Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Thanks to CTOnews.com netizen OC_Formula for the clue delivery! CTOnews.com, Oct. 2-Intel said last week that it had begun mass production using EUV lithography at its $18.5 billion Irish plant, calling it a "milestone moment."

Ann Kelleher, general manager of Intel technology development, said Intel would take the lead in introducing the next generation of high numerical aperture (High-NA) EUV lithography machines this year, after Intel had said that High-NA technology would be used only for device development and verification on 18A nodes and would be officially put into production on nodes after 18A.

The US company said that with the High-NA EUV lithography machine, it could theoretically play a key role in Intel's realization of its "four-year and five-generation process".

Ankelleher said that they are currently achieving this goal as planned, with two manufacturing processes completed, while the third process is "coming quickly" and that the last two processes have made very good progress.

Peter Wennink, chief executive of Tuyuan PixabayASML, told Reuters last month that despite some obstacles from suppliers, the company would deliver the High NA EUV machine by the end of the year as previously planned.

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

ASML said that a High-NA EUV device the size of a truck, each worth more than $150 million (CTOnews.com Note: currently about 1.095 billion yuan), can meet the needs of all kinds of chipmakers and can make smaller, more advanced chips in the next decade.

At present, the most advanced chip is the 4amp 5nm process, and Samsung and TSMC can also mass 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) optical devices that can provide 13 nm resolution.

At present, this resolution size is sufficient for single modes of 7 nm / 6 nm nodes (36 nm ~ 38 nm) and 5nm (30 nm ~ 32 nm). However, with the arrival of a distance of less than 30 nm (more than 5nm nodes), a 13 nm resolution may require double exposure, which is the mainstream method in the next few years.

For the post-3nm era, ASML and its partners are developing a new EUV lithography machine, the Twinscan EXE:5000 series, which will have a 0.55 NA (high NA) lens with a resolution of up to 8nm, minimizing processes, reducing costs and providing yield in 3nm and above nodes.

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