By Alan Patterson, EETimes (September 30, 2021)
ASML plans to introduce new extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment that will extend the longevity of Moore’s Law for at least ten years, according to executives at the world’s only supplier of the tools, which are crucial for the world’s most advanced silicon.
Starting in the first half of 2023, the company plans to offer customers equipment that takes EUV numerical aperture (NA) higher to 0.55 NA from the existing 0.33 NA. The company believes that the new equipment will help chip makers reach process nodes well beyond the current threshold (2nm) for at least another 10 years, according to ASML vice president Teun van Gogh, in an interview with EE Times.
“What we typically do is we try to make a tool available that can support our customers in a sort of two-year cadence,” van Gogh said. “When we start shipping high NA, which will be at the end of 2023, we will also have a two-year cadence there to support our customers. We believe that the technology that we offer will bring us well into the next decade to support our customers.”