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EU-Projects German BMBF Project Leads to Enhancement of EUV Lithography
Under the leadership of Carl Zeiss a new project has started, which is sponsored by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). This undertaking focuses on EUV lithography in which extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light is used to create the structures on microchips. This new technology will be ready for production at the end of 2012 and enable the manufacture of structures as small as 20nm. The objective of the joint ETIK project ("EUV projection optics for 14 nm resolution") now is to improve the resolution that can be achieved with EUV lithography to at least 14nm. The ongoing miniaturization of structures increases the performance of microchips and helps reduce the costs of electronic devices. The BMBF is sponsoring the three-year project with a total of EUR7 million.
To improve the resolution to 14nm, consortium partners are researching new manufacturing technologies for the key modules of EUV systems, the illumination system and the projection optics.
For this joint project, Bestec GmbH in Berlin is developing machine concepts for a new generation of reflectometers to measure the EUV reflectivity of large mirror surfaces. The Institute for Technical Op- tics (University Stuttgart) is developing and testing the concept of flexible setting measuring technology for mirrors with a new type of surface geometry. IMS CHIPS in Stuttgart is contributing powerful optical components to ensure the quality of the projection lens. The Fraunhofer institutes for Electron Beam and Plasma Technology (FEP in Dresden), for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (IOF in Jena) and for Material and Beam Technology (IWS in Dresden) are providing scientific-technical services to further improve the surface quality of reflective optical components, which play a key role in the lithographic performance of the projection system.
SCALENANO Project – Solar Cells
With a budget of more than EUR10 million, the European Union (EU)’s SCALENANO project aims to increase Europe’s competitiveness in photovoltaic technology by developing highly efficient, low- cost production processes for CIGS thin-film solar cells. As specialized materials supplier for applications requiring a high level of purity, reliability, and formulation know-how, Merck takes an active part in the SCALENANO consortium of 13 renowned companies and scientific institutions.
Chalcogenide-based photovoltaic (PV) technologies have already entered mass production. However, their vacuum-based deposition processes require high capital expenditures that override the cost benefits of thin-film technologies. Objectives of SCALENANO are the development and scale-up of new vacuum-free, high-throughput, and cost-effective deposition processes for CIGS absorber layers based on electrodeposition of nanostructured precursors as well as printing techniques using nanoparticle ink formulations.