2-kHz Deep-UV Laser Installed for Photolithography

Komatsu Ltd. in Tochigi, Japan, announced that it has installed its 2-kHz deep-UV laser at a major Japanese chip manufacturer's production facility. The device, known as the G20K, incorporates a solid-state, pulsed power module that reduces its power consumption by 20 percent and subsystems that extend the life expectancy of the laser tube to 10 billion pulses, which lowers the cost to end users.

The 248-nm KrF excimer laser source was designed for photolithography of silicon wafers. Introduced at Semicon West in July, the G20K features an energy dose stability of less than ±0.4 percent and a spectral bandwidth of less than 0.6 pm for improved resolution with lens steppers of high numerical aperture. The company said the repetition rate of the laser makes it suitable for high-throughput patterning applications.

Komatsu expects to introduce a 2-kHz ArF laser for volume production later this year.