News and Rumors from SPIE Microlithography 1998 Conference
I spent the last week in Santa Clara at the SPIE conference and had the chance to talk with many diverse individuals regarding some our
favorite litho companies.
Keep in mind, alot of this is just rumor. Almost all of it comes
from people who DONT work for any of the companies mentioned here.
ASML - Growing fast, which is obvious to everyone around here.
They have bet alot on Asia and may have a bit of a
problem collecting payment from those customers right
now. This may be true for all stepper companies.
SVGL - Hugely successful Micrascan series is scaring the crap
out of the other 3 stepper companies.
Intel, Moto, IBM all use SVGL
to print 0.25um Microprocessor critical layers. Their
CD uniformity is unmatched due to the "scanning" system
that the others have been struggling with. Still the
only reliable step-and-scans available. I got a chance
to demo one at their demo lab there. Very nice.
Canon - Loosing market share to ASML, so the story goes.
However, the other big 3 companies consider Canon a
very serious contender now and in the future. Why?
The company is ENORMOUS and is pouring scads of cash
into lithography in a way that the other big three
can't.
Nikon - Rumor is ... the problems that weve heard about with
Nikon DUV and Cymer lasers MAY be due to they way they
have designed it into their system. Apparently, in
their original design, they had the laser firing
constantly, whereas the other guys were using "on demand" firing where the laser is firing only when it's
needed for exposure. This limits the lifetime of
certain key components in the laser.
Cymer - Komatsu is making big inroads into Japan. They still
are not used in production, but IMHO it's just a matter
of time. Also, see 193nm news below.
As far as the technical symposium is concerned . . .
Alot of presentations focused on 193nm lithography. Last year at the
conference 193 was still viewed as iffy. Maybe it might be used,
maybe not. Now, it looks like a done deal. Resists are maturing,
lens material (a mix between Fused Silica an Calcium Flouride will
be used in most systems) is looking good etc. Most companies are
planning on 193nm steppers shipping in 1999-2000. This is good
news for Cymer.
James Word
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