The Leuven-based research centre imec is the linchpin of tomorrow’s global chip ecosystem
Micrometres and nanometres are common units of measurement, but have you ever heard of angstroms? The Leuven-based research centre imec has recently installed the first module of the High NA EUV lithography machine, paving the way for the production of the next generations of memory and computing chips on an atomic scale. In doing so, imec has pioneered this field in Europe.
The digital revolution keeps accelerating at a breakneck pace. That is why imec is such an important world-renowned producer of advanced semiconductors. With the arrival of the so-called High NA EUV lithography machine, developed in collaboration with the Dutch company ASML, a new chapter has been opened. Laser beams, lenses, mirrors, and a silicon wafer are the key components.
What does this bizarre combination of letters stand for? Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) light allows to print billions of patterns of a few tens-millionths of a millimetre (or angstroms) onto the silicon wafer all at once. The numerical aperture (NA) determines how much EUV light the lenses capture and concentrate. The bigger the NA gets, the sharper the details of the patterns become. With computer chip patterns being invisibly small, imec produces increasingly bigger and heavier machines. This is the only viable course of action if you want to develop this type of minuscule ultra-thin semiconductors.
This innovation comes with a total price tag of 2,5 billion euros. The investment will undoubtedly pay off, as this allows the European chips industry to shape the global future of artificial intelligence.