Canon Unveils More Affordable 5nm Lithography Machines to Challenge ASML, Order of Magnitude Cheaper
November 8th, 2023Via: Extreme Tech:
Dutch-based ASML rules the roost for the machines fabs use to create today’s most advanced semiconductors. Its gigantic fabrication devices, which resemble computers from the early days that took up entire rooms, can cost over $100 million each—a price the company can demand given its position atop the industry. Now, Canon is looking to disrupt ASML’s dominance in this market with a lithography machine of its own. The company claims it will cost substantially less, theoretically democratizing silicon fabrication by making it more accessible.
Canon hopes to make a dent in the silicon fab industry with its new fabrication system, which utilizes a unique approach to crafting semiconductor wafers. Its fabrication device is called the FPA-1200NZ2C, and it uses nanoimprint lithography (NIL) technology instead of photolithography like ASML offers. The difference between the two technologies is photolithography uses lasers to project a design through a mask onto the wafer, whereas Canon’s device imprints it like a stamp.
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…it will be offered for “one-decimal place less” than a traditional machine from ASML. For example, an ASML machine with an equivalent line pitch would sell for roughly $150 million, meaning Canon’s device could be sold for just $15 million.
Whoa! Has Moore’s Law reached exponential trajectory? Skynet garage.
It’s hard to know what the full implications are, but you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see that this speeds things up a lot.