SPIEWhat comes after today’s most advanced lithography tools?
At #SPIElitho, experts outlined two possible paths forward: pushing numerical aperture even higher or moving to dramatically shorter wavelengths. 💡
ASML’s Jos Benschop stated that the next step is to increase numerical aperture.
Today’s high-NA EUV tools operate at NA 0.55. Future “hyper-NA” systems could reach 0.75, enabling roughly 36% smaller printable features, around 5 nm, without changing the EUV wavelength.
IBM’s Allen Gabor outlined a different path: moving to a much shorter wavelength, around 3.1 nm. Shorter wavelengths could reduce line edge roughness by ~20%, improving edge placement accuracy as device layers stack. Challenges remain, including mirror reflectivity, currently only ~35–40% at 3.1 nm.
Learn more about the latest news in lithography here: spie.org/news/advance...
Advanced lithography’s path fo...
Advanced lithography’s path fo...