Cymer unveils world's first field-selectable 30W-50W KrF light source

SAN DIEGO, USA: Cymer Inc., the market's leading developer of light sources used to pattern advanced semiconductor chips, has introduced the ELS 7010x, the world's first field-selectable 30 to 50 watt (W) Krypton Fluoride (KrF) light source.

The ELS 7010x allows customers to easily adjust power from 30W to 50W based on changing wafer design requirements and production needs. An extension of Cymer's highly reliable ELS 7000 series product, the ELS 7010x provides significant advancements in power flexibility and performance stability, enabling increased wafer throughput and lower cost of operation.

In addition to real-time variable power flexibility that enables chipmakers to increase wafer output by up to 25 percent, the ELS 7010x provides further value with Cymer's Gas Lifetime eXtension (GLX) technology. GLX reduces system downtime during gas exchanges by a factor of three, allowing for higher system uptime leading to increased wafer throughput.

For existing customers of Cymer's OnPulse product, the ELS 7010x enhances production capability of current KrF tools. OnPulse guarantees a year-over-year per-pulse cost savings for the life of the light source, along with stable, predictable running costs that scale with wafer production. OnPulse customers can upgrade the current 7000 series light sources to take advantage of the new ELS 7010x capability.

"Cymer is committed to providing market-leading DUV technology with unique capabilities that offer our customers flexibility and production performance, and to offering tools that meet current and future lithography applications," said Ed Brown, president and COO for Cymer.

"With increasing utilization and capacity expansion, the flexible power capability of the ELS 7010x will enable chipmakers to optimize high volume production at lower operating costs."

The Cymer ELS 7010x light source and installed base upgrades for OnPulse customers will be available during the fourth quarter of 2010.