Press release - SUNNYVALE, California, April 22, 2002
The X Initiative and ASML Netherlands BV (Nasdaq: ASML) today announced that ASML has successfully produced the first processed wafer results for the X Architecture, a breakthrough chip architecture based on pervasively diagonal chip wiring. The X Initiative, a semiconductor supply-chain consortium chartered with accelerating the availability and fabrication of the X Architecture, announced the addition of ASML to its roster as the first member from the lithography equipment sector.
ASML, one of the world's leading providers of advanced technology systems for the semiconductor industry, announced that it had simulated lithography performance of 0.18-micron X Architecture design data and successfully completed proof-of-concept wafer exposures of diagonally oriented 0.25-micron interconnect structures based on the 0.18-micron design rules. These first-ever wafer results indicate that interconnect layers can be successfully made using the X Architecture approach and mark a milestone in demonstrating the ability to manufacture X Architecture interconnect designs.
ASML's experiments, sponsored by the X Initiative and its members, employed X Architecture design data provided by Simplex Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLX), and photomasks produced by Dai Nippon Printing (DNP). Simulation results – determined through the use of ASML's MaskTools LithoCruiser software – confirm that existing mask data automation and simulation software can be successfully applied to X Architecture design data to optimize lithographic wafer production results. The interconnect layers were exposed using an ASML PAS 5500/750 DUV step and scan tool.
"Lithography is an especially critical part of the semiconductor manufacturing chain, particularly since the advent of the sub-wavelength era. So naturally, as with any new chip architecture, there have been questions about the impact of the X Architecture on lithography," said Risto Puhakka, vice president at VLSI Research. "The results of ASML's experiments using current-generation equipment demonstrate that X Architecture designs are both production-worthy and manufacturable."
"We are pleased to have played a role in demonstrating the manufacturability of the revolutionary X Architecture," said Bill Arnold, chief executive scientist and vice president technology development center for ASML. "We can see the potential benefits of using this approach on non-minimum-resolution interconnect layers, and with our breadth of technology and experience, we are able to provide both mask enhancement and patterning technology to meet the needs of current X Architecture requirements."
"ASML's membership brings the critical wafer lithography steps into the X Initiative, heralding a new phase in solidifying supply-chain adoption," said Jan Willis, vice president of business development at Simplex and X Initiative steering group facilitator. "Because the fundamental mission of the X Initiative is to accelerate the availability and fabrication of the X Architecture, the delivery of cost-effective X Architecture masks and wafers is essential to our success. Since ASML was able to use existing equipment and processes in their testing, their positive results represent a significant step forward in accomplishing the X Initiative's goals."
Anyone interested in learning more about the X Initiative and the aforementioned results is invited to attend an X Initiative Open Forum seminar on Tuesday, May 21 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. PDT at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, California. The seminar will feature ASML's Adolph Hunter, manager strategic partnerships.
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