ABSTRACT
Since the invention of the transistor in 1947 by Bell Labs and Intel’s first microprocessor in 1971, modern lithography has enabled the semiconductor industry to shrink device dimensions. The early progress was first quantified by Gordon Moore in 1965 and is now known as Moore’s law.1 While progress in all process steps are required to achieve the continual shrinking of circuit elements, the advancements in lithography have been the overwhelming driving force. Figure 19.2 shows how Moore’s law has guided the industry’s
systematic increase in the number of transistors per chip since the introduction of the IC. Indeed, now and in the future, the industry will achieve productivity improvement primarily by feature reduction.2
