Boosting Influence in Chip Industry
Applied Materials supplied Intel with its VeritySEM 10 system on March 1. “With this semiconductor chip manufacturing equipment, EUV lithography can be simplified and costs can be reduced in an eco-friendly way,” it said.
Before the supply, ASML was the only EUV lithography equipment supplier in the world. The Dutch company’s equipment is characterized by requiring double patterning, that is, double etching of a substrate, which entails an increase in water and electricity usage along with a longer process.
Applied Materials’ equipment is based on single patterning. “Assuming that 100,000 wafers a month are handled with VeritySEM 10, a cost of US$250 million can be saved by saving US$50 and 15 kW of electricity per wafer,” it explained, adding, “The water usage and carbon dioxide emissions per wafer decrease 15 liters and 0.35 kg, respectively.”
According to industry sources, ASML’s monopoly is about to end and the U.S. presence in various semiconductor-related industries will increase. “The United States is increasingly internalizing those industries, including materials, components and equipment as well as design and manufacturing, to boost its influence in the industry,” one of them said.