ASML: the Twinscan NXT 1950i, the humming bird among the wafer steppers

For chip manufacturers, production cannot go fast enough. Top technology company ASML responds to this need by developing ever more efficient lithography systems. The Twinscan NXT 1950i is the most recent icon in this field. The device accelerates the production of chips substantially and enables smaller imaging of circuits, allowing manufacturers to achieve wider profit margins on their chips.

The wafer stage moves at high speed in various directions. The loading time is minimal. Instead of air bearings, the new system uses a floating magnetic carpet, which is in fact a platform with coils floating on a bed of fixed magnets. While the Twinscan illuminates one slice of the semiconductor, the system maps the topology of the other slice. Once the illumination is finished, the stages change place in one smooth motion. Maintenance takes place automatically during ‘system idle time’.  The wafer stepper is exceptionally fast, accurate, and stable. The acceleration is made possible through a significant weight reduction: the NXT stage is made of carbon fibres and ceramic materials. Because of its low weight and high speed, the Twinscan NXT 1950i is called ‘the hummingbird among the wafer steppers’.