The Extreme Engineering of ASML’s EUV Light Source

What Hacker News said

Strong rec codeulike · 2022-01 · on “Two startups tried to catch up to makers of advanced computer chips, and failed”

Because the EUV machines that ASML build are the most complex machines ever built by humans and getting all the bits to work properly takes decades of R+D e.g. watch this about the light source, its completely bonkers [this video]

Strong rec hajile · 2022-12 · on “Fusion “Breakthrough” Won’t Lead to Practical Fusion Energy”

EUV lithography is interesting. You drop a microscopic droplet of tin. You then aim and shoot it not once, but twice with a laser so it produces the correct wavelength. Then you do this with 100% reliability thousands of times per second all day, every day for years. The problem doing this with fusion seems to be money. Their "big" grant of 600M wouldn't even buy a handful of those machines and wouldn't come close to the many billions it has cost in the past 30+ years of research to reach the point where they are finally viable (it had been "a few months away" ever since the early 2000s). This video from Asianometry on EUV light sources is well worth the watch. It's pretty incredible. [VIDEO

Strong rec pas · 2023-04 · on “Spherical Tokamak Achieves Crucial Plasma Temperatures”

Anyone interested in the details should watch this video: [this video] (has the same graphics) without any hyperbole the 2-shot laser thing necessary to emit EUV is just mind bending.

Strong rec Agathos · 2023-07 · on “ASML EUV Lithography Machine Could Keep Moore’s Law on Track”

Two must watch videos about the whole process: [this video] [LINK] (Typed on a device made by this process, which I still don’t quite believe.)

Recommends roer · 2022-09 · on “Compact electron accelerator reaches new speeds with nothing but light”

To add to this, here is a great video on some of the technical/physical challenges ASML had to solve for their EUV source: [this video]

Recommends sllabres · 2022-11 · on “ASML looking to finally get ahead of Moore’s Law”

Cant answer the question and my knowledge is only from 'one interested' but from how long (~20 years) it took to build the current EUV source and how complicated the alternatives look this is for sure no easy feat. Can recommend [1] as the title say about the light source. Very interesting even for a non professional (and [2] as on high level overview of the machine and [3] as longer documentation inside ASML). [1] [this video] "The Extreme Engineering of ASML’s EUV Light Source" [2] [LINK] "The Extreme Physics Pushing Moore’s Law to the Next Level" [3] [LINK] "ASML's Secret: An exclusive view from inside the global semiconductor giant"

Recommends pkaye · 2022-12 · on “TSMC ups Arizona investment from $12B to $40B with second semi fab”

The machines are made by other companies. Lithography is the most expensive now and its made by ASML in Netherlands is the only solution for EUV lithography. But there are many steps in manufacturing and a machine for each. The major equipment manufactures are spread across US, Europe and Japan. In the US the three big equipment manufacturers are Applied Materials and Lam Research and KLA. The costs are probably driven by extreme engineering requirements (temperature, pressure, corrosive chemicals, low contamination) and R&D costs to meet these requirements. The production volumes are not high either. Its not like they are building millions of these machines. Asianometry on YouTube is a good

Recommends prewett · 2023-04 · on “Ask HN: Why is TSMC so competitive in semiconductor fabrication?”

The etching process that uses a laser to blast a moving molten tin sphere to shape it so the next laser blast that vaporizes it produces parallel EUV light is pretty insane, too. See [this video]