The race is on to build the most complex machine
15 comments
·March 16, 2025photonthug
Oh man oh man, can we get some more pictures of crazy machines? Here's another https://www.extremetech.com/computing/report-intel-bought-al...
madspindel
on_the_train
And even that official video is massively underplaying how fast these steppers (and in turn: all the mechanics around the mirrors work). Look at this video at ~44:20 to get a better feeling
IndrekR
It is funny how “the race is on” when we have ASML/ZEISS monopoly in this sector.
on_the_train
Not one mention of Zeiss? Those mirrors are quite the story themselve. The light source also isn't actually being done by asml, it's trumpf
kerblang
The semiconductor supply chain is bonkers... would like to have a diagram of the whole thing, including the special quartz mine in NC
zparky
There's this site[1] which doesn't go into that much depth but is still neat to explore
alexpotato
This is both fascinating and an excellent way to show the "big picture" but also allow people to drill into the details.
wg0
And that ASML is majority owned by Carl Zeis, a German company.
on_the_train
If anything it's the other way round. Asml owns 25% of Zeiss SMT. Source: I work there
wg0
Yes - I'm wrong.
TacticalCoder
And what about all the parts that Zeiss is using? That's basically Milton Friedman on how a pencil is made, but on steroids:
on_the_train
Not really. A block of glass arrives at our facility. It undergoes a shitton of processing steps (much longer than you'd think) with atomic-precision measurements between the steps. All of the high end tools are self-developed and self-built. The mirror at the end does not have much in common with the block of glass at the start.
> For NIL to become a mainstream chipmaking technology, it must overcome several challenges. Defects are a big concern—tiny particles or imperfections on the mould can create repeating flaws across entire wafers. Alignment is another hurdle. Since chips are built in layers, the circuit patterns of every layer must line up precisely.
The one major advantage NIL has over optical techniques is that it does not require multiple patterning to address edge cases:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_patterning