High NA EUV is the next step in smaller transistors. Like NXE systems, it uses EUV light to print tiny features on silicon wafers. And by turning the NA knob, we deliver even better resolution: The new platform, known as EXE, offers chipmakers a CD (critical dimension) of 8 nm. That means they can print transistors 1.7 times smaller – and therefore achieve transistor densities 2.9 times higher – than they can with NXE systems.
Above – High NA EUV mirror testing at ZEISS (Credit: ZEISS SMT)
EUV lithography allowed us to make a big turn of the wavelength knob. It uses 13.5 nm light, compared to 193 nm for the highest-resolution DUV systems. The first pre-production EUV lithography platform, the NXE, shipped in 2010 and delivered a drop in CD (critical dimension) from more than 30 nm in DUV down to 13 nm with EUV.
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