Paper 14110-22
Paper 14110-22
Efficient speckle approximation for imaging simulations in optical lithography
16 April 2026 • 11:30 - 11:50 CEST | Madrid 1/Salon 3 (Niveau/Level 0)
Abstract
Laser speckle impacts the pattern variability and stochasticity in high-end DUV lithography systems. These effects cannot be easily corrected during processing and represent a significant challenge in semiconductor manufacturing. Rigorous simulations of speckle are computationally expensive, which limits their applicability for more extensive simulations, such as source mask optimization. We show that speckle patterns can be approximated efficiently such that less computational resources are needed. This can speed up aerial image simulations with speckle by an order of magnitude in typical use cases.
Presenter
Christian Scholz
ASML (Netherlands)
Christian Scholz is a senior design engineer at ASML, working on customer imaging solutions for advanced lithography systems. He holds a PhD in physics from the University of Stuttgart, where he studied microfluidics and flow through porous media. Christian has authored multiple publications in soft active matter and statistical physics and holds several patents in semiconductor lithography. In his current role at ASML, Christian applies simulations and data analytics to improve imaging performance in next-generation DUV lithography tools. His recent work focuses on line edge and line width roughness in projection lithography applications.