The research and development of semiconductor core technology has always been the focus of domestic scientific research, and the scientific research work on lithography machines is the focus of the focus. Lithography machines are no stranger to everyone, that is, semiconductor equipment used to make chips.
There is also a lot of information about its workflow, but it is not enough to actually master the production and manufacturing technology of advanced lithography machines. We must also be down-to-earth and accumulate to see results.
The good news is that Peking University has broken through a core technology related to EUV lithography machines, and has also been listed in the top ten research of China's semiconductors in 2021 for display. What kind of research results are there? Is ASML in a hurry?
The core technology of Peking University ice-breaking EUV lithography machine
There are also many types of lithography machines, and various types of lithography machines will also be used in different chip manufacturing processes. The most advanced technology and the most difficult lithography machine is the EUV lithography machine.
A piece of equipment is worth $120 million, and it's not something you can buy with money. The EUV lithography machine seems to be produced by ASML, but behind this device is actually an EUV alliance of more than 60 countries around the world.
Many foreign giants have contributed their own efforts, either to provide advanced parts and equipment supply, or to provide software and hardware and other knowledge patent technology authorization. If you want to independently build an EUV lithography machine, you must not only open up a new path and bypass the technical barriers of foreign patents, but also have enough talent research team.
The difficulty is like stepping on the right foot step by step, each step is difficult, even if it is always in place. However, how many big countries have achieved a breakthrough from 0 to 1, and it is indeed unrealistic to simply step on the left foot and step on the right foot to the sky, but it can use wisdom to create tools to achieve the goal of being out of reach.
The same is true for the development of lithography machines, which seem to be far from the final goal, but when there is a corresponding technological breakthrough, it can approach the goal step by step. The good news from Peking University has broken through the core technology related to the EUV lithography machine.
In the publicly released "Journal of Semiconductors", the top ten annual semiconductor research progress in China in 2021 was displayed, of which the breakthrough of Peking University was also listed.
According to the report information, the Gao Peng Research Group of the Quantum Materials Science Center of Peking University has achieved a breakthrough in scanning transmission electron microscopy technology, and with the support of this technology, completed the research of four-dimensional electron energy loss spectroscopy technology.
What kind of research is this? This breakthrough points to the optical objective lens of EUV lithography machine technology, as one of the core technologies of EUV lithography machine, optical objective lens is very critical to the mastery of genealogical technology.
The number of lens holes that the EUV lithography machine can play is largely dependent on the optical objective. The scanning transmission electron microscopy technology realized by Peking University is also a research in this direction. That is to say, Peking University has made great contributions to providing more support for the future research and development progress of domestic lithography machines.
ASML is in a hurry
The research and development of lithography machine technology requires long-term hard work, from the cultivation of talent teams, to the overcoming of technology, and then to the formation of an industrialized layout, this series of processes must strive forward.
ASML did not independently create an EUV lithography machine, behind it is the power from the global industrial chain. Core technologies such as photoresist from Japan, lens from Zeiss from Germany, and light source equipment from the United States are all used together.
If you look at it in time, the time spent on the development of core technologies in these countries is superimposed, and it is not as simple as just a few years, more than a decade. But as mentioned earlier, technology is accumulated step by step, relying on the long-term hard work of generations of people, there is no step to the sky, only down-to-earth. With the technological breakthrough of Peking University, ASML is estimated to be in a hurry.
ASML believes that China will definitely try to break through the core technology of lithography machines, and said that if it does not sell lithography machines to China, China will master this technology in many years.
ASML is producing more EUV lithography machines, but the existence of some foreign rules makes ASML unable to freely ship EUV lithography machines, and the possibility of obtaining a license is not too high.
ASML wants to do a bigger business, but it is afraid that the customer market will master the independent technology in the future and achieve the final breakthrough, and even if ASML gets the license, it will not be able to achieve exponential growth in equipment sales.
Therefore, ASML is trying to find a door that can be freely shipped, but in fact, the probability of achieving free shipment and mastering the core technology in the customer market will be higher.
Peking University's meritorious service is the best performance, and not only this breakthrough, Shanghai Microelectronics also successfully delivered China's first 2.5D/3D high-end advanced encapsulated lithography machine. Although it is an encapsulated lithography machine, it is also a major progress of domestic lithography machine. As long as there is more such progress, quantitative change causes qualitative change, and concentration is concentrated on one point, even the highest mountain can be climbed. Everything from scratch requires effort.
Write at the end
Domestic lithography machine has a long way to go, do not have the luxury of reaching the level of independent production of EUV lithography machine in a short period of time, but as long as we continue to move forward, build a wall of independent knowledge and technology property rights system, and form our own core technology, we can further move closer to the goal.
ASML seems to have begun to be in a hurry, trying to seek a free shipping route to the Chinese market, worried that the domestic lithography machine will achieve a final breakthrough, and then the localization technology will rise smoothly.
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