Reduction Imaging With Soft X-Rays for Projection Lithography

It has been shown that it is possible to produce near diffraction limited images with soft X-rays of wavelength 13.8 nm using normal incidence Si/Mo-multilayered coated optics. Initial experiments with a 20X reduction Schwarzschild optic produced features as small as 50 nm. It is considered that soft X-ray projection lithography may be a likely candidate for the future generation of lithographic tools needed to produce 0.1 mu m features for integrated circuits around the turn of the century.