Duane,
Re: Litho breakthrough could be in fabs by next
year, researcher says
It could be in fabs next year, but it won't be in production for many years. As the article said, Willson has been working on this for five years to get to where he is now. Usually it takes a number of years to get something from the research stage to production and furthermore, there are a number of other things that need to happen before 0.08um production can take place. Anyway, the industry will go through 0.18um, 0.15/0.13um, and 0.1um transistor features before it gets to 0.08um. Considering that the industry typically takes 2-3 years between process generations, I feel pretty safe in saying that we won't see 0.08um in production until about 2008.
Frankly, I don't know why anyone here would want to see 0.08um any sooner than necessary because CYMI should be dominate until then. I'm sure that someone will find a way to extend optical lithography past 0.08um anyway, so CYMI should be strong until at least 2010 (of course, no can predict the future that far out).
Richard |
