Recently, South Korean media reported that a South Korean company, Graphene Lab, has developed a graphene based extreme ultraviolet light shielding protective film (Pellicle).
Using this EUV mask protective film is expected to significantly improve chip yield when using an EUV lithography machine for chip production.
South Korean companies have developed graphene EUV mask protection films, which can significantly improve the yield of 5nm chips
At one time, it attracted many people’s attention. After all, yield is now a sword hanging over wafer factories such as TSMC and Samsung, and the more advanced the technology, the lower the yield.
For example, there have been media reports before that Samsung’s 5nm and 4nm processes have extremely low yield rates, even around 30%, which makes Qualcomm unbearable and has to switch to stand-alone.
And once the yield rate can be significantly increased, wouldn’t a wafer factory like Samsung want it? Improving the yield is to reduce costs and improve competitiveness.
South Korean companies have developed graphene EUV mask protection films, which can significantly improve the yield of 5nm chips
So the question arises, what is the graphene EUV mask protective film and why does it have this effect?
As we know, in chip manufacturing, the role of an extreme ultraviolet lithography machine is to record the circuit diagram on the mask plate onto a silicon wafer coated with photoresist using extreme ultraviolet light.
This is a crucial part. Photomasks are also the most expensive part of chips. The cost of a 7nm photomask quickly rose to $15 million.
At the top of the photomask, there is a protective film that protects the surface of the photomask from the effects of small molecules or contaminants in the air, as well as EUV light recording.
Korean companies have developed graphene EUV mask protection films that can significantly improve the yield of 5nm chips.
The protective film is made of silicon material. Currently, Korean enterprises use graphene as this protective film, which is also known as graphene EUV mask protective film. https://www.stoneitech.com/
Graphene has better performance, can withstand higher temperatures, and has higher hardness and better light transmittance. Therefore, when using EUV light for photolithography, it can reduce misjudgment and improve the yield.
The graphene laboratory said that its graphene EUV mask protection film is about to be mass produced. If there is such magic, then Samsung, TSMC, Intel and other manufacturers will definitely snap up. The current pattern of the mask protection film market, and even the wafer market, may change.
