Luminescent scores second patent for inverse litho technology

By Colleen Taylor, Contributing Editor -- Electronic News, 4/12/2007

Lithography-enhancement products provider Luminescent Technologies Inc. said today it has been granted a second patent for its inverse lithography technology (ILT), a resolution enhancement technology (RET) solution.

The new patent, No. 7,178,127 B2, was issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on February 13 and covers the use of level-set methods when applied to advanced lithography applications.

The company said that level-set methods represent one of the key components behind its ILT. It is the core cylinder of the engine that generated the 45-nm and 32-nm patterning results the company announced at February's SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference. Luminescent claims it is optimizing the technique, which was developed in 1988, to build and commercialize a robust mask-synthesis solution that it says is superior to conventional optical proximity correction methodologies.   

"With two patents granted and another 19 pending, our breakthrough technology enjoys a strong IP position," Luminescent's CEO, David Fried, said in a statement. "Customer interest is high and our installed base of ILT products continues to expand."