Dutch chipmaking equipment giant ASML and German optics specialist Carl Zeiss are developing a new generation of lithography machines that can print even smaller semiconductor circuits, though the technology could take another decade to arrive.
According to Reuters the proposed system, dubbed Hyper NA, would succeed ASML’s current High NA extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines. Engineers from both companies have outlined the technology in a peer-reviewed paper published in the October edition of the Journal of Micro/Nanopatterning, Materials and Metrology.
According to the boffins, Hyper NA could print features as small as five nanometres, more than a third smaller than those produced by existing High NA equipment. Shrinking circuit features remains important for improving processor performance and reducing power consumption, despite the industry’s growing enthusiasm for three-dimensional chip designs.
The technology would extend the capabilities of EUV lithography, which uses 13.5-nanometre-wavelength light to pattern circuits onto silicon wafers. Increasing the optical system’s numerical aperture allows finer details to be resolved, but achieving that precision requires spectacularly complicated engineering.
ASML has already begun developing Hyper NA but has not yet committed to manufacturing the machines. The company has a monopoly on commercial EUV lithography equipment, making its technological roadmap particularly important to semiconductor manufacturers and their suppliers.
One advantage of the proposed system is that it could retain much of the existing EUV technology. The researchers believe ASML can reuse its current light source without modification, avoiding the need to develop an entirely new illumination system.
Zeiss claims it can already manufacture mirrors with the precision required for Hyper NA. These optical components must be manufactured to extraordinarily tight tolerances because conventional lenses cannot handle EUV light, leaving mirrors to direct and focus the beam.
The boffins expect Hyper NA equipment to be only slightly larger than existing High NA machines, which are already roughly the size of a double-decker bus [are you sure that is the correct unit of measurement? ed]. Current systems cost as much as $400 million each, suggesting their successors are unlikely to end up in anyone’s bargain bin.
Intel has already begun using High NA technology in production, while Samsung and SK Hynix plan to adopt it by 2028. TSMC expects to follow by 2030, although the Taiwanese foundry has been exploring ways to continue shrinking its chips without immediately adopting the expensive new equipment.
The development matters for ASML because conventional semiconductor scaling is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive. Chipmakers have increasingly turned to advanced packaging and chiplets to improve performance, but smaller transistors remain valuable for increasing density and reducing energy consumption.
Beyond Hyper NA, the researchers believe further improvements will likely require shorter-wavelength light. That would introduce another generation of engineering problems and could create opportunities for companies exploring alternative light sources and lithography methods, including American startups xLight and Substrate.
For now, Hyper NA remains a research-and-development project without a confirmed production schedule. ASML and Zeiss believe the technology could become operational around 2036, leaving the semiconductor industry another decade to discover how expensive it can be to keep Moore’s Law alive.
