored by Advantest, D2S, e-Shuttle and Fujitsu Microelectronics Limited will be presented by e-Shuttle at the session of Electron Beam Lithography Tools during the 53rd International Conference on Electron, Ion, and Photon Beam Technology and Nanofabrication (EIPBN), taking place May 26-29 in Marco Island, Fla.

The article, titled: “DFEB, a novel approach to EbDW throughput enhancement for volume production,” will be available online after May 29 at www.ebeam.org.