Molecular Imprints Jumps IDM Hurdle
Aaron Hand, Executive Editor, Electronic Media -- Semiconductor International, 2/1/2007
Despite nanoimprint lithography being sent to the back of the class in the latest update of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS; maskless lithography moved ahead of it as a potential solution at the 22 and 16 nm half-pitch), Molecular Imprints Inc. (MII, Austin, Texas) announced its latest success with the technology. MII has shipped an Imprio 250 for next-generation lithography (NGL) to a leading memory chipmaker.
The Imprio 250 incorporates Step and Flash Imprint Lithography (S-FIL) technology — MII's version of nanoimprint lithography. The memory manufacturer is expected to use the system initially for process development and device prototyping at 32 nm and below.
Although MII has shipped more than 20 nanoimprint systems since 2003, this is the first shipped to a CMOS IDM. In fact, MII contends that this is the first NGL system in the industry shipped to a CMOS IDM. Recent shipments of ASML's extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tools (a competing technology) went to research centers — Albany Nanotech and IMEC — rather than IDMs.
Besides the latest success in the semiconductor industry, MII's S-FIL technology is gaining ground in higher-density hard disk drives and higher-brightness LEDs, according to the company.
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