NGL comparable to 193-nm lithography in cost, footprint, and power consumption

A comparison of ArF immersion single exposure, double patterning, extreme UV, and multi-e-beam maskless lithography (MEB ML2) systems, is made on their special characteristics, then in footprint, cost, and raw energy consumption. Only the MEB ML2 system has the potential to mimic ArF immersion single exposure in the three areas compared. In addition, MEB ML2 does not have the burden of mask-contributed CD and overlay variation, mask cost, cycle time, pellicle, contamination, and electrostatic-discharge-induced damage. Key challenges to develop MEB ML2 into a high-volume manufacturing technology are also given.