tag: ASML

The Bumpy Road To 450mm
By Mark LaPedus - 16 May, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus After its formation nearly 20 months ago, a 450mm consortium has reached its latest milestone by recently completing a cleanroom and installing the first 450mm demonstration tools in the facility. The so-called Global 450 Consortium (G450C) also has set a goal to bring 450mm fabs into high-volume manufacturing at the 10nm or 7nm nodes by 2018. That gives the industry a littl... » read more

Supply Chain Catch-Up
By Ed Sperling - 18 Apr, 2013 - Comments: 0

There always will be a few big companies marching to the latest process node available to them. The problem these days isn’t their commitment to pushing forward. It’s the baggage train following them. It’s getting longer, more diverse, and in some cases, it’s falling out of sync. The foundries are out in front with 14nm finFETs, and they’re already working on 10nm transistors—pos... » read more

Reaching For The Reset Button In Lithography
By Mark LaPedus - 21 Mar, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus Amid ongoing delays and setbacks, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography and multi-beam e-beam have both missed the 10nm logic node. So for the present, chipmakers must take the brute force route at 10nm by using 193nm immersion with multiple patterning. Now, it’s time to hit the reset button. For the 7nm node, chipmakers currently are lining up the lithographic competition... » read more

Optical Lithography, Take Two
By Mark LaPedus - 21 Feb, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus It’s the worst-kept secret in the industry. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography has missed the initial stages of the 10nm logic and 1xnm NAND flash nodes. Chipmakers hope to insert EUV by the latter stages of 10nm or by 7nm, but vendors are not counting on EUV in the near term and are preparing their back-up plans. Barring a breakthrough with EUV or other technology, IC ... » read more

Taiwan: Aggressive Investments In Equipment For 2013-2014
By Christian Dieseldorff - 21 Feb, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Christian Gregor Dieseldorff Semiconductor equipment spending in 2012 declined significantly in the second half of the year as sluggish conditions in the global economy dampened some investments in the industry. Counter to this trend was spending in the Taiwan, which could come in at the $9.3 billion to $9.5 billion range. This represents $800 million more in equipment for Taiwan compared t... » read more

Supersizing Wafers
By Ed Sperling - 24 Jan, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Katherine Derbyshire Get ready for 450mm wafers. First seriously considered in 2005, these supersized wafers, along with the equipment to handle, measure, and process them, have gradually made their way to the top of the semiconductor industry’s priority list. But what exactly does that mean? What will 450mm fabs look like, and how will they differ from the 300-mm fabs being built toda... » read more

Moore’s Law Revisited
By Ed Sperling - 25 Oct, 2012 - Comments: 0

It’s no surprise that Moore’s Law can continue for many more generations. Intel’s road map already extends down to 5nm, most likely with carbon nanotube FETs, tunnel FETs, graphene TSVs and maybe even fully depleted SOI to replace bulk CMOS. The rest of the industry has been hanging back a node or two, gliding on the coattails of what Intel and companies like IBM, Samsung and STMicroel... » read more

Challenges Grow For EUV
By Ed Sperling - 18 Oct, 2012 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus In the late 1990s, a group led by Intel launched a consortium to propel extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography into the mainstream. Originally, the consortium, dubbed the EUV LLC, envisioned the advent of EUV scanners that would move into production at the 65nm node. Clearly, the now-defunct consortium underestimated the difficulties and challenges associated with EUV. ASM... » read more

ASML to Buy Cymer
By Chris Mack - 17 Oct, 2012 - Comments: 0

"We have experienced some delay in EUV, basically caused by delays in developing the light source", said Peter Wennink, ASML's financial chief. With that understatement, ASML succinctly explained its rationale for offering $2.6B in cash (25%) and stock (75%) to buy San Diego-based Cymer, the leading developer of EUV sources.  Over the last year, ASML has sent about 500 of their engineers to... » read more

Investment Options
By Ed Sperling - 31 Jul, 2012 - Comments: 0

It's clear that something fundamental has changed in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. What's less clear is how this will play out over the long term. Intel's agreement to invest more than $4 billion in ASML to ensure the continued development of EUV and 450mm wafer technology is more than just a one-off deal. It's a very public recognition that the astronomical cost of design and ma... » read more

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