Lithography Challenges for 32nm Technologies and Beyond

Advances in lithography, which have been the critical driving force behind the remarkable scaling trend of transistors and integrated circuits over several generations of process technologies, are becoming increasingly more difficult, complex and expensive. Moreover, newer lithography techniques have significant design and layout collateral which makes their implementation challenging. This paper will illustrate the lithography technologies being considered for the future, their challenges and limitations and the co-optimization needed on the device, circuit and layout fronts to facilitate continued scaling