Extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) laser technology startup xLight has closed a $40 million series B funding round. The company said it plans to use the financing to push development of high-powered laser technologies for advanced semiconductor manufacturing and economic and national security applications. Founded in 2021, xLight is developing EUV free electron laser (FEL) technology, targeting key challenges in semiconductor manufacturing including cost, capabilities, and capacity. According to xLight CEO and CTO Nicholas Kelez, the financing will specifically equip the company with the capital needed to complete design and construction of its full-scale prototype. “Advanced semiconductor manufacturing is approaching a key inflection point — together with our partners across the National Lab and semiconductor ecosystem, and with the support of our investors, we will commercialize free electron lasers and help reclaim American leadership in semiconductor manufacturing,” Kelez said. xLight's EUV FEL system is designed to replace the current laser-produced plasma (LPP) sources which are nearing their physical limits, the company said. The light source makes use of both electron beam multiplexing and optical multiplexing — a redundancy that allows for high availability at the scanner. Through multiplexing, each of the systems can fully power the scanner fleet that they enable individually, ensuring that maintenance does not interrupt operations. According to xLight, the system is able to provide up to 4× greater power than LPP, allowing fabs to optimize patterning improvements, productivity, and yield. The company also said that the system can reduce cost per wafer by ~50% and support up to 20 ASML lithography systems simultaneously. In the last two years, xLight has completed key systems designs, including subsystem prototyping and first articles, and established a working relationship with technical leaders at ASML, the market leader in high-power laser technology for chipmaking. xLight's board is chaired by former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger. The company has existing partnerships with the Cornell Laboratory for Accelerator-based ScienceS and Education (CLASSE), Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
