Recently, it was reported that Pat Gelsinger, the former chief technology officer and CEO of Intel, has joined xLight as executive chairman and is committed to using particle accelerators to revolutionize chip manufacturing.
xLight is a start-up focused on the development of free electron laser (FEL) technology, which is designed to provide a light source for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems. EUV lithography is a key technology in semiconductor manufacturing, which can create extremely small circuit patterns on silicon wafers, and currently high numerical aperture (High-NA) EUV can achieve a resolution of 8nm, and low numerical aperture (Low-NA) EUV resolution is about 13nm, and its principle is to use EUV light with a wavelength of 13.5nm. Today, ASML is the only company that can manufacture EUV lithography systems using a complex 13.5nm wavelength light source generation method.
The idea of using particle accelerators to generate light sources for lithography equipment is not new, but xLight has unique ambitions. They claim to be able to successfully produce such a light source by 2028 and ensure compatibility with existing tools. Pat Kissinger said in a LinkedIn post that he joins xLight as part of his new role at Playground Global and will work closely with the Nicholas Kelez team to build the world's most powerful free electron laser with particle accelerator technology.
In terms of light source performance, the progress of xLight is impressive. Kissinger revealed that the laser-generated plasma (LPP) light source developed by xLight is four times more powerful than the most advanced systems available. ASML's Twinscan NXE:3600D is equipped with a 250W LPP light source and the NXE:3800E has a light source power of about 300W, although ASML has demonstrated EUV light sources in excess of 500W in research environments, but has not yet been used in commercial deployment systems. xLight claims that they now have LPP light sources with more than 1000W of power, and plan to commercialize them in 2028.
Pictured: Can Pat Kissinger break the current pattern of chip manufacturing with the help of particle accelerators? (Source: xLight)
Not only that, but xLight's technology also has huge advantages in terms of cost control. Kissinger pointed out that the technology can reduce the cost per wafer by about 50 percent and reduce capital and operating expenses to one-third, which is undoubtedly a major leap in chip manufacturing efficiency. While it is unclear how much the individual light source will cost in the ASML lithography system, this cost advantage of the xLight is expected to significantly reduce the cost of FEL-based lithography tools and make them more competitive with existing ASML equipment.
It is important to note that xLight is not intended to replace ASML's EUV lithography tools, but rather to produce an LPP light source that will be able to connect to ASML scanners and run wafers by 2028. This means that xLight's light sources are likely to be compatible with existing ASML tools, but compatibility with the next generation of High-NA EUV tools is still to be determined, although they may use the same LPP light type. In addition, in a real-world fab environment, where the existing fab is built for a specific tool, with the Low-NA EUV system's light source located underneath the equipment and the High-NA EUV tool's LPP light source on the same horizontal plane, xLight's light source is challenging to accommodate these different layouts, and the current particle accelerator size is too large for existing fabs and may be more suitable for next-generation fabs for applications.
The potential of xLight's FEL technology extends beyond chip manufacturing. This is a multi-billion dollar opportunity in the long run; In the short term, the company's systems are also suitable for high-power metering and inspection tools. Even beyond semiconductors, it can be applied to national security and biotechnology, such as point defense, space debris control, medical imaging, and scientific research, providing new technical means to solve problems in these fields.
Pat Gelsinger joins xLight to breathe new life into the use of particle accelerators in chip manufacturing. If xLight's FEL technology achieves a breakthrough as planned, it will not only change the cost and efficiency landscape of chip manufacturing, but also bring innovation possibilities to many fields, and its development trend deserves continuous attention.
