ASML’s decision to collaborate with Xanadu targets one of photonic quantum computing’s most unforgiving engineering constraints: photon loss. The companies will investigate advanced lithography processes for Xanadu’s photonic quantum hardware, focusing on whether tighter patterning control can suppress loss mechanisms… Read More
Siemens and NVIDIA Accelerate Lithography for Next-Generation AI Chips
Siemens has announced advances in its collaboration with NVIDIA to accelerate computational lithography, addressing a demanding step in manufacturing advanced AI semiconductors. By integrating NVIDIA’s cuLitho library with Siemens Calibre manufacturing software, the companies aim to make sophisticated photomask optimization… Read More
Maskless EUV Lithography: An Alternative to E-Beam
Semiconductor manufacturing depends on lithography: the process of transferring tiny circuit patterns onto a silicon wafer. Conventional extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography projects light with a wavelength of 13.5 nanometers through a reflective optical system, using a custom photomask to define each layer. It can … Read More
Hyper-NA EUV: The Next Frontier in Chipmaking Could Arrive in 2036
EUV has long been an interesting story. We have written 200+ articles on EUV and they just keep on coming. Thankfully the premier lithography conference is right here in Silicon Valley. SPIE began in 1955 as the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, bringing together engineers using scientific cameras and high-speed… Read More
Pollen Metrology: From a Decade-Long Bet to a Proven AI Platform for Semiconductor Manufacturing
Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Johann Foucher, founder and CEO of Pollen Metrology, a French company whose journey offers a rare vantage point on how artificial intelligence is reshaping semiconductor manufacturing from the inside out. What makes Pollen Metrology’s story compelling isn’t just … Read More
Why ASML Is Racing to Build 110 EUV Machines
ASML is exploring how to produce more than 110 extreme ultraviolet lithography machines in 2028, reflecting the extraordinary investment flowing into artificial intelligence infrastructure. The Dutch semiconductor-equipment company expects to manufacture at least 80 EUV systems in 2027 and is considering another production… Read More
ASML Has High-NA and Chipmakers Can’t Say No
ASML’s grip on the most advanced corner of chip manufacturing is tightening. The Dutch company, already the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography systems, is winning broader industry support for High Numerical Aperture EUV, or High NA, its next-generation technology for printing smaller and denser circuitry.… Read More
A Study of Photoresist Bake Influence on Stochastics for DUV Immersion Lithography
Deep-ultraviolet (DUV) immersion lithography remains a critical patterning technology for advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Using a 193 nm ArF exposure system with water between the projection lens and wafer, immersion lithography increases numerical aperture and enables smaller features than dry exposure. However,… Read More
High-NA EUV Moves From Experiment to Manufacturing
Intel Foundry and ASML say high-numerical-aperture extreme-ultraviolet lithography has crossed an important boundary: it is no longer only a development tool, but a production technology. At the SPIE Photomask Technology and Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography conference, the companies reported that Intel has processed … Read More
ASML and TSMC’s 12-Inch Photomask Initiative: Technical Significance
ASML and TSMC’s proposed shift from 6-inch to 12-inch photomasks is an attempt to redesign a critical but often overlooked part of advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Photomasks are precision plates carrying the circuit patterns projected by a lithography scanner onto a silicon wafer. In extreme-ultraviolet lithography,… Read More


TSMC’s Patent and the Harsh Realities of 3D DRAM Competition