Canon aims to ship low-cost 'stamp' machine this year to disrupt chipmaking
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Re: Canon aims to ship low-cost 'stamp' machine this year to disrupt chipmaking
#2Re: Canon aims to ship low-cost 'stamp' machine this year to disrupt chipmaking
#3FTA: “Canon’s nanoimprint lithography — a technology under development for more than 15 years but which the company says is only now commercially viable — stamps chip designs on to silicon wafers rather than etching them using light.”
It seems everything old is new again. https://thechipletter.substack.com/p/leaving-arizona:
“there was a reason the 6800 was expensive. It was made using ‘contact lithography’, where the photomask, containing the image that is to created on the silicon die, comes into direct contact with the silicon wafer. This inevitably led, over time, to damage to the photomask, reducing yields and eventually rendering the expensive photomask unusable. Making a low-cost version of the 6800 would be impossible without a more cost-effective manufacturing process.”
Reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_lithography and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanoimprint_lithography, that problem doesn’t seem to have been solved, but of course, it’s possible that the lower cost more than compensates for it.
Re: Canon aims to ship low-cost 'stamp' machine this year to disrupt chipmaking
#4For those who are not aware, and I think it is important to Note, Canon is not a new entry to the industry. They were actually competing with ASML before they gave up in the early 10s.
They are aiming at 5nm in 2025 and extend it to 2nm in 2027+. I guess in real world terms you can add at least 1 year to it even in the most optimistic scenario.
I dont expect many logic chips will be using it, given the sunk cost involves in all the new and older design with current tools and manufacturing. But if it works it would be very exciting for DRAM and NAND.
Re: Canon aims to ship low-cost 'stamp' machine this year to disrupt chipmaking
#5Obligatory Asianometry video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UdNB3ZY4Ks
Re: Canon aims to ship low-cost 'stamp' machine this year to disrupt chipmaking
#6FTA: “Canon’s nanoimprint lithography — a technology under development for more than 15 years but which the company says is only now commercially viable — stamps chip designs on to silicon wafers rather than etching them using light.” It seems everything old is new again. https://thechipletter.substack.com/p/leaving-arizona : “there was a reason the 6800 was expensive. It was made using ‘contact lithography’, where t…
Contact (photo)lithography and this nanoimprint lithography are not the same thing.
The 2nd is like embossing, the 1st is like stencil (like other types of photolithography, but the photomask touches the wafer).
Re: Canon aims to ship low-cost 'stamp' machine this year to disrupt chipmaking
#7I’m no expert but $ASML might be a strong buy
Re: Canon aims to ship low-cost 'stamp' machine this year to disrupt chipmaking
#8FTA: “Canon’s nanoimprint lithography — a technology under development for more than 15 years but which the company says is only now commercially viable — stamps chip designs on to silicon wafers rather than etching them using light.” It seems everything old is new again. https://thechipletter.substack.com/p/leaving-arizona : “there was a reason the 6800 was expensive. It was made using ‘contact lithography’, where t…
Contact (photo)lithography and this nanoimprint lithography are not the same thing. The 2nd is like embossing, the 1st is like stencil (like other types of photolithography, but the photomask touches the wafer).
Can you be more specific about what the difference is?
Re: Canon aims to ship low-cost 'stamp' machine this year to disrupt chipmaking
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
Contact (photo)lithography and this nanoimprint lithography are not the same thing. The 2nd is like embossing, the 1st is like stencil (like other types of photolithography, but the photomask touches the wafer).
Can you be more specific about what the difference is?
With photolithography, what most chips are made with, the resist is developed by exposing it to UV light. A mask is used so that the desired parts of the resist are left behind, and the rest is washed away. Contact photolithography places the mask directly against the silicon wafer because it helps the optics during exposure, but the mask doesn't directly remove the resist.
In nanoimprint lithograhy, a stamp is pressed into the resist on wafer and leaves the desired pattern behind.
The difference is that the resist is removed mechanically instead of chemically.
Re: Canon aims to ship low-cost 'stamp' machine this year to disrupt chipmaking
#10Nanoimprint lithography semiconductor manufacturing system that covers diverse applications with simple patterning mechanism
https://global.canon/en/news/2023/20231013.html
Canon Says New ‘Stamp’ Machine Will Slash Chipmaking Costs – FT
https://www.asiafinancial.com/canon-says-new-stamp-machine-w...