South Korean blank mask manufacturer S&S Tech is planning to install deposition machines used in the production of blank masks for use in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) next month.
The installation is the final step ahead of production and the company is planning for commercial mass production to start in 2024, S&S Tech senior vice president Seung Byung-hoon told TheElec in an interview.
S&S Tech has spent over 60 billion won for the past two years to prepare for the production of EUV blank mask and pellicle.
Seung claimed that the company has achieved a transmittance rate of 90% to 92% for its pellicle.
If S&S Tech succeeds in the production of EUV pellicle, it will become the second company in the world to do so after a Japanese company.
EUV has a much shorter wavelength compared to ArF and KrF previously used, which requires the use of blank masks and pellicles made with new materials.
Blank masks are masks without the circuit pattern yet drawn on them; pellicles protect these masks from contamination.
The transmittance rate of pellicles is therefore important so that it doesn’t obstruct the UV light being shot through it on the mask.
Seung said as the company is a follower in the sector, it must offer superior quality in its EUV blank masks and pellicles.
The company is investing actively to achieve this, the senior vice president said.
