IBM Joins EUV LLC Lithography Development

IBM Joins EUV LLC Next-Generation Lithography Development Program

The Extreme Ultra Violet (EUV) LLC and IBM today announced that IBM has joined the industry consortium to support the development of EUV lithography technology.

EUV lithography technology is being developed to allow semiconductor manufacturers to etch circuit lines smaller than 0.1 micron, creating future generations of more powerful microprocessors and higher density memory chips. Processors built using EUV technology are expected to reach speeds of up to 10 GHz in 2005-2006.

“IBM has over 20 years of experience in developing EUV optics technology and its application to scientific research, and we intend to support EUV’s growing viability as an NGL candidate,” said John Warlaumont, director of silicon technology for IBM. “We are formalizing our relationship with the EUV LLC to help the semiconductor industry further evaluate EUV for use in the production of advanced semiconductors.”

IBM joins a private industry consortium led by Intel Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices, Motorola, Micron Technology and Infineon Technologies. These companies have joined forces with the Virtual National Laboratory (comprised of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories and E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) to develop EUV lithography technology targeted at increasing computer chip capabilities.

“Six large manufacturers of a wide variety of chips have now committed major resources
to the EUV lithography program,” said Sunlin Chou, chairman of the EUV LLC board, and senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Technology and Manufacturing Group.

“IBM's participation raises our confidence that EUV lithography will succeed both technically and commercially. We look forward to working with equipment and materials suppliers to accelerate the development of the EUV lithography infrastructure.”

The EUV LLC is working directly with Silicon Valley Group Lithography (SVGL) and ASM
Lithography to commercialise EUV technology, targeting availability of manufacturing tools in 2005. The EUV LLC has also developed relationships with more than 40 U.S.-based infrastructure companies to ensure that all of the key components can be attained for commercialisation.

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About EUV LLC
Intel began substantial funding for EUV research in1996, and established the EUV LLC in 1997 with Motorola and Advanced Micro Devices. Micron Technology and Infineon Technologies joined the EUV LLC in early 2000. Rapid technical progress in the EUV LLC program has attracted widespread interest and support for EUV technology, as chip manufacturers and their suppliers recognize that this technology can support multiple process generations and be cost effective for producing all types of semiconductor chips.

About IBM
IBM Microelectronics is a key contributor to IBM’s role as the world’s premier information technology supplier. IBM Microelectronics develops, manufactures and markets state-of-the-art semiconductor and interconnect technologies, products and services. IBM makes chips for a wide range of devices from the world’s most powerful computers to the smallest cell phones. Its superior integrated solutions can be found in many of the world’s best-known electronic brands. More information about IBM Microelectronics can be found at: www.chips.ibm.com.

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