ASML: euv machine had uptime of 70 percent in a month

ASML has increased the power of the light source of euv machines to 130W and a machine has achieved an uptime of 70 percent in a month at a customer. ASML reports this with the announcement of its quarterly figures.

There are now eight NXE:3300B systems based on euv technology in use with customers and several of them have now shown 70 percent uptime in a week. The customers are running marathon tests with the NXE:3300B machines. ASML sees the progress as a prelude to the use of volume production. ASML previously reported that a single customer with its NXE 3300B machine had achieved an uptime of 82 percent for one week, and that should have climbed to 86 percent by the end of this year.

At the same time, the chip manufacturing machine manufacturer emphasizes that customers are evaluating how to leverage existing immersion lithography machines. The outcome of this, versus the moment at which the euv systems are ready for production, determines when euv machines are used for large-scale production, says ASML CEO Peter Wennink.

ASML is engaged in a race against time to get the euv machines ready for production. Perhaps manufacturers will use them for part of the 10nm production of chips, but the aim of almost all chip manufacturers is to have 7nm production run via euv. In particular, the uptime, the strength of the light source and the number of wafers that the machines can process must be increased.

ASML’s turnover in the past quarter amounted to 1.6 billion euros, with a profit of 370 million euros. Turnover thus increased slightly compared to last year, but profit decreased compared to the 399 million euros that ASML achieved a year ago.

The euv machines use light with a wavelength of 13.5nm, with which the small structures can be applied to wafers in a single step, for which current machines based on immersion lithography require several steps. The reduction of the structures is the basis of what is called Moore’s Law.