Gigaphoton Confirms Potential of over 80% Availability with EUV Pilot Light Source

A great step forward toward using EUV exposure equipment in semiconductor mass-production factories

News provided by
Gigaphoton Inc.
Jul. 06, 2017 10:20
OYAMA, JAPAN--(Business Wire / Korea Newswire)--Gigaphoton Inc., a leading manufacturer of light sources used in semiconductor lithography, has announced that the company, which is developing laser-produced plasma (LPP) light sources for EUV scanners, has confirmed the potential of over 80% availability with a pilot light source Note)that assumed operation in leading-edge semiconductor mass-production lines. This availability level enables mass-production.

This spring, Gigaphoton conducted a simulation test for two weeks with a system equipped with a dummy collector mirror using the EUV pilot light source currently under development and testing, and achieved 64% availability. The operating states of the pilot light source consisted of 64% for the operating & waiting time, 25% for the down time on holidays, at night, etc., and 11% for the down time for maintenance, etc. This is potentially equivalent to availability of 80% or higher if the light source had been operating without stopping on holidays, at night, etc.

Hakaru Mizoguchi, Vice President & CTO of Gigaphoton said, “The potential of over 80% availability was confirmed with a pilot source that assumed operation in leading-edge semiconductor mass-production lines, indicating that we have come closer to introducing EUV light sources to the market. We will continue to develop EUV light sources that achieve high availability and reliability to enable mass-production.”

Note) Light source designed by Gigaphoton for use in EUV lithography mass-production factories. Also called high output demonstration equipment.
*This project accesses the experimental results of a subsidy program under New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

About Gigaphoton

Since it was founded in 2000, Gigaphoton has delivered valuable solutions to semiconductor manufacturers throughout the world as a light source supplier. Gigaphoton's patented and innovative technology of LPP EUV solutions play a leading role in achieving better cost effectiveness and productivity in EUV scanners intended for high-volume manufacturing. In every stage from R&D to manufacture, sales, and maintenance services, Gigaphoton is committed to providing world-class support delivered from the perspective of everyday users. For more information please visit www.gigaphoton.com.

The information contained in this press release was correct at the time of publication, and may change without prior notice.

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Website: http://www.gigaphoton.com/?lang=en

Contact

Gigaphoton Inc.
Corporate Planning Division
Katsutomo Terashima
+81-285-37-6931
web_info@gigaphoton.com