Over the past five years, global semiconductor manufacturing has been virtually synonymous with the geopolitics of lithography machines. ASML's EUV lithography systems have become the sole passport to advanced processes: any company aspiring to enter nodes below 5nm must pass through this mechanical behemoth-a machine costing over $300 million and composed of 450,000 parts.
From Apple to TSMC, Samsung to Intel, the entire industry's innovation pace has been indirectly constrained by its production capacity and supply rhythm...
Recently, Professor Kuang Cuifang's team at the National Key Laboratory of Extreme Optical Technology and Instrumentation (Extreme Optical Technology and Instrumentation Research Institute) unveiled their achievement: the "10,000-Channel 3D Nano Laser Direct Writing Lithography System." This breakthrough provides new support for meeting industrial demands for high-precision, large-area manufacturing in micro/nano processing.
The Expert Committee on Scientific and Technological Achievements of the Chinese Optical Society unanimously affirmed: This project demonstrates significant innovation in system architecture, light field control algorithms, and high-throughput processing strategies, with overall performance metrics reaching internationally leading levels.
1. Innovation · Pushing Boundaries from "Single-Stroke Precision" to "Ten-Thousand-Stroke Synchronization"
Two-photon laser direct writing technology, with its high resolution, low thermal effects, mask-free capability, and 3D processing potential, has long been at the forefront of micro/nano fabrication. It finds extensive applications in chip manufacturing, biomedicine, optical storage, microfluidics, and precision sensing.
However, traditional single-channel laser direct writing faces processing speed limitations, struggling to meet industrial demands for high-precision, large-area manufacturing.
"Currently, commercial equipment worldwide still predominantly uses single-beam lasers for point-by-point printing of 2D patterns or 3D structures on substrate materials. We aim to drive transformative progress across the entire field and related industries through scientific innovation," " explained Wen Jisen, a full-time researcher at the Extreme Optics Technology and Instrumentation Research Institute of Zhejiang University's School of Optoelectronics and the Hangzhou International Science and Technology Innovation Center (STIC). "Our high-precision, high-throughput device has achieved parallel direct writing with tens of thousands of laser points for the first time, marking a significant technological breakthrough."
Kuang Cuifang's team innovatively proposed a light field control scheme combining digital micromirrors with microlens arrays, enabling the generation of over 10,000 (137×77) independently controllable laser focal points within the system. Each focal point's energy can be finely adjusted to over 169 levels, achieving true multi-channel independent control. The device operates at a printing rate of 2.39×10⁸ voxels/s, with processing speed and precision both reaching internationally leading levels.
Simultaneously, to address technical challenges such as uneven light intensity and aberrations among multiple focal points, the team developed an intelligent global optimization algorithm. This enhanced the light intensity uniformity of the focal array to over 95% while effectively correcting spot distortion, significantly improving consistency and processing precision across multiple channels.
Additionally, the research team proposed multiple innovative processing strategies. This achievement is not merely an "internationally leading" accolade but a disruptive technological breakthrough. It signifies that in the microscopic realm of precision structure fabrication, we have finally transitioned from wielding a single "embroidery needle" to commanding an era of "ten thousand needles embroidering in unison."
2. Leadership · Full-chain Innovation from Frontier Science to Commercialization
The greatness of a technology lies not only in scaling scientific heights but in bridging the gap between laboratory and industrialization. The birth of the multi-channel 3D nano-laser direct-write lithography system exemplifies such "end-to-end innovation," providing manufacturing tools once deemed unimaginable for numerous cutting-edge industries.
12-inch wafer processed by the multi-channel 3D nano-laser direct-write system
Thanks to the team's innovative approach and exploration, the device achieves processing precision approaching sub-30 nm, a processing rate of 42.7 mm²/min, and a maximum writing size covering 12-inch silicon wafers. Academician Wu Hanming, Chief Scientist in the field at the Science and Technology Innovation Center, noted, "This technology is expected to be first applied in customized, high-demand, small-batch product sectors, and will lead the future development direction of related industries."
At the Sci-Tech Innovation Center, the research institute has established a joint laboratory with Hangzhou Yuzhiquan Precision Instruments Co., Ltd. This collaboration focuses on addressing cutting-edge scientific challenges in national laser direct writing lithography technology while advancing the commercialization of high-end optical instrument R&D, fostering deep integration between scientific and industrial innovation.
Currently, the institute has reached preliminary agreements for technology transfer with multiple enterprises in fields including mask manufacturing, optical anti-counterfeiting, and AR/VR. Project lead Kuang Cuifang stated that this equipment...
