Recently at the reporting conference, representatives of ASML company - Dutch manufacturer of production equipment for the production of semiconductors - have reported progress in the development, improvement and production scanners for use with 13.5-nm radiation or EUV. In reality, the mass production of EUV-using scanners promises to begin in 2020 with the practical development of a 5-nm technology standards. In fact, the use of EUV-scanners will begin earlier, but it can not be called a mass.
ASML company expects to release memory with the norms of 15-10 nm EUV scanners will handle two or more layers. With the release of processors with rules 7 or 5 nm EUV scanners can handle 6-9-critical layers.
Only in the second quarter this year, ASML has received four applications for EUV scanner and still expects to sell at least 12 units in 2017. In 2018 the volume of orders shall be at least 24 EUV scanners per year.
So far, everything depends on the relatively weak radiation sources. Today, in the laboratory ASML EUV scanners develop power 210 watts. To start the mass production using EUV-lithography source of power shall not be less than 250 watts. Modern EUV-installation of radiation sources are supplied with only 125 watts. Power 125 W is sufficient for processing 85 wafers per hour, while a 250-watt power can handle per hour up to 125 plates.
Also, the problem remains the duration of continuous operation EUV-systems, although there is progress. Until recently, EUV scanners could operate only 80% of the time. Improving plants helped raise while using scanners up to 90% of the time and even higher. And work to improve the scanners continue. The company said that the use of EUV-systems equaled at cost with a projection of 193-nm laser with a triple projection. In other words, EUV scanners might be beneficial even for the production of 10-nanometer chips for the release of which by conventional means requires three or four mask on one layer.