SHERIDAN, WYOMING – November 09, 2024-Enhancing EUV Lithography Materials Production in Japan and South Korea
In a move set to revolutionize semiconductor manufacturing, FUJIFILM Corporation has announced the launch of its cutting-edge negative-tone resists and developer for EUV lithography. This technology is poised to become the cornerstone of advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes, paving the way for smaller, more powerful chips.
Fujifilm has earned its stripes in the industry as the pioneer behind the world's first NTI process, a negative development process that has been instrumental in miniaturizing semiconductor circuits using ArF lithography. With the introduction of its negative-tone EUV resist and EUV developer, Fujifilm continues to push the boundaries of miniaturization, optimizing circuit pattern formation for the next generation of semiconductors.
The company's commitment to this groundbreaking technology is evident in its plans to bolster production and quality evaluation functions for EUV resist and EUV developer at its facilities in Shizuoka, Japan, and Pyeongtaek, South Korea.
"Driven by high-speed, high-capacity communications through 5G/6G, the expansion of autonomous driving, and the spread of AI and the metaverse, demand for semiconductors is expected to increase and their performance is projected to advance as well," said a FUJIFILM Corporation spokesperson.
EUV lithography, which employs extremely short-wavelength light to etch intricate circuit patterns onto wafers, is gaining traction as the technology to beat for miniaturizing semiconductor circuits and enhancing their performance. As manufacturing processes increasingly adopt EUV lithography, the market for EUV resist, an essential material in these processes, is projected to grow at an annual rate of approximately 20%. The market for EUV developer is also expected to expand significantly.
Fujifilm's NTI developers, which use organic solvents to enable the formation of sharper and finer circuit patterns, are available for both ArF and EUV lithography. These developers achieve high patterning precision by using high-purity organic solvents instead of traditional alkaline developers, thereby suppressing resist swelling during development.
"Fujifilm was the first company to develop the NTI process, which has become the industry standard, and has contributed to the miniaturization of circuit patterns," said the spokesperson.
The company has also introduced a new EUV developer, refining the formulation of organic solvents to evolve its unique NTI developer specifically for EUV applications. This EUV developer minimizes resist swelling during development, contributing to further miniaturization of circuit patterns.
To support the launch of its EUV resist and EUV developer, Fujifilm is enhancing production and quality evaluation functions. At its Shizuoka site in Japan, the company is strengthening production and quality evaluation functions for EUV resist by introducing state-of-the-art production equipment and inspection devices. At its Pyeongtaek site in South Korea, Fujifilm is enhancing production and quality evaluation functions for both EUV resist and EUV developer by installing a cleanroom and introducing state-of-the-art production equipment and inspection devices. The equipment at both sites is scheduled to begin operations in October 2025.
Fujifilm offers a comprehensive suite of semiconductor materials used in wafer processing through post-processing in semiconductor manufacturing. This includes photoresists, photolithography-related materials, CMP slurries, post-CMP cleaners, thin-film chemicals, polyimides, high-purity process chemicals, and WAVE CONTROL MOSAIC, which includes color filter materials for image sensors.
"In addition to its extensive product lineup covering almost the entire range of semiconductor manufacturing processes, from leading-edge to legacy semiconductors, Fujifilm is committed to solving customers' issues and contributing to the development of the semiconductor industry by providing one-stop solutions that leverage its global supply structure and advanced R&D capabilities," the spokesperson added.
Fujifilm's launch of its EUV resist and EUV developer marks a significant leap forward in semiconductor manufacturing, promising to drive further innovation and miniaturization in the years to come