Appropriation Of $10 Billion! U.S. New York State Will Build NA Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Center

On December 11, local time, the U.S. state of New York announced a partnership with companies such as IBM, Micron, Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron to invest $10 billion in expanding the Albany NanoTech Complex in New York State, ultimately making it a high-numerical-aperture extreme-ultraviolet (NA - EUV) lithography center to support the world's most complex and powerful semiconductor research and development.
Construction of the new 50,000-square-foot facility, which is set to begin in 2024, is a $10 billion investment that is expected to help build North America's first and only publicly owned high-numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet (NA - EUV) lithography center.
The new facility is expected to expand further in the future, which will encourage future partner growth and support new initiatives such as the National Semiconductor Technology Center, the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program and the Department of Defense Microelectronics Sharing Program, according to the report.
High numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet (NA - EUV) lithography is key to next-generation (2nm and below) cutting-edge process chip manufacturing. This time, New York State joined hands with U.S. and Japanese semiconductor manufacturers to establish the High-NA EUV Semiconductor Research and Development Center, mainly hoping to help further enhance the U.S. domestic manufacturers to enhance the design and manufacturing capabilities in the field of cutting-edge semiconductor processes, which they hope to obtain funding support through the Chip Act. State officials have also offered incentives for these manufacturing facilities.
NY Creates, the nonprofit responsible for coordinating the construction of the facility, is expected to use $1 billion in state funds to purchase TWINSCAN EXE:5200 lithography equipment from ASML, according to the statement. Once the equipment is installed, the partners involved will be able to begin working on next-generation chip manufacturing. The program will create 700 jobs and generate at least $9 billion in private investment.
As planned, NY CREATES will purchase and install a high numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet (NA - EUV) lithography tool designed and manufactured by ASML. The instrument is loaded with a technology in which lasers beyond the UV spectrum etch paths in circuits on a miniature scale. A decade ago, the process was first able to etch pathways for 7- and 5-nanometer chip processes, and there is now the potential to develop and produce chips smaller than the 2-nanometer node - a hurdle that IBM overcame back in 2021.
EUV machines currently in use on the market and in industry are unable to produce the resolution required for sub-2nm nodes to be made into chips in a way that would facilitate mass production. According to IBM, while current machines can provide the necessary level of precision, three to four EUV light irradiations are required instead of one. The increase in high NA enables the creation of larger optics, supporting the printing of higher-resolution patterns on wafers.
While researchers will need to account for the shallow depth of focus caused by the increased aperture, IBM and its partners believe the technology could drive adoption of more efficient chips in the near future.
On the talent side, the program also includes a partnership with the State University of New York to support and build talent development pathways.