Huawei has filed a patent application describing an ultra-hard ultraviolet (EUV) lithography scanner. udn. If the company can build such a scanner and achieve decent performance, long uptime, and reasonable yields, Chinese companies will have access to sub-7nm technologies.
Image source: huawei.com
Huawei submitted documents to the National Intellectual Property Administration in mid-November, the application is registered under No. 202110524685X, reports My drivers. The patent application describes key components of the EUV scanner, including a 13.5nm light generator, a set of mirrors and a lithography system. Unfortunately, this document does not represent Huawei’s actual ability to build this complex machine, which includes many advanced components capable of maintaining perfectly coordinated operation over a long period of time. In addition, the production will need to be supplied with the necessary raw materials.
The EUV scanner with a numerical aperture of 0.33 is the most advanced equipment for semiconductor manufacturing today: many companies have tried to build it, but only the Dutch ASML has achieved success at the cost of more than a decade of work and financial support from Intel, Samsung and TSMC. Only five companies worldwide use or are planning to use this equipment: Intel, Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix and TSMC. But they also independently developed or are planning to develop quite complex technological processes that will allow using the capabilities of the EUV scanner. China’s SMIC has not been able to obtain such equipment, although it has already been purchased, in other words, there is a demand in the country and Huawei is apparently trying to meet it.
Huawei, a tech giant with annual revenues of $100 billion, is working on a variety of projects in a variety of areas. In the semiconductor industry, its goals aren’t limited to chip releases—the company is clearly interested in creating equipment for the production of silicon wafers.
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