EUV
Imec and ASML have announced that the two companies have printed the first logic and DRAM patterns using ASML's experimental Twinscan EXE:5000 EUV lithography tool, the industry's first High-NA EUV scanner. The lithography system achieved resolution that is good enough for 1.4nm-class process technology with just one exposure, which confirms the capabilities of the system and that development of the High-NA ecosystem remains on-track for use in commercial chip production later this decade. "The results confirm the long-predicted resolution capability of High NA EUV lithography, targeting sub 20nm pitch metal layers in one single exposure," said Luc Van den hove, president and CEO of imec. "High NA EUV will therefore be highly instrumental to continue the dimensional scaling of logic and memory technologies, one of...
TSMC Outlines Path to EUV Success: More Tools, More Wafers, & Best Pellicles In Industry
Although TSMC can't claim to be the first fab to use extreme UV (EUV) lithography – that title goes to Samsung – they do get to claim to be...
20 by Anton Shilov on 5/17/2024ASML Patterns First Wafer Using High-NA EUV Tool, Ships Second High-NA Scanner
This week ASML is making two very important announcements related to their progress with high numerical aperature extreme ultraviolet lithography (High-NA EUV). First up, the company's High-NA EUV prototype...
13 by Anton Shilov on 4/18/2024ASML Delivers First 2nm-Generation Low-NA EUV Tool, the Twinscan NXE:3800E
Our avid readers tend to look at microelectronics made using leading edge process technologies, which in case of Intel means usage of High-NA extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography a couple...
2 by Anton Shilov on 3/13/2024ASML's First High-NA EUV Litho Scanner Arrives At Intel [UPDATED]
Update 1/5/2024: Intel Oregon announced on Thursday that it has received its shipment of ASML's first-generation Twinscan EXE:5000 High-NA EUV lithography scanner. The two companies will start assembly process...
28 by Anton Shilov on 1/5/2024Canon Prepares Nanoimprint Lithography Tool To Challenge EUV Scanners
Canon has recently revealed its FPA-1200NZ2C, a nanoimprint semiconductor manufacturing tool that can be used to make advanced chips. The device uses nanoimprint lithography (NIL) technology as an alternative...
14 by Anton Shilov on 10/17/2023Intel Sells a 20% Stake in Maker of Multi E-Beam Mask Writing Tools
Intel on Wednesday announced that it had agreed to sell a 20% stake in IMS Nanofabrication, a company the develops and builds multi e-beam photomask writing tools, for $860...
1 by Anton Shilov on 6/22/2023Intel Details PowerVia Chipmaking Tech: Backside Power Performing Well, On Schedule For 2024
At next week’s annual VLSI Symposium, Intel will be presenting a pair of highly-anticipated papers about their progress with their upcoming PowerVia chip fabrication technology – the company’s in-development...
31 by Ryan Smith on 6/5/2023Micron to Bring EUV to Japan: 1γ Process DRAM to Be Made in Hiroshima in 2025
Micron this week officially said that it would equip its fab in Hiroshima, Japan, to produce DRAM chips on its 1γ (1-gamma) process technology, its first node to use...
10 by Anton Shilov on 5/19/2023NVIDIA's cuLitho to Speed Up Computational Lithography for 2nm and Beyond
Production of chips using leading-edge process technologies requires more compute power than ever. To address requirements of 2nm nodes and beyond, NVIDIA is rolling out its cuLitho software library...
31 by Anton Shilov on 3/27/2023Samsung Seeks to Make South Korea No. 1 Chipmaker with $230B Investment Over 20 Years
Samsung on Wednesday unveiled their plan to invest $230 billion over the next 20 years in a new semiconductor production mega cluster in South Korea. The country's government believes...
22 by Anton Shilov on 3/15/2023Micron Breaks Ground on Its $15 Billion EUV DRAM Fab in the U.S.
Micron this week broke ground on its leading-edge memory production facility near Boise, Idaho. The company will invest $15 billion in its new fab as a part of its...
23 by Anton Shilov on 9/14/2022SK Hynix Starts Prepping for Next Semiconductor Boom with $11 Billion Memory Fab
When a major South Korean memory firm invests over $11 billion in a fab, that raises a couple of eyebrows. But when it comes within a major $100+ billion...
7 by Anton Shilov on 9/8/2022Intel Kicks Off Fab Co-Investment Program with Brookfield: New Fabs to be Jointly Owned
Intel this week introduced its new Semiconductor Co-Investment Program (SCIP) under which it will build new manufacturing facilities in collaboration with investment partners – a sharp departure from the...
28 by Anton Shilov on 8/24/2022TSMC and ASML: Demand for Chips Remains Strong, But Getting Fab Tools Is Hard
TSMC's revenue this year is going to set an all-time record for the company, thanks to high demand for chips as well as increased prices that its customers are...
13 by Anton Shilov on 7/21/2022Intel 4 Process Node In Detail: 2x Density Scaling, 20% Improved Performance
Taking place this week is the IEEE’s annual VLSI Symposium, one of the industry’s major events for disclosing and discussing new chip manufacturing techniques. One of the most anticipated...
129 by Ryan Smith on 6/13/2022Intel Discloses Multi-Generation Xeon Scalable Roadmap: New E-Core Only Xeons in 2024
It’s no secret that Intel’s enterprise processor platform has been stretched in recent generations. Compared to the competition, Intel is chasing its multi-die strategy while relying on a manufacturing...
147 by Dr. Ian Cutress on 2/17/2022Texas To Get Multiple New Fabs as Samsung and TI to Spend $47 Billion on New Facilities
After a year of searching for the right place of its new U.S. fab, Samsung this week announced that it would build a fab near Taylor, Texas. The company...
135 by Anton Shilov on 11/24/2021Bringing Geek Back: Q&A with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger
One of the overriding key themes of Pat Gelsinger’s ten-month tenure at Intel has been the eponymous will to ‘bring geek back’ to the company, implying a return to...
49 by Dr. Ian Cutress on 10/29/2021TSMC Roadmap Update: 3nm in Q1 2023, 3nm Enhanced in 2024, 2nm in 2025
TSMC has introduced a brand-new manufacturing technology roughly every two years over the past decade. Yet as the complexity of developing new fabrication processes is compounding, it is getting...
32 by Anton Shilov on 10/18/2021