lithography

Lace Lithography is Europe’s opportunity to surpass the US and Asia in chip manufacturing. From Barcelona

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Lace Lithography is not just another startup. And it is not because it is developing a new photolithography technique that seeks to break down all the barriers that limit the performance of ultraviolet light technology used by the machines manufactured by the Dutch company ASML. And they are used by TSMC, Intel, Samsung, SK Hynix or SMIC, among other semiconductor manufacturers. A priori, the most prudent thing to do when faced with news like this is to adopt a skeptical stance, but Lace’s work deserves to be taken very seriously. Otherwise it would not have the support of Microsoft nor would it have raised $40 million in financing. The founders of this company are the Norwegian physicist Bodil Holst and the Spanish physicist and engineer Adrià Salvador Palau. These two scientists created Lace Lithography in 2023, and although their headquarters reside in Bergen (Norway), an important part of their research and development team operates from Barcelona. Be that as it may, the most important thing is that the strategy that this company has devised to solve the lithography of the next generation of integrated circuits does not resemble nor to ASML technology nor to any other innovation we have heard of so far. The first prototypes are already ready and the test plant will be ready in 2029 The itinerary that Lace Lithography seeks to follow is very ambitious. Its first prototypes, according to Reutersare already prepared, and intends to develop a test tool and a cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing pilot plant in 2029. In any case, in addition to their plans, we know some details about their technology that are worth investigating. In the integrated circuit manufacturing equipment that ASML designs and produces, ultraviolet light is responsible for transporting the geometric pattern described by the mask so that it can be transferred with great precision to the surface of the silicon wafer. Lace Lithography uses a beam of helium atoms to transfer the pattern described by the chip to the silicon wafer The light used by high-aperture extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment, which is the most advanced machine that ASML has Currently, it belongs to the most energetic portion of the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In fact, its wavelength extends in the range that goes from 10 to 100 nanometers (nm). The problem is that it is not easy to generate and deal with this form of electromagnetic radiation. And it is not, among other reasons, because it is so energetic that it alters the structure of the physical elements with which it interacts inside the lithography machine. Lace’s technology solves this and other problems that are closely linked to the use of ultraviolet radiation to manufacture chips. And instead of using light, the engineers at this company use a beam of helium atoms to transfer the pattern described by the chip to the silicon wafer. However, the most striking thing is that this beam has the width of a single hydrogen atom (around 0.1 nm), so on paper this solution will make it possible to produce semiconductors ten times smaller than the smallest ones that TSMC, Samsung or Intel are currently manufacturing. “Our technology opens a path that potentially has the ability to expand (chip makers’) agenda, as well as make things possible that otherwise would not have been viable,” Bodil Holst declared. John Petersen, scientific director of lithography at IMEC (Interuniversity Microelectronics Center), the most experienced laboratory in developing new integration and nanotechnology technologies that we have in Europe, maintains that the main advantage of using the helium atom beam is that it allows creating much smaller transistors than the current ones. “They are almost unimaginable,” Petersen pointed out. It sounds really good. Image | Generated by Xataka with Gemini More information | Reuters | Lace Lithography In Xataka | China needs to develop a new type of chips immune to US sanctions. And your scientists have just achieved it

China’s first avant -garde lithography machine is not the biggest US problem. They will be the other two that are on their way

