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In another aggressive move to push ahead of its foundry competitors, GlobalFoundries is side-stepping the purchase of pre-production EUV tools and moving directly to production tool sets at Fab 8 in upstate New York, according to Gregg Bartlett, Senior Vice President of Technology and R&D at the foundry, during a keynote address at SEMICON West. The EUV tool, expected to be supplied by ASML will be installed in the second half of 2012, Bartlett said.“Our strategy is to move past the pre-production tool step and straight to purchasing a production-level tool for installation in Fab 8—our new leading-edge fab currently under construction in upstate New York,” Bartlett said. “We are planning to install this tool in the second half of 2012 so we can immediately begin the development work to enable volume production by the 2014/2015 timeframe. It is our collaborative approach to R&D that has put us in a position to make such a move—a move that will accelerate the charge to volume production for the entire industry.”
Bartlett also noted that the foundry would use immersion lithography through the 22/20nm node, but not without some serious cost challenges and added complexity. “We need another solution, and in our view EUV is the most promising candidate,” noted Bartlett.