Lithography

What does "half-pitch", used as a measure of scaling, mean?

  1. AHalf the side length of a chip
  2. BHalf the wafer diameter
  3. CHalf the period (pitch) of a repeating line-and-space pattern
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Answer: C. Half the period (pitch) of a repeating line-and-space pattern

In a repeating line-and-space pattern, the combined length of one line and one space is the pitch, and half of that is the half-pitch. For patterns with equal lines and spaces, the half-pitch equals the line width. It has been used as a scaling metric, for memory among others.

  • A. It is unrelated to chip size.
  • B. It is unrelated to wafer size.
  • C. Correct. It is half the period of a repeating pattern.
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More Lithography questions

  1. What are the reference marks placed on a wafer so that each exposure can be accurately overlaid on patterns made in earlier steps called?
  2. What does "CDU", controlled in lithography, mean?
  3. What is the material called, used to make photomasks, consisting of a quartz glass substrate pre-coated with a light-blocking film and similar?
  4. Which correctly describes writing patterns directly into resist on the wafer with an electron beam, without a mask?
  5. How is 13.5 nm light generated in the light source of an EUV lithography tool?