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The semiconductor industry is strategic for great powers. Without exception. Its technological development is closely linked to its ability to manufacture or acquire avant -garde chips, hence the US and its allies are deploying Successive packages of sanctions They pursue stop the technical progress of China. In this situation the country of Xi Jinping only has one option: invest in its chips industry for become independent of foreign technologies. And he is doing it. Two of its largest investments They arrived in 2014 and 2019before the technological war of which we are witnessing was unleashed. In 2014, the Chinese government injected about 19,000 million dollars into its chip industry, and in 2019 this figure increased to touching 27.5 billion dollars. However, these investments pale in front of China at the end of 2023. And it is that just two years ago the government approved An investment of 41,000 million dollars expressly dedicated to manufacturers of lithography equipment. The achievements are beginning to arrive. As we explain yesterdayPulin Technology, one of the many Chinese photolithography machines, has sent one of its clients its first avant -garde team using nano -impression lithography technology (it is known as NIL by its denomination in English Nanoimprint Lithography). On paper this machine will initially produce 5 nm chips, and in the future You can reach the 2 nm. However, this is not all. China has at least two other extraordinarily ambitious and promising projects. Nil lithography is already ready. And the UVE photolithography is on its way NIL lithography is not entirely comparable to the extreme ultraviolet photolithography (UVE) implemented by the Dutch company ASML in its most advanced machines. Its operating strategy is very lowered by the cost of these equipment, but also entails the execution of several sequential processes that make it slower than UVE and UVP lithography. For this reason, the Pulin team is not the end of the road to China. And all probability during the next months will see other photolithography solutions developed by Chinese companies. In the middle of last March several Asian media collected a photograph taken at the Huawei Research Center in Dongguan, in the province of Canton, in which it appeared The prototype of a UVE lithography team Designed and manufactured entirely in China. Presumably this machine is similar to those produced by ASML, which invites us to anticipate that for 2026 the country led by Xi Jinping will have the ability to produce on a large scale advanced chips using this technology. However, China’s plans do not end here. Greater resolution in practice implies that it is possible to produce semiconductors with more transistors, and, therefore, more sophisticated and powerful And it is that the Chinese Academy of Sciences is finishing the one that is undoubtedly the most ambitious project of those who are developing the Chinese semiconductor industry. According to Dr. Kiman expert in the manufacture of integrated circuits who has worked in Samsung and who currently investigates for TSMC in the US, China is about to reach a “Deepseek” in the field of integrated circuit industry. This simply means that it is preparing to reach a disruption that has the potential to place this Asian country at the same height as the US, Taiwan or South Korea. However, China’s strategy to produce avant -garde chips is very different from what their rivals have used until now. Each of ASML UVE machines incorporates its own ultraviolet light source, but the Chinese Academy of Sciences seeks to generate this important radiation to produce advanced chips using a syncrotronwhich is nothing other than a circular particle accelerator that is used to analyze atomic level the properties of matter, such as various types of materials, or even proteins. It’s called heps (High Energy Photon Source or high -energy photons source), it is in Beijing and we can see it in the cover photography of this article. An important note before moving forward: the ultraviolet light (UV) is responsible for transferring the geometric pattern that contains the design of the chips to the Silicon wafer. This means, in broad strokes, that the UVE light has the ability to make possible the manufacture of integrated circuits with a greater resolution than the deep ultraviolet light (UVP) that use the previous generation lithography machines that China has in their hands. And a greater resolution in practice implies that it is possible to produce semiconductors with more transistors, and, therefore, more sophisticated and powerful. A priori we can think that a particle accelerator has nothing to do with the manufacture of integrated circuits, but we would be overlooking something very important: the Heps syncotron has the ability to produce high power UVE light. In fact, it is a source designed to generate a large amount of radiation. China’s plan is to place several semiconductor manufacturing plants around the particle accelerator to which the syncotron will deliver the UVE light in the same way that a power plant delivers electricity to its customers. That simple. The date on which China plans to start this megaphabric avant -garde semiconductor, but, as we can see in the photograph, is already very advanced, so we can take it for granted, will not be leaked soon. Image | Dr. Kim In Xataka | TSMC acknowledges that it has been considered taking its factories out of Taiwan. It is impossible for a good reason

