Jena, Germany, October 30, 2003. SCHOTT Lithotec has signed an access agreement with International SEMATECH's (ISMT's) extreme ultraviolet (EUV) research program in Albany, NY. The agreement allows SCHOTT Lithotec to send researchers to ISMT's EUV Mask Blank Development Center at the International SEMATECH-North (ISMT-N) facility at the University at Albany-SUNY. SCHOTT Lithotec will work with ISMT engineers and other participants in such areas as film deposition, cleaning and metrology for EUVL mask blanks.
The goal of this agreement is to jointly generate knowledge and to share experiences to support and accelerate the development of EUV mask blanks. This project also will benefit from the proximity of ISMT-N to SCHOTT Lithotec's mask blank facility in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
SCHOTT Lithotec has been carrying out intensive activities in investigating new technologies for many years. In cooperation with partners, the company was able to introduce the first completely coated EUV photomask blank in the 3rd quarter of 2002. Additionally, it signed a supply agreement for EUV blanks with International SEMATECH, and agreed to a license contract with the EUV LLC syndicate to enlarge its know-how and set the goal to create a commercially operating pilot-product of EUV lithography photomask blanks while fulfilling the required specifications of beta tools until the year 2006. In EUVL, which some consider the next technology step after optical lithography, shorter wavelengths allow the production of high-end micro chips with structures smaller than 45 nm.
SCHOTT Lithotec, a substantial majority of which is owned by SCHOTT Glas, a leading technology group (Mainz, Germany), is the only worldwide supplier offering the entire range of optical materials and components for microlithography applications. The company is already recognized as market and technology leader in the field of the key optical material Calcium Fluoride and aims to take a leading position in the field of advanced photomask blanks. Headquartered in Jena, Germany, SCHOTT Lithotec has production facilities in Germany and the US and representatives in various countries.
More information can be found at www.schott.com .
International SEMATECH (ISMT) is a global semiconductor technology development consortium that has effectively represented the semiconductor manufacturing industry on innovation issues since 1988; its members are AMD, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Infineon, Intel, Motorola, Philips, Texas Instruments and TSMC. ISMT conducts state-of-the-art research, and is a highly-regarded technology partner whose goal is to promote the interests common to all chipmakers. It has extensive experience collaborating with equipment and materials suppliers, as well as government and academic research centers, to refine the tools and technology necessary to produce future generations of chips.
Additional information may be found at www.sematech.org .
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