MII will roll out what the company calls a "step and flash imprint lithography" (S-FIL) tool for use in processing a range of emerging devices at the 100-nm (0.10-micron) node and below. The Austin-based company also claims that it has demonstrated the ability to process devices at linewidth geometries down to 20-nm (0.02-micron).

The company's first tool, dubbed the Imprio 100, will be formally introduced at the first-ever Nanoimprint and Nanoprint Technology Conference (NTT). The conference will be held in San Francisco from Dec. 11-13.

The Imprio 100 is not a conventional photolithography scanner, but rather the tool is an "electron-beam replicator" that utilizes ultraviolet (UV) and liquid emersion technologies to enable or "imprint" patterns on a wafer. MII's S-FIL technology takes a bi-layer approach to chip manufacturing, by using a low-viscosity, UV-curable liquid to "imprint" patterns on a circuit.

MII's tool is also not designed to process mainstream silicon-based ICs. Initially, it will be used for processing compound semiconductors, MEMS, photonics, and optical communications components, said Norman Schumaker, president and CEO of MII.

"What we're announcing next week is the world's first step-and-flash lithography tool," Schumaker said. "Our tool has exceptional resolution. We can process devices down to a few nanometers," he told SBN.

The tool is geared for the emerging "nanotechnology" field. "Nanotechnology is the buzzword of the day. But everyone is looking at alternatives to optical lithography for use in processing nanotechnology-like devices because of costs," he said.

The company--which will ship its first tool next month--is expected to sell its system for about $2 million per unit. In contrast, today's 193-nm optical lithography tools sell from $10-to-$20 million--each.

Nano-imprint is emerging from the fog

MII is one of a growing number of companies that will present papers about the nano-imprint lithography market at NTT. "This market is just emerging from the fog," Schumaker said. "We ourselves have been flying under the radar for about a year."

Formed in 2001, MII is a spin-off from the University of Texas. To date, the company has received $12 million in venture capital funding, and, more recently, it has garnered contracts with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

MII declined to comment on its first customer, but noted that its tool uses a simple step-and-repeat process to produce devices--at about one-tenth the cost of traditional projection systems. Its first-generation tool is designed for small volume manufacturing, R&D, and template development.

In simple terms, MII is pushing an "e-beam replicator" tool that boosts the cycle times for compound ICs, MEMS, and other devices. Traditionally, direct-write e-beams have been used to process these types of devices, but e-beams are expensive and slow.

MII's tool works in conjunction with the direct-write e-beam tool. In theory, a chip maker would use an e-beam to develop the patterns on a wafer. Then, the wafer goes through the normal etching and stripping processes in the chip-production facility.

The soul of a new 'nanomold'

Then, MII takes the wafer and creates a "nano-mold" or template. The template is place upside down in MII's tool, immersed in a low-viscosity, UV-curable liquid, and exposed with an UV mercury lamp. "We are also etching the patterns in the quartz to about 100-to-200 nanometers deep," according to MII's CEO.

This process also converts the template from a monomer into a polymer, enabling the template to function much like a conventional photomask. In other words, the template can be used to create a lot of identical devices in the production flow.

The company is somewhat bullish about its technology "We are a niche," said MII's CEO. "But the advantage of our technology is that we can process wafers rapidly. A direct-write e-beam can process one wafer a day. We can enable chip makers to process from one wafer a day to one wafer an hour."