2023-11-06 09:05:00
Read in full version 11/06/2023 12:05, Alexey Razin In the middle of last month, the Japanese company Canon began supplying customers with equipment for printing 5-nm chips without the use of photolithography, and this month representatives of the Japanese manufacturer explained that such equipment will be available in about ten times cheaper than analogues from ASML, and will also consume ten times less electricity. Image source: Canon Let us recall that previously, although Canon produced lithographic equipment, in terms of its resolution it could compete with ASML only in some part of the latter’s assortment, and not the most advanced one. For ten years, Canon has been developing nanochip printing technology that does not involve projecting photomasks onto a silicon wafer. While inferior in performance to traditional photolithography equipment, the new technological solution has a number of advantages, according to Canon CEO Fujio Mitarai, cited by Bloomberg. Compared to ASML equipment of similar technological capabilities, Canon’s offering will be able to subtract one digit from the numerical value of the cost, according to the head of the company. However, the final decision on the adopted pricing policy has not yet been made, but it is quite obvious that the new type of Canon technological equipment will make chip production more affordable for small companies. Even large contract manufacturers will be more willing to take on small batches of products using Canon equipment, according to the head of the latter. Secondly, Canon equipment of this family consumes ten times less energy than that used by ASML for EUV lithography. In our age of struggle for the environment, this is important, and energy costs as such can also be reduced. The Japanese authorities’ sanctions against China, which have been in force since July of this year, do not directly mention equipment for nanoprinting of chips, but Canon management believes that the company will still not be able to supply it to Chinese customers, since with its help the latter would be able to produce “thinner” components 14 -nm, and this is not welcomed by either the Japanese authorities, or the United States, or their other important ally – the Netherlands.
1699267593
#Canon #sell #machines #printing #5nm #chips #ten #times #cheaper #ASML #analogues