The total cost of operating a system, plant, etc. For lithography tools, it includes cost of replacement materials and consumables.

A range of light colors, beyond what human beings can see, on the violet side of the spectrum.

Refers to the device (circuit) design. The smallest device dimensions images on the wafer's surface. Also referred to as geometries, critical dimensions or feature sizes.

DUV lithography is a key enabling technology that allows the semiconductor industry to meet the exact specifications and manufacturing requirements for volume production of today's advanced semiconductor chips with 0.25 micron and below design rules.

An integrated circuit used for memory storage.

Excimer lasers provide high-power light for precision DUV photolithography tools essential to the volume production of semiconductors with features below 0.25 micron. Excimer laser light is generated by mixing two gases, such as Krypton and Fluoride (KrF) or Argon and Fluoride (ArF) inside a chamber, then applying a short electrical charge.

Deemed the next-generation lithography solution path in imaging critical dimensions below .05 micron, EUV lithography utilizes light far beyond what human beings can see, with wavelengths in a range of about 5nm to 50nm, with about 13nm being the most common.

The illumination source, such as an excimer laser, needed by photolithography tools in order to image the pattern of the circuit.

The width of a feature printed in resist, measured as a specific height above the substrate. The measurement of the shorter dimension of lines or spaces comprising the patterns formed when manufacturing devices. Also referred to as critical dimension (CD) or feature width.

A unit of measurement equal to one millionth of a meter. One thousand microns is equal to one millimeter. A human hair is about 100 microns thick.

A unit of measurement equal to one thousandth of a micron.

OEE is a sophisticated cost management measure designed to help chipmakers improve factory/tool productivity, efficiency and quality.

A process of imaging complex circuit patterns onto a photosensitive material, which is used to provide a physical barrier for the processing of semiconductor devices. The method uses light to print a pattern in a photosensitive material.

A photolithography tool used in the production of semiconductor devices. This camera-like step-and-scan tool projects the image of a circuit from a ìmaster imageî onto a photosensitized silicon wafer.

An electronic material utilized in the manufacture of devices used in a variety of applications including computer, automotive and telecommunications products.

A photolithography tool used in the production of semiconductor devices. A stepper works by transferring the image of a circuit or component from a master image onto a small portion of the wafer surface. The wafer is then moved or stepped, and the image is exposed once again onto another area. This process is repeated until the entire wafer surface is exposed.

A round, thin slice of single-crystal silicon that forms the foundation for semiconductor processing. Also called the substrate, a current generation wafer is eight inches in diameter, the thickness of a credit card, weighs about a third of a pound, and is polished to a mirror finish on one side.

The length of the light wave, usually measured from crest to crest, which determines its color. Common units of measurement are micrometer (micron), nanometer and Angstrom.