Nanoscale Lithography
Image Credit: the Inventors
Nanoscale lithography to expand access to sub-10nm microchip fabrication.
About the Technology
Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography enables the creation of advanced microchips like those used to train new AI models, using beams of light to carve silicon wafers. Currently, leading EUV technology is prohibitively expensive and reliant on a single supplier that controls 90% of capacity for making the smallest, most complex chips.
A new system, developed by Assistant Professor Emilio Nanni’s team at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is challenging that paradigm with a lithography innovation that delivers EUV-class resolution and throughput with a compact footprint while costing just a tenth as much as current systems. The Diffraction-Contrast Electron Projection Lithography (DC-EPL) system projects electron beams through a novel proprietary mask to enable parallel exposure, significantly speeding write times. DC-EPL enables access to sub-10 nm patterning for thousands of small- and medium-volume fabs and designers currently excluded by EUV infrastructure, addressing a large and growing market.
During the HIT Fund, the team will complete POC testing, identify the target market and GTM strategy, and strike the early partnerships critical to success.
Team Members
Emilio Nanni
PI, Associate Professor
Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Photon Science
Alex Rousina-Webb
Research Technical Manager
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Jason Sun
MBA Fellow
Stanford Graduate School of Business