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Definition: EUV machine


(Extreme UltraViolet machine) The state-of-the-art photolithographic step and scan machine that is used in state-of-the-art chip manufacturing. EUV machines create elements on the chip that are 5 nm in size and below.

The machine generates extreme ultraviolet light and beams it through a photomask to create patterns on the layer of photoresist film coated on the wafer. More than a hundred wafers can be processed in an hour. The photomask (reticle) covers only a small area on the wafer, perhaps four or five chips, thus the wafer has to be moved under the lens many times (stepped) to complete the operation for a single layer. At each step, the reticle is actually scanned, which is why it is called a "step and scan" machine, or "scanner." See ASML, reticle, ultraviolet light, computational lithography and chip manufacturing.






ASML Makes EUV Machines
ASML is the only manufacturer that makes extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light machines, which are rather large to say the least. Weighing in at 200 tons and the size of a city bus, the machines cost upwards of $150 million. The wavelength of purple EUV light is higher than visible light but lower than x-rays. (Images courtesy of ASML.)






Generating and Focusing EUV Light
Droplets of tin are bombarded with two lasers 50,000 times per second to create a plasma with the required 13.5 nm wavelength. The laser system reaches a power level of 20 thousand watts and is so large that it typically resides in a floor below the clean room. A raft of Carl Zeiss optics guides the light from source to destination. The most advanced semiconductor manufacturing machine on the planet, ASML uses thousands of parts from hundreds of vendors. (Image courtesy of ASML.)





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