TheRetroArcade
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Posts: 1,957
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
All it takes is a little more light...
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If you haven't heard of ASML, it's the company that makes the machines upon which modern computing currently depends. Without ASML, well, computer chips would be very different. And now ASML is claiming a breakthrough in one of the key bottlenecks for manufacturing cutting-edge silicon thanks to a big boost in light production.
ASML currently has a stranglehold on what's known as the EUV lithography market. It is, indeed, ASML's machines that everyone from TSMC to Intel uses to make chips. Long story cut preposterously short, computer chips are made by shining light through patterned masks onto wafers of silicon. Add a few chemicals and the result is an etching in the pattern of the chips in question.
Of course the key here is making the details as small and accurate as possible. And that's largely a function of the wavelength of "light" being used. The shorter the wavelength, the smaller the details that can be etched onto wafer and in turn the more features, such as transistors, can be crammed into a chip of a given size.
But therein lies the problem. Creating and directing sufficient quantities of exactly the right light is a surprisingly hard task. ASML's latest machines use EUV or extreme ultra-violet light. And it's incredibly difficult produce in quantity.
Another problem is directing the light. Visible light can be bounced around with mirrors incurring relatively small losses along the way. That's much harder with EUV, and that means the original source needs to be even more powerful.
ASML's solution, currently, is a truly bananas setup that involves drops of flying molten tin being zapped multiple times by very powerful lasers. When you look into the details, you quickly understand why it's so hard for other companies to enter the market and take on ASML. The complexity is preposterous.
Anywho, Reuters is reporting that ASML has made a breakthrough in its EUV production technology to boost EUV output from the 600 W of its current machines to fully 1,000 W. That major step, ASML reckons, will translate into an increase of chip output of around 50%.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
In simple terms, the increased EUV power will mean that wafers can be processed more quickly. The yields per wafer, or the number of working chips that can be extracted from each silicon wafer, don't improve. But ASML's machines will be able to crank out more wafers and that means more chips. ASML reckons the new more powerful EUV source will...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
You are now subscribed
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Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
If you haven't heard of ASML, it's the company that makes the machines upon which modern computing currently depends. Without ASML, well, computer chips would be very different. And now ASML is claiming a breakthrough in one of the key bottlenecks for manufacturing cutting-edge silicon thanks to a big boost in light production.
ASML currently has a stranglehold on what's known as the EUV lithography market. It is, indeed, ASML's machines that everyone from TSMC to Intel uses to make chips. Long story cut preposterously short, computer chips are made by shining light through patterned masks onto wafers of silicon. Add a few chemicals and the result is an etching in the pattern of the chips in question.
Of course the key here is making the details as small and accurate as possible. And that's largely a function of the wavelength of "light" being used. The shorter the wavelength, the smaller the details that can be etched onto wafer and in turn the more features, such as transistors, can be crammed into a chip of a given size.
But therein lies the problem. Creating and directing sufficient quantities of exactly the right light is a surprisingly hard task. ASML's latest machines use EUV or extreme ultra-violet light. And it's incredibly difficult produce in quantity.
Another problem is directing the light. Visible light can be bounced around with mirrors incurring relatively small losses along the way. That's much harder with EUV, and that means the original source needs to be even more powerful.
ASML's solution, currently, is a truly bananas setup that involves drops of flying molten tin being zapped multiple times by very powerful lasers. When you look into the details, you quickly understand why it's so hard for other companies to enter the market and take on ASML. The complexity is preposterous.
Anywho, Reuters is reporting that ASML has made a breakthrough in its EUV production technology to boost EUV output from the 600 W of its current machines to fully 1,000 W. That major step, ASML reckons, will translate into an increase of chip output of around 50%.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
In simple terms, the increased EUV power will mean that wafers can be processed more quickly. The yields per wafer, or the number of working chips that can be extracted from each silicon wafer, don't improve. But ASML's machines will be able to crank out more wafers and that means more chips. ASML reckons the new more powerful EUV source will...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?