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R=k1λNAR = k_1 \frac{\lambda}{\mathrm{NA}}

Why this formula appears here

Only one step in the loop carries information, so it deserves the arithmetic. Projection lithography is an imaging problem, and its resolution obeys the Rayleigh relation R=k1λNAR = k_1 \frac{\lambda}{\mathrm{NA}}. where λ\lambda is the exposure wavelength, NA\mathrm{NA} is the numerical aperture of the projection optics, and k1k_1 is a dimensionless process factor absorbing illumination scheme, mask engineering and resist behaviour. Two-beam interference sets a hard floor: for a periodic line-and-space pattern the smallest printable half-pitch is λ\lambda / (2\,NA\mathrm{NA}) , which is k1k_1 = 0.25 in the convention where R is a half-pitch. Everything the industry calls resolution enhancement — off-axis illumination,…

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Published contexts (1)

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R=k1λNA,R = k_1 \frac{\lambda}{\mathrm{NA}},

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This equation states an equality: the expressions on both sides have the same value under the article’s assumptions.

Only one step in the loop carries information, so it deserves the arithmetic. Projection lithography is an imaging problem, and its resolution obeys the Rayleigh relation R=k1λNAR = k_1 \frac{\lambda}{\mathrm{NA}}. where λ\lambda is the exposure wavelength, NA\mathrm{NA} is the numerical aperture of the projection optics, and k1k_1 is a dimensionless process factor absorbing illumination scheme, mask engineering and resist behaviour. Two-beam interference sets a hard floor: for a periodic line-and-space pattern the smallest printable half-pitch is λ\lambda / (2\,NA\mathrm{NA}) , which is k1k_1 = 0.25 in the convention where R is a half-pitch. Everything the industry calls resolution enhancement — off-axis illumination,…

Meanings in this article

  • RR: a half-pitch.
  • k1k_1: a dimensionless process factor absorbing illumination scheme, mask engineering and resist behaviour.
  • λ\lambda: the exposure wavelength, NA\mathrm{NA} is the numerical aperture of the projection optics.
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