SAN JOSE -- Numerical Technologies Inc. here today announced it has licensed scattering bar technology from ASML MaskTools Inc. to fill out its portfolio of photomask design software for subwavelength photolithography processes in wafer fabs.
The two companies have competed in photomask technologies used to extend optical exposure tools, but the new agreement makes Numerical Technologies the first external licensing partner to directly offer ASML MaskTools' scattering bar products to chip makers, said the two Silicon Valley-based suppliers. Terms of the licensing pact were not released.
"Scattering bar technology complements our offering of subwavelength manufacturing solutions very well," said Atul Sharan, senior vice president of marketing and business development at Numerical Technologies. The San Jose-based company offers phase-shifting technology and other reticle-making software tools and services that enable IC manufacturers to produce device-feature sizes smaller than the wavelength of light from scanners and steppers.
Sharan said the addition of scattering bars is part of a strategy to offer a complete portfolio for "maximum yield and minimum impact" in design-to-silicon flows at IC houses. The ASML MaskTools patented scattering bar technology may be used in conjunction with Numerical's proprietary phase-shifting technology.
ASML Masktools sees Numerical's decision to license its technology as a "clear endorsement of the growing adoption and use of scattering bars across the industry," said Dinesh Bettadapur, president and CEO of MaskTools in Santa Clara, Calif. MaskTools is a wholly-owned subsidiary of lithography giant ASML Holding N.V. of Veldhoven, the Netherlands.
