TRW Delivers First Laser for Next-Generation Microchips

REDONDO BEACH, Calif., April 6 -- TRW Inc. says it has delivered the first next-generation laser for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. The company calls the laser an enabling technology for a new type of EUV light source that will allow chip manufacturers to keep up with world demand for smaller and faster microcircuits for the next 10 to 15 years. The laser was developed under a joint agreement signed in 1997 between TRW and the EUV Limited Liability Company, a consortium of US semiconductor manufacturers led by Intel, Motorola and Advanced Micro Devices.
EUV sources will allow circuit features of less than 0.1 micron, improving the most advanced optical photolithography processes available today by a factor of two. These new, higher precision light sources will lead to microprocessors 100 times more powerful than today's fastest chips and memory chips with 1,000 times more capacity.