The Future: EUVL Chipmaking

Silicon microprocessors have been the heart of the computing world for more than 40 years. In that time, microprocessor manufacturers have crammed more and more electronic devices onto microprocessors. In accordance with Moore's Law, the number of electronic devices put on a microprocessor has doubled every 18 months. Moore's Law is named after Intel founder Gordon Moore, who predicted in 1965 that microprocessors would double in complexity every two years. Many have predicted that Moore's Law will soon reach its end because of the physical limitations of silicon microprocessors.

The current process used to pack more and more transistors onto a chip is called deep-ultraviolet lithography (DUVL), which is a photography-like technique that focuses light through lenses to carve circuit patterns on silicon wafers. DUVL will begin to reach its limit around 2005. At that time, chipmakers will have to look to other technologies to cram more transistors onto silicon to create more powerful chips. Many are already looking at extreme-ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) as a way to extend the life of silicon at least until the end of the decade. EUVL uses mirrors instead of lenses to focus the light, which allows light with shorter wavelengths to accurately focus on the silicon wafer. To learn more about EUVL, see How EUV Chipmaking Works.

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