Optical lithography from ZEISS SMT

Microchips play a crucial role in our everyday lives – because most of the devices we use every day contain at least one microprocessor: computers, smartphones, cars even our refrigerators. Light and lithography optical goods from ZEISS Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (SMT) play a decisive role in the production of microchips.

Microchips that are increasingly smaller, more powerful and more energy-efficient: this is the basis for digitalization. To achieve this, the structures of the chip must become progressively finer. This can only be achieved by making the wavelength of the light used shorter and shorter and the optical systems and components used increasingly more accurate. A challenge that ZEISS SMT has been facing for more than 50 years with its lithography optics.

The development in optical lithography follows this law to this day – and it looks set to continue to do so. Since the 1960s, ZEISS has set the pace when it comes to constantly pushing the limits of what is technologically possible. In order continue to writing Gordon Moore's law and, together with strategic partner ASML, to enable chip manufacturers worldwide to develop tomorrow's technologies today.

The achievable resolution of optics with lenses and mirrors can be calculated using this formula. It clearly shows that the shorter the wavelength of the light used, the better the resolution. The higher the numerical aperture, the finer the structures. High-precision exposure systems from ZEISS SMT are required in order to achieve wavelengths of up to 193 nanometers for DUV technology and 13.5 nanometers for EUV technology.