You already have your first vanguard lithography team

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The effort they are making Chinese lithography equipment manufacturers To develop their own avant -garde machines, it is titanic. And, as expected, the Xi Jinping government is supporting these companies with multimillionaire subsidies. In fact, at the beginning of September 2023 he approved a game of no less than 41,000 million dollars Destined precisely to the companies that produce the equipment involved in the manufacture of integrated circuits. One of these companies is Pulin Technology. This Chinese organization has opted, like Naura Technology, Amec (Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China) or Piotech Inc., for developing their own avant -garde photolithography machines. And the achievements are getting little by little. The one who has just signed Pulin is impressive because, According to Digitimes Asiahas sent one of its customers its first avant -garde team using nano -impression lithography technology (it is known as NIL by its English denomination Nanoimprint Lithography). On paper this machine is an alternative to ASML UVE equipment We still do not know in detail the characteristics of the new lithography team developed by Pulin, but it doesn’t matter. And, in reality, NIL technology is not new. The Japanese Canon company has its own commercial solution for yearsand presumably its principles of operation are in essence the same as those of the machine designed by Pulin. Canon began working in the Nil lithography in 2004. Thirteen years later, in 2017, he delivered the FPA-1200NZ2C team, Your first functional nil machineto Toshiba to be installed in its Yokkaichi memory chips production plant in Japan. Pulin Technology has sent one of its customers its first avant -garde team using nano -impression lithography technology On paper, NIL photolithography equipment is an alternative to the machines of extreme ultraviolet lithography (UVE) that designs and manufactures the Dutch company ASML, although NO TO THE VERSION OF ALTA OPENING of these teams. The latter right now are the most sophisticated and expensive that exist. In this article we do not need to investigate in depth in the foundations of NIL lithography, but we are interested in knowing that its integrated circuit manufacturing strategy is different from that used by the UVE and UVP lithography equipment (deep ultraviolet). Very broadly the production of silicon wafers in the latter requires transporting the geometric pattern described by the mask to the surface of the silicon wafer using ultraviolet light and extremely refined optical elements. NIL lithography, however, allows the pattern to be transferred to the wafer without the need for an extremely complex optical system to intervene in the process. This strategy is simpler and more economical, but also entails the execution of several sequential processes that make it slower than UVE and UVP lithography. Canon ensures that their nano -impression lithography equipment can be used to manufacture integrated circuits comparable to 5 Nm chips that TSMC, Samsung or Intel produce with ASML UVE machines. And in the future with the refinements that will arrive They can manufacture 2 nm chips. However, this is not all. Besides, According to Fujio Mitaraigeneral director of Canon, a NIL team costs ten times less than an ASML UVE machine: 15 million dollars compared to the 150 million dollars requested by the Dutch company to its customers for a UVE machine with Numerical Opening 0.33. We still do not know how much each Pulin Nil team will cost, but it is reasonable to anticipate that at most it will have a cost comparable to that of the canon machine. More information | Digitimes Asia In Xataka | Japan wants to end the leadership of the Netherlands in lithography teams. This is your plan to get it

He is already testing his 1.4 nm lithography and has announced when he will arrive

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2025 will be the year in which the 2 Nm chips will take off. During the next months TSMC, Intel and Samsung will start large -scale production of this type of integrated circuits. However, each of these companies is found in a very different situation. The Taiwanese TSMC leads the market with a fee of approximately 60% and has closed A very successful 2024. In addition, Apple, Nvidia, AMD, Mediatek, Intel and Qualcomm have already officialized their intention to formalize orders for their 2 Nm integration technology. Samsung’s starting point is less comfortable than TSMC’s. This South Korean company is reassessing your expansion plans and adjusting its template with the purpose of facing the future with the maximum possible guarantees. Of course, it is prepared to start large -scale production of 2 nm chips. Intel, meanwhile, is facing one of the most difficult stages Of all its history. Even so, Ben Sell, Vice President of Technology Development, confirmed At the end of last September that the 18A node already has the maturity necessary to enter large -scale production in 2025. Integrated 1.4 NM circuits of TSMC will arrive in 2028 TSMC has confirmed that the tests of its 2 Nm node are being successful, so you can start large -scale manufacturing of semiconductors using this photolithography during the second semester of 2025. However, its medium -term plans do not end here. Just a few hours ago this company has held its Technological Conference of North America and has anticipated which is also testing its next avant -garde integration technology. It will call it A14 (1.4 Nm), will enter large -scale production in 2028 and we already know some of its most interesting characteristics. TSMC has made public some figures that allow us to assess to what extent the arrival of the A14 node will be important One of its most important spots will consist that you will use transistors Nanosheet Gaa (Gate-alall-around) Second generation. The first generation will arrive next to the Lithography N2 (2 Nm) this year. In addition, this integration technology will land with the promise to make possible the manufacture of integrated circuits with higher performance, higher energy efficiency and a more flexible design. The usual. However, TSMC, fortunately, has been wet and in its event some figures have made public that allow us to assess to what extent the arrival of the A14 node will be important. And, according to this company, the integrated circuits produced with the A14 lithography will be 15% faster than the chips manufactured in the NEN N2 with the same consumption; They will reduce energy expenditure by 30% at the same speed, and, in addition, they will put on the table the possibility of increasing the density of logic by 20%. According to Kevin ZhangSenior Vice President and Deputy Director of Operations of TSMC, the A14 node will be attractive to make chips for consumption devices and for strictly professional applications, such as, for example, GPU for artificial intelligence (AI). As we have seen, TSMC hopes to start the large -scale manufacture of 1.4 Nm semiconductors in 2028, but at that time this integration technology will only have taken its first step. And it is likely that In 2029 a review of the lithography A14 is readyand presumably in 2030 the high performance and low cost versions of this node will arrive. This is the usual as long as TSMC sets a new integration technology. In fact, The nodes N4 nodes (4 NM), which is constituted by integration technologies N4, N4P and N4X, are improved Integration Technology N5 (5 Nm). Images | TSMC More information | TSMC In Xataka | Intel’s historical crisis continues to charge its price on the template: it will fire 20,000 people, according to Bloomberg

