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To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (971)	11/19/2004 8:15:32 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 43399

Immersion litho tools to run $30-40 million each, says Sematech By Mark LaPedus Silicon Strategies 11/18/2004, 6:55 PM ET SAN JOSE, Calif. — Buyers of next-generation lithography (NGL) tools, photomasks and other technologies are in for a new definition of the word "sticker shock." For example, the first 193-nm immersion lithography tools could run $30-to-$40 million per machine when the systems hit the market in the 2005 or 2006 time frame, said Walt Trybula, a senior fellow at chip-making consortium International Sematech (Austin, Texas), during a presentation here on Thursday (Nov. 18). Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography could run $50 million per tool, Trybula said. EUV is projected to process wafers at the 32-nm node in the 2009. In comparison, leading-edge 193-nm "dry" lithography tools run from $10-to-$20 million per unit right now. Another technology that is soaring out of control is the lowly photomask. The average cost for a "mask set" at the 180- and 130-nm nodes are $260,000 and $870,000, respectively, according to one speaker at an event here. The cost of a "mask set" is projected to jump from $1.5 million for the 90-nm node, to $3 million for the 65-nm node, and $6 million for the 45-nm node, according to one speaker. Trybula said the cost of a 65-nm "mask set" will drop over time. A third-generation 65-nm "mask set" will drop by 60 percent, he said.