"More Moore" project for extreme ultra violet lithography

Brussels, 20 October 2006

More Moore, a research project funded by the European Commission to promote the development of Extreme Ultra Violet Lithography (EUVL) in Europe, highlighted innovations resulting from the project at Barcelona's EUV 2006 symposium (October 16-18).

Drawing together the best and brightest in EUVL research from around Europe and beyond, this project has been responsible for important research that will help EUVL technology be introduced for volume semiconductor production around the end of this decade.

More Moore has announced breakthroughs including a photoemission electron microscope capable of measuring features as small as 20-nanometers (nm), without destroying the sample, and strong advancement in the power of the EUVL light source to 800 watt from 120 watt.

Martin van den Brink, executive vice president, marketing and technology, ASML, congratulated the project on its accomplishments during its 36-month tenure. ASML, the world's leading provider of lithography systems for the semiconductor industry, is also the project leader.

"What's remarkable about this project, aside from its obvious technical benefits, is that it will help European EUVL companies take leadership in this significant emerging technology. The participants of More Moore have also demonstrated how pan-European research projects can foster innovation," said Van den Brink.

The Commission has funded More Moore in the amount of EUR 23,250,000 for 36-months, ending late 2006.

"We are proud of the accomplishments produced by Europe's top EUVL scientists working together on such an innovative project. This is only made possible through substantial funding from the EU," said Rob Hartman, ASML's Director Strategic Technology Program and leader of the More Moore project.

EUVL will be the next generation technology used by the semiconductor industry to manufacture integrated circuits, with ever-smaller features. Smaller features - starting at 32-nm instead of the 65-nm common today - allow chipmakers to fit more transistors on each chip or make more complex chips. Transition to EUVL technology will enable the continuation of increased number of transistors per-square-millimeter consistent with Moore's law, which predicts the computing power of semiconductors should double roughly every two years.

Microchips are produced with optical lithography by projecting light through a transparent (UV) or reflecting (EUV) mask onto the surface of a silicon wafer that is covered by a photosensitive layer. The small structures on the mask are etched onto the silicon, creating the features of the semiconductor.

Notes to editor:

About More Moore

The More Moore project involves large and small companies from around Europe, including ASML, Phystex, Zeiss, AMTC, Philips EUV, XTREME technologies, FOCUS, SIGMA-C, AZ Electronic Materials, Schott Lithotec, Philips, XENOCS, Sagem Défense Sécurité, Imagine Optic, EPPRA and Media Lario. Academic and research institutions participating in More Moore include IMEC, CEA Leti, CNRS, TNO, FOM Rijnhuizen, Fraunhofer Institute, ISAN and IPM RAS (Russian Institutes of Science), ENEA, ELETTRA, and NCSR as well as universities of Bielefeld, Mainz, Delft and Birmingham. Members are highly specialised in the key areas of EUVL and work under the coordination of ASML, the leading producer of lithography equipment used for semiconductor manufacturing. For more information on the consortium, visit our website: https://www.euvlitho.net/MoreMoore.

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Jana Sanchez
CitySavvy Financial and Corporate Communications
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