Challenges in Reusing Lithography Equipment for Multiple Generations

The capital investment for semiconductor fabrication continues to increase as pricing pressure for microprocessors is greater than ever. This profit margin challenge is especially taxing in the area of lithography as the increasing transistor count also drives an increase in the number of mask layers. The cost of lithography equipment for a leading edge factory today is ~$0.5-1 billion. Intel continues to have an aggressive lithography equipment reuse strategy in order to have a tangible impact on the lithography investment required for each new technology. In this paper, we discuss Intel´s most recent focus regarding lithography equipment reuse, better internal business systems and supplier infrastructure to support multi-generational lithography equipment.