Samsung Electronics reportedly will incorporate the latest EUV mask pellicles with a light transmittance rate of over 90% into its 3nm process for yield improvement, with the pellicles to be sourced from S&S Tech, according to a Korean news report.
ChosunBiz recently reported, citing industry sources, that Korean blank mask specialist S&S Tech will enter mass production of EUV pellicles with over 90% in light transmittance in the first half of 2023 at the earliest. The supplier aims to boost the rate to 94% as required by Samsung, and is approaching the targeted level.
The sources also noted that among Samsung-invested suppliers of semiconductor materials and equipment, S&S Tech has landed the largest amount of investment funds from the Korean tech giant. In July 2020, Samsung obtained an 8% stake in the photomask and pellicle vendor by offering a capital injection of KRW65.8 billion (US$52 million).
Pellicles play a crucial role in the EUV process era, the sources said, reasoning that without the pellicles, the masks for drawing the circuits are often contaminated in the EUV exposure process, constantly resulting in poor yield performance.
Samsung will adopt pellicle with a light transmittance rate of over 90% to minimize the loss of light source and stabilize production yield for its 3nm chips, the sources said.
At the moment, there is no foundry house adopting pellicles with a light transmittance of over 90%, according to the report.
At the moment, major EUV mask pellicle suppliers include ASML, Mitsui Chemicals, S&S Tech and FST. Samsung now invests in both S&S Tech and FST to develop self-use EUV pellicles.
Article translated by Willis Ke
