HUAWEI patents EUV lithography tools for making chips below 10nm

HUAWEI just patented the EUV lithography tools to create high-end processors on the sub-10nm process. It will solve several issues in creating chips.

File photo: HUAWEI store in China

HUAWEI patents EUV lithography tools for sub-10nm chips!

EUV lithography machine render from ASML

One element used in EUV lithography techniques, which are necessary to produce premium CPUs on sub-10 nm nodes was patented by HUAWEI. It eliminates the interference patterns that ultraviolet light causes that would otherwise cause the wafer to be uneven.

In the final stage of chip manufacture, Huawei has found a solution to a problem brought on by the minuscule wavelengths of EUV light. In its patent, the company outlines a system of mirrors that divides a light beam into several sub-beams that strike individual minuscule mirrors. 

When those mirrors are combined, the interference patterns cancel out to produce a single, homogeneous beam since each mirror rotates differently to produce various interference patterns in the light.

ASML, a Dutch firm, is currently the only manufacturer of EUV lithography systems. EUV lithography employs light with a wavelength of roughly 13.5 nm, which is virtually an X-ray, but it still operates on the same principles as earlier types of lithography. Fast-moving, 25-micron-diameter molten tin droplets are used by ASML to produce UV light.

The first set of commercially viable EUV lithography machines took more than EUR 6 billion and 17 years to create by ASML. The US government exerted pressure on the Dutch government to impose a prohibition on exports to China before they were done, forcing the country to stick with outdated deep ultraviolet technology. 

Currently, only five companies, namely Intel and Micron in the US, Samsung and SK Hynix in South Korea, and TSMC in Taiwan are employing or have made plans to use ASML EUV lithography systems.

Before, Chinese firms like HUAWEI could send their designs to fabs like TSMC for EUV lithography manufacturing. But it has become less likely since the US placed sanctions on China.

For its proprietary processors, which are aimed at everything from smartphones to data centers, HUAWEI requires access to cutting-edge nodes that use EUV lithography. Although it still has a ways to go before producing its own EUV systems, the government is providing enough of funding and support to help them get there.

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Source: Techspot