Cost pressure in 3D integration opens door for ASML’s precision play

The first shipment of ASML’s XT:260, announced last October, didn’t get the attention it deserved. As humble as the i-line tool may seem, the launch marks the firm’s first step in 3D integration, the cluster of manufacturing technologies that has usurped ASML’s traditional bread and butter – chip feature shrink – as the main driver behind ever-higher transistor densities. Having been on the sidelines so far, the Dutch lithography giant says the time is right to bring its signature expertise in accuracy and speed to the post-Moore arena.

“We’ve been looking at 3D integration for quite a while, but, until recently, we didn’t feel the need to be there because our customers only used simple lithography tools,” says ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet. That situation is changing as cost pressure mounts; the semiconductor game may have changed face, it can’t shake the need to drive down cost if it wants to keep moving forward.