Obscuration-Induced Pitch Incompatibilities in High-NA EUV Lithography

Obscuration-Induced Pitch Incompatibilities in High-NA EUV Lithography
by Fred Chen on 06-19-2022 at 10:00 am

High NA EUV Lithography 1

The next generation of EUV lithography systems are based on a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.55, a 67% increase from the current value of 0.33. It targets being able to print 16 nm pitch [1]. The High-NA systems are already expected to face complications from four issues: (1) reduced depth-of-focus requires thinner resists, which… Read More


Has KLA lost its way?

Has KLA lost its way?
by Robert Maire on 05-01-2022 at 6:00 am

KLA SPIE 2022

-KLA has another great QTR in face of overwhelming demand
-Supply chain issues obliterated by backlog
-Longer term technology leadership concerns are increasing
-We see limited upside near term & remain cyclically cautious

Another great quarter- demand remains super strong

KLA’s performance remains great as does… Read More


Intel – “Super” Moore’s Law Time warp-“TSMC inside” GPU & Global Flounders IPO

Intel – “Super” Moore’s Law Time warp-“TSMC inside” GPU & Global Flounders IPO
by Robert Maire on 10-31-2021 at 6:00 am

GF TSMC Intel

“Super” Moore’s Law- 5 nodes in 4 years- Too good to be true?
Gelsinger said “Intel will be advantaged with High NA EUV”
Ponte Vecchio better with “TSMC Inside”
Global Flounders IPO as price drops on public debut

Lets do the time warp again….(apologies to Riff Raff)

Its just … Read More


Cautions In Using High-NA EUV

Cautions In Using High-NA EUV
by Fred Chen on 09-22-2021 at 6:00 am

Cautions In Using High NA EUV

High-NA EUV has received a lot of attention ever since Intel put the spotlight on its receiving the first 0.55 NA EUV tool from ASML [1], expected in 2025. EUV itself has numerous issues which have been enumerated by myself and others, most notoriously the stochastic defects issue. There are also a host of issues related to the propagation… Read More


ASML is the key to Intel’s Resurrection Just like ASML helped TSMC beat Intel

ASML is the key to Intel’s Resurrection Just like ASML helped TSMC beat Intel
by Robert Maire on 09-09-2021 at 6:00 am

TSMC INTEL ASML Hurricane 1

-Intel’s access to high-NA EUV tools may be their elixir of life
-TSMC’s EUV adoption helped it vault faltering Intel & Samsung
-Maybe ASML should invest in Intel like Intel invested in ASML
-Shoe is on the other foot- But cooperation helps chip industry

Intel is dependent upon ASML for its entire future
If Intel… Read More


Resist Development for High-NA EUV

Resist Development for High-NA EUV
by Tom Dillinger on 07-01-2021 at 10:00 am

EUV scaling

The successful transition to a new fabrication process from development to high volume manufacturing requires a collective, collaborative effort among process engineers, equipment manufacturers, and especially, chemical suppliers.  Of particular importance is the chemistry of the photoresist materials and their interaction… Read More