Intel will be the first to introduce next-generation High-NA EUV lithography machine this year

【Lansheng Technology News】Intel said last week that it has begun mass production using EUV lithography machines at its $18.5 billion Irish factory, calling it a "milestone moment."

Ann Kelleher, Intel's general manager of technology development, said that Intel will be the first to introduce the next generation of high numerical aperture EUV lithography machines this year. Intel has previously stated that High-NA technology is only used for equipment development and verification at the 18A node, and It will be officially put into production at the node after 18A.

Intel believes that with the High-NA EUV lithography machine, it can theoretically play a key role in Intel's realization of its "five-generation process in four years."

Ann Kelleher said they are currently on track to achieve this goal and have completed two manufacturing processes, while the third process is "coming quickly" and that the last two processes have made very good progress.

ASML CEO Peter Wennink told Reuters in an interview last month that despite some pushback from suppliers, the company would remain on track to deliver High NA EUV machines by the end of the year as previously set.

Intel expects to receive the first batch of High-NA EUV lithography machines in Oregon later this year, Kelleher said, and Intel will be the first chipmaker to get the machines.

ASML said a High-NA EUV device, which is about the size of a truck and costs more than $150 million per device, could meet the needs of various chipmakers to create smaller, more advanced chips over the next decade.

At present, the most advanced chips are 4/5 nanometer process. Samsung and TSMC will also produce 3nm technology in the second half of the year. For Twinscan NXE:3400C and similar systems using ASML EUV lithography technology, most of them have 0.33 NA. (numerical aperture) optics, providing 13 nm resolution.

Currently, this resolution size is sufficient for single modes at the 7 nm / 6 nm node (36 nm ~ 38 nm) and 5nm (30 nm ~ 32 nm), but as the pitch becomes lower than 30 nm (over With the arrival of the 5 nm class node), 13 nm resolution may require double exposure technology, which will be the mainstream method in the next few years.

For the post-3nm era, ASML and its partners are developing a new EUV lithography machine-Twinscan EXE:5000 series. This series of machines will have a 0.55 NA (high NA) lens with a resolution of 8nm, thus enabling 3-nm Reduce process steps as much as possible in nm and above nodes, reduce costs and improve yield.

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