ANTWERP, Belgium , May. 29, 2018 – A 20-year struggle to launch a next-generation lithography tool has entered its final phase as engineers race to unravel a rat's nest of related issues. Despite complex problems and short deadlines to bring extreme ultraviolet (EUV) steppers into high-volume manufacturing , experts remain upbeat.
The good news is that many shoulders are pushing the wheel ahead. "In the past, one company would take a lead with a new semiconductor technology, but now all the logic guys are jumping in, biting the bullet, and taking the risks," said An Steegen, executive vice president of technology and systems at Imec.
The research institute in Belgium is a long-standing collaborator with ASML, the developer of EUV in the Netherlands. Together with foundries and suppliers, they now aim to work out the last major kinks in the room-sized systems that will print next-generation chips.