Advancing EUV photolithography
Discovering new photoresists to minimize blur in chipmaking.
Smaller, more powerful electronics demand more advanced semiconductor chips. EUV lithography, the current cutting-edge process technology for beyond the 5nm node, faces limits.
Problem
A major bottleneck in EUV lithography is radiation-induced blur. High-energy electrons scatter and diffuse, blurring intricate patterns and degrading resolution, thus hindering miniaturization. Current classical simulations are insufficient to model these quantum interactions, making new photoresist material design difficult.
Solution
Our novel approach uses quantum simulation to model atomic-scale light-matter interactions in photoresists. This framework predicts EUV absorption cross-sections and photoemission energies to parameterize classical simulations of electron diffusion and blur.
This tool enables next-gen photoresist design. Mitigating radiation-induced blur unlocks the full potential of EUV lithography for smaller, more powerful, and efficient semiconductor chips.
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Where quantum meets industry
Xanadu is focused on building useful quantum computers to solve the world's most intractable computational problems.