You will have your own UVE lithography team to make chips in 2025

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We did not expect this. Neither we nor a good part of SEMICONDUCTOR EXPERTS that have been wet both and within China. And there are solid clues that argue that Huawei is already testing at its Dongguan facilities, in the province of Canton, the first team of extreme ultraviolet photolithography (UVE) Designed and manufactured entirely in China. The filtered photography that we publish a little lower in this article corroborates it. The leaks They assure That unlike the UVE machines produced by the Dutch company ASML, this Chinese lithography equipment uses an LDP ultraviolet light source (laser induced discharge), and not LPP class (plasma generated by laser). Presumably the development of this source of ultraviolet radiation emission is the milestone that has allowed Chinese engineers to develop a machine that Many experts did not see possible before five years in the best case. At the moment the most prudent is that we take this information with caution, but it seems solid enough to echo it. An interesting note is that on paper the LDP source is able to generate UVE light with a wavelength of 13.5 nm, so this Chinese prototype should be able to compete from you to you with ASML UVE photolithography machines. In addition, the leaks argue that China will begin the production of more test machines during the third quarter of this year with the purpose of launching the large -scale manufacture of these equipment during 2026. Why are the UVE photolithography teams so important to China The sanctions of USA and its allies They prevent ASML from giving their Chinese clients their most sophisticated integrated circuit manufacturing equipment. Its UVE machines belong to this category. The Chinese companies Huawei and SMIC have managed to produce 7 Nm chips using the deep ultraviolet lithography machines (UVP) of ASML that they have in their possession, but to make it possible they have had to resort to a technique known as Multiple patterning. The ‘multiple patterning’ perceptibly expensive chips and lies the production capacity This technique in broad strokes consists in transferring the pattern to the wafer in several passes with the purpose of increasing the resolution of the lithographic process. It works, but it has two big problems: it perceptibly expensive the chips and Merms production capacity. In addition, presumably will not allow to go beyond 5 Nm. Chinese manufacturers of integrated circuits have turned with mature chips production To sustain your business, but this strategy will not allow China to compete on equal terms with the US and its allies. An important note: mature semiconductors usually occur in nodes of 28 nm or less advanced, and are used in appliances, cars and electronic consumption devices. China needs to produce 3 NM chips or with even more advanced integration technologies to acquire the ability to develop semiconductors comparable to the most sophisticated that are currently manufacturing TSMC, Intel, Samsung or SK Hynix. The competitiveness of Huawei, SMIC and other companies is at stake. If this information is finally confirmed and China has its Commercial UVE machines in 2026, it will have taken a crucial step in its pulse with the US. Even so, Asml will continue to have The best lithography teams: The machines Haute Opening UVE that Intel is already testing, and that with all probability will soon verify TSMC and Samsung. Image | ASML More information | WCCFTECH In Xataka | TSMC acknowledges that it has been considered taking its factories out of Taiwan. It is impossible for a good reason

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