➀ Corning has launched a new ultra-low expansion (ULE) glass material called EXTREME ULE, designed to support High NA EUV lithography for the mass production of advanced microchips. ➁ The material boasts ultra-low thermal expansion, enhancing the performance of EUV masks. ➂ Its exceptional flatness minimizes unnecessary changes in chip manufacturing, allowing for the use of advanced thin films and lithography materials. ➃ EXTREME ULE glass is part of Corning's ULE product line, a titania silicate glass with near-zero expansion properties, traditionally used in EUV masks and lithography mirrors.

➀ Corning has unveiled Corning® EXTREME ULE® Glass, a next-generation material designed for mass-producing advanced microchips crucial for AI technologies. ➁ The glass can withstand high-intensity EUV lithography and is essential for the production of the most advanced and cost-efficient microchips. ➂ EXTREME ULE® Glass maintains remarkable consistency and performance across all photomasks, reducing waviness and variability, and enabling advanced coating applications.

➀ Samsung Electronics plans to reduce its procurement of ASML's next-generation EUV lithography equipment. ➁ The company initially planned to purchase multiple units of EXE:5200, EXE:5400, and EXE:5600, but now will only introduce the EXE:5200. ➂ The decision follows a review by the new head of the DS division, Jun Young-hyun, and impacts the joint R&D center plans with ASML.

➀ Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) have achieved 5 nm half-pitch line/space patterns using 13.5 nm EUV light, surpassing the theoretical maximum resolution of ASML’s high-NA EUV tool. ➁ The technique used, EUV interference lithography (EUV-IL), involves making two EUV beams interfere to create periodic images, previously achieving patterns down to 6 nm half-pitch. ➂ The study concludes that photons are not the limiting factor for resolution at this scale, shifting focus to developing new photoresist materials and optimizing existing platforms.

➀ Imec has released images of single-exposure patterns using ASML’s high-NA EUV scanner, showcasing logic structures down to a 9.5nm half-pitch. ➁ The patterns include 30nm center-to-center random vias and a DRAM-relevant pattern at P22nm pitch, demonstrating the readiness of the ecosystem for high-resolution EUV lithography. ➂ These patterns were created at the ASML-Imec High NA EUV Lithography Lab in Veldhoven, highlighting the potential of High NA EUV for single-print imaging of aggressively-scaled 2D features.

1. Micron is advancing its DRAM technology by adopting EUV lithography. 2. The company aims to commence mass production in 2025. 3. Micron has already initiated pilot production on the 1-gamma node, with plans to use EUV for high-volume production next year.