First Commercial Immersion Lithography Chip Is From IBM
IBM is laying hold to bragging rights on making the first silicon microprocessor based on an immersion lithography process. For the non-Geeks, immersion lithography is a projection enhancement methodology that places a liquid between the lens and the wafer.
Source: GEEK.comThe additional refraction of the light passing through the liquid works to enhance the resolution achievable by the projected light. IBM thinks that the immersion litho process could enable 193 nm tools to produce silicon circuit features as small as 45 nm, and maybe even smaller. And to think there was a small industry gasp just over a year ago when Intel announced it could stretch 193 nm tools to produce 65 nm transistor-based chips. Kudos to IBM, as this should also prove the Moore's Law contrarians to be merely false prophets (at least for the next decade), prematurely foretelling the end of the exponential growth of silicon density. Yet with all the money spent on advanced lithography R&D such as electron beam technology and extreme ultraviolet processes, one wonders when the investors will be able to reap some returns. For the moment it looks like 193 nm still has 2-3 generations of life left, with 157 nm waiting in the bullpen.
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