One of the longest technology partnerships in the semiconductor industry is set to get longer after both imec and ASML agreed to extend work on both immersion and EUVL development, for a further 5 years. The agreement follows installations at imec’s 300mm R&D facility with ASML’s NXT1950i immersion tool and its NXE:3300B, the successor of ASML’s NXE:3100 preproduction tool that has been installed at imec, earlier this year.
"ASML's close partnership with imec has given our joint customers early insights and learning into the capabilities of new chip manufacturing solutions, paving the way for their technology leadership and commercial success. We're pleased to commit to the next level of collaboration as we transition to EUV technology and so enter the next decade of shrink technologies," added Martin van den Brink, ASML's Chief Products and Technology Officer.
The agreement also involves the suite of ASML’s computational lithography tools and the advanced metrology platform ASML Yieldstar S200.