Ushio forms new partnership
The objectives of this partnership are to speed up the development of EUV lithography and make it practical as the post-ArF laser immersion technology, said Ushio.
The agreement is significant because these companies control two of the leading companies in EUV source development, Xtreme Technologies GmbH (Jena, Germany) and Philips Extreme UV GmbH (Aachen, Germany). Only experimental tools have been shipped so far and concerns have been expressed about the need to get exposure energy levels up to allow sufficient wafer throughput. Ushio bought Lambda Physik AG (Goettingen, Germany) out from its 50% share in Xtreme Technologies GmbH, a developer of optical sources for extreme ultraviolet lithography in August 2005.
Xtreme, in which Ushio and Jenoptik each hold a 50% share and Philips Extreme UV GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of Philips, have both developed and shipped EUV sources based on the gas discharge technology principle. Xtreme and Philips Extreme delivered alpha tools to leading customers during 2006 and 2007, these tools are mounted on full-field scanners, which can expose 300mm wafers.
The partnership between Xtreme and Philips Extreme EUV, the only companies to have shipped EUV sources for exposure tools, will accelerate the speed of development of beta tools and ultimately secure the development and sales of commercial EUV sources, said Ushio.
