Online information source for semiconductor professionals

Senior lithography experts at Intel talking at the 2011 SPIE Advanced Lithography conference may have valid concerns over the readiness of EUV lithography to enter volume production at the 10nm node, but another Intel guru presented at SEMI organised ISS Europe earlier this week was not so concerned.

In typical form, Intel would seem to be publically pushing the equipment and materials suppliers to make EUV ready for its 10nm node migration in the next four years, meaning they would ideally require production tools at least 12-months before actual volume production started.

Production ready immersion tools were a year later than Intel wanted when shifting nodes and relied on dry 193Arf tools from Nikon, while those that trailed the technology node leader were able to gain from immersion the following year.

Leonard Hobbs from Intel Ireland noted in a presentation at the SEMI event that Intel was driving its first 450mm pilot line to be operational in 2015. With the announced D1X Fab in Oregon, said to be 450mm compatible, moving to production on 450mm would certainly be after Intel migrates to 10nm technology.

Asking acclaimed Intel Fellow Paolo Gargini, attending the event as a speaker, which comes first EUV or 450mm, Gargini told Fabtech that EUV would lead the way.

Though still not a certainty, picking and placing EUV at Intel’s 10nm migration remains a priority over the migration to the larger substrate size.