The next trick to tinier transistors is high-numerical-aperture EUV lithography

“…an entirely new way to generate light. It’s a remarkably complex process that involves hitting molten tin droplets in midflight with a powerful CO2 laser. The laser vaporizes the tin into a plasma, emitting a spectrum of photonic energy. From this spectrum, the EUV optics harvest the required 13.5-nm wavelength and direct it through a series of mirrors before it is reflected off a patterned mask to project that pattern onto the wafer.”

That, is insane.

I’m curious how many droplets it takes to do a single mask. That doesn’t sound like it would be eat-away-the-surroundings bright.

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