Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (Toppan), the world’s premier photomask manufacturer, announced today that it has developed a next-generation EUV photomask for leading-edge semiconductors.

The new photomask minimizes the unwanted reflection of light to peripheral sections during EUV exposure, a next-generation semiconductor manufacturing technology. Testing using EUV exposure machinery manufactured by ASML has verified that this new EUV photomask can reduce dimension variability on silicon substrates by two-thirds. As a result, it enables improvements in quality and yield for semiconductor patterns. Practical application of the technology will enable further miniaturization of semiconductors and the manufacture of processors that are smaller, faster, and require less power than current models.   

This development marks the first time anywhere in the world that a structure to suppress the unwanted reflection of light to peripheral sections has been created on the surface of an EUV photomask, and the areas around the pattern have been miniaturized. Toppan developed the conventional EUV photomask that has become the industry standard in 2012 and has successfully developed the new next-generation mask based on further miniaturization. Through ongoing R&D activities, Toppan intends to continue contributing to the evolution of semiconductor manufacturing technology.

Sample shipments to semiconductor manufacturers will begin in fiscal 2016, with the start of full-scale mass production slated for fiscal 2017. Based on this technology, Toppan is aiming to establish the industry standard for next-generation EUV photomasks.

A presentation on the new technology will be made at the SPIE Advanced Lithography 2016 international conference, held at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, California, U.S.A. from February 22 to 25, 2016. More details can be found on the website http://www.photomask.com/news.

About Toppan Printing's Photomask Business

Toppan Printing is the world's premier photomask manufacturer. The company supports the global semiconductor industry, from the initial launch of the semiconductor manufacturing process through commercial production, by providing state-of-the-art photomask technology. Toppan is the only global photomask manufacturer providing the highest quality products in a timely manner to customers across Japan, the United States, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.toppan.co.jp.