Open AccessEUV – Breaking New Ground
Author(s) -
Meiling Hans
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
laser technik journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1863-9119
pISSN - 1613-7728
DOI - 10.1002/latj.200990057
Subject(s) - wafer , lithography , extreme ultraviolet lithography , chip , transistor , silicon , materials science , computer science , production (economics) , integrated circuit , photolithography , nanotechnology , electrical engineering , optoelectronics , voltage , telecommunications , engineering , economics , macroeconomics
From its beginning in the 1960s miniaturisation has always been the driving force of microchip production. In order to develop more powerful and even smaller electronic devices, the transistors density in a silicon chip has to increase constantly, while at the same time the chip itself is constantly shrinking in size. Lithography is the part of the production chain that determines the possible level of miniaturisation. In this step, integrated circuit patterns are transferred to a silicon wafer. They mark the places where conductive or insulating material is to be applied in later steps. The smaller these patterns can get, the higher the complexity of the microchip design. Right now, this crucial technology is at a turning point.