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Gigaphoton, the high-performance DUV laser light provider is to move its business management, logistical and training centres to its US headquarters in Oregon. It is hoped that the decision will mean better service for its increasing number of installed bases. The company has increased laser installed bases 10 times since the company’s inception in 2008.

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Confirming the recent demonstration of annoyance by Applied Materials, Mike Splinter that spending on lithography equipment was eating into his company’s sales opportunities; TSMC has placed its largest single order this year with ASML. Read more >>

In a bid to enable easier modelling of large numbers of different source shapes, SUSS MicroTec and GenISys are teaming to jointly offer their products for mask aligner equipment. The cooperation means that GenISys’ ‘Layout LAB’ has been enhanced to accurately model all available SUSS MicroTec mask aligner exposure optics, including the SUSS MO Exposure Optics technology. Read more >>

Gigaphoton is contining its development program to achieve an output of 250W for its laser-produced plasma (LPP) light source, while confirming that its laser-produced plasma (LPP) light source, scheduled to be shipped in 2012, generated 7 watts of EUV power. According to ASML’s EUV roadmap, a 20W light source would be required by the end of 2011. Competitor, Cymer said in the third quarter of 2011 that it was shipping an 8W LLP upgrade to customers with a 20W source ready by the end of the year, yet in its 1Q12 conference call, accepted that this milestone had been delayed. Read more >>

Perennial push-outs of EUV lithography and continued reliance on 193nm immersion technology have opened the way for technologies to supplement inherent challenges for both. Not only is E-beam lithography gaining attention again but imec believes a ‘Directed Self-Assembly’ process not only has the potential to tackle small feature formation but provide a low-cost approach, lacking in the pursuit of ever-decreasing feature sizes. Kicking of the SPIE Advanced Lithography conference, imec said it had established the world first 300mm fab-compatible Directed Self-Assembly (DSA) process line at its 300mm R&D facility in Leuven, Belgium. Read more >>

Gigaphoton has added to its immersion lithography product range with the GT63A, a next-generation ArF excimer laser for multi-patterning immersion lithography scanners. The company has announced that the new product, which has been developed in response to customers’ needs and requests, will be ready for shipment in the second quarter of 2012. Read more >>

ASML has had a great start to the New Year with several new orders placed with the lithography equipment leader that total over US$108 million. TSMC has begun 2012 with a new wave of purchase orders with leading equipment suppliers. Read more >>

One of the longest technology partnerships in the semiconductor industry is set to get longer after both imec and ASML agreed to extend work on both immersion and EUVL development, for a further 5 years. The agreement follows installations at imec’s 300mm R&D facility with ASML’s NXT1950i immersion tool and its NXE:3300B, the successor of ASML’s NXE:3100 preproduction tool that has been installed at imec, earlier this year. Read more >>

A major independent device manufacturer has placed a multi-system purchase order with RAVE for its ‘Rhazer’ haze removal systems for reticles. The orders were given after an extensive in-fab evaluation of the Rhazer haze removal technology, according to RAVE. Read more >>

The IMAGINE program for maskless lithography, based on MAPPER’s lithography platform has received a boost with Synopsys joining the program and providing mask-based software solutions. CEA-Leti and MAPPER Lithography launched the program in July 2009. Read more >>