The Future of Chipmaking - Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography

As semiconductor transistors continue to shrink in size, new manufacturing techniques are needed to achieve the precision required. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is emerging as a critical technology for producing the next generation of advanced chips with transistor features just a few nanometers across. EUV lithography works by exposing a photoresist layer on a silicon wafer to ultraviolet light with a wavelength of just 13.5 nanometers, allowing for much finer patterning compared to traditional lithography methods.
EUV lithography is essentially a modern adaptation of the centuries-old printing technique, but at the nanoscale and with some of the most complex machinery ever engineered. EUV lithography machines are massive, requiring extreme vacuum and precise temperature control to produce the tiny wavelengths needed. EUV lithography holds great promise for continuing the pace of Moore's Law and enabling ever-more-powerful yet efficient computer chips.