Canon has confirmed that its machines can produce semiconductors at 11nm using nano-stamping lithography. The group announced this at the Canon Expo 2015 in Tokyo. Canon showed a mold or mold that serves as a model and the created wafer at the expo.
That writes the Japanese Nikkei Technology on its site. Canon is researching nano-stamping technology together with Toshiba to further reduce the minimal size of transistors and other parts on chips. The technique is internationally known as nanoimprint lithography or NIL. Because it is not necessary to use lithography to apply the structures to the wafers, the line thickness on the wafers is not determined by the wavelength of the light.
Canon is currently testing nano-stamping machines to make chips using a 16 to 20nm process commercially viable. The first machines should hit the market in 2016, after which chips in the 16-20nm format are likely to be available in 2017. Canon has been developing the technology for some time now. At the beginning of this year, the company announced that it would become even more involved in the production of equipment for nano-stamping lithography.
Nano-stamping lithography works by means of a die that comes into contact with a material that has been brought to glass temperature using UV light or laser on the surface of a substrate. After ‘stamping’ the negative shape into the temporarily softer material, the material hardens and there is a positive structure. Because no precise lens elements are required as in the production of semiconductors using lithographic techniques, the construction and size of the machines are simpler at NIL. Because of the latter, the disadvantages such as slower processing are less problematic, because the costs per machine are lower.
Initially, the technique will be applied to making nand-flash memory and not to logic circuits, since fouling occurs relatively easily and dust or collapsed patterns immediately render an entire circuit useless.
Canon Nano Stamp Lithography Machines, Production System Renders in Development