ASML Lithography NV, the Dutch manufacturer of equipment for the semiconductor fabrication process, is to join the US consortium developing extreme ultraviolet technology for the next generation of semiconductors with circuit linewidths less than 100 nanometers.
It has signed up for the program of the Extreme Ultraviolet Limited Liability Company (EUV-LLC), which is supported by US semiconductor companies such as Intel, Motorola, and Advanced Micro Devices and leading national laboratories.
ASML is backing a number of technologies aiming to be the leading candidates for next-generation semiconductor production. It is researching the electron beam technology known as SCALPEL with Applied Materials and Lucent Technologies and is involved in a European program on ion-beam lithography.
