FOM and ASML have signed a collaboration agreement for a new FOM research group in the field of fluid dynamics, located at ASML in Veldhoven. The group will focus on the behaviour of small tin droplets, which emit extreme UV light (EUV) under the influence of laser light. ASML uses the tin droplets for EUV lithography, a technique used in the production of computer chips. The new group is associated with the 'Physics of Fluids' group (MESA+) of professor Detlef Lohse at the University of Twente and consists of group leader Dr Hanneke Gelderblom and three PhD students.
EUV lithography is a technique in which extreme UV light is used to etch electronic structures on a silicon wafer. That is how computer chips are produced. The advantage of extreme ultraviolet light is its very short wavelength - down to 10 nanometres - with which extremely small structures can be produced. That allows for the production of increasingly smaller chips or chips with far higher computational power. But the production of this special light is a challenge for physics. In the EUV lithography machines of ASML a very powerful laser is fired onto miniscule tin drops. This brings the electrons in the tin atoms to a higher energy level after which they emit extreme UV light of exactly the right wavelength. Special mirrors in the machine focus the light on the wafer.
Energy efficient
Lohse: "Contamination is one of the problems with this technique. As you can well imagine, the tin drops spatter if you fire at them with a high-energy laser. If this tin aerosol precipitates on the mirrors then these no longer function and the light is dispersed. That already happens if the mirrors are covered in a layer of tin just a few atoms thick. With the new group we will investigate how you can minimise the spattering of the drops and with that the precipitation of tin on the mirrors. We will also examine under which conditions this process is the most energy efficient. For example, we will look at the shape of the drops, the falling speed and the laser. The housing of the new workgroup at ASML is a major advantage as a lot of knowledge about this specific technique is present there and the machines and laboratory setups are close to hand. The application at ASML is a source of inspiration for fundamental physics research." Professor Bart Noordam, Vice President Research ASML: "With this new programme the collaboration between ASML and FOM will be continued further in this very important focus area for Dutch research within the high-tech sector. We have every confidence in the successful outcomes of the programme."
About the new group
The collaboration is taking place in the form of an Industrial Partnership Programme (IPP) with the theme 'Fundamental fluid dynamics challenges of extreme ultraviolet lithography'. The research programme has a duration of five years and a total budget of 1.5 million euros. FOM and ASML are each contributing fifty percent of the costs. In addition, ASML will accommodate the group. Dr Hanneke Gelderblom will lead the group, which has already started the research at ASML. FOM workgroup leader professor Detlef Lohse, under whom Gelderblom gained her PhD, is the programme leader.
About ASML
ASML helps realise affordable microelectronics that improve the quality of life. ASML invents and develops complex technology for high-tech lithography machines for the semiconductor industry. ASML's guiding principle is continuing Moore's Law towards ever smaller, cheaper, more powerful and energy-efficient semiconductors. Their success is based on three pillars: technology leadership combined with customer and supplier intimacy, highly efficient processes and entrepreneurial people. ASML is a multinational company with over 70 locations in 16 countries, headquartered in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. ASML provides employment for more than 13.200 people (in fte) on payroll and flexible contracts. The company ASML is an inspiring place where employees work, meet, learn and share. ASML is traded on Euronext Amsterdam and NASDAQ under the symbol ASML. For more information, please see www.asml.com.
About FOM
The Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM, www.fom.nl) encourages, coordinates and funds fundamental physics research in the Netherlands and is part of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO, www.nwo.nl).
