Partners Join Lithography Initiative

Months after unveiling plans to deliver optical lithography systems at 157 nm, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Silicon Valley Group has signed on several supplier companies to help bring its systems to market.

Lambda Physik in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which recently commercialized an F₂ laser, will collaborate with the company in testing its deep-ultraviolet laser. Tropel Corp. in Fairport, N.Y., will develop a miniscanner to support the 157-nm infrastructure. It will be available next year.

For its supply of calcium fluoride, a material valued for its ability to withstand 157-nm laser light without compromising performance, Silicon Valley Group has forged partnerships with Schott Glas' Optics Div. in Mainz, Germany, and Bicron of Solon, Ohio.