Lithography
Printing a chip's patterns onto a silicon wafer, usually with light.
Chips are patterned the way photos were once printed: light shines through a mask onto a light-sensitive coating on a silicon wafer, layer after layer. The shorter the light's wavelength, the finer the lines it can print, which is why extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machines matter.
Where it matters
Technologies we track
- Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithographyStep 5 · EverydayChip patterns are printed with light, a little like projecting a photo onto a silicon wafer.
- Nanoimprint lithography for chipsStep 4 · On saleInstead of projecting a circuit pattern with light, nanoimprint lithography presses a mask carrying the pattern into a coating on the wafer, like a stamp.