Industry needs euv, says market researcher, but Moore’s Law safe – for now
1 min read
In its latest Market Insight report, Gartner says the delay in developing extreme ultraviolet lithography (euv) technology will result in significantly higher lithography costs. While it acknowledges that other technologies have the potential to minimise the higher costs, they are still several years away.
The market research company looks to dispel the myth that Moore's Law depends on the success or failure of euv lithography. It says the industry has proved this is not quite true from a technical perspective. It claims conventional optical patterning will allow the industry to reach the 7nm node, but says that, once the 7nm node is reached, either euv or an alternative will be needed.
Gartner also points to the economics of Moore's Law – companies need to make money in order to continue on the technology road map. It says that if it gets to the point where it costs more to build a device or a transistor than in the previous generation, it is highly probable that Moore's Law will stop moving forward.
Gartner says in the Market Insight report that the delay in euv steppers increases the cost of patterning significantly. Multiple patterning could increase costs by about $500million for each technology node in a facility capable of 45,000 wafer starts per month until euv or an alternative is implemented. EUV, DSA and e-beam are said to have the potential to reduce costs by up to 40%.
