View the Original 12-Inch Mask Industry Initiative News Release Here.
Albany, NY — NY Creates (the New York Center for Research, Economic Advancement, Technology, Engineering, and Science) today announced its inclusion in the 12-inch mask industry initiative, a newly formed collaboration designed to strengthen the high numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet (high NA EUV) lithography ecosystem and support the industry’s transition toward larger masks that can be used to increase the area in which chip components at the smallest, next-generation nodes can be printed.
This effort dovetails with NY Creates’ upcoming high NA EUV lithography capabilities, which are part of its High NA EUV Lithography Center. Underpinning this Center is NY Creates’ partnership ecosystem and semiconductor expertise, combined with ASML’s High NA EUV equipment that can print chip components at the sub 1nm node, leading to faster, more powerful computing capabilities. As part of this 12-inch mask effort to advance high NA EUV lithography readiness, NY Creates is participating alongside a number of industry stakeholders committed to ensuring that the technology can be successfully developed, integrated, and scaled for future high-volume manufacturing applications.
“High NA EUV lithography represents one of the most significant technological advancements in semiconductor manufacturing, and its successful adoption will depend on unprecedented collaboration across the global semiconductor ecosystem,” said Dave Anderson, President and CEO of NY Creates. “This initiative reflects the industry’s shared commitment to solving complex technical challenges through collaborative research and development, and Creates is proud to contribute its convening power, infrastructure, and ecosystem expertise to accelerate progress with ASML, TSMC, and partners.”
Today’s standard EUV masks, or reticle size, measure approximately 6-by-6-inches. High NA EUV technology uses advanced optics to deliver higher resolution, but those optics reduce the area that can be printed on a wafer in a single exposure. For larger chips, this can require multiple exposures to be stitched together, adding complexity and potentially affecting manufacturing efficiency and yield.
To address this challenge, industry leaders are exploring a larger 6-by-12-inch mask format. A larger mask could enable larger areas of a chip to be printed in a single exposure, reducing the need for stitching and improving productivity. Making this transition, however, would require advances across the broader mask ecosystem, including mask blanks, writing and inspection equipment, pellicles, handling systems, and manufacturing infrastructure.
As a neutral hub, NY Creates’ Albany NanoTech Complex provides a collaborative infrastructure to unite key stakeholders across the semiconductor industry, supporting leading-edge R&D efforts and accelerating the readiness required for high NA EUV lithography adoption. By working alongside industry leaders and research partners, NY Creates’ participation in the initiative further reinforces the organization’s commitment to facilitating industry-wide collaboration and strengthening the cutting-edge capabilities needed for next-generation advances that will shape the future of semiconductor innovation, and ultimately, the technologies we all rely on.
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About NY Creates
NY Creates serves as a lab-to-fab bridge for advanced electronics, fostering public-private and industry-academic partnerships for technology development and innovation. Creates attracts and leads industry-connected innovation and commercialization projects that secure significant investment, advance R&D in emerging technologies, and generate the jobs of tomorrow. Creates runs some of the most advanced facilities in the world, boasts more than 2,700 industry experts and faculty, and manages public and private investments of $25 billion—placing it at the global epicenter of high-tech innovation and commercialization. Learn more at www.ny-creates.org .