JY Han 승인 2025.09.03 07:35
thelec.net
- Supply could start within year
FST was holding talks with Samsung on the price of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pellicles that it will supply to the South Korean chipmaker, TheElec has learned.
The back and forth on the price of the commodity used in advanced chips means FST is extremely close to starting the supply of the pellicles, sources said.
Samsung is planning to start foundry production of 2-nanometer(nm) chips early next year, so supply of the pellicles is likely to start within the year, they said.
The South Korean tech giant is planning to use the pellicles in certain core processes of EUV.
EUV pellicles are dozens of times more expensive than those used in deep ultraviolet (DUV) processes.
FST and Samsung are discussing a unit price under 50 million won. DUV pellicles were priced at around 1 million won in comparison.
FST’s prototype, being tested by Samsung, has met the chipmaker’s requirements in terms of transmittance, uniformity, thermal resistance, and hydrogen plasma durability, besides some problems with particles. FST is expected to resolve the frame particles problem soon, sources said.
The pellicles are ultra-thin films used to protect the photomask during wafer fabrication. They protect the mask from particles and impurities during lithography, when the chip patterns are printed on the wafers.
Samsung has been using EUV equipment from fab equipment maker ASML for years but has not used pellicles so far.
EUV masks are expensive so using them without pellicles meant Samsung has to throw them away or clean them when they were contaminated by unwanted particles.
FST’s EUV pellicles attaches a carbon nanotube (CNT) membrane on its outer surface and have extra coating for defense against hydrogen plasma. CNT membranes are used to block dust from settling in while allowing light to pass through. FST also applied its own proprietary coating technology to protect this CNT membrane from degrading. Finland’s Canatu supplied the equipment used in the CNT membrane synthesis equipment used by FST.
Meanwhile, Samsung is also expected to use FST pellicles for high NA EUV equipment in future chips.
저작권자 © THE ELEC, Korea Electronics Industry Media 무단전재 및 재배포 금지
FST in talks with Samsung to supply EUV pellicle
FST was holding talks with Samsung on the price of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pellicles that it will supply to the South Korean chipmaker, TheElec has learned.The back and forth on the price of the commodity used in advanced chips means FST is extremely close to starting the supply of the pellicles,
thelec.net
Last edited: