Jan. 20, 2003 – Tokyo, Japan – Seiko Instruments Inc. will join the LEEPL Technology Consortium, formed by a group of companies from Japan and overseas to develop technology for a next-generation stepper that uses an electron beam as the light source for lithography.
The LEEPL stepper projects a real-size photomask pattern onto the wafer and can define circuit lines narrower than 70nm.
Seiko Instruments will bring its mask-defect correction technology to the effort, helping the consortium edge closer to its goal of having a practical stepper system ready in 2003, reported the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
With Seiko Instrument’s entrance, the consortium now has 29 participating members including Tokyo Seimitsu Co., Sony Corp. NEC Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Dai Nippon Printing Co., and Texas Instruments Inc.