Creating the Most Advanced Extreme-Ultraviolet Microscope

Leading semiconductor manufacturers and experts at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have recently joined forces to create a microscope capable of conducting photolithography, one of the most important aspects of creating microchips.

The purpose of this collaboration is the creation of the world’s most advanced extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) microscope. Experts dubbed it SHARP, which stands for the Semiconductor High-NA Actinic Reticle Review Project.

Scientists involved in the endeavor expect the project to be completed within 18 months, at a cost of about $4.1 million. The endeavor is led by Berkeley Lab Materials Science Division (MSD) Center for X-Ray Optics (CXRO) expert Kenneth Goldberg.

“EUV light is tricky to work with because every material absorbs it so strongly,” the expert says, However, he is convinced that the group will prevail in the end.