Canon's executive in charge of new lithography machines said in an interview,Canon's lithography equipment FPA-1200NZ2C, which uses nanoimprint technology, is targeted to be shipped this year or next year.In mid-October last year, Canon announced the launch of the FPA-1200NZ2C based on nanoimprinting. Canon said that the device uses a solution different from complex traditional photolithography technology.5nm chips can be made.
Canon said that the working principle of this equipment is different from that of ASML's photolithography machine. It does not use the principle of optical image projection to transfer the microstructure of the integrated circuit to the silicon wafer.Rather, it is more similar to printing technology, where patterns are formed directly through imprinting.
Compared with the currently commercialized EUV lithography technology, although the chip manufacturing speed of nanoimprint technology is slower than traditional lithography, Kioxia said in 2021 that nanoimprint technology can significantly reduce energy consumption and reduce equipment costs.
The reason is that the manufacturing process of nanoimprint technology is relatively simple.Power consumption can be reduced to 10% of EUV technology, and equipment investment can be reduced to only 40% of EUV equipment.
In addition, nanoimprint equipment can also enable chip manufacturers to reduce their dependence on ASML's EUV lithography machines, allowing wafer foundries such as TSMC and Samsung to have a second route option and more flexibly produce small batches of chips for customers.
However, Canon CEO Mitsui Fujio once said in an interview,Canon may not be able to export these devices to China,"My understanding is that any export beyond 14nm technology is prohibited, so I don't think we can sell."