Tech Valley News
Area Home to Advanced EUV Lithography Tool
Learn more at UAlbany NanoCollege takes delivery of world's first extreme ultraviolet R&D lithography tool
The University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) has taken delivery of the world’s first extreme ultraviolet (EUV) Alpha Demo Tool (ADT) - a $65 million tool that represents a critical step in the development and commercialization of EUV technology, which is seen as vital to the future of nanoelectronics manufacturing. The EUV ADT uses ultraviolet light to print circuits onto thin wafers of silicon that are used to make computer chips. By using a smaller wave-length of light, more computing power can be packed into each layer of the chip. The tool is also expected to attract other companies and partnerships to the nanocollege.
Developed by ASML, the leading global supplier of advanced lithography tools, the EUV ADT is the world’s first full-field EUV tool. This research and development tool will be essential in development of the infrastructure for EUV lithography, considered the most likely technology to address the 32nm computer chip device node, based on cost-effectiveness and ability to extend to future nodes, according to ASML.
Once integrated into CNSE’s Albany NanoTech complex, the EUV ADT will support the R&D programs of the $600M International Venture for Nanolithography (INVENT), a global industry-university consortium for research and development, education and technology deployment for future generations of nanolithography applications.
INVENT includes the world’s leading computer-chip manufacturers: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), IBM, Micron Technology and Qimonda. Other global corporate partners of CNSE, including SONY and Toshiba, also participate in the CNSE EUV programs.
“The integration of the ASML EUV R&D Tool into the unparalleled facilities at the UAlbany NanoCollege will serve to advance and accelerate the research being conducted through several programs, most notably our global INVENT consortium,” said Dr. Alain E. Kaloyeros, Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of CNSE. “This R&D tool will provide superb opportunities for next-generation educational initiatives and innovative discovery in the critical area of EUV lithography, as well as a strong lure to attract additional nanoelectronics companies to locate in New York State and partner with CNSE.”
“This is a critical step in the development of EUV technology and readying it for eventual commercialization,” said Dr. James Ryan, Professor of Nanoscience and Vice President of Technology at CNSE. “With the availability of EUV photomasks and the presence of a critical mass of nanoelectronics tool suppliers and computer chip manufacturers at CNSE’s Albany NanoTech site, when coupled with ASML’s earlier demonstration of operating wafer and reticle stages in a vacuum environment, integration of an alpha exposure tool at CNSE is a logical progression in preparing both the technology and the industry for adopting the EUV technology.”
ASML has a $400 million R&D center at Albany NanoTech's Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology - the International Multiphase Partnership for Lithography Science and Engineering (IMPLSE) - designed to develop nanoscale lithography technologies for future generations of nanochips. The establishment of the ASML R&D Center represents ASML’s only 300mm wafer R&D facility located outside of its main headquarters in the Netherlands.
|