ASML, the world's only maker of EUV lithography chipmaking tools, has never shipped an EUV tool to its primary Chinese customers due to the Wassenaar arrangement and the most recent export regulations, it doesn't mean that Chinese makers will never be able to build their own EUV chipmaking tools. This week, it turned out that Shanghai Microelectronics Equipment (SMEE) had applied for a patent covering an EUV lithography machine, reports the South China Morning Post.
The patent, which was submitted by SMEE in March 2023, focuses on 'extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation generators and lithography equipment.' Based on the SCMP's description, SMEE is attempting to patent the key set of components of an EUV tool: a laser-produced plasma (LPP) EUV source. An LPP EUV source comprises a CO2 light source that is applied to tiny tin droplets around 30 microns in diameter in a special chamber to create ionized gas plasma at electron temperatures of several tens of electron volts, which is then collected with a special mirror coated with several layers of molybdenum and silicon to selectively reflect the of 13.5 nm EUV light.
.jpg?w=600)
