EUV Lithography: The Machine That Saved Moore’s Law
- Course Number: E1053
- Credits: 2 hours
- Instructor: Ellen Huang, PE
- Price: $20
Course Outline
Modern microchips are built by patterning dozens of ultra-thin layers with nanometer-scale accuracy—and the most critical step is photolithography, where light transfers patterns from a mask (reticle) onto a wafer. This course explains how chip features became smaller for decades under Moore’s Law, why deep ultraviolet (193 nm) lithography approached fundamental limits, and how extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography broke through that barrier. Participants will learn the optical foundations behind resolution (diffraction, interference, and numerical aperture), why EUV must operate in vacuum and relies on specialized multilayer mirrors, and how ASML commercialized EUV after decades of skepticism and engineering roadblocks.
At the end of this course, there will be a multiple-choice, open-book quiz, which is designed to enhance your understanding of the course material.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this course, the student will:
- Be able to describe the key milestones in the development of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography;
- Be able to explain how photolithography fits into the overall wafer fabrication cycle;
- Be able to summarize why EUV lithography requires vacuum operation and reflective optics, and how multilayer mirrors enable EUV reflection and focusing; and
- Be able to identify the major EUV engineering challenges and the innovations that made high-volume manufacturing possible.
Course Content
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